My local paper, the San Luis Obispo Tribune, published a letter this morning from a mentally unhinged man, Jim Long of Shell Beach.

Personally, I oppose the death penalty for even the most heinous crimes. However I would support the public hanging of the so-called Freedom Caucus of Republicans, which I consider guilty of high treason in its blanket opposition to the process of government and its willingness to “monkey wrench” the gears, crippling the U.S. politically, financially, and taking our international leadership position into the toilet.

They have the same goals as our sworn enemies! Some folks adhere to the “go until you get stopped” philosophy, and it is time that they were.

The treasonous behavior of this group in the attempt to hobble the U.S. government deserves the the highest form of public punishment. They have violated their oath of office and have gone too far for too long. It is time they paid the price for their behavior.

JIM LONG, SHELL BEACH

I'm old enough remember when dissent was the highest form of patriotism, but that was when dissent was opposing a Republican president.

Now that we have a Democratic president, dissent is treason and Mr. Long, who opposes the death penalty for multiple murder, rape, or anything that appears in a typical Eli Roth film, thinks it's just fine and dandy for people whom he opposes politically.

I hope that his angry letter to the editor has relieved him of his homicidal fantasies, but I worry that it may merely encourage him.

Crazies and the media

The bigger problem here is the Tribune's decision to give Long a soapbox. I feel pretty safe betting that a similar letter calling extra-judicial assassination of numerous Democratic party leaders would not make it into print, and would probably be discreetly forwarded to the Secret Service shortly after it arrived.

Why did this one get published? Because, while the opinion page editor may not agree with Long on the solution, she concurs with his assessment of the problem and she can empathize with the way he feels.

To put it more succinctly: Media bias.

The editor of the newspaper, Sandra Duerr, has repeatedly claimed not to know the political leanings of her reporters. It's obvious to a lot of us that she's just not looking.