‘And Now the Rest of the Story’

To the Editor:

Americans, no matter their political affiliation, respect the truth, and they deserve it.

Our core values are similar. Truth must be sought.

Once again the “spin masters” think they can trick voters into believing their “spin” on the truth. The misinformation in the letter by Sandy Hooper is disturbing. When I read her letter, I thought of the 1970s radio master, Paul Harvey, and how he would surprise us with “the rest of the story.” His tag line at the end would be - “and now you have the rest of the story.” With thanks to Mr. Harvey, I’m borrowing his hook on a few of the “spins” in Ms. Hooper’s letter.

1. Quote from Hooper’s letter - “Fauci says social distancing mandates not based on science.” Fact: At the beginning of the pandemic, there was not much scientific research on what it was and how it could be transmitted. Once the data showed that it was airborne, it was obvious that masks and social distancing would help with stopping the spread. Fauci said, “ things change with new scientific data.”

2. Quote from Hooper’s letter - “New York kicked kids out of high school so they could house illegals.” Fact: In anticipation of a potentially damaging storm, migrants living in tents were moved temporarily to a nearby high school for safety reasons. They were returned to shelters the next day. The students at the high school were sent home to hear lessons remotely on computers. They returned to in class studies the next day.

3. Quote from Hooper’s letter - “our so called “Commander- in-Chief” italicized because he is not.” Fact: it has been proven by both Republicans and Democrats that there was no fraud in the election.

“And now you know the rest of the story.”

My hope is that we all will seek out the truth. It is hard sometimes, but voters deserve the truth, not “spins.” Lies and misinformation have consequences.