During the week ending May 2, The Times received 736 usable letters, 282 of which were in our Top Five Topics.  A pair of Op-Eds critical of Barack Obama's first 100 days in office -- one written by perennial mail magnet Jonah Goldberg --  received more mail than any other subject.

• Op-Eds on the first 100 days: 87 letters, reacting, for the most part angrily, to this Op-Ed by New Republic assistant editor James Kirchick and this column by Jonah Goldberg;
• Swine flu: 61 letters, addressing the swine flu outbreak;
• Propositions 1A - 1F: 54 letters, looking ahead to the May 19 special elections;
• Torture: 53 letters, addressing continuing developments in the torture memos story; and
• EPA and greenhouse gases: 27 letters, responding to coverage of the Environmental Protection Agency's announcement that it will regulate greenhouse gases and to this Goldberg column suggesting that such regulation threatens American democracy.

How the Top Five is tabulated: Each week, your letters maven receives thousands of e-mails, dozens of letters through the good old U.S. postal service, and even a few faxes here and there.

After she cuts out spam, obscene mail, letters addressed to more than one recipient, letters that seem to be the fruit of letter-writing campaigns and letters with attachments (which gum up our computer systems,) she is usually left with several hundred eligible items, represented in the Letters Top Five tally. From these, she selects the somewhere around 100 that get published in the newspaper. Faxes and snail mail are not reflected in the chart.

Starting next week, the Letters Top Five will take a brief hiatus, resuming this summer.

For more on The Times' letters process, visit our Letters FAQ.

During the week ending April 25, The Times received 655 usable letters, 336 of which were in our Top Five Topics.  Fallout from the Bush Administration torture memos dominated our mailbag, making up more than a quarter of the usable mail we received.

Tea, anyone?  During the week ending April 18, The Times received 669 usable letters, 322 of which were in our Top Five Topics.  More than 100 focused on last Wednesday's Tea Party protests.

• Tea Parties:  102 letters, reacting to Times coverage of the April 15 rallies, including this Op-Ed by Marc Cooper;
• Front page ad:  89 letters, most excoriating our newspaper for running a large advertisement for a new show on NBC on the front page. Also included here are a few letters about a Times ad for "The Soloist," based on the friendship between Times columnist Steve Lopez and musician Nathaniel Ayers;
• Pirates:  65 letters, responding to coverage of the pirate crisis off the coast of Africa;
• John Yoo:  37 letters, reflecting on this Op-Ed and this Op-Ed debating whether former Justice Department official Yoo -- one of the authors of the infamous Bush administration "torture memos" --  should or should not be allowed to teach law at Chapman University, where he's currently a visiting professor; and
• Rosa Brooks:  29 letters, commenting on the columnist's last piece for The Times and her new job at the Defense Department.

How the Top Five is tabulated: Each week, your letters maven receives thousands of e-mails, dozens of letters through the good old U.S. postal service, and even a few faxes here and there.

After she cuts out spam, obscene mail, letters addressed to more than one recipient, letters that seem to be the fruit of letter-writing campaigns and letters with attachments (which gum up our computer systems,) she is usually left with several hundred eligible items, represented in the Letters Top Five tally. From these, she selects the somewhere around 100 that get published in the newspaper. Faxes and snail mail are not reflected in the chart. 

For more on The Times' letters process, visit our Letters FAQ online. 

During the week ending April 11, The Times received a rather sparse 430 usable letters -- perhaps spring break is slowing writers down -- just 134 of which were in our Top Five Topics.

• Limbaugh challenge: 39 letters, reacting to four essays from prominent local liberals accepting Andrew Klavan's Limbaugh Challenge;
• Obama's trip: 31 letters, about President Obama's swing through Europe and the Near East;
• Binghamton shootings: 26 letters, reacting to a tragic shooting spree in an upstate New York immigrant center;
• Ana's story: 20 letters, responding to Times reporter Thomas Curwen's two-part series about neurofibromatosis sufferer Ana Rodarte; and
• North Korean rocket: 18 letters, focusing on North Korea's rocket launch and what it means for the world.

How the Top Five is tabulated: Each week, your letters maven receives thousands of e-mails, dozens of letters through the good old U.S. postal service, and even a few faxes here and there.

