Mary Brent Wehrli

Regarding "Women Without Boundaries" (June 12): Kathleen Hendrix's profile of the Women's Convoy to Central America was outstanding. I would like to thank the View section for giving space to this article. Only the tenacity of citizens at large will stop the militaristic role the U.S. government continues to play throughout Central America. Negotiation is the way to solve the injustices and inequalities at the root of the region's problems. In the meantime, the convoy's theme, "between women there are no boundaries," and the material aid they are delivering to projects throughout Mexico and Central America, are beautiful and tangible expressions of how we can override the militancy of our government.

Thank you for your very timely and accurate editorial on continued military aid for El Salvador ("Congress: Don't Fall for It," Sept. 25). Unfortunately, neither you nor Congress has taken a strong enough position. The war is not only, as you say, "ugly and unwinnable"--but totally immoral. You condemn the military as having "too much political clout" when, in fact, it has total control of the politics of the country. There is only one way to force the military to negotiate honestly with the FMLN and to respect the human rights of the Salvadoran people, and that is to discontinue all, not just half, of the proposed $85 million in aid. Until Congress stops supporting the Salvadoran military, congressional hands will be stained with the blood of the Salvadoran people.

Thank you for your very timely and accurate editorial on continued military aid for El Salvador ("Congress: Don't Fall for It," Sept. 25). Unfortunately, neither you nor Congress has taken a strong enough position. The war is not only, as you say, "ugly and unwinnable"--but totally immoral. You condemn the military as having "too much political clout" when, in fact, it has total control of the politics of the country. There is only one way to force the military to negotiate honestly with the FMLN and to respect the human rights of the Salvadoran people, and that is to discontinue all, not just half, of the proposed $85 million in aid. Until Congress stops supporting the Salvadoran military, congressional hands will be stained with the blood of the Salvadoran people.

Mary Brent Wehrli lives down a flowery lane in a lovely Spanish home in the hills of Brentwood. Her husband is a Century City lawyer, her daughter a first-year medical student at USC, her son a carpenter working on a teaching degree in Oakland. But there ends the stereotype of the pampered Westside housewife. The 47-year-old alumna of the Marlborough School and UCLA has a string of "gosh, I don't know, maybe 20" arrests, two as recent as January.

The amnesty program of the 1986 immigration law has fallen far below its potential. I agree with The Times that "it is clear that the best remedy would be an extension of the deadline" ("Extend the Amnesty," editorial, March 24). There is a bill that recommends a full year extension and Rep. Romano Mazzoli (D-Ky.) has introduced legislation that would extend the application deadline by six months. The short-form application giving a 60-day extension to collect documentation does not address the real issue behind the low turnout of applicants.

As a classicist, I am often astonished to see how little some things change from one millennium to the next. In her excellent coverage of the Bush/Deukmejian/Wilson fund-raising dinner ("Protesters Disrupt Bush Speech in L.A.," Part A, Feb. 7), Cathleen Decker wrote that as Mary Brent Wehrli was being ejected, a Republican "lunged toward" her "pulling open her blouse." Compare what happened to Hipparchia at a dinner party 2000 years ago: Her skillful argumentation so frustrated the philosopher Theodorus that all he could think to do was to "pull up" her dress.

"If the United States is to cease being part of the problem, we must stop fueling strife in Central America." These concluding words in your recent series on peace in Central America ("If Peace Breaks Out," Op-Ed Page, Oct. 26-Nov. 1) must be heeded. Thus far the only solution the U.S. government has offered for Central America's problems is militarization, which undermines diplomatic efforts working toward negotiated peace and ignores the true root problems--the economic and political injustices suffered by a majority of Central Americans.

Dwight Ink of AID's Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean questions the accuracy of the Rev. Don Lewis' Op-Ed Page column "U.S. Military Assistance to El Salvador Negates Benefits of Economic Aid" (May 16) in a letter published May 30. Ink states that "The United State's role in El Salvador has been extremely positive. A whopping three-fourths of all U.S. assistance to El Salvador is economic or humanitarian." In reading some material based on reports from Ink's AID office I found information that contradicts both of his assertions.

