Many other signs of wasted stimulus funds Re: "Obama's propaganda on economic 'stimulus,'" Editorial, July 9 Yes, the signs are a huge waste of money. Perhaps the president is at fault, but please recall who appropriated the money in the first place: our U.S. Congress. When it was announced earlier that funds were being made available for the signs, I wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, although I had little hope she would listen to my objections to the unnecessary expenditure. At the time, the thought occurred to me: "Whose brother-in-law will get that contract?" Can you tell I'm a cynic when it comes to Congress and other governmental agencies? Earlier this year, the District's decision to use stimulus funds to replace aging, rusty and very dirty lampposts on Dalecarlia Parkway delighted me, as I had been asking for their replacement for some time. They were a disgrace along an "entrance" road to our city. But in place of a row of T-shaped lampposts along the median strip, there are a row of new lampposts along each side of the road, twice as many as before. I wonder whose brother-in-law got that contract? E.M. Becker
Foggy Bottom

Save the beluga whales, walruses and baby seals! Re: "Excessive energy demands will eventually kill off the bears," From Readers, July 9 Why does Carl Henn want to kill beluga whales, walruses and baby seals? That's the clear effect of his obsessive preoccupation with saving polar bears. Marine mammals in the arctic winter drown without breathing holes in the ice. When the ice is thick, there are fewer of these holes, and polar bears gather around them to easily slaughter marine mammals. Beluga whales and baby seals are especially vulnerable. Warmer arctic seas mean more breathing holes and greater survivability for the marine mammals that depend upon them. Mr. Henn exhibits the classic signs of speciesism, a preference for those animals he considers to be warm and fuzzy ... and make good fundraising props for organizations that depend upon a gullible public for their livelihood. Roger Johnson
Kensington

New 'mission' for NASA is Obama's latest flop Re: "Obama's new mission for NASA: Reach out to Muslim world," July 5 Just when we thought Obama couldn't dig himself a deeper political hole, he somehow manages to mess up NASA. Regarding this administration's "new mission," I found myself shaking my head at this latest flop and asking the same question again: Is President Obama even interested in a second term? With a political ammo cache like this, even George W. Bush could theoretically beat him in a landslide come 2012, let alone any other hypothetical candidate. Is there anything else we can cite as being redeeming in the eyes of the American people? The economy? National security? Supreme Court justices? Oil spill? Immigration? Health care? All no. Obama is proving himself to be a president who will go down in history like no other, just as he promised. And to think we still have a minimum of two more years with this guy. David Morris
Leesburg