SIR – Thank you for not “starring out” Rod Blagojevich’s expletives when reporting his alleged exploits to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat (“The Chicago way”, December 13th). Apart from taking pleasure in being treated as a grown-up (many other newspapers deleted the swearing), I was struck by how much more powerfully the Illinois governor’s seedy, cynical greed was communicated when the obscenities were printed in full. F***ing good decision.

See also, from last week, William Safire:

Today we are going to deal with the media coverage of profanities, expletives, vulgarisms, obscenities, execrations, epithets and imprecations.