To the Editor:

I volunteered to serve during wartime. We had experienced the Cuban Missile Crisis and had military advisors training foreign nationals in Vietnam. Things escalated quickly and we found ourselves, “Neck deep in the big muddy ....” to quote the song by Pete Seeger. Our nation slowly slid into commitments that would cost thousands of young Americans their lives. 

To the Editor:

In 2016, while running for President, Donald Trump called the Iraq War “stupid.” He was right. Saddam Hussein was a vicious dictator, but the U.S. had no plan for what would happen after he was eliminated. This war was actually fought for control of Iraq’s massive oil deposits. The power vacuum in Iraq was quickly filled by Shia militias friendly to Iran — and even worse by ISIS fanatics who saw an opportunity to carve out their own territory of slavery and murder. 

Western North Carolina entered 2025 with a familiar sense of dread, confusion and misplaced confidence as local governments, public agencies and assorted boards once again demonstrated an unwavering commitment to solving problems that do not exist while inventing several new ones along the way. 

From Jackson County’s continued Quixotic campaign against its own public library to the Department of Transportation’s discovery that some Haywood County roads remain dangerously intact, the year has already produced a wealth of developments that demanded immediate, serious attention — or at least, a healthy dose of mockery. 

If there were an award for being hardest to find while holding an important job, Michael Whatley would have no competition, because he’s the only entry.

President Donald Trump named Whatley Western North Carolina’s hurricane recovery czar at a Jan. 24 briefing, saying he wanted Whatley in charge of making sure “everything goes well.” Trump praised Whatley’s work and assured folks Whatley would be the one to fix it. 

President Donald Trump is not typically seen as a friend to Indian Country. His ICE and border patrol agents have made headlines for targeting Indigenous people in deportation raids and refusing to accept enrollment cards as a valid form of citizenship. He changed Denali National Park — “a word from Alaskan Native Tribes that means ‘the high one’ in the Athabascan language” — back to Mt. McKinley. His cuts to federal programs have harmed tribes receiving Bureau of Indian Affairs funding nationwide. 

The Roadless Rule Recission is genuinely so unpopular to have perhaps been inspired by a claim that Trump couldn’t possibly do anything more universally hated than gutting National Park funding, to which the president said, “Oh yeah? Hold my beer.” 

Recent events make it clear why senators warning military personnel about the dangers of following illegal orders was so very important. The warning was that the Department of Defense Law of War Manual clearly states that military personnel should not follow illegal orders. Following such orders may make the person following the orders guilty of a war crime. 

The utter guile of this state’s GOP leaders to rig elections in their favor should cause a hue and cry from honorable, ordinary taxpaying citizens of all political stripes. But when it comes to partisanship, these are not ordinary times, which is an understatement of almost comical proportions. 

In the cacophony of politics, one truth must remain clear: America’s armed forces swear allegiance not to a man, not to a party, but to the Constitution of the United States. That oath is the bedrock of our Republic. It is the firewall against tyranny. And it is being tested as never before. 

To the Editor:

The elections last November ushered in a new wave in American politics with speeches and assurances of lower food and housing prices, the elimination of inflation, dramatically reducing the federal deficit, real government transparency and efficiency, a better healthcare system and a safer, wealthier America. Heck yeah! Who’s not in favor of helping all working people get ahead and keeping family safe?