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In the Telecommunications Act of 1996 [NATION, May 25], Congress wisely recognized that we must bring telecommunications technology via the Internet to our nation's schools and libraries. This effort is critical to ensuring that low-income Americans and those in rural areas gain access to the tools they need to compete in our information-age economy. Bringing technology to all Americans is the key to our future as a global competitor. We simply cannot stand by and allow our schoolchildren to be bypassed by the information highway. Discounts for schools and libraries mean education today and jobs tomorrow. It's an investment we must make. WILLIAM E. KENNARD, Chairman Federal Communications Commission Washington
FLY ME TO THE MOON--ON TWA
In his commentary on Disney's tomorrowland [SPECTATOR, May 25], Bruce Handy recalled Walt Disney's vision of a TWA rocket to the moon and said that even if TWA did fly to the moon, no one would go because the service wouldn't be very good. Handy obviously hasn't flown TWA lately. In May we won the J.D. Power & Associates award as the No. 1 domestic airline for customer satisfaction for flights over 500 miles. This isn't just an industry-insider accolade; it comes from our regular customers. We're sure that anyone who wants to take the longest flight of all--to the moon--would welcome flying TWA. DON CASEY Executive Vice President, Marketing Trans World Airlines St. Louis, Mo.
THE PRESS AND CANCER
Through an editing error, the letter below was printed in an abbreviated form [LETTERS, June 8]. To convey the writer's viewpoint precisely, we are publishing the original letter in full.
Although I work for the New York Times, I'm writing you as a cancer patient undergoing treatment. You maligned science reporter Gina Kolata's Times article on new cancer drugs for creating "false hopes" in patients most in need of a breakthrough [SPECIAL REPORT: CURING CANCER, May 18]. Not only does your own follow-up reporting belie that charge (clearly there is sufficient new hope to call for a TIME cover story), but if you interview enough cancer patients, you'll find that hope is its own drug, false or not. Are you implying that cancer patients would rather not know about such progress and live in a world where doctors can disclose promising research on their own timetable? Those days are over, thank God, and the reaction to Ms. Kolata's article proves it. I would assume that the response--what you call hype--will pressure drug companies and researchers to compete, get faster results from the FDA and encourage funding. It seems the false hopes that were most dashed were those of TIME's journalists who didn't get the story first. AMY M. SPINDLER New York City
BURYING THE PAST
Peace in Northern Ireland [WORLD, June 1]? I'll believe it when I see it. Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, may have changed his tune, but others have not. Ask me 30 years from now whether this was a watershed or just another "Sinn Feint." FLASH FIASCO Mannheim, Germany
HABIBIE TAKES CHARGE