The news that came out of Fox News should be eye-opening

Fox News showed its true ugly colors last Monday when the House select committee probing the Jan. 6 insurrection voted to hold former president Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, in contempt of Congress for thumbing his nose at the House subpoena by failing to appear. MSNBC and CNN provided live coverage of the event.

But Fox News was nowhere to be found. They did not provide a single second of live coverage. And that vote was probably the most important news story of the day. Along with shocking reports that Fox News anchors Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Brian Kilmeade had sent texts to Meadows on Jan. 6 asking him to persuade Trump to stop the riots.

It’s as if Fox News was hoping the public would forget about it. Hoping you didn’t notice it.

Yeah, some law-and-order network. They constantly vilify cities headed by Democrats for their high crime rates. They constantly bash the defund the police movement, which very few Democrats support.

Yet, this same so-called law-and-order network was silent when Steve Bannon was held in contempt by the House for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena, for which he is now facing criminal charges. And Meadows, for doing the same.

Kudos to every member of the select committee, including Republicans Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney, who also joined all the Democrats during the full House vote.

And kudos to MSNBC and CNN for showing the nation they are real news networks, not a propaganda arm for one political party, like Fox News.

Herb Vermaas, Salem

Facts Still Matter To Me

As Neil Steinberg pointed out in his column: “We live in a country where 40% of Americans believe literally any lie they are told to believe, any fiction they prefer to believe ... ”

Unfortunately, what Steinberg says is all too true.

As a result, I have become so frustrated and discouraged lately about this state of affairs that I often have found it easier to ignore this reality. But I can’t. And I won’t.

I choose instead to purposely pay attention to these facts and to risk becoming infuriated. I choose to follow the recommendations laid out in Timothy Snyder’s excellent book, “On Tyranny,” especially #10: ”Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.”

And I fully realize that, in my efforts to accept what is true, I must also accept Steinberg’s caution: “We assume, incorrectly, that because facts matter to us, they’re going to matter to everybody.”

Nevertheless, the facts matter to me. And always will.

Bob Chimis, Elmwood Park

Impending trouble

As I travel around the country, I see strong indications of impending trouble. This is to those who have “(expletive deleted) Biden. And (expletive deleted) You If You Voted For Biden” flags and signs displayed: Please take them down.

I am an Army infantry veteran of the U.S. war against the people of Vietnam. I was told I was fighting for freedom, democracy and to keep America safe. When I see these signs, I see vulgarity, a threat to my safety and freedom, hatred, division and violence.

We are called the United States of America. We can only be united if we are aware of the impact our words and actions have on others. Dissent is fine. It is one of the pillars of democracy. However, dissent can and must be expressed with civility and the realization that unity can only be achieved when we show respect and consideration for others.

During this season of peace on Earth and goodwill to all, let’s discuss our differences, express our agreements and disagreements in civil dialogue, and keep in mind that a patriotic American has a duty to ensure safety, freedom and democracy for all.

These three can only be obtained with unity.

Arnold Steiber, Kenwood

Gomer Pyle with zip-ties

I was reminded of an episode of The Andy Griffith Show when reading Mona Charen’s recent column, “The right’s violent perversion of patriotism.” What we have now in this country is groups of Gomer Pyles, running around Mayberry yelling “Citizen’s arrest, citizen’s arrest,” only now they have military-style zip-ties and rifles instead of crooked hats and goofy grins (although they may have those as well).

Jeff Zahrn, Dyer, Indiana

Insanity on crime-fighting

Today’s headlines about Mayor Lori Lightfoot spending millions more on her safety plan, is a perfect example of Albert Einstein’s definition of Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Mike Rice, Jefferson Park