LETTERS

O.J. FEELS THE HEAT

"Is America going to try Simpson forever and ever, until he is darn well found guilty by someone, somewhere, sometime?" ALAN D. BROWNLEE Copper Cliff, Ontario

This case sticks in the craw [SOCIETY, Dec. 2]. It isn't because of O.J. Simpson's race. A jury of munchkins decided it was payback time for past injustices. The case won't go away because too many African Americans have turned Simpson into an icon. I'm afraid that race relations have been set back. Affirmative-action programs have been set back. The healing will begin when Simpson wipes the smirk off his face and goes away. PAUL WASSERMAN Northridge, California

You asked, "Will They Believe Him?" A far better question about the Simpson case is, "Who cares?" KAY LYN EVANS Willowdale, Canada

Before the first Simpson trial, I thought race was the major problem in the U.S. Now I realize what it really is: the biggest excuse. I pray that Simpson is forced to answer for his actions in the civil trial and that he can't hide behind tricky lawyers, his charm (now greatly diminished) and the "race card." JOHN SMART Los Angeles

Simpson claims the solution to the murders lies somewhere "in the world of Faye Resnick," yet his own world seems a far more treacherous and sinister one. In the "O.J. world" ex-wives beat themselves up, rassling is a noncontact sport, phone companies keep phony records every cop is a conspirator, all photos are doctored, cuts on the finger cause amnesia, blood has a travel agent and night golf is popular. Yikes! I wonder if agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder from The X-Files know about this place. JOE BOLSTER Los Angeles

By now, most people who have followed the Simpson case at all have formed an opinion. Either they think justice has been served, or, like me, they worry about how the American justice system is evolving and hope there will be at least one good result from this case--an increased focus on preventing domestic violence. Put an end to the madness. STACY YOUNG Baltimore, Maryland Via E-mail

Your comment that "Faced with a big judgment, Simpson could simply declare bankruptcy" contributes to the public's misconception about our bankruptcy laws. Debts for "willful and malicious injury" cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, provided a timely complaint is filed. If the civil jury finds that O.J. Simpson is liable for money damages for killing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, the facts necessary for that type of verdict would also serve to prevent that judgment's discharge in bankruptcy. While nothing prevents Simpson from simply filing for bankruptcy, his legal bills are the only thing likely to be discharged by such a proceeding. JOHN P. GUSTAFSON, Attorney Oregon, Ohio

DEATH OF A BABY

Baby boy Grossberg was not the only victim in the affair of Amy Grossberg and Brian Peterson Jr. [SOCIETY, Dec. 2]. The two young parents were victims as well. We can speculate about what was going through their minds and how the two 18-year-olds let their newborn child die. However, this tragedy does not lessen the fact that society failed them in a major way. For some reason these two college freshmen from affluent backgrounds felt that they had no one to turn to--not their parents, their friends, professors or counselors. This tragedy should remind us of the fragile state of all American youth. Instead of offering condemnation, we must increase societal support for our young people. EMILY LORISO Ithaca, New York

It is amazing to read the statements of journalists deploring and philosophizing about the death of the Grossberg-Peterson baby. If these writers had been consistent in their views, they would simply report that the couple exercised their constitutional right of choice. After all, if the couple had paid a doctor to perform a partial-birth abortion shortly before the baby was born, that would have been legal and the press would have supported their actions. One wonders why this fact is not mentioned. Why is a culture that aggrandizes self so surprised every time selfishness hits the headlines? These amoral teenagers are what our culture has made them. JEAN HARMON Silver Spring, Maryland

ASSESSING THE FIRST LADY

In "Reinventing Hillary" [NATION, Dec. 2], Eric Pooley quotes Hillary Clinton as saying, "In our country we expect so much from the woman who is married to the President--but we don't really know what it is we expect." That is Hillary's problem. She doesn't know that Americans expect the First Lady to be a woman of integrity, a woman who makes the American people aware of problems that need fixing, but not a woman who is so arrogant that she will lie. We do not want a First Lady who tries to force her liberal ideas on the country or who says those who disagree with her ideas are afraid of a strong woman. EDWARD M. JOHNSON Charlotte, North Carolina

Pooley wrote that Hillary Clinton alienated many Americans "because she seemed not to realize that the citizenry expects its powerful leaders, male and female, to show the humility befitting those whose authority is merely on loan." I have never heard that requirement of powerful men. Do we ask humility of Newt Gingrich? Teddy Kennedy? And why should she be humble? The Hillary Clinton I know (we were college classmates) is an amazing blend of intelligence, charm, ambition, energy and thoughtfulness. How sad that we have made her feel as if she should put a bag over her head and hide who she really is. KATHLEEN SMITH RUCKMAN Chevy Chase, Maryland

THE SPYING GOES ON

The possibility that Harold J. Nicholson spied for the Russians while working for the Central Intelligence Agency [NATION, Dec. 2] only re-emphasizes the continuing folly of the CIA. In my 63 years, I cannot recall one instance in which this spy foolishness has proved to be of measurable benefit to the U.S. Want to seriously cut the budget? Then abolish the agency. The world's free press is far more accurate and timely. DICK CATLIN Woodstock, Vermont

