I am not usually a fan of top-100 lists, but I read every entry of the TIME 100, perhaps because of the equally interesting people asked to write about those on the list — Germaine Greer on Julian Assange, April Capone on Mark Zuckerberg [May 2]. Too often such pairings seem formulaic, but I found myself anticipating discovering the writer as much as the next list member.
Lisa Muir, BOONE, N.C., U.S.
Justin Bieber, the “prince of pop,” and Amy Chua, the “tiger mom,” have double-page photo layouts. Barack Obama has a small write-up toward the end of the list, printed in a tiny font, with a small picture apparently taken in the dark. This discrepancy is an insult not just to the President but to the presidency.
Dorothy Thatch, KANSAS CITY, MO., U.S.
I greatly enjoyed the TIME 100 issue, but had trouble reading some of the contributions. Please give thought to aging readers lacking 20/20 vision in less-than-ideal lighting when designing future issues.
David Bullock, BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND
After reading Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s praise of Marine Le Pen, I cannot wait for your next TIME 100 issue, in which I hope to read Hassan Nasrallah being praised by, say, Muqtada al-Sadr.
Csar Augusto de Castro, LISBON
TIME’s disappointingly short blurb in the TIME 100 on the South Korean entertainer Rain hardly does him justice. While it may be true that his “main claim to Western fame” is a role in Ninja Assassin, Rain’s influence is strongest in the East. He is the poster child not only for the booming and already widespread Korean entertainment industry but for the growing, economically powerful pop-culture scene throughout Asia.
Wyatt Petty, SALT LAKE CITY
For such a prestigious publication as yours not to find a single Hispanic worthy of mention — with the exception of a soccer player — on your list is ludicrous. People going to jail in Cuba, Honduras and Guatemala for defending human rights; brave Mexican police officers fighting a losing battle with drug lords — these people are worthy of recognition.
Nelson Alba, NORTH MIAMI BEACH
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has just dismantled our state’s public school system. Good teachers are being let go; as the parent of two autistic children, I can attest that there is no consideration for special education. Honoring Christie in the TIME 100 is shameful.
Lisa Doster, MAYWOOD, N.J., U.S.
What evidence is there that Michele Bachmann has done anything to deserve being placed among global influential leaders? Rush Limbaugh cites her conservatism but says nothing about how she’s influenced conservative political thinking or policy. As for “smart,” well, her public utterances often say otherwise.
James L. Newman, SYRACUSE, N.Y., U.S.
Once again, over half of TIME’s 100 most influential people are almost totally unknown over here in Europe, let alone influential. They may be important to those who watch television in the U.S., but please remember, Americans constitute a small proportion of the people on our planet.
Gianfranco Porcelli, MILAN
Solving the Deficit
It is interesting that Joe Klein refers to “the tax-allergic Republicans, especially the Tea Party caucus in the House” [The Gang of Six Ain’t Talking, May 2]. It would seem to me all of your readers would be more informed about taxes if you would provide in-depth information on statistics like the one elsewhere in the issue showing that 45% of Americans pay no taxes. Couple that with a company like General Electric making $14 billion in profits and paying no taxes, and you soon realize that all Americans should be a little tax-allergic.
Richard Holt, WILLIAMS, IND., U.S.
In Transparency We Trust
Bill Saporito correctly says consumers are at a disadvantage in health care [The Market Can’t Cure Medicare, TIME.com, May 2]. Unlike in the cases of cars and cereals, the consumer almost never knows the real price of a treatment or pill offered. Yet markets function most efficiently when prices are transparent to all buyers and sellers. If Congressman Paul Ryan wants to provide real price competition, he must find a way to make prices visible in our health care system.
Glen Bowler, WEST CHESTER, OHIO, U.S.
