When Marie Antoinette was told her subjects had no bread, her response was, “Let them eat cake.”
LET THEM EAT CAKE OBLIVIOUSNESS MEANING: because brioche is more expensive than bread, the anecdote has been cited as an example of Queen Marie-Antoinette’s obliviousness to ordinary people’s conditions and daily lives in France. With that insensitive remark, the Queen became a hated symbol of the decadent monarchy and fueled the Revolution that would cause her to (literally) lose her head in 1793.
Miles Bruner wrote, “Since Donald Trump descended that golden escalator in 2015, the Republican party has devolved into a cult of personality that mirrors the worst authoritarian regimes of the last one hundred years.”
Our country is hogtied currently by a dictatorial Mussolini regime, and last night the curtain came down on Trump and his Republican Zionist cult.
How’s that “Let them eat cake” working out for the cocky Republican Party and its Zionist influencers today?
I have a lot to say about Trump, the Charlie Kirk murder, that creepy widow, and why I feel that Donald Trump and his Christian Zionist sycophants are nothing more than a second Joe Biden term, with one exception: the Trump team and the Republican Party are losing their base faster than Joe Biden ever did during his administration.
Republicans are down 6-7 points to a historically unpopular Democratic Party. Folks, you can’t make this up! This is what happens when you presume you are invincible…
Tuesday night’s big winners were direct about how they differ from the unpopular president.
“Here in New Jersey, we know that this nation has not ever been, nor will it ever be ruled by kings,” Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the winner of the New Jersey governor’s race, said in her victory speech. “We take oaths to a constitution, not a king.”
“We can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves,” state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani said after his victory in New York City’s mayoral race. “After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.”
The backlash was universal. In Virginia, 59% of the electorate said cuts to the federal government had affected their finances, and two-thirds of those voters backed Spanberger, who is on pace to win by 14 percentage points, the largest victory for a Democrat in a Virginia governor’s race in decades. A full 37% of the electorate said they cast a ballot to oppose Trump, with 99% of them voting for Spanberger.
Trump’s statement blamed these results on the ongoing government shutdown, which he has done little to end and much to exacerbate. But it’s difficult to untangle anger over the shutdown with anger over DOGE, when Trump fully empowered billionaire megadonor and tech magnate Elon Musk to gut huge portions of the government and lay off workers en masse. GOP gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears never earned Trump’s endorsement, but also could never bring herself to break with Trump over the havoc he was causing for her state’s many, many federal employees.
Spanberger’s victory was large enough to carry Jay Jones, the party’s scandal-plagued candidate for attorney general, over the finish line. Exit polls showed 43% of voters thought Jones’ text messages in which he joked about political violence were “disqualifying,” while another 26% said they were “concerning.” Jones still managed to win 9% of voters in the first camp and 85% of voters in the second, likely because they couldn’t stomach vote for a MAGA loyalist like Miyares. – Kevin Robillard
And what was Trump’s reaction-“TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,” according to Pollsters.
Donald Trump is delusional and a traitor to his country. He doesn’t give a damn about his constituents, only the fat cats he serves. This is why he owns the Republican disaster on Tuesday.
Below from Sludge- By David Moore • 29 Oct 2025
Hundreds of large companies and wealthy individuals donated to the inaugural fund of Donald Trump and JD Vance after their election last year, more than doubling President Trump’s previous record and raking in $248 million. Since the Trump administration has taken power and reeled off executive orders and regulatory changes, more enormous donations from companies looking to curry favor with the White House have piled into Trump’s presidential library nonprofit—and recently, to the nonprofit behind his ballroom project.
What favors have Trump’s inaugural and ballroom donors received from his administration this year? We dug in to find out: Trump’s Corporate Colluders.
In collaboration with the nonprofit More Perfect Union, we researched the regulatory handouts, legal relief, and policy wins of more than 150 top donors to the groups. The website lets visitors search by company or donor name and see the range of benefits that accrued to them this year—which also include industry-favorable laws signed, ambassadorships bestowed, and dozens of halted enforcement actions.
President Donald Trump has set up a massive system of patronage, where corporations are circumventing campaign finance laws to buy favors from the Trump administration.
We analyzed more than 150 top donors to Trump’s inauguration fund and the White House ballroom construction to figure out which corporations are donating — and what they got in return.
Now you know what the Golden Age of Trump stands for. Remember this: to get elected, Con Trump talked about helping the forgotten men and women of our country. He did this so that we would vote for him.
Notice, Team Trump and the Republican Party have forgotten about the Forgotten Men and Women of America to feed their Robber Baron donors and Israel.
Donald Trump has sold out his country for his own profit and the profit of his corrupt family. They have made over 5 billion dollars in the last few months through their crypto scams. The same scams they wanted you and me to invest in.
