I almost wept when I read [Cover, "Battle of the Sexless," Ashlea Halpern, April 6, 2006]. This is the first wonderful article that portrays the [eunuch] community in the most accurate light. This is a community of people oppressed so terribly that the word "media" has come to be synonymous with "misunderstanding." I can't tell you how relieved I am that there is someone who is being kind to a community that has suffered for so long.

Roger Davies
Merseyside, England

Rather than trying to titillate or horrify readers, Halpern presents the very real dilemma that thousands of human beings face. As early as age five, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would never be able to live a male social role. After decades of wrestling with the idea of castration, I nearly mutilated myself with a knife. Two and a half years after visiting a surgeon mentioned in the article, I am happier than I can remember being. I feel right within myself. I'm active in the Christian Church, support my community and love children. Were I offered a return to my former state of mind and body plus a few million dollars, I would not take it!

Gregory Vozar
Colts Neck, N.J.

"Battle of the Sexless" was the most disgustingly detailed story I have ever read. I fucking LOVED it. There has to be more in the future.

Andrew Leland
York, Pa.

[Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights program director Annie] Tegen's statement is entirely consistent with the entire antismoking message nationwide [Philly Blunt, "Liar Extinguisher," Brian Hickey, April 6, 2006]. It is about protecting workers from harm in the workplace. Whether or not every patron and employee chooses to work in an area where they are exposed to smoke, they are being exposed to toxins and jacking up social and health care costs for everyone.

Jonah Harrison
Seattle, Wash.

Banning smoking has absolutely nothing to do with the health of the workers from the honest point of view of most of the antismoking crowd. It's just a legal angle, but other legal angles may exist as well. Don't be surprised if assault is raised, with a potentially deadly weapon, akin to blowing asbestos fibers in someone's face. This ban will eventually happen, but in the meantime, smokers should question whether a substance addiction that forces them to knowingly cause harm isn't one that's better off not having.

Jay Scheuerle
South Philly

If Kevin Haney can produce a shred of evidence that his proposed formula for news coverage will cause the Inquirer's circulation and/or advertising revenue to increase, I will happily quit draining the paper's resources and take my ruminations somewhere else [Slant, "Turn the Beat Around," April 6, 2006]. Until he can, however, I hope he and the City Paper's readers all realize that he's doing nothing more than expressing a personal preference for some kinds of newspaper writing over others. If he's got a winning news formula, he's perfectly free to try it out. Others (such as Phil Anshutz in Baltimore) are proving that it isn't impossible to start up a new newspaper. He can even buy this one. If his theories work, I'll come apply for a job. If he's not willing to do that, though, he's welcome to stick his opinions in the same orifice they came out of.

Andrew Cassel

Business columnist,

Philadelphia Inquirer

While contending that I am "draining precious Inky resources," Haney does say, however, that I am "competent." At long last, there is something I can put on my resume, just in case another job comes along. But wait ... another job has in fact come along. The University of Pennsylvania has offered me a great job as a full-time senior lecturer, so, starting this fall, I will be working there. This fact has been widely reported for weeks, so here's a tip from a "competent" journalist: Incomplete reporting reduces one's credibility.

Dick Polman

National political writer,

Philadelphia Inquirer

[Slant, "Fire Sale," Duncan Spencer, March 30, 2006] was right on target. Thank you for recognizing an important issue that those of us in the preservation community had overlooked.

When selling historic property, the primary criteria should be appropriate use and preservation of the historic character of the property and neighborhood. I have already forwarded your article to members of the Public Property Committee of City Council indicating the endorsement of the Preservation Alliance. We will try to see if we can encourage the city and PIDC to adopt the policy recommended.

John Andrew Gallery
Executive Director, Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia

I disagree with Kevin Haney's comment that money for Trudy Rubin's foreign affairs commentaries is not well spent [Slant, "Turn the Beat Around," April 6, 2006]. Rubin provides meaningful insights and information regarding our country's foreign policies and the world. Unfortunately, these policies have had significant impact on our local communities because, for example, local people serve in the war, and money spent on the war is not spent on the community. As important as it is for the news to be grounded in the local community, it is vital that its readers be provided with a global perspective as well.

Gloria Rohlfs
Philadelphia

While I'm sure that reader Mike Trudeau has only the best interests of the American family at heart, he may have missed the point [Feedback, "War and Hell," March 30, 2006]. To emphasize that each individual soldier's death is a loss that rocks the community and tears apart a family, is to emphasize that war is hell. Hiding soldiers' coffins and sugar-coating the truth is a crime toward all those who serve. It's not a "liberal agenda"; it's putting a face on tragedy, which is the only way that we'll wake up and finally bring these tragedies to an end.

