Opinion
Who would have believed?
To the Editor:
A year ago …. who would have thought …
That the richest man in the world who helped elect the president with $290 million would be appointed to a bogus government agency and then walk in to real agencies with his teenage hackers with handles like “Big Balls” and fire thousands of government employees, destroying decades of institutional knowledge and dismantling agencies and parts of agencies that work on behalf of and protect American citizens.
We should beware of ‘Shock Exhaustion’
To the Editor:
Sadly, the U.S. doesn’t seem to be making much progress in saving our democracy and way of life. Humans have a great gift for resilience, which helps us go through some very tough times and come out stronger. The flip side of that is we can get used to anything if it goes on long enough.
Dead wood is lifeblood to streams
To the Editor:
When a disaster like Hurricane Helene strikes, the impulse to “clean up” is powerful. That said, our recent approach in Jackson County to stream debris removal doesn’t make sense for the environment or our economy.
The basis of moral behavior is innate
To the Editor:
What I dislike about the American Christian Right is what I dislike about Jeff Minick’s book review in last week’s edition of The Smoky Mountain News, which is less a book review as it is a chance for Mr. Minick to display his own religious views using the passages he quotes from the book as support.
Nothing beautiful about this bill
To the Editor:
The big beautiful bill is neither. Tax cuts take effect this year. While the cuts for the highest earners are permanent, most cuts expire in 2030. Sixty percent of the total tax savings will go to people with incomes greater than $217,000 per year.
Letter’s hypocrisy was hilarious
To the Editor:
I’m not finding many things to laugh about these days, so I want to give a shout out to the author of the letter “Harassing public officials is wrong” in the July 9 issue.
His letter was hilarious. I laughed each time I read it ... four times.
Hands off our parks, our foreign guests and our narrative
To the Editor:
In compliance with Executive Order 14253, an official sign has now been posted in the Oconaluftee Visitors Center of our beloved (and already beleaguered) Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and, I presume, at all of the hundreds of other sites overseen by the National Park Service.
FRL director is a devoted librarian
To the Editor:
I am a former employee of Tracy Fitzmaurice and I'm writing in support of her work as director of the Fontana Regional Library and Librarian of Jackson County Public Library.
Harassing public officials is wrong
To the Editor:
Does Jackson County want to be a place where some citizens publicly harass and intimidate elected officials with whom they disagree? How long before harassment becomes vandalism and even assaults? Too often, far-left individuals who, when they do not win at the ballot box or in the arena of ideas, resort to these types of behavior and worse.
