Letters: Nov. 8, 2004

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Re "Crunch Time," your report on the final days of the presidential campaign [Oct. 18]: Not once during the debates or political rallies did any candidate seriously scrutinize the subject of space travel and exploration. Let's face it: space is a lost cause these days. Science in general is hurting. We know the geography of Iraq better than we know the ocean depths. Back in the cold war era, science blossomed because of funding provided for nuclear-weapons research. In ancient times, scientific ideas prospered as people discovered and explored the new out of sheer curiosity. Imagine a universe just 50 years in the future in which a summer house on Mars is perfectly affordable to the lower middle class, ordinary travelers take sightseeing tours of the moons of Jupiter and starships sail majestically through the soundless void. But in this U.S. election season, science has been completely bypassed.

TANJIM HOSSAIN Orlando, Fla.

I am troubled by people who say, "I never vote for the party, I vote for the man." You can't have one without the other. The candidate belongs to the party, and what you see is what you get. The party declares its stands on the issues, and its candidates had better stick to those positions or they won't get financing from the party. Politicians will always side with the majority of their party on any issue, whether it be abortion, Iraq, the Patriot Act, or raising or lowering income taxes.

GORDON LEVY Coarsegold, Calif.

The ability to vote freely is under attack. Registration forms have been torn up and discarded, minorities and college students have been intimidated, and registrations have been disallowed for the slightest imperfection. Am I alone in feeling outraged, appalled, terrified? The right to vote is the very core of democracy. We cannot allow public apathy and political manipulation to undermine it.

KEN KEATON Lauderhill, Fla.

Though the political parties have collected vast amounts of voter information in their secret databases, as your article pointed out, sometimes they don't realize that a person has died. My mother continues to receive her Republican Party membership card and pleas for donations, even though she died almost two years ago. I returned several pieces of mail and wrote DECEASED across the face of the envelope. I finally sent one back with the message "She's dead. Do you get it?" Still, her mail from the G.O.P. continues to arrive almost weekly. Maybe, since deceased voters have been known to cast ballots, it's in the party's interest to keep sending mail.

JANE KOCH Montclair, Va.

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