Reagan Runs

To the Editors:

In your coverage of President Reagan's decision to run again [Feb. 6], you say that Reagan "is remarkably disengaged from the substance of his job." You miss the point. The President makes it his business to influence the broad course of events and conserves his time and energy for that purpose. He is clear on the direction he wants to take and has the endurance to stay the course.

Dave Moffatt Lutsen, Minn.

If Ronald Reagan is reelected, he will not have to respond to the desires of the voters, since he cannot run for a third term. The thought of an unbridled Reagan terrifies me.

Peter Einwechter Lafayette, Colo.

By pitching for school prayer, Reagan accepts the odds that a majority of the prayers could be "Good Lord, don't let that man be President again!"

John Waite St. Croix, V.I.

Everyone needs to feel confident about his future. A smile, a joke, a relaxed appearance make others feel better when things are not going right. Reagan gives us these nonmaterial things.

Arthur Phelps Los Angeles

Reagan is apparently comfortable in front of the camera, but it takes more than smiles to solve the huge deficit, reverse foreign policy and provide a respectable living for those who are hungry and homeless in this country.

Mohamed Abdi Waare Bloomington, Ind.

President Reagan is a likable man. On television he comes across as friendly and concerned. But his love for the poor is limited by his desire to "keep Government off the backs of the people." For some Americans, his spending cuts take the shirts off their backs.

John Helmeke Le Sueur, Minn.

The country may get what it has lacked since the days of Ike and F.D.R.: eight years of continuity in Government.

Brent A. Curry Scottsdale, Ariz.

Equal Pay

The argument against implementing a system of equal pay for jobs of comparable worth [Feb. 6] because such a system would be prohibitively expensive reinforces the position of those in favor of such a measure. Your article states that raising the wage scales of jobs traditionally held by women to eliminate disparities in the earnings of men and women would cost some $320 billion in added annual wages and increase inflation 10%. These figures show the inequities women continue to face. They also show why comparable worth is the issue of the '80s. not only for women but for all society.

Beth Wray

National Federation of Business and

Professional Women

Aberdeen, S. Dak.

Would women have integrated the coal mines and the construction sites if they were interested only in equal pay? The feminist goal is a balanced work force, not a "separate but equal" one.

Bruce Munson Madison, Wis.

If we are going to have jobs rated on "comparable worth," where would you place a rock singer as compared with a teacher? Should teachers receive the millions that our entertainers get? Or would the stars be paid teachers' salaries?

Roanne Shamsky Solana Beach, Calif.

Men work harder and longer hours than women on the average, and they work outside in all kinds of weather. If women want more money, let them work on the jobs that pay more.

Joe Allen High wood, III.

I cannot imagine anything so destructive as a bureaucracy for determining the comparable worth of dissimilar jobs, like comparing a secretary with a truck driver. Why not let the proven method of supply and demand govern the worth of a job?

Warren Pegram Kernersville, N.C.

Europe's Racism

It breaks my heart to read about the plight of immigrants in Europe [Feb. 6]. Asians and Africans have slaved for centuries to build an affluent society. But all these people get in return for their labors is curses and scorn.

Harry Sharma Long Beach, Calif.

Europeans have long looked down their well-bred noses in disgust at America and its minority problem. Now they can look inward to search for the solution. Loretta T. Scheffer Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

Europeans emigrated to many parts of the world. In turn, Europe should expect to receive immigrants.

Leo E. Kelly Jr. Marquette, Mich.

Swiss Ms.

Lilian Uchtenhagen was refused a seat on the Swiss Federal Council not because she was a woman but in spite of it [Feb. 6]. For the conservatives in the Swiss Parliament, she was too much of a leftist socialist. They preferred a more moderate candidate, who happened to be male. The fact that Uchtenhagen is female made it more difficult for the conservatives to vote against her.

Juerg Steiner Chapel Hill, N.C.

Swiss women would like a woman in the government. So would many men, but Lilian Uchtenhagen? No, thank you.

Sandra Buergin Diel, Switzerland

The time is right in Switzerland for a woman to join the Federal Council, but not Uchtenhagen. She was the victim not of male resistance but of her party's politics and her chilly personality. The silent majority of Swiss women and men are patient and will wait for another woman.

