Letters: May 23, 2005

(3 of 3)

NIGEL POND -- Wilmington, Del.

Give Greenspan a Break

Your story about the rocky economy and tough criticism faced by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan was titled "Greenspan's Deficits" [May 2]. That's unfair and misleading. It's like calling the Indian Ocean catastrophe "Bush's tsunami." Notwithstanding some bumps along the road, Greenspan has presided over a period of great prosperity. Today's massive deficits stem from a bipartisan band of congressional spendthrifts and our purportedly conservative President. Greenspan sets banking and monetary policy. He has no control over the insatiable thirst of elected officials to spend, spend, spend.

OREN M. SPIEGLER -- Upper St. Clair, Pa.

Bolton's Image Problem

Re your story on the controversy surrounding John Bolton, Bush's choice as ambassador to the U.N. [May 2]: Does the U.S. really want a contender for worst boss to represent it to the rest of the world? A former colleague called him a "kiss-up, kickdown sort of guy." Too many of us know the type. All of us should feel the injustice every time that sort of person is rewarded. The U.S. has an image problem in much of the world. We're seen as out of control, arrogant and a bully. Yet the Administration wants a guy at the U.N. who is out of control, arrogant and a bully.

STEVE LINSEY -- San Francisco

A Dangerous Game?

Charles Krauthammer's essay "Did Chess Make Him Crazy?" [May 2] unfortunately looked at only the negative aspects of the Bobby Fischer saga. Krauthammer should know that there's a fine line between genius and madness. He wrote that Fischer "fell off a psychic cliff," but that's not generally how the game of chess affects people. I have been playing chess since I was in elementary school. It helped me tremendously with concentration, analytical skills, organizing and prioritizing. It made me what I am today: an engineer and International Chess Master. The experiences of the majority of chess players are positive, and we will pass on the values of the activity to the younger generation.

VALER EUGEN DEMIAN -- Vancouver, B.C.

When Disaster Strikes

Thank you for the helpful advice on how to avoid dangerous and even deadly situations presented in "How to Get Out Alive" [May 2]. Because of reading it, I will be more likely to notice evacuation diagrams, especially on airplanes and in other places that are not familiar to me.

SARAH FONTAINE -- Somers, Conn.

"How To Get Out Alive" contained the best advice I have read in years. As a frequent business and personal traveler, I found the information on how to survive a fire or wreck to be of paramount importance. I passed it around the office for my co-workers to read.

JUDY CORONA-KARPOWICZ -- Woolwich Township, N.J.