Letters to the editor for Thursday, March 22, 2018

Letter writer gives facts ... but not all of them

In a recent commentary column to the Nevada Appeal, the author, Mr. Rich Dunn, took to task Mr. Fred LaSor for not being factual. As has become commonplace for both sides of the political spectrum, Dunn gave some facts, but not quite all the facts, to bolster his argument. While it is true that the “gunwalking” program by the ATF (known as Operation Wide Receiver) was begun in 2006 under the President Bush administration, Dunn left out the fact that President Bush ended the program in late 2007 once it was determined that the guns were unable to be adequately tracked. In October 2009, the ATF, under the Obama administration, started the program again and it wasn’t until Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered that the program was terminated, even though those running the operation had again been unable to track the weapons allowed to be taken into Mexico.

In addition, the Justice Department, under Attorney General Eric Holder, stonewalled congressional oversight by refusing to release documents sought. Those documents were finally recently released, and perhaps the American people will learn the real truth behind this fiasco.

When reading political commentary, consumers should be a bit skeptical and do their own research before reaching conclusions or opinions. As Thomas Jefferson once stated: “The cornerstone of democracy rests on the foundation of an educated electorate.”

David Knighton

Carson City