: On May 3 an attorney for the Rutherford Institute, a Christian-based legal organization in Virginia, wrote to take issue with two sentences in the 3,900-word April 29 commentary by Mark Ames and Yasha Levine, “ ‘Populist’ Outrage Over TSA Scanners Was Anti-Union PR Campaign,” which originally appeared on AlterNet.

The AlterNet authors wrote that Rutherford Institute President John Whitehead’s “outfit once advocated the death penalty for homosexuals.” The attorney called that assertion “a complete fabrication.” She described Whitehead as a “vocal opponent of the death penalty” who “has never advocated imposition of the death penalty on any person or persons. Nor has the Rutherford Institute, which Mr. Whitehead founded. Moreover, through the Rutherford Institute, Mr. Whitehead has actually provided pro bono legal representation for homosexual clients. …”

Although the authors did not say that Whitehead himself advocates the death penalty for homosexuals, Truthdig regrets if anyone reading the commentary came away with that impression.