Verdict in sports official case sends the wrong message

I find it ridiculous that Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John Zottola would dismiss charges of assault on a sports official ("Referee's Attacker Gets a Pass: Acquitted on 3 of 4 Charges, He's Spared Jail," Jan. 14). If a person is guilty of simple assault and the man assaulted was an official, it only stands to reason ... .

This is barely a slap on the wrist when a message needed to be sent preventing such behavior in the future.

JIM SUVOY
Tarentum

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Notice to parents

As an attorney, I am not terribly surprised at the verdict in the case of alleged assault on referee Ron Bell ("Referee's Attacker Gets a Pass," Jan. 14). The application of legal standards after the fact is usually less than satisfactory. I know Judge John Zottola as a fair and impartial jurist, and I am sure that he gave great thought and consideration to his verdict in this case.

As an official in two sports, I also enjoy Mr. Bell's perspective. I have been verbally abused and physically threatened, although no one has been foolish enough to try to carry through on the threat. We are having a difficult time attracting and retaining new officials in all sports due to the behavior of certain parents. I believe this is fueled, in part, by parents' unrealistic beliefs in what their children can accomplish through participation.

Dreams of scholarships are unrealistic for 99.99 percent of Western Pennsylvania children, yet parents treat a baseball game between 8-year-olds as a battle to the death in ancient Rome. I have had many such encounters with parents, and I always enjoy exchanging stories with my fellow officials. Most are harmless and only leave us laughing and/or shaking our heads in wonderment.

That being said, the verdict in this case should serve notice to any parent willing to cross the lines of decency and common sense: I will tolerate less before you are tossed, and if you come onto my field, you may bear the consequences. My best wishes for Mr. Bell in his recovery.

ROBERT D. SEBASTIAN
Mt. Lebanon

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Is the opposite true?

Let's see if I have this straight: A great many people insist that the world was not created through intelligent design. Then the opposite must be true -- they believe that this highly complex world was created through unintelligent design. The quality of their thinking seems to prove their point.

DAVID A. TOMKO
Butler

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Evidence against

In a Jan. 6 letter, "Hidden Agendas," Ted Massalski asks what is the scientific evidence against Darwin's theory of evolution.

Darwin called his theory "descent with modification." He believed that all living things are descendants of common ancestors, modified primarily by natural selection acting on random variations. Evidence that is inconsistent with either universal common descent or this mechanism of modification is presumptive evidence against Darwin's theory.

Everyone knows that common descent is true within a single species, but are all living things related by it?

The evidence has convinced some experts that we do not share a common ancestor with bacteria. And although common descent implies that the major anatomical differences between worms, clams, crabs and fish should have evolved gradually in a branching-tree pattern, the fossil record is inconsistent with this pattern. Instead, those differences appeared at about the same time in what some scientists call "biology's big bang."

Similarly, everyone knows that variation and selection can produce minor changes within existing species. But no one has ever observed the origin of new species -- much less new anatomical features such as limbs and eyes -- by Darwin's mechanism of modification. The evidence points to limits for variation and selection, not to the vast creative power Darwin attributed to them.

A good science education should teach students not only Darwin's theory, but also the most important evidence against it, and why it provokes scientific controversy.

JONATHAN WELLS
Senior Fellow
Discovery Institute
Seattle, Wash.
Editor's note: The writer has a Ph.D. in biology.

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Tactic has worked

Sally Kalson hit it on the head when she said, "If you work for CBS News, you get a pink slip. If you work for George W. Bush, you get a promotion or a medal" ("White House Has Bigger Credibility Problem Than CBS," Jan. 12 column).

The president and his administration have never admitted making an error. It's not an honest tactic, but it has proved to be brilliant. And I'm sure it's what helped them win the election.

Dan Rather and his "60 Minutes II" crew have owned up to an error of judgment. The result has been loss of jobs and red faces.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld misjudges troop size and has no plan of exit from Iraq. It was "not the army you might want," he has the nerve to say to combat troops. And he's kept on for another term.

No weapons of mass destruction found. Let's see, how are they to wiggle out of that? It won't be by admitting an error, you can be sure.

JOAN MORSE GORDON
Oakland

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Buffer zones gone

During a recent walk along Chartiers Creek I observed flooding and destruction on a scale unseen before in my 50 years in the Bridgeville area. I have also observed residential and commercial development on a scale unseen before. There is little doubt that this surge in development has contributed at least in part to the recent flooding and destruction we have experienced.

Natural land, such as tall grass, brush or trees, acts as a buffer zone for heavy rains by providing a natural valve to allow water to drain into the streams slowly.

Unchecked and unwise development provides no such buffer zone, allowing heavy rains to gush off rooftops, lawns, roadways and parking lots, quickly turning small streams and creeks into uncontrollable torrents!

Flooding will no doubt continue with every heavy rain until our community leaders recognize and correct this growing problem.

NICK JARINA
South Fayette

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Be proud of Wecht

I lived in Pittsburgh for 50 years before moving to Florida in 1985. I was always so proud to be from Pittsburgh when I saw Dr. Cyril Wecht on talk shows and various programs.

He was always respected on all programs and was called in for his expertise in a lot of big cases.

I can't believe that Allegheny County does not recognize how lucky it is to have Dr. Cyril Wecht as its coroner.

VIRGINIA LEASON
Casselberry, Fla.

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May Abbas seize the opportunity for peace

I hope that the election of Mahmoud Abbas by the Palestinians brings a better era for the Palestinian people and strengthens prospects for peace.

Mahmoud Abbas has an opportunity for peace and to end the largely self-inflicted tragedy of the Palestinians.

Hopefully, President Abbas will convince the Palestinians of the strategic necessity of peace, based on mutually acceptable compromises.

President Abbas should grasp Israel's outstretched hand and work cooperatively with the new unity government representing a broad Israeli consensus led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and including Shimon Peres.

Notwithstanding Abbas' substantial victory, he faces formidable challenges. These include steering the Palestinians from violence, thus creating the basis of a two-state solution. Yasser Arafat never took that path, despite multiple opportunities, thereby deepening the tragedy.

Controlling Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian terrorist organizations will be vital for Abbas. He can neither coddle nor ignore these groups, which pose challenges to his authority, and to peace. Ending incitement in Palestinian schools and media is also essential for genuine peace.

For the first time since President Bush's 2002 vision of Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security, there is hope that the goal, however complex, can be achieved.

The United States and others seem ready to assist. Peace will require a Palestinian leader with the courage and determination to work together with Israeli leaders, who will also be required again to show their own courage and determination, in the concessionary steps that both sides will have to take.

THEODORE GOLDBERG
President Elect
American Jewish Committee
Pittsburgh Chapter
Squirrel Hill