Dear George,

I had a few minutes to read some of pieces in your archive and have a few thoughts on Will Lyster's piece. Since we are enjoying a period of reconciliation and mutual understanding I will use a bit of restraint in my comments.

While Will Lyster may not be a Nazi, his rhetoric shows that he is naive to the point of ignorance and has succombed to the half truths and lies perpetuated by the race baiting, privilege defending idiots that populate the Republican Party and AM radio. He also has no understanding of historical facts as they relate to the Middle East, this country's antipoverty programs, and broadly supported federal programs aimed at the working class in our imperfect capitalist democracy.

The biggest shame of the past five weeks is not so much that George W. Bush has assumed the presidency (in a decidedly controversial way, albeit), but that thugs like Will Lyster actually think it means that their political posture has gained legitimacy with the American public. The Founders of our Republic provided more than enough checks to keep such radicalism at the fringe (except in the Deep South, possibly). And we are fortunate for this.

Matt Dalbey (electronic mail, December 15, 2000).