Let’s remind ourselves of what two things both political parties have in common; the First Amendment that includes freedom of speech; and equal protection by N.C. state law, which we all share the responsibility to follow in a civil manner. 

Recently, GOP candidate and party signage have been vandalized, defaced and stolen. Several Chelsea Walsh, Jennifer Balkcom and GOP messages were put in a dumpster. The offender was arrested and faces eight counts of a Class 3 misdemeanor. Another GOP sign, 4-foot by 8-foot in size, was removed twice, by the same person, a 17-year-old male. Law enforcement caught him and are handling the matter. 

Naturally, each political party has their slate of candidates and political positions; to communicate with signs is how the election campaigning process should work — fairly, openly and without intimidation. By stealing, defacing, vandalizing or unlawfully removing a political sign placed lawfully under NCGS 136-32, you are infringing on others’ First Amendment rights, and breaking N.C. law.  

So, let’s be civil, act like sane adults, and compete lawfully in the campaigning process. Voters will make their choices, so let them see and know who is in the race!

As for anonymous admirer liars, they’re always liars

Liars best  describes the communist Democratic Socialists of America party in one word. They  depend on AI for most of their lies, saying it is only a tool.

The wedge is a  tool, a simple tool, which most Democrats could probably use. 

One has to remember our teachers in our schools are 80 percent Democrats -— or more — and well-trained propagandists. 

So their product are the students that graduate who are  mouthpieces and have not had an original thought nor completed a simple task or been been held responsibly for their action. 

My wife is a teacher in a school where there were 87 teachers — and it only had three conservative teachers.

Just because one says or thinks something, hears or see it in print... does not make it true.

The NEA and AFT should be proud as they have succeeded in dumbing down our current population of adults....

To Mr. Anonymous: If you think I write for “SNL” or ‘The View,” I have never watched either of them.

As for knowing communism, I have been inside more equipment that communists plan  to use to kill you than you even know about. 

Just to set the record straight, our withdrawal from Vietnam was political — not budgetary. (Then-U.S. President Richard) Nixon got cold feet!  

As a United States’ soldier, I had my walk in “the valley of the shadow death” (from Psalm 23), i.e. 1968 Tet Offensive ((January-March 1968). 

I have physically paid the price, so that you can now invade my privacy. How Great We Are!

Re-elect Mosely to council in Asheville, activist urges

I pick up the Asheville Daily Planet occasionally to get a glimpse of the interests and opinions of others who I live among in Asheville and surrounding communities. 

If we are ever to bridge the dangerous political divide, we must be willing to try and understand one another.

That said, I was dismayed to read The Daily Planet’s Opinion on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly, characterizing it as “a masterclass speech for the ages.”

Really? Rather, it was the arrogant pronouncements of a perpetrator of “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts,” as charged by the International Criminal Court. 

Netanyahu should never have been allowed access to an international podium, except perhaps at his trial at the Hague. He more accurately meets the description your “Candid Conservative” Carl Mumpower attributed to today’s liberal movement: “misguided, lost, wicked, irrational, lazy, destructive, anti-everything of value, self-absorbed and morally corrupt.” 

Mumpower, in his column, advises readers who want to have “a life of meaning…to stand for something and fight against something that’s bad. To the extent there is a lot of evil and evil people in the world, there are chances to step-up everywhere.”

I agree. So, the editorial opinion on Netanyahu was an opportunity for the journalists at Asheville Daily Planet to do just that: to take a stand and express solidarity with the 191 journalists and media workers killed by Israeli forces in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories since October 7, 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. 

To praise and commend in your column such a murderous, genocidal criminal as Netanyahu is the very “malicious inversions of truth” you decry.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Clare Hanrahan included the following after her letter to the editor:

P.S. — I’m not a liberal.

West Bank settle violence? It's state violence by Israel

North Carolina Senators Ted Budd and Thom Tillis recently voted against a resolution requiring the State Department to report on West Bank violence, which has included the killing of nine American citizens. The resolution was blocked, 47-51.  

