Last week Senator Grassley held a much publicized news conference about rising crime where he repeated a falsehood pushed by Republicans; that crime is much higher in the so- called soft on crime blue states. As embarrassing as it was seeing Iowa’s senior senator debase himself by telling a lie on national TV, a recent study by the center-left think tank Third Way found that ,”In 2020 homicide rates were a stunning 40 percent higher in the 25 states that former President Trump compared to the 25 won by President Biden.” This is a common tactic among the MAGA crowd where facts and the truth are definitely not the coin of the realm. Another common red-herring argument is frequently used by Senators Grassley and Ernst and Representative Hinson. If the Democrats dare to use federal funds to actually help people in need they all squawk SOCIALISM!! This is the same claim made by the enslavers after Blacks were made citizens. They couldn’t bear the thought of their precious tax dollars going to help the former slaves in any way. It’s a form of socialism that sends out the Social Security and Medicaid checks, makes sure our food and water supplies are safe and educates our children.

Mr. Grassley may have a bigger problem. On January 5 of last year the Senator claimed he may be counting the votes on Jan. 6 because V.P. Mike Pence wasn’t expected to show up. Did he know about the coming coup attempt and the attempt to disqualify Democratic votes and replace them with phoney electors? Texts and emails and witness testimony have revealed a criminal conspiracy to overthrow the will of the people who elected Joe Biden. As the Buddha once said, “Three things can not be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth.”

Thomas Jacobson

Riverside