Press and the truth | Letters to the editor, Sept. 3, 2018

Press needs to report the truth

Reference your editorial: “The Fresno Bee is not the enemy; We are a part of the Valley, like you.”

The good news is that our 1791 First Amendment protects our freedom of speech and that of the press. Of concern, the press is not elected, appointed or anointed. Their sacred responsibility is to print the truth, only the truth.

A statement by The Bee: “The Bee’s opinion is expressed only in its editorials.” Not true! The Bee has monopolized Valley news since 1922. You have abused that political power.

There is not a “war” on the “free” press! There is a demand for the press to print the truth.

Nunes heads to his Waterloo

I find it hilarious that Devin Nunes seems to be getting a little uncomfortable within his kingdom in Tulare County because constituents and the media are not polishing his tarnished crown in the manner to which he is accustomed. What do you expect, Devin? You hide in Washington, invisible to all, including your local constituents. You don’t have the common decency to show up at Town Hall meetings or your local offices. However, you will show up at your expensive galas and fund raisers for your wealthiest constituents. Sounds a bit too aristocratic and aloof for my tastes! You seem to get especially nervous when the local media points out your self-centered political arrogance! You are the perfect example of the type of politician that has become entrenched and too safe in his ivory tower, therefore, he does not need us! On the contrary, your allegiance to Trump and his political goons is going to be your undoing. Your arrogance and self-serving agenda will be your Waterloo soon. You can run, but you will be unable to hide from the truth.

Did he have authority to his opinion?

The letters published by The Bee’s editorial board on Aug. 23rd titled “Views on the Manafort-Cohen cases and their impact on Trump” were said to have been selected from “national political columnists.”

The letter that caught my attention was written by Jon Healey with the Los Angeles Times. Mr. Healey was critical of President Trump pertaining to payments made by Michael Cohen to a hooker and a stripper. Mr. Healey concluded that when Cohen; “admitted to a crime it implicated Trump in the process.” That is quite a damning statement made by this “national political columnist.” Do you suppose Mr. Healey has documentation to support such an accusation?

Out of curiosity, I Google’d Mr. Healey’s position with the L.A. Times. Currently his bio shows that he is “a general assignment sports reporter with a focus on covering the NFL and Giants.” Hmm ... a “national political columnist” you say.

Everyone has an opinion. However, you would think that The Bee’s Editorial Board would have taken the time to find what the credentials’ were of the noted “national political columnists” that they chose to publish.

Not doing so taints the credibility of the writer and more so the publisher of the document.

Editor’s note: As listed on latimes.com, Jon Healey is deputy editorial page editor. The Aug. 23 item in The Bee misspelled his name.

Sen. McCain, may he rest in peace

Shame on the president. How dare he belittle Sen. McCain. Saying he was not a hero because he got shot down is ludicrous. I’m a Vietnam vet. The year I was there, 1968, was torture enough, but Sen. McCain was a POW for 5 1/2 years. That was the epitome of hell. Trump didn’t even go through boot camp in any branch of the military. Anyone who served in a war zone is heroic. Thanks to the various veteran groups for getting Trump to lower the flags in his honor, even though he wasn’t man enough to do so until he was pressured to do it. God bless Sen. McCain. May he RIP.

This story was originally published September 3, 2018 at 6:00 AM.