Out of the Sky

To the Editors:

After Skylab showered debris across this country, I'm glad that God, and not NASA, put the moon into orbit around the earth.

David Holden Melbourne

Skylab is down. And no one was hurt. NASA'S predictions have been vindicated.

William J. Larson

Minneapolis

If Murphy's Law ("If anything can go wrong, it will") is valid, why didn't Skylab break up over New York City Paris or Peking?

Paul Labotz Manheim, Pa.

It is interesting to consider the words of the biblical Prophet Obadiah: "Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and set thy nest among the stars, from thence will I pull thee down, sayeth the Lord."

Walter Goldenberg New York City

It is ludicrous for anyone to suggest that Skylab is an "example of technology outracing man's means of control." Rather, it is an example of what happens when unimaginative penny pinchers refuse to permit full application of existing technology. Politicians should stay out of complex design decisions. Either provide funding to do a project properly, or don't fund it at all.

James H. Pennington Fort Wayne, Ind.

Clarke's Vision of the Future

It disturbs me to read that Arthur Clarke, in his comments on our future in space [July 16], still hopes we can one day control the destinies of stars. It is exactly this kind of thinking that has brought us the headaches of nuclear power and weapons capable of destroying the world many times over. The need to control seems to translate easily into the need to destroy.

Brian Brezinski Eagle River, Wis.

Clarke was profound, as usual. As public support of science wanes--for space exploration in particular--thank God for doers and dreamers like him.

Tony Minnichsoffer Chicago City, Minn.

Even if space had arrived soon enough for Mr. Clarke, millions would still be leading starved and stunted lives. Hunger is the result of man's greed and injustice, not of limited resources. If we have rich and poor nations--and rich and poor within nations--what's to stop our children in space from having rich and poor planets? The worst is yet to come.

Ray Seldomridge Monrovia, Calif.

The space program is the only Government agency working for our future; we shouldn't be so purblind to our children's needs as to cut its funds short.

Mary Ake Columbia, S.C.

Trials and Secrecy

I think the Supreme Court ruling that pretrial hearings may be held in secret [July 16] is not only horrendous, but frightening. Stripping the press of power is like tearing away a part of our country as well as our democracy.

Mary Jean A. Witt Chicago

The scandal-hungry press has no right to pretrial hearings so that they can feed the scandal-hungry public. Until a person is formally charged with a crime, his privacy must be protected.

Betty Churchill Montville, Conn.

Averting Divorce, Catholic-Style

Give Bishop Rausch an A for effort re his plan to avert divorce in Phoenix [July 16]. The Newark archdiocese has tried the same for five years with, at best spotty results. The fact is, the young and not so young lovers determined to marry are going to do so, come hell or high priest. Life's toughest act is to live permanently with another; the surprise is that so many marriages hold firm. This I do know: God will be more merciful to the divorced than Catholic law.

(The Rev.) Edgar Holden, Director Ministry to Divorced Catholics Archdiocese of Newark

Roman Catholics wishing to be wed in Wisconsin have had to undergo a premarriage preparation period similar to the one required for residents of Phoenix. I have recently completed the "premarital inventory" with my fiance. We are 25 years old and have dated for 3 1/2 years, and the process reaffirmed our belief in each other. The Roman Catholic Church deserves applause for attempting to bring the divorce rate down.

Ann Funke Brown Deer, Wis.

Sin by Any Other Name...

In "Sinfully Together" [July 9] you stated, "It used to be called living in sin.' " Sir, it still is called "living in sin." It amazes me how simple it is for people to jockey morality around to suit a lifestyle.

Jim Rohde Lincoln Park, Mich.

Perhaps the reason so many unmarried couples are living together is because they have observed that marriages don't last, but friendships do.

Carol S. Brinkman San Diego

Getting Mileage Out of Ham's Car

Please put things in perspective. Ham Jordan's "gas-guzzling" Cordoba [July 23] gets the same E.P.A. mileage as some Alfa Romeo Spyder and Datsun 280Z models, and better mileage than some Porsche 928 and Mercedes 450 SL models.

Frank Wylie, Director--Public Relations Sales and Marketing, Chrysler Corp.

Highland Park, Mich.

Pakistan's ABomb?

A Third World country like Pakistan tries to advance its nuclear program [July 16], and all hell breaks loose in Washington and the U.S. media. Yet the two superpowers go on endlessly adding hundreds of weapons, costing billions of dollars, to their nuclear arsenals, but no eyebrows are raised. Israel carries on its own nuclear developments, but the press is not alarmed. Don't we have here a case of double standards?

Fali Savak Patel Dryden, Ont.

Neglected by the U.S. for years and surrounded by hostile powers like the U.S.S.R. and India, Pakistan has no choice but to make the Islamic Bomb.

M. Yusof Ahmad Merrill, Wis.

Catholics and the Holocaust

Reader Mark M. Steele is misinformed when he states that the Roman Catholic Church "turned its back on the fate of the Jews" during the Holocaust [July 9]. The Jewish scholar Pinchas E. Lapide investigated the Pope's and Catholics' activities on behalf of the Jews, and in Three Popes and the Jews he estimates that Pius XII and countless priests, nuns and lay Catholics saved the lives of between 700,000 and 850,000 of their Jewish brethren from rampaging Nazis sometimes at the cost of their own lives.

Roland Greene Gulfport, Fla

Violence Against Parents

In your coverage of violent families [July 9], you did not mention the growing phenomenon of children who victimize parents. In two years of researching the subject, I have found this form of violence is widespread and increasing. A twelve-year-old used a skateboard to break her mother's arm. An eleven-year-old pushed his mother into a door, broke her coccyx, and kicked her in the face. An 18-year-old bludgeoned his family with a baseball bat and set the bodies and the house on fire. Such violence occurs in families of all classes and, generally, the only thing abnormal is that they seem so normal.

Roberta Roesch Westwood, N.J.

Susan's Dollar

As inflation erodes the new Susan B. Anthony dollar [July 9], we can imitate the French with our very own expression of "It's not worth a Sue." And, of course, counterfeits of that coin will simply be known as Phony Tonies.

Gail T. Donoghue Holyoke, Mass.

Considering our weakened currency, perhaps a better name for the Susan B. Anthony dollar would be the J.C. penny.

John Thomas Pozek Stamford, Conn.

With the advent of the Ms. Anthony dollar, must we now not "pass the doe" instead of the buck?

Paul H. Bolts Rio de Janeiro

Compared to an old silver dollar, this chintzy little coin is a more likely symbol of the decline of the American economy, influence and power.

Russell Jaberg Gainesville, Fla.

The new Anthony dollar is not eleven-sided. The outside edge is round; the design on the face and obverse has an undecagonal border, creating an optical illusion. The original proposal of eleven actual facets was rejected because of the failure of the coin to fall correctly through the tumblers of coin-operated machines.

Karen Scheid New Wilmington, Pa.

We deserve to be roundly criticized.

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