Readers React

Ganging Up on Tim

Undoubtedly the recession was a very serious situation and Timothy Geithner '83 probably did the best he could. However, the end result was that a lot of banks came out of the recession doing very well, but thousands and thousands of homeowners with toxic bank mortgages lost their homes. Geithner and the other members of the crisis management team could have and should have come up with a plan that was fairer to homeowners.

Chappaqua, New York

I read with special interest your interview explaining the role in the great financial crisis played by Geithner as Treasury sec- retary. Although interviewer Matthew Mosk '92 asked some pointed questions, he seemed to give Geithner a free pass on his responses.

Geithner must have sustained a rotator cuff injury from patting himself on the back for all his self-congratulatory replies. For many people, including many Dartmouth alumni, the outrageous bonuses paid to the upper-echelon bandits in the financial industry (notably AIG) were infuriating and were big money unless you are a 1-per- center, as perhaps Geithner is.

I did not appreciate the lenient treat- ment that Wall Streeters got from Obama, Geithner & Cos. Too big to fail and too big to jail! Geithner kowtowed to Wall Street bigshots at the expense of the American people.

Last year I was fortunate enough to be able to attend my class' 50th reunion. How- ever, the action of two "sons" of Dartmouth, Geithner and Henry Paulson '6B, has left me with a strong distaste in my mouth.

Santa Maria, California

A more accurate illustration for the cover of your July/August issue would have shown Geithner frantically dumping American families, taxpayers, middle-class home- owners and working people overboard while making sure that bankers and plu- tocrats stayed safe and dry.

I realize it is unrealistic to expect Mosk to ask hard-hitting questions, but the piece was such a soft wet kiss, I felt rather embar- rassed for DAM.

Jersey City, New Jersey

Regarding your cover blurb, "Former Trea- sury Secretary Timothy Geithner 'B3 ex- plains how he—and the economy—survived the 100-year financial storm," I would have been more interested in his explanation of his tax issues as raised at his confirmation hearings.

Cincinnati, Ohio

Bonfiregate

Your article on the Hanover Country Club, "Par for the Course," included a number of amusing anecdotes, including Hillary Clinton's reminiscence about Winter Carnival 1967. However, I can't imagine a single alum reader who didn't note a glar- ing inaccuracy in her story. In my years at Dartmouth I don't ever remember a bonfire at Winter Carnival. I'm happy to give Hill- ary a pass, since most of us of a certain age don't remember events from 47 years in the past with unerring precision. But just wait until the Republican National Committee finds out!

Roanoke, Virginia

Say What?

I was disappointed to see the "Continuing Ed" piece in the July/August issue contain specious arguments by oil and gas geologist Hal Macartney'7s in support of hydraulic fracturing. Although Macartney makes a number of misleading statements, perhaps the worst is that "there has never been a documented and proven case of contami- nated groundwater in more than 2 million wells."

The oil and gas industry has used legal settlements and confidentiality agreements to silence allegations of groundwater con- tamination. It has bought itself widespread support of politicians using generous cam- paign contributions. The industry's mo- dus operandi—capped by the exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act that it obtained for hydraulic fracturing—has pre- vented any meaningful public accountabil- ity for the controversial practice. Although hydraulic fracturing appears to offer hu- mankind many benefits, the threat it poses to groundwater makes it imperative that we permit this practice only after a careful analysis of the potential costs and benefits.

I expect better of DAM than to allow controversial claims to go unchallenged, and I implore DAM to provide a comparable opportunity in a future issue so that a quali- fied and disinterested expert might present the other side of this important argument.

New York City

Tragic Truth

"Wall Papers" in the July/August issue incorrectly states that John Seel '65 was "killed by members of his own platoon," as reported in his DAM obituary shortly after his death.

Seel, the Long Binh base postal offi- cer, was killed on his second day in coun- try while inspecting another unit's ammo bunker located in the front yard of his post office. Spc. John Wheat, who did not know Seel or intend him as a target, set a frag- mentation grenade booby trap.

I was about 50 yards away when the grenade detonated, and was eventually or- dered (over my protest) to defend Wheat at his general court martial. He was con- victed of murder in the second degree and sentenced to 20 years in the disciplinary barracks at Fort Leavenworth.

Gainesville, Florida

WRITE TO US We welcome letters. The editor reserves the right to determine the suitability of letters for publication and to edit them for accuracy and length. We regret that not all letters can be published, nor can they be returned. Letters should run no more than 200 words in length, refer to material published in the magazine and include the writer's full name, address and telephone number. Write: Letters, Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, 7 Allen Street, Suite 201, Hanover, NH 03755 Email: DAMletters@dartmouth.edu Fax: (603) 646-1209