Speaking for the Republican caucus, Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) asserted: “This is sadly another cynical ploy by Democrats to isolate our closest ally in the region and to turn Israel’s righteous war of self-defense into a domestic political issue.”

However, in August 2024, Ronen Bar, then head of Israel’s security agency Shin Bet, condemned the “terrorism” of militant West Bank settlers, who he said were conducting a campaign of murder, arson and intimidation against Palestinians to expel them from their land.  

Bar accused National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and other members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition of encouraging the settlers’ actions. Ben-Gvir, a West Bank settler overseeing Israel’s police and prisons, was convicted in an Israeli court of supporting a terrorist organization and incitement to racism against Arabs.

The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem titles its webpage on the subject “Settler Violence = State Violence.” Its September 2026 report, The Elimination Project, describes Israel’s systematic dismantling of Palestinian society in the West Bank. 

The report states: “Armed settler militias attack villages, shepherding communities, farmland and grazing areas using weapons and off-road vehicles supplied by the state.” Although “the military is often present,” B’Tselem writes, it “fails to prevent the violence and sometimes actively participates in it.” 

The Israeli government must protect Palestinians and hold perpetrators accountable, and the United States and other nations must pressure it to do so. As B’Tselem’s Executive Director Yuli Novak emphasizes in her plea to the international community: “How much more evidence do you need before you act? Statements do not protect anyone until they become action.”

Enemies of the state? Full investigation warranted 

Chuck Schumer (a U.S. senator from New York and the Senate Democratic Leader) says the “ultimate goal” is securing a path to citizenship for illegals....

We say... Eighty-plus million will run️ to the midterms to vote red and assure our border stays closed....You and your Dem DB BS Obamateers are considered enemies of the state — treasonous — and under 18 U.S. Code § 2381, if anyone — including an elected officialb— is convicted of treason against the United States, they face the following penalties:

• Death, or

• Imprisonment for not less than five years, and

• A fine of not less than $10,000, and

 • Disqualification from holding any office under the United States.

The U.S. Constitution (Article III, Section 3) defines treason very specifically as levying war against the United States, or adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.

Conviction requires the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or a confession in open court...

We the citizens demand that the DOJ and other agencies initiate an immediate full investigation, arrest and full prosecution of Schumer, (former U.S. president Barack Obama and (Bernie) Sanders (a U.S. senator from Vermont), as well as a full investigation of (hedge fund tycoon) George Soros, his son, et al, for acts of treason....

For media, it’s time to rally around freedom of speech  

When it comes to the media and (U.S. President) Donald Trump, we all know what the White House bottom line is: The narcissist-in-chief craves coverage — but only if he can control the narrative. 

 It has nothing to do with national security. It has everything to do with presidential vanity.

 His ideal media coverage would be Breitbart, Newsmax, Fox, Lindell TV and Trump TV. But he “allows” other news outlets if they don’t cross his “hoax” rubicon of negative news. It’s his call. Imagine the outrage had Presidents Barack Obama or Joe Biden banned Fox News because they disapproved of “fair and balanced,” right-wing coverage?

 For non-MAGA Americans, the recent (temporary) ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House was a constitutional affront that treated the First Amendment and due process like “enemies of the people.” 

 Viewpoint discrimination is abhorrent and un-American. Period.

 While alarming, none of this is truly shocking in the Trump era. It was foretold in the 1980s when Trump adopted the alias of “John Barron” to contact New York media about gossip favorable to the man who ran the Trump Organization. 

 That’s how pathologically devious he was — and still is.

 Trump remains an ongoing threat to the free press because he resents not being in a compliant media orbit like his peers: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un.

The best way for this free press assault to end, of course, is for Trump to stop being a bombastic, autocratic embarrassment to this country and what it still stands for. 

Shy of that implausible scenario, it’s up to the collective media itself to further fortify its constitutional concord and push back with the rallying support of all those who still believe in the sacred tenets of democratic free speech.

Joe O’Neill

Asheville, N.C. 

Pro-greenway group backs 2026 Buncombe GO bonds

As the board president of Connect Buncombe, I would like to express our full endorsement of the 2026 Buncombe County general obligation bonds, which will be decided upon by the voters on November 3rd.

