LETTERS
LETTERS English muffin’ I was astonished to read-in flat contradiction to my own experience and that of my friends and family still in England-Nancy Watzman’s assertion [“Socialized Medicine...
...Lest it should be thought that this difference has a sociological explanation, it should be noted that the three socially disparate boroughs served by NYPL, taken together, have a very similar profile to that of Queens alone...
...Second class postage paid at Mechanicsburg, PA...
...Reprints of articles are available to individuals or schools at $1.50 each (prepaid...
...It suggests that Desert Storm was not “worth it by any meaningful standard” because its aftermath has been far from perfect (a real surprise in the Middle East...
...The author seems to forget that Congress did vote to authorize force and that Bush did wait until after that vote to commence hostilities...
...Back issues, $4.50...
...Almost all of them live in the suburbs or on the Upper East Side...
...NW, Washington...
...Contributing Editors Jonathan Alter, Thomas N. Bethell, Tom Bethell, Taylor Branch, Matthew Cooper, Gregg Easterbrook, James Fallows, Paul Glastris, Mickey Kaus, Phil Keisling, Michael Kinsley, Nicholas Lemann, Suzannah Lessard, Arthur Levine, Timothy Noah, Joseph Nocera, Leonard Reed, John Rothchild, Jonathan Rowe, Walter Shapiro, Scott Shuger, Steven Waldman...
...James David Barber’s piece [“Empire of the Son,” October] on the imperial presidency was a glaring exception in several respects...
...The significant comparison is to what the situation most likely would have been without the war...
...QBPL circulates 6.76 books per capita at a cost of $3 per book circulated...
...QBPL‘s board is selected by the mayor...
...By the nature of the appointment processes of the two libraries, you have one board that has fostered the creation of a nationally famous research library while neglecting the needs of local communities, and another board that has fostered the highest circulation of any American library (although Chicago, LA, and NYPL all serve 50 percent more people than does Queens) with no comparable research institution...
...two years, $61...
...Subscription rates: U.S...
...three years, $88...
...and include old address label...
...For change of address, please provide six weeks‘ notice...
...Political payoffs, by their very nature, are not progressive...
...Graphics Consultant Christine Solomon...
...As I believe the vast majority of Americans recognize, the real question was whether to stop Iraq now with Arabs on our side or join Israel in a fight against a much stronger Iraq allied with other Arab nations several years later...
...Proofers Julie Alvers, Betsy Dance, John Kalajian, Donne Masaki, Patrick O’Rourke...
...Art Director Amy Hayes...
...Another amazing point in Barber’s article is that he suggested George Bush took us to war in defiance of the War Powers Act...
...What we need to do now is get the message out...
...Circulation Director Stephanie Mencimer...
...The Washington Monthly Editor in Chief Charles Peters...
...Maybe economic sanctions alone would have made Saddam a new man who would cease to be a threat to the geopolitical security of his neighbors and the economic security of the industrialized nations...
...Or maybe he would have used cash generated from Kuwaiti oil to strengthen his conventional, nuclear, and chemical weapons along with his influence in the Arab world until he became an immediate threat to Israel’s security...
...NW, Washington, DC 20009...
...For Canadian and foreign subscriptions, add $7 for surface delivery...
...PHILLIP R. McDONALD Sterling, Virginia Book ’em I’ve been interested in your ongoing material about the New York Public Library (NYPL), although I agree with the NYPL that the city should not be left off the hook on the question of paying for library service...
...By all means, let us use and improve the Canadian system as the basis of our national health system, but is it too much to ask that U.S...
...style of rationing medical care on the basis of financial considerations...
...Unsolicited manuscripts must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope...
...You tell Bill not to move...
...But there is a side to the NYPL question that you have overlooked: How well do they spend the money they get...
...Not surprisingly, almost all of them are far more interested in the Research Library at 42nd Street (where they meet and go to their fundraising affairs) than in circulation in local branches in Staten Island or the Bronx...
...Published monthly except combined July/August and January/Febmary issues by The Washington Monthly Company, 161 1 Connecticut Ave...
...This is a progression that could only occur by virtue of Bill’s talent...
...ISSN 00430633...
...LETTERS English muffin’ I was astonished to read-in flat contradiction to my own experience and that of my friends and family still in England-Nancy Watzman’s assertion [“Socialized Medicine Now-Without the Wait,” October] that the British National Health System deprives patients of “any say over who peers in their ears, prods their stomachs, or cuts them open...
...MARVIN F. WEISSBERG Arlington, Virginia Who’s to blame I have always enjoyed your “Who’s Who” column and am happy to see Susan Threadgill spicing it up a bit with background information not normally available to the public...
...At the end of 1980, as the Carter White House was coming to a close, Bill came to me with a question...
...Until emigrating from the U.K...
...If not, his article is an insult to the intelligence of liberals and conservatives alike...
...NW, Washington, DC 20009...
...It deals with General William Odom and whether or not he was a leaker to or a mole for the ReaganBush people concerning the Iranian hostage situation when he was with the Carter administration’s National Security Council...