The article "No Parking at Nicaragua Protest Drives Activists to Charge Repression" (Times, Oct. 4) requires a few supplementations to give an accurate account of the demonstration on Sept. 27 at the Federal Building. First, the statement, "2,500 pro-and anti-Administration demonstrators assembled" needs refinement: There were at best some 50 pro-Administration demonstrators and over 2,000 anti-Administration demonstrators, and it is only the latter that had a permit for the demonstration.

Mary Brent Wehrli lives down a flowery lane in a lovely Spanish home in the hills of Brentwood. Her husband is a Century City lawyer, her daughter a first-year medical student at USC, her son a carpenter working on a teaching degree in Oakland. But there ends the stereotype of the pampered Westside housewife. The 47-year-old alumna of the Marlborough School and UCLA has a string of "gosh, I don't know, maybe 20" arrests, two as recent as January.

As a classicist, I am often astonished to see how little some things change from one millennium to the next. In her excellent coverage of the Bush/Deukmejian/Wilson fund-raising dinner ("Protesters Disrupt Bush Speech in L.A.," Part A, Feb. 7), Cathleen Decker wrote that as Mary Brent Wehrli was being ejected, a Republican "lunged toward" her "pulling open her blouse." Compare what happened to Hipparchia at a dinner party 2000 years ago: Her skillful argumentation so frustrated the philosopher Theodorus that all he could think to do was to "pull up" her dress.

Regarding "Women Without Boundaries" (June 12): Kathleen Hendrix's profile of the Women's Convoy to Central America was outstanding. I would like to thank the View section for giving space to this article. Only the tenacity of citizens at large will stop the militaristic role the U.S. government continues to play throughout Central America. Negotiation is the way to solve the injustices and inequalities at the root of the region's problems. In the meantime, the convoy's theme, "between women there are no boundaries," and the material aid they are delivering to projects throughout Mexico and Central America, are beautiful and tangible expressions of how we can override the militancy of our government.

Dwight Ink of AID's Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean questions the accuracy of the Rev. Don Lewis' Op-Ed Page column "U.S. Military Assistance to El Salvador Negates Benefits of Economic Aid" (May 16) in a letter published May 30. Ink states that "The United State's role in El Salvador has been extremely positive. A whopping three-fourths of all U.S. assistance to El Salvador is economic or humanitarian." In reading some material based on reports from Ink's AID office I found information that contradicts both of his assertions.

The amnesty program of the 1986 immigration law has fallen far below its potential. I agree with The Times that "it is clear that the best remedy would be an extension of the deadline" ("Extend the Amnesty," editorial, March 24). There is a bill that recommends a full year extension and Rep. Romano Mazzoli (D-Ky.) has introduced legislation that would extend the application deadline by six months. The short-form application giving a 60-day extension to collect documentation does not address the real issue behind the low turnout of applicants.

"If the United States is to cease being part of the problem, we must stop fueling strife in Central America." These concluding words in your recent series on peace in Central America ("If Peace Breaks Out," Op-Ed Page, Oct. 26-Nov. 1) must be heeded. Thus far the only solution the U.S. government has offered for Central America's problems is militarization, which undermines diplomatic efforts working toward negotiated peace and ignores the true root problems--the economic and political injustices suffered by a majority of Central Americans.

The article "No Parking at Nicaragua Protest Drives Activists to Charge Repression" (Times, Oct. 4) requires a few supplementations to give an accurate account of the demonstration on Sept. 27 at the Federal Building. First, the statement, "2,500 pro-and anti-Administration demonstrators assembled" needs refinement: There were at best some 50 pro-Administration demonstrators and over 2,000 anti-Administration demonstrators, and it is only the latter that had a permit for the demonstration.