Inbox

Weighing Influence

I enjoyed this year's TIME 100, Featuring the most influential people in the world [May 14], especially the stories of everyday unsung heroes like U.S. Army Captain Timothy Gittins, Chinese blogger Zeng Jinyan and construction worker Wesley Autrey, who saved a man's life in the New York City subway. They prove you don't have to be a politician or a billionaire to do the right thing. In the end, simple acts of humanity and justice can change the world. I look forward to discovering what I can do to help our fragile planet.

John Jacob, EAST LANSING, MICH.

I am proud to be an American citizen and manage to stay fairly well informed. My views on current global affairs may be largely apolitical and often bipartisan, but I felt surprise and shock to see that President George W. Bush was missing from your list of the 100 most influential people. All things considered, I think it was a serious mistake.

Raviprakash Govindrao Dani LUBBOCK, TEXAS

I chuckled as I watched TV pundits galore proclaim TIME irrelevant because Bush was not on the A list. If TIME is so yesterday, why were they discussing it? First of all, the TIME 100 was divided into several categories, which narrowed the number of slots that Bush was eligible to fill. And as the pundits went on to decry the supposed snubbing of the leader of the one superpower, they failed to separate the man from the office. Bush is steadily losing the respect of the world as his record of failed policies grows. A man who has to wield the power of his office with ever increasing threats is not displaying leadership. TIME is right. Bush's actions do not qualify him for a place on the list.

Linda Bleakley BELLA VISTA, ARK.

As a long-term subscriber, I was deeply disappointed that you chose creationist Michael Behe to write the piece on biologist Richard Dawkins. Dawkins is a prominent and well-respected scientist and a highly successful science educator for the lay audience. In marked contrast, Behe's writings and public appearances have damaged science education and practice in this country. Of all of the distinguished scientists and writers TIME might have chosen to describe Dawkins and his work, it is astonishing that your magazine settled on Behe. This terrible error of judgment is indicative of either inexcusable ignorance about the state of modern science or a deliberate willingness to help perpetuate the mythology that the theory of evolution is a controversy rather than a fact comparable to the theory of gravity.

Michael R. Freeman, Ph.D. Harvard Medical School, BOSTON

Stephen Hawking, a brilliant mind explaining secrets of the universe while fighting a debilitating illness, and Bill Gates, who is using the world's largest private fortune to solve some of the world's most pressing problems, are among the most influential people of not only our time but all time. Rosie O'Donnell, however, has left her mark by simply parading as television's opinionated egomaniac. Unfortunately, such errors of omission and commission could put TIME in line to be ranked among the 100 least influential publications.

Stephen Landman, LOUISVILLE, KY.

Are you the campaign manager for Senator Barack Obama? I might vote for him if he's chosen as the Democratic candidate. But to list him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world? Come on. He is a U.S. Senator now, but in truth, what has he done besides be part African American, handsome and a presidential candidate? He's no more innovative in his rhetoric than other Democrats, and yet the press is certainly helping him in his campaign. Don't push candidates on us.

Anne Taylor, LAKE FOREST, ILL.

I was quite happy to see China's president, Hu Jintao, included in the TIME 100. He has just completed his first term and during the past five years has successfully expanded China's reach around the world, building a good image of China's peaceful rise. But Hu's remarkable economic achievement also encourages the Chinese people to accelerate political reform. I believe he will consistently promote democracy throughout China's political system, although the pace will be slower than the growth of the economy. His wisdom and confidence in handling internal and external affairs are assets that will help him achieve more than expected.

Di Wu, SINGAPORE

Soliciting a former Speaker of the House to write about Nancy Pelosi may have seemed like a good idea, but Newt Gingrich's piece smacked of political grandstanding. The depiction of her Syrian trip was bad enough, but ending with tips for Republicans on how to take back the House of Representatives was even worse. The piece was hardly about Pelosi. It was about Gingrich, who is mulling a presidential run and trying to prove how good a political strategist he is.

Stephanie Barnard, OSHKOSH, WIS.

Thank you for the TIME 100. It's striking to see that women represent 51% of the population but only 29% of the TIME 100. It is a shame that you chose to recognize Kate Moss, an anorexic drug user, with whom no mother would want her daughter to identify. Conductor Marin Alsop, music director-- designate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, would have made a much better and healthier role model.

Shara Sand, NEW YORK CITY

These are supposedly the 100 most influential people in the world, but not a single professional bowler? Who puts these lists together?

Benjamin Woods, MENLO PARK, CALIF.

An F for Integrity

In his commentary on he termination of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's dean of admissions, Marilee Jones, Michael Kinsley seriously missed the point [May 14]. The question is not whether a non--college graduate can do a great job. This is a fundamental question of character and whether we value actual honesty over the honesty of convenience. Jones is a fraud who lived a lie for 28 years.

Laurie Shepard, ATHERTON, CALIF.

