Fabyanic uses facts in columns
Editor:
Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said, “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, just not their own set of facts.” In the case of Jerry Fabyanic, it seems many readers disagree with his opinions, but I must say that they cannot disagree with his facts.
This past election has shown the consequences of the “post-truth” world we now live in. The lies that started with Rush Limbaugh and Fox News have now spawned a tidal wave of Twitter feeds and blogs that produce totally fake news stories that a lazy, gullible public believes to be true.
The result is that we now have a president-elect who in Mitt Romney’s words is a “pathological liar.”
To those readers who don’t understand that those actions have consequences, I would point out that a gun-nut shot up a pizza parlor because the son of Trump’s national security adviser, who was also a member of his transition team at the time, promoted a story that said Hillary Clinton was behind a child-prostitution ring being run from that business.
The next administration is shaping up to be one where the “reality-star” president is living in a fantasy world. We have a nominee to head the Department of Labor who hates workers, the head of the EPA who turned Oklahoma into one of the largest active earthquake zones in the country, and an attorney general who was denied a position as a federal judge 30 years ago because of his racist beliefs.
We need more people like Jerry who do the research and discover the truth so that maybe people will once again hold opinions based on fact, not fiction.
Jim Blugerman, Georgetown
Maybe Fabyanic should retire
Editor:
Kudos to Omer Humble from the Vox Pop in the Nov. 30 edition of the Courant. When I read Jerry Fabyanic’s column in the Nov. 23 edition, my blood boiled.
“I guess stupid is the new norm.” Are you kidding me? Just because people vote for a Republican, they are stupid?
When Obama won the presidency eight years ago, did you see Republicans burning flags, beating people up, destroying cars? No. We did not like it, but we accepted it and went on with our lives.
I feel someone we need who can straighten out the mess the last eight years has brought on. I also feel if Mr. Fabyanic cannot be fair, maybe he should retire. Yes, I am a proud Trump supporter.
Nancy Graves, Georgetown
Courant needs another columnist
Editor:
Marion Anderson and Omer Humble want to silence Jerry Fabyanic in the Clear Creek Courant because his writing “is destructive to community relations and does not represent the views of many others in Clear Creek County.”
Have they heard of that inconvenient truth called the First Amendment? It’s true that occasionally Mr Fabyanic’s columns are excessively partisan, shrill and somewhat misinformed, but independent thinkers aren’t offended. They just turn the page, just like changing the radio station when the ideological balderdash shouted by extreme talk-show hosts gets too deep.
Suggestion for Ms. Anderson, Mr. Humble and their colleagues: Recruit a center-right writer for the Courant who would write counterpoint to Jerry’s columns. When faced with competition for readers and credibility, maybe Jerry would pull his extreme positions toward the center. For those who need coaching on where the center is, take a look at the No Labels movement at www.nolabels.org.
Jim Leonard, Evergreen
Standing up for Fabyanic
Editor:
It’s time for someone to stand up for Jerry Fabyanic. Sometimes I agree with his opinions; sometimes I don’t. However, unlike some recent letter writers, I always find his column interesting and thought-provoking.
With respect to the recent presidential election, Trump supporters appear to mistakenly believe that more voters chose Trump over Clinton. Currently, more than 2.5 million more people voted for Hillary than for Donald (65.5 million versus 62.8 million votes).
When the loser of the popular vote becomes president, our Electoral College does not reflect the will of the people. Contrary to common belief, this system does not equalize power between the lesser and more populous regions of the nation. Instead, the assignment of electors gives substantially more power to rural areas to the detriment of urban ones.
Perhaps one day every voter’s ballot will actually count.
Until then, how about acknowledgement that our president-elect was not chosen by the majority of voters?
And maybe we also could harbor a little less anger toward Jerry Fabyanic for his disappointment in our imperfect election process.
Ann Zimmerman, Idaho Springs