God bless Elon Musk

GOP wants to control our lives

To the Editor:

Rep. Kevin McCarthy has been plainspoken about a tired and failed strategy of cutting taxes and regulations and targeted spending while giving tax incentives to the oil industry.

So what would Kevin and Sen. Mitch McConnell cut? Well, in addition to Social Security and Medicare, look for attacks on the bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act.

While many observers note that additional spending has contributed to inflation, it makes no sense to cut programs that are now fighting inflation. A state spokesman recently noted that inflation has severely hampered their efforts to use state funds to pay for a collapsed bridge, but the federal infrastructure funds saved the project and bridge construction is nearly complete.

Sending Republicans to Washington with their slash and burn mentality would only make matters worse. Additionally, Ted Budd has made it clear he will not only continue to deny that Joe Biden is our legitimate president, but also deny women the right to make family decisions themselves. So go vote and support people with concrete plans to reduce costs and protect personal freedoms.

A vote for Jasmine Beach Ferrara as our congressperson and Cherie Beasley as our senator will send a message to keep us out of a recession and Republicans out of our lives. Ron Robinson Sylva

God bless Elon Musk

To the Editor:

We hear a lot these days about threats to “our democracy,” but we don’t have one to be threatened. It has already been threatened and killed while we were asleep at the switch.

What do we have then? We have an authoritarian oligarchy with American democratic characteristics. Yes, we have two parties, but one is trying to dictate to the other what it is allowed to stand for and for which candidates people are allowed to vote. We have elections, but only one party is allowed to question them while resisting all attempts at ensuring election integrity. When supporters of one party such as Black Lives Matter and Antifa take to the streets and assault police officers and burn buildings, they get bailed out to continue their protests, and if anyone is convicted it is usually a slap on the wrist.

On the other hand, January 6 protesters are rotting in the D.C. gulag and denied bail with harsh sentences contemplated after lengthy trial delays. Anti-abortion protesters are subject to FBI raids and prosecution while firebombers of crisis pregnancy centers are never identified, let alone prosecuted, while Attorney General Merrick Garland has the nerve to talk about the rule of law. It’s obvious that some people are above the law while others are going to be consigned under it. One party can have contempt of Congress with no consequences while the other party is convicted and sentenced. The double standard and two-tiered justice is on display everywhere. Doesn’t sound like “our democracy” to me.

Democrats have gotten away with so much because of their ability to shape the narrative through a corrupt media and social media platforms that will never call anyone to account unless he or she is a Republican. Bad news is covered up such as Hunter Biden’s laptop revelations before the last election. People who have something important to add to the conversation have been “deplatformed.”

People who get their news from “trusted” sources might better reconsider. There is a wealth of information available outside these propaganda organs. Their power lies in our willing captivity to their insular world view. Those who are truly concerned with the future of our democracy, such as it is, and have a sense of fair play, check out other sources. I’m eager to see what Twitter will be like when the dust settles. What a shot in the arm for democracy that will be. God bless Elon Musk!

This is only the beginning of what is needed to reclaim our country. We need more people to wake up and elect people that will have the backbone to go after an out-of-control bureaucracy. Departments that will not accept proper oversight should be defunded until they comply. We don’t need a secret police but that’s what the FBI has become. We have some remnants of constitutional protection left but they are fewer than they were just a few years ago and the current trend is bad.

For a democracy to be healthy the leaders must not be insulated and out of touch with the people they are responsible for. This is the reason for Donald Trump’s popularity that the geniuses that are currently in charge can’t figure out. They won’t figure it out either because they are too invested in pushing the top down cramdown of their toxic agenda on an unwilling population that has different priorities. Wake up and vote to save us from the Democrat chaos and hard times. Oh, did I mention nuclear war?

