Letters to the Editor

Go to Hell, CP; The Retort-meister; Her Scandalous Past; Barnes Storm

Yes, the children's mannequins are deformed [Cover, "Window Display Most in Need of a Makeover," Andrew Parks, Nov. 2, 2006].I know this. You know this. Helen Keller knows this.They're a wildly easy target for criticism, but the thing is, you're the millionth person to do so. Would it have been that difficult to acknowledge the consistently unique and thought-provoking windows my team and I have produced over the years — on a shoestring budget?Or are the positive reviews reserved for your friends and those buying advertising space? Window dressers are fascinating people. We're also a dying breed. It's too bad you didn't put in the minimal effort it would've required you to call for a quote and instead chose to beat the deadest horse in the city.

Beth Coughlin
Director of Display Department, Daffy's

Thanks for jolting We Love Toby! with some more free publicity [Cover, "Lamest Art Blog," Patrick Rapa, Nov. 2, 2006]. Just when we thought we'd slip in to oblivion, the insecure art dweebs at CP bring us back. See, us target ducks just keep on keepin' on, and you losers just keep throwing us quarters to take your shots. Your nasty swipe is idiotic because: 1) You obviously haven't read a word on this blog, 2) You have nothing intelligent to say about criticism and 3) You get a boner from being a shit in print.

Benjamin Lloyd
Havertown

I was surprised to see this in [News, "A Minor Victory," Doron Taussig, Nov. 2, 2006]: "The folks at the diner think the real difference between the issues is media coverage: The pay-raise fight, they say, was driven by the papers, but the Inquirer and Daily News have been comparatively silent on gaming. They suspect that the papers' owners' investment in the casinos has been a factor."

If you had provided me with the opportunity to respond to this baseless claim and half-assed accusation, I would have pointed out that my byline has appeared in the Daily News on 113 stories since Nov. 20, 2002 about the legalization of slot-machine gambling. On several occasions, other reporters at the Daily News and our editorial page have also written on the issue. I do not consider that to be "comparatively silent." Among other things, those stories identified the five potential locations for slots parlors in the city many months before the applicants for casino licenses put them on the record.

Many of these stories also dealt with the issue of preempting local control, from the inclusion of the preemption in the original law and the state Supreme Court's decision to strike that provision last summer. The Daily News also broke the story in February that state House Speaker John Perzel had amended a bill to again remove local zoning control for casinos only in Philadelphia. That bill passed in the House in March, several months before it became fashionable to protest on the issue and complain about comprehensive newspaper coverage.

Chris Brennan
Staff Writer, Philadelphia Daily News

A sincere thank you to Lewis Whittington for writing [Slant, "My Scandalous Past," Nov. 2, 2006]. I too lived a lie, believing myself (at 15) to be in love with a (heterosexual) priest who told me that God had chosen me to love him forever. But I believed it, and continued to believe it, for too many years. Now that I know I was a victim, preyed upon by "God's" representative on earth, and that I am not alone in the survivor world, I feel great!

Kay Goodnow
Lenexa, Kan.

Kudos to Bruce Schimmel for his timely and aggressive reporting on the heist of the Barnes collection, which is rapidly emerging as one of the greatest art scandals since the World War II debacle [Slant, "Cache," Bruce Schimmel, Nov. 2, 2006]. The "done deal" of moving the Barnes to Center City is really a dirty deal for all concerned. It will destroy a priceless treasure without profit to anyone, except the monied interests attempting to gain control of $30 billion in assets for themselves. It can and should be stopped — now.

Robert Zaller
Bala Cynwyd