To the Editor:

Last week, the White House Counsel sent a letter to the House leadership that claims Trump is immune from congressional oversight and from impeachment. Trump said he can refuse to “participate in your partisan and unconstitutional inquiry.” He will reject all requests for documents and testimony, and ignore all subpoenas because he thinks Congress is not treating him “fairly”.

Trump is not saying that he has legal grounds to refuse congressional requests. He doesn’t even claim executive privilege. Instead, he says the entire inquiry is simply unfair, and therefore he can reject all of it. Trump asserts the House is violating his “civil liberties” and “due process” rights. Well, the Constitution says nothing about the particular processes by which the House has to carry out impeachment. The House can establish any rules it wants. Trump demands privileges, such as being able to cross-examine witnesses, which are a matter for the trial phase of impeachment, which happens in the Senate.

If Congress cannot exercise its power of oversight or its power of impeachment, it means Trump doesn’t have to answer to anyone and that essentially makes the president a king.

So will Republicans stand up to Trump’s assault on the very idea of checks and balances? Remember when they cried “Tyranny!” when Barack Obama signed an executive order, or shouted “Stonewalling!” if the Obama administration resisted a single document request from Congress. Remember when they called out the Constitution and the rule of law so seriously when they demanded Bill Clinton’s removal from office?

Why won’t the Republicans stand up to this assault on our democratic norms? Maybe they’re cowards, afraid of backlash from Trump himself and his most rabid supporters. Maybe they don’t actually believe in the Constitution if it isn’t delivering the outcomes they want. In any case, they are helping Trump drag our entire democratic system down.

John Barry

Franklin

Macon County youth recently placed in an archery and sharpshooting completion that included 380 4H members from across the state.

Four Haywood County swimmers scored at the Senior Games state swim meet this fall, held Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. 

The Lumberjack Team at Haywood Community College took first place at the 24th annual John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet, held Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Cradle of Forestry in the Pisgah National Forest. 

A newly conserved 139 acres in Haywood County will connect the Town of Canton’s Rough Creek watershed property to other tracts of protected land, permanently protecting wildlife habitat, scenic views from public trails and water quality. 

An additional 43 acres has been added to the Tessentee Bottomland Preserve owned by Mainspring Conservation Trust in southern Macon County. 

This summer’s Mountain Wildlife Days event in Sapphire was one of the most successful ever, and Mountain Wildlife Outreach will use the funds raised to provide live animal programs in Western North Carolina schools this academic year. 

151 Smokey Park Hwy., Asheville • Thursday, October 24 • 3-6 p.m.

To the Editor:

Think about it! Donald Trump didn’t need to be President. He much prefers business to government and certainly didn’t need politics to make him rich. He would have been content to finish out his life proud of his accomplishments and enjoy his family and friends but he saw people being left behind and huge problems not only being ignored but also being exacerbated, by both parties.

To the Editor:

There is no there there! The “there” is the latest accusation from the Democrats that President Donald Trump committed something wrong in a phone call with the president of the Ukraine and therefore should be impeached. The accusation is based on a whistleblower’s second- or third-hand accounts. No law was broken, there is no threat to national security and therefore no high crime and misdemeanor, which is the standard for impeachment. Without following the constitutional process, U.S. House Democrats have gone wild with misguided hearings and inflammatory comments to the media.

Fall is upon us and so are the beautiful colors and seasonal customs of our region. Just thinking of tomato pies, apple turnovers, hayrides, and carving pumpkins brings memories of bounty and happiness! The stunning mountains and biodiversity is one of the reasons why many of us consider ourselves lucky to live here. But the varied terrain of our mountain home often hides the hardships faced by those most closely involved in the rhythms of sowing and harvesting its bounty: the farmworkers of WNC.

Our 8 year-old really like cereal for breakfast but I don’t want to buy him ones that are full of sugar. What are some better choices in cereals?

By Paul Strop • Guest Columnist

I read with interest a recent letter expressing concerns about immigration, truly one of the main problems of this nation and the whole world. I wish to express an alternate view citing, if possible, where I obtained my information. 

