Opinion
A lesson in how lies lead to dangerous outcomes
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.
GOP’s rationale for power grab just doesn’t wash
When they are challenged on their authoritarianism, North Carolina Republicans’ most frequent ploy is to retrieve grievances from decades ago. The party is run by a coterie of legislators who suffered years of irrelevance and disrespect at the hands of the eastern North Carolina Democratic machine, and these people still enjoy resurrecting Democratic misdeeds to justify their own malfeasance.
Slow down, spread the joy
To the Editor:
I appreciate Scott McLeod’s sage advice to relax for the upcoming Christmas day and following New Years. One of the problems with the way our society celebrates this time is it depends too much on “the one big day.”
Four hundred miles from home, signs of hope
Glass half full, that’s me. Lots of good folks out there doing good things. We had a couple of gentle reminders of this on Monday.
I’m hunkered down on a drizzly day in the cabin of our boat, which is docked at Duck Creek Marina in Bridgeton, North Carolina. That’s just across the Neuse River from New Bern for those familiar with the Carolina coast.
Viewing the holidays from a different lens
Like everything in life, the holiday season is about perception. On one hand, you can view it as a commercialized frenzy or you can see it as a time to slow down and reflect, or maybe a little of both. I tend to fall in the combined category, but it hasn’t always been that way.
Relief bill an insult to WNC
To the Editor:
I’m writing to thank Rep. Mike Clampitt, Rep. Karl Gillespie and Rep. Mark Pless for siding with the people of Western North Carolina in voting against Senate Bill (SB) 382.
Not sure state will do what’s needed
To the Editor:
I do not share Mr. McLeod's optimism that the the legislature "...will do what is needed for our region ...." (Volume 26, Issue 28).
Proposed state aid bill is an insult
The number is $53.6 billion. That’s the estimate from the N.C. Office of State Budget and Management for the damage Helene inflicted on Western North Carolina. Those are just dollars; in the bigger picture, lives have been lost, transformed and forever changed.
Mencken’s vision
When I asked a friend in the north of England what people there think of our recent election, he did not hold back.
“The chief reaction here generally is one of utter incredulity,” he wrote. “There’s a sense of bewilderment at the number of people, apart from his most rabid supporters, who could actually vote for the creature, allied to a sense of wonder at a political and legal system which could allow it to happen.”
