The article about Bill Rice and the incidents surrounding the loss of his finger at a healthcare reform rally lacked any hint of journalistic skepticism. It allowed Mr. Rice to state his spin without comment.

Mr. Rice claims he was driving by the rally when he decided to stop. We all do that, don’t we, show up at scheduled rally, stand with those in opposition and not expect any conflict?

I don’t think so! If there were 60 to 70 supporters of healthcare reform and 12 or so in protest, did those 12 expect to be greeted with milk and cookies? And if Mr. Rice had found the Code Pink people protesting against the war, what was he planning on doing—punching them each in the mouth?

Another local paper had a more balanced report where both the healthcare reform backers and the protesters were interviewed. There was a picture of Rice and the person he ultimately battered standing next to the protesters before the altercation. That doesn’t really jive with Rice’s report that he was “heading toward my car.”

Mr. Rice claims that the battery victim’s aggressive screaming caused him to punch his victim twice in instinctive selfdefense.

Fear of imminent bodily harm is part of the definition of assault, and it seems as if Mr. Rice has spoken to a lawyer about how he can defend his battery by claiming he was in fear. I know whenever someone shouts at me, I always hit them twice, don’t you?

Other elements of this story beg for skepticism. Rice jumped at the chance to tell his story to Fox News, home of the antihealthcare movement. The month of August saw thugs, misinformed bullies and health insurance lobbyists showing up at town hall meetings to disrupt reasonable discourse on healthcare reform.

The only twist to this story is that the guy who threw two punches ended up less a finger.

Ms. Needham, when there are two sides to a story, some effort should be made to strike a balance. Bill Rice could have written your article himself. Kathleen Epstein Moorpark