On Jan. 23, the Herald printed a letter, “
It is the way of despots to muzzle the press, imprison or kill reporters and control news outlets. The press is absolutely essential to democracy, to expose government malfeasance, lies and propaganda. In saying that the press is useless, it shows that the author of the letter must prefer despots to democracy.
Stalin once said the press is the enemy of the people. Mao and the Nazis also espoused this view. And so did our president in a tweet on Feb. 17, 2017.
The press employs fact-checkers who have documented that our president has lied or stretched the truth over 8,000 times since taking office. And they put this information up on the web for all to see, including explanations of why the statements are untrue.
Yes, those people who like democracy need the press to get objective facts.
Chris Blackshear
Durango
