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Also this issue: Vindicated Drunk and Ignorant The Job Confessions of a Media CEO |
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August 22-28, 2002
mailbag
(Re: Cover Story, “Bully Puppet,” Gwen Shaffer, Aug. 15, 2002)
Great praise and thanks to Gwen Shaffer for her excellent article on the harassment and legal shenanigans that law firm Hangley Aronchick and company used to attack people who were arrested for doing nothing but make puppets, and then tried to exercise their legal rights to correct this horrible injustice.
Ms. Shaffer, being a cautious journalist, avoided the term "insurance fraud," but I, as a Philadelphia native familiar with the weird deals that go on in this city, can't help but wonder about the city taking out insurance to cover lawsuits over civil rights violations that they planned. When demonstrations are banned for most of the Republican National Convention, when Judge Seamus McCaffery announces that the city is going to arrest the protesters before they do anything, when the city releases hundreds of nonpolitical prisoners from jail before the RNC to make room for protesters and when the city arrests 76 people for making puppets, I can't see how these violations of civil rights were just honest mistakes. And then this law firm, a donor to Mayor Street, gets to make over a million dollars off of harassing people when they sue! This insurance policy seems to be just like taking out fire insurance on a house you plan to burn down. This is insurance fraud, plain and simple, and this is a crime (on top of arresting hundreds of people for nothing).
I hope that the real "criminal conspiracy" -- the one to deny people their civil liberties and then make millions of dollars harassing them when they seek justice -- is exposed and punished. This story may be the first step.
Jamie Graham
West Philadelphia
I enjoyed the article on the Republican Convention protesters. It seemed odd to me that organizations and individuals outside of city government, such as the host committee for the RNC and David L. Cohen, could purchase insurance to protect the city of Philadelphia from lawsuits. Even if they were purchased by the city, insurance policies to protect against civil lawsuits seem like a conflict of interest for a government and police force that are supposed to be protecting civil liberties. The insurance ostensibly protects the city from lawsuits and may give the city government, in a situation like this, the notion that they can violate civil liberties with impunity.
Isaac Stanford
Narberth
I was initially angered by the sad realities presented in last week's feature story, "Bully Puppet." Later I realized that despite the criminal efforts of Republican factions with unlimited resources, the Spiral Q Puppet theater hasn't slowed down one bit. The much less glamorized and monumentally more important projects we implement continue to thrive in underserved Philadelphia neighborhoods like Strawberry Mansion and Parkside. Last week we showcased colorful pageants dealing with such themes as adolescent choices and literacy. Just today we followed up a performance at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts with a children's parade. Soon we will be gearing up for our largest event of the year, our all-city "peoplehood" pageant and parade. With every one of our workshops, it is the participants we work with who build every aspect of their performance. I encourage the people of Philadelphia to get to know us and our work, and be a part of a workshop, parade or pageant.
Bruce Orr
Education Coordinator
Spiral Q Puppet Theater
(Re: “A New D-Hole,” Daniel Brook, and Slant: “Love Crimes,” Rick Valenzuela, Aug. 15, 2002)
Please consider the possibility of solving two problems for two people in one move: the DisneyHole, already dug, would make a great skateboard bowl park, and since the city owns the land and doesn't know what to do with this eyesore, it seems like a great solution for both sides: it is accessible to transportation, the city has already "broken ground" on an as-yet-unbroken promise, and the skateboarders might accept the possibilities for this site, if only for a practice/trials venue, since the X Games would require a site much larger, more the size of Love Park. But alas, the thing is staring us in the face! Hole-y Rollers!
Jim Kane
Wayne
(Re: Pretzel Logic, “History Channeling,” Howard Altman, Aug. 15, 2002)
I couldn't agree more with your column this week. You just keep on being a "curmudgeon" about historical facts! It's an absolute shame how much the younger people do not know. And it is equally frightening that they will be our country's leaders and/or movers and shakers in future decades. Can't wait for the day when a Goth gets elected President!
Rusty R. Powell
Philadelphia
(Re: “‘Everybody’s Mad About Something’,” Deborah Bolling, Aug. 8, 2002)
Reporter Deborah Bolling reported that "Klibanoff says it doesn't appear to him that the majority of the staff is miffed." I did not say that. When she asked me if Guild President Henry Holcomb was correct in saying a majority was mad, I said that I trust Henry and believe his mood reflects the feeling in the newsroom, but that I honestly could not say, from my own knowledge, whether the majority is mad.
By saying that I don't know if Henry is right, I was not saying I believe Henry is wrong. I have no idea whether 40 percent or 60 percent or 100 percent are mad; I know it's a lot of folks. It is unfair to put in my head or my mouth a conclusion I have not reached over something I have not even tried to measure.
Hank Klibanoff
Deputy Managing Editor
Philadelphia Inquirer
Editor's note: The paraphrase to which Klibanoff refers was immediately followed by a long quote which more fully explained his view, in much the same way he has in this letter.
Re: "Bully Puppet," Aug. 15, on the status of lawsuits against the city over arrests made during the Republican National Convention: The article stated that activist Terrence McGuckin was charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing the highway, but did not note that the charges were later dismissed.
Re: "Commissioner Gordon," Aug. 15, on Anne Gordon's promotion to managing editor of the Inquirer: Outgoing Deputy Managing Editor Hank Klibanoff was not "rejected" for the job of ME, as the article asserted. Klibanoff says that when he resigned in order to take that position at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Inquirer's search was not complete and in fact an offer to him was still on the table. Also, due to an editing error, Gordon's previous title was misstated. She was deputy managing editor.
Re: "Everybody's Mad About Something," Aug. 8, on reaction to Inquirer editor Walker Lundy's suburban coverage plan: Due to an editing error, a quote was presented in a broader context than the speaker meant it to be taken. The line should have read: "Everyone is outraged," says columnist Monica Yant Kinney, referring to some layoffs that are part of the plan. "If this is what the future looks like, it doesn't bode well for the Inquirer." Also, Deputy Managing Editor Hank Klibanoff was incorrectly identified as assistant managing editor.
Re: "Good, and That's Enough," a review of La Collina restaurant by Maxine Keyser, July 25: The owner was misidentifed. His name is Enzo Valent.
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