Once more into the breach

Since the Dallas Morning News never publishes my letters to the editor, I always post a copy here. This was submitted today.

I don't know why I waste my time writing these since you never publish them, but here goes, once more.

Your nomination of John O'Neill for Texan of the Year prompted some angry comments from readers. Among them were these - Mr. O'Neill's book and commercials were "chockfull of lies and distortions", his challenges to John Kerry were "scurillous and disproved by the facts", O'Neill "knew the mainstream media would not take the time to question what he said".

The fact is, the mainstream media never even bothered to investigate what John O'Neill claimed in his book and what the Swiftvets stood for. They simply labeled them as a Bush orchestrated right wing smear campaign and dismissed them without investigation.

I, on the other hand, investigated their charges thoroughly and found them to be credible and worthy of a much more thorough investigation. John Kerry still refuses to release his Navy records (unlike George Bush who has released all of his military records), so it's impossible to say with certainty whether or not any of O'Neill's charges are factually accurate or inaccurate.

The most ironic charge of all is that John O'Neill "can't handle free speech". John Kerry threatened to sue any outlet that sold O'Neill's book. In what Orwellian world is THAT considered free speech?