January 15-21, 2004

mailbag

Letters to the Editor

by the Readers

Not Keen on Dean

While we certainly agree that George W. Bush should not be re-elected president this November, is Howard Dean really the strongest possible candidate that the Democratic Party can field, considering that the 2004 election is likely to be decided in the southern and western United States ["Dean, Warts and All," Howard Altman, Pretzel Logic, Dec. 25, 2003]? An imaginative Democrat with some foreign policy and national defense and security experience has any number of blunders to develop on Iraq and tie to Mr. Bush, to say nothing of the possibility of laying 9/11 on Mr. Bush's doorstep. Last month, Thomas H. Kean, former Republican Governor of New Jersey and now Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, made two separately televised statements indicating that he at least has some difficulty with the conventional wisdom that the attacks of 9/11 could not have been prevented. Could it be that all the facts have not yet come to light? Stay tuned, the commission's report is not due until May 27, 2004.

Not challenging Mr. Bush hard in 2004 would be a serious mistake for the national Democratic Party. Having more than a little faith in the common sense and decency of my fellow Americans in the sense that they still try to do the right thing, what I actually (if perversely) find amusing about Republican extremists is their capability to achieve self-destruction, so keep your sense of humor.

James Womer
Via E-mail

Hope Floats

Thank you so much for a great article of love, hope, prayer and the power of the human spirit ["Back to Life," Ralph Cipriano, Jan. 1, 2004]. As a physical therapist myself, sometimes we need recognition that the jobs that we do are worthwhile. My spirit has been rejuvenated.

Kenneth Williams
Via E-mail

Street: Tug This

Do you sincerely believe that Mayor Street even knows who Tug McGraw was ["Believe," Howard Altman, Pretzel Logic, Jan. 8, 2004]?

This mayor seems to have about as much knowledge and passion for local team sports as Rendell had for proper diet and exercise. Methinks Mayor Street was fed some information by an underling who thought it would show some empathy to the crowd?

Rich Golden
Via E-mail

Cough It Up

Last time I remembered, we live in a semi-free country ["Put Smoking Laws in Local Voters' Hands," Don Schumaker, Slant, Jan. 8, 2004]. If you don't like smoking, go somewhere else. Automobile emissions are far more dangerous than secondhand smoke, so shouldn't we be taxing and/or banning automobiles?

But this isn't really about a health issue when you drill down -- it is a matter of government and special-interest groups trying to force others to do "what's best for us." I and other Libertarians prefer freedom over force, and will leave the choice of where to work, eat or socialize up to the individual. So it appears OK to pollute with diapers and SUVs but not with cigarettes? The only difference seems to be to cater to the whims of the Married Majority.

Philadelphia was the birthplace of liberty, so let's leave it that way.

Tom Swider
Via E-mail

Correction

Last week it was incorrectly stated that Philly Word magazine was no longer active. This is not the case. City Paper regrets the error.