...I think the explanation for these differences may be found on the boards of the respective libraries...
...Now that I’m the lowest-ranking general, I’m perceived as political and no one tells me anything...
...I have found the quality of medical care about the same in both countries...
...Rumor has it that when the Reagan people come in next month, I’m going to be banished forever because of my loyalty to the Carter people...
...Consider the Queens Borough Public Library (QBPL), which serves nearly 2 million people...
...and possessions: one year, $33...
...You’re with the Republicans, maybe you can help,” he began...
...Reproduction by any method whatsoever without permission is prohibited...
...and “commercialized medicine” in the US., I find that the main differences are the greater influence of the general practitioner in the U.K...
...By law, at least 14 of its 19 members must come from community boards...
...I will personally come and get him,” he said...
...I know all the Army guys and I think I’m all right with them, but I don’t know any of the incoming Republicans...
...I think this is another demonstration of the importance of obscure governmental processes (who thinks about library appointments...
...This specious argument could be applied to prove any war effort not worthwhile...
...Like other wars, Desert Storm and its aftermath should not be evaluated against anyone’s highest hopes or even against the status quo ante bellum...
...The Allies should never have fought the Axis because the end results were tens of millions dead and wounded, the creation of totalitarian regimes over most of Eurasia, including all of Eastern Europe, and the perpetual terror associated with the nuclear arms race...
...Editors James Bennet, Katherine Boo, Christopher J. Georges...
...He suggested that I call General Edward C. Meyer, the Army chief of staff...
...For reprint rights for all or part of an article call Elliott Beard at (202) 462-0128...
...My guess is that Barber is really a conservative and an ardent supporter of Bush and Desert Storm who is trying to caricature his opposition...
...Interns Bob Hulit, Eric Konigsberg, Coates Lear, Daniel Manatt, Elizabeth Pitofsky, Dan Rocconi...
...Meyer was terse...
...ANTHONY J. HOPE Washington, D.C...
...Barber chop I have found The Washington Monthly to contain thoughtful expressions of liberal viewpoints on a variety of subjects...
...advocates and opponents of health care reform stop bolstering their arguments with false charges against the British system...
...It has always seemed to me that since resources are limited, it is more equitable to ration medical care on the basis of medical considerations-making sure that everyone can obtain basic medical care, even if those wanting elective procedures may have to wait-as is the case in the U.K., rather than the U.S...
...BARBARA FORREST Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Nancy Watzman’s article is the definitive work on the CHARLES SULKA Washington, D.C...
...Publisher Lydia R. Sullivan...
...The National Health Service is by no means perfect, but having experienced both “socialized medicine” in the U.K...
...Send correspondence concerning subscriptions, undelivered copies, and changes of address to 1611 Connecticut Ave...
...DC Zoo09 (202) 462-0128...
...All rights reserved...
...NYPL has a selfperpetuating board made up of folks sometimes described simply as “Brooke Astor’s Friends...
...Safeway sex I was quite disturbed with Susan Threadgill’s “Who’s Who” item casting doubt on Secretary of State James Baker’s personal life in your October issue...
...to major social outcomes...
...JIM CHAPIN Jackson Heights, New York MI: Chapin is vice president of the Queens Borough Public Library S Board of Trustees...
...As for “consumer misery,” I have heard many more complaints about the U.S...
...Are they vindictive?’ I called Jack Marsh, whom I had known since the Ford administration and who had been announced as Reagan’s choice for Secretary of the Army...
...Although its members reflect the differing political needs of various mayors, they are upper-middle-class activists in their various communities and almost all are users of a local library branch...
...Production Manager Elliott Beard...
...Business Manager Advertising Representative Marla B. Selib...
...There is one entry in your September issue that needs correction...
...Assistant to the Editor Peggy Stark...
...Editorial Advisory Board Graham Allison, James David Barber, Edgar Cahn, David Halberstam, Murray Kempton, Richard Reeves, Hugh Sidey...
...Thereafter, in rapid succession, General Odom became the deputy chief of staff for intelligence, chief of army intelligence, and director of the National Security Agency...
...definitely an advantage), the method of payment, and the basis of rationing medical care...
...The Washington Monthly should be above all this...
...subject...
...The Washington Monthly is indexed in the Book Review Index, Political Science Abstracts, Public Affairs Information Service., the Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature, the Social Science Index, and Ulrichs International Periodicals Directory and may be obtained on microfilm from University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, MI 48106...
...health care system, if such it can be called, than I ever heard or hear about the British system...
...To drag out such an issue in the manner in which she did was something we should leave to the gossip rags at the supermarket check-out counters...
...NYPL circulates 3.35 books per capita at a cost of $5.64 per book circulated...
...0 1991 The Washington Monthly Co...
...Last May, when I was still a colonel, I could find out everything...
...in 1962, I certainly chose my own doctor, and family and friends still in England continue to choose theirs...
...Postmaster: Send change of address to The Washington Monthly, 1611 Connecticut Ave...
...air mail delivery add $32...
Vol. 23 • December 1991 • No. 12
