The article about Atom and His Package raised a couple of questions: 1) Why do the words "novelty act" have such derogatory connotations? 2) How can people think that any other category of music is even close to being as significant or valid as novelty music?

In the '60s a novelty act called the Smothers Brothers got pulled off the air for being too political. Meanwhile, The Beatles continued to kiss ass all the way to the top of the charts with their benign ditties and "You Say You Want a Revolution." I guess it's true that the revolution will not be televised. And if any of you dreamers out there still "Imagine" that you're gonna change the world by strumming a guitar, it will be through novelty music, not sycophantic pretty boys. Even Michael Jackson is abandoning his pop status in favor of the novelty act craze, so get with it.

I won't attack Adam Goren's punk rock credentials but I do have to question the man's Philadelphia pride. I mean, what self-respecting Philly guy appears on the cover of the City Paper in a friggin' New York Yankees cap and what looks like an Edmonton Oilers jersey? Sheesh, wasn't he paying attention when AI wore that Celtics throwback?

Peace, Love and Undercounting

I was at the peace rally Feb. 15 and was glad to see so many people of different backgrounds there supporting peace.

Kudos to Howard for making a difficult choice between crossing the line from reporter to participant. It is a hell of a thin line, one that no one ever tells you about yet you get chided for once you cross it.

One thing he didn't mention was the way the conservative media downplayed the number of protesters something horrible. One AP account put the Philly march at around 3,000 when I saw with my own eyes there had to be at least 10,000 people marching.

We Got Your Reasons Right Here

There is no reason to doubt whether the Reasons to Stay movement is political -- of course it is. Let's hope it is. It would be a waste if it were purely academic, although it smelled slightly academic at points along the way. As the old adage says, "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."

At the third Reasons to Stay summit I related the following family anecdote my brother Joe loves to tell about families choosing to stay in Philadelphia. Philadelphia's Immigration Station, our city's equivalent to Ellis Island, was located at Pier 43, at the foot of Washington Avenue where the Coast Guard Station stands now. There were train tracks leading away from the Immigration Station heading west out to the coal counties, out to the Midwest and out beyond into America. Generally, the more money an immigrant had in his pocket when he landed at the station determined just how far into America that immigrant might go. My brother Joe says our family got three blocks from the pier and we are still here 140 years later.

After six generations in America's largest continuously existing neighborhood, Two Street, I would think that representatives from my neighborhood ought to be expected to have something worthwhile to contribute to the RTS Summit. My advice as a resident, and my union's offer (IBEW 98) of assistance at the RTS, was for the RTS to focus on programs and community collaborations that promote a feeling of pride in our neighborhoods. On Two Street we have the Mummers Parade and the union movement to do that for us. Communities that fail to grow their own traditions never become true communities; they remain nondescript areas crowded with transient strangers with laundry lists of reasons to complain. It's just that simple.

To the many people who cared enough to earnestly participate in the RTS exchange and collaboration, I would love to have you as my neighbor (and I do). To Vern Anastasio, who was one of the forces behind the RTS, forget about the moon and the stars converging -- go ahead and run against Councilman Frank DiCicco. If he doesn't understand the concepts the RTS articulated, that proves he doesn't deserve to be Councilman.

As a resident of Chinatown for over 20 years and a constituent of Councilman DiCicco's, I was disappointed by his comments regarding the Neighborhood Bill of Rights. DiCicco is quoted as saying, "I don't understand it," "What I see in this document are things we do in [Council] every day." One of the main tenets of the NBR is "the right to quality public schools in every community. Our public education system shall be designed to offer quality education options for every family in every neighborhood of Philadelphia." I suppose that this is one of the parts of the document that DiCicco had a problem understanding.

Two and a half years ago, there were City Council hearings regarding the Phillies stadium being built in Chinatown. There were residents, such as myself, who testified about the drought of community services available in our neighborhood whilst the city was attempting to cram the stadium down our throats. The stadium plan for 12th and Vine streets was eventually scrapped, but the city, including our Councilman, has done very little in improving our neighborhood. There still is no hospital, recreation center, playground or, most importantly, a public school within the neighborhood of Chinatown.

The message presented by the NBR is clear: In order for neighborhoods to function and succeed, certain basics need to be in place. Therefore, my message to the Councilman would be: If you have a problem understanding what needs to be done, perhaps you should step aside and let someone who does have an opportunity to do so.

Score One For the Good Guys

Thank you for the eye-opening article. Although I am not Dominican, my wife is and I have taken an obvious interest in Dominican life -- and politics. Links to this article are popping up all over message boards, both in Spanish and English.

I sincerely think that works like this help eradicate corrupt politicians and curtail the life-sucking drug trade. I also wish that the two hero officers who risked their most sacred possessions -- their lives -- be recognized officially for those deeds.

European Placation

Aguilar purports to present the reasons that Germany and France have so far stood in opposition to American efforts to broaden its military assault on Iraq. However, there are a few things that antiwar warriors should be aware of before hoisting the tattered flag of non-aggression on the grounds of two former imperial powers.

Aguilar, in his polemical bluster, paints only half a picture of Franco/Prussian resistance to conflict in the Gulf.

Aguilar correctly cites Europe's blood-soaked history as a rationale for people's queasiness regarding violent interventionism and imperial doctrines. Where Aguilar makes his folly is in the fact that he fails to mention France's economic ties to Saddam Hussein as a reason for France's unwillingness to support the Bush agenda. One cannot forget that it was France that built Saddam Hussein a nuclear reactor, knowing full well that Iraq had the most violent of intentions for its radioactive harvest. Had the Israeli government not defanged Iraq by staging an air raid to destroy the reactor, the despotism of Saddam Hussein might be backed up by more than propaganda. One also cannot ignore the fact that Iraq owes France huge amounts of money in unpaid loans and other financial debts. And one is a fool to believe that such ties do not bind a nation with growing unemployment and a rising tide of fascists.

Germany also has economic ties to the region and its current president ran on an anti-American platform. So one can hardly expect that such a government would commit political suicide by jumping foolhardily onto the Bush bandwagon. Far more sinister are the allegations that have yet to be proven, that Germany has played a role within Iraqi "weapons of mass destruction programs." If Germany and Iraq had such a nefarious arrangement, they would be more than hesitant to have such activity displayed to the world after the Iraqi regime is spread to the winds.

People who oppose Bush's imperial aspirations (myself included) would be best served by not instilling faith in the benevolence of the French or German governments. It is likely that after all is said and done that these self-serving regimes will fall into place, along with Great Britain, to reap the spoils of war and further Western hegemony.