Letters to the Editor

by the Readers

Blown Away — Again

As a subject of your "What Happened Next?" cover package [Dec. 30, 2004], I'd like to clarify and expound upon a few points.

No one from the Green Party of Philadelphia has asked me to run for office. I would be willing to do so as a hypothetical. Someone needs to represent progressive thought and clean politics in this district, and if no one else can or will run, I would be willing to bang my head against the wall again. My poor showing in running for the 1st District Congressional seat this November was due in part to an almost absolute local media blackout. More than 30 local media outlets were invited to our press conference announcing a victory over the state in Commonwealth Court which allowed me on the ballot; not a single one sent a reporter. Of the 13 local newspapers known to post editorial endorsements that we contacted to arrange an editorial board interview, 12 didn't even bother responding. [Only City Paper bothered to send an answer.]

Thankfully, you did accept the only positive story about our campaign to run in local media [but] even this article was edited down again to make room for a photo of me you folks really seem to like (you ran it a second time with an unnecessary "BLOWN AWAY" remark below it). My many popular progressive positions on the issues never made it into this, nor any other, article.

Considering the tiny amount of money we spent and the paucity and poor quality of media coverage we received, it's a minor miracle we received nearly 900 votes. Contrast my media coverage with that of considerably less experienced pro-business poster boy Andrew Hohns, he of the deep pockets and multiple primary losses. The lesson here should be that Philadelphians are hungry for progressive politics outside of the corrupt, inept, single-party rule for which our local media outlets continue to shill.
Chris Randolph
Philadelphia

Best Ain't Good Enough

I nearly disagreed with every pick in [Music, "Best CDs of 2004," Dec. 30, 2004]. Though I do agree that these may have been the most popular CDs of the year, they certainly were not the best. A lingering problem in Philadelphia is the lack of support for its very own bands. For example, my favorite CD of 2004 was "Easy Beat" by Philadelphia's own Dr. Dog. This band has twice toured with my morning jacket, has been featured in New York's Fader Magazine, had a cover story in the New York Times art section, and has played at almost every venue here in town (including the TLA three times). Dr. Dog, along with many other up-and-coming Philly bands, are not getting the credit they deserve from their city. I guess it takes MTV or Y100 for a Philly music fan to be a fan of music at all.
Hunter Zimba
via e-mail

Vegging Out

Thanks for your feature on the vegetarian-friendly restaurant Vesuvio [Food, "Chard Core," A.D. Amorosi, Dec. 23, 2004]. I've been eating vegan food for the past three years and am always excited to discover more and more restaurants catering to this ever-growing demand. Giving up meat, eggs and dairy products doesn't involve limiting ourselves to just a side salad.
Josh Balk
Broomall