DROP THE GUN METAPHOR. Takoma Park resident John Guernsey writes:

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin continues to use the rallying cry "Don't retreat. Reload!," but now she's adding the disclaimer, "And that's not a call for violence!" ["Palin, with swipe at Obama, fires up GOP on midterms," front page, April 11]. My question to her is: If such a simple and straightforward statement needs to be clarified, why bother using it?

Er, because liberal readers are too nuanced to understand a simple and straightforward declarative statement?