We must get out of this war in Afghanistan

The war in Afghanistan now is the longest war in U.S. history. We won't lose and we cannot win. Why do we continue? There are three main reasons.

It does not cost the United States enough to make a noticeable difference in the economy -- it does not hurt the average American in the pocket. The country is not really at war, the army is at war. Our advanced weapons systems allow us to wage war without sizable U.S. casualties. No one here cares.

We need leaders who will discuss the war and lead us out of war to peace.

ART FLEMING
Forest Hills

Violates principles

I write in response to the letter by Scott Smith of Cecil ("Try Him as Adult," Feb. 22), in which he asks for "justice" for a boy who was 11 years old when charged with homicide and who might be tried as an adult. The problem is that justice for a juvenile is never the same as it is for an adult.

The first reason this is true is that juveniles simply do not have the same moral knowledge or brain function as adults. Tests done by UCLA prove that people under 18 are inherently much more impulsive than adults. Thus, even if they know something is wrong, they can't exert as much control over their impulses as an adult can. This decreases their culpability, which means an adult punishment could not be justly given.

If that were not enough, according to Locke's social contract, which the U.S. Constitution is largely based on, juveniles cannot be accorded full punishment unless they are accorded full rights. Basically, if society does not deem juveniles mature enough to vote, it cannot exert the full force of the law upon them.

The crime this young person is accused of committing was horrendous, no doubt. However, I am appalled that people in our community and the court systems find it so easy to sacrifice basic American principles of justice in order to satiate the public's appetite for blood.

EMILY GIBBS
McCandless

Royal humor

In a world filled with turmoil and uncertainty, the royal hype offers relief. And Gary Rotstein's Feb. 23 "Morning File" column ("The Royal Invitation: Bring Money, Mate, But Leave the Accent") did just that -- so much so, I laughed out loud as I read it ... in a doctor's waiting room. Oh, well, only the receptionist looked askance at me.

Although Mr. Rotstein spoofed the royals, our fascination with them and more, there's something magical about a prince marrying a commoner -- the sort of stuff that drives fairly tales. Yes, Virginia, there are real-life handsome princes who marry beautiful commoners and carry them off in chauffeur-driven motor cars.

NANCY GREGG
Murrysville

Arena greater good

Regarding "Civic Arena -- Crime Scene: But Don't Wipe Away the Evidence" (Feb. 11): Eminent domain is about the greater good, if government only could recognize it. Corporations see only profit, highly leveraged profit. Highly leveraged is important to understand: When the grandiose idea fails it's a small corporate loss, but the community is devastated -- remember East Liberty and East Hills.

The Civic Arena is not evidence of a crime; it's the phoenix that rose from the ashes of crime. It is more than an architectural masterpiece, it's pre-PC Pittsburgh engineering, it's Pittsburgh compromise to get all that could be gotten for Greater Pittsburgh, and it's Pittsburgh identity, futuristic yet pragmatic.

The greater good might be served by restoring the venue for its original purposes and more. I was there one summer night when that silent dome opened to a starry black sky over the city, truly God's cathedral, amazing.

It's not been 500 years; the crime will be in reducing it to ashes before its time, for corporate greed. Downtown development based on the suburban model is not feasible, but greed readily destroys with its leverage then walks away leaving desolation, not community.

DAVID A. CROSBIE
Squirrel Hill

Artful solution

In light of the article "Penguins, City Discuss Redevelopment" (Feb. 8): I have an idea I wish to share concerning the fate of the Civic Arena and the land around it that could certainly benefit the community as far as redevelopment goes, and might even satisfy the wishes of the preservationists. From reading the article, it is obvious much has yet to be decided.

What if we simply kept in place and refurbished the big steel arm that reaches up over the roof of the arena, and have a local artist -- with input from the citizens of Pittsburgh -- design and construct some sort of monolith to replace the arena, and support the steel arm, while honoring this great city?

While I am no artist myself, I have envisioned the gigantic steel arm painted shiny black, possibly supported by a tall, thin triangle-shaped monolith sculpted to look like a giant gold bar. To me, the steel, the colors, the shape of the monolith are all recognizable symbols of our great city.

Water and botanical gardens could then be designed around both on the ground to tie them together as sort of a central "park" right smack in the middle of all the new development.

It doesn't get any easier than that ... and we would have an awesome and fitting tribute to the magnificent Civic Arena, while also doing what's best for our great city financially.

JIM MIKOLAY
Harrison

Irresponsible sex ed

New York Times columnist Gail Collins is right to criticize Texas Gov. Rick Perry's reality-defying support for "abstinence only" sexual education in public schools ("Barbara Bush vs. Rick Perry," Feb. 23 Perspectives). Promulgating -- with taxpayer funds -- incomplete and disingenuous information is wrong. Even worse, it is being done to pander to the religious right and their desire for a Christian theocracy.

While abstinence is an important part of combating unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, it is only part of the solution and must be taught alongside oral contraceptives, condoms and other measures.

I once admired Gov. Perry for his staunch defense of the vaccine against the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus (HPV) -- which his support for "abstinence only" education completely undercuts.

AMESH A. ADALJA, M.D.
Butler

The military follows orders

The letter from the Rev. Kim Rapczak ("The Pentagon Has Fueled the U.S. Funding Crisis," Feb. 15) is based on a misconception: The military does not assign missions. The civilian authority, our elected leaders, does, at least in our country even if it is against the advice of the military leaders.