E. Michelle Berry
Via e-mail

I have to strongly disagree with Maxine Keyser's assessment of Gayle Restaurant [Food, "Lingua Franca," March 30, 2006]. I am not sure if she just didn't get it or if she should find a new line of work. While this is not intended to be a personal attack, one would think that she would do a bit more research into the chef she is reviewing and the ingredients of the food she is discussing. I have eaten at Gayle and have found it to be fantastic. The risotto is wonderful and the truffle sauce divine. But my real problem is the misrepresentation of the food. There are no carrots in the veal stew and the fried portion of the veal was not the same fritter as with the beef, but actually a fried veal's trotter with whole grain mustard. My point is not to nitpick, but to explain that the reader is getting vast amounts of wrong information that will unfortunately sway some people, which would be a shame and a disservice to foodies in Philadelphia.

Laurie Buckman
Italian Market

Gayle's menu is indeed distinctive, for it features not one but two of the most abusive table treats available. Both foie gras and veal are notorious for their terrible cruelty. To produce foie gras, producers force-feed ducks or geese for weeks, shoving a metal tube down their throats. This can cause painful bruising, lacerations and sores, and their livers swell up to 10 times their normal size. Calves raised for veal are tied by their necks in tiny crates, so intensively confined that they cannot walk, turn around, or even lie down comfortably for their entire lives.

California and more than a dozen countries have now banned foie gras production, and the European Union has banned veal crates. The very least we can do here is leave this cruelty off our plates.

Erin Williams
Outreach Coordinator, Factory Farming Campaign

Humane Society of the United States

Chilling column [Editor's Letter, "A Bad Situazione," Duane Swiercynski, March 16, 2006]. I think we would have a similar situazione here in the U.S.—if only reporters asked the right questions.

From where I'm sitting, the press exercises self-censorship, knowing which questions not to ask, especially anything concerning the 9/11 attacks. Ask them how it is that Andrews AFB, about 10 miles away from the Pentagon, couldn't get any planes in the air until after the attack, and why Andrews' Web site went down after the attacks—and when it came back up, all references to fighter wings and their job to protect D.C. were removed.

Or how about the uncanny way Donald Rumsfeld "predicts" the attacks. Before the first plane hits the first tower, he was in a meeting where he later recalled saying that "sometime in the next [year] there would be an event that would occur in the world that would be sufficiently shocking that it would remind people again how important it is to have a strong healthy Defense Department."

If our so-called "free press" won't bother to do any real investigating of 9/11, which allegedly led us to invade Afghanistan and Iraq, create the Department of Homeland Security and the USA PATRIOT Act, then guess what? It's all bullshit.

Mark F. Walker
Via e-mail

I read [News, "Parent Teacher (Dis)Association," Jenna Portnoy, March 23, 2006] with interest. I remember being 13 and going through the same thing. I attended a Catholic school, but the thug element was present. The nuns kept them in line during school but after school ended, the real problems started. Maybe [Drucilla] Mendez could homeschool her child. Or if financially possible … try to place him in private or charter school. Or, as a final solution, accept those No Child Left Behind schools and increase her participation in his studies. Don't expect the teachers to do everything!

Gregory Vance
Via e-mail

I was so surprised read Peter Burwasser say anything good about such a tonal composer as J.S. Bach [Music, "Bach Festival Week," March 16, 2006]! With so many of his obvious musical heroes counted amongst the freakish and surprisingly discordant, it was a treat to read he actually listens to Bach! I would be interested in knowing whether he shares the aesthetic of an "intellectual" music as opposed to music that touches the heart. Now, "heart" comes from an ancient Greek word meaning "the innermost depths of the mind." Does that mean Burwasser prefers so-called "serious" music which is in fact shallow and generally lacking in substance and tradition? Or does he, in his own way, hearken to the hypocrisy of Boulez, who refers to tonal musicians as "useless", and then makes a decent living by conducting the works of tonal composers?

John Graham
Livingston, Montana

The proposal to dry Philadelphia's sewage sludge into expensive granules is a complete waste of taxpayers' money [News, "The Sludge Report," Jenna Portnoy, March 30, 2006]. The proposal will cost taxpayers millions of dollars in ever-increasing energy costs.

Maureen Reilly
Canada