This is regarding your April 30 editorial "Bash Bush, win a Pulitzer." If this is true, 60 percent of the American population and 80 percent of journalists would be potential Pulitzer winners. I hope you are not going to call the Nobel Prize committee a liberal, Democratic-biased organization because Jimmy Carter got it, and you are not particularly fond of him.

You can try requesting Rupert Murdock, Jerry Falwell, et al. to start a trust like that of the Pulitzers, so your Democrat-bashing editors and contributors such as Anne Coulter and Jay Ambrose can get some "literary" awards.

Washington Post reporter Dana Priest, New York Times reporter James Risen and others only enlightened the general public about our "compassionate conservative" government. As for the terrorists, they don't need our journalists' help to know that the prisoners are being tortured. Sens. John McCain, Chuck Hagel and Lindsey Graham are not Democrats. They were all against cruel treatment in prisons, secret or otherwise. Kind-hearted or not, they know that the same treatment will be given to our American POWs. Our president is surrounded by evil puppeteers such as Vice President Dick Cheney, adviser Karl Rove and "yes men" such as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Terrorism cannot be wiped out. There will be some organization starting some terroristic activity somewhere. We have to fight it to some extent and learn to survive it with smart thinking. Torturing will only make prisoners lie the way we want. We can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

So, please, don't blame the prize-winning journalists for the administration's shortcomings and bunglings.

Saroja Venaktraman, Martinez