Kinsley's commentary was full of words deploring Jones' dismissal on the basis of her having falsified her resume, but only three of his words had any substantial relevance: "she did lie." It wasn't her lack of ability to do the job, which she apparently did very well. It was the lack of character in committing the lie.

Ann W. Abernathy, COLONIAL HEIGHTS, VA.

Warren Buffet may not care whether his successor has a college degree, but I am confident that he would care if his successor had lied on her resume. What will the world become if we abandon honesty? Do we really want our kids to lie on their college applications just so they can get accepted to M.I.T.?

Liang D. Jou, HOUSTON

Kinsley made an excellent argument in support of Jones. We should consider the many competent people who have sought further graduate study in order to enhance their capability to do a job, only to find that they're unemployable because of an excess of documented qualification. They're often not wanted because of a perceived threat to those under whom they would work. For every Marilee Jones, there's another person who has been passed over because she is considered overqualified.

John Bitter, Ed.D., MONTGOMERY, ALA.

I am appalled that Kinsley would suggest that Jones should be rewarded for basing a career on a lie. We live in a time when people and animals die from poisons substituted for food and medicine, when buildings collapse because of shoddy construction and when American soldiers are being killed in a conflict initiated because of faulty intelligence. It is more important than ever that we restore honesty and honor to all facets of our lives. I do not want to see what happens to a world in which the graduates of M.I.T. or any other college can build a career on fabrications.

Barbara Davis, SYRACUSE, N.Y.

Keeping Kids in School

I was shocked by "Stopping the Exodus," about the challenge of keeping students in school [May 14]. I commend you for making it known that many students drop out of school. I am an eighth-grader at a private school--and no, my teacher did not put me up to writing this. Where I come from, it's considered a tragedy if students do not get into their top choice for college, and they are condemned for settling for their second choice. Thank you for giving me some perspective on the experience of those students whose goal is not getting into college but graduating from high school.

Lauren Fairbanks, POTOMAC, MD.

After 47 years in education, I am not surprised that ninth-grade students drop out of public schools, as did one of my grandsons. The problem started many years ago, when junior high schools were dropped in favor of middle schools. We need to return to having junior high serve Grades 7 through 9 and high school serve Grades 10 through 12. Sixth-graders are not ready for middle school; they are still immature. And ninth-graders struggling with the transition into their teen years face similar problems. Let's reconsider how we group students.

Mary Ellen Grasso, GAINESVILLE, FLA.

Formulating Victory

RE William Kristol's "The 2008 Formula": His quoting statistics from previous elections will not make good his bet on a hawkish Republican a winner in 2008 [May 14]. Kristol astutely points out that the next election will be an election of change and focused on the war, but he failed to connect the two. The next election will be a "change the war" election. If Republicans are to gain four more years in the White House, they will have to break completely with Bush on the war and foreign policy. If they don't I would be happy to see Kristol's bet and raise him for 2012.

Paul McGann, TAMPA, FLA.

When Maine Was Part of Virginia

The English settlement of America impacted our nation in interesting ways [May 7]. A decade of archaeological exploration confirmed that in June 1607, a settlement was established in "northern Virginia" at what is now Popham Beach in Phippsburg, Maine. This colony lasted just over a year, but the colonists managed to build a 30-ton, 50-ft., shallow-draft vessel they named Virginia, which explored the coast and crossed the Atlantic twice. Four hundred years later, Maine is still recognized as home to the best boat builders in the world. From elegant yachts to Bath Iron Works' naval destroyers, Maine is celebrating 400 years of shipbuilding heritage.

Amy Lent, Executive Director Maine Maritime Museum, BATH, MAINE

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

In the April 9 story on global warming, we said public transit in the U.S. saves an estimated 1.4 billion gal. of gas annually, which translates into about 1.5 million tons of CO2. In fact, that amount of gas translates to about 14 million tons of CO2.

In the same story, we referred to "cotton sheared from sheep." Sheep produce wool, of course, not cotton.

HOW TO REACH US Our e-mail address is letters@time.com Please do not send attachments. Our fax number is 1-212-522-8949. Or you can send your letter to: TIME Magazine Letters, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, N.Y. 10020. Letters should include the writer's full name, address and home telephone and may be edited for purposes of clarity and space.

Customer Service and Change of Address For 24/7 service, please use our website: www.time.com/customerservice You can also call 1-800-843-8463 or write to TIME at P.O. Box 30601, Tampa, Fla. 33630-0601. Back Issues Contact us at help.single@customersvc.com or call 1-800-274-6800. Reprints and Permissions Information is available at the website www.time.com/time/reprints To request custom reprints, photocopy permission or content licensing, e-mail timereprints_us@timeinc.com or fax 1-212-522-1623. Advertising For advertising rates and our editorial calendar, visit timemediakit.com Syndication For international licensing and syndication requests, e-mail syndication@timeinc.com or call 1-212-522-5868