To the Editor:

I grew up in a small, rural community, one not unlike many of the small towns in Western North Carolina. Growing up in an active outdoor recreation, hunting and fishing culture was an experience I cherish to this day. And it’s why I love these mountains. Part of that experience was being around, and using, guns. My family had shotguns and rifles which were used both for hunting and target practice. 

They were also on hand for personal safety, which fortunately was never necessary. We had a couple of really old guns too; the gun my grandfather has used in the 1800s, and a pistol we’d found on an abandoned railroad bed. 

As a teen, I spent many hours at the rifle range, and although I wasn’t old enough to hunt then, was very aware of hunting in my community. One took it seriously and one respected the power of a gun. It wasn’t something to take lightly. 

When guns weren’t in use, they were locked up safely and only my father had the keys. We never thought of guns they way they are perceived today, as a thing to collect and obsess over and to back up one’s beliefs about government. 

We trusted our government and our law officers to protect us. There were no regular mass gun killings or school killings and the first mass killing with a gun that I remember was at a McDonald’s in California, thousands of miles away. The thought of a gun as a killing machine used against innocents was the furthest thing from my mind then. 

I wish I could say things stayed that way, a time when respect for guns was firm, but without the worship of guns and the mass killing we have today. At that time, the NRA was active as a lobbyist for hunters, a far cry of what it has become. 

So what happened? Did we suddenly decide to become a blood-thirsty people? Did the government become so threatening that we all had to take up arms? Or did the gun industry mutate into something that, in order to grow, had to create false enemies and dangers? 

I get the idea that we have a right to bear arms and that it’s our Second Amendment right. But, is today’s gun culture what our forebears had in mind? Did they foresee the changes in technology that would result in guns that can kill dozens in seconds? Did they see kids collecting assault rifles to use against their fellow students? Did they see grown men raining bullets down on a crowd of innocents, killing them as if in a video game? Did they foresee the rise of extremist politics that would demonize our own government with conspiracy theories to the extent that many gun owners are fighting some imaginary enemy? Did they foresee the mass production of weapons? I doubt it.

Guns today have mutated from what I experienced as a kid to an industry that seems hell bent on tearing America apart. The gun industry and the NRA have completely tainted and poisoned what it is to be a gun owner. And, lest we forget, guns are an industry and all industries must grow. 

So, the more guns, the more profits. Every time there is a mass killing today, the NRA calls for more guns. It’s a maddening thought, really. If something is causing tremendous pain and destruction, do you call for more of the same? Or do you step back and look at the bigger picture. More guns, more violence, is this what we want for the future and for our kids? I’d hope we can do better.

John Tripp

Waynesville

To the Editor:

The White House budget for 2019 seems designed to hurt the elderly and people born with disabilities. An article in Forbes, a respected, traditionally conservative business magazine, titled “What Trump’s Budget Would Mean For Seniors” delivered this heart-rending news, ironically, on Valentine’s Day. The author takes the following facts from the White House budget. After each part of the budget he cites, I’ll say why I think it is morally wrong. The quotations are from the Forbes piece.

First, his budget would kill the current Medicare “cost-sharing for seniors with very high prescription drug costs.” Only in the U.S. among all “developed” nations do people have to pay huge amounts of money for medicine and medical devices. I know this for a fact because I’ve lived in the United Arab Emirates and have friends who live in Spain, France, Britain, Italy, Canada, Thailand, Vietnam, New Zealand and Australia. The exact same medicines, many from the exact same pharmaceutical companies as U.S. meds, cost them a few dollars while we pay $90, or thousands.

Current example: an American friend in Spain, a retired Air Force officer, is being treated for a cancer of the blood that isn’t curable, but thankfully is containable. Paying about $130 a month, he gets meds and blood tests — no questions asked, no co-pays, no waiting for the insurer to OK any procedure. No added stress. 

In sharp contrast, a relative in Alabama with a bone cancer that’s also containable, but not curable, is being treated with a medication that’s been on the market since 2015. Cost per month: $10,000. She’s terrified something will happen to force her to stop working. She has always saved much of her salary, her house in an upper-middle-class area is paid for, her kids have good jobs. But even she could go bankrupt— only in America. 

And she’s one of the few people I know who’s always exercised a lot, eaten healthful foods, maintained an ideal weight, gone to church and otherwise been a paragon of living right. 

