I, too, was a witness to the attack on a passenger by airport police on Aug. 23. I was a passenger on Flight 30 and when our luggage was inordinately delayed, several passengers were unsuccessfully requesting answers of the apathetic US Airways staff. While Robert Ensign's interaction was the loudest, it was not threatening, as the airline staff suggest. No police officers were around at this time and a full 10 minutes of absolute calm ensued. Then, at least four police officers arrived and threw Ensign onto a moving baggage carousel. My fellow passengers and I expressed our disagreement with his treatment, to no avail. These police caused a near-riot.

Consequently, I have written to Police Internal Affairs, the airport, and the CEO of US Airways. It remains to be seen whether they can attempt to right the incredible wrong done to Robert Ensign by their respective staffs. So much for his visit to the City of Brotherly Love.

Last Sunday, Michael Charles Kimble wrote in his letter ("Spirituality counts") that people criticize Faye Flam's "Carnal Knowledge" column because "sexuality in its best form includes sacred principles such as commitment and love."

Well, sure, but that applies equally to eating, driving, shopping, and everything else we do. Let's look at eating. Heaven knows our city is home to thousands of people who are twice the size of people whose eating is guided by "sacred principles" like moderation. Should The Inquirer's Food section report only on carrots and broccoli because so many people waddle through life? I would still like to read about delicious desserts even if many of my neighbors can't see their toes in the shower.

There is a spiritual dimension to everything we do, not just sex. If we lived in a society where people followed the best form of sacred principles in shopping, driving, eating and other daily activities, it would then make sense to single out "Carnal Knowledge." Until then, read something else on Monday.

I agreed with the Aug. 31 editorial "Can't tax problem away," concerning the poor in Philadelphia. The high taxes that the city imposes on businesses have driven so many jobs out of here since Frank Rizzo was mayor. And the people of Philly keep reelecting the Democrats. The other big problem is the unions to which the political candidates cater. While politicians come and go, the union problem remains. They allow no competition and, unfortunately, do a poor job in many instances.

John Street at the beginning of his mayoral tenure spent many dollars fighting crime, and it was just a great waste of taxpayer money. He should have lowered taxes, but it seems the politicians do not get elected if they do not spend money and provide services. This makes them look like they are doing something. They also do not seem to have any faith in the private sector. So the city will remain poor because so many have no hope and no education. Crime will continue. I wonder if there is a corollary between unemployment and crime.

Unable to persuade the American public that the invasion of Iraq was justified by the presence of weapons of mass destruction, the Bush administration has periodically trotted out other justifications, each one less plausible than the one before.

Only last week, President Bush and Donald Rumsfeld played both the appeasement and fascism cards in rapid succession, to little apparent success. For good measure, they invoked the names Hitler and Stalin. Now, harking back to the same era, we are to get show trials, if the administration has its way. But, as with most trials of this nature, the real purpose will be propaganda, not justice.

Are we insane? How much more bad news about the environment and our pushing it to the edge with the unrelenting burning of fossil fuels will it take before we realize that, regardless of how much oil is left, we must develop alternative sources of energy now?

The reports of new deposits in the Gulf of Mexico should include an accounting of how much additional greenhouse gas this oil will add to the atmosphere and how much further away from Earth-friendly energy policies this find will take us.

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