Letters to the editor.

Gentlemen,

Probably I'm just a voice in the wilderness here, but how in the world do you come up with headlines trumpeting "Americans Prefer Faith-Based Care and Giving" (March edition) when only one of the stats/charts you list show a majority preferring either faith-based care or faith-based giving?

You have to count those who say they are "equally likely" in three of the charts and graphs to come up with a majority. "Equally likely" does not mean the same as "preferring."

So, either you have an editorial bias (which is fine, but call it out, don't pretend to be unbiased), you're inaccurate/ imprecise choosing vocabulary or, you're simply running "factual news" given you by our dishonest and misguided national administration. Or maybe you just can't do math?

If I missed something, please let me know and forgive my mild rant, but this hit a raw nerve.

Thanks.

Mike Munck, Executive Vice President

St. Peter's Hospital Foundation

Helena, Mont.

Editor's response:

The preference in the headline arose from the overall 59 percent of respondents who indicated that a facility being faith-based in affiliation or reputation had at least some influence on facility choice. From a donation standpoint, only in the 18-24 age group did the combined "much more likely to give" and "somewhat more likely to give" net outpace the "equally likely for faith-based and non faith-based." The figures were equal in the 18-24 age range. The story idea developed from a chance conversation with a nun, who is not to our knowledge affiliated with the Bush administration. And, while the writer began college studying math, he didn't complete that major, so the jury's still out on that one.