Dear Editor,
Since when do we take CBS News and Jon Krakauer as gospel? “60 Minutes” might have a better reputation than Glenn Beck but the ENTIRE CBS News organization (and every other major news organization) took the fabricated story about Shirley Sherrod and ran with it – without verifying it! How many times have they done this and just not been caught? It’s just sensationalism to boost ratings and, hence, ad revenue. Thank God for Gwen Ifill of PBS for doing what EVERY news organization should have done – FACT CHECK! (Yes, this is the same PBS/NPR that our Congress is trying to eviscerate). And what about Krakauer’s bona fides? He was on the tragic 1996 Everest attempt where several climbers died. He shirked his moral duties and left others for dead while he literally stepped over them to hasten his retreat to save his own ass. The climber he most severely vilified, Anatoli Boukreev, actually climbed back up the mountain to save the lives of some of the people Krakauer left for dead. Much has been written by many who were there and they all agree on two points: 1) Krakauer is the most gifted, polished and engaging writer who was there, although nobody wants him in their tent, and 2) Boukreev was one of the true heroes! At least Mortenson’s alleged exaggerations and self-indulgences aren’t getting people killed – that’s more than Krakauer can say. I always figured Mortenson wasn’t quite the saint he was made out to be and some of his exploits seemed a bit too Hollywood to me, but, so what? His vision, his mission, his work, his accomplishments are what’s important – too important to be overshadowed by unsubstantiated claims and a TV witch hunt (for ratings, not the truth). And no matter what you say about Mortenson and the CAI, his penny ante NGO is doing more to rescue and restore and revitalize the reputation of America and its people than all the hundreds of billions of dollars we’ve squandered killing and “liberating” the people of oil rich countries or just flat out killing other people who don’t agree with us or believe as we believe.
Mark Van Loon
Hamilton