By Harold Brummett
Denmark Star Route

I happened upon several notices of an event at the Stone Center and the topic interested me.

Project 2025 written by the Heritage Foundation had been in the news. While not having searched out the document, the plan was to listen to what Project 2025 was in an open explanation and debate.

Lafayette County Democrats and the local NAACP sponsored a panel discussion, question, and answer session on August 6th. I decided to go to the program offered to the public.

Ms. Reed moderated the event and held a firm but kindly control of the panelists and the audience keeping participants mainly on topic and on time. The panelists were Carol Livingston, J.M. Thomas, Heather Toney and Andre DeBerry.

Carol Livingston, in my opinion, gave the most balanced view of Project 2025. She knew her topic having read and analyzed the more than 900 pages of the report. Ms. Livingston then reduced the 900-page tome to a shortened summary. It was a lot of work to wade through the information and her effort was much appreciated.

J.M. Thomas was not consistently on point, as he would quote a section of the 2025 report then launch into a diatribe of what the audience should think about the quote. Little balance and a bit of blood and bile on display punctuated at the end with a fist-striking palm for emphasis.

Heather Toney was impressive as a former EPA official. She went over what the 2025 report said on the environment and while not agreeing with most of her conclusions, it was refreshing to hear a well-thought-out professional argument. Andre DeBerry gave the impression he had not read the assignment. Mr. DeBerry went with what he knew and that was the old tried and true political talking points. He quoted several individuals from the past from Thomas Jefferson to Fredrick Douglas and ending the last portion of his talk with an upraised fist.

I plan to read Ms. Livingston’s summary because a 900 plus page political read just isn’t fun.

Separating fact from supposition is time-consuming. I suspect, as one panelist intoned, that Highway 6 and all the bridges would become privatized toll roads or that the Veterans Affairs benefits would become even harder to access was hyperbole. Overall, the meeting was interesting and educational and kudos to the organizers for putting it on.