Letter to the Editor, San Francisco Chronicle

This appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle Saturday, January 7, 2006 -

Editor --

It is certainly regrettable that "Christian'' broadcaster Pat Robertson suggested Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine punishment for "dividing God's land.''

What is more regrettable, however, is that The Chronicle found Robertson, and his comments, newsworthy. Robertson is a mean man who knows how to work the media to his fundraising advantage. He is nothing more than that, and the less attention paid to him by the mainstream press, the sooner he will fade into oblivion, which is exactly where he belongs.

KENNETH ALTMAN

San Francisco