Letters

INVESTIGATING THE PRESIDENT

"When the world needs sex police, we can give Kenneth Starr a call. But until then, he should stay out of our bedrooms." SANDRA A. DUNKELBERGER Harrisburg, Pa.

I am much more concerned about special prosecutor Kenneth Starr's out-of-control investigation than I am about President Bill Clinton's alleged out-of-control libido [SPECIAL REPORT, Feb. 9]. I do not want to live in a country where "friends" are encouraged to rat on their pals, where body wires are used to gather information about someone else's sex life and where FBI agents bully naive people and rummage through their personal belongings. This is the stuff of totalitarian regimes. KAY VINSON Germantown, Tenn.

You do not do justice to the special prosecutor. He has a job to do. Why blame him? Point your finger at the President, not at Starr. OLGA ANASTASIOU Raritan, N.J.

Isn't it time to stop this insanity? The Spanish Inquisition was an example of general-court powers gone awry. Starr is a modern-day Torquemada with unrestricted powers to recklessly punish anyone he judges to be heretical. TOM BYFIELD Minneapolis, Minn.

I seriously doubt President Clinton's judgment. His "problems" are not caused by Starr, a far-right conspiracy or former White House employee Linda Tripp. They are the result of a Chief Executive addled by hubris. The only thing scarier than Clinton's maneuverings is the people who think this scandal is much ado about nothing. CRAIG A. KOLLER Kutztown, Pa.

Starr is less interested in seeing justice done than in trying to bring Clinton down. Starr keeps spreading his net ever wider, but all he has been snaring is red herrings. SID GOLOVIN Torrington, Conn.

No matter whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, you feel ashamed and dirty because of Clinton's antics. He makes us embarrassed to be Americans. He has stripped us of our innocence. CAROLYN HOEKSTRA Battle Creek, Mich.

If Starr succeeds in nailing Clinton, can there be any doubt that prosecutorial revenge will await the next Republican President? I fear the governance of the U.S. will take a backseat to political guerrilla warfare of the nastiest sort. JAY SMITH Lexington, Mass.

I am a Gen X-er who voted for Clinton twice. I am astonished by the boys-will-be-boys attitude expressed by the American public. I expect Clinton to show respect and keep his extracurricular activities out of our White House! KAREN RODGERS MYKLEBY Rio Rancho, N.M.

Let's put Starr in training for the first manned Mars mission and give his job to Monica Lewinsky's attorney, William Ginsburg. HARVEY ENDLER Van Nuys, Calif.

If Starr is nonpartisan, I am the Queen of the Nile. He's on a mission. To him it is irrelevant that the economy is healthy and the majority of Americans are happy with the job performance of their elected President. Starr is acting like Captain Ahab. He should pick up his harpoon and head out to sea. Enough already! I voted for a President, not a husband. CAROL FAUBERT Alpharetta, Ga.

To ignore the charges about President Clinton's behavior would set a precedent that would encourage other powerful men to engage fearlessly in questionable sexual conduct in the workplace. Will we force our President to face the consequences, just as any other man should? These are very serious questions that all of us working women and potential victims of sexual harassment must ask ourselves. BETHANY RIDINGS Philadelphia

I'm reminded of the words of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: "Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful." A prominent plaque bearing this caveat should adorn the halls of Washington as a reminder that insidious power can destroy our great institutions, even the presidency. VICTOR E. DELUCIA Valley Village, Calif.

THOUGHTS FROM ABROAD

As a U.S. citizen long a resident in Europe, I find it impossible to understand what has happened to the cherished American principles of justice and due process of law [SPECIAL REPORT, Feb. 9]. The "independent" counsel has spent several years and $30 million investigating a two-bit real-estate deal and has extended the "investigation" to include the President's private life. Whether you like him or not, Clinton is a U.S. citizen and should be entitled to protection, not persecution, under the law. STERLING DOUGHTY Adliswil, Switzerland

It is very sad that a majority of Americans think Clinton's alleged affair with a young intern isn't important. This scandal has proved that moral standards no longer exist in America. TANIA DUDZIAK London, Ont.

Starr is bringing back a new form of McCarthyism with questions like "Are you now having or have you ever had sex with the President?" LORNE SIDENBERG Toronto

It is totally beyond comprehension that a prosecutor in the land of the free can ask an adult female to testify under oath that she did or did not have a sexual relationship with an adult man, be he the President or anybody else. HANS BOETHIUS Stockholm

Adultery is not a crime in most places, nor is cross-generational intimacy. And suppose someone did lie? People have a right to lie to protect their civil rights from the state when it acts in totalitarian ways. Wouldn't you lie to the Gestapo? I feel more empathy with Clinton than with the hypocrisy of Starr. ALBERTO CIDRAES Kanazawa, Japan

CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Re the First Lady's right-wing-conspiracy theory [SPECIAL REPORT, Feb. 9]: just because you're a little bit paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you. RUDOLPH SCHARSCHMIDT Modesto, Calif.

Your story mentioned that Hillary Clinton served as a House committee lawyer during Watergate and said she is "sounding a bit like Tricky Dick himself." I view Hillary more like Captain Queeg aboard the U.S.S. Caine. You could almost see her rolling those steel balls in her hand as she ranted on TV about the conspiracy. AL SARTOR Walnut Creek, Calif.

I simply cannot agree that the President's plight is the result of a "vast right-wing conspiracy." Given the competence and credibility of all those involved, from Starr to Lewinsky, this conspiracy can only be defined as "half-vast." DAVID ARNOLD West Branch, Iowa

THE STAR CHAMBER IN HISTORY

Your article "Inside Starr and his Operation" [SPECIAL REPORT, Feb. 9] said Starr's critics have taken to calling the grand-jury room "the Starr Chamber." It's interesting to note that a star chamber was a court that existed in Britain from the 15th century until 1641 and exercised wide jurisdiction under rules suited to the purposes of absolutist sovereigns. This court met in secret without a jury, used torture to force confessions and handed down severe judgments. Dictionaries define a star chamber as any tribunal or investigating body that is similarly unjust and inquisitorial. If the star chamber was abolished in 1641, how come it is sitting in Washington today? BONNIE E. SELMER Cornell, Wis.

HOW ARE WE DOING?

Your readers would be better served by the broader coverage that has made TIME the standard bearer for insightful reporting than by so many pages on this scandal [SPECIAL REPORT, Feb. 9]. All of us can obtain gossip from the supermarket tabloids. Forget the sleaze. LEN BLAIR Hermiston, Ore.

If ever there was justification for TIME's weekly format, the coverage of this story is it. After days of rabid TV and newspaper reporting, it was a pleasure to see the situation put into perspective. Keep up the good work! STEVE SANDO San Francisco

Would that Claudia Wallis (founding editor of TIME FOR KIDS) were the editor of TIME FOR ADULTS. It would have saved readers from wading through so many pages on Clinton's problems. ROBERT E. LINDBERG Crystal River, Fla.

CORRECTION

Our story on El Nino incorrectly stated that Michael Glantz was formerly with the National Center for Atmospheric Research [SCIENCE, Feb. 16]. Glantz is still with NCAR as a senior scientist.