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Letters to the Editor: Wasted tents, cars — and the blather that never ends
Saturday, 16 September 2023 13:36

Physical conflict is a waste.  

I stumbled upon the ashes of the burnt cop cars that morning while walking my friend’s dogs and, due to some morning brain fog, was reminded to keep the dogs clear of the toxic runoff.

 It’s a shame that, unlike budget cuts, burnt or smashed cars can’t be turned into city abortion funds or affordable housing any less or more than can all the homeless tents and shanties that the city routinely crushes at the dump, so I would greatly prefer to see these resources sold and redirected than destroyed; but that is not the fault of one side, since the law destroys tons of property, too.  

 If the cars had been left even more unguarded, perhaps they could have been slept in. Some police cars even have washable seats.

 One irony that deserves study is that many “conservative” towns quietly spend less on police than Asheville, measured per capita, by percentage of municipal budget, or percentage of tax base or gross municipal product; nor is it rare for such towns to have lower wealth disparities (the definition of right and left).  

Limited wealth disparity in Biltmore Forest doesn’t make them leftist, though, state senators notwithstanding — but that of Canton might.  

I wish I knew more examples of this than I do and would like to see this studied further, but by example, I think that police budgets and local wealth disparities are far less partisan than they appear, partly because we mistakenly argue over budget changes from last year, rather than police budget differences between towns, comparing Asheville to both Waynesville and Bremen, Germany, both near and far, instead of to last year.  

Last year’s budget is irrelevant, as are symbolic lip service letters of police support, devoid of budget amendments, which should have been ignored. 

Why fight over political blather?

Didn’t the Tories cut the police?

Anyway, to return from such distractions; since it’s perfectly obvious that full abortion rights means teacher layoffs, there’s no way that abortion rights activists can stay in coalition with teachers’ unions for long.  

That coalition is doomed despite the fact that many teachers are women.  

The coalition with a future is with environmentalists and geriatric nurses (who also include women) — not teachers.

ALAN DITMORE
Leicester

 

 



Man with flat tire expresses ‘thanks’ to Good Samartan 

After the Reynolds v. Shelby football game last week, I went to my car. Sadly, I found I had a flat tire. I have a bad back and cannot change my tires in my old age. 

A kind gentleman came to my aid and said he would change my tire. Well, this was a blessing and a very kind gesture. 

I offered to give the man a twenty, but he would not accept it. He told me he works for the sewer and water company in Asheville.

Much thanks to Matthew Walters for helping me.

STEPHEN R. MCLEAN 
Arden
 






Asheville’s Kim Roney termed a 'smug' anarchist

I just remembered where I first saw that stock photo of the budding anarchist Kim Roney that the people of Asheville decided should be on the City Council.  

I was looking up the word “smug” in the dictionary — and there she was.

ROB BRANSON
Hendersonville







Warning to Asheville anarchists: You will face hard work, low pay in effort to slow descent into a hellish dystopia


EDITOR’S NOTE: This letter references the lead story in the Aug. 30-Sept. 12 edition of the Daily Planet that was headlined: “A ‘reign of terror?’” with a subhead that added: “2 unoccupied APD cars burst into flames near W. AVL police station.”

• 
I read that Asheville is experiencing a reign of terror and is living under the iron rule of Asheville’s anarchists.

Good!

Asheville and Hendersonville — and the country itself — are fast-becoming the hellish and nightmarish dystopia foreseen and warned of by generations of science-fiction writers and by futurists and by movie directors.

And Asheville needs to be under the iron reign of Asheville’s anarchists in order to slow down Asheville’s descent into the dystopia (warned about) by generations of those who could see into the future.Asheville’s anarchists should be the one’s running Asheville! 

Asheville’s anarchists should be appointed Asheville’s legal guardian or power of attorney — and Asheville’s anarchists should control every aspect of Asheville’s life in that capacity.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The letter-writer then added the following to his letter — and he labeled it as a postscript:

P.S. — If they (the anarchists) want the job, that is.

They may not want the responsibility.

They may just wish to give Asheville spankings in the form of slashing tires and breaking car windows — and blowing up police cars when Asheville deserves a good spanking.

Asheville would be darn lucky if Asheville’s anarchists were willing to take on the responsibility of being Asheville’s guardian or power of attorney.

It doesn’t pay well.

And there would be a lot of work involved in saving Asheville from self-harm.

Asheville’s anarchists may just prefer to take the easy road and take Asheville to the woodshed for a strapping — and tan Asheville’s hide when it misbehaves by attempting to join the developing nationwide dystopia.

Asheville would be lucky if its anarchists took on the low-paying job of being Asheville’s guardian or POA!!!

RICHARD D. POPE
Hendersonville



 

I-26 corridor (from Asheville to Hendersonville)? ‘A flipping joke’ that plays the locals for ‘fools’


OK, people of the I-26 corridor from Asheville to Hendersonville, N.C.: Aren’t you tired of playing the fool long enough?  

First, it’s a dangerous place to drive.  

Second, the bridge on the airport exit is a flipping joke, right?  

Third, what serious work is being done?  

And finally, fourth, how many decades does it take for 20-something miles? 

Remember “b.o. the destroyer” (former President Barack Obama) spent how much money, making signs on this road? 

Anyone up there (in North Carolina) put a Freedom of Information (Act) request for the contract and budget on this? 

What has stirred me to write this — other than (that) it’s dangerous, takes WAY too long, and I watched the person in front of me bounce off the “jersey walls” three times before coming to a stop: THE CRANE! 

Are the state and federal governments having us pay for a highly specialized crane for this contractor?  

You know the one. It has been stationed there for months, idle, to lift the parts for the (new) Blue Ridge Parkway bridge.  

That is an expensive, specialized, idle piece of equipment someone is paying for.  

What do you think? $1,000.00 a week to sit there? I HIGHLY doubt it. Probably so much more. It adds up. 

The person in the state/federal government that wrote this contract should be fired four times in a row, just to make it stick. No accountability.

The contract should have been for one mile at a time — with bonuses and penalties.

LAWRENCE HEIL
Campobello, S.C.

 

 

 

 



 



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