Rare Gem

To the Editors:

Your Amy cover [Feb. 7] is beautiful. Don't try to repeat it--you never will. Go on printing the ugly-faced politicians--then Amy will stand out in the year's collection as a rare gem.

(Mrs.) Muriel Andrew Detroit

So TIME has joined the droolers-over-Amy cult. Four years of this--and. saints preserve us, maybe eight?

Merrill M. Willis Knoxville, Tenn.

Didn't you hear Mrs. Carter ask the media to please lay off Amy and let her grow up a normal child? So you put her on the cover. Have you no decency?

William Wyler Beverly Hills, Calif.

If Jeff Carter's Secret Service men wear blue jeans to "blend better into campus life," then what will Amy's Secret Service men wear to her grammar school? Baseball caps and Keds?

Wendy R. Peck Berkeley, Calif.

The New Washington

If Jimmy Carter can eliminate the bureaucratic blunders that have hindered progress and canonized waste, we will truly have what you called "a new Washington" [Feb. 7].

Anthony A. Kafcas Harper Woods, Mich.

Let the new winds blow, Jimmy boy.

Robert Gary Margolis Dallas

I didn't vote for Jimmy Carter, but if I had known that one of his first moves would be to promote "eliminating the testing of all nuclear devices instantly and completely," I would have voted for him without hesitation.

Elizabeth Greison Avalon, Calif.

Since President Carter seems unfamiliar with the laws of human nature, he might learn from the animal world: the wolf is placated by the tiger, not by the hummingbird. What we need now is not arms reduction but a massive arms buildup on our side of such magnitude that the Russians will come to realize they will not succeed in their attempt to rule the world.

Fred S. Mott Cincinnati

Mr. Carter giveth and the Lord taketh away. I know where my $50 rebate is going--right up the chimney. The economy cannot improve much if all the money is going to one place: the fuel companies.

Ralph F. Kocher Appleton, Wis.

Snow, Please

In exchange for our natural gas being piped to the Eastern states [Feb. 7], we in the West urgently request their surplus snow, please.

Ruth T. Wadleigh Homelake, Colo.

Although the bitter cold hasn't affected this area, Oregon, like other Northwestern states, is facing a weather crisis: a lack of rain. A state that is renowned for rain and lush green forests, a state that warns motorists of dry spots in the road, and bicycle riders not to fall off because they might drown, is facing drought. Let's hope that normal weather conditions return soon, so that "the Big Drought" won't be a future cover story.

Ellen Oberhack Portland, Ore.

It disappoints me that even though we Canadians have aided you freezing Americans in such a time of distress, not one iota of coverage has been dedicated to our "deep-freeze." We're cold too, you know!

Beth McAuley Montreal

I want to say "Thank you" to Canadians for their help during the energy crisis. A truly grateful America salutes you.

(Mrs.) Mildred I. Weyhrich McLean, Neb.

The Image of Christ

If Pope Paul and the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [Feb. 7] cannot see the image of Christ in a woman, who was created in God's image and likeness (Genesis 1: 27) and in whom Christ lives by her faith and commitment, then I wonder how they can see Christ anywhere at all.

Marjorie Malley Blue Springs, Mo.

While we're talking about resembling Christ: Did Jesus wear elaborately embroidered gowns of silk and velvet, or jewelry of gold and precious gems; live in a palace filled with servants and priceless art?

Claudia Fregosi Roslindale, Mass.

The Catholic Church is making a mistake when it prevents interested and qualified women from being admitted to the priesthood, especially in view of the decline in the number of men interested in serving the church. I suppose when the church becomes desperate enough over the lack of priests, it will call on us.

Deborah Klein Oshkosh, Wis.

Women should defect en masse. Without women the church could propagate nothing.

Irene Grenier Denver

Opportunity for Kissing

If you're not uptight about catching mononucleosis, the social kiss [Feb. 7] can be an invaluable opportunity.

Tell me one other way I can get away with kissing my sister's husband, girl friend's fiance, boy friend's older brother (not to mention his hot-looking cousin), and ...

Polly White Levittown, N. Y.

Lance Morrow's Essay, "The Great Kissing Epidemic," smacks of some great research fun, although I appreciate its serious commentary on problems of excess. Nonetheless, we have needed some freedom from old Victorian strictures. I submit that Morrow might have paid some tribute to the flower children of the late '60s as partially responsible for the thaw.

(The Rev.) John A. MacDonald San Jose, Calif.

Abused Women

Seeing pictures of abused women, whether advertisements or photo layouts [Feb. 7], excites one overwhelming emotion in me--intense, frustrated anger. I am seized by the urge to abuse someone in return, preferably the people who create such monstrosities and rationalize them in the name of art.

Shaun S. McCrea Eugene, Ore.

It seems sad to me that women have apparently gone from a sex-object role to an abused-object role. Has the influence of violence on the American public been such that we now take down that person who has been on a pedestal and beat her?

Elmas Abinader New York City

Isn't it paradoxical that advertisers must rely on the brutalization of human beings as a means of selling the very goods that are ostensibly designed for the enhancement of human life?

Avice Meehan South Hadley, Mass.

I can only assume that any women involved in creating these advertising campaigns had lovely, peaceful childhoods and never came within hailing distance of an abused woman.

I know of an abused wife whose children were forced to stand by helplessly or huddle cringing in their beds while her husband beat her. They all bear mental scars from it today.

Deborah Brooks Whitestone, N. Y.

Eastern Provincialism?

TIME'S Thomas Griffith in his "Newswatch" [Feb. 7] must be challenged on his assertion that "by common consent, the two best newspapers in America are the New York Times and the Washington Post."

Ignoring today's mature, spirited, no longer provincial Los Angeles Times opens Griffith to a charge of Eastern seaboard provincialism. Griffith's "by common consent" certainly does not include those of us privileged to read and enjoy the finest newspaper in the West, if not the entire country.

Albert W. Bates San Clemente, Calif.

Living in a large city whose two newspapers have sunk to the level of virtual Carter promo sheets, I had almost come to the point of giving up reading a daily newspaper.

I say thank goodness the Times has a new face. It's the closest thing we have to a national newspaper.

Charles E. Herrin Atlanta

The Prinze Tragedy

The death of Freddie Prinze [Feb. 7] has left me greatly saddened. It seems to me that the real tragedy is not the loss of a talented TV star but that of a sensitive young man who felt he had no place in this world.

I can't say for certain, but I would guess that the number of potential Freddies is growing steadily.

Laura Nardozza Dallas

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