Quotes of the Day

Ramesh Ponnuru makes many valid points in his analysis of the abject failure of the Republican Party in the 2008 elections [Dec. 1]. Yet I would like to suggest an extremely obvious reason: the abysmal record of the Bush Administration. With George W. Bush gone, Republicans will return, after a period of reflection, as a viable force in the U.S. In the meantime, Barack Obama has a great deal of work to do to repair the damage done by our worst President.
Bill Gottdenker, MOUNTAINSIDE, N.J., U.S.

Ponnuru suggests that dejected Republicans can revitalize their party by paying attention to the middle class, addressing global warming, making health care affordable and promoting assimilation rather than xenophobia. He proposes, in other words, that Republicans become Democrats or at least move to the center, with an eye toward the 2012 elections. I think the GOP should shoot for 2020. It will take at least that long, probably longer, for Americans to forget the miserable incompetence of the past eight years.
Tom Davis, SEATTLE

Ponnuru's party has been repudiated because Americans have finally realized that Republicans have long gone out of their way to take money from the poor and give it to the rich through tax breaks, deregulation and Executive Orders. Some Republicans shouldn't be worried about reforming the party; they should be worried about staying out of jail.
Guy Falcone, REDWOOD CITY, CALIF., U.S.

The arrogance, narrow nationalism and bullying unilateralism of the Bush Administration is symbolized by the U.S. flag that neocon leaders display in their buttonholes. Colin Powell (although not a neocon) felt obliged, as Secretary of State, to follow suit. It's a matter of regret that Obama, as presidential candidate, felt that he had to prove his patriotism by doing likewise. Obama, for many Europeans and maybe most non-Americans, symbolizes hope for the future. I was privileged to be a resident research fellow at Union Theological Seminary, New York City, during the presidential election of November 1960, when Kennedy narrowly defeated Nixon. This was, we felt, the beginning of a new age. Many people have a similar feeling today. Please, Mr. Obama, demonstrate your distance from the discredited neocon gang by abandoning this symbol of nationalistic unilateralism.
Alaisdair Raynham, TRURO, ENGLAND

Spending Where It Counts
Sol Kerzner is reported as having spent some $20 million on an extravaganza to open his Atlantis resort in Dubai, to which he invited the very rich and famous [Dec. 1]. Yet in his own home town of Johannesburg where, as in the rest of South Africa, over half the population is under 25 and many are AIDS orphans, this generation — and the next — faces widespread unemployment, a struggle for education in derelict and under-resourced schools, and homelessness in an environment riddled with crime. The challenge goes out to Kerzner to put an equivalent $20 million into funds such as the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and other youth development projects. South Africa has been very good to you and for you, Sol. Now it's payback time.
Brent Record, VANDERBIJLPARK, SOUTH AFRICA

Dude, Don't Knock the Book
I have been dreading the release of the film Twilight [Dec. 1]. I felt certain that any movie version of the book would be hokey, and TIME's review of the film confirmed my fears. I take exception, though, to Richard Corliss's apparent condemnation of the source material. I have been reading fantasy and science fiction for more than two decades. Stephenie Meyer's best-selling series (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn) is captivating and original, with an audience that goes far beyond pubescent girls. It would be unfortunate if those who have not yet read the books were discouraged from doing so by a poor movie adaptation.
Bree Urban, SEATTLE

Is New Energy a Breeze?
I thought I had come to a typo in your article "Got Wind?" when I read about the Michigander who spent $16,000 to get a wind turbine that "can generate 1.5 kilowatts ... enough to power the average light bulb for 15 hours" [Dec. 1]. And that, he admits, is on a day with "decent wind." A few nuclear plants can power more light bulbs than that, and you don't have to sit around waiting for a breeze. Americans need to look at how France is getting nearly 80% of its electricity.
Stephanie Gutmann, PIERMONT, N.Y., U.S.

