When I was working for the Walt Disney Company (a California-based entertainment conglomerate perhaps best known for the classic 60’s films “The Computer Who Wore Tennis Shoes” and “The Love Bug”) back in the 1990’s, before the Bill Cosby paternity scandal changed America forever, then-Chairman Michael Eisner sent out a lengthy memo to the company which made some good points about the dangers of email — one of which was how easy it was for a reader to infer an attitude and tone of voice which the writer may not have intended. I’m sure we’ve all been on one or both ends of such miscommunications, and I would suggest maybe that’s what happened here. To be honest, if I didn’t know who you were and I read this comment in isolation, I’d think you were a raving paranoid.

To be even more honest (and perhaps succumb to another email peril mentioned by Eisner — the temptation to speak a little too freely and thoughtlessly), I sometimes feel that you spend too much time detailing real and imagined slights connected to “W.M.D.”

Having said that, I must immediately say that this is a trivial complaint, and that “News Dissector” is the single most interesting and enlightening email I receive, and that your personality as its author adds immensely to its effect. It would quite literally be irreplaceable as a resource.

Also, of course, I have no reason to believe anyone else shares my opinion about the “W.M.D.” remarks. Moreover, come to think of it, criticizing someone for being too critical is pretty asinine any way you look at it.