The writer seems to believe the Donald Trump propaganda that undocumented immigrants (the writer uses the term “illegal immigrants”) are a financial burden to this country. However, studies from 2005 have documented the “illegal immigrants” pay about $7 billion per year into Social Security (N.Y. Times, April 2005). They will never collect a dime, but the writer will benefit from those dollars.

By Beth Young • Guest Columnist

“It’s just a phase.” “They are just being teenagers.” “I drank when I was their age and I was fine.” These are things I know that I heard as a kid and that I have heard said to kids today. The flip side of these beliefs is the misconception that adolescents cannot develop substance-use disorders.

Two people died during a three-vehicle collision at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

A ban on backcountry fires in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was announced Sept. 26 following the release of a new drought map showing that 45 counties in central and western North Carolina are experiencing moderate drought. 

Florida resident Dr. Joe Lee earned recognition recently for his role as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s first African-American park naturalist in the 1960s. That’s no small feat, said Smokies Superintendent Cassius Cash. 

Nearly 300 members of the Western Carolina University community came together Thursday, Sept. 5, to dedicate the campus’s newest residence hall in honor of Levern Hamlin Allen, the institution’s first African-American student and a woman characterized by WCU Chancellor Kelli R. Brown as “a quiet pioneer of integration.”

RALEIGH — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging all North Carolinians to make sure they are up to date on their vaccines in light of recent mumps cases at two Triad area universities.  

Haywood County Public Health, in conjunction with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, is investigating a case of Legionella, commonly known as Legionnaire’s disease. Additional cases are also being investigated in surrounding counties.

By Kae Livsey • Guest Columnist

In the U.S., there is a common perception that there is a pill to fix everything. We are flooded with advertisements promoting pharmacological management for all kinds of conditions. There are even drugs that have been developed to counteract the side effects of other drugs, such as a pill to counteract constipation resulting from use of legally prescribed opioids. Substance use disorders may result from legally prescribed opiates, or from when people resort to opioid-based drugs as a way to self-medicate for chronic pain or mental illness that may be undiagnosed, or untreated, due to lack of access to treatment and support.

To the Editor:

Swain County Democrats recently passed a resolution in support of the county’s proposed animal control ordinance and ask others to do the same. The proposed ordinance will protect the “health, safety and welfare” of county residents and protect companion animals from “abuse, neglect and abandonment.”   

To the Editor:

In the September 4 issue of The Smoky Mountain News I was happy to see that WCU, my alma mater, was recognizing a significant moment in its history: honoring the first African-American student by naming a residence hall after her. But I was saddened to see the announcement buried at the bottom of the page in the middle of paper.  

To the Editor:

A Republican acquaintance who won’t vote for her party’s candidate for president recently said, “But I don’t want us to get socialism,” meaning, she explained, some people getting handouts from government. 

To the Editor:

My grandmother Evelyn was a stickler for just a couple of things. She was fortunate that her father, a German immigrant silversmith in Newark, N.J., made a small fortune when he took to smithing whiskey flasks for the “Dandies” of New York during Prohibition, allowing them to party on despite the law, and for his children to engage in activities with people of means, education and most importantly to her, manners.

To the Editor:

I am sickened by the thought of diverting yet another $18.4 billion for a border wall. That’s billion with a B! And for nothing but an illusion of security. No wall has ever successfully protected a nation. 

A section of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Virginia portion that has been closed since September will continue to be closed indefinitely, Parkway officials decided recently.

The U.S. Forest Service has completed an environmental analysis for the Buck Project on the Nantahala National Forest’s Tusquitee Ranger District in eastern Clay County. 

Webcams recently installed at Newfound Gap and Clingmans Dome will give visitors nearly real-time access to weather conditions and views from the highest elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 

A $4,500 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation is helping the Highlands Nature Center support its school outreach program. 

Delayed Harvest Trout Waters regulations will go into effect in 20 Western North Carolina counties on Tuesday, Oct. 1. 

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park recently received a priceless donation of Cades Cove artifacts to the museum collections when the great-granddaughter of Dan and Sidney Lawson — Robin Derryberry of Chattanooga, Tennessee — donated a chest of drawers, family Bible, wedding portraits and other family photographs to the National Park Service for long-term preservation at the National Park Service Collections Preservation Center in Townsend, Tennessee.  