After she cuts out spam, obscene mail, letters addressed to more than one recipient, letters that seem to be the fruit of letter-writing campaigns and letters with attachments (which gum up our computer systems), she is usually left with several hundred eligible items, represented in the Letters Top Five tally. From these, she selects the somewhere around 100 that get published in the newspaper. Faxes and snail mail are not reflected in the chart.

Last week conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh not only dominated the airwaves, he conquered our mail.  (We'll run some of the letters about him next week.)

During the week ending April 4, The Times received a larger-than-usual 857 usable letters, 432 of which were in our Top Five Topics.

• Limbaugh challenge: 260 letters, reacting to this op-ed by Andrew Klavan daring liberals to listen to Rush's show;
• Trouble in Detroit: 49 letters, discussing the latest developments in the auto industry bailout;
• Mexico: 48 letters, reacting to news over (and about) the border;
• Steve Lopez on teachers and the teachers' union: 38 letters, responding to this column about teacher seniority; and
• Vaccines: 37 letters, commenting on this front page report about families who choose not to vaccinate their children and the schools they attend.

How the Top Five is tabulated: Each week, your letters maven receives thousands of e-mails, dozens of letters through the good old U.S. postal service, and even a few faxes here and there.

After she cuts out spam, obscene mail, letters addressed to more than one recipient, letters that seem to be the fruit of letter-writing campaigns and letters with attachments (which gum up our computer systems,) she is usually left with several hundred eligible items, represented in the Letters Top Five tally. From these, she selects the somewhere around 100 that get published in the newspaper. Faxes and snail mail are not reflected in the chart.

For a second week, American International Group's woes had the most letter writers buzzing.

During the week ending March 28, The Times received 496 usable letters, 207 of which were in our Top Five Topics.

• AIG: 104 letters, reacting to Times coverage of bonuses at the company (including this column by Tim Rutten);

• Obama: 34 letters, responding to the president's trip to California and to this editorial about his campaign promises;

• Mexico: 30 letters, reacting to news about drug wars and the border;

• Oakland shootings: 25 letters, lamenting the murders of four police officers in Oakland; and

• Dementia drugs: 14 letters, reacting to this Op-Ed by psychologist Ira Rosofsky, who argues that Americans depend too much on drugs when treating dementia.

How the Top Five is tabulated: Each week, your letters maven receives thousands of e-mails, dozens of letters through the good old U.S. postal service, and even a few faxes here and there.

After she cuts out spam, obscene mail, letters addressed to more than one recipient, letters that seem to be the fruit of letter-writing campaigns and letters with attachments (which gum up our computer systems,) she is usually left with several hundred eligible items, represented in the Letters Top Five tally. From these, she selects the somewhere around 100 that get published in the newspaper. Faxes and snail mail are not reflected in the chart.

No big surprise: Reaction to AIG's retention bonuses topped the Letters Top Five last week.  But three pieces about Israel, in combination, actually generated more mail.

During the week ending March 21, The Times received 895 usable letters, 479 of which were in our Top Five Topics.

• AIG: 192 letters, reacting to Times coverage of AIG's bailout and bonuses;
• Anti-Zionism: 159 letters, responding to this Op-Ed and this Op-Ed, both addressing the question, "Is anti-Zionism hate?";
• Charles Freeman: 66 letters, reacting to our editorial about Charles W. Freeman, Jr., a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia who recently withdrew his name from consideration as chairman of the National Intelligence Council in part because, he said, of the "tactics of the Israel lobby";
• Dick Cheney: 31 letters, commenting on Dick Cheney's Sunday morning television attack on President Obama and his policies; and
• Stewart vs. Cramer: 31 letters, most reacting to this story about the showdown between "The Daily Show"'s Jon Stewart and "Mad Money"'s Jim Cramer.

How the Top Five is tabulated: Each week, your letters maven receives thousands of e-mails, dozens of letters through the good old U.S. Postal Service, and even a few faxes here and there.

After she cuts out spam, obscene mail, letters addressed to more than one recipient, letters that seem to be the fruit of letter-writing campaigns and letters with attachments (which gum up our computer systems,) she is usually left with several hundred eligible items, represented in the Letters Top Five tally. From these, she selects the somewhere around 100 that get published in the newspaper. Faxes and snail mail are not reflected in the chart.

