Slashing the Keystone Fund is a step backward

I was astonished to learn the state budget deal would gut the popular Keystone Fund ("Big Cut Frees Dollars for Cleanup Programs," July 11).

The Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund Act was signed into law by Gov. Tom Ridge after a near-unanimous vote of the Legislature in 1993. That same year I was pleased to join the 67 percent of voters approving a statewide referendum to give Keystone its initial funding.

Since then Keystone has helped communities in every county by supporting thousands of park and recreation projects, including hundreds of miles of trails. In addition, tens of thousands of acres of critical wildlife habitat has been protected.

The Keystone Fund's success in the future is in great doubt if half its funding through the real estate transfer tax is stripped to pay for hazardous site cleanup. Separate funding should be found for that effort, not at the expense of a truly popular and worthy program like Keystone.

ROBERT STEFFES
Aliquippa

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Pay your own way

It is time for the riders of the buses to pay for the trips. Subsidizing the Port Authority through increased taxation is not only unfair, it is also socialism ("Port Authority Gains Funding, With Strings Attached," July 11).

I and most folks I know do not -- and most likely never will -- use the bus or the "T." The taxing of nonriders to pay for increased cost is totally unfair and should be ended. I do not get a subsidy to pay for increased gasoline costs. Now with every alcoholic beverage and through other taxes, I might have to pay for others to use a system I shall never use.

If Port Authority riders use the buses it is their choice, and they should pay whatever it costs, be it $5 or $6 or $10 per trip. The old argument that they are mainly poor with low-paying jobs does not matter and is not totally true. Besides wasn't there recently a raise in the minimum wage? No more socialism. Pay as you go and pay yourself.

JOHN VARGO
West Mifflin

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A Dem no longer

I am writing in response to the governor's handling of the budget impasse earlier in the week ("State Furloughs 25,000 as Budget Deadlocks," July 9). Having parents who survived the Great Depression, I learned at an early age how the Democratic Party led by President Franklin Roosevelt offered a "New Deal" for America's workers.

Legislation was enacted and upheld directly benefiting the common citizen, workers and the downtrodden. In my formative years, the Democrats fought the war on poverty and pushed for a "Great Society." What happened?

Pennsylvania's new Democrats offer their workers a "raw deal." At the county level there were unprecedented job losses to the Allegheny County work force and also at the Port Authority. On the state level, we saw a horrific initial four-year labor contract that Gov. Ed Rendell bragged was a big winner for the taxpayer, and now 25,000 workers and their families were used as cannon fodder in a political fiasco, for the cause of reduced property taxes. Enough is enough.

I believe the spirit of the party that champions the working class is dead. I have been a loyal Democratic voter, volunteer and contributor my entire adult life, but no more. At the first opportunity, I am going to switch my registration and allegiance to the Green Party and urge other working people to do the same.

JOHN F. YARSKY
Munhall

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Disrespectful moms

Gov. Ed Rendell signed a law making it legal to breast-feed in public ("New Pa. Law Allows Breast-feeding in Public," July 9)?

What about the people who don't want to see this? I, for one, do not want to be walking through a mall only to see mothers breast-feeding their children. One would think the mothers would have enough respect for those around them not to do this in public. Don't they think about how uncomfortable this might make people around them?

These mothers showed with their rally at a mall that they do not care about the rights of those around them, only of their right to do as they please because they have children. I'm not sure what Sen. Connie Williams, D-Montgomery, is referring to when she calls the bill "so commonsensical" -- she must be referring to the common sense parents have that makes them think they are better than the rest of us. It was their choice to have children; it's my choice not to care.

BLAIR STACKHOUSE
Uptown

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Serve her time

Regarding "76-Year-Old Grandmother Sentenced in Bank Robbery" (July 6): I think the 40-year-old son who was manipulative, according to his relatives, and burdened his mother with his financial woes should do her sentence -- that is after he is done pulling the weeds she can't get to because of her house arrest.

ELLEN YARKOVSKY
Rochester

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Iraq delusions

The real debate over Iraq now is not whether we should pull our troops out, but how we do it with dignity. In September, reports will be issued analyzing the results of the failed troop surge. Unfortunately, the Democrats have not had the guts to oppose President Bush for fear that the propaganda about not supporting troops would override what they really should have done.

Before Mr. Bush's prevaricated and illegal invasion, Iraq simply had no effect whatsoever in America. The only ones who are being affected by this war are the people who have lost loved ones. I never believed that the invasion was to institute democracy in Iraq. It will never happen, and the Middle East will continue to be in complete turmoil exacerbated by our presence.

Mr. Bush talks of democracy; however, the Hamas government defeated Fatah in a democratic election. Mr. Bush discovered that he didn't like this, and he immediately cut off aid and contact to the Palestinians by boycotting them and attempting to have other countries withhold aid. All this did was hurt innocent Palestinians.

We have become an imperialistic nation through the auspices of Mr. Bush. The only countries that present a clear and present danger to the United States are China or Russia which, in an all-out war, would probably defeat us.

The lamebrains in Washington have created an empire of illusions. Will they ever wake up and adopt a realistic and fair foreign policy?

HERMAN J. BIGI
Monongahela

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