Regarding "Consumers Told to Eat Local Meat" (Feb. 19): For several years now, my family has made the effort to buy meat and produce locally and organic when possible. We buy grass-fed beef from a friend in Delmont and belong to a Community Supported Agriculture program in Greensburg.

I think making people aware of the benefits of buying local is crucial. However, I would have liked to have seen an emphasis in the article on simply eating less meat. As Americans, our total meat consumption amounted to 200 pounds per person in 2005 (that's twice the global average) and global meat consumption is expected to rise 2 percent each year through 2015. When you consider that 43 percent of the world's beef and 50 percent of its pork and poultry are raised on factory farms and take a look at the major environmental and health impacts of that, it seems only logical that we should be decreasing our meat consumption.

While I am not advocating a completely vegetarian or vegan diet for every American, I think Americans should be strongly encouraged to cut back. According to The New York Times, Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist at the Bard Center, and Pamela A. Martin, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, "calculated that if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan -- a Camry, say -- to the ultra-efficient Prius." Food for thought.

SHEILA CONFER
Greensburg

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This letter is in response to the Feb. 9 article concerning the tax rebates, in that there are some concerns as to what people will do with their money ("Many Tax Rebates Will Go to Creditors").

It was speculated that most people would pay off some of their credit card debt, which would be antagonistic to President Bush's plan to stimulate the economy somewhat.

Since it is his primary goal for people to go out and buy merchandise, why doesn't the government issue debit cards, which would be good only in the retail sector, thereby stimulating the economy somewhat and eliminating any tendency to pay off debt?

LINCOLN HILL
Shadyside

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This "jump-start" our government will employ
Makes China stand up and jump for joy.
Six-bits from each and every U.S. dollar bill
Will end up in that country's ever growing till.

Now, my fellow countrymen, think before you spend.
Let's break our spending habit, start a good new trend.
If "Made in China" is stamped on your selection's back,
Please, neatly, place that item right back on its rack.

We need to turn our steady downfall around,
While still having our feet solid on the ground.
Or our country will become one massive grotto,
Make buying "Made in USA" your constant motto.

MARY JANE (JAY) GRAHAM
Baldwin Borough

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In his Feb. 14 letter ("Tax Rebates Are a Reminder of Bloated Government"), John G. Parks stated that what is missing in all this talk of tax rebates at the state and federal levels is that it is already our money, and if giving us our money back is good for the economy, why not just lower our taxes? I believe this is true at the state level but not at the federal level.

The federal tax rebates must be borrowed (probably from China), money future generations will have to pay. Our money has already been spent, much of it for the Iraq war and interest on our national debt, which is approaching the $10 trillion mark.

It should be noted that in his eight years in office, President Reagan nearly tripled the national debt (giving tax cuts to the rich), and President Bush now seems to be doing the same.

WILLIAM A. SUVAK SR.
Turtle Creek

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I should like to point out several errors in the Rev. Jonathan N. Millard's letter, "My Full Support" (Feb. 8).

Truth is, many Pittsburgh clergy do not support Bishop Robert Duncan. That the Rev. Millard has chosen to follow the wrong person (Bishop Duncan is not God, nor does he speak for him) is his problem. There was no crisis in the Episcopal Church of the United States until Bishop Duncan created one.

The Episcopal Church in the United States is now, and always has been, a viable, vital part of Christian life.

The Rev. Millard blithely moves on to say, "The real tragedy in all this is that the Episcopal Church nationally and a tiny minority locally (those and their supporters who are suing the bishop) ... have taken a very intolerant and coercive approach against those who are seeking to remain faithful to the orthodox teachings of the church."

What nonsense! There is not a tiny minority but a large majority who do not support the bishop and have been faithful Episcopalians for years. My family have been members of the Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh for 150 years; for the bishop to now say that they were not Christians in his eyes is simply absurd.

