Faithful servant

I met Paul McNulty at my first Christian Legal Society national conference in 1987 and am delighted that our paths have crossed occasionally over the years. He is a man of God and a terrific role model for Christian young people who sense God's calling into the legal profession. I can only pray that some of my students will have a similar impact on our nation's justice system. Thank you for a very well-deserved feature on this faithful public servant ("Terror on trial," Oct. 18). - Brad Jacob, Virginia Beach, Va.

When I received the Sept. 20 issue with Mr. Arafat on the cover, I tore it off and threw it away, and I did the same with Mr. Moussaoui. I know covers are no easy decision, but wouldn't it better serve your purpose to put heroes on the cover, especially those getting little or no press from the mainstream media? Mr. McNulty appears to be an intelligent, dedicated, quiet, fair-minded man, devoted to the rightness of a cause that serves us all, while Mr. Arafat and Mr. Moussaoui already get plenty of press coverage. - Kathy Ritenour, Clearwater, Fla.

Homework

Kudos to Joel Belz for his great column on homeschoolers as voters ("Secret weapon," Oct. 18). Our family is very active in local politics here in southern Illinois. I am a precinct committeeman and our teenage daughter is chairman of the Jefferson County Teenage Republicans. They have 20 members and senate candidates calling for their help. We are seeing firsthand the importance of a few families willing to get the word out. - William Cole, Mt. Vernon, Ill.

My husband and I began homeschooling our son in 1997, and have continued in spite of the sometimes bumpy road. It never occurred to us that to homeschool might have a positive effect on our culture or in political arenas. We have been satisfied with academic excellence, personal initiative, special interest studies, travel, and other benefits. Thank you for adding to this list. - Della Vincent, Monaca, Pa.

As a homeschooling liberal Democrat, I can only hope that my three daughters will be just as effective in changing what they find to be offensive as the Republican homeschoolers in Mr. Belz's column. Thankfully, homeschoolers are not all conservative Republicans. Those of us who oppose the agenda of these candidates are just as fervent about our beliefs and are just as involved in the political races. I enjoyed the article and plan to use it in our discussion about government and the world this morning. Thank you for reminding me what often fuels activism-passion. - Kathie Boselowitz, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

Loud words

I was surprised to see humble included in Cal Thomas's description of el Rushbo ("Feeling Rush's pain," Oct. 18). His comments such as "Half my brain tied behind my back" speak much more loudly than his "Aw shucks, that's nice of you" routine when someone praises him. - Philip Cook, Edinburg, Texas

A big step

I thought it ironic that the photo for "Missing the link" (Oct. 18) was of ladies wearing pink shirts for the "Race for the Cure" sponsored by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. It is my understanding that the foundation is a supporter of Planned Parenthood. A big step for the Komen Foundation in finding a cure would be to stop supporting abortion. - Michael J. Ruhlig, Tuscola, Ill.

Seeker-friendly

Andree Seu's column about her discussion with a Unitarian minister recalled my visit to the Unitarian Church in Keene, N.H., to attend a service publicized as addressing "Who Is Jesus?" ("'Build your own theology,'" Oct. 11). The congregation was invited to come forward and give personal answers. I listened as speaker after speaker, some former members of Catholic, Baptist, Episcopal, and Lutheran churches, identified themselves as "seekers." At the end of the service I was invited to speak as a stranger to the congregation. I said, "I am here to announce to you that I have found the answer, and His name is Jesus Christ." My remarks were welcomed, but I don't know how many in the audience stopped searching and accepted the Gift of God. - George W. Fellendorf, Keene, N.H.

Could be worse

Thanks for your efforts to keep the USPS on its toes, but be thankful for the wonderful service you do get ("Please keep us posted," Sept. 20). We get WORLD here in Indonesia about two to eight weeks late. We estimate that we get about half the issues, although some may eventually show up. The Muslim holiday of Ramadan is just starting and in some countries the postal system shuts down for the whole month. The good things about USPS: (1) Things most always get there, especially checks; (2) packages are not regularly pilfered; (3) rates don't vary from person to person; (4) you can criticize the USPS and continue to publish your magazine. - David & Teresa Searcy, Pontianak, Indonesia

No citadels

I commend Joel Belz for "Toodling while Rome burns" (Oct. 4) on Christian involvement in matters of public policy. Christians should have informed opinions on subjects such as same-sex marriage, judicial take-over, and immigration, and be able to articulate them with sound reasoning. As for what you can do while the think tanks ponder, you can write your congressional representatives. As Francis Schaeffer said, Christian apologetics is not "based on a citadel mentality." - Kenneth Peck, Kimmswick, Mo.

Corrections

Roger Clemens's high fastball in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series did not hit Manny Ramirez ("Pushed to shove," Oct. 25, p. 37). Former Vice President Carlos Mesa took over as president of Bolivia on Oct. 17. Evo Morales is head of the opposition Movement for Socialism and the leading contender for the presidency once new elections are called ("Another Cuba?," Nov. 1, p. 63).

Mr. Belz attempts to paint the homeschoolers as the Republican equivalent of the labor unions to the Democrats. I wouldn't hope for a competitive advantage by using homeschoolers as political operatives. They are too principled. You might consider them as agents of social change, perhaps, but not mere political hacks. - Larry Tate, Hampton, Va.

The original

I suspect Janie B. Cheaney was reacting to the Disney version of the Mary Poppins stories rather than to the insightful and delightful fables by Pamela Travers ("In our own likeness," Oct. 18). The original Mary Poppins is a wonderful image of God's grace among us in the person of His church: unprepossessing, stiff, a bit vain, fond of her own reflection-and surrounded by wonders. One of the real Mary Poppins books ends with the abbreviation AMGD. This is from the world of liturgical music, and represents the phrase "Ad Majorem Gloriam Deum"-to the greater glory of God. - Tom Smedley, Durham, N.C.

Time-tested

Your statement in "High-tech Amish" (Oct. 18) that "the use of technology to help farmers do their jobs better will be off limits again next year" is misleading. The Amish are excellent farmers whose methodologies have stood the test of time. Let us not belittle them for choosing to limit their acceptance of technology in order to preserve their communities. Their sober judgment is now preventing requests for government handouts, which is what "modern" farmers would be doing if a serious energy crisis threatened their ability to harvest crops. - Ronald A. Southwick, Nedrow, N.Y.