Letters

The McVeigh Execution on Hold

"The latest FBI caper is a Keystone Kops fiasco. If the FBI were a business, those responsible would be fired on the spot." PAT OLIVER Boca Raton, Fla.

What is the problem with the FBI? The discovery of missing files and the consequent delay in the execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh [NATION, May 21] are a disgusting injustice to the victims, their families and the American people. Law-enforcement officials have made mistakes resulting in public embarrassment over recent years, but for the highest crime-fighting federal agency to bungle such a crucial case is an atrocity. There is no doubt that McVeigh committed this crime and deserves to die. The information in the newly found files is inconsequential. STEPHANIE ROUSSEL Walker, La.

Botched the big case? No, the FBI solved it. Remember? There were no eyewitnesses; the evidence was just a huge pile of rubble. Somehow the FBI managed to identify and capture the killer. It was one of the greatest accomplishments of police work in history, but you totally ignored this in your story. DAVID GORDON Northboro, Mass.

None of us who oppose the death penalty want McVeigh as our poster boy. But capital punishment is helping him get what he most desires: public attention. If we had simply locked him up and thrown away the key, he wouldn't be back on the cover of TIME. And feeding him prison food for the rest of his life could hardly be more costly than paying for his lawyers to go through still more thousands of pages of documents. CARRIE NIELSEN Stanford, Calif.

Legal analyst Greta Van Susteren praised the Justice Department for coming clean about the FBI's discovery of 3,135 previously overlooked documents concerning the bombing investigation. She applauded Attorney General John Ashcroft's quick action in coming forward and postponing the execution. But instead of commending the FBI's attempts to save its own skin (the documents would have shown up eventually), we should encourage the agency to prove McVeigh wrong in his deep hatred of the Federal Government. The more we let government responsibility slide, the more room we are giving for individuals like McVeigh to rant. JULI SCHERMERHORN Union Springs, N.Y.

You quoted President Bush's statement that McVeigh "is lucky to be in America...a country who will bend over backwards to make sure that his constitutional rights are guaranteed." But in many of the world's developed countries, there is no capital punishment. Unless McVeigh lived in one of the rogue states we in the U.S. deplore, he would not be facing a state-ordered execution! How is he "lucky to be in America"? (THE REV.) JAMES WOOD Bohemia, N.Y.

--Many of you voiced strong objections to TIME's putting McVeigh's face on our cover. "When I pulled the magazine out of the mail, I was outraged and even nauseated," wrote a woman from Dallas. "How much more attention does this killer deserve?" asked an Orange, Calif., woman. "Your cover should have shown his victims' families, with the headline AGONY PROLONGED!" There were other suggestions for the cover, including photos of the 168 bombing victims, the FBI documents or even a blank page. An Arizona man showed special creativity: "Instead of glorifying the poster boy for all the wackos of the world, a better cover would have shown FBI Director Louis Freeh with egg on his face."

When the Evidence Lies

The errors made by Oklahoma City police-department forensic scientist Joyce Gilchrist in analyzing criminal evidence [NATION, May 21] are only the latest in a string of blunders casting doubt on our judicial system. The success of democracy is always measured by the fairness of its legal system. Once people start to mistrust how justice is applied, the infrastructure of democracy begins to erode, and anarchy rears its ugly head. MARCELITO C. BASA Gardnerville, Nev.

Is This a Good Policy?

Your story on Bush's oil-friendly energy policy, which stresses greater production [BUSINESS, May 21], asked the question "How did we get here?" As long as our national energy policy is demand-driven and Americans, forgetting the shortages of the '70s, demand gas-guzzling suvs, we will continue to spin our wheels. Can there be anything more anachronistic in the 21st century than a President raised as an oilman who lives and breathes the dinosaur attitude that fossil fuels, a finite commodity, are still the way to go? JAMES PLATH Bloomington, Ill.