Second under the President’s budget, people with limited income but high “out-of-pocket expenses” would have to pay even more before getting their prescriptions free. Millions of older people would be spending over $8,000 in a year for medicines alone if hit with a catastrophic illness. Should they have to go hungry or lose their homes because life circumstances are such that they cannot pay the U.S. drug companies’ exorbitant costs? I don’t think so. 

Third, the President’s budget will slash “$236 billion over 10 years” from Medicare compensation to “doctors, skilled nursing facilities, and other providers.” As someone who visits a relative’s nursing home numerous times a year, I can testify that it is clearly making do with too little already — it especially needs more nursing staff. 

Fourth, the author explains that the President’s budget allows only “very small increases in some areas, including nutrition programs such as Meals on Wheels, and would cut funding for others, such as falls prevention, elder rights support, and chronic disease self-management. The budget would cut funding for disability programs by about 30 percent.” 

Clearly some Republicans in Congress are comfortable with old people getting fewer nutritious meals; with their breaking bones leading to being bed-ridden and dying slowly and painfully. I believe that most Smoky Mountain News readers are not that heartless or vengeful.

Fifth but regrettably not last, the President’s budget would also slash “food stamps” — really, a debit card program known as SNAP, which ensures minimal food for older people with low incomes. About 75 percent of SNAP recipients live alone or have a disability. The President would also force the elderly to take half their SNAP benefit in generic canned food. Imagine the indignity as well as the danger to old people with diabetes or another disease requiring a special diet.   

Clearly, Haywood County is full of caring people who volunteer or work to help people in need of all ages, including the homeless, as Smoky Mountain News Staff Writer Cory Villancourt’s December series on homelessness shows. Let us hope that enough people ask themselves if they could bear to look themselves in a mirror, or call themselves religious, if they were to do nothing to let our elected officials know that the President’s budget is just plan immoral.

Mary Curry

Haywood County

To the Editor:

Politicians love the photo op with veterans. We celebrate the wounded warrior, but seldom praise the system that cares for him/her — the Veterans Home Administration.

The VHA cares for over 9 million veterans at 1,243 health care facilities, including 170 VA Medical Centers and 1,063 out-patient sites.

The VA may have its flaws, but its center in Oteen [East Asheville] is considered one of the best in the country. Vets come to Asheville from all over the Southeast for treatment.

Many people don’t realize the VA is essentially “socialized” medicine, whereby the government provides and pays for health care, including negotiated price controls on drugs. Congressional leaders who claim that socialized medicine is not viable in the U.S. are being disingenuous.

Congressman Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, does not support a “single payer” health care system, which is not socialized medicine. Some would also call this “Medicare for All,” where health care is publicly funded but privately delivered. Patients retain control over which physicians to use. 

One recalls the American Medical Association vehemently opposed Medicare in 1965, when it was introduced by President Lyndon Johnson and ratified by Congress. Things change. There was a paradigm shift, and Medicare is now embraced by most Americans.

Even business leaders are now saying the current health care system is unsustainable and harmful to the bottom line — 17 percent of payroll is now consumed by health care dollars, and 62 percent of American household bankruptcies are due to medical expenses.

I would encourage Rep. Meadows to leave his comfort zone and listen to his constituents. Our nation is undergoing another paradigm shift — 60 percent of Americans now favor Medicare for all. Can North Carolina be that far behind the national trend on health care?

A real leader would be open to broadening the discussion on health care; perhaps even attend a forum on “Healthcare for All: Good for Busine$$,” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27, at AB-Tech Ferguson Auditorium in Asheville. The keynote speaker is David Steil, former Republican Pennsylvania legislator and mid-size business owner who supports health care for all and a single payer system. Mr. Steil will describe his personal journey to embracing single payer.

Perhaps our Congressman could learn something from Mr. Steil. Perhaps we could make America great again by providing health care for all our people, and no longer be the only industrialized democracy notto guarantee health care to its citizens. Imagine that and vote accordingly this November.

Roger Turner

Asheville

The Commission for a Clean County has announced the winners of its 2017 Community Pride Awards, which recognizes people and groups who have gone above and beyond in their commitment to a clean environment in Haywood County. 

Tim Petrea, program supervisor at the Waynesville Recreation Center, has been elected president of the Haywood Waterways Association. 

