Lies and propaganda

The word “opinion” appears above the name and sketches of the regular columnists that appear on this page. I suggest in the future “suspicions” be inserted over Mike Masterson’s picture. His recent column titled “Disputed election” is a collage of misinformation, half-baked conspiracy claims, lies and propaganda from the failed Trump campaign and from the zombie brain of Rudy Giuliani, once America’s mayor, now America’s laughingstock.

Masterson refers to “the tabulation mess our country continues to endure” post-election. The only reason we are continuing to endure anything is because of Trump’s unwillingness to admit defeat. The election went quite smoothly given the massive turnout and pandemic-necessitated use of mail-in ballots. The results have been checked, rechecked and certified. This “mess” was created by Trump’s repeated inaccurate and unproven claims of fraud and the filing of frivolous lawsuits. It is he that is muddying the waters, because mud-wrestling is what he does best.

Masterson is deeply troubled by an interview on “OAN” given by an eccentric, over-educated, “deep state” conspiracy theorist named Patrick Byrne. Not being up-to-date with the latest non-news news outlets, I had to go to Google to learn that OAN stands for One America News, a far-right “news” organization that is admittedly pro-Trump and is rumored to be where Trump will end up after he slinks away from the White House.

Space does not permit debunking all of Masterson’s baseless assertions of voter fraud and election irregularities. He simply parrots every specious complaint made by Trump/Giuliani about mail-in ballots and rigged voting machines. Trump is a master manipulator. He knows if you repeat a lie often enough people will start to believe it. One hopes a veteran journalist like Mr. Masterson would not be one of the duped. DAVID ELI COCKCROFT Little Rock