I wrote this back in October before the election.
Everyone reading this is most likely in the Asheville area. You have been punched in the face by forces beyond your control. None of you asked for 12 to 24 inches of rain. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons that you moved to Asheville is its location. It is not on the coast. It is not atop a major earthquake fault. It was not Charlotte or Atlanta with their traffic. It is one of those Goldilock’s oases. It is not too big, and it is not too small. It was … was… just right.
Then, out of nowhere, the heavens opened up and dumped a biblical amount of rain on us. Now what? We need community, friends, and neighbors. We need, dare I say it, government. I need the National Guard and other troops to provide the manual labor assistance needed to open roads and clear trees. Roads and bridges need to be rebuilt. We need mobile Wi-Fi towers. We need mobile electrical substations that will provide much-needed power. We need clean water. We need the basics.
This is a time for professionals. We need people who understand how government works. We need people who can push the right buttons and get government to start moving. We do not need the director of FEMA to be a golfing buddy or a rich billionaire who made his money on Wall Street. We need somebody who understands disasters and disaster relief. Deanne Criswell, the director of FEMA, was the director of Emergency Management in New York City from 2019 to 2021 during the pandemic. She has a long history of emergency management experience. She is precisely the type of person we need during this crisis.
Unfortunately, this recovery will not be speedy. Everything will not be back to normal next week or even next month. Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee suffered widespread destruction. It will take years for these regions to fully recover.
I am a flatlander. I grew up in Dallas, Texas. I love Asheville and its people. I have learned to love the mountains. My heart aches for the good people of Asheville and its beautiful surroundings.
January 6 Federal Case
Jack Smith, the US Justice Department’s Special Counsel for the cases against Donald Trump, has followed a new, 165-page brief in federal court. This is because the judge had asked Jack Smith about the Supreme Court’s new ruling, which basically exempted the president from prosecution for any acts performed in his official role. If the court agrees with Smith’s new brief, then the case can proceed.
Smith laid out several very detailed actions that he described as Donald Trump acting not in his official role, but as a private citizen. He described several meetings and conversations in which Donald Trump and his advisors discussed how to proceed with the presidential election. According to Jack Smith, Donald Trump was acting as a private citizen in these meetings. He wasn’t carrying out official duties as President of the United States, but as a candidate for reelection.
Now, we wait. Donald Trump’s defense lawyers can dispute the evidence that Jack Smith presented. Then, the judge will have to decide whether the case can go forward or whether the case needs to be thrown out of court.
I wish I could tell you that I was dispassionate on the subject. I am not. I remember watching in horror as Donald Trump supporters attacked the US capital for hours. I was dumbfounded. I was flabbergasted. I was angry. I was upset. I kept wondering, “Where was the federal response?” I was looking for overwhelming force. It took hours to mobilize a federal response. The response was timid. It was measured. It was nothing like what we saw in Minneapolis when there was an overwhelming show of force against peaceful protesters (George Floyd).
Gaza – 1 year later
On October 7, one year ago, Israel was attacked by Hamas. Hundreds of Israelis were killed. Hundreds were kidnapped. Some have yet to be freed.
This attack was condemned in the strongest terms by nations around the globe. That’s because nearly all nations have agreed that no government or non-government terrorist group, or even de facto government, has the right to attack another nation.
Israel has a right to exist, and Israel has a right to defend itself. But it does not have the right to kill every man, woman, and child within Gaza’s borders, any more than Hamas has the right to kill innocent civilians.
We, the United States, friend and ally of Israel and supplier of $310 Billion in total aid since its founding, need to exert as much force as necessary to get the violence to end.
