Letters to the Editor

What You Say

Tom Namako writes that the single-payer health plan in Pennsylvania is not possible because of the power of the insurance lobby [News, "Health Plan B," Sept. 20, 2007]. Like supplicants at the altar, all politicians have basically agreed to give even more money to fund them as a way of not incurring their wrath. Ironically, the same week of the article, Gov. Rendell proposed a "single payer" plan for Pennsylvania schools which would pool resources for better purchasing power, subsidize poorer districts, save money for taxpayers and remove health care as an issue in school bargaining negotiations. Maybe the real lesson is that what is good for the schools is good for all Pennsylvanians.

Walter Tsou, MD, MPH
Former Commissioner, Philadelphia Department of Public Health

ArtJail is a brilliant solution indeed to the problem of the Parkway Barnes and the Youth Detention Center; lock up Cezanne and the kids at the same time. A correction, however, to [Loose Canon, "Has Barnes' Vision Finally Been Realized?" Bruce Schimmel, Sept. 20, 2007]: Albert Barnes intended his program to educate adults, not children. The drive-by K-12 visits instituted by the current Barnes regime have nothing to do with that program, but are only part of its ongoing efforts to eviscerate and ultimately destroy it. That, in turn, is part and parcel of the plan to create a commercial museum in which the voice of education will be fully replaced by the clink of cash registers. Does anyone imagine that the plan to move the Barnes has any other purpose?

Robert Zaller
Bala Cynwyd

I was interested to hear Michael Washburn's two examples of guns successfully used in self-defense [Slant, "On the Defensive," Sept. 20, 2007]. I couldn't help but notice that each involved the use of only one gun. In that case, a law restricting gun purchases to one per year would be sufficient for the law-abiding populace to defend itself. Even a one-gun-per-month law would add up to 12 guns in a single year (that's one for each hand with 10 left over). If self-defense is the main argument against gun control, as Washburn asserts, then gun advocates shouldn't mind any reasonable limit on total purchases. Such measures would reduce the flow of guns into the hands of criminals, while still allowing America's 79-year-old men to shoot as many "hulking thugs" as they please.

Liam Castellan
Rittenhouse Square

No one is talking about banning guns. The discussion is rather about more sensible gun laws, like District Attorney Lynne Abraham's recent plea for a bill to make it more difficult for people to make "straw" purchases of handguns, something that we all know is a major contributor to the vast amount of gun violence in Philadelphia. And earlier this year, a proposal to impose "ultra strict registration requirements on Pennsylvania gun owners" had the Pennsylvania gun lobby up in arms (if you will). Just what were these ultra-strict requirements? Gun owners would be required to give a recent photograph, be fingerprinted, require registration with the state police of most guns manufactured since the late 19th century, and would require gun owners to disclose — gasp — their address, phone numbers, birth date, social security number, and sex. In other words, the same things one needs to disclose in order to say, get a driver's license, a passport, a job or a credit card. Why is wanting these things perceived by the gun lobby as being an attack on people who feel they need a handgun or rifle to defend themselves?

No one is trying to take away a person's right to own a firearm (or even two firearms) for the purposes of self-defense. I just personally believe that, aside from a hand gun and perhaps a rifle, there is no reason for more than one, maybe two guns per person and that there is certainly no reason for a person to have any sort of semiautomatic assault weapon for "self-defense."

Lastly, I take issue with your assertion that "for much of our history, America was both a heavily armed and a relatively peaceful society." Relatively peaceful? Check out your history books, buddy.

Beth Treisner
Old City

I enjoyed so much reading your review of La Coquette [Food, "Beauty and the Bistro," Elisa Ludwig, Sept. 20, 2007]. I have become so bored with the "stranglehold of tagliatelle" in our city that it was a relief to read about Coquette. I had friends visiting from France several weeks ago; we dined there and we were absolutely delighted — the raw bar, the duck rillettes, the green salad with mimolette cheese (a new cheese to us). I kept reading your review hoping you had experienced the beet ice cream; for us, it was the star of the meal.

Edward Collins-Hughes
Via E-mail

I loved [Cover, "The Comics Issue," Aug. 9, 2007]. Having been a fan since I could first read (or even hold) a copy of Batman, on to learning the usefulLatin phrase or two from Marvel Comics — Tabula rasa?!? I'm serious — I've long been aware of the power of panels. As the son of a "Classic Comics" man and a longtime Bloomsday-goer, I particularly enjoyed the "Ulysses" adaptation. It just goes to show you my old man was right on the money when he defended my quarter purchases to my mom: You can learn a lot from comic books. Like your editor, I look forward to seeing future hybrids of Dashiell Hammett, HST, H.L. Mencken and Winsor McCay.Or Brendan Behan, Jack McKinney and — wait, I should keep some of these ideas under wraps ... for now.

Tom Concannon
Bella Vista

It's sad to know that what we consider positive, you consider weakness [Music, "Aid or Invade: Don Ho's Down," Rodney Anonymous, July 5, 2007]. That's why you live where you live, and not here in paradise. Your attitude would not be tolerated here. We love our women, our culture, our island and our people. Our music emulates that. But we are in no way soft punks. We both grew up with more hardships, struggles and racism than you probably ever have, so don't judge us. Only God can judge us. You're just a hater with a pen. So, keep hating. Karma's a bitch.

"J.D. Damoan"
Hawaii