A lively forum; Readers keep the dialogue going.

• Position: EDITORIAL - Editorial

COLUMN: IN OUR OPINION

We are gratified that thousands of our readers consider The People's Forum to be just that - a forum in which the agenda is set by the people, not politicians or pundits.

During 2008, the Telegram & Gazette published 1,878 letters to the editor on a wide variety of subjects of general interest. The writers' names are listed on these pages. (Letter of the Week writers are in boldface type.)

All letters meeting our guidelines appear in print.

We publish letters expressing all shades of opinion. We feel a special obligation to print comments made in response to our editorials and news coverage. We invite constructive criticism and observations.

Letters must be no longer than 250 words, election/endorsement letters no longer than 100 words. Letters that exceed those limits will be returned to be shortened.

We limit an individual to one published letter every two months. We reserve the right to edit letters.

Letters must be the writers' original work. We do not publish reprints, quotations, "open letters" or letters written for other publications. We rarely publish letters from outside our circulation area.

Letters should be of general public interest. We do not publish letters that are strictly personal, including letters about damaged or missing property or pets, consumer complaints, letters dealing solely with personal religious beliefs, thank-you letters to individuals or organizations, or letters from candidates thanking voters or campaign workers.

Political endorsements and letters concerning municipal election contests must be received at least 10 working days before the election and must be no longer than 100 words.

At times, when we believe a given topic has been exhausted, we call a halt to further comments.

We do not publish letters written in verse or essay form.

We do not publish letters that we believe come under the libel laws. Material may be libelous if it holds a private person or organization up to hatred, contempt, suspicion of wrongdoing, scorn or ridicule. We review letters about active court cases carefully.

We do not publish hate mail or letters that are obviously offensive to good taste.

We do not publish letters that are unsigned, unverifiable or unintelligible.

Class project letters must be submitted as a group with a cover letter listing the school, teachers and grade. Because of limited space, we can only publish one representative letter, which will be selected by our editorial board.

Letters must be sent with the writer's full name. Initials and nicknames are not acceptable. Writers must include a complete home address and a handwritten signature - and in the case of e-mailed letters telephone number(s) for verification purposes.

These guidelines have been crafted to give a maximum number of writers the opportunity to be represented in our letters to the editor column, The People's Forum.

Keep them coming.

T&G printed 1,878 letters in '08

Robert & Mary Abair

Daniel Abraham

Robert Abraham

Luis Acevedo

Robert C. Achorn

Jack Adams

Joanne Adams

Mark S. Adams

Edward Adu-Gyamfi

Robert S. Adler

Michael Agbay

Brenda Ainsworth

Martha Akstin

Megan Albury

Lowell F. Alexander

Mary K. Alexander

NicholasAlexanian Jr.

Harry C. Alford

Richard Alfrego

Vincent Alicandro

Joanne Alinovi

Brian E. Allen

David Almeida

Deborah Amaral

Edward L. Amaral

Freda Obeng-Ampofo

G. Albert Anderson

John B. Anderson

Mary Lou Anderson

Mary R. Anderson

Patricia Anderson

Ralph W. Anderson Jr.

Raymond C. Anderson

Scott Anderson

Cheryl Anderton

Paul J. Andonian

Herbert J. Andrews

Kevin Andrews

Mark J. Andrews

Samantha Andrews

Robert F. Andries

Leonard Angers

Frances M. Anthes

Catherine Anthony

Tamara Anthony

Wendy Antonopoulos

Ann Marie Arakelian

Christopher Isaac Ariel

Harry F. Armstrong III

Michael Armstrong

Ellen Arnold

Susan Jane Arntz

Joseph Aromando

Jega A.

Arulpragasam

Bayda Asbridge

Brian Ashmankas

Tracy Ashworth

Gregory N. Assoian

Maureen Asten

Mary Atchue

Victoria M.

Augustine

Kevin B. Austin

Mark A. Aversa

Barbara Avery

Patricia Avis

Desiree A. Awiszio

Harry Awiszio

Steven Ayres

Chester J. Babinski

Cheryl Badosa

Michael Baez

Joan Bagley

Joseph C. Bagshaw

Helen Baguskas

Joseph Bairos

Daniel L. Baker

Elizabeth J.

