LETTERS

Al Gore's Reinvention? A few days ago I received the first issue of Washington Technology (April 11) that I had ever seen, and I must say that I was delighted with the overall quality of the editorial content. It is very insightful and well-written and as such is a departure from the typical publications that I receive. I particularly liked the editorial in which the FAA and VP Al Gore are properly flogged for their continuing missteps. It is unfortunate, however, that this type of

A few days ago I received the first issue of Washington Technology (April 11) that I had ever seen, and I must say that I was delighted with the overall quality of the editorial content. It is very insightful and well-written and as such is a departure from the typical publications that I receive. I particularly liked the editorial in which the FAA and VP Al Gore are properly flogged for their continuing missteps. It is unfortunate, however, that this type of insight has not been widely and frequently and repeatedly disseminated among the news media sooner than this. I have always been disturbed by Al Gore's continual use of the term "reinvention," a word which neither exists nor can be coined with the backing of an infrequently used political concept called logic. Nothing can be reinvented; invention is the genesis of a concept, technique or mechanism, as an original "first." A change to the original concept can be a revision, alteration, modification and the like. It is like someone saying that they are going to do something again, for the first time! Time after time, Al Gore has demonstrated that maybe his time in Tennessee has safely shielded him from things like English language, and he only has familiarity with the political vernacular, not logic. Thank you for an excellent publication. It is very informative. I hope I can continue to receive it. Lou Garner Consulting Engineer Las Vegas, Nevada
Al Gore's Reinvention?






Non-sequitur Comments on the Church of Scientology
Your brief article (WT, April 11) on the Church of Scientology's new World Wide Web site (http://www.scientology.org) accurately reported that it is one of the largest sites on the Internet. In fact, it is THE largest multimedia site on the Internet today, a point which has won the site millions of hits and three World Wide Web awards since its opening on March 15.
However, the negative comments gratuitously attached to the news on our Web site were irresponsible. They can only serve to give false altitude to those who would use the Internet to willfully break the law and violate the copyrights of others. These non-sequitur comments also omitted that the copyright enforcement actions taken by the Church of Scientology are -- despite the protests of the copyright violators and their sympathizers -- consistent with legal measures taken by other owners of intellectual property.

Alexander R. Jones
The Founding Church of Scientology
Washington, D.C.

NASA article insightful
I just read the "NASA: Mission Impossible" article (WT, May 15) and the accompanying interview with Daniel Goldin. I enjoyed both, although I thought Goldin's interview was a bit short and his answers a bit too well-prepared. Of course, the two pieces were made even more interesting because they represented opposing views. You seemed to take the approach that the agency was dying a slow death and would eventually be parceled out to smaller agencies, while Goldin essentially tried to convince us that less meant more. Either way, I hope the important work continues and those 55,000 displayed employees find jobs.
Chris Sampson
Tivoli Systems
Austin, Texas

Happy 10th WT!
Your 10th anniversary issue (WT, April 25) made me proud to be a technology businessperson in the Washington area. As you say, in 1986 we were "fragmented and unconnected." Now, thanks in no small part to the positioning of the Netplex by Washington Technology, we actually have a sense of community. Thanks for giving us an identity.
J. Clifton Lundberg
President and CEO
General Offshore Corp.
Alexandria, Va.