Editor,

I am appalled by the article in the Whidbey News-Times in which the implication was made that the Old Goats lunch group is a group of “haters.”

First, let me remind you that a good journalist simply reports news as clearly and honestly as possible after careful investigation.

It seems that, now, what is done is to use a position to promote one’s personal ideologies. This is not journalism, this is propaganda.

I have been to several of the lunches the Old Goats have sponsored. I found them to be balanced and just because some of the attendees may not agree with a particular political position does not constitute hate.

It is simply a difference of opinion and constitutes freedom of expression as protected by the Bill of Rights. I don’t think I need to quote the dictionary as I trust you are smart enough to know the difference.

As a former subscriber to the News-Times, I am infuriated by your statements, and you have succeeded in maintaining your position as a paper with which I would not even wrap my fish scraps.

I think an apology to the Roses and the Old Goats is in order, and this apology should be just as publicly obvious as the remarks your paper made were.

Andrew M. Valrosa Jr.

Oak Harbor