Letters: Planes; 'Classic' Clunkers; Folsom Prison

MELISSA BLOCK, host:

We begin today's letter segment with a correction. Some of you listening to yesterday's program may have heard conflicting information about the start date of the Transportation Security Administration's new requirements for airline passengers.

MADELEINE BRAND, host:

So, just to be clear, it's beginning this Saturday that some passengers will be asked for their birth dates and genders when they book a ticket. The program is being phased in, so not everyone will be asked for that information right away.

BLOCK: Okay. On to another kind of transportation. Under the government's Cash-for-Clunkers Program, you cannot trade in a vehicle that's more than 25 years old. And yesterday, Ken Bensinger of the L.A. Times told us that's a concession to classic car enthusiasts.

Mr. KEN BENSINGER (Reporter, L.A. Times): There's two things going on. One there are hobbyists who truly are passionate about older cars and sort of wake up with nightmares in the night thinking that somewhere, some beautiful old car is being crushed and could have been saved.

Then there's the people who have a business take in it and they believe that where there's fewer old cars out there, there's fewer cars to sell parts for and to do service on.

BLOCK: Listener James Moore(ph) of Newburgh, Indiana, writes this: I'm an antique car collector and have a dozen or so classic cars, all older than 1984. Many collectable cars are stored away and are not driven more than a few miles each year. They do not get great gas mileage and are not as kind to our environment as later models, but they are a part of our history and a part of people's lives and, yes, a part of people's passions.

Finally, praise for Laura Sullivan's story about how California's Folsom Prison went from a model prison to a terrible example and how it represents the state's prison troubles overall.

Donna Tolmay(ph) of Atlanta, Georgia, wrote: My much loved brother is in prison. And unfortunately, nobody cares about prisons until someone they love ends up behind bars. The statistics are shocking and the situation serves as a revolving door for minor drug related crimes. Thank you for bringing attention to this ignored part of America.

Please send us your thoughts at npr.org, click on contact us, now at the bottom of the page.

Copyright © 2009 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.