Facts, once unassailable, have become, well, difficult to quantify. People make up or repeat lies, especially on social media platforms and other online spaces, and people believe them, think what they read or hear is true, is a fact. As it turns out, those lies can be dangerous. We’ve all witnessed it at the national level, but it’s also happening right here in Western North Carolina. 

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. 

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. 

To the Editor:

One of the few good things to come from the pandemic is you hear more and more people say, “I’ve done my own research.” As we face this election season, that has never been more important.

To the Editor:

Do we want to be a country where opinion is more important than fact? How is it that some people proclaim that Christians are being oppressed, when there has been no instance of anyone being denied the ability to worship as they see fit? It's misinformation designed to rile people up. 

There are some things John Hood (SMN, May 29) and his ilk don’t want you to think about in their relentless promotion of “school choice” and “educational freedom” — their feel-good euphemisms for the transfer of your taxpayer dollars to private, church-related and “charter” schools. Hood, who pops up everywhere these days, is a paid mouthpiece for the libertarian-conservative and free-market agenda of Art Pope (remember him?) — and it shows. 

Question:  I’ve been reading about JACKFRUIT and notice that there are many products with jackfruit at Ingles that look like meat – is this a good alternative to eating meat?