When the weather is indescribably cruel, with hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, drought, etc., the culprit is "Mother Nature." When bitter cold freezes cities and humans, it is "Old Man Winter" at fault. A plane falls to earth with great loss of life and it is a "twist of fate."
A being that is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient must be given full credit.
Kenneth J. Schmidt
While this month's cover and centerfold are decidedly tacky, other covers have included Robert De Niro, Charles Barkley and Newt Gingrich. The centerfold parody is not - and I hope will not be - a regular feature.
We may not be thrilled with the presentation, but look beyond the superficial packaging into some of the substantive articles. I loved the interview with Pat Schroeder and, as a Navy wife, thought the "Brothers in Arms" story on Admiral Boorda's suicide offered interesting insights.
There have been interviews with prominent women such as Christine Todd Whitman, Marion Hammer (the NRA's first woman president) and Demi Moore, as well as a piece on Hillary Clinton's mostly female staff. I may not always agree with the subjects profiled, and in fact may be infuriated by their comments, but am glad a rich diversity of views is presented.
Who knows, with feedback from us, perhaps John Jr. can be persuaded to either feature less cleavage or, in the interest of "equal objectification," pose his male subjects in a veritable fashion spread, as they did in a story on women in the GOP.
Eve S. Morawski
Pearl City
As government grows in size, the result is predictable - it soaks up more of our money. But apparently something else is also predictable: It solves fewer and fewer problems.
The 30-year war on poverty has only produced more poverty. The war on drugs has resulted in more druggies. The war on illiteracy has spawned a generation of functional illiterates.
The criminal justice system allows violent criminals to walk free and commit more crimes. The public education system doesn't educate. The welfare system penalizes success and rewards failure. Politicians and bureaucrats tax and regulate legitimate businesses out of existence, so jobs disappear.
Yes, the government has grown and we're all paying dearly for it. But are we getting our money's worth? Right now, the total cost of government eats up about half of all we earn, forcing many people to work two or three jobs just to survive. Do we really want this monster to get bigger?
Bob Lamborn
However, until an increasingly nationalistic People's Republic of China makes a common assessment that Japan will not remilitarize and threaten China or its aspirations, retirement of the U.S.-Japan Security Agreement would be a move fraught with danger.
While most Western analysts do not perceive Japan as a potential military threat, many Chinese citizens do. The current defense construct is generally seen by China as a discouragement to Japanese rearmament.
Sadly, the Pacific War still affects politics in the western Pacific. The administrations in Washington and Tokyo would do well to remember this.
Japan also might consider that genuine atonement is an honorable act; future appeasement in lieu of that will not go down so easily.
Dave Takaki
Waimanalo