Re: 'Re: America Border Wall Part Two' [Village News, Maynard letter, 7/28/22]

In my previous letter, I said Dave Maynard’s claim that an illegal alien (Zarate) shot and killed an American citizen (Steinle ) was not supported by the facts and documented. Rather than attempting to rebut me, he chose to deride my news source. I presume he prefers Fox News, which has billion dollar lawsuits pending, based on its defamation of Smartmatic and Dominion. He then puts up a smokescreen of Republican talking points.

Yes, our southern border is loose and large amounts of fentanyl come through from Mexico. But putting up a wall won’t make it tighter. Cartels’ “mules” will go over, under, or around any physical wall. Thanks to the so-called “War on Drugs,” the U.S. is a highly profitable market for illicit fentanyl and other addictive drugs. the only way to stop that is to make it unprofitable.

Smokescreen 1. Maynard tries to pooh-pooh my blaming the Sackler family for setting the stage, providing a huge potential customer base for fentanyl. I believe it is very relevant. The Sackler family was the sole owner of Purdue Pharma. In 1996, Purdue began a concerted effort to make OxyContin the prescription drug of choice for pain management. For many, OxyContin was the gateway drug leading to fentanyl.

From 1996 to the present, the Sackler family accumulated about $11 billion dollars in profits from Purdue Pharma. Today, when the court case is finally settled, Purdue will cease to exist and the Sackler family will pay $5 billion in restitution and get a “Stay out of jail free” card.

Smokescreen 2. This one’s all Maynard’s: I didn’t mention it at all. The Congressional Committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol has presented compelling evidence, not hearsay on the gravity of that attack. Maynard failed to note that “the crowd of excited, angry, and exuberant people’ injured more than 140 police officers. He also misleadingly jibes, “A seditious conspiracy, where no one thought to bring weapons to take over the government.” What they had in mind was a bloodless coup, but that’s still a seditious conspiracy. And that’s what the FBI is charging their leaders with.

John H. Terrell