To the Editor:

Whatever happened to honesty and integrity in the United States of America? Lying, cheating and immorality seem to be the acceptable norm these days.

We have a serving President who is a convicted felon from the hush money trail with a porn star.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Nathan Baer stormed the Capitol in Washington, D.C. On April 26, 2023, he was arrested in Asheville and hit with numerous charges. On April 5, 2024, he pleaded guilty to one felony and was sentenced to four months in federal prison. On Jan. 21 of this year, he was pardoned by President Donald Trump and released from incarceration. On March 19, he spoke to the Macon County Republican Women’s Club in Franklin. 

To the Editor:

Present-day political unrest reminds me of the Spanish cellist, conductor and composer, Pav Casals, known in English by his Spanish name, Pablo Casals. Casals was born in El Vendrell, Spain, Dec. 29, 1876. He lived in France after 1936 and Puerto Rico after 1956, where he died, Oct. 22, 1973. 

To the Editor:

I agree with the writer of “ Democrats need to learn a lesson” in the July 17 issue, when he says that, during the June 27 presidential debate with Trump, President Biden looked “diminished cognitively … Who can deny what we saw?” 

To the Editor:

“How is it possible, what has lobotomized people who cheer and celebrate the most transparent fraud, the most outrageous liar, the most straitjacket-ready psycho ever visited on the body politic?” Those are the words of Hal Crowther, longtime journalist and essayist. 

To the Editor:

A Google search reveals this simple concept: First principles thinking (or reasoning from first principles) is a problem-solving technique that requires you to break down a complex problem into its most basic, foundational elements. The idea: to ground yourself in the foundational truths and build up from there. 

To the Editor:

I recently finished reading Liz Cheney's book “Oath and Honor.” Liz Cheney represented Wyoming in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023.

To the Editor:

“No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elector of president or vice-president, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.

To the Editor:

A historic constitutional battle is brewing.

A Sylva man arrested for his involvement  in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot  at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty last week to a felony charge.