European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 14, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 letters to the editor wednesday september 14,1994 european edition col Steven s. Hoffman Usan commander publisher. Bernard a. 20vistoskieditornews and editorial Deborah Absher news editor Bill Walker european editor Bob Wicker sports editor George Manet City editor. To write us unit 29480 Apo a 09211 or Postrach 11 14 37 64278 Darmstadt Germany news Tel fax 06155-601416 to Call us dial 06155-601 plus Extension or Dan 348-8 plus Extension As follows news ext. 237, 255, 282, 226, 326, y sports ext 225, 269, 263, 332. 321. 221. Features ext. 230, 245/341. Letters to editor ext. 208 400. Education Jimi Jones ext. 226. Business news �4 326. News bureaus Heidelberg Germany Effie Bathen room 117home sir. 104, 69126 Heidelberg Telephone Dan 370 7010 or civilian 06221-234211 Kaiserslautern Germany Kevin Dougherty John Bomor and Doyle Tillman. Building 2899, Pulaski bar Racks Apo a 09227-3717 Telephone Dan 489-6585 or civilian 0631-52104 Tel fax Dan 489-6357 or civilian 0631-5366357. A Nurnberg Germany Ron Jensen building 21, Wil Liam o. Darby Cavern apr a 09222 Telephone Dan 460-7256 or civilian 0911 -712563 Tel fax 0911-717130. Wurzburg. Germany Dave Melancon building 220,. Room 109. Fau Lonberg Cavern Apo a 09036 Tele phone Dan 350-6770 or civilian 0931-286956 Tel fax 0931-8896770. \. Mediterranean sue Palumbo and Marian Hamilton. Naples Italy of so 810, Box 56, Fpo a 09619 Tele phone Dan 625-4880 or civilian 0817624049/4547 Tele fax 0039-81-7624049. ,.northern Italy j. King Cruger pc 54, Box 473 Apo a 09601 Telephone Dan 632-8176 or civilian 0039 434-66-8176 Tel fax 0039-434-668222. United kingdom Nancy Tomer Marc Mcfann and Dayo Didio. Building 464 Cess us Raf Mildenhall Apo a 09459 Telephone Dan 238-2226 or civilian 0638-542226 Tel fax 0638-718013, new York City Timothy Cahill room 638, 201 Varick st.,.now York 10014/Telephone 212-620-3333 Tel fax ,. 212-620-3268, a Washington . Chuck Vinch Cind Skillion. Oast a the Pentagon room 2e756. ? Box. 46095, Washington.  20050-6095 Telephone 703-697 6g95 Tel fax 703-693-6366. Business departments maj Richard k. Major Usa Deputy commander Dale Este newspaper operations director Fred Shine new York operations director Jame Wytock circulation manager Jeffrey h. Kingdom comptroller circulation toll free customer service for Home or office delivery inquiries or delivery problems Call 24 hours Germany. Belgium Italy .-.". United kingdom Netherlands Spain Tel fax 0130-840048 07811-8775 1678-73456 0-800-898854 06-022-7629 900-99-4955 06155-601436 Germany Augsburg civilian 0821-544529, Tel fax 0821-544565. 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The appearance of advertising in this publication including inserts or supplements does not constitute endorse ment by the department of a Fonsa or the stars and St pcs of the products or services nov Ongsod. How mail flows a recent letter commented  of one particular Magazine and the amount of time it took to receive another Magazine. Magazines addressed to Apos do take longer than magazines sent by Mai within the Continental United states. Magazines addressed to an Apo address Are separated into two different categories time value publications and surface boat mail. Time value publications tips Are magazines or newspapers that Are published daily or weekly , Newsweek or army times. Tips Are entitled by Law to movement to the overseas Are Aby space available air. " Magazine publishers sort and identify their weekly magazines tips so the . Postal service can ship them via space available air rather than by sur face boat transportation. When the publisher sorts and correctly identifies tips and the postal serv  processes them correctly the Patron receives the publication on or before the Issue Date. J monthly magazines Are not entitle to space available air transport from the United states to Europe. Monthly magazines Are sorted by the publisher and Are sacked and loaded into Sealand containers at the postal service s bulk mail facility in new Jer sey for Over the water transport to Europe on american Flag ships. When the entire system meshes magazines arrive on time and you receive your Issue within three or four weeks normally within the same month of the Issue Date there Are times however when publication is mishandled and this will cause a delay or no receipt of you Magazine or newspaper. If this happens you should first Contact the publisher to verify that it has your Correct address and that it is sending the publication to you. If still unsatisfied Contact your local postal officer. Be sure to provide All relative information concerning you delayed dissent or missing publication including the mailing Label on the cover when available. Pime Dellin postal operations directorate1st personnel come v Schwet Zingen Germany poor customer service i m quite grateful to the army and air Force Exchange service to be Able to shop in a Nice base Exchange Post Exchange in Vogel Weh and Ramstein. On can Tell they make a conscientious Effort to balance Quality with Price. I wish Cus Tomer service could match the balance of cafes Quality. Sometimes the bureaucratic and stifling operational mind set that has infiltrated cafes is to much for pseudo free Enterprise operations. Recently while in the Vogel Weh base Exchange i went to make a Catalon  took a number noted for layaway and not for deferred payment plan pay ment waited patiently for 10 minutes then was told i was in the wrong line. So i went Back to the end of another line fora 10-minute wait. Finally i was waited on and told that i had to fill out a form for orders. I said i did that last time and was told it was a waste of time since the could ask me directly All the information they needed for the  can imagine How frustrating the process becomes. So i went Back the next time with the form All filled in and waited for 10 minutes while three clerk sat the layaway counter were Idle and shooting the Breeze. It seems that they could have serviced a few customers since there was a , anyway Best wishes in trying to streamline the process. Randall a.  