I'm sick and tired of the endless attack stories against Senator Pelosi ("Pelosi's actions harmful to the country," April 11), most of which have little or no actual backing in reality.

First was the accusation that Pelosi was emboldening misogynist Islamic clerics in Syria by wearing the traditional head scarf that women in the country wear, even though Bush's wife, Laura Bush, wore the exact same garment during her trip to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

Next was the accusation that Pelosi was emboldening a terrorist state (Syria) by meeting with its leader, even though Pelosi was following the exact recommendation that the Iraq Study Group proposed -- a dialogue with Syria -- and a Republican delegation met with the same leader of Syria only a few days after Pelosi.

Most egregious was the charge that Pelosi was undermining the president's authority by meeting with a controversial state leader without his permission. Pelosi had informed both the State Department and the White House of her intentions, and neither voiced any objections.

What's more, the very side that is voicing its accusations of undermining the president (the Republican Party) made a trip in 1997 to Columbia and outright advised its leaders to "bypass the Executive Branch" and confer directly with the Republican-controlled Congress.

It's one thing to print someone's accusations in light of facts; it's entirely another to make those accusations appear to be the facts themselves.