Stewardship

It was unfortunate to read that Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach) believes that the Republican Party should remove the antiabortion plank in the party platform ("It's Bad for Party Business," Dec. 29). Conviction, integrity and commitment to the unborn baby should never be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency for the sake of unity. As an old military man, Ferguson should know that some things are worth fighting for. In the 1950s and '60s, the civil rights movement stirred controversy and divisiveness, but thank God that divisiveness pricked this nation's consciousness, which led to congressional passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. As pro-life Republicans, we have a moral duty to promote life and responsibility with regard to our bodies.

Shame on George Will, usually a conservative columnist, for blaming Bush and the previous Republican Administration for the nation's economic woes and soaring national debt ("Bush Sinks to a Modern Low in Stewardship," Column Right, Oct. 31). Doesn't he know that presidents can't spend a penny unless it is appropriated by Congress, dominated for most of nearly 40 years by Democrats? HOWARD LOCKWOOD, Lake View Terrace

Robert H. Brown, the embattled executive director of the American Foundation for AIDS Research, has disclosed that he will resign his post next month, sources familiar with the organization said Tuesday. The decision was reached by "mutual agreement" between Brown and members of the turmoil-ridden group's executive board, according to the sources. Brown announced his decision in a private meeting with staff members Monday.

The series by Mark A. Stein and Louis Sahagun paints a bleak picture of the BLM's stewardship of the nation's public lands. However, this story pales against the enormous waste of taxpayer money and the rape of the Western environment perpetrated by the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the last century. The bitter rivalry between these two giant bureaucracies over the right to manage the invaluable water resources west of the Mississippi has led to waste, fraud and abuse of unprecedented proportions.

With only two years left in office, President Reagan is presumably beginning to worry about how future historians and future generations of Americans will judge the legacy of his eight years in the White House. Like other Presidents before him, he will undoubtedly do what he can--through memoirs and interviews with scholars--to embellish his successes and explain away his failures. It will be especially fascinating to see what ex-President Reagan has to say about his stewardship of the U.S.