Inbox

an style='font-weight: bold'>Hong Kong's Election
The Democrats in Hong Kong are hypocrites [Mar. 26]. When the polls clearly showed that the people preferred incumbent Donald Tsang to remain as Chief Executive [in the recent ballot by electoral college], the Democrats made all kinds of excuses in their own defense. They have only stalled Hong Kong in the past years. They complain for the sake of complaining and falsely educate the public about democracy. In what book does it say that universal suffrage is the best system for Hong Kong? Stop bringing Hong Kong down.
Anthony Lam,
Hong Kong

Hong Kong is Asia's key financial center and its Chief Executive must have business in mind. [Opposition leader] Alan Leong may be a good barrister and has great potential to be a good actor. But I didn't need him to ruin Hong Kong's future.
Michael Wan,
Hong Kong

Doing unto Others
Joe Klein's column about Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee served up an excellent snapshot of today's Republican way of thinking [March 26]. Republicans give tax breaks to oil companies that pocket record profits but scoff at a candidate who looks out for his fellow citizens. Honest Abe must spin in his grave every time the G.O.P. refers to itself as the party of Lincoln. Huckabee, unfortunately, has little chance of getting the nomination with his do-unto-others mentality. That kind of thinking just doesn't pass muster in today's Republican Party.
Mark McKay,
Pascoag, Rhode Island, U.S.

What did Klein mean by arguing that the leading Republican candidates, with their multiple marriages, "live like liberals"? In 2004 the 13 states with the highest rates of divorce were red. The nine states with the lowest divorce rates were blue. Those Republican candidates Klein spoke of were living as typical conservatives—they marry, and marry often.
William Ortenberg,
Benicia, California, U.S.

Preaching and Practicing
Charles Krauthammer chided Al Gore and Hollywood for being less green than they claim [March 26]. I suggest that for Krauthammer's next targets he look at more profound sources of the problem: auto companies that lobby to keep mileage standards low; energy companies that pay scientists to deny the human role in global warming; Vice President Dick Cheney, who pooh-poohed energy conservation and apparently met in secret with energy-company executives to create the country's energy policy; and President George W. Bush, who reneged on his campaign promise to regulate carbon output. Krauthammer could also report his own carbon output and compare his efforts to curb global warming with those of Gore.
(The Rev.) Kenneth Reeves,
Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.

Krauthammer made a good point. I'm a Los Angeles liberal, and I've also gone green. I no longer leave my Hummer idling while waiting in the dreary line at Starbucks.
Paul Van Wart,
Los Angeles

I agree that carbon credits are a weak attempt at offsetting emissions when what we should be doing is cutting down on emissions in the first place. But while Krauthammer bemoans the hypocrisy in liberal Hollywood, he fails to mention the complete inaction of the conservative Administration. Although Gore's reliance on carbon credits may be misguided, he is at least spreading the message that our planet needs saving. The U.S.'s failure to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and Bush's empty words about stopping climate change identify where the real blame should be placed.
Grace Hirt,
Middlesex, Vermont, U.S.

There is real value in celebrity "greenstanding" about legitimate environmental problems. For some Americans, celebrity gossip is the only news they get. Maybe Hollywood can get through to them. We in the Western world need to wake up and realize we have a problem. We have to keep trying to educate everyone.
Kimberly Johnson,
Houston

TIME Turns Another PageTIME's redesigned layout is very slick but reminiscent of New Coke [March 26]. That product was eventually withdrawn in favor of the return of Classic Coke. Clear titles in the old format made it easy to pick out the articles of interest for immediate reading. Headings like Briefing and Dashboard are meaningless. I also miss the best of political cartoons and humor. Please bring back TIME Classic!
Bob Gottesman,
Carolina Beach, North Carolina, U.S.

Kudos on your redesign. as a designer, I notice page layout as others might not, and your latest issue is everything I expect from TIME magazine—elegant, simple, unfussy and easy to read. Thanks for giving the rest of us a look to strive for.
Kathy Barkey,
St. Louis, Mississippi, U.S.

At age 19, I realize I'm not close to TIME's target demographic, but I have been a subscriber for a while and noticed the many formatting changes. I feel that readers have been robbed of a battle-tested magazine structure. I'm well aware that at this point, far too much money and time have been invested to revert to the old order, but the magazine now feels like a sellout to tabloid-size pictures and overzealous fonts. TIME can look forward, but don't lose sight of what you have left behind.
Jason Zimmerman,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Congrats. the redesigned TIME looks great and reads even better. As the Americans would say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." But I understand you ain't fixing anything, just improving. Well done.
Ding LiangWong,
Kuala Lumpur

As Shakespeare wrote, "What's in a Name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." I still prefer Letters over Inbox for your letters-to-the-editor column.
Vicki Weintraub,
Aventura, Florida, U.S.