I have a letter in the Freeps today. This Deb Hutton business has really gotten to me. This is as close as I can come to telling it to her face:

Ipperwash lawsuits found indefensible

Regarding thee article, Ipperwash witness threatens lawsuit (Feb. 10):

Former Mike Harris aide Deb Hutton's threat to bring lawsuits against newspapers covering the Ipperwash inquiry is singularly shocking. She demonstrates utter disrespect for the inquiry and its purpose, not to mention the responsibilities of the Fourth Estate. Indeed, in pursuing this bizarre act of litigiousness, Hutton has demonstrated a near-reckless resistance to any public dissemination of the truth.

By training her lawyers on papers such as Grand Bend's Lakeshore Advance -- with a readership of fewer than 1,500 -- she assures herself some easy victories. These papers have neither the resources nor the time to fight such a case.

But Hutton should hesitate before she counts this wielding of political connectedness as any true victory. Where she has gained an empty apology or two, she has forfeited all benefit of the doubt.

So I have defended the London Free Press publicly. That, I can say fairly confidently, will be a last. And they edited the damn thing down - it doesn't resonate anymore.