lettersTHE STARS AND STRIPESarm landers**+ PaganWriter defends quality of U.S. goodsI read in your paper: "Quality of goods blamed (ortrade deficit... Low quality and high prices cause ourtrade deficit ... Americans are wilting to pay moreand more for foreign quality ... Our trade partnersrefine to be victimized...".But (hen, a gleam of intelligence: "Declare war onforeign trade barritn that prohibit the importation ofU.S.goooV' 'Quality? When you fly Lufthansa, ML, SAS ...what .kind of plane do you fly in? Which country de-sign* the best military plants and equipment? But, .which.countries copied Ihe "big-romped" Mustang,the design that is now so popular on the Audi, Benzand just about every other foreign car?Who invented the transistor, the integrated circuit,and then other countries steal our invention!, dumpthem on our markets, and force our industries to closedown. Did oar manufacturers charge too much, orwere trie others subsidized?Which country took the "horseless carriage" andmade it possible for just about everyone to own one?Where was the self-starter and a reliable ignition sys-tem pioneered, aad (he others copied them?Let's face it, just about everything comes from the"tow quality" United Stales.We an the world leader. We carry the others withour dollars, and they still find room to complain.I feel that the Americans who complain aboutAmerican "poor quality" are the ones who themselvesdo poor quality work.BanmhoUtr, GermanyGerman clears up a matter of semantics^Reference a recent photograph. Sony, you got itwrong. However, many contemporary Germans mightget it as wrong as you; The meanings of words changeover the yean in most languages. German is no eiccp-lion.The sign in your picture reads "Verkehrslokal,"which you translate as "traffic office," To nuke thistranslation fit, Ihe German should have read"Verkehrsbuero," The German word "Verkehr" can,according to context, mean traffic, exchange or inter-course. Currently, traffic is the most common mean-ing, so your error is understandable.The sign in question clearly hails from the timebefore the NSDAP came to power in 1933. After that,they only kept offices. The sign is intended to idenlija guesthouse where the party regularly held meeting"Place of intercourse" or in contemporary Ian"party hangout" would be more appropriate 'lions. ' . .iHopefully, 1 have made the sign more vaURble forIhe collector by having daied it to before the Jlaking ofpower," as the NSDAP used to call their ifcession togovernment of the first German rcpubltcJon Jan. 30,1933, r—U. Col. Gerhard K. JantschGerman Air ForceSHAPE, Belgium• Reader says U.S. short-changing educationAft* finishing ray tax return this year, 1 researchedhow out la* dollars are being spentA partial breakdown is a* follows; $271 billion onnational defense, SI99 billion on Social Security. S13Sbillion to pay interest on the national debt, 1119 bil-lion on income security (such as food stamps andhousing assistance), $69 billion on Medicare, and $36billiquon health programs. But, interestingly, only $30billion on education.Do we as a nation need to reassess our priorities?pon pa!?K-Town Reunion planneiBKtuu *• ira MM dcptndimti — or ratiw* WMFI — i•chert to tatwny. w» hi* n*wr h*d • reunion ind in ifHUM tu torn* dttimttihFor onn InlpmoUon contKt mo 4 p I A) 7W-WWB or ttw tddH bnttw.Are we sacrificing our moslJhportant resource, ourchildren?America's future tests JFilh our next generation.How long can we conlinue/o neglect this resource?Wake up. taxpayers, fd tell our leaders where ourcountry needs to focus * attention and wealth. Educa-• lion is the solution.