The Smoky Mountain News’ annual Living Well special section aims to give readers a broad view of the many different opportunities for living a healthy lifestyle in Western North Carolina. Whether you’re interested in starting a new workout routine or searching for ways to improve your mental health, local health experts can help you get started.

Three years ago, few people had heard of cannabidiol (CBD). Now, it’s popular with all demographics. It’s even being used with cats and dogs. With an abundance of information floating around and a slew of products on the market, Kim Ferguson of Kim’s Pharmacy offers clarification and suggestions regarding CBD oil. 

An interview with therapist Arika Morrison 

By Tara Hogan • Guest writer

What is your health philosophy? What keeps you going? Now more than ever, we need to be looking up from our devices asking ourselves these questions. Depression, anxiety, chronic pain and lifestyle diseases are rampant. Defining a strong health philosophy may be the answer the mystery of our culture of dis-ease.

By Jerica Rossi • Guest writer

Finding it hard to get to the studio on the reg? Or sticking to your home practice while juggling work, family, fun or travel? It happens. Sometimes life has us looking in another direction and before you know it, you haven’t touched your mat in weeks. 

The man who opened fire in an UNC-Charlotte campus classroom, killing Waynesville native Riley Howell, will now spend the rest of his life behind bars, after pleading guilty to two counts of murder Sept. 19.

A volunteer firefighter who died while responding to a call was laid to rest on Sunday, after a procession made up of dozens of first responders accompanied his casket from the Jonathan Creek Fire Department to Lake Junaluska’s Stuart Auditorium. 

Magnesium tends to be kind of a tricky mineral because adequacy is difficult to assess since it is stored in cells and in the bones. 

To the Editor:

Western North Carolina’s answer to Jim Acosta — Smoky Mountain News Editor Scott McLeod in his last week’s column — frets that “never has the credibility of those of us who call ourselves journalists been under attack like we are today.”

Boo-fricken-hoo. What does the record actually show?

The Sedition Act of 1798 resulted in the arrest of the editors of the Philadelphia Aurora and the Times Piece. I wonder if they would agree with that statement.

Read Upton Sinclair’s The Brass Check, where he compares the title item — a token bought by the customer in a brothel and then given to the woman of his choice — to media owners who purchase the services of journalists.

Jefferson was instrumental in overturning the Sedition Act, but in his second term he instructed state attorney generals to prosecute newspaper editors for sedition.

Jefferson never held journalistic credibility in high esteem: “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle.” “I deplore with you the putrid state into which our newspapers have passed, and the malignity, the vulgarity, and mendacious spirit of those who write for them.” “From forty years’ experience of the wretched guess-work of the newspapers of what is not done in open daylight, and of their falsehood even as to that, I rarely think them worth reading, and almost never worth notice.”

Lincoln was responsible for shutting down more than 300 newspapers during the course of the Civil War. Government officials shut down The Chicago Times for excessively criticizing the Lincoln administration. Editors were arrested, papers closed, and reporters kept away from battlefields. Secretary of War Stanton approved the destruction of the DC newspaper, The Sunday Chronicle. A number of editors were sent to prison at Fort Lafayette.

How’s that for being “under attack?”

Teddy Roosevelt tried to sue newspapers for their criticism of his Panama Canal purchase.

Congress passed the Sedition Act of 1918 prohibiting printing, writing, etc. against the war effort. Under this law, Eugene Debs was prosecuted for a speech and Rose Pastor Stokes for writing to a newspaper.

Prior to WWII, Congress passed the Smith Act, the first peacetime sedition law. FDR bullied the media with threats to revoke broadcast licenses and effectively shut down Yankee Radio for criticizing his policies. The day after Pearl Harbor, FDR gave J Edgar Hoover emergency authority to censor all news and control all communication in and out of the country.

Truman famously wrote: “Presidents and the members of their Cabinets and their staff members have been slandered and misrepresented since George Washington … when the press is friendly to an administration the opposition has been lied about and treated to the excrescence [sic] of paid prostitutes of the mind.” Maybe he had The Brass Check in mind.

