Why Clinton?
As a former Washington Post reporter, I am aware that:
* The press protected Vice President George Bush when they knew the name and address of his Washington mistress.
* The press protected Lyndon Johnson when they knew of his many escapades -- in office -- including taking a lady upstairs during a state dinner.
* The press protected John Kennedy, though his affairs -- in office -- earned him the nickname Jack the Zipper.
So why is the press frothing at the mouth, straining at its leash and destroying its own credibility to get at President Clinton in any way it can, while the man is doing his best to drag this country, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century?
Michael Kernan
Baltimore
Subsidized Flight
There you go again (editorial, May 7), lamenting the destructible out-migration from the city of the past 40 years and whining because there is probably nothing we can do about it. "Reversing this immense current will be as hard as making water flow uphill," you say. Well, maybe. But it seems to me that there are some very simple and immediate steps we can take to slow down and even reverse some of this out-migration.
The state's housing finance agency, the Community Development Administration, recently increased its allowable maximum mortgage for first-time homebuyers from $88,000 to $110,000.
This means that another generation of young people, who could rebuild our cities and older suburbs, will receive low-interest, government-subsidized mortgages to buy cardboard townhouses beyond the 'burbs.
This is America and people should be able to buy wherever they want, as long as they can afford it.
TC But should we really be giving government-subsidized loans to young people, whom we have nurtured and spoiled since pre-school, to escape the real world when their youth and vitality are so badly needed in our older communities?
CDA has some of the most talented and dedicated civil servants I have ever met.
If Maryland's politicians would heed your words of wisdom, take a look at the larger picture and instruct the good people at CDA to revamp their policies and programs to favor the older communities, we might very well see rivers if not oceans flowing uphill.
Vincent P. Quayle
Baltimore
H:
The writer represents St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center.
Wee-Hour Music
I have been following the dialogue on this page among FM radio's classical music listeners.
It seems there are two types of classical music listeners. One type wants to hear nothing but the tried and true. The other type wants to hear music that is new.
I count myself among the latter category. Unfortunately, most classical radio caters to the devotees of the tried and true.
However, for early music fans there, is a local solution to this dilemma. Dawn Culbertson's "Exploring Early Music" is the best early music radio show I have ever heard.
To the usual disadvantage of Type II listeners, it is broadcast 4 a.m. Tuesdays on WJHU-FM.
Paul R. Schlitz Jr.
Baltimore
Parochial Graham
The Rev. Billy Graham's discourse on the occasion of former President Richard Nixon's funeral struck an embarrassingly parochial note.
In remarks televised to an audience of diverse faiths, Mr. Graham did not speak in the universal spirit of Mr. Nixon's Quaker heritage. Disturbingly, he clearly implied the superiority of fundamentalist Christianity over other religious traditions and dissimilar strands of Christian belief.
Such an emphasis encourages indifference to the insights of other religions and historically has fueled the activity of extremists against Jews and Muslims.
The Bosnian and other tragedies remind us of the dangers in parochialism. At such a public event as Richard Nixon's funeral a more inclusive tone was essential and unfortunately was not present.
Chester Wickwire
Baltimore
The writer is chaplain emeritus and lecturer in religion at Johns Hopkins University.
Puzzling Puzzle
A recent letter highly praised The Sun crossword puzzles. The praise was well deserved, as far as it went.
One must, however, develop a feeling for the limitations of those who make and edit the puzzles.
I doubt that an organic chemist would be pleased with "nonchemical" as a definition of "organic," as appeared in the puzzle of April 26.
George H. Winslow
Ellicott City
Welcome to the Real World, Governor
I want to congratulate The Sun for its insightful May 8 editorial on improving higher education in Maryland by hiring "Professor Schaefer."
Might I humbly offer that Gov. William Donald Schaefer could also teach at Towson State University. I will gladly welcome the new "professor" into our ranks at Towson and become his mentor.
He can become a third member of the 9 x 12-foot office I have shared for my 25 years at Towson.
Three in a room will be no additional burden, since the room is meant for one anyway and we can all adapt.
Of course the governor must realize that as a faculty member at Towson he will have to pay for his own faxes, clean the office himself (wastepaper baskets will be emptied by staff, however), share the computer that has just been installed seven years after first requested, use the typewriter for envelopes (the "e" doesn't work; he'll get used to it), and be forced to use mimeographs rather than Xeroxes during the last month of the semester since supplies have dried up until July.
Unfortunately, since the departmental budget averages about $75 per faculty per year, the new professor may have to pay for conferences that he attends.
My new colleague will have to teach, which is somewhat different from pontificating. This teaching stuff is a bit more complicated than the rambling and disjointed performances that have characterized some high officials in the state and slightly more thoughtful than the editorials in a few of our major newspapers.
No, rather than a command performance once or twice a year at an exotic or prestigious site, this kind of teaching will be four classes three times a week to 120 students.
And, sad to say, this audience will consist not of toadies willing to accept words of wisdom from any old expert, but of skeptical undergraduates demanding some kind of intellectual content day in and day out, tedious though that might be.
During the year Professor Schaefer will be asked to give and grade essay exams and term papers, evaluating both ideas and style, advise students, attend committee meetings and agonize over whether a student deserves a C or a D.
Yes, in this kind of teaching, both students and faculty are evaluated. So our new professor will be required to have students assess his performance once a year, and his colleagues will drop into his class and give suggestions on such areas as logic, consistency and demeanor.
Paul Douglas
Towson
C5
The writer is an associate professor of English.