The administration of George W. Bush decided, based on unproven allegations of the presence of weapons of mass destruction, to order the invasion of Iraq in early 2003. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found.

Senior leaders in the U.S. military establishment advised against not just the proposed conduct of the invasion and war but against the invasion itself. They were ignored and the U.S. military in conjunction with allied forces were ordered to invade Iraq, setting in motion events that have led to the current situation.

It takes money to accomplish missions assigned to the U.S. military by our civilian leaders. Money is needed to equip and transport our men and women to the area of operations. Money is needed to support operations in the area of operations.

We are doing an extreme disservice to our men and women in the military if we do not provide them with all the resources needed to prosecute the assigned mission, including resources to care for them in and out of theater. All too often this includes medical care after the fact.

Appropriate questions might include asking if our civilian government is going to continue to task our military with missions that are going to cost many billions of dollars and if they are going to take a more critical look at what they are asking our military to do and not assign missions that may look good but do not have a strategic or tactical rationale.

More to the crux of the matter now is if the rationale for an assigned mission no longer exists, will our civilian leadership tell the military to end it and then devote the released resources to other purposes?

MARC YERGIN
Major, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Squirrel Hill

Destructive power agenda

Regarding "Public Worker Battles Spread" (Feb. 23), and "On Prank Phone Call, Wisconsin's Governor Discusses Union Strategy" (Feb. 24):

The parallel between the demonstrations in the Middle East and those in the American Midwest is telling. While crowds in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are protesting one threat to democracy (totalitarianism and oppression), crowds in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois are actually protesting another, more insidious, threat: that of corporate ownership of elected officials.

The "prank" phone call to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker just proves what some of us already know, but others - including tea partiers who don't seem to have a clue that they are being supported and used by the Kochs, and others of their ilk, to elect their candidates (and defeat people like Russ Feingold, who are not beholden to corporate interests) - apparently do not. The turmoil in Wisconsin isn't just about union-busting - it is deeper, and signals that the American people are finally getting wise to the destructive consequences of the real agenda of many of the rich and powerful in America.

BRUCE L. WILDER
Oakland

Ornithologist and Renaissance man

Bradley Livezey ("Nationally Respected Expert on Birds at Carnegie Museum," Feb. 10 news obituary) took me in. I was a 23-year-old graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh, and I had been given the amazing opportunity of temporary employment across the street at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Dr. Livezey had been preparing a monograph on the relationship between birds and dinosaurs. Most unfortunately, many of his documents had been damaged by water during museum renovation. Dr. Livezey needed a hand to salvage these materials and reorganize many, many files. I was overjoyed to assist him.

I knew I was in the presence of a great man from the moment I stepped into his work space. There on a table were ornithological specimens; volumes of scientific materials - some in English, some in Russian, some in German - rested on a great bookcase; around a corner was Dr. Livezey's desk, his Apple computer crunching massive numbers.

"I wanted it to be artistic," he said, handing me a recent monograph that he had published. The cover consisted of a hand-drawn bird skull, the detail and realism of which would impress any art historian. Dr. Livezey was a Renaissance man.

I had piles of documents to organize and file; this meant that I had the wonderful opportunity to spend much time with Dr. Livezey, conversing with his great intellect. Over the months very few topics fell beyond the limits of our conversations. We talked about evolution, history, art, world events and language, as classical music gently flowed from a nearby stereo; he told me about his field experiences in Latin America, and he always spoke candidly about his feelings. He taught me the songs of local birds, the language of nature. And he always bought me lunch. I will never forget my time with him. Dr. Bradley Livezey took me in.

Dr. Livezey's work can only be described as world class. His studies will be cited for centuries to come, his monographs and articles remaining on the shelves of scientific researchers for generations and generations. Through his published work he is still actively participating in scientific undertakings regarding life on planet Earth. Through his ideas he is immortal.

JEFFREY MEYER
Indiana, Pa.

Consider a family pass for the libraries

Regarding the funding crisis and the Carnegie Libraries: I am wondering how much new revenue has been generated by the new policy of fining children's selections. An informal poll conducted by me online indicates that many, if not most, of the return-family-users have been running up regular fines through this change in policy.

I understand their need to fine as a new revenue source, but I have not seen any accounting for what sort of new income this has generated or any change in the rhetoric of the need for new funding. My own family has paid more than $50 since the new policy went into effect (which I do not necessarily begrudge the system), money which the libraries, sad to say, would probably not have seen from this family under normal circumstances given our current economic reality.

I would like to respectfully propose a new fee option: a yearly pre-paid family user fee for, at least, children's items. It would cost, say, $25 to $40 for the year for a family, and those users would then revert to the old system of no additional fees for late items and only paying for replacing items.

As much as the library tries to help me by e-mailing me reminders four or five days ahead of time when items are due back and, again, three or four days after I'm collecting fines, I do find that with my busy life, or at times scattered thinking, I don't always get the online renewal accomplished on time. Shame on me.

But if I forget to renew, then I have no ability to take care of that online because the system blocks renewals of overdue items, effectively forcing me to continue to accrue fines if I cannot make it to the library that day. This new system is seriously impacting our ability to use this wonderful service, and if we could budget the amount into our other expenses, or if the library would allow users to pay their fees online and then renew their items, and thus stop accruing late fees, it would help tremendously.

HEATHER CONRAD
East Liberty

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First Published: March 2, 2011, 5:00 a.m.