JFK’s Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Bill Ruder admitted, “Our massive strategy was to use the Fairness Doctrine to challenge and harass right-wing broadcasters and hope that the challenges would be so costly to them that they would be inhibited and decide it was too expensive to continue.” JFK tried to shift some of the blame for the Bay of Pigs fiasco unto the press. He called upon journalists to exercise more self‐restraint and to show support for the president as a moral responsibility in time of crisis. He attempted to pressure the media to voluntarily censor itself. Mark Watson of The Baltimore Sun wrote that Kennedy “has thrown overboard the wartime principles and practices which two world wars have justified.”

John Mitchell, Nixon’s Attorney General, sought injunctions to prevent the Pentagon Papers from being published. Nixon had his enemies list and had them audited. His administration tried to revoke the Washington Post’s television station.

When the Obama administration obtained the records of 20 Associated Press phone lines and reporters’ home and cell phones, the AP called the seizure a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into its news gathering activities, betraying information about its operations “that the government has no conceivable right to know.”

When Obama’s Justice Department went after James Rosen’s records, The New York Times editorial board stated, “The Obama administration has moved beyond protecting government secrets to threatening fundamental freedoms of the press to gather news.”

The Department of Justice published a report in 2013 of their review of their practices and policies regarding issuing subpoenas, search warrants, and court orders to obtain records from journalists. David E. Sanger, chief Washington correspondent of The New York Times responded that the revised guidelines were “just formalizing what was observed in past administrations. The guidelines worked pretty well until the Obama administration came in.”

Do you really expect us to believe that current “attacks” rise to these levels?

I think your op-ed is a thinly veiled attack on Trump and I think you have it backwards. The tone and severity of attacks on the administration from the press are unprecedented in modern times. I restrict it to modern times because I am aware of the treatment of James T. Callender towards Jefferson as one of a multitude of worse assaults upon government officials by the press.

When Clark Holt, ombudsman for The New York Times left that position, he remarked on how poorly the newsroom reacted to his oversight of their work and resisted accountability. They were fine asking invasive questions, but did not like to have the tables turned and be criticized in public.

Perhaps you could consider the 1924 inaugural address of president-elect of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Paul Bellamy: “Blessed be the critics of newspapers.” 

Timothy Van Eck

Whittier

To the Editor:

Since North Carolina’s 11th Dist. Representative Mark Meadows, R, took office in 2013, 93,000 and counting US citizens have been killed by gun violence. Additionally, depending on the year, there have been from 15,000 to 31,000 gun-related injuries and each year nearly 22,000 suicides by guns. And equally as sad are the many thousands of families whose lives are forever changed due to gun-related violence.

A majority of registered voters nationwide say Congress needs to do more to reduce gun violence: 72 percent total including 50 percent of Republicans, 93 percent of Democrats, and 75 percent of Independents.

Rep. Meadows, who is suspected to be in the deep pockets of the pro-assault rifle NRA, has consistently voted “nay” for gun reform. It’s time to replace do-nothing Meadows with someone with the guts, gumption, and gonads to reduce this senseless carnage with common sense gun regulation.

Maj. Steve Woodsmall, USAF-Retired, for NC 11th Dist. Representative is that person. He’ll be part of the solution; not part of the problem.

John H. Fisher

Hendersonville

An outdoor economy initiative at Western Carolina University has been selected as a finalist in the University Economic Development Association’s 2019 Awards of Excellence competition.

After 18 years with Mainspring Conservation Trust and five years as its leader, Sharon Fouts Taylor will retire on Feb. 29, 2020.

The Cashiers Community Fund has awarded $141,000 in grants to nonprofits serving Cashiers and the surrounding region. 

It’s no secret that Western Carolina University is a growing community, with enrollment topping 12,000 for the first time this semester following an upward swing that’s seen the student body increase for eight out of the past nine years. 

Waynesville arts and cultural organization Folkmoot has reached an agreement with the Academy at SOAR, a longtime boarding school in the Balsam community of Jackson County, to move its school operations on the Folkmoot Friendship Center campus.

Blue Ridge Health (BRH) has been awarded a $650,000 New Access Point grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to open a new community health center in Bryson City.