Letters

--Thomas von Wendt

(Kraut in exile)

Los Angeles

EVILDOERS -- SAVE ’EM, SELL ‘EM, SWAP ’EM WITH YOUR FRIENDS

DEAR EDITOR:

It was somewhat refreshing to read ”The Rough Guide to Nicaragua“ [November 9--15], John Powers‘ attempt to paint a realistic picture of Daniel Ortega, whose dark deeds have basically been whitewashed for over two decades by the press of the left. ”Egomaniac“? For sure -- the younger cadres of the FSLN would love to ditch him, along with Tomas Borge, the other dinosaur of the party’s leadership. But ”born-again yuppie“? Definitely a misnomer, as he and so many others of the Sandinista old guard are, rather, still living off of the ill-gotten gains which they obtained via the great piñata of 1990, when the Sandinistas ripped off the Nicaraguan government, right down to the plumbing, as they were leaving office in electoral defeat. ”Alleged child molester“? We may never know for certain so long as El Gallo remains safely beyond the authority of the legal system due to his parliamentary immunity.

Jimmy Carter casting aspersions on the Bush administration‘s serious warnings about what a Sandinista victory would have meant to Nicaragua? No surprise there. It was Carter himself who ushered in the Sandinista nightmare in 1979 and who has remained friendly with the Sandinistas ever since. In truth, though, the Sandinistas have never left power, at least not entirely, as they’ve continued to pull many of the political strings from behind the scenes owing to their predominance in the Assembly. They‘ve managed to thwart reform at almost every turn -- except, of course, the self-serving Ortega-Aleman political pact, which threatens Nicaraguan democracy and almost got Danny Boy elected.

Enrique Bolaños is not perfect. He should have left the Aleman administration earlier than he did, but at least he did so and thus was never faced, like Al Gore, with having defended his besmirched boss to the bitter end. Nicaragua can be very grateful for the free and fair election of Mr. Bolaños, whereas that of his less-than-worthy opponent would have been an utter disaster.

--Peter Schuck

Encino

SORRY, WE THOUGHT HE WAS THE MESSIAH

I am writing in response to Nancy Rommelmann’s article ”Eat at L. Ron‘s“ [November 9--15]. This article oozes with snide remarks, and hatred of the Scientology religion. Being a Scientologist, I find it very offensive. The man whose picture you mockingly placed next to this article is a very great humanitarian.

--Denise Munsterman

Los Angeles