I agree with John Paul Titlow that Philadelphia needs to take serious action based on the findings of the Emergency Preparedness Review Committee, but his analysis of the problem isunbelievably simplistic and sophomoric [Slant, "At a Disadvantage," Aug. 3, 2006]. His argumentthat Philadelphia's emergency preparedness planslights the poor and the blackis based on ridiculous evidence — his experience of a breakdown on Septa's orange line:"Funny how the orange line is the first thing to break down in the city. The Market-Frankford, or as I sometimes call it, 'the White Line,' was running smoothly all day." Funny how there are breakdowns and delays in public transportation all over the city, and in the suburbs! Has Titlow ever ridden the Market-Frankford line? As a person whose stop was 40th and Market for years, I must inform him that there is a wide range of people riding the blue line on any given train.His observations ofthe stranded passengers as poor black folk "barely earn[ing] enough to survive," and the "few of them lucky enough to have cell phones" calling friends for rides, reminds me of early anthropological accounts of communities by outside observers. We don't need uninformed paternalism, Mr. Titlow. We need to continue facilitating discussions among the city's neighborhood spokespeople to determine how tobest go about preparing for the worst, and to begin enacting the agreed-upon solutions.

Why would anyone want to waste idle time exploring abandoned buildings [News, "Waste Not," Andy Greenberg, July 27, 2006]? [They] should do something better with their lives, like invest for the future for their families. The remains of Byberry Hospital for the Mentally Insane should be demolished and forgotten. Who wants to remember those turbulent years, or their crude and inhumane treatments toward their former patients?! As for those bags of asbestos: Let the city take care of [it].

I am writing in response to [Paper Doll, "Hustled," Ashlea Halpern, July 27, 2006]. I am the aerial choreographer who worked with the Ridin' Dirty team. I believe that you've been "hustled" by the Brian Sanders name. Not that it isn't a good name, I like his work just as much as anyone else. His sections of choreography were very good but the girls visibly struggled in controlling the apparatus. The team lost, in my view, due to the fact that the dancers as a group were missing beats all over the place and everyone was off the timing of the music. No one says this audibly because no one wants to hurt feelings, especially those of the girls who try so hard and just can't get it, so you won't ever find the cold hard truth on the club's message board.

The number of teams this year was lower than in the past, so it isn't "set up" so that everyone wins something, like "an American Idol where everyone who auditions gets a record contract in the end." It just so happened that only three teams signed up this year.

"So there we sat, a motley panel serenaded by topless performers — a sight made worse only by ..." What's wrong with topless performers? "A sight made worse"? That choice of words keeps ringing in my ears. I'm sorry the only joy you found in the evening was that Sanders had participated in choreographing. Some of these girls are actually very good performers/dancers and many of them have other aspirations and we try to get them there. Some of them are already on their way.

I was wondering if you also noticed how the local TV news shows have been leading off each newscast for the past week about the ungodly weather, without ever mentioning the words "global warming"? Has everyone bought into Bush's delusion that the weird weather patterns that have been seriously affecting the country recently have nothing to do with global warming [Cover, "Road to Nowhere," Sam Adams, May 25, 2006], and that global warming is nothing more than just some post-hippie delusion?