Sen. Phil Gramm

Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) and his fat-cat hunting buddies should have been ashamed--and should have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law--if they illegally lured ducks to food on their privileged hunting playgrounds (“Wildlife Officials Stung by Gramm’s Political Arsenal,” Dec. 13).

What sport is there in setting out piles of food, hiding behind a duck blind, and blasting away at tame ducks as they descend to feed?

Gramm may consider himself “a defender of wildlife,” but regulated shooting preserves on Maryland’s Eastern Shore pose serious threats to wildlife. While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has expressed concern over the threat of diseases spreading from captive-raised mallards to wild bird populations, our president and our senators continue to blast away.

Politicians and lobbyists on Maryland’s Eastern Shore routinely violate game laws--and sometimes get away with it. It is a pity that the people we elect to make our laws cannot even see fit to follow them.

MICHAEL MARKARIAN

Director of Campaigns

The Fund For Animals, New York

Your article about the abuse of power by Sen. Gramm was shameful. Your “hatchet job” on the character of a fine man is deplorable. The man stood up for his rights against some petty bureaucrats who obviously overstepped their authority. The senator was made out, by innuendo, to be against the environment, which he is not.

When you talk about abuse of power, look at yourself. Does a minor incident, which happened almost eight years ago, really warrant front-page coverage?

You are scared of Gramm getting elected president. If a conservative gets elected to be president in 1996, the tax-and-spend liberals couldn’t get their greedy hands on the resources of the truly productive members of society.

DAVID R. CROUCH