President Bush's energy plan is a forward-thinking strategy that embraces conservation while recognizing that our nation cannot avoid the looming crisis of our dwindling energy supply by simply slipping on a cardigan. Exploring for and developing energy sources in an environment-friendly fashion are crucial for the survival of this nation. I support Bush's efforts to challenge this country to meet its energy needs without sacrificing a standard of living that we have all worked hard to attain. MATTHEW HURN Des Moines, Iowa

The Great Dodge-Ball Debate

I was saddened to read that some schools are banning dodge ball [LIVING, May 21]. Of course, the game is aggressive, but how many gym-class activities are not? And how many sports always include every student? If anything, dodge ball involves more kids because everyone gets to start the game instead of being relegated to the bench before it even begins. I remember that the slowest kid in my class threw the hardest, and he was almost always one of the first picks. He could never have held that distinction if the game were basketball. JAMES GORDON Ottawa

Maybe if children could get out their aggression playing dodge ball, they wouldn't feel the need to shoot their classmates. I'd much rather have a rubber ball flying at me than a bullet! We live in a competitive world filled with challenges and roadblocks, but if we keep taking difficult situations away from our children, they will never know how to deal with them as adults. KIMBERLY BRINK East Brunswick, N.J.

I am 46 years old and still remember with complete clarity being slammed in the side of the head with a heavy rubber dodge ball. I will never forget the excruciating pain in my ear and yet another pair of broken eyeglasses! Not surprisingly, I have had a lifelong aversion to participation in any sport that uses a ball. KATHERINE KETTLE Montclair, N.J.

I was one of those geeky kids who loathed team sports and dreaded physical-education class. I couldn't make a basket or prevent anyone else from scoring, couldn't hit or catch a softball and couldn't even serve a volleyball over the net. I was always the last to be picked for a team. But dodge ball--now there was a game I could play. Take away dodge ball, and the geeks won't have a chance. JANE WONG Berkeley, Calif.

Full-Color Alphabet

Finally we have learned the word--synesthesia--that describes what our adult daughter has been telling us for years: in her mind she sees numbers and letters of the alphabet in various colors [SCIENCE, May 21]. A is green, B is red, lowercase b is pink, 2 is yellow, 3 is green, 9 is orange and yellow. Months of the year also have their individual colors, which she notes each time she turns over a new calendar page. Your article was interesting and intriguing to me as I saw it--in simple black and white. BEVERLY GROSS Plover, Wis.

Go Easy on the Dolphins

It's easy to see why people enjoy swimming with beautiful animals like dolphins [LIVING, May 21]. Humans seek a way to regain some of the intimacy with nature that we have lost. If you need to make contact with dolphins, find an aquatic park that allows them some freedom. Even when they can leave at any time, it seems they always choose to stay. It could be that this freedom is what makes the contact so moving. DAVID S. CHESTERTON Marblehead, Mass.

Owners of marine parks and dolphin shows claim to be educating the public. But about what? Certainly not about a dolphin's natural habitat. It is not natural for a dolphin to swim in circles in a man-made tank, exposed to loud music; shallow, chemically treated water; and humans. It is not natural for a hungry dolphin to play basketball, tail-walk, sing or dance just to get a dead fish. Buying a ticket to see or play with a captive dolphin is what increases the demand for their capture and subsequently their death. And don't get me started about the people who hop on them for a ride around a pool! MARY KRUGER Toluca Lake, Calif.

Your article misrepresented the laws and regulations governing captive dolphins in the U.S. No regulations specific to swim-with programs currently protect the captive dolphins used in these programs. The U.S. no more requires workday limits or sanctuaries for captive swim-with dolphins than does the Dominican Republic, Mexico or any of the world's other worst offenders. The only reason some American swim-with programs provide dolphins with better working conditions is that the U.S. is wealthier, not because it's the law. NAOMI A. ROSE MARINE MAMMAL SCIENTIST Humane Society of the U.S. Washington

R.E.M. Will Never Die

So singer Michael Stipe says his rock group R.E.M. [MUSIC, May 21] can't possibly compete with the band Limp Bizkit or Britney Spears in terms of mass-market popularity? Stipe must have that backward, because those cheesy, minutely talented, built-in-a-corporate-boardroom flavors of the moment are the ones that can't meet the quality of R.E.M. Twenty years from now, R.E.M. will still be remembered as one of the greatest bands in rock-'n'-roll history, while Limp Bizkit and Britney will have long been relegated to "Where Are They Now?" status. ROBERT BEMIS Atlantic City, N.J.