Abortion subsidies called responsible way forward

I have previously believed that, for the abortion rights leadership, making abortion more accessible was the primary objective and centralizing power an unfortunate side effect; but now I think the reverse is true, that centralizing power in Washington and the U.N. is their primary objective and making abortions more accessible is merely a fringe benefit to them.

This is the only way I can explain the leadership’s steadfast refusal to even suggest to local governments, abortion subsidies for the rapidly growing number of indigo blue localities in which residents still struggle with huge financial and transport hurdles to safe and timely abortions; even though such subsidies would cost nothing after subtracting local savings in school enrollment and environmental protection.

I hope federal paralysis forces such issues on localities as well as the movement leadership.

ALAN DITMORE

Leicester

Americans urged to think big, follow their intuition

The following prophetic words were spoken from very different viewpoints and by very different people.

Love of our country and its freedoms may be their only common ground, delivered in the ‘50s and ’60s.

• “When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing - When you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors - When you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you - When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice - You may know that your society is doomed.” 

• “There is little value in ensuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment.”

The first, Ayn Rand, in “Atlas Shrugged, and the second, President John F. Kennedy.

And if you feel bad, that may be a good sign. “It is of no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society,” Jiddu Krishnamurti.

Remember, we are all unique and incredibly special. Think big and trust your gut

WILLIAM S. CHALK

Asheville

American Experiment? It's truly a dismal failure 

Two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the occupations there, as well as engagements in other nations, cost the United States about $400 million — per day.

Since 2001, $8 trillion (that’s $8,000 billion) has been spent on the military and homeland security.

I repeat! Since 2001, $8 trillion (that’s $8,000 billion) has been spent on the military and homeland security — while millions of poor Americans go hungry and homeless ... And lack medical insurance. And lack the basic necessities of life.

Our representatives in government have been corrupted by such special interest groups as the military-industrial complex, and the security-industrial complex.

Our representatives in Washington may be OF the people, and may have been elected BY the people, but they sure aren’t FOR the people!

They are for themselves and their cronies and special interests, such as the military-industrial complex and security-industrial complex.

Their attitude toward America’s growing poor is, “Let them eat cake!”

It isn’t only the poor who have been betrayed by our government representatives! Is is also the middle-class. Economist David Autor reveals in the May-June Mother Jones newsmagazine that robots with artificial intelligence will soon be taking away jobs from the middle-class.

He also reveals that even though government economists are fully aware of this, they are taking absolutely no steps to protect the middle-class.

Would putting a third party in the White House and Congress restore representative government of the poeple, by the people and for the people?

You know, it wouldn’t! You understand human nature as well as I do.

But the whole point of this is to shine a light on the fact that the American Experiment is a failure.

Yes! We have proven we can govern ourselves.

But the American Experiment in governanceby a government for the people has proven to be an experimental failure.

The nation’s poor are going to have to realize that the government isn’t going to help them out of poverty.

And the country’s middle-class needs to realize that robots are going to take their jobs from them in the near future.

The poor and middle-class will get poorer, and capital-owners will get wealthier.

In the economics literature, the increase in the share of income going to the capital-owners is known as “capital-biased technological change.”

And economist Paul Krugman says to expect lots of “capital-biased technological change” in the coming years.

So in the future, the poor will get poorer, and not receive the government bailout, and the middle-class will have its jobs threatened by robots; and capital-owners will get richer at everybody else’s expense.

Our lives, and our country, will be in the hand of special-interest-ruled government.

RICHARD D. POPE

Hendersonville