In a letter to The Chronicle on Jan. 11, letter writer Bruce Peterson asserts that I am confused. There may be some truth to that.
I admit it is confusing to witness otherwise fairly rational people reject mountains of evidence of Donald Trump’s mendacity and swallow whole his claim of political persecution. Those mountains of evidence are not a product of a liberal or liberal media vendetta against Trump. Virtually all of the evidence against him presented at the Jan. 6 hearings in Congress and will be in Trump’s forthcoming trials is provided by people who worked in Trump’s Administration.
Mr. Peterson’s defense of Trump amounts to “Don’t believe what you saw with your own eyes,” or “You didn’t experience what you think you did.” It is called gaslighting and Trump has been gaslighting his entire life. Apparently, Mr. Peterson aced Gaslighting 101 at Trump University.
Mr. Peterson’s claim of “all the corruption surrounding” Joe Biden was first a product of the senile brains of Rudy Giuliani and Trump and is now being carried forward by MAGA idiots in Congress who admit they have no evidence, but will carry out any fool’s errand Trump asks them to. It is important to keep looking so you can create the appearance of something untoward. They will never find the fire because there isn’t any but blowing a lot of smoke will suffice.
Post-pandemic inflation was a global problem. The claim that it was caused by Joe Biden “printing money” is nonsense. No country has done a better job of bringing post-pandemic inflation under control than the United States. Most countries still have much higher inflation than the U.S. The darling of “illiberal democracy” (an oxymoron) Viktor Orban’s Hungary who MAGAs swoon over currently experiences an inflation rate of 18.7%. The current UK inflation rate is around 4%. France is around 3.7%. Russia is around 7.4%. Brazil is 5.4%. The United States closed out 2023 with an annual inflation rate of 3.4%, which is about half the inflation rate of 2022 and it is on a downward trajectory.
Mr. Peterson’s defense of Trump does not include one fact that has been substantiated in a court of law or even withstands close scrutiny. If you have proof of election irregularities bring them to a court of law. Trump’s lawyers did that 60 times in 2020 and lost every time. It was time to hang it up and Trump’s lawyers told him so but he refused. On a phone call to Georgia’s Secretary of State Trump implored, “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes.”
If you do not have proof of “election fraud” that holds up in court, shut up. Continually repeating those claims shreds our election system and our democracy and is nothing short of treason.
Far right-wing House members are doing again what they did in 2007 and 2013. They will scuttle any compromise solution on immigration.
Bruce Peterson calling me “confused” is a little like the character who called W.C. Fields “drunk” in one of his movies.
W.C. Fields: “You’re crazy.”
Other character: “ You’re drunk.”
Mr. Fields: “ Yeah, well I’ll be sober in the morning and you’ll be crazy for the rest of your life.”
Marty Ansley
Cinebar
