The letter by Ann Rankin in the Nov. 4 edition (“Republican disinformation has gone way beyond spin“) was excellent and a meaty summary of the administration’s unruly attempts at undermining our democracy. She concludes by interestingly pleading for a new word for “lies,” one that more strongly and uniquely denotes the truly damaging aspects of these false in-your-face declarations.

With disappointment, I cannot come up with a word that might suit her. Nonetheless, in agreeing with Ms. Rankin, I can think of three reasons to support her wish. One is that, at the national level, so many people are exposed to the falsehoods, what with conventional media in addition to locust-like swarming social media. Another is that President Trump provides enrichment and energy for his lies by constantly using superlatives as well as words that are extreme in meaning.

Lastly, as I have mentioned before in these pages, the liar in question has a vast toolbox of verbal concoctions to suit his needs whereas the person bearing the truth is severely hemmed in by the restricting nature of facts, and, yes, they still do exist.

Norm Gellatly 
Auburn