When Mondoweiss writer Ian Rhodewalt's dad sent his congressman, Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), a letter last year to voice his opposition to a House resolution effectively condemning the Palestinians unilaterally for stalling the peace talks with Israel, he didn't expect much of a response. But a year later, he got back something far worse than a form letter — a really, really outdated form letter.

Wrote Rep. Pitts in a response dated April 20, 2012:

With the global war against terrorism, it is now incumbent on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Yasir Arafat to clamp down on Palestinian extremists that have perpetuated violence and to restart a peace process that has collapsed.

So, two small problems right off the bat: Yasir Arafat has been dead for the past eight years, and Ariel Sharon has been as good as dead for the past six.

As flabbergasted as Ian Rhodewalt (and presumably his dad) are to receive this laughably offensive response from their elected representative, I personally think it's rather apropos considering "a dead man and a vegetable," as Rhodewalt put it, are about as likely to get the conflict resolved as the living people currently in charge.

[The Times of Israel, photo via Rep Joe Pitts Flickr]