While Colin Bane’s piece about the Rev. James Ahlemann (“Baptism by Fire,” 1/15) was generally balanced and fair, Bane’s comment that the Rev. Ahlemann “spews conservative family-values rhetoric” was a low blow. Did Ahlemann foam with bile and dribble with drool when he spoke? Did he run into the bathroom and start heaving when Bane began spewing liberal anti-family rhetoric?

If Bane doesn’t like right-wingers, that’s his privilege. But condemning the Rev. Ahlemann as a “spewer” in a news story is a cheap shot.

Silver Spring, Md.