Re: 'Hello fellow residents of Fallbrook' [Village News, letter, 8/22/2019]

First, I think thanks are in order to the Village News and its tireless editors for their commitment to the First Amendment’s right to free speech. Some people ask, “why does the Village News keep publishing letters from some individual or other?” That’s a slippery slope.

From my experience and observation, regardless of your political persuasion, if you follow the simple rules for submitting letters, your letter will be published as soon as there’s room for it. But don’t be surprised if someone rebuts or attempts to rebut you. That’s what free speech is all about.

I wouldn’t present myself as an exemplar, but I do make an effort to substantiate the content of my letters. I don’t watch any cable TV news and haven’t done so for several years now. I subscribe to a few email newsletters that provide me brief synopsis of trending news. From there I go to Google to see who is reporting on topics of interest.

I can read text at least three times faster than a TV “analyst” can recite it and have no commercials to contend with. This speed allows ample time for fact-checking. It is that substantiated data I use in my rebuttals, rebutting only the ideas or data being presented.

I don’t object to the subject of letters being published: far from it. In fact, I would like to see more people participate, making the opinion section more of a forum.

John H. Terrell