Media create distrust with reporting practices

Even Doug Thompson [“The abyss gazes back,” June 3] is taken aback by some of the attacks on President Trump, but he then compares apples to oranges. He makes some convoluted argument that the attacks on Trump are similar to those on Clinton and Obama. He must have stared too long into the great abyss where many media sources are found.

Thompson has called our president a blowhard and a piñata but what disturbs him and others in the media is that this piñata hits back. Thompson, without facts, has accused Trump of outing an intelligence ally to Russia. My sources are no better or worse than Thompson’s but my understanding is that the president discussed information, without revealing the source, about terrorist threats to commercial airlines.

Presidents have often shared classified information with other heads of state and it only becomes a big deal when some scoundrel leaks it to the media for publication. I don’t blame Trump for being disgusted with the media. As far as the intelligence community, it has long been time to clean house at those agencies where leaks have been commonplace for years.

The news media says “anonymous sources tell us” or “anonymous sources close to the White House say” or “unnamed sources from the intelligence community have said.” Kind of sounds like things we’ve heard from those who spread rumors or believe in Bigfoot and UFOs. We’ve all heard people mention “They say,” “I’ve heard” or “experts agree,” but when asked about a source, they give us a blank stare. This tabloid reporting and the vitriol from the press only add to the distrust of the media by millions of Americans.

Like Chicken Little who reported that the sky was falling, those unhappy with our presidential election are running about screaming “the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming!” If you really believe that Russians convinced people to vote for Trump or that the president and his advisers are traitors who gave state secrets to the enemy, I have a diamond mine to sell you in my back yard. The business of the media has turned from reporting the news to stirring the muck with name calling and phony allegations. The National Enquirer has a lot of competition these days and their supermarket headlines seem pretty tame compared to those of some so-called mainstream publications.

Yes, the president has said some bombastic things and has shaken political establishments worldwide. But I believe in this upside-down world where good is evil, where wrong is right and where we slaughter millions of unborn children in the name of women’s rights, Mr. Trump is the best man to start us back on the road to strength and prosperity.

No, I won’t try to defend Mr. Trump’s shortcomings, but I do think that the attacks on him are a lot of hooey. I also think that many of his detractors are so mad about the election they have lost the ability to reason. DALE LANGE Bella Vista