Elisabeth Sauter-Frey Zurich

An Idealist's Death

The violent death of Malcolm Kerr, president of the American University of Beirut [Jan. 30], is yet another source of despair for the Lebanese. Kerr was an idealist who shared with the Lebanese people the hope that Lebanon would remain the intellectual powerhouse of the Middle East. Terrorists' bullets have shattered that hope.

May Abu Shakra Riyadh

As a Palestinian and former student of Malcolm Kerr's, I often disagreed with him. Yet he was always willing to hear about the Palestinian problem and to be objective. Very few American intellectuals understood the Middle East dilemma as well as Kerr did.

Fowzi E. Farah Safat, Kuwait

Beta's Success

In your story "Max Troubles for Betamax [Jan. 16], you stated that NEC was no longer planning to build Beta VCR equipment. On the contrary, NEC has only recently entered the VCR market in the U.S. and has been highly successful with its initial Beta product, with new models scheduled for introduction in 1984. NEC is also adding VHS to its VCR line as part of its policy of offering the broadest possible product selection.

Gerald A. Tangney, General Manager Video Products Division NEC Home Electronics (U.S.A.) Inc. Elk Grove Village, III.

In reporting on the troubles that Japan's Sony Corp. is encountering, TIME stated that companies such as Toshiba and NEC have abandoned Sony's Beta videotape sys tem in favor of the VHS method developed by Sony's archrival Matsushita. This is not true. Toshiba and NEC are continuing to offer the Beta format to their customers. TIME regrets the error.

Puppy Love The tail about Iceland's poor dogs [Feb. 6] was enough to incur my wrath. It you want to terrier hair out, if you mutts know.

Gordon R. Larson Virginia Beach, Va.

Your story about the dogs of Reykjavik has given me a new leash on life.

Tom Alpaugh Pennington, N.J.

Helping Drunken Drivers As an attorney, I feel a response is required to those who wrote letters criticizing lawyers who defend drunken drivers [Feb. 6]. It is sad that many people feel compelled to crusade against one group or another and then to use that forum to chastise attorneys. If we disregard the right to a defense of a group that is held in disfavor, then the protection of the law will potentially be unavailable to all of us.

Christopher Benevent Martinez, Calif.

Your story [Jan. 16] and letter writer both missed the point about my defense of people accused of drunken driving. All my clients are referred to a certified alcohol counselor, who prescribes a treatment program that I make sure they follow. You cannot execute these poor souls. Meeting a good lawyer forces drunken drivers to face and finally deal with their alcohol problem.

Robin Picker Bethesda, Md.

For the Record

I gave you wrong information, which led to an inaccuracy in the story "The Billion-Dollar Boys" [Jan. 9]. I told your reporter that the Monsanto pension fund had terminated Alliance Capital as an investment manager after only a very short period of poor investment performance. That is not true. Rather, we managed funds of Monsanto from 1968 to 1973 and created a poor longer-term record of investment results. I wish this were not so, but I am afraid it is.

Dave Williams, Chairman Alliance Capital Management Corp.

New York City

Obfuscating Lingo

In your Essay "Journalese as a Tongue," the language used by [Feb. 6], you apparently forgot to mention "marathon bargaining session." Not one labor dispute is ever settled without such a meeting, which, of course, "narrowly averts a walkout."

Joe J. Roby Jr.

Duluth

My favorite is "marital woes."

Robert Young Deerfield, III

After reading the Middle East news for the past six years, I have come to believe that former Israeli Prime Minister Begin's first name is "Intransigent."

Rabbi Stephen Listfield Washington

Ships do not sail, they ply the waters. Hookers do not sell, they ply their trade. Airplanes do not fall, they plummet.

Charles H. Lowry Garden Grove, Calif.

How about "spry," which means old?

Mary Lou Hunt Cincinnati

Must fires always race, then gut?

Ron Taylor Houston

An unshaven vagrant is grubby; an unshaven Tom Selleck is rugged.

John Beltrami Ozone Park, N. Y.

Mechanical Stars In your story on machines as the new stars of prime-time television [Jan. 23], you state that "helicopters, cars and computers dominate" Magnum, P.I. As any one who watches our program can tell you, the show is about people.

Tom Selleck Honolulu