German Opinion
There he is again, and again he is wrong, poor old Josef Joffe — unfortunately representing Germany in "A Watching World" [Nov. 17]. Years ago he considered himself to be the only German intelligent enough to explain the necessity of the Iraq war to the incredulous rest of the country. Nice to see he has overcome the embarrassment and feels strong enough to get it all wrong about Europe's "swooning" response to, and expectations of, Obama. Obama's Western European supporters deserved a more empathetic article than Joffe's complacent little outcry.
Josef Werker, KREFELD, GERMANY

Holy Relics?
Your "letter box" article mentions an ongoing effort to prove the existence of Jesus [Nov 24]. But the issue of whether Jesus was a real person has rarely been seriously challenged in modern times; instead what has been in constant debate is whether what we "know" about him from the Scriptures bears much resemblance to the truth, or whether the New Testament story is mostly a fabrication created by the early Church. Believers' fascination with relics might make for an interesting study in human nature, but — another discovery of Dead Sea Scrolls significance excepted — relics cannot shed much light on whether we can put any trust in the truth of the New Testament. It seems to me that the great vehemence with which the Vatican attacked Dan Brown's fictional work The DaVinci Code was not because of concern about his story, but because the idea behind it illuminated, with exceptional clarity, the very real possibility that, whatever the truth may be, it may not be what we have been told by the Roman Catholic Church. And this is hardly a minor issue, since the New Testament is the entire basis for all major branches of present-day Christianity.
Gerald Andrews, IBIZA, SPAIN

Do or Die in Detroit
With an entire region depending on the automobile industry, it is almost impossible for politicians to vote against another financial bailout [Nov. 24]. There is just too much at stake. Yet this is a crucial moment for car manufacturing, and governments have to ensure that auto giants like GM are aware they have to radically change their ways. Carmakers must be obliged to commit to developing greener technology, while U.S. carmakers in general have to finally realize that the big cars they have been building for decades are no longer what people want.
Sebastian Sommer, GREUSSENHEIM, GERMANY

We all know the many advantages that unions have obtained for their members through the years. Now is the moment for them to show real leadership and work with the car industry to help get through the present situation. Of course, no one wants to give up a benefit, but why should the American workers who do not have such generous benefits be expected to pay for yours? If you do not work together, the automotive industries of today may follow the many other businesses that went down because of a lack of understanding and cooperation on the part of unions. Which is better — a little less, or no job?
Richard Hugh Fisk, SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL

Will someone please write an article exposing the unions that are the cause of so much of the problem in the auto industry? The unions started out as a way to stop exploitation and now have become the exploiter.
Ken Katz, DAVIE, FLA., U.S.

Why don't the greedy automakers quit crying wolf and lower interest rates? Why let credit-card companies have such high interest rates, too? Crack down on all the offers. We own our house and all our vehicles outright because we had to manage our money.
David Leatherman, OTHELLO, WASH., U.S.

Predicting Trouble
Thailand's largest airline ran a prescient advertisement in your Nov. 10 issue proclaiming it was "The airline that captures the hearts of the world's travelers." Apparently the People's Alliance for Democracy in Bangkok [Briefing, Dec. 8] considered this an option, organizing the peaceful siege of both city airports, resulting in chaos for 90,000 business travelers, tourists, visitors, staff and Haj pilgrims in transit — although I imagine the timing was coincidental.
Thomas David Jent, EVIAN LES BAINS, FRANCE

Hard Times
The financial crisis is man-made [Oct. 13], but it looks as though nobody is responsible.
Valery Levinson, KARMIEL, ISRAEL

The U.S. justice department would do well to remember that what goes around, comes around. The witch hunt against UBS and Credit Suisse in the present economic climate will surely come back to haunt said Justice Department. America, like Germany, should stop whining and sort out its own taxation system so that citizens are not tempted into tax avoidance. Surely, the practice of some of the biggest U.S. banks of selling junk papers to unsuspecting clients, many of whom are pensioners, is far more despicable. The U.S. authorities must be aware that European investors who have been cheated in this fashion might just return the favor by starting class-action suits against these banks. Then what?
Peter Roost, BUERON, SWITZERLAND

First or Third World?
In reply to Frederick C. Roberts' letter [Dec. 1], it should be noted that status as a First World country depends not only on the economy but also on infrastructure. Since 1994 the level of health care, education, service delivery, roads and electricity has plummeted dramatically in South Africa, thus reducing us to a Third World country. If this is anything to do with the ruling party's skin color, America's infrastructure should ensure that it remains a First World country, notwithstanding the fact that its President-elect is African American.
Vivienne Lloyd, GERMISTON, SOUTH AFRICA

• Spending Where It Counts; Dude, Don't Knock the Book; Is New Energy a Breeze?