Opinion
Proposed state aid bill is an insult
The number is $53.6 billion. That’s the estimate from the N.C. Office of State Budget and Management for the damage Helene inflicted on Western North Carolina. Those are just dollars; in the bigger picture, lives have been lost, transformed and forever changed.
Mencken’s vision
When I asked a friend in the north of England what people there think of our recent election, he did not hold back.
“The chief reaction here generally is one of utter incredulity,” he wrote. “There’s a sense of bewilderment at the number of people, apart from his most rabid supporters, who could actually vote for the creature, allied to a sense of wonder at a political and legal system which could allow it to happen.”
Knowing the difference: fact versus opinion
To the Editor:
A few weeks ago Smoky Mountain News Editor Scott McLeod wrote an interesting article spelling out the differences between folks who choose to read or listen to media sources that provide facts and those who get their news from media that primarily give opinions. There’s nothing wrong with opinions if they are backed up by facts. Otherwise, they’re just noise.
Israeli visit is pure hypocrisy
To the Editor:
A recent edition of a local paper described the visit of an Israeli envoy to bring relief supplies to our area after Helene.
Yet, the same country, Israel, bombs Gaza daily killing thousands of Palestinians with bombs made in the United States.
The meaningful moments that make memories
(I started writing a Thanksgiving column, paused a moment, did a Google search and realized that I had shared this memory 10 years ago. It was published in this newspaper on Dec. 3, 2014. Hope it’s still worth a read.)
Moments, mostly the ones unplanned, are the stuff of important and lasting life memories.
Lessons from Noah’s flood — confessions of a progressive
After reading the point-counterpoint last week from David Lawson and Tom Powers, I was inspired to offer a third path forward. Having moved here last October from the suburbs of Atlanta, my husband and I have been blessed with the culture and kindness of everyone whose paths we have crossed. Having come to Lake Junaluska since the 1960s and 1970s, this place has always been my spiritual home, “Halfway to heaven.”
Destruction from the MAGA storm
To the Editor:
Helene brought destruction and chaos! Homes, businesses, cars, people washed away, roads and bridges washed out, people cut off from aid, etc. MAGA voters have brought a national storm upon us all and chaos is resulting.
Have we lost our way, America?
To the Editor:
As I ponder the implications of the presidential election, I have to ask myself and I ask you to think about what the outcome means in the larger context of our values as a nation.
Beliefs about Biden/Harris just aren’t true
After reading David Lawson’s letter, “Maybe Trump’s Win Was about Policy,” I sympathize with Dr. Lawson’s desire to focus on policy. However, some of Dr. Lawson’s claims about the Biden/Harris administration’s policies are puzzling.
