Are courthouse politics gumming up the system?
When I came back to The Smoky Mountain News after six months away from journalism, one of my first trips…
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Dangerous vigilante fantasies must end
What does Jason Aldean have to do with the recent uproar over a transgender person using the swimming pool at…
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Knife fights over deck chairs
To the Editor: The world as we know it is changing dramatically. We have entered the era of the polycrisis…
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A lesson from First Lady Rosalynn Carter
“Climb the mountain so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.” — David McCullough Jr.
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Important freedoms are under siege
To the Editor: We now live in a free country. We cherished the freedom to worship as we choose; the freedom…
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Can our democracy survive?
It’s clear from numerous reports out of Congress that most, if not all, Republicans think Donald Trump is a buffoon…
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‘If I am still here in 11 more days …’
My birthday is tomorrow. When my dad reached this same age, he had 10 days left to live. I remember…
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Human gratitude runs deep in our DNA
Over 10 years ago, I was part of a cohort at Long’s Chapel United Methodist Church who read a book…
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Simple, meaningful stories often overlooked
I once wrote a story about a couple in Jackson County who had been living off the grid for decades. They…
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Burning bush has a high price
To the Editor: A recent letter gave some very good advice: get outside and enjoy the outdoors. Nature has so…
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Times have changed, and that’s a good thing
As an adolescent male in the 1970s, you didn’t tell your other male friends you loved them, not at that…
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Women are allowed to change their mind, right?
You have been together a month, maybe two. It was whirlwind and all, that electric “getting to know you” phase…
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Israel not helping its cause
To the Editor: Why are Israeli warlords bombing children’s hospitals and killing hundreds of children and babies?
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We need to deal with the bully
To the Editor: “No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elector of president or vice-president, or…
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Wildfires a reminder of Nature’s power
A severe drought. A moderate but steady wind that’s coming from the north and very dry. Parched leaves swirling everywhere.
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America’s founding deserves our gratitude
In her classic novel “Little Women,” Louisa May Alcott has her character Margaret gaze bitterly at the family’s frostbitten garden…
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Finding ways to slow down time
I’ve been wondering lately how to slow down time. If you’re a parent, I’m sure you would agree there’s a…
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Does anyone really like Daylight Savings Time?
I guess they must exist, these people who actually like setting their clocks back an hour for daylight saving time, these…
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Frightening implications of latest Leandro do-over
Imagine the following scenario: In a fit of misguided “get tough on crime” paranoia, state lawmakers enact a broad-based scheme…
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Military leaders need to speak up
To the Editor: It isn’t often that I feel vindicated, but my hat is off to Max Boot at The…
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I’ll be supporting Waynesville incumbents
To the Editor: Regarding the Oct. 25 article, “The heart and soul of Waynesville is on the ballot,” I was…
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How attitude diseases can ruin the good life
My last newspaper column talked of Thomas Aquinas’s four idols — money, power, pleasure and fame, and how they not…
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Vote wisely for Waynesville’s future leaders
Town elections are seldom exciting, but the race in Waynesville is generating a lot of buzz.
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It’s time to grab your hardhat
To the Editor: As yellow falling leaves and cool, dry air are floating into the mountains, it signals to knowledgeable…
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Conservation wins big in 2023 budget
To the Editor: The new 2023 state budget will pump more than $100 million annually into land and water conservation.
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Law officers ignore meeting, and that’s good
Sometimes a quiet no-show can be a really loud statement.
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Sometimes ‘the system’ all seems so unfair
Many years ago, one of the students in my English composition course approached me after class one day as other…
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Reality still eludes Trump’s base
To the Editor: This is a reply to the September 20 letter to the editor titled, “Rule of law proven…
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Former agents endorse Reece for mayor
To the Editor: We are writing to express our enthusiastic support for the candidacy of Joel “Joey” Reece for the…
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The beauty of simple, unadorned travel
The old man, hell he was probably my age, flagged me down after I passed his home and garden. “Buen…
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Advice from a 13th-century philosopher about idols
I never pretend to be an expert on current events. In fact, I mostly avoid the news because so much of…
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Democracy or fascism?
To the Editor: Some people still believe that America is involved in a traditional Democratic/Republican political struggle.
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Washington won’t fix health care
North Carolina’s Medicaid program will expand on December 1 to offer fully subsidized health plans to virtually every legal resident…
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The perils of an increasingly technocentric society
At four o’clock in the morning, I am fumbling around in the dark trying to make some hotel coffee for…
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Elections bill is partisan power grab
To the Editor: The passage of SB 749 in the North Carolina House of Representatives on Sept. 19, 2023, a…
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A measure that could save a child’s life
Sylva town commissioners are considering putting a Safe Haven Box in an appropriate place somewhere within their jurisdiction. I for one…
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The good and the bad of the pickleball explosion
Over the summer, we visited a friend’s lake house in Georgia. There were 17 of us in the group, and…
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The overlooked importance of education
To the editor: When young men of Ancient Athens reached the age of 17, they took what was known as…
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Voltaire’s wisdom endures
To the editor: I read David Parker’s letter in last week’s paper. It made me think of this quote from Voltaire:…
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The allure of gambling money
What’s behind Republican leaders’ insistent push to legalize multiple forms of gambling – from online sports betting to casinos and…
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A tribute to Dr. Arnold, a true teacher
Sometimes, it feels like we’re just nowhere in this life. It was like that for me in the early 1980s.
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Rule of law proven a farce amid corruption
To the editor: Remember the saying from Vietnam days that we had to destroy the village in order to save…
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When food and plants become medicine
I’ve never doubted I’m an old soul, so maybe my attachment to herbal remedies and plant-based eating is connected to…
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It is clear minorities are being targeted
To the Editor: I must say, in light of recent events (read: July incidents at the Rec Center and subsequent…
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Rep. Edwards needs to butt out of tribal affairs
When the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians overwhelmingly approved a measure to get into the recreational marijuana business last week,…
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Inflation Reduction Act keeps on giving
To the Editor: We are celebrating one year into the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
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No one is above the Constitution
To the Editor: A historic constitutional battle is brewing.
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Wild nights and the bar fight
“There is no such joy in the tavern as upon the road thereto.” — Cormac McCarthy, “Blood Meridian”
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Freedom Park lifts up heroic stories
The state government complex in Raleigh is home to a new park. Constructed on Lane Street between the legislative building…
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