Prolonged warm temperatures have prompted Cataloochee Ski Area to cancel night skiing for the rest of the season. 

The Landmark Outdoor Educator Semester will return with classes May 9 through June 28, a 51-day program that yields a total of seven nationally recognized certifications for its students. 

How do I know the rotisserie chickens are safe to eat? How long are they left out?

To the Editor:

Try as hard and I can, I just can’t make myself believe someone would write such as editorial “Trumps detractors are the hypocrites.” Maybe she can’t understand what she reads or why bother to even read what else is out there. It is much less stressful to get her education from FOX News. Why go any place else because all other news is “Fake News” anyway. 

Or would her knowledge have come from the “swamp” her hero promised to drain? After all, when any swamp is drained the frogs have to go somewhere. Maybe one of them dropped by her place.

I would go farther, but if she hasn’t caught on by now to what Trump really is there is no hope. Why waste the time?

Tom Boyd

Ironduff

By Peter Nieckarz • Guest Columnist

The Trump administration in mid-February unveiled its proposed federal budget for 2019. The proposal calls for the total elimination of federal appropriations for public broadcasting. The present level of funding to public broadcasting ($445 million) represents a microscopic portion of federal spending, but the impact this proposed cut will have on public broadcasting will be anything but small, particularly for public radio and the countless communities served by it. Federal budgets may seem abstract and not immediately relevant to us, but as the old saying goes, “All politics is local.” With respect to this, it is important for us in Western North Carolina consider the impact that a defunded public radio could have for our region.      

Mike Wolfe, Frank Fritz, and their team are excited to return to Western North Carolina to film more episodes of the popular television show “American Pickers.”

As The Smoky Mountain News wraps up an ongoing series on the state of mental health in North Carolina, state lawmakers were asked to weigh in on funding cuts and their thoughts on what the General Assembly can do to improve the flailing system.

Candidates have until 5 p.m. today, Feb. 28, to sign up to run for office.

By Dale Neal • Special to The Smoky Mountain News

Evangelist Billy Graham — a spiritual guide to generations of American evangelicals, a globe-trotting preacher who converted millions to Christianity, and a confidante to presidents — died today at the age of 99.

Graham personally preached the Christian gospel to more people on the planet than any other evangelist in the 2,000 years of Christianity.

Myth: The numerical code on the sticker on fruits and vegetable is put there for consumer information.

A new trail in the budding Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Trail loop has been completed, getting the system one step closer to its planned 20-mile expanse. 

Incentives aplenty await those who sign on to join The Plunge in support of environmental education 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at the brand-new Canton Pool. 

An upcoming attempt at the 70-mile Georgia Death Race could mean a boost in assistance for Southwestern Community College students who find themselves in need of financial help. 

By Will Studenc

The Jackson County, North Carolina Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) wishes to communicate its position regarding the existence of monuments that glorify the cause of the Confederacy, white supremacy, and the soldiers who fought in the Civil War. 

To the Editor:

I appreciated Cory Vaillancort’s story “Unseating Mark Meadows” describing the candidates running against the now-millionnaire incumbent representing the 11th Congressional District. We need a candidate who knows first hand what the middle class needs to thrive and grow in WNC. Phillip Price is that candidate. 

To the Editor:

Have we lost our sanity? A military parade is an unconscionable waste of national resources, particularly galling as Congress is voting to pass a budget that will greatly increase our national debt. Trying to pass it off as an effort to “honor veterans” reveals a real disconnect about what veterans really need and want: improved benefits and improved health care at VA hospitals.

To the Editor:

When I think about the purpose of industry, it is that our children would have good lives. That it would be of benefit to all our lives. Toxicity from industry is a problem that is increasing, on a huge scale. Weighed in the balance, much industrial production is endangering the lives of children through cancer and nervous system disorders, in exchange for products that may make life more convenient but have little real value. We are trading true benefit for ourselves for material goods. It is naive to believe that industry can continue this way. 

To the Editor:

First, I want to thank Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Bryson City, for holding this latest town hall meeting. Unfortunately, I left the meeting wondering why even have one if the focus is entirely on the past.

To the Editor:

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, seems to be having a bout of selective amnesia instead of working for the people he represents in the 11th District.

