Ramirez distorts spying

Cartoonist Michael Ramirez recently portrayed President Obama as the villain abusing our privacy via the National Security Administration. It’s not unusual to find Ramirez’s cartoons biased and distorted, but I don’t agree that his cartoon should be removed from the paper.

Instead, I wish The Spokesman-Review would offer a brief fact-check on the opinion page for all political cartoons. During national elections, you offer a fact-check against the claims of all candidates. I appreciate that. It would be an opportunity to educate. Opinion without education just increases ignorance.

Too much “news” comes from Internet gossip and partisan hacks. We get sound bites in the national media. Few people take the trouble to get a broad background because it takes a lot of time. You could provide a public service.

In the case of this cartoon, you might have noted how long the NSA has been in place, how it was strengthened in its mission by the Patriot Act. Republicans supported it overwhelmingly, as did some Democrats. Several good books have studied the problem. It is not new and it did not suddenly appear. Privacy is a legitimate issue. Polarization and blame muddy the water.

Larry Winters

Cheney