Corrections needed

Dear Editor,

The front page story 'Barnett Park 'Tea Party' protests government spending, policies,' reported in the April 16, 2009 edition of your paper, requires several corrections.

First, I was misrepresented in the following statement written by Lorri Sughroue:

"Another protester who moved here four years ago from Massachusetts carried a five-foot tall American flag and voiced his fears on more restrictions on gun control ..."

The sentence is illogical, for while it is correct to assert that I reject more restrictions on guns, or that I fear more gun control, it is an error to write that I fear "more restrictions on gun control." Such assertion implies I desire more gun control! Obviously from my other remarks that is not my opinion. The sentence correctly written should read:

"Another protester who moved here four years ago from Massachusetts carried a 5-foot tall American flag and voiced his fears of more restrictions on guns ... "

The alternate could be written thus:

"Another protester who moved here four years ago from Massachusetts carried a five-foot tall American flag and voiced his fears of more gun control..." That makes grammatical sense."

Second, a quote is attributed to me, by default, for reason that the reporter failed to make a logical break from where my words ended and the next speaker's began:

"I am not against Obama, but with every election government gets bigger. Democrats take one thing, the Republicans another -- in the end it's all the same thing."

I made no such remark; but for failure to insert "another stated," the flow of the storyline implies this quote to me. This error needs correction, for I hold no such opinion.

Thirdly, the speaker whom followed me was misquoted. Your reporter wrote: "The government is backed by nothing but faith," one protester flatly stated. "And that faith is running out."

That is not what the man stated. He expressed concern towards our failing monetary system, due to government spending. His words were: "Until we have money that doesn't mean anything, you know it's backed by nothing but faith ... that faith is starting to run out."' Watch your video!

There is no confusion in his words, and so I suspect a purposeful misquotation for reason to assert your own opinion that Americans have faith in government, which, by the fact of this protest and the context of its attendees' remarks, there is obviously no such belief.

Please take whatever action necessary to implement the appropriate corrections to these errors, and I thank you for your prompt attention.

Sincerely,

Bruce C. A. Desautels

Stratton

EDITOR'S NOTE -- There was no "purposeful misquotation" as Mr. Desautels suspects. The quote about faith in government was from a private interview by the reporter.