Inbox

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As a former teacher of English in Sidon, Lebanon, who had Palestinian students from the Ein el-Helweh camp and as someone who has been working for peace for 50 years, I saw great hope in the picture of Fadi Quran and his March 15 movement ["Palestinian People Power," April 11]. I hope the U.S. will look to people like Fadi to help mediate a peaceful settlement between the Palestinian territories and Israel.

Rita Reynolds Gehrenbeck, VADNAIS HEIGHTS, MINN.

Toward the end of an otherwise important piece, Joe Klein destroys his credibility by referring to "near daily outrages perpetrated by Jewish settlers." What outrages? I do not recall ever reading of situations in which Jewish people, settlers or otherwise, perpetrated the sort of unprovoked atrocities committed by Arabs. The recent stabbings of the Fogel family, which you did not cover, have nothing to do with Palestinians' desire to control their own destiny.

David Lubin, WEST HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.

Nonviolence among Palestinians is not new. The recently released book Popular Resistance in Palestine, by Mazin Qumsiyeh, documents over 100 years of everyday acts of resistance, with suicide bombings and rocket attacks as the exception. The world needs to hear more about these courageous acts.

Peggy Vander Meulen, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

Bachmann Overdrive

I cannot conceive of the type of person who can listen to Michele Bachmann or read what she has said and think she is anything other than a gigantic joke played upon us by the people of her Minnesota district ["The Minnesota Clipper," April 11]. Yet her lack of knowledge of our history and misunderstanding of the Constitution apparently are not problematic for those who make decisions based on the 30-second sound bite. Yes, there is a vacuum out there, Ed Brookover [Bachmann's political consultant], and it is called Michele Bachmann.

Annette Jackson, PETERSBURG, VA.

Just Bat Already

I like your idea of a pitch clock to keep baseball games moving ["Play Ball!" April 11]. But my suggestion is to make the batter stay in the batter's box. They step out after every pitch and adjust their gloves, shrug their shoulders and shake their bat a few times. Some even walk a few steps away from the box. If batting gloves are such a problem, they should be banned.

Bob Sharples, ERIE, PA.

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