MARY ELLEN LEIGH
South Side

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Regarding "Letter Shows Rift Among Episcopal Conservatives" (Jan. 30), about 12 Episcopalian rectors who have written a letter to Bishop Robert Duncan concerning his efforts to remove the diocese from the Episcopal Church, saying they were "unified [with Bishop Duncan] in a vision [but] ... not unified on a tactic":

We respect our beloved pastors' right to speak for themselves, but know that letter is not my truth, nor is it everyone's truth at St. Andrew's. Many of us are committed to an inclusive church, not an exclusive church; believe that any man or woman of integrity and spirituality should be allowed to be considered for ordination; believe that any two people of faith who are committed to each other and desire to have their union blessed in a church should have that right.

I have many friends who say the church is full of hypocrites. Well, yes! We squabble, get irritated with each other, have our feelings hurt. We also try to respect each other's rights to opinions different from ours, and to love and support each other even when we disagree. We try to celebrate and grieve with each other. We fail -- a lot. And if that makes us hypocrites, so be it!

DIXIE TYMITZ
Oakland

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A comment on New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd's coverage of Hillary Clinton: "Meow, Meow."

MARJORIE M. HIRD
Beaver

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Valentine's Day used to bring candy hearts with short sayings, heart lollipops and chocolate candy. It was the passing of fun Valentine cards, with candy attached, in elementary school classrooms.

Now, it just reminds me of how government programs and policies strip my parental rights. No longer can students, in many school districts, pass out candy. As part of Public Law 108-265, the school wellness policy, school districts have decided what my child can or cannot eat for birthday parties or holiday parties. They have also gone as far as initiating an order form through the district's food service to sell "appropriate, safe" snacks.

I do realize there are students who have food allergies, diabetes and problems with weight. However, it is not up to the schools or government committees to come to the rescue. As parents, we have the responsibility of taking care of our children and making sure they have healthy meals. We have the responsibility of making sure our children are active and physically fit. In deciding to have children, I signed up to make them my responsibility, not the government's.

Unlike those who blame advertisers and snack food companies, I take full responsibility for what goes into my child's mouth. If we are not careful, someone will eventually tell us what we can feed our families at home.

AMY SENKOW
Jeannette

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We receive more letters than we can fit into the limited space on the editorial page, so we'd like to share some additional letters with our Post-Gazette Web site readers.

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I'm sick and tired of politicians telling us how hard it is to be an average American, telling us how we need them to alleviate our problems and struggles. Yes, I know gas prices and health-care costs are rising, but we still run out to buy the latest high-definition televisions, our kids are walking around with $300 dollar iPods in their ears, we're paying more for cars because of fancy options we don't need ... but having to pay a dime more for our own health care, why that's ridiculous, that's inhumane.

Are average Americans struggling paycheck to paycheck to survive? No. The average American is spoiled living paycheck to paycheck, taking for granted being an average American.

DAVID OBERLEY
Glassport

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How come nobody has mentioned (maybe even considered) the cost to taxpayers to "cut" and mail the tax rebates? Postage, envelopes, checks and clerical time to prepare are not free! A reduction in 2007 federal taxes would have sufficed, thank you very much ... and grandstanding would have been avoided!

JANE W. HUNNEWELL
Whitehall

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Good for the Riverlife Task Force for taking the Barden architects "to task" for that garage-asaurus they plan on inflicting on the North Shore ("Riverlife Takes Casino to Court," Feb. 13).

Riverlife's appeal to the state Supreme Court of this design shows Pittsburghers appreciate the aesthetic value of this amiable living space we call Pittsburgh. There is nothing "obstructionist" about it ("The Riverlife Task Force Is Delaying Progress," Feb. 18 letters).

People in this town can tell the difference between good architecture that balances form and function and, in this case (because of its prominent location), a respect for a sense of place, and a 10-story monstrosity whose dimensions reflect the magnitude of tastelessness attainable by those who overindulge in the excesses of greed!

