Letters: Jun. 15, 1998

PUT YOUR DREAMS AWAY

Your in-depth article was perhaps the most descriptive and interesting piece I have ever read about Frank Sinatra [SHOW BUSINESS, May 25]. His contribution to the world of entertainment was so great because he gave it his “all.” And for that reason, his faults, whatever they may have been in the minds of his listeners, were “nothing at all.” JOE KAZANCHY Deal, N.J.

With his voice Sinatra moved people around the globe. He was able to cut across all national boundaries and color, caste and creed. We should not be ashamed to weep for the man whose music united us in joy. RAJENDRA K. ANEJA Sao Paulo

Even though I am only 16, I am a gigantic Sinatra fan. Some people find it hard to believe that a high school student would listen to someone as “dull and old” as he. That was exactly how I felt until about a year ago, when I discovered the hip coolness that Frank and his Rat Pack buddies displayed in their heyday. When I broke up with my girlfriend a few weeks ago, I went into my room, turned out the lights and listened to In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning…for an entire night. Even with the variety of music around these days, such as alternative, heavy metal and rap, I cannot find any other singer or group that gets to me the way Frank can. JASON TSAI Topeka, Kans.

A classy article remembering a classy guy. Thanks. MICHAEL J. CASTELLANO Guilford, Conn.

I recently listened to a marathon session of Sinatra’s recordings. It was a revelation: hundreds of songs seemed to belong only to him. His diction was crystal clear, no slurring, no swallowing of words. His singing was pure, no pyrotechnics. The focus was on the words. But what really set Sinatra apart was his ability to inhabit a song. When Frank Sinatra sang, you felt he had lived what he was telling you. No other artist so disappears into the lyrics. DIANE DANIELLE Berkeley, Calif.

I will remember Sinatra as an arrogant, offensive bully. He treated the fans who made him with contempt, refusing even to acknowledge them. As the singer and his burly entourage walked through a Honolulu hotel lobby, I saw Sinatra’s bodyguards shove fans aside when they approached. Sinatra’s voice was made of gold. The man behind it was a monster. ALAN L. LIGHT Iowa City, Iowa

With “The Voice” Sinatra was able to convey the one emotion that singers of my generation, and even my parents’ baby-boomer generation, were never able to achieve: the pathos, bittersweet joy, hurt and exhilaration of love. ROBBY BUEGLER Sacramento, Calif.

NUKES…THEY’RE BACK

India needs nuclear weapons like Bill Clinton needs Viagra [ASIA’S CRISIS, May 25]. There are, however, a few other things that India does truly need, like food, water, adequate sanitation and a decent sports bar. The very idea that a nation as poor as India would so desperately want the Bomb is a sign that its national priorities are skewed. Is this how it intends to deal with poverty, overpopulation and disease? PHIL PERRIER Watkinsville, Ga.

India, the world’s largest, thriving, secular democracy, has not done anything illegal in firing off five nuclear explosions. It has only taken one small, first step in pursuing its national interests and security. The concept of taking action, one that was used by the U.S. in invading Panama and Grenada, and in bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki, should be understood and appreciated by the West. I hope that future governments of India will be even bolder and take more definitive steps to safeguard the country’s security. SUNIL KARNIK Dayton, N.J.

As an Indian I have never before felt so proud. The Big Five nuclear countries thought they alone had the right to maintain stocks of nuclear weapons, while others could only shiver in fear. Not so. DHRUBA GHOSH Calcutta

By becoming a member of the nuclear club, India has through its own actions put itself under obligation to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. It can now lead from a position of strength inside the club and persuade other members to save the planet from a nuclear holocaust. India can initiate the disarmament process by destroying some of its nuclear arsenal in the presence of other members of the club. This could galvanize world public opinion for total elimination of atomic weapons. SUDHANGSHU B. KARMAKAR Piscataway, N.J.

It is sheer hypocrisy for countries that openly have nuclear weapons to ask others to stop developing and testing their own arms. Why is there such an outrage when some countries like the U.S. have 12,070 warheads, while others like India have only about 65 warheads? Either the nations of the world should ban nuclear testing entirely or accept the fact that other countries will also use nuclear weapons to attain power. TANVI H. CHHEDA Jericho, N.Y.

THE INTERNET IN SCHOOLS

The E-Rate program supported by Vice President Al Gore strives to provide schools and libraries with affordable access to information technology [NATION, May 25]. In Boston, fewer than 10% of our students have home computers. Schools, libraries and community centers are the only places where students can use computers and access the Internet. Despite the corporate partnerships that aim to provide Internet access, local school systems and libraries are still picking up the vast share of the tab. In Boston, we are proud to have been in a financial situation that has allowed us to invest more than $50 million in technology. Other cities are not so fortunate; should their children be left behind? Instead of throwing about buzz words about taxes, Congress, the Administration and the industry should discuss how to get the job done–and do it. THOMAS M. MENINO, Mayor Boston

The implementation of the Clinton Administration’s vision of universally wired schools and libraries as carried out by the Federal Communications Commission is turning into a nightmare for small businesses and residential consumers, who will, after all, foot the bill for the e-rate program. The FCC has created an unnecessary and costly bureaucracy to administer a seemingly unlimited federal entitlement. While the FCC attempts to hide the true cost of the discounted Internet hookups, the intended beneficiaries of the e-rate program are told to wait to hear if their applications for funding have been approved. This program comes at too high a price. It’s time for Congress to pull the plug on the FCC’s shell game. FAYE M. ANDERSON, President Douglass Policy Institute Washington

Isn’t it just good common sense that children in school first learn A, B, C before they are taught AOL? PATRICK DISANTE Harrisburg, Pa.

TIME’s back-to-back columns by Vice President Gore and computer-science professor David Gelernter gave two extremes of the value of Internet connection for students. Gore says the Internet is essential for education; Gelernter wants kids to learn first, surf later. You should have included a third, more pragmatic stance that articulates how the Internet’s rewards may only be realized when linked to the responsibilities of academic achievement, a program that is run lightly in harness. Gelernter’s worst fears will certainly be realized if school districts make room for computers by throwing out library books and exchanging print-reference material for stacks of CD-ROMS. This is not an unlikely future, but it is one I would just as soon avoid. BURGESS NEEDLE, Librarian Safford Engineering/Technology Magnet Middle School Tucson, Ariz.

Education depends on the inculcation of basic knowledge into young minds. Absent this, all other methods will fail to educate. There is no contest in the two points of view: Gelernter wins the debate hands down. FRANK MEIER Highlands, N.C.

OH, MY POOR GODZILLA!

Where, oh where is my Godzilla? What have they done to him? In the newest movie [CINEMA, May 25], gone are the chubby legs, large round feet and maple-leaf spikes on his spine. Moviemakers have taken away his personality. Remember when he would jump up and down with glee after beating his enemies? He was always there to fight the bad monsters. At the end of one movie, a small boy waved farewell, plaintively calling, “Godzilla. Thanks a lot.” The beast acknowledged him in a silent goodbye. It touched my heart. And in Godzilla 85, when the beast was lured into a volcano, I cried and thought, This cannot be the end of Godzilla! Now Hollywood has created a real monster–a souped-up, emotionless, dinosaur-like killing machine sans the charisma of the original Godzilla. Shame on you, Hollywood! What’s next? A sequel to E.T. with the lovable little alien transformed into a terrifying Alien 3 or a Predator? DONALYN GROSS Springfield, Mass.