I am writing in response to the article "Give the Gift That Lasts -- Buy a Bridge for Loved Ones" (Dec. 23). Can PennDOT be any more arrogant and blatant with the waste of our tax dollars now that they need to earn more money by selling the bridges that they are supposed to be repairing? Is it not bad enough that Pennsylvanians have to deal with all the scandals within the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency and the Port Authority?

We always forget about good old PennDOT wasting all of our money in the summer months by blocking all the roads that never seem to get repaired. I guess that is fine with Pennsylvanians, though, because nothing is ever done about it.

Keep it up Pennsylvania; keep voting for these idiots who waste our tax dollars and keep raising taxes.

SHAWN SCHRAG
Tarentum

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I was a Pittsburgh school teacher who retired in June 2006. I then relocated to Manila in the Philippines. Thanks to the Internet, with the excellent Post-Gazette Web page and the Pittsburgh radio stations, I have been able to keep in touch with the pathetic recent episodes concerning the school district. It has saddened and depressed me to watch the deterioration of the district over the past two years. It is hard to believe that the system has been so completely broken.

Bad leadership puts saving money ahead of good education. Out of 10 eligible students in the Pittsburgh district, four attend private schools. Saving money means firing teachers and reducing services as well as closing schools. This is totally unacceptable and degrading.

If the present trend continues, more and more Pittsburgh parents will opt for private education for their children. This downfall of the public school district was one of the principal reasons for my retirement. I hope that the district will stop self-destructing and finally admit that the problem is not with the teachers but lies with inept, uncaring management.

CHRISTINA P. GOSS
Manila, Philippines

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I read the Social Security propaganda that was printed in a recent news section of the Post-Gazette ("News of Social Security's Death Exagerrated," Dec. 23).

What people need to understand is that there is no trust fund. There is only a pile of IOUs from the government to itself. The money that was paid in over the years has been spent.

Future Social Security outlays depend entirely on the willingness of politicians to continue to rob the younger generations to pay the bills of their elders.

There is a fair and simple way to get out of the mess. Just raise the age to collect benefits by, say, four months each year. People close to retirement will only have to work a little longer. Those further out will need to make arrangements to tide themselves over. Young folks entering the work force will understand that they are fully responsible to save and invest for their futures.

Freedom and personal responsibility: a package deal. Take it or leave it.

ALLAN WALSTAD
Johnstown

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I was saddened to hear that our Kennywood Park was sold.

I used to live in Lincoln Borough and at the end of every school year we celebrated by having our Kennywood Park picnic. We rode the school bus to the park and from afar we could see the roller coasters. Cheers were heard because we were going to celebrate our Kennywood picnic.

I recall the ride tickets were 3 ¹/₃ cents each and we could buy $2 worth of tickets per student. Mothers, including my mom, packed baskets of food. The entire borough ate together at picnic tables, mothers talking and children going on all the rides.

I don't agree with those who say the park should not have been sold. We enjoyed years of picnics at Kennywood, which provided a clean, fun-filled time for all. In return, the people in charge of taxes showed their appreciation for Kennywood's effort to be a good neighbor by over-taxing the owners. One representative was quoted as saying "You're going to kill the goose that lays the golden egg."

I hope the new owners carry on the Kennywood tradition of a day of fun for all. I hope those in charge of taxes do not treat the new owners as they did the old ones. I hope more generations can enjoy the traditional school picnic at this great park. I thank Kennywood Park for the happy memories it gave us.

BARBARA KEMPLE HART
Glassport

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As chairs of two committees of the Central Northside Neighborhood Council that have been working for more than a decade (a decade, folks, not just a month or two), to bring back housing and viable commercial development to the derelict and depressed Federal Street and North Avenue corridors, we were extremely disheartened to see that there is opposition to the move of the Allegheny branch of the Carnegie Library to Federal Street.

It's even more upsetting that this opposition never surfaced during the many public meetings between the library and the community over the last year to make sure that the design of the new building incorporated neighborhood interests and responded to neighborhood concerns.

Glenn Walsh of Mt. Lebanon (Mt. Lebanon?!), one of the main opposition petitioners, was also the individual who spearheaded opposition to the re-use of the old, abandoned Buhl Planetarium building by the Children's Museum several years ago, an award-winning make-over that has enlivened and transformed the entire area around the museum. (Northsiders would be interested to know that only residents of Mt. Lebanon can speak at Mt. Lebanon civic meetings.)

We wonder how many of the opposition petitioners have a library card, and when was the last time they visited the Allegheny branch

DAVID DEMKO
North Side
Chair, Federal North Committee

JOAN KIMMEL
North Side
Chair, Federal Hill Committee

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The Dec. 26 letter by Jacquelyn Adamiak, "Liberal Disconnect," is laughable! In true neo-conservative fashion she ignores, remolds and inserts what she pleases to show an "evil" liberal conspiracy to let America be toppled. Jackie, you deserve a medal! Like so many other neo-cons you have uncovered our sinister plot. Hopefully we have time to slip this global-warming hogwash past the American public before our proven saviors on the right have time to thwart our attempts to let terrorists take over the country and turn it into an anarchist colony.

On a more serious note ... I ask any citizen to show me hard proof that any liberal has said terrorism is not a threat, as Ms. Adamiak has suggested. Many liberals and conservatives believe that terrorism is not our country's greatest threat. They have acknowledged that it is a threat, though. Even conservative Colin Powell stated that terrorism is not a mortal threat (GQ Magazine, Sept. 11, 2007).

So you and the other neocons can sit in your living rooms and tremble with fear. I will carry on my life as best as I can with what liberties I have left and celebrate how great our country is because of evil liberal accomplishments. In case anyone out there has forgotten what those are, please allow me to remind you: The GI Bill, the Fair Labor Standards Act (the right to overtime and the abolishment of child labor), the Public Health Service Act, the Peace Corps, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Meat Inspection Act of 1906, the Nineteenth Amendment (women's suffrage), the Family Medical Leave Act, the Consumer Products Safety Commission, the Social Security Act. And many, many more.

I truly should be ashamed to be a liberal.

RICCI J. VIGNO
North Versailles

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Did you know that Congress recently banned the incandescent light bulb? The 100-watt bulb is to be phased out within four years and all bulbs within six years. Apparently, they have decided that too much energy is wasted when electrical currents pass through the thin filament, heating it until it produces light. In its place will be the compact fluorescent lamp.

The following is from Wikipedia: "Broken CFLs are an immediate health hazard due to the evaporation of mercury into the atmosphere. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publishes guidelines on how to clean up after CFL tube ('bulb') breakage and recommends that, in the absence of local guidelines, CFLs be double-bagged in plastic bags before disposal."

Did members of Congress consider the health hazard in its decision? Not likely. Did they consider so-called global warming in its decision and the political capital that comes from this issue? Most likely; they will do anything to buy a vote.

Watch out for your liberty; Congress will take it away from you, along with your health if you happen to drop one of these CFL gems.

DOUGLAS A. BAUMAN
New Kensington

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