I am writing in response to "Courthouse Paranoia," a March 9 letter by Paul J. McArdle. A few days before, I overheard news agencies commenting on the 75th anniversary of FDR's inaugural speech, in which he declared that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Yet, I find myself sensing a corrosive fear in our land.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, I have had the "opportunity" to live, for various durations, in Kuwait, Iraq, Bolivia, Jordan and Israel. My international friends tell me they sense a fear in the world's pre-eminent power. Something is not right.

Today, you cannot enter a courthouse, airport or school without passing through a metal detector, taking off your shoes, and holding up your plastic bag of lip balm because we fear the other side of the checkpoint. You see a brown-skinned man and fear he's been raised in a radical-fascist-extremist-Islamic home, or maybe just Mexico. We fear beef, toothpaste, pet food and children's toys. We fear a robust China, a resurgent Russia and a nuclear Iran. We fear Jews, Palestinians, labor unions, corporations, global warming, higher taxes, gays, the Quran and even the Bible. We fear our children are having sex (we fear even more that they are enjoying it), yet we fear condoms because they "encourage" more sex. We fear political compromise, even though our system of government cannot function without compromise. We resort to the use of torture because we fear the judicial process.

Regardless of where I travel, I believe in the strength of America to overcome fear.

DUSTIN FELIX
Swisshelm Park

---

I could not agree more that rotating, regional primaries are the solution for our American democracy ("Primary Error: Michigan and Florida Have Two Flawed Choices," March 9 editorial). The problems created by the state Democratic parties in Florida and Michigan have shown how untenable the current system of electing presidential nominees has become. Everybody wants to be first in the nomination process.

I couldn't disagree more with the idea of allowing Democrats in Florida and Michigan to vote again ("Florida Democrats Won't Redo Primary, But Michigan Might," March 18). They should not be rewarded for breaking the rules of the national Democratic Party. However, both states must be allowed to be seated at the national convention in August.

I highly recommend that the delegates of both Florida and Michigan be evenly split between Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton. This way, Florida and Michigan are still punished for not following the national Democratic Party's rules, but both states will still be seated at the nominating convention. This solution of splitting delegates evenly also will set a precedent for all future state parties that contemplate defying the rules of the national Democratic Party.

TIMOTHY BURAK
Lawrenceville

---

Regarding the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania: Is there a potential for all kinds of manipulation?

I am a German citizen, but have been living for more than 30 years in the city I love, Pittsburgh. My family members, all American citizens, are registered as independents.

In the last 30 years, presidential primaries in Pennsylvania held no real importance, because when the campaigns finally arrived here, the candidates were already confirmed.

Suddenly Pennsylvania becomes a pivotal state for the Democratic primaries, but only registered Democrats can vote. Non-Democrats can get around this. They have until tomorrow to register and change their party affiliation.

I am sure that both Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have their troops out to convince independents to register as Democrats. It's obvious that the Republican Party and its candidate, Sen. John McCain, would rather run against Mrs. Clinton than Mr. Obama.

Republicans can register for a couple of months as Democrats, and then come out and vote in droves for Mrs. Clinton. That could give her the landslide victory she needs to continue her campaign.

Do I see this correctly, or am I missing something here?

WERNER PHILIPP
Mt. Lebanon

---

As a Monroeville resident, I read with interest not only the news stories about UPMC's purchase of the Palace Inn hotel ("UPMC Buying Palace Inn Site for $19 Million," March 6), but also the letters to the editor pertaining to UPMC's "encroachment" into West Penn Hospital-Forbes Regional Campus' health-care arena (March 16).

What the naysayers don't realize is that those of us who are fortunate enough to be covered by health insurance don't necessarily have a say in where we want to be treated, or by whom.

Fortunately for me, my current employer offers a health plan that allows me to go wherever I want. My previous employer offered a health plan that allowed me access to only one of the two rival systems in our area.

More and more companies that do offer health insurance coverage to their employees offer only one plan, and more often than not, those plans limit you either to the UMPC-affiliated hospitals, clinics and doctors, or to the West Penn Allegheny affiliations.

I am not debating which is "superior"; I would like to think that both UPMC and West Penn Allegheny offer top-notch treatment to the populace they serve. But it does no good to have only one of these health-care networks serving a community if the population surrounding it is banned from using that specific facility because of a closed health insurance program.

Perhaps our attention should be focused on opening up all health insurance plans to all health-care facilities. Until then, I view UPMC's arrival in the eastern suburbs as a welcome addition to my friends and neighbors whose health insurance plans prevent them from using the services of the West Penn Allegheny network.

DONNA LEVENSON WOLFSON
Monroeville

---

Regarding "A Bedtime Story" (March 9 Forum): I could not have been more relieved to hear Gayle Greene's viewpoint on the efforts, or lack thereof, of the National Sleep Foundation to truly understand the cause of chronic insomnia.

I have suffered some 18 years from this affliction. Because it started as an acute situation in my early adulthood and was not resolved, it is now referred to as chronic, but more specifically as "conditioned insomnia." This means the very act of going to bed causes anxiety and the inability to fall asleep. In other words, I have trained myself over the years to stay awake at bedtime.

The bad news, and one that Ms. Greene did not mention, is that once insomnia becomes chronic or even "conditioned," it is difficult to treat.

So, in the effort to help those of you who may be experiencing your first bout with insomnia, please do not take this matter lightly. Seek the necessary help so that it does not become chronic.

DEBORAH L. BALL
McDonald

---

I am writing regarding the Pennsylvania open records law addressed in the March 9 Forum piece "Transparent Government, Phase 2" by Thomas Hylton.

Pittsburgh City Council and the city clerk's office are already in the forefront of providing transparency in government and, in fact, we recently launched a new link on our city Web sites called the "Legislative Information Center." This site allows users to directly access all legislation from introduction to final action. Just log on to legistar.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/mattersearch/home.aspx.

Using a comprehensive database management system, the city clerk's office generates agendas, followed by official minutes that track the history of a bill, including council attendance, motions, votes and summary comments. Simply click on the site's "Agendas and Minutes" and you will get a drop-down by meeting date. For comprehensive research, utilize the "search" and "advance search" function to use keywords and other criteria. You are always welcome to call our office at 412-255-2142 if you need help navigating the site.

For a practice run, use the search function and type "domestic violence" in the "search keywords" box. A chronological listing of the most recent ordinance, a post-agenda meeting with attached Power Point presentation, proclamations and transcripts is displayed with the click of a mouse.

We encourage our citizenry to utilize the Legislative Information Center Web site. It's user-friendly, inclusive and free.

LINDA M. JOHNSON-WASLER
City Clerk
City of Pittsburgh
Downtown

---

We welcome your letters. Please include your name, address and phone number, and send to Letters to the Editor, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh 15222. E-mail letters to letters@post-gazette.com or fax to 412-263-2014. Letters should be 250 words or less, original and exclusive to the Post-Gazette. All letters are subject to editing for length, clarity and accuracy and will be verified before being published.