LETTERS
THE GIANNI VERSACE MURDER
No one deserves to die the way designer Gianni Versace did [NATION, July 28], especially not a genius who has brought beauty and color to this world. How many people contribute such unabashed generosity and elegance? Versace transformed fashion into a celebration of our existence. Although I did not own any of his magical creations, I admired his talent in presenting beautiful, timeless works for us to appreciate. Through his exuberance, passion and artistry, Versace left his indelible mark on the world. DIVYA MIRZA Waltham, Mass.
We all keep asking what motivated Andrew Cunanan to kill. He may have been reacting to society's negative concept of homosexuality. Some gays channel their reaction to alienation into hard work, but others may manifest a grave pathology. Our competitive society produces heroes, but it also brings down many who become disillusioned with their lives. What happened to Versace in Miami Beach, Fla., was a tragedy, and society does bear some of the responsibility, since it played a part in the creation of Versace and Cunanan. STEPHEN P. TITUS New York City
The death of Gianni Versace has robbed us of a creative and compassionate individual. He earned respect all over the world. However, I am still perplexed as to why it took so long for the fbi and others to take Cunanan seriously. This man had killed before. Did it take the blood of a celebrity for the law to become more active? I know the Constitution says all people are equal, but it seems that some are more equal than others. MUTHONI GIKONYO WAYNE, Pa.
Other publications may have plastered Cunanan's terrifying face on their cover, giving him the attention he so obviously desired, but you chose to pay tribute to Versace, a great artist. Thanks for focusing on the victim. BROCK WOJTALEWICZ Custer, Wis.
I was annoyed but not surprised that you ran a picture of Versace on your cover. The better thing would have been to show Cunanan's other victims. Once again the media sent the message that if you have money, your life is valued more than if you are a working-class person. ROBIN LUEDDEKE Kenilworth, N.J.
As a person who loves beautiful clothes, I was stunned by the murder of Versace. My heart aches for his family. The one dinner dress I own that never fails to elicit compliments from women and men alike is a Versace. Bravo, Gianni! Now you'll be gowning the angels. PATRICIA DE CORDOVA Acapulco, Mexico
MADONNA'S TRIBUTE
Madonna gave a moving and sincere tribute [NATION, July 28] to a man who fully enjoyed life and the people around him. Her words were not the usual celebrity comments about a lost superstar but rather the heartfelt reflections of someone who has lost a dear friend. ED DUBEAU Mechanicsburg, Pa.
I read about Madonna's dog (being walked by Italian bodyguards), Madonna's daughter (with blue-polished toenails), Madonna's dog (needing a manicure), Madonna's terminally ill friend, Madonna's yoga instructor. Please advise: Was this the Versace tribute? REBECCA MELUCH Westlake, Ohio
NO LINK TO DONATIONS
Your story "Connect The Dots" [NATION, July 28] attempted to link several donations to the Democratic Party with separate meetings that Vice President Al Gore and I, as his chief of staff, had back in 1993. But you offered no basis whatsoever for any such linkage and no support for the central assertion that these incidents presented "compelling connections between foreign cash and official favors in Washington." The powerful but baseless accusation in your story is that I met with John Huang and others, and that Vice President Gore then met with a large group of Asian Americans because they made political donations. This is not accurate. There is simply no basis for the conclusions that you drew. JACK QUINN Washington
MIR ON A SHOESTRING
I was stunned by the crass reference to the Russian space station Mir as a "Rube Goldberg contraption" [NOTEBOOK, July 28]. Mir was built and has operated on a virtual shoestring for more than twice as long as intended by its original design specifications. While it is not sophisticated by U.S. standards, it has made valuable contributions to the body of scientific knowledge. By comparison, America's aerospace program has been historically bloated, redundant and rife with its own spectacular failures, including the Hubble Space Telescope, Apollo 13, failed Vanguard launches and, yes, the unfortunate deaths in the Challenger disaster. I applaud the joint space effort. There is no need for a space race among nations, but there is a need for an international effort to build a path into space that is safe and cost-effective and returns a broad benefit to mankind. Let us not belittle that with superficial phrases. JIM MATHERLY Bay City, Mich.
IN THE LYME LIGHT
Your article "Tick, Tick, Tick" stated that most of the time doctors know how to diagnose and cure Lyme disease [HEALTH, July 28]. I challenge that. In many states throughout the U.S., doctors not only don't know how to diagnose Lyme disease, they refuse even to consider it a possible cause of severe illness among their patients. As a result, Lyme has become one of the most seriously underdiagnosed diseases in this country. Lyme victims have gone undiagnosed and untreated for years, leading to chronic, debilitating and sometimes deadly consequences. What is needed is much better information about this very serious disease. RENEE THALER Northbrook, Ill.
As I write from the trenches, the war against Lyme disease goes on. The battles are many, victories few. Lyme disease victims are the lepers of the 20th century. Those who are not infected want the victims to be banished to their own little colonies, out of sight, out of mind. It is time for the victims to get out of the trenches and let politicians, doctors, scientists and insurance companies know they have a right to be treated--with antibiotics if necessary and certainly with dignity. PAT SMITH, President Lyme Disease Association of New Jersey Jackson, N.J.
The statistics that show an "all-time high" of cases of Lyme disease in the U.S. represent only a tiny fraction of actual cases. Rather than the 16,000 cases your chart showed, there are more than half a million, and perhaps even as many as 2 million Americans who are infected with the disease, but not all of them are aware of it. Millions more may go to their death never knowing their lives were shattered by Lyme disease, misdiagnosed as one of the illnesses that Lyme mimics and camouflages itself as. Lyme disease ranks as one of the fastest-growing infectious diseases in the U.S. DOUGLAS SUTHERLAND DODGE Guilford, Conn.
EVEN IN THE BEST OF TIMES
Your article on whether this is the the best U.S. economy ever [BUSINESS, July 28] was interesting, but history has not been kind to the view that the stock-market Crash of October 1929 ended the Roaring Twenties. The National Bureau of Economic Research, the organization that dates the business cycles for the U.S., places the beginning of the downturn in August 1929, some two months before the Crash. And in October 1987 the U.S. experienced a stock-market crash similar in magnitude to 1929's, with no immediate economic downturn. Indeed, the economy's expansion continued until July 1990. Many economists now blame the Federal Reserve and its actions for the 1929 downturn and the subsequent Great Depression. GAIL E. MAKINEN Arlington, Va.
GOING FOR GOLD
In your item on the decline in the price of gold [BUSINESS, July 28], only part of my statement on investing in gold was reported. As a result, my position might be misunderstood. My complete statement was, "If the return on gold (price increase plus loan fee) is not the same as the return on other investments, there's no point to holding it." DALE HENDERSON, Associate Director Federal Reserve Board Washington
NO MORE FIVE-AND-DIMES?
The F.W. Woolworth stores, America's icons, are closing [BUSINESS, July 28]? Oh, no! So many memories for me and my family. Great Aunt Cora introduced me to Woolworth's in Los Angeles when I was four. Thereafter, Woolworth's, except for the demands of the ice-cream truck, captured my weekly allowance. Christmas shopping was a magnificent, looked-forward-to event, carefully planned and executed at Woolworth's every Christmastime throughout my childhood. Mine were always the best presents--or so I thought. Then, just last year, my daughter told me that she had gone to Woolworth's for the lipsticks and perfume, jewelry and other adornments that so entice the teenage heart. Thanks for the memories, Woolworth's. Truly, an era has ended. JENNY HOUSTON Fairfax, Calif.