A note from the editor

Longtime COURIER columnist John Pixley will be on an extended leave from his writing for the paper, due to health issues.

Mr. Pixley, who has cerebral palsy, recently underwent spinal surgery that unfortunately resulted in some serious unforeseen complications. He is unable to attend to his column for at least a few months while he undergoes physical and occupational therapy at a local care facility.

I spoke to John by phone recently and was happy to hear that his spirits are good. He related that he’s on the mend and is eager to get back to work.

If you’d like to drop John a line to wish him well, please email me at editor@claremont-courier.com or mail notes to 1420 N. Claremont Blvd., Suite 205B, Claremont, CA 91711. I’ll see he gets them. We’ll be sure to keep you updated.

Kathryn Dunn

Editor

Facts vs. fiction

[Editor’s note:?We regret that the last sentence and author’s name was missing from this letter printed last week. It is reprinted here in full. —KD]

Dear Editor:

I must respond to the letter to the editor (“Give Trump A Chance,” March 17) for at least one reason: The writer said the stock market “gained over 3,000 points since [Trump’s] election.”

On November 8, 2016, the day of the election, although the outcome was not known when the market closed, the DOW stood at 18,332. On Friday, March 17, 2017, the DOW closed at 20,915.

It has grown 2,583 points, a 14 percent gain, largely based on the so-called “Trump bump,” as businesses hope to get big tax breaks, fewer regulations (that pesky EPA!), etc. Call it a honeymoon phase.

But in fairness, let’s look at some Obama-years facts: The DOW was 7,949 on January 20, 2009, when he was sworn in and hit a low of 6,547 on March 9 as the severity of the Great Recession played out.

From Obama’s inauguration until the 2016 election, the DOW recovered 10,383 points, more than 130 percent. And if we measure from March 9, 2009, a mere month and a half after Obama was sworn in when the DOW was in the cellar at 6,547, the growth to election day 2016 is 11,785 points, or 180 percent.

Obama, to paraphrase Trump’s bizarre claim, really did inherit a mess, but the current insecure president must at all costs minimize everything Obama did in order to convince his supporters that he is going to pull America from some demon-filled abyss.

These numbers are not “alternative facts,” by the way. But most people (sadly) believe what any slick salesman tells them because (sadly, again) it is easier than doing the research to get at the truth.

Don Linde

La Verne