Dear Bill,

This is to inform you that you have become a bully pulpit. I have tried to tell you this before but your rules of engagement are too great a hurdle for a non-premium member such as myself. You encourage the misguided to advise you when you stray from your no spin zone. Your instructions are simple; all I must do is give you examples and keep it pithy. You once explained pithy as being a couple of sentences.

Don’t get me wrong, Bill, the last thing I wish is to have my two sentences read on the air. If that were my mission I would merely mention how helpful your book was in raising my children and, of course, my swell no spin jacket which, I might add, has rendered my neighbors downright covetous.

All I seek is to have you mention that something was pointed out to you and that perhaps, just perhaps, you were in error. No need to point out the name of the non-premium member who would dare such impertinence. The only need is to own some of the things you say under the ruse of fair and balanced, the guise of no spin.

I wrote to you about the disparaging remarks aimed at the two security guards arrested in Aruba after Natalie went missing. Even though your channel had reported that their jobs had ended; you shook your head and griped about what kind of guys these were; riff-raff, quitting their jobs, etc. It took me more than two sentences, Bill, worse yet the email went through your employer, not your website.

Early on your violations were more scattered but here lately, Bill, I gotta tell you they have become daily. A while back Aphrodite Jones spent five minutes talking about the tragedy with the lawyers wife in California. A most horrifying crime. Ms. Jones talked of the alleged perpetrators’ mother selling out and testifying against the boy.

I appreciate Ms. Jones. She painted an almost unbelievable picture of the mother. Roll the videotape, Bill. In the end you said “yeah, well his mother’s going to testify against him, he did it” The woman described to you by Ms. Jones! The mother selling out her own son to save her own skin! I can’t help but wonder if any of those premium members caught that as they busily blotted the koolaid from their lips. Fair and balance, Bill? No spin, Bill? Innocent until proven guilty, Bill?

No. None of the above. Just the privileged abuse of a bully pulpit.

Have you seen Al-Zarqawi? No, He's in hiding. Have you seen Bin Laden lately? No, he's in hiding as well. Have you seen Mr. Bush lately?...

Who we have seen, after a notable absence during Libbygate, is the Vice President of the United States, Mr. Dick Cheney. Now that he has emerged; this erstwhile CEO of Haliburton chooses to refer to anyone who opposes the so called war in Iraq as lacking backbone.

With all due respect, Mr. Vice President, did you put on the uniform of your country and fix your bayonet? Did your family pray everyday for your safe return from harms' way.

Do you have any idea what it feels like to jump out of a helicopter while people who want to kill you are shooting real bullets, causing real carnage, real blood? Any idea, or just some vicarious notion?
I'm sure that you can imagine it but I'm equally certain that you did your level best to avoid being drafted and never once considered enlisting.

You, sir, imagined it enough to know that it was to be avoided. Let someone else do it. Vietnam was a poor mans war and Afghaniraq is as well, and you, sir, are not poor.

I can only speak for myself in telling you that your remarks were offensive.

You go on to infer that if a person doesn't support the war then they don't support the troops. Nothing could be further from the truth. I support the troops, I was one. My heart goes out to every soldier still sticking his neck out and my heart goes out to his or her family.

At the same time I have drifted toward not supporting the war. I guess I no longer see the point of it. If Iraq held massive reserves of olive oil would the U.S. be sending our children over there?

You and your boss need to get out from behind the podium and stop preaching to the choir. How about a press conference or two.

Have you noticed that the United States is at war? Along those lines, have you noticed that the choir is dwindling?

Did you take notice of the overwhelming no confidence vote in the Senate?

Congressman Murtha has lived his life by the bones of his back, how about you?