Your inclusion of James Von Brunn, the 89-year-old white supremacist who went on a shooting rampage rampage at the U.S. Holocaust Museum, killing a security guard, in a list of the nation's most influential people over 80 years of age is simply unconscionable ("80 Over 80," Oct. 20).

While he may qualify as a "notorious newsmaker," it is offensive in the extreme to place this anti-Semite, Holocaust denier and cold-blooded killer in the same proximity of such elder statesman and cultural icons as Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Elliott Carter.

Shame on you for giving legitimacy and recognition to a man who has dedicated much of his life to fostering racism and hate.

Sincerely,

The Anti-Defamation League
www.adl.org

While I think the suggestion that he is especially influential is largely without foundation, the odious nature of his views has little to do with whether or not he is influential. I suggest, for example, that Adolf Hitler was one of the most influential individuals on the 20th Century.

Since when does "influential" == "benevolent"?