Congress is trashing the morale of our troops

Our men and women in uniform are risking their lives in the Middle East trying to restore peace to an oppressed population and to defeat the enemies of freedom. Meanwhile, Congress is sending the message that our troops' efforts are being wasted and will not accomplish their mission ("Congressional Iraq Timetable Heads to Veto," April 27).

Bad morale -- especially when fueled back home by politics played out in the public eye -- can impact the fighting ability of even the toughest warrior. As a Vietnam veteran, I know that getting signals from back home that your mission is not supported cuts deep and impacts troop morale.

Any conduct that emboldens the enemy and gives them strategic information to use against our troops is very irresponsible and lessens troop morale. That is the impact of Congress' decision to publicly force through the troop withdrawal timeline. Withdrawing troops requires repositioning them, reducing their strength and changing military objectives -- any of these can put troops in danger. The insurgents keeping our troops from bringing peace to Iraq and who fight with terrorists can now plan how to best use their resources. Congressional blunders like that lose wars and defeatist talk destroys troop morale.

To show that it fully supports the troops and want them to achieve their mission, Congress should immediately pass a clean war-funding bill so fighting men and women have all of the combat equipment, supplies and personnel they need to be the most effective fighting force possible.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars wants our troops home as soon as possible, but not until the mission is achieved. You can't say that you support the troops and then trash their mission, regardless of how you package it.

DOMINIC DEFRANCO
McMurray
The writer is state commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

---

Brain games

I would recommend to Attorney General Gonzales that he not resign from his job. With as poor a memory as he has, he would probably have difficulty seeking another job.

He should remember that in April 2004 testimony before a House subcommittee, Paul Wolfowitz -- deputy secretary of defense at the time -- misremembered the number of military deaths in Iraq. He estimated 500, when the total at the time was 722. If he had cared, he would have known the figure. Despite this and other failings, he didn't resign and he wasn't fired. This administration, in fact, promoted him to president of the World Bank (where he faces another set of problems).

The positive spin for this administration is they can use Attorney General Gonzales as proof that they are not partisan -- after all, these were Republicans hired by the president who were fired. Mr. Gonzales' job seems to be to find honest people with high integrity and, when he finds them, to fire them. He performs this task admirably.

HOWARD MADENBERG
Jefferson Hills

---

Barbarisms abound

Ruth Ann Dailey, in her normal self-righteous tone, credits Rick Santorum with what she calls an end to barbarism for his part in passing the partial-birth abortion law that was recently upheld by our now-conservative U.S. Supreme Court ("Santorum's Legacy: End of a Barbarism," April 23 column).

She goes on to say we are moving toward a more kind and gentle society. I see just the opposite. I see a return to barbarism when a woman can now be told that the medical procedure that would be safest for her particular medical condition can no longer be performed because some politicians have decided it is against their religion.

I also look at what happened last month at Virginia Tech and think of how our conservative-dominated government allows assault weapons to be sold to anyone with the cash or a credit card, while at the same time we invade another country because it supposedly possessed weapons.

I just wonder if the tens of thousands of dead and wounded Iraqis believe American is becoming a more gentle society.

TIMOTHY AMMON
Brookline

---

Talk about goofy

Your April 26 editorial "Goofy Old Party" purports to refer to the local Republican Party but just as well may be applied to the Post-Gazette.

Starting with the assertion that the Bush administration had absolute power for six years to the crocodile tears shed over the fecklessness of the GOP, the editorial borders on the loony. It urges the party to invest in politics in the city, where no viable candidates and few Republican voters reside.

When major local electable Republicans are on the ballot, the PG almost uniformly opposes them in editorials. Thus, this area recently lost a powerful U.S. senator in Rick Santorum and a rising congresswoman in Melissa Hart. Fortunately, moderate Tim Murphy was returned to Congress despite the PG's support of his no-name opponent. The PG also endorsed Philadelphian Ed Rendell for governor over locals Mike Fisher and Lynn Swann.

If estimable politicians such as Mr. Fisher, Ms. Hart, Mr. Swann and Mr. Santorum don't meet your standards, then you will have to live with the flotsam and jetsam thrown up by the resident Democrats. I note you recently advised Sen. Arlen Specter not to run again; perhaps you plan once again to support Ron Klink for senator.

DAVE BUCHANAN
Wilkins

---

Litter louts

Are we a sick society or what? Ride down the highways, the expressways, your local neighborhoods -- no matter where you go, you find human litter, extensive amounts of it. Haven't we yet learned that littering doesn't preserve anything but destroys it?

Take a ride down Route 30 East between Forest Hills and North Versailles and look along the hillsides. It's pathetic the amount of litter people throw out on the roadways. Take a ride down Hamilton Avenue in Homewood and look at the filthy litter on the sides of the road.

I observed young kids in Swissvale get off their school bus and discard the items they were eating or drinking immediately on the sidewalks. People who leave Wendy's in Edgewood Towne Center on foot throw their drinks and paper all over sidewalks and streets.

Are we really this pathetic as a people?

And this has to be the worst: I see dog owners in Regent Square on a regular basis pick up the their dog's business out on the main streets and go to the alleyways and throw the bag and the dog's business on the ground.

These people are a perfect example of what's wrong with this country and why we are no longer a world leader. We have no self-respect and we do not respect anyone else.

DENNIS M. PASPARAGE
Swissvale

---

Fix Earth first

In the April 27 article, "Paralyzed Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking Takes Zero-G Flight," we learn that he is promoting space exploration as the only way to save the human race from dangers such as global warming, nuclear war or a genetically engineered virus.

I share his doom and gloom view of our future but could not disagree more with his solution. We have gotten ourselves into a big-time mess as technology races along faster than our ability to develop systems to communicate our essential human commonalities and to develop methods of equitably sharing and of being good stewards of our existing planet's resources. If we can't figure that out here, how will moving to another orb guarantee our survival?

There are some simple solutions that will turn back the clock immediately, starting with getting our nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert. Let's take some immediate steps to buy us some more time and then get to work on the larger social, political, religious and ethical issues that must be resolved if we have a hope of survival.

MARY KING
West View

---

Free the children! Recess is essential

I am a retired Woodland Hills kindergarten teacher, and I am appalled at yesterday's news that there is no recess for kindergarten children in so many schools ("The Drive Is On to Save Recess").

When I was teaching, the philosophy was "developmentally appropriate." There is nothing appropriate about keeping 5-year-olds in a structured situation all day with no time for recess, free play or socializing. Five-year-olds need play as well as rest times in any given day.

In the same issue, the lead editorial promotes pre-K education ("Pre-K Counts"). I am in favor of this but I certainly hope that those children will be allowed some play time -- and 15 minutes a day is not enough.

BARBARA ROGAL
Oakland