(Another) Memo to James Post, President of VOTF:

You really should stop talking to the press for awhile.

At least until you figure out what position to take, without having to back away from it later. Witness this priceless gem from today's edition of the Boston Globe:

"The letter is intended to be a response to the smear campaign that has begun to take shape," Post said. "People in our organization felt it was important to make clear that we are not a dissident group."

First, let's take a stroll over to our friend Mister Dictionary, shall we?

SMEAR

Verb: To stain or attempt to destroy the reputation of; vilify: political enemies who smeared. Noun: Vilification or slander, a vilifying or slanderous remark.

SLANDER

Noun: Oral communication of false statements injurious to a person's reputation, a false and malicious statement or report about someone.

My colleague Pete Vere is mincing no words on some disturbing parallels here:

"I still maintain they're following the same procedure as the bishops in handling abuse, with the so-called apology being the equivalent to what happened in Dallas... They say they want conservatives to come back to the table, it was just a big misunderstanding, etc... Yeah right. I will believe it when I see concrete action."

I'll be a little kinder.

You see, Mr Post, we don't have to make anything up about you guys. All we have to do, is show what's already on the internet to the whole world, and start connecting a few dots. There's no slander involved in telling the truth. There's hardly any sport in it either. It's as easy as holding up a mirror to someone. Like you guys think you can do with the bishops, capeesh?

So stop calling a press conference every time you don't like what you see.

Call us first. You know where to find us.

(Update: Mr Post, I'll make this easy for you. Start with Domenico Bettinelli. It's a local call.)