MARK BALOBECK
McKees Rocks

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Gov. Ed Rendell's outrageous comments regarding Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's viability as electable candidates to be the next president of the United States are shortsighted and old world, especially for a Democrat. To say that an articulate, passionate, highly intelligent man who just happens to be black is not electable is enough to make Dr. Martin Luther King scream from the grave. And to say that some men won't vote for Hillary Clinton only because she is a woman is enough to make Susan B. Anthony's scream as loud as the reverend's.

The people of the great state of Pennsylvania have a critical choice to make on April 22. Your votes cannot be driven by the covert prejudice and old world views of your governor.

America has serious problems; perhaps the most serious in our nation's history. Vote on April 22 for the "person" you believe to be best suited to lead this country to be all it can be for today, for our children and for our future.

MARCIE LIPSITT
Franklin, Mich.

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This is in regard to those individuals who have caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in graffiti damage. I suggest that the courts stop slapping these individuals on the hand. Instead they should be sentenced to purchase paint and brushes and to paint over their destructive graffiti. Then maybe they will wise up.

THERESA CIOLLI
Hays

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In response to the Jan. 30 article "Underage Drinking Key Issue in Privatizing State Store System," I think the underage drunken driving fatality rate is unrelated to the question of whether to allow privatization and deregulation.

Yes, of course there are fewer fatalities. The state has made it a very tedious, specific, time-consuming task to purchase this commodity. When it's not really a necessity, is it worth making an extra trip? Obviously not in some cases. The impulse-buy factor is gone and sales are lost.

The elimination of competition also keeps prices artificially high. If potato chips were this well regulated, heart attack deaths would decrease as well.

Ultimately, the consumer should be able to buy legal items from private businesses in a free market environment. The goal of Mothers Against Drunk Driving is noble, but ultimately places an undue burden on innocent people. Let's place the burden on offenders, not on society.

ANDREW W. MILLER
Forest Hills

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I have to strongly disagree with Thekla Fall ("The State Has Dropped a Vital Education Mandate," Feb. 4 letters) on the relevance of a foreign language requirement for our high school graduates.

I was required to take French for six years and pass an exam to gain admission to university. I have rarely found in 50 years of business and social travel in Europe that my French was helpful, and it was never essential.

The language of international business is English. It is far more important that our high school graduates are able to write and speak intelligently in English than to spend time learning German, French or Spanish.

Until employers and universities are satisfied with the verbal and written English skills of our high school graduates, it is a waste of time and precious money to insist on a foreign language requirement. By all means include a requirement that our students study some foreign cultures to better understand and learn from those who are different from us. By all means have some foreign language options available for those who have mastered English -- but don't make this a requirement for graduation.

JOHN MELLOR
Plum

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In 1979 I carried a gun. I had a permit to do so. It was a 9 mm Browning automatic with 14 rounds in a clip. The reason I had a weapon was because I handled large sums of money, and my boss suggested that it might be a good idea. I carried my 9 mm every time I went out, even when I wasn't dealing with large sums of money. It made me feel powerful. I guess that is the attraction of having a gun. You literally have the power of life and death in your hand. As it turned out, 1979 was one of the worst years of my life.

Legally to use a gun, your life or the life of some one else has to be in immediate danger; in short, only in case of self defense. After a few months I began to think about this problem.

If someone would threaten me or some people around me, it has to be a clear situation. If I am right, OK, no problem. But if I made a mistake, I might have harmed or killed another person wrongly and the consequence might have been prison.

When the year ended I sold the gun back to the gun shop I bought it from, for what I paid for it. I was glad it was gone.

Guns are "impulsive" and deadly. That is the problem with modern firearms. People, usually under stress, don't have the time to think what they are doing. And this is if they are in their right mind. When using a gun in deadly situations most people are not.

There are those who suggest the answer to the problem at college campuses is to arm teachers and students. This is gross foolishness. Guns encourage the quick and impulsive. When people have them and are under stress, they may say, "what the hell," and pull a gun and shoot a professor that they may have an issue with or perhaps other students.

I would suggest that all guns be made as one shot and to reload would take perhaps two minutes. As for hunters if they can't kill an animal with one shot, they are no hunters.

FREDERICK J. ROKASKY
Banksville

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