Baldarelli

Carlo M. Baldino

Francis Ball

Justyna Ball

Karolina D. Ball

Deborah E. Banda

Laurie

Baniukiewicz

Susan Baniukiewicz

Roger F. Banks

Shirley Barlar

Whitney Barnard

Donald Barrett

Reinhard

Bartelmann

Robert Bartholomew

Anthony Barton

Conrad A. Bassett

Marcia Beal

Kevin Bean

Megan Bean

Nate Beardsley

Paul R. Beauchemin

Raymond

Beauregard

Malcolm Beauvais

Janice R. Beckwith

Robert & Shirley

Bednarcyk

Douglas A. Belanger

Marie Clarisse

Belanger

Nicole Belanger

Jackie Belisle

Wayne E. Belles

James R. Belpedio

Leslie Bemis

Carl Benander

Florence A.

Bengtson

Dawn C. Bennett

Edmond Benoit

Kenneth Benoit

Paul R. Benoit

Peter A. Benoit

Richard Bergman

Bernard R. Beriau

Justin M. Bernard

Amanda Berthiaume

Donna L. Bertrand

Raymond Bilodeau

Eleanor G. Bird

Heather Bish

Dennis Bishop

Richard Bisk

Joseph A. Bisol

Phillip Bissell

Stephen A. Bissell

Joseph R.Blackmore Jr.

Diane Blake

Edward H.

Blanchard

Barbara F.

Blavackas

Nancy L. Blomquist

Keith Bloniasz

Gary Blumenthal

Jane Boggs

Bruce Boguslav

John J. Bolduc

Robert J. Bolduc

Ed Bolen

Paul L. Bondi

Antoinette Bonner

Daniel G. Borkowski

Emilio C. Botticelli

Donna M. Bottis

Christian Bouchard

Linda Boudreau

Lynn Boulay

Tina M. Bourassa

Gail Bourque

Sandra J. Bousquet

Aime Boucher

Joanne Boutillette

Richard Boutilier

Maureen Bouvier

Jean Bowker

Peter C. Bowler

Donald E. Bowles

Bari Boyer

Sheryl Brackley

Cory Brader

Michael Bradley

F. Joseph Brady

Gene Brady

Kaitlyn Brady

James J. Braney

Regina Brennan

Thomas V. Brennan Jr.

Steven W. Brent

Lance Dannan

Bresee

John M. Briare

Robert Bridges

Gerard Briggs

Maria Brogna

Anthony E. Brooks

David A. Brooks

Jack Brothers

Brian Brousseau

Patricia Brousseau

Diane S. Brown

Howard Brown

Matthew R. Brown

Rachel Shannon Brown

Sophia Brozowski

Mary J. Brule

Ralph Brunelle

Christopher

Buchanan

Sylvia G. Buck

William Buckler

Thomas & Linda

Buckley

Thomas & Linda Buckley

Daniel Budzinski

Christine Buell

Elizabeth Buell

John T. Buell

Linda J. Buono

Clarence Burley

Charlotte Burns

Tobey Burwick

Chester J. Burzenski

David G. Butler

Douglas P. Butler

John Butterworth

Marylou Buyse

Sarah Byron

Andrea J. Cabral

Steven Cadoret

Shannon Cahill

Maria Evangelista

Caldwell

Ruth Caldwell

Charles T. Caliri

Richard Callaghan

Francis X.Callahan Jr.

Frank R. Callahan

James Matthew

Callahan

John H. Campbell

Robert Campbell

Michael Campaniello

Elaine M. Canavan

Kenneth F. &

Nancy Candito

Erin H. Canzano

Roger Caouette

Pamela J. Capp

Christine A. Caputi

Francis E.

Carbonneau Sr.

Peter Carbonneau

Lorraine Carli

Conrad H. Carlson

Donna M. Carlson

Edward Carlson

Jason Carlson

Marilyn Caron

Bette L. Carr

Edward Carr

Julie Carrigan

Francis R. Carroll

Denise Carter

Phyllis Carter

Deborah D. Cary

Angela J. Cascione

Joseph Casello

Michael Casey

Loretta Cashmon

Joan W. Cassidy

Anthony Catanzaro

Michael B. Catlin

Angelo Cavaliere

Mark Cavanagh

Michael J. Cave

America Cepeda

Henry P. Cesary

James P. Chabot

Donald Chad

Kevin & Robin

Chalifoux

Ellen M. Chambers

Patricia Chandley

Isabelle C. Chang

Bruce Chansky

Richard J. Chapel

Yolanda Chapin

Francis R. Carroll

Jean Charron

Gilbert Chase

Devin Chausse

Grace Cheffers

Richard L.

