TO THE EDITOR:

How many of your readers remember the big banner in back of President Bush that read "Mission Accomplished" when he declared the Iraqi war over? I, for one have to agree with him. He's brought his vision of America to the Iraqi people.

Just like at home they now have at least one American youth being killed everyday, they have no jobs, a crumbling infrastructure, a deficit so huge their kids' kids will still be paying for it, security check points and a government that can now legally listen to everything you say and do. Great job Bush, mission accomplished; now bring ours boys (and girls) back home.

George Case, Bethel

How Bengals can win: Skip the days off

A single-word tip for the "new" Bengals: Practice. After another defeat, the Bengals took Monday and Tuesday off. My suggestion is to practice. If the quarterback has problems with snaps, do snaps for eight hours on Monday and Tuesday.

If the quarterback has problems with shuffle passes, do 500 of them or so on Monday and Tuesday. If the offensive line has blocking assignment problems, do blocking practice for eight hours on Monday and Tuesday.

Tony Elliott, Finneytown

CPS teachers should be praised

Kudos to Taryn Grinker, a first-grade teacher, for her 11 years at Vine Street Elementary ("Teacher speaks out on impoverished school," Sept. 7). Thank you for telling it like it really is in the inner-city schools' designed for "redesign."

Try as they can, no amount of teacher effort can overcome the insurmountable disadvantages the students bring to school each day - 56 percent mobility, 25 percent with disabilities, 86 percent economically disadvantaged, most from single-parent families, etc.

The litany of obstacles to learning are overwhelming and you add to the continuous flogging of the teachers until test scores improve creates an atmosphere of despair and resentment. Instead of the CPS superintendent continuing to threaten teachers with redesign, why doesn't he spend one week each month in one classroom in a school designated for redesign, trying, as best he can, to overcome the obstacles.

Cincinnati Public Schools' teachers who stay at the worst of the worst schools should be thanked and praised for their dedication in the face of so many obstacles, especially in these times when so many opportunities exist to get better jobs in better school systems.

Paul W. Bridge, Jr., Monfort Heights

Solution for bombings? Evict all Palestinians

I have a proposal for ending the Israeli/Palestinian impasse.

The Israeli government should announce that the next suicide bombing that occurs on its territory will result in the eviction of all Palestinian residents from the town where the perpetrator lived.

And all future crimes of that nature will generate the same result: permanent forfeiture of the entire town to Israeli control. Where will the evictees go? Lots of room in the Sinai or Jordanian desert.

As the Palestinians watch their territory shrink with each new bombing, they are going to think twice about taking that course of action. And if Hamas or other groups continue to encourage these mass murders, they will ultimately lose their popular support, and be seen as traitors to the Palestinian cause.

Rick D. Ellison, Madisonville

When will this extortion end?

One definition of extortion is "an act or practice of extorting money or other property."

I was always under the impression that extortion is illegal. I see that the Cincinnati council has a long history of succumbing to extortion by various enterprises such as Saks, Convergys, and now Kroger, et al., by giving them tax abatements, land or buildings under the threat that if my tax money doesn't give them what they want then they will leave the city. When will all this end?

If I threaten to move from the city, no one on the council will give me any perks to stay. I will remember when I vote, but then again, I am only one vote and someone easily ignored. I wonder why other taxpayers do not see this and act.

Ed Willwerth, Western Hills

Law would fight blight of vacant houses

The Enquirer recently profiled a problem with property "flipping" and the effect it has had on neighborhoods and cities. One side effect that was mentioned was the blight conditions that develop when these properties are uninhabited until the next owner comes along.

Many small cities experience this problem, even without property flipping. When a home is left empty due to foreclosure it often sits empty for years.

During the 2002-2003 Kentucky legislative session, officials from the City of Dayton met with Rep. Jim Callahan, D-Wilder, and discussed this issue. Rep. Callahan introduced House Bill 377, which would have allowed cities to address these problems more quickly.

If nothing else, cities would be able to cut the grass, board up broken windows and then add the cost of this to the tax bill for the property. Unfortunately, this piece of legislation, which would have cost nothing in way of new taxes, was not approved.

The City of Dayton will once again be approaching Rep. Callahan, and other cities and representatives, to reintroduce this legislation. I urge anyone who has had the misfortune to live near one of these to contact their representative in support of this legislation. You may even want to take a picture of one of these properties and send it to your representative.

Penny Hurtt, City council member, Dayton, Ky.