Letter to the Editor: Truth, facts and critical thinking
Truth, facts, and critical thinking are what most people use to make decisions in their lives. For other people, they prefer to be told what to think and what the facts are without any critical thinking or verification. Take the comments from the writers responding to my letter “First Year in Office” for example.
One writer suggested that America now has an “open border where drugs and illegal immigrants flow across.” The facts prove otherwise. First, there are border stations at every major road and highway leading in and out of America.
There was a record number of border encounters in 2021 – about 1.6 million with ~400,000 of these encounters being repeat offenders. The main reasons for this influx were COVID and economic, social and political instability in South America. In comparison, 997,509 encounters occurred in 2019 under Trump (before COVID).
Drugs flowing into America is a continuing issue and happens every year and under every president. Drug seizures in the last three years (2019-2021) have remain constant averaging about 933,000 pounds each year. Our border agents are doing their job. President Biden’s border control is on par with previous presidents. There is no crisis at our borders unless it’s just the hatred of anybody who isn’t white.
The Keystone XL pipeline is owned by Canada and simply wants America to accept all responsibility for environmental catastrophes. Oil is a complicated business and presidents can’t magically lower prices. Even though America was a net exporter of petroleum in 2020, America still imports oil.
The American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax Credit provision, where all Republicans voted no, started in July 2021 and ended in December 2021. It ended because zero Republicans voted for the Build Back Better Act. According to CNBC and Columbia University, in July 2021 alone, 3 million children were lifted out of poverty. That reduction represented a 25 percent cut to childhood poverty. If the credits were continued, 40-50 percent reduction in childhood poverty was predicted.
Trump inherited the strong economy from President Obama. Trump knew COVID was highly contagious and deadly in February 2020, but did nothing. Trump’s criminal gross negligence with the pandemic caused mass deaths, and the economic collapse and job loss in America.
A Democratic President and Congress would have ‘nipped COVID in the bud’ as a few other countries did. President Biden distributed the vaccines throughout the US and got COVID under control, but not in the Republican controlled state and local governments. Businesses and schools were able to reopen because sane Americans got vaccinated. That’s why America has record job growth today and unemployment (since 1968).
Yes emotions are a problem when people have none. Republicans are me-me-me people that could care less about anybody else. Any American who doesn’t get vaccinated and not wear a mask (N95 recommended) are selfish and idiotic for not doing their small part to mitigate COVID and to save their life, the lives of their family, and other people they infect.
Most Americans are caring educated members of society who prefer to act as a team instead of a “I’m in it strictly for myself’ collection of uncaring humans.
Mark Mihevc
Graeagle