Look at these donors —do you think they won’t help Grandpa Marie steal the midterms?
These Religious Trump Zealots keep shooting themselves in the foot for their God, Israel, and the fat cats of Wall Street. That story will be next, and it will tie into what is going on here in Madison County.
County News Let’s get started…
Madison County Sheriff Department
Where is “Buddy Harwood’s Yolk”, Coy Phillips? Phillips is no longer with the Madison County Sheriff’s Department. It turns out Coy was arrested in Unicoi County, TN, for drug distribution, according to sources.
Remember what happened to the last Sheriff of Unicoi County, Mike Hensley, who resigned suddenly in 2024, two years before his term was set to end. The scuttlebutt was that he was caught in a drug-related incident.
Notice in the above article how these dirty coppers are constantly slapping the Jesus fish when they are caught. Why are the Madison County sheriff’s department guns and vehicles being sold in Unicoi County, TN? I have written about this for years, how the drug rings run from Buncombe to Madison and north into Unicoi, TN.
Why does Michael Garrison, who promotes himself as a Godly Christian man, cover up for the Madison County Sheriff’s Department?
Garrison is behind many of the initiatives underway in Madison County government.
Due to the ineptitude of the Madison County government and its human resources department, Brandi Rice, a Human Resources official for Madison County, has not been responsive to public records requests. I requested public records of Madison County salaries for the period when Coy Phillips was removed and Van Duncan, the former Sheriff of Buncombe County, was appointed.
Phillips is still on Madison Payroll. Coy Phillips should be in jail, not on the MCSD roster. I believe Brandi Rice willfully and illegally fabricated my public record request, probably at the insistence of Michael Garrison and Homer Rod Honeycutt.
How do you keep the reprobate on the payroll if he has lost all of his certifications? What will Harwood and Garrison do now that their county-funded drug ring is shut down?
Harwood has hired Van Duncan, a former sheriff from Buncombe County and a hunting companion, to save him. Duncan plans to run for Sheriff of Madison County in the upcoming election. He is currently looking for property in Madison County.
Look, folks, Buddy’s been the County’s low point, so essentially, this could be a way to move forward.
Yet Duncan is a friend of the most morally corrupt Sheriff this County has ever elected, Buddy Harwood. Michael Garrison is apparently relying on Duncan to help conceal the Sheriff’s misconduct, particularly regarding the notorious beatings of Madison County inmates.
Reports suggest that these abusive practices were at their peak in 2014 when Garrison supposedly made it a regular part of his routine while at the jail. This raises serious concerns about accountability and the treatment of inmates in the county’s detention facilities.
The latest Sheriff Department incident was a phishing scam. It was executed through Detective Stephen Carver’s email.
On Tue, Oct 21, 2025, at 3:15 PM, Stephen Carver <scarver@madisoncountync.gov> wrote:
Please see attached
Thanks
Stephen
**Under the NC Public Records Law (GS 115D-78), email messages and attachments that are sent to or received by this account may be considered public records subject to third-party review depending upon the subject matter of the message. Messages, portions of messages, and attachments regarding a particular student or employee are considered confidential under NC privacy laws and federal law. All emails are subject to review by Madison County Government.**
I was one of the people who received Stephen’s Email. I asked Carver who he was and why he was sending this to me. He NEVER responded. I notified a friend of mine who works for many large financial institutions in security and had him look at it.
He determined that this is a classic phishing method. Basically, an email appears to be from Microsoft 365, inviting someone to share a file. They click the link they’re used to seeing in the same colors, but it takes them to a page where they enter their login information, which the attacker then saves.
I believe his computer got a virus or malware, and your email address is in his Outlook or email contacts.
Ok, first, I don’t know Stephen Carver and have never emailed him. What was he doing with my email in his contacts? When Carver never responded, I contacted Jamie Lunsford, head of Madison IT, who did respond with this:
Sorry for the inconvenience, but that account was compromised yesterday afternoon. Please delete!
Thanks.
Jaime Lunsford
ITS Director
The Madison County Sheriff’s Department is certainly liable for this situation. It’s concerning that there appear to be barriers to the Madison County IT department accessing the necessary information when issues arise. Once they discovered the breach, notifying the email recipients immediately should have been a priority. This kind of negligence not only puts people’s information at risk but also undermines public trust in the department. Additionally, the issues of employees engaging in inappropriate online activities, such as visiting pornographic or gambling sites, are troubling. It highlights a lack of professionalism that could compromise the department’s integrity and the community’s safety. The public deserves accountability and transparency from those who are sworn to protect and serve.
Madison County Government
Why is Commissioner Alan Woodpile Wyatt’s wife working at the Tax Department? Doesn’t Madison County government have a nepotism policy?
