TODAY'S LETTERS: Valerie Plame, Trent Lott, Venezuela and Circulation.

By: E&P Staff Readers wrote in today about Valerie Plame, Trent Lott, Venezuela, and Circulation.

Pearlstine: Rove Never 'Merited' Confidential Source Status In Plame Case
When you opined about the "known perpetrators of the Plame leak" you failed to mention the whereabouts of Richard Armitage, the first and primary source of the leak. His failure to be more forthcoming demonstrates a lack of character and integrity every bit as derelict as you claim for Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.

Mike Birmingham
Manassas, Va.


Exclusive: A Trip to 'Polarized' Venezuela
A well balanced article which puts forth the delicate situation we are facing in our country, unfortunately al that ? Propaganda? you saw from the government ?Si? is money from all Venezuelans that it is being misused for a particular political objective of only one person in charge ?Hugo Chavez? and no possibility of a dialogue as you personally experienced.

Pedro J. Lander


Trent Lott's Racial 'Thurmond' Remark Still Haunts Him, Paper in Home State Says
Comment: This is significant. Sen. Lott is in a position to "know something."

He is one of the players who service the "rich and powerful." Perhaps he has been given information which leads him to conclude it is better for him to exit gracefully now before the celery soup hits the fan. Perhaps he has been told that the Republic is going to be sacrificed at the altar of a false flag operation. Perhaps he has been told that the Republican Party is over.

Or perhaps he is a "peace offering" to the Democrats. There are so many possibilities. However, I find it difficult to believe that he's leaving because of "negative politics." That's ridiculous. He's an old hand at politics and it's always had it's negative side.

If the Republican party shifts to the right as this article suggests then it is committing political suicide. The country is far more liberal than even the moderate Republicans right now. Perhaps Lott is reading the tea leaves and making a prudent judgment just like Senator Warner did a short while ago.

The Republican party has not been servicing the needs of ALL the people but rather the select rich and powerful elite, gaining support from poor fools who were manipulated into the fold based on their religious and social prejudices.

That game is over. The handwriting is on the wall.

Steve Moyer


Declining Circulation
To stop the slide of your circulation instead of laying off and cutting staff maybe examining your policies that reveal government programs which are stopping terrorist attacks which do not harm our civil liberties would stop a lot of the boycotting of your paper.

Having grown up with a party line telephone and and worrying about unwanted invasions of my computer I feel no fear of Government listening to my calls as long as I dont call long distance for Osama Bin Ladens phone number.

Your paper must be loved by our enemies overseas who no doubt anticipate its printing everyday. Maybe you feel the best way to protect your paper from being bombed is to take the side of our enemies or you hate our system as much as the fundamentalist radicals. The average american in flyover country is tired of the venom being put out by our politicians and media which give comfort to our enemies.

Bill Hill