A note of caution on writing LTE's....

[zanne]

I wrote an LTE to our town's newspaper and I was required to give them my full name and address. I didn't even know it had been published when, about a week later, I got a letter from someone at the state prison (It's OK--he has another 17 years to go) asking if I'd be his "pen pal". I have nothing against inmates, but this guy is in for murder and attempted murder. He's also a psychopath who spent his first five years in the psych unit. Now, I'm reasoning that it must happen to other people, also. This happened about a week ago and maybe I'm just being a little paranoid today, but if you're asked to give your full name, phone # and address to a newspaper, think twice, OK?

[Buzz Clik]

1. Psychopaths make great pen pals.

You might consider moving to another state. Don't leave a forwarding address.

;)

[zanne]

3. Gee--Thanks, Buzz Clik. nt

[trotsky]

15. To hopefully put you a little at ease...

You gotta figure the guy sends out 25-50 of these same letters a week. You're but one name in a thousand for him, and he's probably just hoping for the one fool who responds.

[Turbineguy]

10. Write to George Bush

He'll send you a reply.

"Psychopaths make great pen pals."

[annabanana]

2. Most papers require that you give this info.. but most don't

publish anything but your name & town.

[zbdent]

9. Isn't so bad when your name is Joe Smith of Akron ...

but have a relatively uncommon last name and live in a smaller town, or are away from the main city, and you right a "left-leaning" LTTE ... you get calls at hours where normally, if the phone rings, it means someone died ...

Latest witness in the Akron Beacon Journal - http://www.ohio.com/editorial/vop/12652151.html?page=all&c=y "No courage of their convictions" (Online, the Beacon Journal makes it hard to tell where one letter ends and the next begins). Ignore the rant of the robot in the first letter ...

[glowing]

4. I am, but they only publish name and town..

[sinkingfeeling]

5. My local papers only publish your name and city, not a complete address. I took my name out of the

phone book 15 years ago after a threatening phone call that resulted from a LTTE on the killing of an abortion doctor.

[AllieB]

6. As my husband found out, you can also receive psychotic phone messages

from wingnuts. A few years ago, my husband wrote a LTTE criticizing Bush and we were barraged with nasty phone messages. At that time, our phone number was published. We learned our lesson. Mind you, this is in Massachusetts.

[Ilsa]

7. Yep, too many nasty wingnuts called my LTTE writer friend as well.

They left obscene messages and anonymous threats, IIRC.

[zanne]

8. Uh Oh. I'm about 50 miles north of Boston....

We must be in the "weird letter/phone call zone".

[Bigmack]

11. *69, reverse phone directory, Caller ID...

are your friends.

Then you know who they are and where they live. Call 'em back and use their name. If they threaten, give the cops their name.

[Evergreen Emerald]

12. call your paper! Did they print your address? That is awful.

I would raise a stink with that paper.

[zanne]

14. They started that practice a few years ago....

In the state's two largest cities, Manchester and Nashua, the town papers there require it, because of the population and the chance that you may share a name with other people. I know that there are at least five people with my name in my city. (Sometimes I get their mail). They don't publish the phone numbers; those are just so they can call you to confirm that you want your LTE printed.

[Libby2]

13. I had threatening calls and mail too.

Of course, the chickenshits that they are, the return addresses were fake.