I am sick and tired of these people who carp about traffic calming. Don’t they know how to drive? There is worse in Asheville than planned curbing. Example: Druid Drive off Patton Avenue, at the rear entrance to the Post Office. The road narrows two feet, marked by a telephone pole just waiting for the […]

The recent election has shown me that there is hope for a better America. For a nation that was founded largely through theft and outright genocide, and further darkened by the disgrace of slavery, to have elected a biracial candidate as president is a huge step in the right direction. But as inspiring as the […]

I have attended several local citizen groups that provided recommendations on health-care reform to the Obama Transition Team. Before we knew what reforms to recommend, we addressed a key question: Is access to affordable health care a human right for everyone, or is it a privilege available only to those who can afford it? If […]

Once again I find myself without the information I need to determine my alignment. I know that Israel is the only nation in the area with abortion rights, and when Israel turned over its settlements in Gaza, it was a major territorial loss for abortion rights—but I still don’t know about zoning. Do any readers […]

For me, the biggest story of the last few months is the fact that the Chamber of Commerce voted to demolish [much] of the Burton Street neighborhood. Our City Council voted (one shy of being unanimous) for proposal 4b as the best I-26 connector project. As far as I know, the citizenry felt they had […]

I’m moved to ask two questions. The film Milk has had wonderful reviews and been widely accepted. Why isn’t it shown in wider distribution in the Asheville area? Is this allegedly diverse community too innocent to deal with the content of homophobia? Second question: Why do I have to go to Barnes and Noble on […]

I want to compliment you on your excellent and lucid treatment of “Capitalism on Campus” [Dec. 23 Xpress]. You set the standard for clarity and objectivity on a newsworthy topic. Your article proved the meat of spirited discussion at our last coffee-hour gathering. Atlas Shrugged was one among several books that shaped my thinking during […]

As a retired teacher, I was really interested in your story on BB@T and objectivism [“Capitalism on Campus,” Dec. 23]. I think the reporting and writing were superb, and the article was certainly fair and balanced. You laid out the issues with admirable clarity and, given that this news magazine is clearly leftist, you refrained […]

I applaud Western Carolina University for their wisdom in accepting the very generous donation from BB&T, a successful financial institution that practices what it preaches [“Capitalism on Campus”]. And I applaud BB&T for [requesting] as a condition of their generosity that WCU include Ayn Rand’s remarkable novel Atlas Shrugged in their required reading list and […]

As the reverend and the rabbi stood upon the altar at Calvary Episcopal Church in Fletcher and looked out at the filled pews, they complemented and acknowledged each other with every word and every gesture, however subtle. The men, women and children assembled to honor the memory and life of Patricia Brinkley Shulimson (1940-2008) were […]

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 […]

There was “lockjaw” on Tunnel Road one recent Saturday afternoon—like there was on Black Friday. I parked in Kmart and walked to Belks because it took me four traffic lights to get out of Best Buy. There was a cop in the mall watching “Boobs & Butts.” He told me that he was there in […]