The war with Iran is not only a perfect metaphor for Trump’s presidency and the MAGA movement in general, but it is also revealing of a basic truth that MAGA opponents can never quite seem to grasp: Trump’s supporters do not now, nor have they ever, looked to him for consistency, coherence, dignity, wisdom or even decency. 

To the Editor:

Last week I had the opportunity to travel to rural Georgia with a friend to see the Venerable Monks on their Walk for Peace. It was the same day that we awoke to the news of the United States invasion of Venezuela to arrest Nicolas Maduro. It was an abrupt end to the peacefulness of the Christmas season, making my head spin and bringing me back to chaos that is the hallmark of this administration. Sadly. 

Editor’s Note: This is the transcript of a recent voice memo Garret left for a friend of his on Thursday, Jan. 8, in the aftermath of the incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, between a protester and an ICE agent. To note, both Garret’s father (U.S. Immigration) and grandfather (U.S. Customs) were career officers for the federal government (now retired). In 2003, Immigration and Customs combined to form ICE due to the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

Good afternoon. You’re probably slaving away at your [office] desk doing your favorite thing, which is working inside under fluorescent lighting, I would assume. [Laughs]. Oh, man, I don’t know where this message is going to go, but I just was wanting to vent about…[well], it’s almost hard to vent anymore, because it’s like every day is just this chaotic frustration of things outside of my [front] door and things across the country and things around the world. 

The recent history of international relations is fraught with examples where the sanctity of law has been compromised for political expediency. Among the most troubling instances is the Trump Administration’s alarming approach to countering drug cartels — a response that not only skirts the boundaries of legality but also risks undermining the United States’ long-standing commitment to the rule of law on the global stage. 

(Editor’s note: This is the second part of Anne Bevilacqua’s review of “The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order.” The first part can be found at smokymountainnews.com.)

Until 2014, no U.S. adversary, including Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, had managed to achieve even 60% of American GDP. In that year, China became the first, and did so “quietly,” says Rush Doshi, political scientist and author of “The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order.”

(Editor’s note: This is the first section of a two-part review. See next week’s SMN for the second part.)

Does China seek to replace the United States in its position as global leader? This is the question that political scientist Rush Doshi answers in “The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order” (Oxford University Press, 2021, 339 pp). 

Every May 20, beneath the proverbial shadows of Charlotte’s modern glass and steel skyline, supporters gather to commemorate what they believe was the first declaration of independence in the American colonies, made more than a year before the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.

Since his inauguration, President Donald Trump has made headlines by targeting the United States’ most well-known colleges — those with the largest endowments and lowest admission rates — but now, in the latest twist in a year-long saga, his administration is shifting its attention to Cullowhee. 

To the Editor:

I am 91 years old. For close to 50 of those years we lived at 116 Cowan Street in Sylva. We were active members at First Baptist Church; our five children attended Fairview Elementary and Sylva-Webster High School. My wife, Barbara, taught piano, dulcimer, guitar and other instruments to dozens of people throughout Western North Carolina. We Osments will always consider Sylva to be our hometown. 

To the Editor:

Whatever happened to honesty and integrity in the United States of America? Lying, cheating and immorality seem to be the acceptable norm these days.

We have a serving President who is a convicted felon from the hush money trail with a porn star.