Term limits are not a cure all

To the Editor:

To prescribe term limits for what ails Congress is like offering bleach for COVID-19. It can’t help. It is likely to make matters worse. It’s a distraction from what ought to be done. 

‘Hands off’ protests hit their mark, nationally and locally

Joining millions across the globe, thousands in Western North Carolina rallied this past weekend, demonstrating against the policies of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk while expressing grave concerns about the future of myriad federal programs and services. Their message? “We want people to know that we are not going anywhere.”

Losing ground: Six months after Helene, local governments still haven’t been paid

Most days, Brandon Rogers has dirt under his fingernails — a badge of honest labor. Owner of a small auto repair shop on the outskirts of Canton, Rogers usually wakes up, puts on some sturdy workwear and heads to the shop to support his family, one customer at a time. Last Tuesday, his day began not with the percussive whir of impact wrenches or the earthy aroma of motor oil, but instead with a crisp suit and a trip to the airport. 

Now is the time to get involved

To the Editor:

As a woman who is active in Indivisible and has protested the decisions of our government since the inauguration, I find myself waking each day thinking “What can I do? What should I do?” 

GOP budget plan slashes Medicaid

To the Editor:

I asked Rep. Chuck Edwards about the massive changes made in our names by Elon Musk and others to reduce the size of government and he assured me that “Social Security will not be touched.” How can that be?

Protesters rally against Trump: Attendees angered by Musk’s influence, Democrats’ inaction

On a holiday meant to honor the nation’s presidents — past and present — demonstrators in Jackson and Haywood counties joined others who gathered in cities across the country to protest what they describe as a dangerous concentration of power under Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. 

Green, Morrow battle for state superintendent

The race for state superintendent will determine who will support and advocate for the state’s 2,500 public schools and lead the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). This election cycle, it also a race in which experience in public education is pitted against an outsider to the system.  

Dictator for a day, or president for life?

To the Editor:

Former President Donald Trump is known to be an admirer of autocratic rulers, particularly President Xi Jinping of China. According to CNN, when Trump heard that Xi was about to be gifted a constitutional amendment that would eliminate term limits for the president, Trump was reported to have said “He’s now president for life, and he’s great.

Swain mulls what to do with opioid settlement funds

As fiscal year 2024-2025 begins, North Carolina’s county governments are receiving their third installment of the Opioid Settlement Fund. This year, Swain County received $236,111. 

American democracy’s last stand

I was raised in a rural, conservative-leaning county with two working parents and six busy kids. My mother was a nurse and public heath educator and my father worked in insurance and real estate before serving three terms as our Republican State House representative and later as a lawyer and court judge.

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