—Master SgLJoRamstefn AB» Gfnnanyurn pn put tulHMn Hit 1911 of IS ind V>. t wi •Honrti"( im jft^ftr-au Caata »m t MOMr at tuma dtpM bi room indn MOW •» n Km KXM ptn gnu._T I mi M wm old intf Hpinttd. [ Im* «x mirrUd diughtv ml Dm*ftatn. My hotrtjui in miMUfig ilimpt. taint. patinrtt. lUgi indrmteh« In* 1 1*1 IS IrwM. I Hio May W°4Mr. pool, dim. InlnJM indnidlng. I prelw Engllih food tna Hhfl caunuy ind wutim muite.l'm •tofintr EngDih Nliy WREN. I'd t» nry Itamtia In Ian ffn pOi trim HIDWthtwiilld.I im 1 13-ywr-old lluWnl wtui wouW liKi la (uvi tant ftn d«'l. MrhobblH ir* whtlng tantri ind rtidlng booki. mtgkilnti. ind n*wipi>Hra. My fivorHi dith«i ire Chln«B, FUlplno. and torwgn ifiKrk*. r Nktf•ilmmlng.BIHngtftilYOlajbtll.LV. ZmlKAngi Biktry md QracanrOnMr BBW. ztmbwgi OtyPtim.C(lln«l7«D1Dear Ann Landers:My sister is dying of AIDS, Sheis 30 years old, hewosexuat andnot a drug user. Wf have no ideahow she got this JFcadcd diseaseand we don't cJt. What we doknow |J !hal shas doomed to die \a horrible dcaWand we arc going 'to be forced f watch it happenday by day..In addjfron to the agony wewill be/living with, for God 1now long, there's the guiltwe jftJ for judging her. (Why1 she more selective? How can she do this to us?_ .t are we going to manage the financial rnponjibiti-3? That could wipe us out.) '"' Then there is the shame. Eventually the truth will beflown and the stigma will be terrible. How long cartrwe keep this a secret? So far, only the immediate fami-ly is aware that she has AIDS. Our story is that theiSclced up a strange virus like pneumonia and flu com'bined.Yesterday at work, three people told me jokes aboutAIDS. I wanted to scream, Of course, they had nowayof knowing that my once beautiful, fun-loving sister isa victim, but then, who knows what is in anyone else'scloset?I am writing to ask to tell your readers lo stop tellingAIDS jokes. It is the lowest form of humor. What'smore, they could be talking to someone whose life hasbeen changed by this awful sickness, like me.—ANYWHERE USADear Anywhere:Thank you for a letter I have been praying wouldcome. For » long time I hare been appalled by AIDSjDkea. I find them despicable and have always fell that' people who tell *uch Jokes are Insensitive and vulgar.Dear Ann Landers:1 have enjoyed your column for almost as manyyears as you have been writing it and I've learned a lot-too. Now h my chance to say "thank you" by sharingan experience that could save lives.This evening my family was seated around the din-ner table when suddenly we beard a thunderous crashin the upstairs bathroom. We rushed up and foundthat a 4-by-G-fooi, quarter-inch bathroom mirror hadfallen off the wall and literally exploded upon impactwith the vanity.Large pieces, as well as needlesharp fragments ofglass, covered the bathroom. If any member of thefamily had been in the room when that mirror crashed,he or she would have been cut lo pieces.The mirror had been attached to the wall only withadhesive. A piece of glass that si« and weight shouldhave been secured to the wall with' metal dips andfasteners. We checked the other mirrors in the bouseimmediately after the accident and discovered that twoother heavy mirrors were attached to the wall by adhe-sive only.Please print this letter and ask alt your readers tomake a check on the mirrors in their hornet. Eventhough they appear lo be secure, if they air not held inplace by fasteners, they could come crashing downwithout warning and Ihe results could be disastrous.—COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS1NSTRONGSVILLE.OH10Dear Loeky Strongsrille:I appreciate your letter. And now 1 hope all ju» lotkicheck today, especially those who lln In mat wherethere bare been mild earthiniakes. (Are you listening,CalifonilaT)Tt» SB™ m appei, tfa miTheS IPESPfOduem Mm*g«r MJn*tfng Ectrtnr OrcuUWwi MuugtrTito ntwfptFwr It m aiffwtirt Umrltcvf pubDalnn for mtmt»Ti trfM TpiMinr Mrrlm M«f»Mt. 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