To the Editor:

Most of us now understand that Project 2025, brainstorm of the ideologues at the Heritage Foundation and barely mentioned a year or so ago, is very real and that — right now — our federal government is being radically restructured in accordance with that 900-plus page manifesto as it seeks to consolidate power in the executive branch; to consolidate power to the will or whim of the president.

In a year when Jackson County commissioners are proposing a substantial property tax hike, outside agitators are still pushing commissioners to consider a costly withdrawal from the Fontana Regional Library system that could result in an even costlier lawsuit, all over an issue that will never be resolved to everyone’s liking — the definition of “inappropriate.” 

Two weeks after the Jackson County Commission floated a possible withdrawal from the Fontana Regional Library system, residents showed up to speak at the May 20 commission meeting for more than three and a half hours of public comment, with the majority voicing their opposition to withdrawal. 

Anyone who thought that two years, dozens of meetings, thousands of dollars and hours of public comment to reach a new interlocal agreement between Jackson, Macon and Swain counties for the Fontana Regional Library would spell the end of the controversy over local libraries thought wrong. 

To the Editor:

I have seen banners and bumper stickers that read, “Socialism or Freedom.” I would hardly call the Republican party the party of freedom. The Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 want to take our freedoms away.

To the Editor:

One of the things I find baffling about those on the other side of the political divide is that their fight for certain policies is inconsistent with a core value they espouse. 

To the Editor:

I have no hatred towards anyone who chooses a different lifestyle than me. The vast majority of Americans do not care about an individual's sexual preference or what books they read.

To the Editor:

I wish to say something about Memorial Day, which is coming up this Monday.

I know most Americans have big plans for Memorial Day weekend. After all it’s the beginning of the summer season with all the wonderful outdoor activities it brings. 

A little over three years ago, a stranger in a coffee shop with whom I’d struck up a conversation excused himself from the table, walked to his car and returned with a copy of Steven Pressfield’s “Gates of Fire.”

Hello from Room 623 at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Owensboro, Kentucky. Just about six and a half hours from my humble abode in Waynesville. Russ Avenue to U.S. 276 to Interstate 40 and backroads through Southern Appalachia to get here.