Where is the Human Resources officer, Brandi Rice?
Old Alan Wyatt has been asked about this by several residents. He has responded that he needs her in there to keep an eye on what is going on in the Tax department.
Really, Alan, your wife couldn’t keep an eye on you when your pants were down around your ankles at your church —how is she going to keep an eye on the tax department?
Boy oh boy is this County in trouble with these morons at the helm…
Oh, and let’s not forget the gals at the administration office, County Finance Officer Kary Ledford can’t formulate rudimentary accounting skills. In her latest budget worksheet, Departments are not identified in her accounting. Unidentified expenditures not associated with any department or division, and why has $60,000 been allocated for the finance department for travel?
This accounting has a pungent smell of Wanda Greene, a former Buncombe County manager. The question becomes, is this just incompetent bookkeeping, or is Madison County Government hiding where our money is going? Three-card monte, these County government employees remind me of carnival workers.
The Madison County administration’s budget increased, while the budgets of other departments decreased. Don’t forget it was Mandy Bradley, clerk to the board, who was part of the scheme to divert Federal grant money away from the cleanup of Madison Waterways; she was caught red-handed.
Additionally, the Madison County Government is again failing to promptly provide budget and salary public records. Their budget has numerous discrepancies, necessitating the reconciliation of these records.
Whenever you hear county employees, like the West Women of the tax office and transportation, complain about their salaries, ask yourselves: Does your employer match your retirement contributions by 16%? Well, they do in Madison County, and we, the taxpayers, are paying for this.
This match is 3 to 4 times over the national average and higher than that of NC state employees.
See the three-card monte below, no wonder everyone is calling Rod Honeycutt Norris Gentry #2
Kary Ledford’s pathetic attempt at a Budget worksheet below
County Salaries Below. It took three attempts to get this.I requested departments and full salaries.Why does this county need a Human Resources Officer? Brandi Rice is unfit for the position.
Notice they are gauged as hourly, so you think they are getting paid peanuts – Three Card Monte A calculator below to determine the yearly rate.
To calculate, another question: why is Richard Molland- Flow Art in Marshall’s Connie Molland’s husband on the County Salary tit?
Next, I received this rather interesting email from someone who did not have a mechanism to respond, so I followed up with Connie Harris, DSS director.
Cindy, in case you ran out of gasoline for your barn burner DSS Medicaid supervisor Chelsey rigsby resigned from her position recently after being named by Lucas Roberts when Marshall police responded to a call at subway for a male slumped over the steering wheel for over 60 minutes with a small child in the vehicle. Lucas stated he has just smoked dope with Chelsey in the Dss parking lot. As of today no charges have been filed by Marshall police for any party involved
Tracey a social worker was recently in court after it was uncovered she purchased a cell phone for one of her 15 year old clients to communicate with a 19 year old boy after placement family had forbid it.
Madison county DSS needs to be under a formal investigation . First Rebecca Parker now this?
I would like to know how many cases cps/aps actually investigates and how many cases just get pushed to the side. They’re failing our children and our elderly.
Did burgan Mackey resign or did he get “relieved of his duties”
Still no Emergency Management
Chelsie Lewis director of 911 making over 60K a year and only working 2 days a week. Who is running 911? How many other directors only have to work 2 days a week? How many other new mothers are given this opportunity? Chelsie is a 20 soemthing year old with less than 6 years of dispatch experience and 0 managerial experience there has been 4 911 directors since 2019 and Chelsie is the best they could come up with? She does not have the degree time or experience to be the director of any agency especially one as valuable as 911. Were there no more qualified applicants. Why is the county manager allowing this?
Speaking of county managers: why is Madison county’s rod honeycutt preforming emergency management duties?
Where is the highway patrol? Since salary increased to over 100k a year it seems like you never see them out in Madison county and there is never one on duty past midnight
With the massive loss of revenue from Helene are we expected to have another tax increase? Why will commissioners and county officials not allow more restaurants and grocery chains inside Madison county. All of our money is going to buncombe. With upcoming important elections who will be running? Sheriff? Commissioners? Shouldn’t people sitting on the school board have children in Madison county schools?
Who sits on the DSS board?
I would love to see you do a weekly segment on county news. There were so many people who turned to you for the truth of Madison county. We look foward to you pulling back the curtain and exposing the corrupt
I ran the email by Connie Harris, and she responded below:
Hi Cindie,
I can confirm that Chelsea Rigsby is no longer employed by DSS, but as you are probably aware, I cannot otherwise discuss personnel issues.
DSS investigates all reports of child abuse, neglect and dependency as well as reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation of elderly or disabled adults. Allegations in reports must meet the legal definitions of abuse, neglect, dependency or exploitation in order to be accepted.