Why are we shocked by U.S. agents' conspiring with the Russians when in fact the CIA tries to lure Russian agents in exactly the same way? FATIH MEHTAP Kyrenia, Cyprus

PLACING THE BLAME, REGARDLESS

I just finished reading Mark Thompson's report on the crash of the F-15 in Germany and the U.S. Air Force's decision to court-martial Technical Sergeants Thomas Mueller and William Campbell, both mechanics, for the death of pilot Major Donald Lowry Jr. [NATION, Dec. 2]. It is truly incredible that the Air Force pursued these two men, when in essence it was the Air Force itself that took no steps to fix the flight-control rods so they could not be misconnected and to warn mechanics of the problem. This was a double tragedy; the suicide of Mueller and the death of Lowry could easily have been prevented by the Air Force. RICHARD L. MULLINS JR. Auburn, Alabama

I am the uncle of F-15 pilot Donald Lowry Jr., and as you indicated, the Lowry family never felt that mechanic Mueller should have been prosecuted. The accident was an error that happened only as a result of the negligence of the Air Force brass in notifying the guys on the line of the potential ease of cross-connecting the F-15's flight-control rods. It is the family's impression that the officers who ran the shop either did not inform the mechanics of the problem or at the very least did not verify that their work was done correctly. The higher-ups wanted a scapegoat, and naturally the "little guy" was the easiest prey. Mueller's suicide only adds to the profound sorrow we feel over an accident that should never have happened. DAVID R. LOWRY Wellesley, Massachusetts

GENDER MIXING IN THE MILITARY

A serious problem deserves to be treated as such. Barbara Ehrenreich's piece [ESSAY, Dec. 2], suggesting that the U.S. shift to an "all-female military," was full of holes! The individual occurrences of sexual harassment, as awful as they are, do not represent a prevailing trend. I ask you, an all-woman military? Who would protect whom? The women joining an all-female army would probably hate men enough to obliterate them. I do understand that Ehrenreich intended to be amusing, but such fun at the expense of the majority of perfectly good soldiers of all stripes is definitely not appropriate. URSULA BRAUN Munich, Germany

Concerning Ehrenreich's solution, some might call it radical. I think not. It's time we gave women a shot. So I say, Out with the men, and enlist the women. JAMES INESO Boston

OF ROADSTERS AND RACING

The return of roadsters and the introduction of newly designed models [BUSINESS, Dec. 2] are welcome to us aficionados, some of whom remember the '50s and '60s. But you should brush up on your automobilia. You said, "The carmakers will revert to the national racing colors for their flagship images: silver for Germany, white for Italy, red for Britain." You got only one of three national auto-racing colors right, Germany's, which is indeed silver. But Britain's is green, not red, and Italy's is red, not white. DONALD L. STURGEON Wilmington, Delaware

There was a glaring omission in your article on roadsters: the Miata. Introduced in 1989, it led the resurgence of the roadster. The Japanese, with the aid of a brilliant group of American designers, gave us back a true European-style sports car, the Miata, with one important extra: dependability. JEFF JURY, Founder Delaware Valley Miata Club Cherry Hill, New Jersey

ANOTHER TITANIC CASUALTY

Your article on the new film Titanic, the planned Broadway musical and other spin-offs included a picture of me on the set of the TV mini-series Titanic [SHOW BUSINESS, Nov. 25]. I liked the photo. I had a life jacket and a dog, but no name. Did my caption capsize? I have a sinking feeling it did. EVA MARIE SAINT Los Angeles

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

I was intrigued by your report on research into staying youthful and the possibilities of a vastly expanded life-span [MEDICINE, Nov. 25], but I can see a day coming when, if methods for preserving youth do become practical, they will be the exclusive domain of the megarich and powerful. A few lucky people will be given a chance to live more than one century, but the rest of us will experience, I fear, little or no benefit. I'd love to be proved wrong, but "health equals wealth" certainly seems to be the trend in America just now. DARRELL LELAND Albuquerque, New Mexico Via E-mail

The fundamental idea driving cryonics, the freezing of the body referred to in your report, comes from the observation that frozen tissue will remain unchanged, literally, for thousands of years. When today's doctors declare you "dead," they have basically decided that you suffer from an incurable condition, one that no future medicine will ever be able to reverse. But what about the things medicine will be able to do in the future? Cryonics is for those illnesses we don't yet know how to cure. Cryonics is available now if you want it. THOMAS DONALDSON Half Moon Bay, California Via E-mail

I would much prefer staying healthy to a ripe old age than staying forever young. If science succeeds in its search to keep us youthful, at what age do we stop growing old? And wouldn't it be embarrassing to find ourselves married to our great-grandmother's bridesmaid or, worse yet, her mother-in-law? Let the search end now. Grow old gracefully. GENE RATNER Carson City, Nevada Via E-mail