He's the columnist you love to hate!  Last week, in what may be a first, two columns by Jonah Goldberg took two spots in the Letters Top Five -- er, make that the Letters Top Three. 

(How is this possible?  While Goldberg writes just once each week, in this case the letters responding to his columns were published in the same week, and therefore show up in the same Top Five tally.)

During the week ending March 14, The Times received 578 usable letters, 231 of which were in our Top Five Topics.

• Goldberg on Limbaugh: 66 letters, reacting to this column about Rush Limbaugh;
• Gay marriage: 55 letters, responding to coverage of the hearings to determine the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban;
• Goldberg on fearmongering: 43 letters, reacting to this column on the Obama administration's hope to "never let a crisis go to waste";
• Stem cell research: 37 letters, commenting on President Obama's decision to restore federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research and his pledge to elevate the role of science in setting public policy; and
• Teacher troubles: 30 letters, responding to teacher layoffs in California and the president's support of merit pay for educators.

How the Top Five is tabulated: Each week, your letters maven receives thousands of e-mails, dozens of letters through the good old U.S. Postal Service, and even a few faxes here and there.

After she cuts out spam, obscene mail, letters addressed to more than one recipient, letters that seem to be the fruit of letter-writing campaigns and letters with attachments (which gum up our computer systems), she is usually left with several hundred eligible items, represented in the Letters Top Five tally. From these, she selects the somewhere around 100 that get published in the newspaper. Faxes and snail mail are not reflected in the chart.

Does Obama's proposed budget amount to class warfare against the rich?  Times readers are sharply divided.  Their mail on the subject led the Letters Top Five tally last week.

During the week ending March 7, The Times received 778 usable letters, 316 of which were in our Top Five Topics.

• "Class warfare": 140 letters, including mail about this news story and this Michael Hiltzik column, as well as letters responding to earlier letters on the subject;
• The Times' new format: 84 letters, mostly angry, commenting on this newspaper's decision to fold California into the main news section; 
• Drug wars: 45 letters, including reactions to this editorial;
• March 3 election: a relatively paltry 26 letters, reacting to coverage of last week's elections; and
• State-funded trips: 21 letters, responding to this investigative piece about California officials who charge what seem to be personal expenses to the state.

How the Top Five is tabulated: Each week, your letters maven receives thousands of e-mails, dozens of letters through the good old U.S. postal service, and even a few faxes here and there.

After she cuts out spam, obscene mail, letters addressed to more than one recipient, letters that seem to be the fruit of letter-writing campaigns and letters with attachments (which gum up our computer systems,) she is usually left with several hundred eligible items, represented in the Letters Top Five tally. From these, she selects the somewhere around 100 that get published in the newspaper. Faxes and snail mail are not reflected in the chart.

Last week, President Barack Obama led the Letters Top Five tally.

During the week ending Feb. 28, The Times received a relatively paltry 549 usable letters, 283 of which were in our Top Five Topics. 

Maybe folks were busy looking for work.  Maybe they spent their free time watching the Oscars or "American Idol."  Whatever the case, they weren't writing us.

• President Obama: 107 letters, including reactions to his speech to Congress and his administration's work this week, including Hillary Clinton's trip to Asia and Energy Secretary Steven Chu's take on green energy;
• California's budget: 90 letters.  A budget may have finally passed, but many of you remain upset about the dysfunction in Sacramento; 
• March 3 elections: 47 letters, responding to our endorsement of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for mayor as well as Police Chief William J. Bratton's endorsement of Jack Weiss for city attorney;
• Death Row: 24 letters, reacting to this news story and this editorial; and
• Eric Holder: 15 letters, reacting to the attorney general's comment that we are a "nation of cowards" when it comes to discussing race.

How the Top Five is tabulated: Each week, your letters maven receives thousands of e-mails, dozens of letters through the good old U.S. postal service, and even a few faxes here and there.

After she cuts out spam, obscene mail, letters addressed to more than one recipient, letters that seem to be the fruit of letter-writing campaigns and letters with attachments (which gum up our computer systems,) she is usually left with several hundred eligible items, represented in the Letters Top Five tally. From these, she selects the somewhere around 100 that get published in the newspaper.

Faxes and snail mail are not reflected in the chart.