Julia Roberts
Thank you so much for the wonderful article on Julia Roberts. I have always known from the moment I saw her in Pretty Woman that she was the real deal. I wish her and Benjamin all the best. Hopefully someday they will be hearing the pitter-patter of little Bratts.
Patti Grenier, Tucson

It's refreshing to read about an actor such as Julia Roberts. She's achieved her recognition on merit alone, without ever having to take her clothes off for the camera. Women with class in Hollywood today are few and far between.
Q. Tackett, Lake Orion, Mich.

Julia Roberts has grown into a beautiful woman, actress and businesswoman. I have more respect for her now than ever.
Celia Chavarria, San Jose, Calif.

Dr. Laura Schlessinger
Dr. Laura is being attacked for calling gays "biological errors" and for "fostering intolerance." However, it appears that her real crime is refusing to pay homage to the gay-activist agenda. The obvious truth of her "biological errors" statement is apparent if one accepts the fact that the primary biological purpose of sexual intercourse is to continue the species. If all of nature were gay, there would be no nature. Her statement is less a value judgment than a scientific fact.
Cyndi Hafele, Baltimore

If Ellen DeGeneres thinks Schlessinger is dangerous, maybe she needs to open the Bible and read what the word of God has to say about homosexuals. I stand behind Dr. Schlessinger 100 percent, and so do many others. People like Ellen DeGeneres are the ones who are dangerous. This country was built on Christian values, but they seem to have disappeared.
Addi Gonzalez, Albuquerque

If Dr. Schlessinger and other bigots like her would spend a fraction of their time on positive behavior—understanding and tolerance—the world would be a much better place. I am a Christian and nongay, and Dr. Schlessinger does not reflect my Christian values. I would thank her for not standing behind the shield of saying that she is the Judeo-Christian voice. She is her own voice—period.
Debra McCartney, Piano. Texas

I have never heard Dr. Laura on the airwaves, but I was appalled at her comment that homosexuals were "biological errors." Perhaps Dr. Laura should consider a time, not so long ago, when people wearing the same star she has around her neck in the magazine photo were mindlessly slaughtered for the same reason.
Dona Bliss, Knoxville, Tenn.

Thomas Navarro
How sad that our democratic government will not allow parents to seek their own doctor for their cancer-afflicted child. Dr. Dianne Murphy states that 4-year-old Thomas Navarro's parents cannot make this decision because they are not qualified or emotionally equipped to choose his course of treatment. Who but the parents would be better qualified? The FDA should remain an evaluation-and-research service and not interfere with qualified doctors and their patients.
Anne Munz, San Clemente, Calif.

Medical innovators like Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski are always ridiculed before their break-throughs are accepted. I hope Congress moves fast on the bill to guarantee Thomas and other patients the right to choose their own medical treatment. The gall of the FDA to say that the parents are emotionally incapable of choosing for their own child! Since when did the government take control of our lives?
Henry Kriegel, Bozeman, Mont.

As a nurse, I've seen countless individuals suffer horrible side effects from chemotherapy and radiation. I've also met people who chose unconventional treatments without side effects and are healthier now than they were before their disease. Physicians and the FDA should be able to inform people of treatments available but not take away choices from individuals living in a free country.
Mary Kay Burke, Pittsburgh

My grandson has the tumor Thomas has and was also prevented by the FDA from receiving Dr. Burzynski's treatment. Only now, when he has suffered the harmful effects of radiation and chemotherapy, does he meet the FDA requirement for this treatment. I can only hope your article will lead to our being given the right to decide what type of treatment we can receive.
Michael Hood, Raleigh, N.C.

Rodney Plummer
Our society needs more people like bus driver Rodney Plummer who risk their own safety to help a total stranger. I am outraged that his employer treated him so poorly. A man like him should have been given a commendation for his unselfish bravery.
Joe Quandt, Madison, Wis.

After the New York City Transit Authority docked Mr. Plummer's pay when he was injured being a Good Samaritan on his lunch hour, the TA relented and gave him a $1,500 reward, and he has received an additional $10,000 from other sources.—ED.

Carol Prisant
Ms. Prisant says to "stay away from multiple-dealer antique shops" and recommends tag sales, garage sales and flea markets—her reasoning being that dealers will have already picked up any treasures in the former. Having had 15 years' experience as a dealer in a multi-dealer market, I'd like to say that if Ms. Prisant thinks tag and garage sales and flea markets are not scoped out really early by dealers, she's seriously mistaken. We're the first ones there and our numbers are legion. As for treasures not to be found at an antiques mall, again I beg to differ. My favorite example is an obscure collectible that sat in my showcase at $23 for three weeks. I listed it online and it fetched $500!
Andrea Goble, Toronto

Kathie Lee Gifford
No one had to gag me with a spoon after I read your article on Kathie Lee; the reflex kicked in all by itself.
Mary Stone, Pocono Lakes, Pa.

So Kathie Lee has realized she's replaceable? Cool! Too bad that light didn't go on 15 years ago.
Joan Carmody, Golden, Colo.

I believe I sense a bit of envy in Ms. Gifford over Regis's success on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Clara Cataldo, Jamison, Pa.

In the recent article about my decision to leave Live with Regis & Kathie Lee, one statement attributed to me was accurate but incomplete and as a result leaves a completely different impression than the one I intended. What I said, in total, was, "I don't want to interview Lily Tomlin one more time. I want to work with Lily Tomlin." The abbreviated quote left your readers without a critical reason for my departure: the desire to work with creative and imaginative individuals whom I've long admired and respected. Lily Tomlin is certainly among them.
Kathie Lee Gifford, New York City

Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson is a great role model for today's youth. I thought I was the only one who had taken a vow of celibacy before marriage, but your article about her makes me realize that I'm not alone.
Estay Paulsen, via e-mail

Jessica Simpson wants to maintain a more wholesome image than her pop-star contemporaries? I'm sure posing naked in a tub full of suds will move that right along.
Elizabeth Crabtree, Dale City, Va.