Germany unfair practice last week i received my nato travel or s card from my Lloyd agent Here i Kaiserslautern. I thought it was a wonderful idea because i now had the Secu Rity of knowing that if i broke Down on the autobahn i was going to be taken care of. I referred a Friend to my agent Roget insurance and a nato traveler s card and was shocked to learn that theother insurance companies had gotten a court order to Stop this because they said it was an unfair business practice. Since when is providing a service tomake life better for us an unfair business practice i like the Security my card pro Vides and the fact that there was no in crease in my insurance rates made it even better v a / i feel that if we get together and sup port companies that support us and no support those companies that Only want to take our Money we could make things better As the wife of an army specialist every Dollar counts. If someone wants to save me Money and give me better serv  i m All for it. Since when is this an unfair business practice Sabrina Drew Kaiserslautern Germany editor s note we encourage our readers especially those who have never submitted a letter to write to us. Letters expressing readers View Points or opinions Are published Dally on this Page. All letters must be signed and include address and Telephone number. Preference is Given to Shorter letters so that More can be published in a timely manner. We Reserve the right to edit letters for clarity length and taste. Send to letters to the editor the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211. Or fax country code 49 06155-601 463, Dan 348-8463. Commentary tax Cut by the Washington Post you an Mark the Calendar by the appearance of certain political  arise in the second half of every election year. The raising of them be Speaks a kind of contempt on the part of the politicians for the voters to whom the rhetoric is addressed. They la fall for it again is the unspoken message. In fact the voters tend to know better and to return the politicians con tempt. But still the ritual goes on. There was a sighting of one of these is sues in the Wall Street journal. The Story said some of the president s advisers want him to resurrect the misbegotten idea of a Middle class tax Cut. The notion is that the president strayed from what got him elected whence tilted instead in favor of deficit reduction last year. The aides who have never made the transition from campaigning to governing want him to revert. It s hard to imagine a More damaging proposal. An indiscriminate Middle class tax Cut would Cost the government a for tune it does t have undo the budget agreement that remains the clearest accomplishment of the president s term threaten the recovery it would be meant to extend and add to the fiscal pressure on spending programs that the same presidential advisers will want to expand. We could go on. The proponents like the idea for precisely the reason that make it such bad policy it panders and postpones. Among the other election year Chest nuts Are welfare and crime. It will not Surprise you to learn that your elected leaders would like to see less of both. The trick in an election year is to find a group that has comfortably few support ers then Challenge your opponent to see who can be least responsible in beating up on it. Welfare recipients Are not popular. Favorite theme has become no welfare for  it s a two for since immigrants some kinds of them at least Aren t that popular either and deny eng them benefits saves Money for Wel fare  never mind that the savings would also impose a vast unfunded mandate on the states where else would the abandoned immigrants turn for support and that Many of those most intent on cutting off the immigrants Are also Osten Sibly most intent on protecting the states against Federal decrees. It s who can sound toughest that s All that matters on welfare and on crime As Well. There s a lot to be said on both these subjects but it rarely gets Well or carefully said in the 30-second to spots that pass for monographs in an election. The debate on the crime Bill was last month s exhibit a. It had to do at least As much with symbols As with any substance. Welfare Reform has seemingly been put Over and won t suffer a similar Fate. After elections the rash generally subsides and the patient mostly recovers until the next election. We i 7wnk about putting chit run hot Naju Rau a. I think about the future of my own  Ihre of unp�rin5ur�p.on�i 5unthanks Mas 6oin6in the real k to tech unch. Put he a s so stubborn ju5t of dear. Listen to we family out of jail ? dirt. \ a \ rj6ht?