Letters: May 16, 2005

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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 Malé 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 Malé 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.