I had started to believe that maybe all this talk about “fake news” might be just a way the Trump administration was trying to confuse the public and divert the public from the “real news.” The events of the last couple of weeks snapped me back to reality. Headline after headline focused on the cruel Trump administration’s policy of taking and holding children at the border. Every story appeared to be the same. Leading with an interview with a mother who was crying because her child had been taken from her arms. I thought, maybe compassion was being overruled by policy. Then I dug a little deeper. The Democrat Senator from California had sponsored legislation requiring that illegals stopped at the border not of age had to be held separate from adults. I also remembered that, several years ago, ICE agents appeared in Lawrenceville with the plan to house up to 500 of these young people at the closed St. Paul’s College. With strong opposition from the people of Brunswick County and the hard work of then Congressman Robert Hurt, that effort was turned back. At the time, we were told that others were held in smaller groups around Virginia and the nation. Then it was clearer than ever before, this was a stunt that allowed the Democrats and the media to collude with amazing audacity.

Audacity is defined as bold, daring or fearless; or to be insultingly contemptuous in one’s speech. That clearly describes the cover of Time magazine showing a young child facing President Trump. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi claimed the president was heartless for “tearing children from their parents” with no mention that she had voted for that policy when it was before Congress long before Trump ran for president. Democrat politicians one after one jumped on echoing Pelosi as if this was not the exact policy that President Obama followed. As usual, there were plenty of fellow travelers in the news media and Hollywood. Many editorials have been written about this so called “new” policy. They too ignored the law and a standing court order that required such detention. Actor Peter Fonda ranted about “this should happen to the president’s minor son” and other tasteless comments. Not to be outdone, the late night “comedians” had to weigh in with their nightly diatribes.

In summary, the Trump administration has been following the same plan as the Obama administration. Following the law that was passed by Congress to protect innocent children from being housed with adults. He was also following the same court order that his predecessor had. While Democrats, Hollywood and the media have ranted about Trump, barely a word has been mentioned about Obama’s actions.

Finally, after President Trump chose to ignore the court order and a federal judge to circumvent the law, the Democrats are now saying that Trump is not doing enough.

The critics seem to not understand that the stories they have been told are often not accurate. The mother that was separated from her child had taken her daughter from her father and her other children as she tried to enter the country after she had been sent back before. Likewise, some of the children that arrive at the border have been kidnapped on the way through Mexico in hopes that, if they appeared to be a family, they would stand a better chance to enter the USA.

Frank Ruff represents Lunenburg in the state Senate. His email address is Sen.Ruff@ verizon.net.