Bill Gerling
Jefferson City
Dear Editor:
One only has to view the variety of conservative and liberal news and opinion sources on the internet to know that there is no threat from Hollywood or anyone else monopolizing media. Unfortunately, we have a president who believes that the “press is the enemy of the people.” He asserts news unfavorable to him is “fake news.” Unfortunately, he is the originator of much of it.
He’s claimed 21 different false conspiracies, starting with the false claim that Obama was not born in the U.S. and most recently that the Clintons had something to do with Epstein’s death. As of April 2019, the Washington Post tracked 10,000 lies or misstatements. Kellyanne Conway has called the president’s lies “alternative facts.” Trump’s campaign rallies continue to be a rich source of misstatements and falsehoods, accounting for about 22 percent of the total. No evidence is needed since the sole purpose is to convince people of the falsehood. As long as some people believe them, he has succeeded.
Steve Kroft did not write that George Soros was an evil man or any of the other ridiculous charges made against this Holocaust survivor who is a promoter of international peace and democracy. Jim O’ Neill used a trace of Kroft’s interview in his diatribe against Soros. Check Snopes and other sources.
The satirical Daily Squib published the hoax concerning the Mikkelsons, founders of Snopes.com, being arrested. False.
I would expect Breitbart would reject Politfact and other fact-checkers since it regularly deals in conspiracy theories and mixes fact with opinion as news. All news sources have a point of view, but should keep fact and opinion separate. Here is a site that indicates news sources from left to right: library.elmhurst.edu/c.php?g=294877&p=1965087
The International Atomic Energy Agency has cameras providing 24-hour monitoring at the Natanz facility, which has 5,000 centrifuges. Inspectors have had daily access for 15 years. There are 130-150 inspectors in Iran. Not every military facility in the country is monitored — but what sovereign nation would stand for this scrutiny?
Congress passed a law under which the U.S. Treasury could pay compensatory judgments (plus a portion of punitive damages) issued for claims against Iran. About $400 million was paid out to victims in court judgments against Iran covered by the law and subsequent legislation, according to Factcheck.com.