Editor, Gazette-Journal:

This requests that the Gazette-Journal adopt a new policy for the acceptance and publication of letters to the editor. Publishing the untrue rants of every political extremist may be good for readership and circulation, but it does not create a civil, productive public discourse.

Such a discourse is particularly important during these contentious times, when the sharing of well thought-out views based on facts is essential to our democracy. Spreading the lies of extremism is better left to talk radio, not our local newspaper of record.

For example, last week a writer claimed that President Obama made "a mandatory law that all medical personnel must partake in abortions, though their viewpoint is in opposition."

In fact, there is no such law. (And, of course, under our Constitution, the president doesn’t pass laws. That responsibility is reserved for Congress.) On March 24, 2010, President Obama signed a continuation of the federal law ...