Our March issue contains a letter from Brian Russels about December’s Gore Vidal’s article about the Gore family. Russels notes that Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War, “an action so dangerous it has never been repeated.” Eric Kielser of Montezuma, Iowa, writes to argue that it has been repeated with the signing into law last year of the Military Commissions Act by President Bush, which suspends habeas corpus for “unlawful enemy combatants.” Says Kiesler, “While I am sure Russels does not consider himself an enemy combatant, it is no longer for him or the courts to decide,
but rather a secret, three-person panel.”

Next, Jeremy Johnson of Dallas takes issue with a letter from Andy Jordan that appears in our February issue. “Jordan states, `The underlying philosophy of Islam is the Muslim belief in the faith’s superiority,’ and proposes this is an underlying flaw that results in violence. But all religions think that they are superior. Christians and Americans in general are too quick to point out the flaws and failures of other religions and cultures and too slow to examine their own.”

Finally, Angela Grosko from Fredericksburg, Maryland disagrees with an April letter from Elliot Marcus, occasioned by Jimmy Breslin’s article in January, who believes the U.S. should help Mexico to improve its economy so that fewer immigrants will cross the border. “I work for the largest candy company in America and Mexico is getting 1,500 of our jobs as we lose approximately 3,000 here,” she writes. “Isn’t that nice of us to help them out? Let’s save jobs in the U.S. before we create more of them in Mexico.”

A number of readers took issue with the Neal Gabler article in January in which he compares Pamela Anderson to Marilyn Monroe. “Why does Gabler feel the need to use easy comparisons that are unflattering to either party?” asks Michael H. from the Netherlands. “Anderson is not `Marilyn without the tragedy’ or `Jayne Mansfield without the accident.’ She is unique. Whether or not Marilyn languished in a `tragic backwash of broken relationships, drugs and alcohol, enforced bimboism and self-abasement’ has been debated endlessly, notably in your excellent January 2006 cover article. But in this context the description seems tasteless and unnecessary.  Pamela may indeed be the ultimate sex symbol of the 21st century, but she isn’t Playboy’s only iconic blonde bombshell.”

Jamie Moberg of Bridge Lake, British Columbia, thought Gabler did a great job capturing the essence of Pam. “When we met in 1988, she was the `girl next door,’ literally, who would rather stay home and watch movies on the couch and eat popcorn. But Pam always had the gift to sell anything, so to see her sell herself to the world is no big surprise. I knew from the beginning she would be a success.”

In our “Cars of the Year” feature in January we named the 2007 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 as the “best bang for the buck.” That did not sit well at all with Jason Smith of Greenwood, Indiana. “For the average automobile buyer this vehicle is nowhere near attainable thanks to the greedy dealers and their $20K to $40K `market value additions,’ “ he writes. “Don’t get me wrong--I am a long-time Mustang enthusiast. But a vehicle that the manufacturer says should sell for $42K but is instead being offer by dealers for $65K or more is hardly a bargain. If you want value, look at the hot cars that Steve Saleen and Jack Roush are putting out with this new generation Mustang. Most enthusiasts and the car-buying public alike would consider a base Mustang GT plenty of bang with 300 ponies at less than $30,000.” We would counter that any cost rising above the MSRP only attests to the popularity and success of this Mustang. We judged the car when it hit market and adored it. Apparently we were not alone, as reflected by the rising prices.