By Todd Vinyard • Special to The Smoky Mountain News

Western Carolina University head basketball coach Larry Hunter’s team had beaten Samford 88-71 on Feb. 3 for a significant Southern Conference victory, and he had become one of only 40 other NCAA men’s basketball coaches with 700 career wins. Despite the milestone, Hunter followed his postgame routine of 46 years in coaching — finish the work of game day and prepare for the next game.

With the sign-up period now underway, candidate are throwing their names in the hat to run for various local and state offices. 

A southern gothic love triangle set in the age of Trump? Or maybe J.D. Vance’s bestseller Hillbilly Elegy as a postpunk concept album? How about a singer/songwriter coming off a ten-year hiatus, provoked from a peaceful period of dadhood into sounding his barbaric yawp over the roofs of rural Appalachia and the rest of “the solid south”?

Taste of Local — Thursday February 22. Ingles Markets, 301 Long Shoals Road, Arden NC. 3-6 p.m.

A trash cleanup on upper Scotts Creek in Sylva Saturday, Jan. 27, yielded more than 3.5 tons of trash hauled to the landfill. 

A North Carolina permit granted to the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline last week — given together with the establishment of a $57.8 million fund for environmental mitigation and clean energy — cleared the last major hurdle for the project to proceed. 

A new conservation easement in Boyd Cove will protect 88 acres adjacent to thousands of already-protected acres in the Newfound Mountains of Sandy Mush in Buncombe County. 

Five “Water Champions” were recognized for their work to protect water quality in Haywood County during Haywood Waterways Association’s annual awards ceremony in December. 

To the Editor:

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, and some of his fellow Republican representatives may just have become a danger to our national security. Their theatrics in attacking the FBI and counter intelligence measures is likely to weaken our ability to protect the nation from Russian and other cyber attacks on our democracy.

Rep. Meadows claims the attack is not political, but the facts point to the opposite. Rather the whole manufactured issue of the “Nunes Memo” appears to be an attempt to protect President Trump and his minions from themselves.

Let’s look at the facts. Having read the “Nunes Memo,” I find it has no real support for the assertion about the supposed connection between the surveillance of Carter Page, who became a Trump advisor, and the so-called dossier. According to reports, Page was of interest to the FBI as early as 2013 due to contacts with known Russian spies. Page also came to the attention of the FBI and counterintelligence based on a tip from an Australian diplomat who reported Page making statements that suggested an improper relationship with Russian agents. 

The initial FISA warrants to monitor Page apparently had nothing to do with the dossier. The Nunes memo is a concocted sham to discredit what the FBI may have on Trump, the Trump family, and the campaign.

If Trump has nothing to hide about his relationships with Russia and Russian oligarchs, why did we see the lying about meetings with Russians? Multiple people involved in the Trump campaign initially lied, or “omitted” from disclosures that they had held meeting with Russians. If you have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide, why lie about it. 

We know that according to all reports President Trump was involved in making up a false story about why his son and son-in-law met with Russians in Trump tower. If it was just a typical attempt to get opposition research, why not just say so. The secrecy suggests that more than politics as usual was going on.

Which brings us back to the FBI and counterintelligence. We need these agencies to function independently of politics to protect us from illegal and dangerous outside interference. Trump seems intent on making the FBI leadership loyal only to him and not the country. Rep. Meadows and his fellow Republicans seem intent on helping to accomplish that task. Meadows has sponsored a bill to “investigate the investigators” as stated in his weekly newsletter. Where is the bill to investigate Russian meddling in our elections and Russian cyber trolls? Meadows should be looking after our safety as a nation instead of trying to protect Donald Trump from his own actions. 

Norman Hoffmann

Waynesville

To the Editor:

That was a clever rebuttal (Jan. 24) from Samuel Edwards to my column on why North Carolina should adopt the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact to elect the president instead of relying on the dysfunctional Electoral College. Too clever, I’m afraid.

He would have the electoral votes awarded by congressional district, with the statewide winner getting the two electoral votes that represent the senators. That would be quite convenient for his side, since so many more congressional districts are gerrymandered to favor Republicans than Democrats. If every state did it, the legislatures — which are gerrymandered themselves — would be rigging the presidential elections every time they redistrict.