Editor’s note: With mid-term elections looming and voters energized, lots of people are expressing their opinions. That’s a good thing, but unfortunately we’ve received more letters than we have room to print. We publish letters in the order in which we received them, so those published in this issue were received first in our email inbox. If your letter did not make it into print, you should still be able to find it online in our opinion section. — Scott McLeod, Editor

Why I’ll vote for Democrats

To the Editor:

I am voting Democratic this election season and I would like to tell you why. While Donald Trump has been whining about a perfectly legal execution of a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, where classified documents were indeed found, here is what President Biden has been quietly accomplishing: Infrastructure bipartisan deal, which is just beginning to be felt and is so popular that Republicans who voted against it are claiming credit for it; CHIPS and Science Act, which has brought chip manufacturing back to the US; PACT Act for veterans, which helps veterans get the health help they need; Gun Safety Act, Inflation Reduction Act, took out leader of Al Quaeda, historic job growth, historically low unemployment, expanded NATO.

There is a myth out there that Republicans handle the economy better, but the last four Republican presidents have increased the national debt, while the last three Democratic presidents have lowered the national debt. President Biden has paid down the national debt by $1.4 trillion. Yes, inflation is high, all over the globe. The U.S. has one of the lowest rates of inflation worldwide.

If you must blame someone, blame Putin. Yes, supply chain issues are just beginning to get untangled. Gas prices are down since June and prices at the grocery store should reflect that eventually. Crime is up, but eight of the 10 states with the most crime are Republican states, mostly due to lax gun laws. Republicans want to cut Social Security and Medicare. Do you really want them to do that?

Why not give Democrats a chance this fall to follow up on these accomplishments and let these bills do what they are designed to do — help the middle class. It takes time for any of these things to work their way down to the local levels. The Dobbs decision took away the rights of women to control their own bodies. Whose rights will be next? Our very democracy is at stake this fall. Vote.

Sarah Cifani, Waynesville

Pless is a bully, let’s vote him out

To the Editor:

We need change in North Carolina’s 118th House District. Incumbent Rep. Mark Pless believes he does not answer to local government officials. He has made some big mistakes in not working with local government, i.e., making all Haywood County elections partisan (school board and some municipal governing boards), introducing a bill that would strip Haywood County municipalities of their authority to act in Extra-territorial Jurisdictions located adjacent to municipal boundaries. He tried to have these bills passed behind the backs of local government. Why? Because he knew the local governments would not agree. So his answer was to bully his way to do this behind their backs. He has proven, over and over, that he is the boss and does not need to work with local government. Further, he has backed Frankie Wood in the scam to bring Ghost Town back to life.

The Democratic candidate, Josh Remillard, volunteered to enlist in the Army and served two tours in Iraq. I admire anyone who volunteered to enlist when we have no draft. The training provided in the military is probably not understood by non-veterans. One thing taught in the military is that you work with others, not against them. Pless adheres to the GOP belief that a woman should not have control over her body in determining the right to an abortion, but Josh thinks otherwise. Remillard supports veterans and their rights. He has seen first-hand the impact of PTSD and the need need for state legislators to encourage local leaders for counties to work together to agree on who, what and where to start savings lives (collaborative model). My vote goes to Josh Remillard. Ron Robinson Sylva

Stop Biden by voting for GOP

To the Editor:

Barack Obama put it succinctly when he said he wanted to “fundamentally transform” our country. His plans were interrupted by the Trump Administration. Now, Obama’s puppet, Biden, needs a Congress that will continue to vote his warped agenda into law. Vote for Ted Budd and Chuck Edwards to help stop Obama and Biden’s plans.

Yellow journalism and blue leanings

To the Editor:

Your October 29 issue titled “Saving the Safety Net” borders on yellow journalism. Conflating the statement of one GOP senator to change entitlements to discretionary programs, to justify the title of the piece, “House GOP majority could target Social Security, Medicare,” is appalling. The Republican Study Committee is quoted as determining raising taxes to prop up the program as “fundamentally immoral.” However, your follow up statement is outside of quotes — “removing mandated funding guarantees is not.” Was that assumed? Made up?

And the timing of the piece and cover art is exquisite. I bet this has been on the story board for months for the week before election. Mr. Scott McLeod, publisher, your blue is showing.