I would welcome your source to contact me if he/she has a concern about a specific child or adult and I will be happy to take their report or try to help them understand why the report does not meet criteria for investigation.
The Board of Social Services has 5 members: Cynthia Davidson, Augusta Gladding, Sherrye Perry, Billy Roberts and Sue Vilcinskas. Our meetings are open to the public and are the first Tuesday of each month in the DSS Conference room at 4:00.
I always appreciate having the opportunity to respond.
Thanks,
Connie M. Harris
Connie M. Harris, MPA
Director
Madison County Dept. of Social Services
The emailer was asking about Mr. Makey, a former Environmental Inspector for the Madison County Health Department.
The recent situation at Little Ivy Church involving their treatment of the young man accused of showing up in drag highlights some troubling dynamics within the community.
It’s concerning to see a Republican Party board member, including Vickie Holifield, the treasurer of the Madison County Republican Party, who is also a member of this cult church, possibly involved in targeting this employee.
The actions of Michael Garrison and Jeremy Hensley in pushing for his resignation reflect a pattern of intolerance rather than support for staff and students.
Additionally, the harassment of students by this pastor for seemingly minor infractions, like wearing shorts in the summer, raises serious questions about the culture at this institution. It’s ironic that, after all their efforts, Little Ivy received a lower grade from a new inspector, underscoring how counterproductive their actions have been.
In a time when schools should be fostering inclusivity and understanding, this situation illustrates a significant failure to do so.
You could not pay me enough to do Connie Harris or Tammy Cody’s job; they deal with massive family problems daily, and they stay because they care about your kids and families. They didn’t create the dysfunction of Madison County; the system did…
Speaking of dysfunction, it seems the Mirror Hotel has been purchased, and the new owners have ambitious plans for the establishment.
I want to clarify that I have many friends who are Muslim and Indian, so please do not suggest that I am targeting them by referring to this as the “Maharaja coming to Madison.” The term “Maharaja” comes from “mahat,” meaning “great,” and “rājan,” meaning “king.”
After you read about their plans below, you’ll see why one might think they view themselves as kings.
Did these people actually have an attorney handling this for them?
I have read the original agreement between the neighbors and the woman from Mirrored Hotel. Remember, she never admitted to the planning board that she would be building these eyesores. I forwarded this to Danny at the building inspection division, and he is reviewing it. But understand it is only 50 acres —how would you even conceive of using a snow machine on 50 acres?
Below is my original story on the Cahill Carpet Bagger who sold the Mirrored Hotel
To create artificial snow, a significant amount of water is required. Up to 20,000 cubic meters may be needed to fill snow cannons that cover a medium-sized ski slope measuring 1,600 meters in length. This extensive water usage, along with the electricity consumed to operate the snow cannons, contributes to noise pollution.
Additionally, the production of artificial snow involves the use of polluting additives, which can have serious effects on local flora and fauna. The characteristics of artificial snow also negatively impact the environment. It has a higher density and more liquid water content than natural snow, making it heavier. This increased weight can cause the underlying soil to freeze, blocking the flow of oxygen and ultimately killing the vegetation below. Such changes disrupt the ecology and biodiversity of mountain slopes and the surrounding environment.
To produce artificial snow, water is typically pumped from reservoirs, streams, or lakes. The process requires a machine equipped with a high-pressure pump that sprays a fine mist of water into the cold air.
Where are they going to get the water for this fiasco? Do they think they can drain it out of the protected creek? I didn’t see a massive amenity center on these originally approved plans.
Have any of you seen an enormous amenity center? They have pools, gyms, tennis courts, and spas, to start. This is a planning board mess, and someone needs to challenge this permit.
When you do, challenge the ingress and egress on the road coming in, as they are below the minimum 45-foot requirement. These places need to be built in industrial zones, not in residential areas.
I am not against economic development; I am against unplanned economic development. These commissioners have been a disaster and are reminiscent of the Republican ruler they bow to. Their lack of foresight and consideration for the community’s needs is frustrating. Thoughtful planning is crucial to ensure that development benefits everyone and doesn’t lead to more problems down the road. It’s essential for our leaders to prioritize this for the betterment of our community.
Helene didn’t cause Madison County to be broke; it just revealed the magnitude of government incompetence, lack of planning, and greed over the years.
We need good candidates to run against these current leaders who are up for election and have failed us. The Democrats will have the advantage; they have wised up in WNC congressional races and are running better candidates. It’s crucial that we prioritize effective leadership that truly represents our community’s interests and addresses the pressing issues we face. Otherwise, we’ll continue to see the same cycle of dysfunction and mismanagement.- CH