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| NOV./DEC. 2004 VOLUME 107 NUMBER 3 | Correspondence |
Fair and Balanced?
MORE THOUGHTS ON WOLFOWITZ
I WAS QUITE IMPRESSED BY THE range and intensity of the letters about David Dudley's article on Paul Wolfowitz '65 (Correspondence, September/October 2004). It's a compliment to CAM that the letters about a substantive article can be as intriguing as the article itself. The letters from the Korean War veterans, William Phillips '51 and George Miller '50, were poignant in their assessments, and their words had the impact that is the special province of those who have experienced war firsthand.
I thought Dudley did an excellent job, particularly in illuminating the dangers posed by the influence of a charismatic and often brilliant professor such as Allan Bloom. I took two courses from him, and it was rather apparent that, philosophically speaking, Professor Bloom would have preferred to live as a member of the Athenian aristocracy in the days of Sophocles and Aristophanes. Professor Wolfowitz had good reason to be upset when his son decided to study at the University of Chicago.
David
Burak '67, MFA '80
Santa Monica, California
I HAD JACK WOLFOWITZ FOR TWO semesters of probability and statistics and found him to be an interesting and inspiring teacher. He was absolutely right that his son, Paul, should have gone into mathematics --instead, he has contributed to another terrible quagmire.
John
Woolum, PhD '65
Pasadena, California
I AM INTERESTED IN FAIR AND BALANCED treatment of issues; therefore, I am curious as to why five extremely derogatory and liberal letters regarding Wolfowitz were answered by only two from another point of view, one of which warranted a smug editor's note correcting "far" vs. "high" in the alma mater. I would say that the air is so dense with liberal bias far and high above the lake that either is appropriate.
Mr. Post was absolutely correct in his comments about Sandy Berger '67, Janet Reno '60, and "this year's convocation speaker" (a man of such high standards). They would never get this treatment. Princeton is proud of Secretary Rumsfeld as I am of Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz-- but I am ashamed of the alumni magazine, the university that I assume it represents, and the graduates thereof.
Elizabeth
Severinghaus Warner '50
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Ed. Note: In keeping with our usual policy in selecting letters for publication, the ones that were printed were representative.We received more letters that were unfavorable to Mr.Wolfowitz than favorable.
Clearing the Air
IN THE JULY/AUGUST 2004 ISSUE, Kurt Gottfried responded to my letter in which I questioned his appraisal of Henry Kendall and the Union of Concerned Scientists. I had said that they were more interested in publicity than the science of nuclear power safety, and that Professor Kendall saw nuclear power as a barrier to "his vision of a solar-powered world."My memory failed me.When I went back to the transcript of our November 1995 interview, I found that Kendall was not talking about solar energy at all--it was wind.
A.
David Rossin '53
University Park, Florida
Legacy Correction
OUR SON, CHRISTOPHER MINNOCK '07, was listed under "Three Cornell Generations" in Legacies (July/August 2004). He is a third generation legacy on my side (with my father getting his PhD in 1949 and going on to teach in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for many years), but a fourth-generation legacy on my husband's side: great-grandfather William Francis Minnock '14, grandfather William Francis Minnock Jr. '44, and father William Francis Minnock III '79, MBA '83. In addition, nine other of Chris's relatives (from aunts and uncles to a great-aunt, Joan Minnock '52) earned Cornell degrees over the years.
Debra
Kearl Minnock '81
Potomac, Maryland