Letters to the Editor

by the Readers

Backlog Back Talk

As a member of one of the grass-roots organizations that are to blame for the "backlog in which citizens aren't getting their registration cards in a timely manner," I wanted to respond to [LooseCanon, "Registration Inundation," Bruce Schimmel, Sept. 30, 2004]. I have been an ACORN member for the past four years. This summer, I chose to volunteer to register my neighbors to vote because I believe that low- and moderate-income people need a greater say in politics in this country. My wife, who works with the school district during the school year, took on a part-time job at ACORN calling all new voters to make sure the information on their applications was correct. Both of us are proud of this work and exceptionally proud that we were part of one of the largest grass-roots voter-registration efforts ever. ACORN volunteers and staff included grandmothers, high-school students, block captains, college grads, single moms and yes, ex-felons. [We] registered 130,000 new voters in Pennsylvania, half of them in Philadelphia. Our work contributed to the one million-plus new voters ACORN registered nationwide. Whatever backlog has been created at the Board of Elections, it seems a small price to pay for the increased participation of thousands of low- and moderate-income people in our political process.

Nelson Jones
North Philadelphia

What About Us?

I was excited about reading [Cover Story, Book Quarterly, "Rankings, Shmankings," Brett Schaeffer, Oct. 7, 2004]. However, I found that a few colleges were left out. To be specific, University of the Arts located on Avenue of the Arts is nowhere to be found in [the College Prowler guides], posters for college days or many other events all around the city. We seem to be always overlooked and I'm tired of it. We pay tuition and live in the city just as much as the next person. If people would take the time to recognize us as a college like we deserve, [they] would find some interesting and immensely talented students.

Amber Mabie
Philadelphia

Buck the Muck

In [Slant, "Muck Breaker," Oct. 7, 2004], Thomas Hynes looked at three key election issues, one of them the environment. What we need to do as voters is look at the administration's record on these issues. For example, I would ask, "Is the environment better off than it was four years ago?" Clearly, it is not. It seems the Bush administration spends more time in thinking up catchy names for its policies than in actually protecting the environment and our health. So, we have the so-called Healthy Forests law, which actually protects timber companies and not forests. We also have the so-called Clear Skies initiative, which allows power plants to pour twice as much polluting sulphur dioxide into our air as before. The Superfund is bankrupt. It ran out of money one year ago. Only a quarter as many toxic-waste cleanups are beginning as there were four years ago. It's important for voters to know not just what the candidates say, but what they've actually done in order to decide, "Can we really afford four more years?"

Len Perlman
Germantown

Correction

In last week's review of exhibitions at the Fabric Workshop [Arts, "Forest for the Trees," Robin Rice, Oct. 7], the address was listed incorrectly. The address is 1315 Cherry St. City Paper regrets the error.

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