For many years our organization has advocated for greenways, trails, open space conservation, and pedestrian and related transit improvements, which connect our people together and invites compatible economic development.  

As a 501(c)(3) organization, Connect Buncombe supports both the Open Space Conservation and Affordable Housing bonds which will be on the ballot.

We feel that greenways, open space and affordable housing are related assets to a community because low-and-moderate income families need nearby public open space and outdoor recreation facilities.

We believe the two bonds that are on the ballot this November will strengthen our economy in this challenging period of recovery from the devastations of tropical storm Helene.

They offer $30 million in long-term investment for open space conservation, including greenways, and $40 million for badly needed affordable housing in partnership with the private sector.

The theme of the bonds is “Vote Yes for a Buncombe County that looks and feels like home.” They will help connect us with our friends, neighbors, businesses, visitors and stunningly beautiful mountain landscape.

We envision they will also help stimulate appropriate economic development in Buncombe County and the City of Asheville through greater partnerships between the private and public sectors as well as between the City of Asheville, our other towns of Buncombe County, and communities throughout the unincorporated townships.

The new bonds follow the county’s highly successful 2022 general obligation bonds of the same categories and amounts.  The 2022 bonds have been carefully and responsibly spent or committed to projects that both preserve what we love about our home county and create new opportunities for our people.

The county enjoys a top-tier AAA investment-grade general obligation bond rating by Moody’s, S&P Global Ratings and the Kroll Bond Rating Agency. The bonds will be repaid over a 20-year period, including both principal and interest. Buncombe County clearly has the underlying fiscal strength to responsibly monitor and oversee the new bonds just as it did so successfully with the 2022 bonds.

The 2022 bonds have paid for 969 units of affordable housing, millions for home repair, 2,500 acres of land conservation, 584 acres of new parks, 16 miles of new trails, the protection of our water quality, and leveraged millions of dollars of additional state, federal and private funding.  

Citizens’ oversight, transparency, and audits have ensured the accountability of the 2022 bonds, as they will the 2026 bonds.

We also believe that both types of bonds will result in improved physical, mental and social health in our community.  

The outpouring of community leadership in favor has been phenomenal and will prove an asset for the county for many years to come.

We encourage our fellow citizens to vote “Yes” for the bonds for the progress of our county.

Alex Smith

Board president of Connect Buncombe

Asheville, N.C. 

Re-elect Mosely to council in Asheville, reader urges

As a community and civic planner and Life Member of the American Planning Association, I take pride in my working relationship with Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley and support her re-election to Asheville City Council.

Antanette is making a very genuine and sizable contribution to life in our city. Her splendid motto, “Moving Our Mountains Together,” proves her fine vision as well as giving proof of her daring on behalf of everyone in a time of severe challenges.

Antanette has been well-educated at the Asheville School, UNC Chapel Hill and Georgia State University Law School and comes from a distinguished East Side family where her esteemed Dad, the Reverend Dr. Charles R. Moseley Sr., served for 43 years as the beloved minister of Nazareth First Missionary Baptist Church.

She has been a practicing attorney for more than two decades and is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She is well-prepared to weather hurricane-force storms, fairly and undaunted.

She has been an exceptional elected representative of the people. In her five years on council, she has demonstrated sincerity and zeal on issue after issue.

She played a central role in refurbishing the historic City of Asheville Memorial Stadium, where she championed the revitalizing of the stadium site and tracks for inclusive use, while facing contentious problems including forgotten promises to its neighborhood, the design of its tracks and adequate funding.

I have had the pleasure to work with Antanette for eight years on matters in my field, such as planning and urban design, economic development and parks, affordable housing and greenways and open space for our homes and families.

As vice mayor, she has excelled in working harmoniously with the mayor, other council members and staff, committed to progress for all.

Asheville strongly needs leaders like Antanette who are deeply rooted in our neighborhoods and our diverse people of all ethnicities. 

She is an open minded treasure for us all and for a progressive Asheville. In my opinion, we have a people’s need to re-elect Antanette Mosely to the City Council.

David G. Nutter

Asheville, N.C.