Inbox

  • The TIME 100

    The TIME 100 this year was full of big names, big people and big stories [May 10]. It was very interesting to read, but my favorite story was on Reem Al Numery. In high school I've been learning about the dangers of being a girl in an Islamic nation and was told these girls live their desperate lives without hope of change. It really moved me to see that a girl not much younger than me had the strength to stand up not only to her abusive father but also to an institution as powerful as the Islamic faith. Thank you, TIME, for not letting her get lost among the bigger names. Now she can serve as an inspiration to us all.

    Emily Saeli, ORCHARD PARK, N.Y.

    Really? You managed to find 99 guest essayists to praise their subjects with reviews ranging from glowing to fawning. Yet for the leader of the free world, who has faced the biggest challenges with skill and achievement, you chose to feature a dismissive, cavalier piece from his current biographer, who was apparently determined to show how much more discerning he is than the rest of us dolts who admire President Obama?

    Barbara Rapp, WARRENTON, MO.

    Thank you so much, TIME, for recognizing Neil Patrick Harris as one of the TIME 100. He is an amazing person whose stance as a gay male in today's discriminating society has been empowering. He has behaved as a celebrity who happens to be gay without being famous for it or being outrageously weird or any other stereotype.

    Trey Amsler III, MURFREESBORO, TENN.

    Anyone who is "influenced" by Lady Gaga needs psychiatric help. Shame on TIME for contributing to the dumbing down of America!

    Mary Ann Houston, SPENCER, MASS.

    I will turn 50 this year, and when I hear the live version of the rock song "Stranglehold," I still get goose bumps. For that I thank Ted Nugent. I won't dispute Nugent's admiration of Sarah Palin's "rugged individualism," but a "herculean work ethic"? Where does quitting your job as governor count as herculean? My impression of her is that she is uninformed about the issues she traverses the country screeching about.

    Bob Beatty, NORTH HAVEN, CONN.

    I really like Lady Gaga because, unlike a lot of popular artists' songs and lyrics nowadays, hers actually have some meaning behind them. However, her ridiculous wardrobe does not. I highly doubt that there's any significance to her fiery metallic nipples or the statues she wears on her head. It only keeps her fans wondering what random thing she's going to do next.

    Molly Scott, FOREST HILL, MD.

    What a sad sign of the times that in the profiles of two men who have dedicated their lives to serving the nation (General Stanley McChrystal and Admiral Mike Mullen), the word patriot was not used. Yet it was used in the profiles of two others who have promoted divisiveness while making millions in the process: Sarah Palin (by Ted Nugent) and Glenn Beck (by Palin).

    Michael Lerseth, VALLEJO, CALIF.

    1. Previous Page
    2. 1
    3. 2
    4. 3