Letters: Jul. 31, 2000

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I will buy whatever Priceline sells if the company will get rid of those William Shatner commercials [BUSINESS, July 10]. Captain Kirk has banged heads with one too many Klingons. Now he thinks he can sing. EVA GOLD Philadelphia

Changes at Riverkeeper

Re your item on the Riverkeeper environmental group and its chief attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [PEOPLE, July 3]: Kennedy did not "secretly" rehire William Wegner as a consulting scientist. Riverkeeper's executive staff openly elected to hire Wegner, a talented scientist.

By an overwhelming majority, the Riverkeeper board supported the staff decision. Wegner paid for his crime of smuggling the eggs of the cockatoo (which is not a rare bird, as you claimed) with three years in prison. He is genuinely remorseful and intent on reforming his life. Robert Boyle's decision to leave his position as president of Riverkeeper came after he was informed that the board would remove him from that office for reasons unrelated to Wegner's hiring. Boyle is an icon of the environmental movement.

Still, his choice to leave, putatively over Wegner's hiring, is a sad finale to his long and often courageous leadership of the organization and movement he helped found. RICHARD R. KNABEL Riverkeeper Executive Committee West Tisbury, Mass.

The Most Honorary Degrees

In your item on who has the most honorary degrees [NOTEBOOK, May 22], you erroneously reported that "nobody beats Bill Cosby, who has (his spokesman thinks) more than 100." In fact, the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, has received 144 honorary degrees for his more than 50 years of contributions and service to higher education, the Catholic Church and the nation. Father Hesburgh, now 83, served as Notre Dame's president from 1952 to 1987. DENNIS K. BROWN, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Public Relations and Information University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Ind.

Missile Impossible?

Though the technological problem persists, the Administration continues to expand a decision to deploy the building blocks of our national missile-defense system [NATION, July 10]. Our leaders suffer from what has been termed a "field of dreams" attitude: If we build it, it will work! WILLIAM E. JACKSON JR. Davidson, N.C.

What if we took a leaf from the Pentagon's playbook and just pretended to build a missile-defense system? Better yet, why don't we pretend to pay for it? CHRISTOPHER ROWLEY Ellenville, N.Y.

Even if a reliable missile defense is feasible, is it necessary? Releasing smallpox in a major city could also kill millions, and it would be difficult to trace the attacker. A missile-defense shield will provide Americans with a false sense of security. RUSSELL ROBERSON North Little Rock, Ark.