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The figure on your cover must not be able to see any real "Visions of Tomorrow" through his blue-lensed glasses [Oct. 11]. The attention given to sports, cars, gadgets, movies and TV in your reporting on the future caters to the affluent, self-centered, world-isolated and ignorant among us. Instead, we should be looking at nuclear-, biological- and chemical-weapons proliferation, AIDS, poverty, the environment and Islamist extremists.
RON MULLISEN
Los Osos, Calif.

Your story on futurologist Peter Schwartz, who imagines future scenarios to help businesses plan for catastrophes, stated his belief that another terrorist attack is inevitable, no matter how much money is spent on homeland security. But the struggle against terrorism should also address the teaching of hate within radical Muslim groups. Forward thinkers must convince the free countries of the world that the future of the war on terrorism is psychological. It is a battleground we have not yet entered. All immigrants and children in public, private and religious schools should receive a continuous program of civics, tolerance and respect demanded by our democratic societies. This is not just a war on the ground but also a struggle over freedom of the mind.
STEPHEN VINEBERG
Montreal

LATEST COVER STORY Mind & Body Happiness Jan. 17, 2004 Past Issues Tsunami Jan. 10, 2004 ----------------- Person of the Year Jan. 3, 2004 ----------------- Secrets of the Nativity Dec. 13, 2004 ----------------- The Stealth Killer Dec. 6, 2004 ----------------- Coolest Inventions Nov. 29, 2004 ----------------- Battle for Fallujah Nov. 22, 2004 ----------------- Four More Years Nov. 15, 2004 ----------------- The Joy Of Sox Nov. 8, 2004 ----------------- The Morning After Nov. 1, 2004 ----------------- The God Gene Oct. 25, 2004 ----------------- The Vote Battle Oct. 18, 2004 ----------------- Visions of Tomorrow Oct. 11, 2004 ----------------- The Tragedy of Sudan Oct. 4, 2004 ----------------- CBS Controversy Sept. 27, 2004 ----------------- America's Border Sept. 20, 2004 ----------------- Struggle Within Islam Sept. 13, 2004 ----------------- World of George Bush Sept. 6, 2004 -----------------   SPECIAL REPORTS  Coolest Video Games 2004  Coolest Inventions  Wireless Society  Cool Tech 2004 PHOTOS AND GRAPHICS  At The Epicenter  Paths to Pleasure  Quotes of the Week  This Week's Gadget  Cartoons of the Week More graphics >> More photos >> MORE STORIES Advisor: Rove Warrior The Bushes: Family Dynasty Klein: Benneton Ad Presidency More Stories >> CNN.com: Latest News

I was dissapointed that so much of your reporting on the future was devoted to gadgetry. Do we really need any more silly electronic gewgaws? The key to heading off the real crises the world will face in the future is to develop alternative energy sources.
DANIEL A. BROWN
Leyden, Mass.

Healing Health Care

If Critical Condition, the new book by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele [Oct. 11], tells us anything about the health-care crisis, it's that anyone involved can make a buck off someone else's illness. The best way to address the nation's health-care woes is not to create another government agency but to change our illness-based system to a wellness-based system that would reward Americans for staying healthy. Every health-care professional must make a stronger effort to get our children, overstressed adults and seniors into the vast array of wellness, nutrition and exercise programs. While Barlett and Steele may have good intentions, their solution will do nothing to improve the health of this country.
ERIC DURAK
Santa Barbara, Calif.

I agree with Barlett and Steele that the high cost of medical care is not because the caregivers are too expensive. We need to examine the concept of a single agency to provide coverage, collect fees and pay claims before the percentage of our GDP devoted to medical care in this country hobbles our economy even further. The comparison between Medicare's administrative costs and the much higher costs of private insurers was a telling revelation. The insurance lobbies must be faced down, or we will suffocate ourselves with astronomical costs for pencil pushing rather than actual health care.
MICHAEL DELEHANTY
Euclid, Ohio

Barlett and Steele mentioned several times that a market-driven health-care system can never be efficient. But our health-care system is bureaucracy driven, because of the doctors and health-care companies that benefit from its overuse and inefficiency. Only when the person receiving care is the person responsible for payment will normal supply-and-demand forces come into play and costs be reduced. Insurance is not the answer. It is the problem.
WILLIAM STEPHENS
Macomb, Ill.