We should be funding an orderly exit from Iraq

As Memorial Day approaches, Americans are planning picnics and celebrations. For Gold Star families, Memorial Day means so much more. On June 28, 2005, my son-in-law, Spc. Robert E. Hall Jr., was killed in Iraq. Memorial Day for us is a day to remember and to honor Bob and thousands of others who have lost their lives to this war.

According to a recent CNN poll, 68 percent of those surveyed oppose the war. Even with this overwhelming opposition, the Bush administration and Congress continued to debate allocation funding, and Congress has now approved additional billions without a timeline for withdrawing our troops. While the Bush administration has requested additional funding "for the troops" the truth is that the funding is needed to continue the war.

Our elected leaders in Congress had the ability to fund our troops and de-fund the war. Congress had the ability to fund a safe, orderly withdrawal from Iraq.

Four years is too long. We need to allow the elected Iraqi government to govern, and we need to show our support for our military. It is time to bring our men and women home.

I have met many families of fallen military who do not support the war. I have met many Iraq veterans who do not believe our government is right in a continued presence in Iraq. The polls show the American people are not in support of this war. It was time for Congress to end this and bring our troops home.

On Memorial Day, remember our fallen soldiers. Pay tribute to these brave men and women who have given all for this country.

DEBBIE WHITFIELD
Sheraden

The writer is a member of Military Families Speak Out and Gold Star Families Speak Out.

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Carter's calamities

Let's see if I have this right. Former President Jimmy Carter says George W. Bush is the worst president this country has ever had. President Carter should take a look at his own record.

During his administration, we experienced double-digit inflation, a weakening of the value of the dollar, our embassy in Iran being taken over by followers of the Ayatollah Cockamamie, the staff of that embassy being taken prisoner and held hostage, a rescue mission for the embassy staff failing because of poor planning and the gutting of our armed forces, just for starters.

Mr. Carter, you may be an honorable man, but you were a lousy president. I have not voted for a Democratic president since I voted for you. By the way, after Ronald Reagan was elected president, the hostages were released.

JAMES E. FEENY
Coraopolis

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What else is needed?

"High crimes and misdemeanors ..."?

How about manipulating intelligence by intimidating the people whose duty it was to gain that intelligence, then using it to lead our country into war under false pretenses, then personally profiting by that war?

How about "outing" a CIA operative -- because her husband didn't go along with the program? How about browbeating a man on his sickbed, in order to get his invalid authorization for an internal spying program that was deemed unconstitutional -- and not getting it -- then implementing a version of it anyway?

GERARD ROHLF
Edgewood

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Rewards lawbreakers

The latest immigration "reform" (read: amnesty) bill from our House of Lords is little more than a sham. It benefits the big businesses that rely on cheap labor and appeases the Mexamericanada crowd.

Instead of granting amnesty to the 12 million or so illegal aliens in our country, the White House and Senate should be focusing on the real problems -- lax enforcement of existing immigration laws (particularly not vigorously prosecuting employers of illegals) and the federal government's refusal to truly secure our borders.

The public costs of illegal immigration are almost inestimable. The nearly unfettered flow of illegal aliens across our borders places an unsustainable burden on our education, Social Security and health-care systems.

It's time for the American people to send a wake-up call to the White House and our House of Lords -- enforce the existing laws and forget about rewarding millions of lawbreakers with amnesty.

DAVID HOOVER
Fombell

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DGS and success

In his May 16 Perspectives piece ("Pennsylvania's Construction Dysfunction"), state Department of General Services Secretary James P. Creedon applauds the auditor general and Post-Gazette for raising awareness on the difficulty in completing a challenging project. Secretary Creedon attributes the administration's success to reductions in contractors on a project, change order rate and construction claims as well as completing projects on budget and on time.

While these accomplishments would be worthy of boasting, Secretary Creedon appears to attribute success to the evaluation of a contractor's past performance to include disbarring contractors with a poor performance record. Nothing could be further from the truth. The genesis of change orders is not the result of a contractor's performance; they are the result of a change in the contract both parties executed.

Further, claims are the result of the contractor and owner failing to agree on a change in contract scope, terms or specifications. Often this disagreement is the owner's lack of funding for the aforementioned changes. Finally, Pennsylvania law requires that contractors furnish both payment and performance bond in order to bid. The underwriting process qualifying a contractor for bonds includes a detailed analysis of the contractor's capability both financially and operationally.

The success being achieved by the administration is not the result of carefully screening contractors but rather by providing adequate funding for projects and requiring contracts and specifications to clearly define the work agreed to by the owner and the contractor.

MICHAEL P. ROLLAGE
Director of Construction Services
McCrory & McDowell
Downtown

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Individual codes

In the May 22 letter "Jesus Confronts Us," the letter writer speaks out against homosexuality, using Jesus and the Bible as justification for doing so.

I'm not here to debate what is and isn't included in the Bible because in a free society that enjoys freedom of religion, equality isn't based on the Bible. As a gay man living in the United States, I should have all the rights and privileges afforded to heterosexual citizens.

In the United States, Christians are free to be repelled by any and all sins mentioned in the Bible, and they can practice their moral code as it applies to them. However, Christians are not free to impose their moral code on others.

JOSEPH KOWALSKI
North Huntingdon

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PITG Gaming should be required to take action on our concerns

For months, Carnegie Science Center has attempted to communicate and resolve concerns with PITG Gaming about access to the science center and the safety of its 500,000 visitors -- to no avail. PITG Gaming's Master Development Plan (MDP) for its casino demonstrates total disregard for the science center's concerns.

We are not opposed to the casino as a neighbor, but we insist that we be able to properly and safely function for the 350-plus days per year we are open.

Here are problems with the MDP:

School buses and emergency vehicles will no longer have access to the science center site.

Increased traffic will create a dangerous pedestrian crossing at North Shore Drive.

Casino lighting will prevent night sky viewing from the science center observatory.

Proximity of the casino will cause mixing of gambling patrons with a family and school-based science center audience.

We have proposed reasonable mitigating solutions, such as wider access roadways, a pedestrian underpass, "dark sky" lighting and barrier landscaping. PITG Gaming has previously promised that it will provide $10 million for roadway improvements. Nevertheless, it has ignored these problems and mitigating solutions in its planning documents and has proposed roadway modifications that have rendered the existing school bus/emergency vehicle entrance useless, with no alternative access.

We have taken our case to the city planning commission and trust that at its May 29 meeting, it will show good judgment by requiring that the mitigating solutions be conditions for approval of PITG Gaming's MDP. Without conditions, we would rely only on further discussions, which have not proved to be fruitful. This is the least that should be done for Western Pennsylvania's principal attraction for inspiring and educating youth in the field of science.

HOWARD J. BRUSCHI
Chairman
Board of Directors
Carnegie Science Center
North Shore

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