The people supporting the national popular vote have looked at this, as I suspect Mr. Edwards has also. George W. Bush would have won even more electoral votes in 2000, when he lost the popular vote, and in 2004 when he won it. In both cases, the disparity between the people’s vote and the electors’ votes would have been greater.

Mr. Edwards’ remedy would preserve the main feature that five times has skewed the electoral outcome against the people’s choices. That’s the fact that each state, large or small, gets the same two votes representing its senators. Leave this in place, and candidates would still spend nearly all their time and money on the dozen or so “battleground” states. If anything, this problem would be worse.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is being confronted with a case from our own state that should make it finally able to see and smell political — as opposed to racial — gerrymandering when it is before them. The gerrymandering chieftain in Raleigh boasted that he gave the Democrats three congressional seats because he couldn’t find a way to give them only two. If the court finally cracks down on this noxious practice, Mr. Edwards might want to think more carefully about what he’s wishing for.

Martin A. Dyckman

Asheville

To the Editor:

I read the article by Smoky Mountain News columnist Chris Cox titled, “I can’t stomach the hypocrisy of Trump’s enablers,” which appeared in the Jan. 24 issue.

Well, I can’t stomach the hypocrisy of the president’s detractors, including that of Mr. Cox.

Mr. Cox cites an affair that Mr. Trump supposedly had with a porn star that, in the eyes of Mr. Cox, seems to warrant branding our President as a bad man. However, he doesn’t seem to remember that Bill Clinton, a disgusting satyr, had sex in his office in the White House!

I agree that Barack Obama appeared to have decent morals, but he was a glib-talking “do nothing” President who cost a lot of people in this country a lot of money with his Obamacare plan.

Our economy has been booming since Donald Trump who, thank goodness, is not a politician but a business man, took over leadership. Can Mr. Cox spare a kind word for someone who is not a liberal leftist?

JoAnna Swanson

Hazelwood

To the Editor:

There is an ad posted on Donald Trump’s campaign website and YouTube page. It states that if the Democrats are soft on illegal immigration, then they would have blood on their hands by being “complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants.” Let’s not worry right now about whether Democrats are soft on illegal immigration, that is fodder for another letter. Let’s focus instead on the claim of complicity.

In December 2012, Adam Lanza shot and killed 28 innocent people, including 20 children.  President Obama begged Congress to act by passing common-sense gun control. Congress did nothing. More shootings, more nothing. 

In December 2016, under President Obama, the Social Security Administration issued a rule that stepped up its efforts to pass the names of people who lack the mental capacity to “manage his or her own affairs” to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. This action would prevent an individual who is in this system from legally purchasing a weapon. President Trump and Congress rescinded that rule on the grounds that it was overly broad.

When Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and injured almost 500 in Las Vegas in October 2017, the Trump administration declined to discuss the issue in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, stating that “it would be premature for us to discuss (gun) policy.” It has been four months and still no discussion. 

Who exactly has “blood on their hands?”

Sandra Leafe

Waynesville

Haywood Pathways Center in Waynesville is the recipient of The John William Pope Foundation’s 2018 Joy W. Pope Memorial Grant in Human Services. 

The Jackson County Board of Education has chosen Kimberly Elliott, Ph.D., to serve as the new Superintendent of Schools.

Taste of Local — Thursday February 22. Ingles Markets, 301 Long Shoals Road, Arden NC. 3-6 p.m.

By Will Studenc

To the Editor:

Have you told your mother? Your sister? Your aunt? Your niece? Simply put, have you explained to all the females you know that we live in a new society?  Yes, indeed! They must be enlightened.

It has now been made very clear by prominent politicians and famous men of financial/social/political position that they have the “right” to grope, molest, seduce and otherwise demean women.

Powerful men used to exercise the “privilege” of prima noche. If you have watched Braveheart you might have noticed that that sexual abuse really angered the hero in the movie. Nowadays, however, men of status seem to be declaring the right to abuse women any time-day or night. 

President Trump may be the poster boy for this new phenomenon. Is this a fad or a trend that our society will tolerate for years to come? Will even more professed Christians who supported Trump find his ruthless words and actions despicable enough to realize that they sold out on Christian principles to a man who has asked for no forgiveness and sought no atonement?

Famous country singer Glen Campbell sang “There oughta be a Hall of Fame for mammas. Creation’s most unique and precious pearl. And heaven help us always to remember that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” 

Trump promised to be the best Christian representative people had seen in a long time. Does anyone else think he missed that mark by a mile?

