In the interest of fairness, my bride has suggested that I point out that it isn’t just Republicans who practice the art of astroturfing. MoveOn does it, too, though with them it’s more a matter of providing talking points rather than automating the whole process. The Online Journalism Review has published Letters Editors Flummoxed Over Weed-Like ‘Astroturf’ Growth on the topic. Bottom line: don’t look to the letters as a gauge of genuine popular sentiment. I suppose they never were.