People want electricity without consequences

I was not surprised but nonetheless dismayed to read about the growing opposition to wind turbines for the generation of electricity. ("Wind Turbine Foes Make a Flap," Sept. 18). At the flick of a switch, people expect their lights, television and countless other electric gadgets to function. Everybody wants electricity but few like any form of electric generation. Coal is too dirty. Oil is too scarce. Nuclear is too dangerous. Solar is too fickle. Wind turbines are too visible.

One wind turbine opponent quoted by the PG says, "I am not against wind energy per se, but I am against improper siting" of large industrial turbines. Indeed.

OK then, I guess coal will continue to be our ace in the hole for electric power. Hope the good folks in the Allegheny heartland like sulfur.

Continued heavy use of coal as the fuel for electric generation will do more to destroy "our Allegheny ridges" and "God's country" than wind turbines will. Think about it.

STEPHEN DONAHUE
Bloomfield

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About Blackwater

On Tuesday I was encouraged to see a front-page article that addressed the increasing, yet largely ignored, problems surrounding the privatization of American operations in Iraq ("Baghdad Bans Blackwater, Protector of U.S. Envoys," Sept. 18).

However, I was troubled by the article's headline, which unequivocally framed Blackwater in a positive light with the loaded term "protector." To me, this framing pre-emptively dismissed the largely shady, if not criminal, reputation that Blackwater has earned while "protecting" American interests in Iraq and elsewhere.

Although The Washington Post article provided a more nuanced description of Blackwater's activities in Iraq, the article's headline made clear where the Post-Gazette stands when it comes to the judgment of private mercenary companies like Blackwater.

DAVID SEITZ
Squirrel Hill

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A cartoon low

Much as one oughtn't feed a dog table scraps for fear of further stimulating its appetite, it has long been my public policy to ignore the Post-Gazette's chronic displays of animosity toward my father, Cyril Wecht. But Rob Rogers' Sept. 17 editorial cartoon depicting him as some sort of bloodthirsty ghoul lowers the level of public "discourse" to such an unprecedented depth that failing to comment on it would mean shirking my duties as a PG subscriber.

Let's begin by understanding the purpose of an editorial cartoon, which might be defined as commenting on matters of contemporary public import through the humorous application of illustration and words. Well, I ask, what's humorous about cannibalism, necrophilia or body snatching? And assuming Mr. Rogers intended the last of these implications, on what is he "commenting" exactly? Our oh-so-prestigious Department of Justice's fanciful allegation that my father engaged in the trading of cadavers for financial gain? Does it matter that this wholly untested charge bears no greater relationship to reality than, say, Shakespeare's Shylock, that money-grubbing, flesh-slicing monster of "Merchant of Venice" infamy?

And if Mr. Rogers' cartoon is neither funny nor germane to the news of the day, what business does it have appearing in a major metropolitan newspaper? Might it be to sell more papers by seeking to appeal to the lowest common denominator of the region's population?

My fellow PG readers, I put the question directly to you: What do you think about your hometown paper treating you like an anti-Semitic, prosecutorially biased idiot?

BEN WECHT
Regent Square

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Consider these critics

Jack Kelly's Sept. 9 column ("A Modest Proposal"), where he suggests military service as a requirement to be a House member, senator or president, raises some interesting thoughts. I'm sure others will question the effects of barring those who cannot physically serve in the military (i.e., heart murmur, too tall, etc.), but that is not my point.

Some of the most cogent criticism of the Bush-Cheney Iraq debacle has come from those who have served in the military, including U.S. Reps. John Murtha, Joe Sestak and Patrick Murphy and Sens. Chuck Hagel, John Warner and James Webb.

LEE MOSES
Squirrel Hill

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Fluoridation facts

The General Assembly has the opportunity to improve the health of millions by requiring public water supplies to add a naturally occurring substance to our drinking water. The natural substance is fluoride, which for generations has been used safely and effectively to prevent tooth decay among people of all ages and economic backgrounds. More than 50 years of scientific study shows that fluoride reduces tooth decay between 20 to 40 percent in the entire population and is safe to consume.

As the General Assembly begins to consider the fluoride bill (HB 1649), Pennsylvanians need to be wary of the misinformation being offered on the Internet and the junk science related to water fluoridation. To do that, they should consider some facts about fluoride:

Scientific studies have repeatedly confirmed the safety of water fluoridation at preventative levels (0.7 to 1.2 parts per million).

In Pennsylvania, only half the water supplies are fluoridated.

Fluoridation would save a significant amount of money in the state Medicaid budget for dental-related illness.

Adding fluoride to water is similar to adding Vitamin D to milk and Vitamin C to orange juice.

The Pennsylvania Dental Association has made patient access to dental health services a priority. The first step in ensuring that everyone has the basic level of oral health care is to add preventative levels of fluoride to their water.

DR. JON J. JOHNSTON
President
Pennsylvania Dental Association
Harrisburg

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Episcopal issues

I enjoyed reading the evenhanded article "Decision Nears for Episcopalians" (Sept. 13). Even so, I would like to correct some misunderstandings.

The constitution and canons of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh date from 1865, and so don't quite qualify as being "centuries old." This is, of course, a minor point.

To characterize the troubles within the Episcopal Church as being about "whether to ordain gay non-celibate clergy and provide same-sex blessings" is a common recasting of deeper, more divisive, theological issues. Many in national leadership in the Episcopal Church deny basic, historic doctrines of Christianity such as the trinity, the divinity of Jesus, the historic resurrection and the atonement of Good Friday. Additionally, the authority of the Bible in judging the speech and actions of the church has come into question. Charles E. Bennison, the bishop of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) has gone so far as to say, "The church wrote the Bible, and the church can rewrite the Bible." These are the real issues at hand.

The PG also allowed Joan Gundersen's statement, "Boundaries are geographic," to go unchallenged. Most people don't realize the Episcopal Church (USA) claims dioceses in the following countries: Taiwan, Haiti, Virgin Islands, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, as well as the Missionary Diocese of the Navajoland, encompassing four states in the Western United States, and a convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, both of which embrace overlapping jurisdictions involving other Episcopal dioceses and/or Anglican provinces.

All in all, thank you for the coverage of this unfolding drama.

REV. PAUL A. SUTCLIFFE JR.
Church of the Atonement
Carnegie

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Families are struggling, despite working hard and living modestly

I was pleased to read Elizabeth Shannon's response ("How Can Parents Save for College?" Sept. 18 letters) to the Sept. 12 article "Americans Not Ready for Expense of College." I had exactly the same reaction as I read the article, feeling my own frustration and anger regarding the financial struggles facing many American families. It shouldn't be this way.

I'm so tired of news stories and so-called financial "experts" spouting their stats and telling us Americans what we aren't doing right and what we should be doing, with an air of "better and smarter than thou" judgment. These people certainly aren't in touch with the financial realities of the average American family in 2007 -- and can't seem to offer any real solutions.

We aren't stupid or lazy or financially irresponsible. That's not why more and more Americans have to go into debt just to hold their lives together and get by while working hard and earning a decent one- or two-person household income. The reality is that we are barely able to modestly live on what we're earning and don't have much, if any, money left over to save.

What do the experts offer for that financial dilemma? We don't need any more advice on saving and don't need to be lectured or patronized. It's time for us to demand fairness and change, because the ones in power and who own the airwaves just don't get it and aren't motivated to change anything because it may hit them in their own overstuffed wallets.

KIM FINKBEINER
Mt. Lebanon

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