Dear President Trump:

You say we are in the golden age of America.

You say grocery prices are down. You say there is no inflation.

How would you know? You have never shopped for groceries.

Your tariffs have put a tax on everything we purchase. We are in the beginning of the worst depression since 1929, the Great Depression. This will be known as “Trump’s Great Depression.”

You said you admire KimJong Un, Putin and Xi Jinping. 

You are dreaming of being a dictator like these three leaders. That is why you are blowing up those fishing boats in the Caribbean. You have murdered those 70 people suspected of running drugs. You are, therefore, guilty of war crimes against humanity.

You have tarnished the honor and reputation of the United States of America.

Mr. President, you are attacking your political enemies — Comey, Shiff, Bolton, Brennan and James. 

Scores of psychiatrists and psychologists came forward and proclaimed that you are a “malignant narcissist” and said you should not be in charge of our arsenal of military weapons. 

I knew you were mentally ill when you said Canada should become our 51st state, and said we will attack Panama and Greenland. 

An impeachment trial and conviction must go forward. You can avoid a trial if you resign the presidency immediately.

P.S. —This is madness.Trump is about to attack Venezuela. 

Shutdown exposed pattern of fiscal irresponsibility; it’s time to break it

Last month’s federal government shutdown revealed more than partisan dysfunction — it exposed a pattern of fiscal irresponsibility that Americans have grown too accustomed to accepting.

At the heart of the impasse was the Democrats’ push to continue the Biden era’s so-called “temporary” expansion of federal health-insurance subsidies first enacted during the pandemic. 

Those subsidies, meant as emergency relief, now reach even some six-figure households and will remain in place until Dec. 31, 2025, unless Congress acts.

The problem isn’t just the cost — it’s the mindset. When Washington spends borrowed money on programs designed to expire, political pressure almost always ensures they don’t. 

Subsidies increase automatically as premiums rise, rewarding insurers while shifting the burden to taxpayers. “Temporary” becomes permanent, and accountability disappears.

We see the same pattern closer to home. Local governments in Buncombe County and across North Carolina routinely accept state or federal grants to fund new positions or programs without identifying what happens when the money runs out. 

Too often, those “pilot” projects quietly become permanent obligations, forcing taxpayers to shoulder the bill long after the initial funding is gone.

Citizens have the right — and responsibility — to demand that both federal and local leaders define how temporary funds will end. Every ordinance, grant or policy that launches a new expense should also specify its sunset.

If we want limited government, we must stop accepting unlimited excuses. 

The shutdown may have ended, but the spending habit it revealed remains alive and well — and it’s up to informed citizens to break it.