STATE UNION OF THE

Readers trade opinions about the Georgia election, President Trump and media bias

Media should cover news, not agenda

LAST NIGHT (June 20) after the special elections that were won by the Republicans I was tuning in to both Fox and CNN; Fox News was about the elections. CNN on the other hand was all about how close it was (and) what a good job the Democrats did getting as close as they did. (It) showed the concession speech over and over. Before it was about how this was going to bring Trump down.

People are tired of the fake news, and it’s time for them to start reporting the news, not their political agendas.

The Democrats lost, and no amount of violence and hate speeches will change that. LORRAINE COLLUMS Albuquerque

Comey exhibited loyalty to country

A LETTER IN the June 20 Journal by Tom Childress seems to support president Trump in requesting personal loyalty from James Comey.

Loyalty to a person has to be earned. You can’t expect personal loyalty from someone you don’t have a long history with. Loyalty to a company, a country and ideal is the same. Comey showed loyalty to the United States and to its form of government when he refused to pledge personal loyalty to President Trump.

Requesting personal loyalty without earning it is a characteristic of controlling, insecure leaders, who really shouldn’t be in a position of power. Anyone who earns loyalty doesn’t have to insist on it. True loyalty requires character, courage and integrity — all of which were shown by Comey in rejecting Trump’s request. JERRY STAUFFER Albuquerque

Criticisms of Mueller are conjecture

RE: YOUR (ROBERT) Mueller editorial, June 16 Your criticism of the Mueller’s investigation and defense of the president is unjustified.

First, The special counsel was picked by (Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod) Rosenstein. So, to say Mueller is a longtime friend is meaningless. There is no evidence of a conspiracy.

Second, to say there is no evidence of a Russia-Trump conspiracy that has been brought forward is conjecture on your part. It has been reported that (former national security adviser Michael) Flynn lied on his security clearance since he had received money from the Russians and traveled to Russia to meet with (President Vladimir) Putin. This does not make for an open-and-shut case, but to say there is no evidence for collusion is ludicrous.

Third, the president himself said he fired (former Attorney General James) Comey because of the Russia investigation. We all know Trump says many contradictory things, but he was quoted in the media. Since there is some basis for suspicion of the Trump campaign and Trump fired Comey because of it, wouldn’t it make sense Mueller might be interested in the connection? If you have evidence that refutes the Washington Post story, your readers would like to hear about it. Otherwise your conclusion is nothing more than speculation.

Fourth, Comey’s saying he leaked the documents only increases his stature in my view. You certainly must remember the Pentagon Papers that were leaked and ... led to getting rid of a dishonest Republican president.

Fifth, the lawyers you say are Democrats, and therefore biased, doesn’t hold water, either. Of course, if you think everyone in a position of authority can’t be trusted if they are in the opposite party, then this country is in a real quagmire, as this is true in many cases.

Finally, what makes you think that Mueller, or those who appointed him, should have to address you because of your obviously biased concerns about his ethics? He is well-respected as you state. If you and your president are concerned about the security and safety of this country, then the emphasis should be on getting to the bottom of what is going on. So far, neither Trump nor you have expressed your concern about this. JACK ELLIS Albuquerque

Will recent violence change anything?

WILL THINGS change in government? Members of Congress were shot while practicing for a baseball game to raise money for charity. A horrible thing to happen.

Republican senators are meeting behind closed doors and trying to pass a bill without hearings or input from Democrats. Another horrible thing that is happening.

This loathsome GOP health care bill could take away health care from approximately 23 million Americans. Constituents (should) attend town halls, call members of Congress to let them know they do not want their health care taken away. Still, Republicans are rushing to pass a bill that will do just that.

And they wonder why people get angry and feel they are not being heard. But violence and shooting each other is not the answer. Wonder if this incident will cause members of Congress to examine their consciences and put USA before their party. Sure hope so, but nothing much changed after Sandy Hook. Just sayin’. JANET G. STOKES Corrales

Obstruction of justice clearly occurred

RE: RUBEN Navarrette Jr.’s column, June 16 It’s a shame that Ruben Navarrette Jr. can’t ask President Richard Nixon about obstruction of justice. I’m sure he would find it just as wise to ignore Navarrette’s off-base and foolhardy opinions as the rest of the world should. Nixon wasn’t impeached because he was responsible for the White House plumbers — he was impeached because he tried to shut down the investigation of the White House plumbers.

And frankly, that’s exactly what (President Donald) Trump is attempting to do. You can’t blame liberals for the disaster that our White House has turned into. You can blame President Trump, however, because he’s responsible for it. When he fired the head of the FBI — an unprecedented act — for not shutting down the investigation into Russian interference with our 2016 election, he was doing exactly what Richard Nixon did: Obstruction of justice.

Navarrette has apparently forgotten that obstruction of justice to protect your own personal interests at the expense of the nation’s is an abuse of power — pure and simple. Trump brought the hammer down all by himself, and now he’s going to get pounded by it. JAMES T. CARLSON Albuquerque

Loyalty has its right time and place

LOYALTY TO country or person? I have two quotes for your consideration. The first is ... from the June 20 Opinion section, courtesy of Tom Childress:

“Let us all pretend for a moment that President Trump does insist on ‘loyalty’. Has our value system become so twisted and perverted as to make such an expectation not only inappropriate but also, in the view of some, illegal.” Now I offer the second quote: “I pledge allegiance to the flag and to the republic for which it stands.”

That is my pledge of loyalty. MIKE KERNODLE Albuquerque

DC civility has to start at the top

THE JOURNAL’S editorial preaching civility and an end to divisiveness comes under a presidential administration that has made a low art form out of the characteristics the paper, which refused to endorse a candidate, is now condemning. Seems as though the health and safety of Washington politicians are more important than the lives of a classroom of Connecticut school children. PETER LAWTON Albuquerque

Mean-spirited tone hurting coverage

In my mind, the only sensible reason to continue my Journal subscription is for local news.

In the last months it seems the paper has changed from journalistic professionalism to being a biased blog with misleading headlines and mean-spirited tones. I have nothing against political blogs; but they’re best found on the net. I am sorry balanced investigative reporting is in dire decline in Albuquergue.

Owners, editors, wake up or disappear like so many great papers have done. A blog is too easily replaced. JAMES PHILIP LONER Cedar Crest

There is real ‘fake news’ here in NM!

RE: NM drivers second-most polite in the nation. Finally, some genuine “fake news”! LARRY W. GREENLY Albuquerque