STEVE INSKEEP, host:
And it's time once again to hear your comments. People have plenty to say this week about the auto bailout. John Roberts(ph) of Floyd, Virginia, writes that our coverage missed the most important issue, in his view. He writes, American carmakers made unreliable cars for too long. This is not only a case of a bad economy, a rise in gas prices. It's simple. We've moved on to a better product.
RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
San Francisco listener John McCadden(ph) heard my interview with Michigan Senator Carl Levin. He writes that Levin is, quote, "clearly a supporter of the auto industry as it currently exists, but didn't address necessary changes regarding the cars that the American public really wants."
INSKEEP: Tom Criesky(ph) agrees. And this Madison, Wisconsin, listener has owned a lot of American cars.
Mr. TOM CRIESKY (Caller): Ford Fairlane and Ford Mustang, Dodge Omni, two Pontiac Grand Prixs, Chevy Cavalier, Oldsmobile Intrigue, Ford Pinto station wagon.
MONTAGNE: Tom Criesky says energy efficiency is now the top of his list. Now he drives a Toyota Prius.
Mr. CRIESKY: I kept saying to myself, someday General Motors is, or Ford is going to have a car that, you know, is going to get better gasoline efficiency. And I finally got tired of waiting.
INSKEEP: We never get tired of our correspondent Daniel Zwerdling, who brought us two stories this week as part of our series "Memo to the President." He reported that the Bush administration turned over a lot of government work to private contractors. Many listeners wrote in to defend the job that contractors are doing.
MONTAGNE: But Lydia Louis(ph) of St. Louis, Missouri, insists that "some jobs are government inherent." Those are her words. She adds, I'm a former federal employee myself whose computer agency contracted out to a defense company who knew nothing about our Army-specific computer system. This contractor is still trying to complete a contract that was supposed to be finished in 2003.
INSKEEP: Some other letters focused on our coverage of the attacks on Mumbai, India. Our correspondent Philip Reeves heard a Mumbai resident say this about Pakistan, from which the attacks allegedly came.
Mr. SUDIR CHANGIANI(ph) (Indian Fund Manager): These guys who've got the camps there, you've got to go after them. You've got to go and single them out and get them.
PHILIP REEVES: And if they don't, India should act?
Mr. CHANGIANI: Yeah.
REEVES: By doing what?
Mr. CHANGIANI: By whatever means necessary.
INSKEEP: In response to that sentiment, listener Julia Pouts(ph) wrote, his statement brought home to me how Americans' post-9/11 mentality must have seemed to the rest of the world. Thank you for giving perspective to our own reactions.
MONTAGNE: Finally, many of you thanked us for our remembrance of singer Odetta. The folk singer and civil rights activist died on Tuesday at the age of 77.
(Soundbite of song "This Little Light of Mine")
Ms. ODETTA HOLMES (Musician; Civil Rights Activist): (Singing) This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, Let it shine...
MONTAGNE: A moment of Odetta. And we always love to hear from you. Just go to npr.org and click on the button that says "Contact Us."
(Soundbite of song "This Little Light of Mine")
Ms. HOLMES: (Singing) This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, Let it shine, Let it shine. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.