To the Editor: Brent Staples makes some interesting points concerning the pervasive gap in black educational achievement (Editorial Observer, July 23).

To the Editor: Grade inflation does not in and of itself produce "weaker and more ornamental" diplomas (Editorial Observer, March 8).

To the Editor: The suggestion that today's multiethnic New York had its origins in the Dutch colonial past is intriguing (Editorial Observer, Aug. 7).

To the Editor: Floyd Norris's assertion (Editorial Observer, May 4) that the world "sees little need for gold" is misplaced.

As Adam Cohen points out (Editorial Observer, Jan. 12), the greatest symbol of that animosity, the trade embargo, has long since become pointless.

To the Editor: I support Brent Staples's call to extend the public health system into jails and prisons (Editorial Observer, June 22).

To the Editor: Brazil's rain forests are being destroyed at twice the rate we thought (Editorial Observer, Aug. 21).

To the Editor: It should be noted that soccer (Editorial Observer, Dec. 31) is probably the only human endeavor in which people seek to get hit on the head.

To the Editor: I was sad to read Verlyn Klinkenborg's article about cloning cats (Editorial Observer, Oct. 9).

To the Editor: As Michael M. Weinstein notes (Editorial Observer, Nov. 29), the current government method of measuring poverty is crying out for change.