Letters

Provocative pundit Ann Coulter regularly enrages the left and delights the right, so it was no surprise that our several thousand letters broke along similar lines. Some readers wondered why Coulter deserved the attention, while others saluted their favorite Republican pinup girl

"Congratulations for unraveling the mystery of Coulter. Her detractors either have no sense of humor or hate bearing the brunt of her wit."

DEAN DAHLGREN Schaumburg, Ill.

While I respect Ann Coulter's intellect, I feel that the offensive comments she has made over the years have hurt her [April 25]. Diverse points of view should, of course, be brought to the table, but how does wishing, as Coulter did in 2002, that Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh had blown up the New York Times building contribute to the political dialogue? Coulter could use her fame to promote valuable intellectual debate. Instead, she wastes it on personal attacks that do nothing to advance discussion of real issues.

STEVEN M. CLAYTON Ocean, N.J.

Thank you for the story on Coulter. She's a gutsy woman who tells it like it is. We need more of that these days!

KATIE GRAHAM Grand Blanc, Mich.

I was dismayed by TIME'S decision to legitimize Coulter and the venom she spews by stating that "she helps set the nation's tone." Without fail, she lowers the level of discourse on whatever issue she targets for her latest bilious tirade against liberalism and Democrats. If Coulter's screeching caricature of political commentary is setting the tone, the nation is the worse for it.

PAUL KOWALSKI Detroit

Does anyone really doubt that if Coulter were male, she would be dismissed as just another extremist head case? She is apparently well aware that she gets away with her rantings in large part because she is an attractive woman. In fact, she counts on it. She seems not to care about the bad effects that her outrageous conduct has on civil discourse; she prefers to bask in stardom. It's sad that her fans are amused by her trashy mouth. It's even sadder to contemplate what it says about the state of our country when Coulter's brand of xenophobia passes for critical political thought.

MICHAEL R. BOYLE San Diego

Your cover on Coulter asks, "Is she serious or just having fun?" The answer on both counts is, emphatically, yes!

JOHN JAEGER Irvine, Calif.

Coulters's quick wit is the slap in the face that awakens us from the stupor of liberalism. Go girl, go! TIME'S story focused on her throwaway statements and missteps to the exclusion of her brilliant recovery in debate and the dazzling and unflinching acumen she displays as a guest television commentator.

LINDA GRACE STONE Palo Alto, Calif.

If people ignored Coulter, she would go away. It's impossible to have an argument without both sides participating. It becomes clear after a while that Coulter's goal is not to bash liberals and spread conservatism. It's to advance the cult of Coulter. She is simply a self-promoter in our culture of celebrity.

CAREN WEST West Palm Beach, Fla.

Instead of calling someone a big fat idiot or a lying liar, Coulter has elevated the put-down to an art form. Watching liberals squirm when she launches her attacks is a real pleasure.

BRIAN GREENE Decatur, Ga.

Coulter represents the "Ugly American" in a little black dress. Whether she truly believes her shrill rhetoric or is simply opportunistic, there are legions who base their opinions on what she says. Your article ignored the danger of her racist and extremist ranting and gave her undeserved credibility.

BRENDAN KERTIN Santa Ana, Calif.

Coulter is a blast of fresh air in a world of whining liberal "intellectuals." She rips their empty sophistry to shreds.

KAREN NORTON Raleigh, N.C.

America's Best Mayors

I commend TIME for its outstanding article on America's top five large-city mayors [April 25]. Too often we must confront the unethical or outright illegal conduct of our politicians. Those five individuals truly represent what it is to be a public servant by putting the needs of their constituents above their own. I am particularly impressed with mayors who voluntarily cut their salaries at a time when our representatives seem to be giving themselves big pay raises and our schools and the infrastructure crumble from lack of funding. Please continue to highlight true American heroes.

MEG WOODS Colorado Springs, Colo.

Before the Flood

Your story "Where the Waters are Rising" described how the Maldives are affected by global warming [April 25]. The best way to save such low-lying areas from rising ocean levels is for the U.S. to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and radically cut back on greenhouse-gas emissions.

JIM VICTA HIPOLITO Kawit, the Philippines

The dramatic aerial photo of the Maldivian city of Male showed not only the vulnerability of low-lying settlements to rising oceans but also one of the contributors to global warming. The island's dense urban surface of streets and buildings leaves scant room for vegetation, which absorbs heat-trapping carbon dioxide. A sea wall may protect Male from flooding, but more trees and parks would help as well.

ROBERT LEVY Swampscott, Mass.

Big Blue Sky Country?

In his Essay "Why Montana Is Turning Blue" [April 25], Walter Kirn suggested that Montana's shift from Republican red to Democratic blue is the result of the influx of people like him who moved to the state 10 to 15 years ago. My wife and I have lived in Montana for most of our 60-plus years. We don't snowboard, raft or eat sushi, but, by golly, we've been to the Big Apple, and we like New York City. Montana, though, will always be our home. Nowhere in the world are the skies so big and blue. Our state constitution has a provision guaranteeing privacy that is among the most comprehensive of its kind. In fact, the Montana legislature's adopting a resolution expressing near unanimous displeasure with the Patriot Act was an act rooted in our constitution. We're glad Kirn lives here, where there's plenty of room to roam and always the right to ramble.

GEORGE L. BOUSLIMAN Helena, Mont.

As a Montanan, I found it inspiring to read Kirn's Essay. Yes, it's true, we pulled up our bootstraps and elected a Democratic Governor, got rid of saloon smoke, said "Git" to toxic-mining lobbyists and decided that drinking when driving just isn't very American after all. But lest anyone think we're going soft on personal freedoms, Montanans oppose the Patriot Act. We can smell a rat a mile away, and we don't take kindly to the government sneaking things past our good ole red-white-and-blue U.S. Constitution.

ERIC FUNK Whitefish, Mont.

Kirn's piece was more of a trip down the yellow brick road than an accurate interpretation of events. While we are delighted to have the new Governor, his election and that of the Democratic legislature had more to do with a rejection of the abysmal record of the past Governor and legislature than a drift to the left. Most Montana Democrats and Bozeman Ph.D.s still hate wolves, taxes and all forms of government, and still like to cut down trees, dig up mountains and race snowmobiles through national parks. Montana has about as much chance of turning blue as Utah!

JAY F. KIRKPATRICK Billings, Mont.

Rush to Execution?

Re your story on death-row inmates who want to hasten the date of their execution [April 25]: I can see no reason to deny them their wish to die. The expense of keeping such criminals alive in prison--with three square meals a day, medical and dental care, access to the Internet, books and television--could be better spent on intervention programs to keep young people from a life of crime.

FRANCES B. PARKER Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Why is it humane and ethical to grant a murderer the right to die but inhumane and unethical to allow a socially conscious person the same right when he or she is terminally ill?

SANDRA L. GUAY Saco, Maine