Questionable sources spread misinformation

In response to the opinion from Mr. Klay, as Reagan would say "Here we go again." He starts out his letter calling Biden/Harris "shills for the radical socialist left." OMG this sounds scary. He sprinkles the derogatory name calling throughout. This name calling is so immature ... so Trumpesque.

He continues spreading misleading information regarding the Keystone pipeline. The Keystone XL pipeline is designed to transport the planet's dirtiest fossil fuel to market - Canadian tar sands crude from Alberta to the Gulf Coast of Texas for refining and export. It does not benefit U.S. energy needs.

It is true that as of the end of 2019, the U.S. became a net exporter of petroleum products. However, if you look at the trend of the monthly total petroleum import/export from 1975-2019, you see a linear decline in this ratio from about 2008 through 2019, such that in September 2019, the ratio went negative, meaning that we exported more than we imported.

However, this has been the trend for the last 11 years. Trump claims credit, which is what he does ... and the author buys right into it. The author makes the same claims with the economy. The health of an economy is more than just the unemployment rate and the Dow Jones average.

However, if you look at historical trends you see inflection points in both indexes around January 2009, after Bush, a linear increase in the Dow and linear decrease in unemployment rate ever since. At least, Trump didn't screw these up like he did COVID-19 response.

We should all use our intellect and consume information from multiple reputable sources. We should also understand the difference between getting our news and facts from reputable sources, unlike political blogs, Facebook, twitter, or "news" outlets like Newsmax, OAN, or Fox.

David Johnson

Geneva