Facts that have not been held back

A recent letter to the editor regarding pushback on censorship neglected some key points. The writer is concerned about knowledge being withheld from us, in particular in science. Here are a few facts on how our government during the Biden administration, spent taxpayer's dollars on research:

The USAID agency for international development funded the following: $209,000on an LGBTQ+ advocacy trip internationally; $32,000 for an LGBTQ+ comic book in Peru; $25,000 for transgender opera in Columbia.

At the USADF agency for Africa development we stepped up for the following: $90,000 to promote organic shea butter in Burkina Faso; $84,000 for a spa and wellness center business incubator in Nigeria; and, my favorite, $10,000 for supporting male circumcision. All of these, and countless more examples are easy to reference.

Regarding 60 Minutes and Scott Pelley, who was an employee of CBS. Mr. Pelley aggressively confronted Nick Bilton, the program's new executive producer. He was worried about falsehoods and bias. Was he referring to the program significantly shortening and editing Kamala Harris’ rambling responses to questions? These changes made them sound more coherent. This cost Paramount, CBS’s parent company, $16 million. Or possibly, he was going back in time on the hit piece on George Bush, just before an election. This caused Mr. Rather's dismissal after an independent investigation found the documents for the broadcast could not be authenticated.

Also, the network failed to follow fundamental journalistic principles. Maybe this started the degradation of 60 Minutes.

This is actual knowledge that is not held back.

John Murray

Elk Grove Village