Dear Ann Coulter,

Come on Ms. Coulter, you aren’t dumb and you aren’t shallow. So why are you continually using a word like the R-word as an insult?

Dear Mr Stephens,

Let me let you in on a secret. It's tough to make a living as a marginal conservative writer. I'm not an intellectual such as George Will, and as such, I have a very limited appeal to anyone who eschews (which is a word I could never present to my regular readers) polysyllabic words. Also, being able to pull off the bow tie look is much more difficult than it appears. I like to consider my writing edgy, but to be truthful, it likens more to a troubled teen wearing a lime green mohawk - it provides shock value and is a simple ploy to garner attention. You would be surprised at how many more 'eyeballs' my columns have when I use the 'R' word. If I didn't write controversial columns, which unfortunately have to denigrate various folks of differing religious, political, and physical attributes with third grade vocabulary, I wouldn't be able to make a living.

Best,
Annie