We want to extend a warm welcome to our international readers. In recent weeks, there has been an increasing number of comments posted on TalkLeft by readers who are from other countries and for whom English is either a second language or one they are struggling to learn.

Writing in a language other than one's own is hard. Some of these commenters have expressed concern that we will think they are dumb because they do not write in fluent English and make spelling and grammar errors.

We appreciate these readers and their comments. We are flattered that they take the time to express their thoughts here. We would ask our U.S. readers (still about 80% of you) not to chide them for their poor grammar or spelling. If you disagree with their ideas, by all means say so, but please don't discourage them from reading or posting comments. Diversity is great.