Truth should prevail in social media too
Our right-wing friends are complaining their First Amendment rights are being infringed by limiting their access to social media sites. Hardly. What they are losing is the right to falsely shout “Fire!” in a crowded theater. The continuous repeating of the avalanche of lies told by Donald Trump, his family, his administration and his supporters have done enormous damage to this country. Truth should be the only currency in any media.
MIKE CANFIELD, ATLANTA
National debt, Federal Reserve policies pose rising risks
The Fed is to “promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices and moderate long-term interest rates.” In 2019, two of the three objectives (low unemployment and low inflation) were met. Now, the Fed is attempting to cause unstable prices (i.e. inflation) in order to boost the economy and maximize employment (while preventing the existence of moderate long-term interest rates). Assuming the economy recovers tremendously in 2021, will the Fed take interest rates up to prevent inflation and possibly produce moderate long-term interest rates? It has already said it won’t. The true reason is the public national debt is roughly $22 trillion. We are stuck. Most media and the majority of the public do not talk about the debt problem. For a republic to work, there needs to be a critical mass of the population willing to sacrifice to make it last. As of now, I don’t think we have it.
ALLEN BUCKLEY, ATLANTA
Hypocritical to say impeachment trial would be divisive
It is the height of hypocrisy for Republicans to say we should not hold an impeachment trial for President Trump because it would be divisive. This after Republicans did everything in their power to divide the country. Because credible members of Congress kept denying the outcome of the election and calling for investigations, right-wing extremists and white supremacists falsely believed the election really had been stolen. We’ve seen the outcome: invasion of the U.S. Capitol, deaths, threats and close calls. The disaster that occurred at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was not just the responsibility of President Trump, but also those Republican legislators who fueled the beliefs of the criminals involved.
JOHN POOLER, DORAVILLE
Science shows reopening schools not as risky as many believe
I was disappointed to read the Jan. 13 Get Schooled post regarding school reopenings. It implies schools are reopening despite science and data regarding kids and COVID-19. In fact, based on the current science, data, findings and recommendations of organizations including the CDC, UNICEF and The American Academy of Pediatrics, school districts opening for in-person learning are following the current science and data, which show schools are not drivers of outbreaks, and generally, spread within schools is low. Acknowledging this is especially important, given the known potential harms to students forced into virtual learning, some of which were illustrated in the excellent article regarding special needs students by your DeKalb schools reporter (“Special education amid pandemic poses challenges for Metro Atlanta schools,” AJC.com, Jan. 11).
JOSEPH PALMER, DECATUR
