30-Days Notice to the Contra Costa Times

Here’s my cancellation notice to the Contra Costa Times:

I'm giving Contra Costa Times 30 days notice to clean up its act. A newspaper should publish the truth, or at least something as close to the truth as possible. I realize that getting the "full" story may be difficult, but you should be able to determine when a "columnist" is spewing out-right balderdash and hyperbole just by comparing his/her column with the information you've collected and/or reported in investigative reports. Take Thomas Sowell's columns for example. I haven't read one of his columns yet that contains any resemblance to the truth. His latest "Random Thoughts" spews out the typical Bill O'Rielly or Saun Hannity Right-Wing spin on climate change that has dumbed down the general public on the subject simply because there have been a few cool days in Chicago and New York and he cites information from the Cato Institute. That's laughable. The Cato Institute is NOT a scientific organization, it's a Right-Wing POLITICAL organization and it publishes spin like all the rest of the ideologues. How would it know the scientific consensus behind climate change when it too refuses to acknowledge it or research it? Mr. Sowell ignores the truth in nearly all his columns and for Contra Costa Times to continue to print his blather simply continues controversy on mistaken perceptions and clearly not based on any resemblance to the truth.

This country needs health care reform badly, but the noise and bold lies about “obamacare," "euthanasia," "death panels" and "socialism" have distorted the argument to the point where passing a good and beneficial health care reform bill is nearly impossible, and that is exactly what the insurance industry wants. This country needs to address climate change, but the blather propagated by the likes of Thomas Sowell have spun the truth or out-right lied about it and that is exactly what the coal and oil industry want. You can see the effect by reading the many letters to editors from people who have been mislead by the hyperbole and spin and parrot the blather of Mr. Sowell and others.

So, I'm giving Contra Costa Times 30-day notice to clean up its act. The investigative reports from your reporters and the reporters of news agencies that you use contain the good information and usually the truth that the public need to know, so print that instead of allowing half-truths and lies in your newspaper. Otherwise, I'm cancelling my subscription. I'm also cancelling my subscription to the Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch's paper, because his Fox News Corp. gives a platform to Glen Beck, Saun Hannity and Bill O'Rielly, all right-wing propagandist. I'm not going to use or buy any product from companies that sponsor or promote those shows or pay for the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage shows. These propagandists do much too much harm to America, and I'm not going to pay you or them to do it.

I don't know how you're going to get me to re-subscribe if you wait too long to clean up your paper. I won't know that you did since I won't be reading it. Maybe you can send me a personal invitation. Be sure to include an apology for misleading your readers and a promise not to do it again.

Dave