I take umbrage with Cranky Hanke’s panning of Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino [Jan. 8 Xpress]. I saw the movie last weekend and highly enjoyed it. This is Dirty Harry turning in his long-barreled revolver for an M1 Garand rifle and an M1911 pistol. Walt Kowalski will become a new cult hero, while Hanke is toiling […]

I moved here three years ago, thinking I would rather die here than live anywhere else.  Little did I know how close—or how often—I would come to death’s door while trying to survive here in Asheville. At first glance, Asheville seems to be a quaint little town with a rich history and culture, [where] anyone […]

I watch and listen to the public-television program Democracy Now. This is where information from around the world is presented to us. The murdering that has gone on in the area of what was called the Holy Land—and I’m including all those countries and all those voices supporting these ill doings—shows the inability to learn […]

Can you say humorless? The Jan. 7 letter by Terri David [“The Misery Behind Bright Ideas”] made me think of a pinch-mouthed, squinty-eyed Scrooge. The writer is probably a vegetarian who’s never set foot on a farm and thus doesn’t know what happens to old animals. What does she imagine—they go trotting off to some […]

I’d like to add some comments to the thoughtful letters you printed Jan. 10 relating to the appearance of Ayn Rand’s influence on the WNC campus [“Capitalism on Campus,” Dec. 23, 2008], and Rand’s passion for laissez-faire individualism. Regarding her rampant individualism, the following epigraph is from my recently published book, The Imprinters: “I am […]

Hamas wants Israel wiped off the map. Michael Evans (founder/Jerusalem Prayer Team) states that since 2001, more than 10,000 missiles and mortars have been fired into southern Israel by Hamas. Hamas started the recent round of violence with its rockets. For weeks, Israel has been imploring Hamas to stop. The response from the Islamists: They […]

Approximately 4.54 billion years ago, God created this planet for all of us to share. Then, within the last few millennia, some people decided to divide it up amongst themselves and fabricate property-rights laws that would justify their actions. They quickly began to bulldoze the world and cover it with concrete, pavement and fluorescent-lighted eyesores. […]

Terrorism has become the new byword. On the cusp of our country’s new leadership, it has become the 21st century’s scapegoat. As a result, we manufacture instruments of fear to permeate our collective consciousness. What becomes of us as a country, as a people, once we no longer have preconceived notions that the world is […]

Once again, the world is forced to sit and watch the neighborhood bully—Israel—take out its collective fear and hate on an almost unarmed population in the Gaza strip, which a Vatican official recently referred to as a concentration camp. I think another horrific image is more appropriate: the Warsaw Ghetto. Then, as now, a brutalized […]

This is in response to “A Failure of Civic Leadership” [Letters, Jan. 7]. The writer wants the mechanism for choosing a City Council member for a vacant seat to be “voter-centric,” with the seat going to the next-highest recipient of votes. He felt that it was inappropriate for City Council members to depart from recent […]

Regarding the safety of downtown Asheville—I agree with those who assert that downtown has gotten less safe, both in actual crime events and in the vibe you get when walking downtown. To me, three keys to addressing this issue are: 1. The aggressive vagrants must go. I have compassion and empathy for those who want […]

The Downtown Master Plan process has produced an amazing public response through 14 public meetings. Throughout the process, our chosen planning team has learned about the diverse aspects of our community’s vision for downtown’s future. The draft plan is now available for review and download at www.ashevillenc.gov/downtownmasterplan. There is a lot of conversation out in […]

As a Montford resident, I am deeply concerned about the community’s push to support I-26 Connector Alternative 4b. After looking at the NCDOT’s Web site, I am not at all happy about the current iteration of plan 4b, which appears to place two large flyovers and a series of layered bridges at the edge of […]

Our county—and the world, for that matter—shows a familiar pattern of choosing bulldozing and building at the expense of low-wealth communities. But in times like these, how can we work together? The other night at the county commissioners’ meeting, I don’t think I was specific enough. Question: Have you ever lived in a crack-infested community […]

It is practically common knowledge at this point in our Western society that the minority of the population owns the majority of the wealth. This, then, directly influences all the structures of power and control. Those who hold the wealth are therefore “response-able” for the community that they inhabit. We know as common sense that […]