European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 5, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Newspaper letters command attention Susan orach Oil time. 1. Which is your favorite Section of the stars and stripes a the sports Section b the funnies c the financial Section d dear Abby Ann Landers e letters to the editor. 2. Would your answer be different if no one were looking Over your shoulder As you made your Schlec Tion a yes b no c it depends. Choice c available to jag personnel Only give me a letters to the editor every time. Let s face it sports fans letters to the editor Are what make the stars and stripes our Hometown newspaper. If you want erudite discussion of major world events read the letters in the Herald Tribune. If you want erudite discussions of military matters read army Magazine. And if you want to read erudite letters about the customs of other countries try National geographic. If you want to know what your fellow military and civilian personnel and their families think then the stars and stripes is your baby. I have been a a dear editor aficionado for nine years now and i can confirm that the letters while sometimes bizarre truly reflect what is happening within our military communities nine years ago a typical letter from a typical wife said something like a there has been no baby formula diapers milk or bread at our commissary for the past two months. My husband asked me not to make Waves but my Hoard is almost used up and i am getting  the last commissary letter that i recall criticized a commissary because the dry dog food could be compared to the ancient Mariner minus Albatross. If that is the worst complaint things must be getting better. One of my favorite kinds of letters speaking of our canine frit lots is the a my dog is bigger than your dog ilk. If someone complains because his opening laugh. Or. Reisinger Zagreb Croatia amp so  4 writers Syndicate Moser Zurich Switzerland Quot it s from  local pm does no to carry enough David Winter cottages for example someone else will write about being Happy merely to have Access to a Hole in the Wall some place. These letters too have changed Over the years perhaps because of the draw Down. Back in 1985, when someone complained about what an had done someone else was sure to write about being stationed in Middle of nowhere where they would be Happy to have 24 hours of an sports reruns interspersed with reruns of Ronald Reagan a press conference. Someone else would then write that not Only was he at a location More Remote from reality than writer no. 2, but he had to drive three hours to get to a Hole in the Wall pm and that was also How Long it took to extricate himself from the mud when doing tank maintenance. I do not mean to disparage any of these kinds of letters. Someone out there cared enough about the problem to sit Down and write about it address an envelope and stick it in a Mailbox somewhere. And commanders pay attention to these things. The next time you want to pull out your hair and scream about some letter complaining about a pm clerk failing to smile an programming if you Are Reading this an people please let me know when you la be featuring Wagner a ring trilogy opera on to or silence in a Dodds school cafeteria that is not being used for a moment of silent meditation relax. Smite. Think of when you had it worse. Take pen in hand and As this is 1994, get a life. Susan Drach lives near Mannheim Germany. Cola War de rider he Clinton administration and the democratic Congress not Content with the huge savings being realized because we won the cold War want to punish the very people who fought acid sacrificed to make that Victory possible. Instead of rewarding us by restoring some of our eroding benefits with some of those savings we who fought the hot and cold wars for 20 and More years Are being singled out for grossly inequitable treatment in the omnibus budget reconciliation act of 1993. Of the More than 50 million retirees annuitants and pensioners who receive Cost of living adjustments Colas based on service to country or who participate in social Security Only military and Federal civilians were singled out for patently unfair cola reductions. Even then military retirees were hit significantly harder than Federal civilians. For example military Colas will be delayed 39 months Over the next five years compared to a delay of nine months for Federal civilians during the same time Frame. Col Caps delays and freezes Over the past 11-plus years have substantially reduced the purchasing Power of retired military pay. A lieutenant colonel with 23 years service retiring in March 1982 would receive $21,699 per year. By july 1993, his purchasing Power was reduced to $19,715, a loss of $1,954, or 9 percent. Current projections show that he will lose a further $2,621 by 1998. The Active duty Force and retirees with their dependents comprise a Large Block of the voting population and can swing a lot of weight on Capitol Hill. If we All Contact our elected representatives including president Clinton we can get them to reverse this Gross inequity that is being perpetrated on the very people who got shot at in the hot wars and suffered Low pay and family separations in the cold War. Get Active and protect your future and that of those who have served before you. De rider lives in Numberg Germany contents from the cover. 4-5 racism and War. Sidelights. .6-7 jumping into a Day Odds amp ends. 8 Erma Botn Beck sprays her opinion in tune. .9 Tough to see Aba on to this weeks films.10-11 military circuit listings. Chuck Vinch Down on Quot Beverly Hills cop Iii Quot television listings .12-15 local Cable and satellite schedules. Home entertainment.16 world War ii movies invade video. Voices .a.17 Linda Ellerbee cuts through America s fat. Sidelights .19 recovering an old silent movie. Words amp wit. 20 Janies Kilpatrick investigates idioms. Books. 21 paging comedians. Sidelights. 22 Clarence Page would t end welfare. On Parade. 23 laughing with Martin Lawrence. Last laugh. 24 Dave Barry tests readers. Sunday is a weekly supplement of the stars and stripes editor Bucky Fox cover Story design Susan Harris production Bernard Jensen editorial assistance Louis d. Pierce Page 2 sunday june 5. 1994