Editor:

I attended the so-called "town hall meeting" at the University of Arizona Feb. 12 with Congressman Jim Kolbe. The meeting was overrun with Mt. Graham protestors. It was a disgusting display of a group attempting to stifle the whole purpose of a town hall meeting. Congressman Kolbe was treated with far less than the respect he has earned as our outstanding congressman.

Given the fact that these people were not interested in hearing anyone else's views, I hesitated to say anything about the Mt. Graham observatory issue, as all it might accomplish is to inflame them more.

I honestly feared for the congressman's safety, especially since one or two of them appeared to be pretty unstable. Several other people who were there from the university, and a number of undergraduate science students, were afraid to open their mouths. We were unprepared for these extremists.

We appreciate it that Congressman Kolbe "took the heat" about Mt. Graham. Just about anything the protestors had to say on any other issue was also utter nonsense. I am confident that their views are not shared by the vast majority of his constituents.

James W. Liebert
astronomy professor