Almost Half

On election night I asked my husband to buy me a pack of cigarettes. Had not smoked one in probably seven or eight years. (For any readers concerned about my health, I smoked two and flushed the rest down the toilet.)

The point, of course, is one every American who voted for John Kerry can understand. I just looked at a new site that offers encouragement and commiseration: We Are Half the Country, We're Not Going Away.

No More Friends for General Pinochet

To: letters@nytimes.com
Subject: A Trial for General Pinochet

General Pinochet was the U.S.'s man. He fought Communists to protect American interests in Latin America. It's unpatriotic and hypocritical for you to attack him now--and especially for such minor offences as killing and torturing opponents. (I also noticed that you chose not to cover yesterday's new revelations of Marines torturing Iraqis.)

Unintentional Humor

To: letters@nytimes.com
Subject: Pentagon Weighs Use of Deception in a Broad Arena

This story is shocking. Not that the Pentagon is debating the wisdom of telling more lies, but that they are reduced to pathetic squabbling over something that would be primarily a waste of time and money. The world's opinion of the U.S. may change in 20 or 30 years, if the U.S. spends those years behaving like a responsible member of the world community.