Let’ get back to honoring our mothers, sisters aunts — well, all women.

Dave Waldrop

Webster

To the Editor:

I want to commend Holly Kays for her great story on “Breaking the Backlog." 

I hope that her multi-dimensional reporting and analysis for this article will be the basis for a lot of discussion and letters about the problems of the national park maintenance backlog. Western North Carolina is so dependent on our national parks. This is what brings visitors into the area. All the other attractions — restaurants, breweries, amusement parks, music venues — are built on top of our natural features.

It is a shame that our congressional Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, doesn\t see this as a priority. The last quote from Meadows on national park funding, “I do see it as something I have to address” makes it seem like it’s an issue he’s just discovered, though he is now in his third tern in office.

Kays continues to bring us relevant stories on our mountains week after week. And for that, I am grateful.

Danny Bernstein

Asheville

To the Editor:

I appreciated your article on third parties. The frustration of the people with the two major parties is often expressed as a desire for new parties, but it is futile.

Americans look at Europe and see multiple parties working so they think, “Why not here, too?” The error here is that European nations have parliamentary systems, while we have our “two-party” system. In a parliamentary systems, if your little party gets 2 percent of the vote, you get 2 percent of the seats in parliament. At least you get to voice your opinions, even if nobody cares.

In our two-party systems, 2 percent gets you a big fat nada.

Parties like the Greens, Libertarians, or whatever, sound like viable options, but they are really just wasted effort.

There is, however, a way for third parties to make a meaningful difference. They can go the caucus route. Just for example, look at the Freedom Caucus or Black Congressional Caucus. They could call themselves little parties and waste their time, but instead they choose to operate within the existing two party-system, and as a result they hold significant power. Maybe someday the Constitution will be altered to allow multiple parties like in Europe, but I doubt it. Until then, if you are unhappy with the Dems and GOP, form a caucus.

Boyd Holliday

Lake Junaluska

To the Editor:

My vote has been stolen. It has been stolen by the Legislature of the State of North Carolina. Let me explain. 

I live and vote in Congressional District 11. Traditionally, the 11th District has been a swing area. A little over one third of the voters are Democrats, a few less Republicans, and almost one third of the voters are registered as non-affiliated. I am one of those latter voters. In the past, we have been represented by both Republicans and Democrats. With the Democrats and Republicans almost evenly divided, it fell to the un-affiliated voters to determine who would represent the district in Congress.

With the 2010 census, Congressional District lines were redrawn by the  Legislature. At that time, two thirds of the City of Asheville and approximately one half of Buncombe County were removed from District 11 and attached to District 10.  As an urban area, the region has had a tendency to vote Democratic, thus balancing the rural Republican vote. By attaching these areas to District 10, which centers out of Gastonia, almost 120 miles away, a “safe” district was created for the Republican Party. 

Thus the power of my vote has been negated and “stolen” from me by the Legislature.  It no longer makes a difference for whom I vote, as my vote has been cancelled by the political design of the district. I would argue that this is unconstitutional, in that it suppresses the validity and power of my vote.

The current federal court has ruled that some congressional districts in the state are unconstitutional and has ordered the state Legislature to draw new district maps that are acceptable to the court. The North Carolina Legislature is contesting this and has asked the Supreme Court of the United States to place this order on hold citing that there is not enough time to accomplish this before the next election.

Since these districts were redrawn in 2010, I have had to vote in three elections (2012, 2014, 2016) where unconstitutional congressional district boundaries have been in use. If the state legislature gets its way, I will be forced again to vote in an unconstitutional election or to forego voting. Since my vote, as a non-affiliated voter, will not matter to the outcome of the election, I believe that my constitutional right to vote and have my vote counted has been violated.

I have written Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and asked that the lower federal court order not be delayed. My right to vote and have that vote count is important to me. It is my participation in the democratic process of government. When my vote no longer has weight or meaning, the system of government is broken, and with that the political and social contracts of the government with the people have also been severed. We no longer will have, as Lincoln stated, a nation “… of the people, by the people, and for the people.” We cannot let this happen.

Luther Jones

Sylva

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park saw a record number of visitors for the second year in a row, logging 11.34 million visits in 2017.