Letter to the Editor: Fighting rhetoric with facts
Dear Editor:
This is in response to yet another piece written by Martha Morrissy, who fails to provide facts to her statements.
Let’s start with her blaming the baby formula shortage on President Biden. The Washington Times dated May 12, 2022 clearly explains the cause of the formula shortage and it’s quite clear no one person, including the President, is responsible: “The problems began last year as the COVID-19 pandemic led to disruptions in labor, transportation and raw materials - economy-wide issues that didn’t spare the formula industry. Inventory was further squeezed by parents stockpiling during COVID-19 lockdowns.”
Healthline.com presents the same information: “The issue behind the formula shortage is two-fold. First is the widespread supply chain issue due to the pandemic, which has affected everything from cars to Nutella. To make matters worse, in February, the FDA closed Abbott Nutrition’s Michigan factory after Abbott voluntarily recalled brands of its formula. The formula was tied to a bacterial infection that was linked to the deaths of at least two infants.”
The article goes on to explain what President Biden did to begin to remedy the situation: “President Joe Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act in an effort to ramp up production of infant formula amid the shortage. The efforts include speeding up the production of infant formula and authorizing flights to bring in a supply from abroad. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced they have come to an agreement with Abbott. Under a proposed consent decree, the company will take corrective actions proposed by the FDA, including having an independent expert review their facility operations and testing requirements. This will allow them to reopen the closed factory soon. In a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, President Biden has instructed both agencies to help the Pentagon to identify formula from abroad that meets the standards of the U.S.”
Ms. Morrissy states that Trump is being treated unfairly because his claims of voter fraud are being viewed as an attempt to overturn the election. Yes, he is trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election with falsehoods. PolitiFact.com states “In more than 60 cases, in state after state after state, and then at the Supreme Court, judges, including people considered ‘his judges, Trump judges’ to use his own words, looked at the allegations that Trump was making and determined they were without any merit...”
His attorney, Rudi Giuliani said “We’ve got lots of theories, we just don’t have the evidence.” (Washington Post, June 22, 2022) There are numerous accounts of Trump harassing politicians and private citizens for not following his lies. The 2020 presidential election was a fair vote won by Biden. I’m sure the January 6th Committee would be more than happy to have Trump sworn in and testify under oath and present his recollections leading up to and the events of the Insurrection.
As for the price of gasoline, like any commodity, it’s supply and demand. During the pandemic people were staying home and driving less, so less fuel was being consumed. Oil companies cut production. Now people are on the move and production hasn’t caught up with the demand. Let’s not forget California has its own gas tax that increased to 53.9 cents per gallon this month. Also, gas is an international commodity, so once again, no one person can determine what we pay per gallon.
As for Trump being our best president...some people need to take a good hard look at the past and consider the future. Is this really the group of people you want determining the wellbeing of America? Vote for the women and men that will “...support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic...”
The United States is not one political party. Nor is it one man.
Kay Begich
Downey