Chernisky

Hedy Chesna

Joseph W. Chiapulis

Simon J. Chiasson Jr.

Rasa Chiras

Robert C. Chisholm

Mark J. Chludenski

Steven G. Chomo

Mark Chonofsky

Mark J. Chludenski

James L. Cicero

Stephen D. Cignetti

Roberta J. Cioci

Ronald Peter Ciras

Bianca Ciuffredo

Martin P. Civin

Carolyn Clark

Michael E. Clark

Nancy Clark

Robert Clark

Mary Cleary

Stephen H. Cleary

Marjorie Clifford

Mary Ellen Clifford

Cheryl Osimo

Cloutier

Joseph Clonan

Bernard Coblentz

Anne H. Cody

Peter Coffin

Nancy Coghlin

Ann M. Cohen

David E. Cohen

Marjorie M. Cohen

John Cole

Charles W.

Colebrook II

Donna L. Coleman

William S. Coleman III

Timothy Collar

Raymond Collette

Donald F. Colpitts

Jacquelyn Comer

Brian A. Como Sr.

Dante Comparetto

Beverly Coniglio

Janet Conlon

Richard Connell

Philip C. Conner

Maureen Connery

Cathleen Connolly

James Connolly

Cha-Cha Connor

Karen Conti

Brian J. Cook

James A. Cooke

Timothy P. Coonan

Cynthia Cooper

Lisa Cooper

Kristin Coppola

Keith M. Corey

Allicia Cormier

Arthur L. Cormier

Thomas J. Corrigan

John D. Cortelli

James F. Cosgrove

E. Barbara Cosky

David F. Cote

Edward F. Cote Jr.

Paul W. Cote

Michael J. Coughlin

Alan G. Court

Delores

Courtemanche

Christian C. Coury

Marie Couture

David R. Cox

Sally Cragin

Walter Crockett

Wendell Crockett

Elizabeth Cronan

Joan M. Cronin

Kevin Cross

Roland H. Crossley

Charles P. Croteau

Joan L. Crowell

Jose A. Cruz

Thomas Cummins

Robert Curran

Robert J. Cursi

Curt G. Curtin

George Curtis

Jonathan Curtis

Jack Cushman

Linda Cusson

Beverly A. Cutting

Zigmas Dabrila

Dorothy D'Acri

Joseph P. Dahlquist

Dennis A. Dailida

Eleanor J. Dailida

Elizabeth S. Dale

Glenn D'Alessio

Caitlin Daley

Kathleen Dalve

Eileen Dame

Laurie D'Amico

Jonathan Dandridge

Lucy A. D'Angelo

Nathan Daniel

Edward D'Arcy

Ryan David

Amanda L. Davis

Carla Lemerise Davis

Gordon T. Davis

Linda A. Davis

Sharon M. Latka Davis

Thomas J. Davis

Bruce R. Dean

Mary A. Dean

Zara Dedi

Paul DeLacey

Louis J. Delalla Jr.

Brian P. Delaney

John R. D'Elia

Michael DellaCava

Cheryl A.

DelSignore

Christian W.

deMarcken

Jack DeMember

Leonard Demers

Kimberly Demma

Paul J. Demoga

Rita M. DeNitti

Alfred DePasquale

Maria DePasquale

Mauro DePasquale

Norman J. Deptula

Peter M. Derry Jr.

Renee M. Desjardins

Jean Desmarais

Angelo C.

Despotopulos

Louis Desy

Erika Devereaux

Henry B. Dewey

William J.

DiBenedetto

Daniel E. Dick

Phyllis R. Dick

Joan Didzbalis

Brenda Diggs

Chester D. DiLeo

Michael DiLiddo

James Dillon

Pauline Dillon

Louise DiMarzio

Thomas Dionis

Guido A. DiPietro

Donna DiRusso

Allen P. Doe

Jacqueline Doherty

Tracy Doherty

Stephen J.

Dombrowski

Mary T. Donahue

Suzanne Donas

Richard Donati

Elisabeth Donker

Daniel J. Dorr

Laura Doskocil

...