A letter writer not too long ago defended Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity as journalists who have the guts to speak the truth to power. Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity are not journalists. They express opinions. Limbaugh has been sued for the lies he spreads. His defense has been that he is an entertainer, not a journalist.

Beck goes on and on about the Constitution of the United States — a document he has obviously never read. The Constitution is a brilliant document that is an outline for the nation's government. There are lots of things not mentioned in the Constitution: capitalism, heath care, transportation, drugs ... the list is endless. Because an item is not mentioned in the Constitution does not mean that it is unconstitutional. Many of the issues Beck rails about were decided decades ago by the nation's court system doing its constitutional job.

Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity are hoping that their audience is composed of ignorant people who they will be able to incite. Their objective is to whip up unrest in the people of this country so that their narrow right-wing political agenda will succeed.

It has to make me wonder if analysis, critical thinking and synthesis as a way of inquiry is being taught in our schools.

Of course, that is a rhetorical question. The schools have been taken over by conservatives who want people schooled, not educated.

Judson R. Duncan, Monmouth