Probably the last one

The last Spotty of the year, that is. Remember, boys and girls, a Spotty is awarded to the author of a letter to the editor, an op ed piece, a blog post or comment that Spot wishes that he has written. Not only does Spot wish that he had written today's winner, Spot intended to, but never got around to it. Well, that's Spot's story, and he's sticking to it. Here's the letter in Wednesday's Star Tribune:

CITIZENSHIP TEST

Could Goode pass it?

There are 100 questions about U.S. history and civics that people seeking U.S. citizenship can be asked in the qualifying interview ("Test your U.S. IQ," Dec. 22).

One asks "Why did the Pilgrims come to America?" The accepted answer is "For religious freedom." Another asks to name three rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. One of these, of course, is that Congress shall not act to establish religion.

U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., is advocating policy to keep Americans with religious beliefs different from his own out of public service. The questions raised by this do not concern the religious differences between Americans. The question is how do we defend our Constitution from further un-American attacks against our basic freedoms. This job belongs to all U.S. citizens, of all religious beliefs.

JOHN M. RICHARD, MINNEAPOLIS

Update: Added the new Spotty award emblem from Tild. Ain't it a beauty?