Letters

The Strip Is Back!

The sin and foolishness that pass for fun in Las Vegas should make us stop and wonder where we are going as a nation. PATRICIA DEE Glennie, Mich.

I was very disappointed that "The Strip is Back!" depicted Las Vegas as a sexy, sinful playground for adults [July 26]. I have been to the city on many occasions with my husband and young children. Las Vegas is an elegant and entertaining city of great hotels and restaurants, wonderful shows and child-friendly arcades. But the pictures of strip clubs in your story were off-putting. You even made the Mandalay Bay's casino look seedy and cheap. What did you intend to do, keep middle-class people from visiting? MONICA STEVENS Farmington, Mich.

TIME captured one side of life in Las Vegas in vivid detail: lots of money, alcohol and sex. How about a follow-up on the other side? Alcoholism, venereal disease, unwanted pregnancies, loneliness and heartbreak--that's Vegas, baby! JEAN TUOMEY CLEARY Sewickley, Pa.

Vegas is great for kids. I spent a week there in February with my husband and young grandchildren. We stayed four nights each at the Monte Carlo and Circus Circus, including a quick overnight drive to see the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. Las Vegas has the best public bus transportation I've ever used. And I was impressed that the hotel employees stepped right in if I inadvertently took the children to an adult-oriented area. There are museums, amusement rides, water parks and great little shops that cater to youthful tastes. PHYLLIS H. WITCHER Wilmington, Del.

Las Vegas' slogan proclaims, "what happens here, stays here!" But the main thing that stays there is your money. BRAD MILLER Encinitas, Calif.

Know Thine Enemy

"The Iran Connection" reported on the evidence uncovered by the 9/11 commission that there were contacts between al-Qaeda and Iran between October 2000 and February 2001 [July 26]. That is further confirmation that the U.S. attacked the wrong country. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. Your story noted that Osama bin Laden declined an offer of collaboration with Iran to avoid alienating his supporters in Saudi Arabia. So, what better country to attack than Saudi Arabia? The warfare should have been not military but economic, in the form of subsidizing a Manhattan Project to end our dependence on oil. We can start now and lead the world, or wait for the oil to run out and watch other countries take advantage. BILL ZAWACKI Beaverton, Ore.

Dishonorable Men

"Marked Women" [JULY 26], on the rash of honor killings committed by Iraqi men against female family members suspected of straying from traditional rules of chastity, left me overcome with feelings of outrage, disgust and sadness. My beautiful 16-year-old daughter died in a car accident several years ago, and her loss continues to bring our family indescribable pain. I know that her father and brother would give their lives in a heartbeat if doing so would bring her back. That fathers and brothers would take the lives of daughters and sisters in the name of honor is beyond abominable. LOUISE MCLEOD Duncan, B.C.

I cannot understand how Iraqi men can so blatantly mistreat their women and feel no remorse or shame. How can they kill their mothers, sisters, wives and girlfriends with such ferocity? Do they not understand that for their country to have a future, men and women need to work together? Murder is wrong, regardless of what a woman has done. SHIRLEY JONES-LUKE Boston

The Moral of Martha

Martha Stewart's prison sentence for conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements to federal investigators is a stark reminder that if we fail to obey the law, we will suffer the consequences [July 26]. From time to time we need to be reminded of our moral responsibilities. Stewart could have avoided the scandal that enveloped her simply by taking the high road and admitting that she had made a mistake. BRUCE WEINSTEIN New York City

Formula for Boredom?

Michael Schumacher's dominance of Formula 1 racing is yawn inducing [July 26]. I grew up a big fan of F1 races and have enjoyed many years following the sport. Unfortunately, as more and more high-tech auto innovations were allowed, I began to lose interest. The racing was getting sterile, even boring. Now, with almost zero competition among the cars and drivers, you can count me as one whose interest is nonexistent. LARRY BOLT Fort Collins, Colo.

Division over Unions

Re columnist Andrew Sullivan's essay on the Senate's defeat of the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage [July 26]: For anyone to claim that the weddings of same-sex couples somehow tarnish the sanctity of marriage is absolutely ridiculous. How sacred is marriage when two people can be wed by an Elvis impersonator in a Las Vegas drive-through chapel? If gay marriage is such a threat and heterosexual marriage is so sacred, why isn't the religious right working to create a constitutional amendment to ban divorce, thus preserving the sanctity of marriage forever? LOUIS FUENTES San Antonio, Texas

Sullivan's argument that those who support the Federal Marriage Amendment are simply using the issue to mobilize President Bush's political base was absolutely absurd. This is an issue of morality, not politics. Those who oppose homosexual marriage do so because they believe it goes against God's will and because they believe children are healthiest and happiest when raised by a married mother and father. To use the issue to attack Bush is ludicrous and frighteningly divisive. ELIZABETH HENDERSON Tustin, Calif.

As a straight male who has been married for 18 years to the same woman and, with her, is raising three children, I fail to see how allowing gay marriage would degrade, in any way, my marriage. Considering what gays have to go through to get married, most gay couples who want to marry are probably less likely than straight couples to get divorced, since 50% of straight marriages fail. MARK J. OLBERDING Nevada, Iowa