Tuneful arrogance

RANDY Newman has written some lovely film scores, but his facile and oh-so-fashionable ditty “Political Science” (“Not Laughing Anymore,” by Bob Baker, Aug. 30) is also sooooo seventh-grade. If he is that distressed by his country’s “arrogant behavior,” perhaps he would find an indefinite sabbatical in another part of the world refreshing -- minus, of course, the bountiful income that this embarrassing nation has provided him.

If he won’t export himself, he should at least seek to prevent his lyrics from spreading beyond our borders. We don’t want to send any more American arrogance abroad than absolutely necessary.

Paul Reisser

Thousand Oaks