Jim Davis living in Alice in Wonderland world? To the Editor: Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, is apparently living in a world in where up is down, less is more, and the truth in our world is the opposite in his. In a recent “Senate Update” (Aug. 17), he is talking about his accomplishments since he took office and wrote that the legislature “cut the gas tax.” The month before he took office in December 2010, the N.C. gas tax was 31.9 cents per gallon. The gasoline tax today is 37.5 cents per gallon. Maybe in Davis’ world 37.5 cents is less than 31.9 cents. This increase represents approximately $300 million more per year or almost $600 million since Davis took office. The vast majority of this increase is paid by aver-
factually true. In 2008, because of eight years of disastrous policies by George Bush and the Republican Congress, the United States entered the greatest recession in the last 50 years. When President Obama came into office, the state was facing huge budget deficits because of the economic downturn. Obama was able to pass the Economic Recovery Act that allowed N.C. to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in federal economic aid that helped keep thousands of educator jobs funded until the economy improved and we could again fund these jobs with our own revenues. Davis apparently would not have taken this federal aid and just eliminated all the teaching jobs this money funded. He and his Republican state legislature did not provide the state funds to replace the temporary federal funds when they took control in 2011. Davis apparently blames loss of education money on federal and local governments, and does not realize that it is our state government that is primarily responsible for funding public education for our children and grandchildren in our great state. Perhaps the make believe world of Davis’ Wonderland is pleasant place to visit, but the citizens of Western North Carolina cannot afford to have a state senator who lives in “Wonderland” and does not tell the citizens the truth. Let Davis stay in Wonderland, but send John Snow to represent the 50th District on Nov. 6. Ed Morris, MD Franklin 70895
Kim’s Pharmacy has been honored with Haywood County Chamber of Commerce’s August Business of the Month Award. Presented by the Economic and Business Development Committee the purpose of the award is to recognize our community businesses who contribute to Kim’s Pharmacy our communities through charity, good customer service, job creation, and making Haywood County a better place to live. Kim’s Pharmacy was established in February 2008 by Kim Ferguson, a graduate of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy. After completing her degree in 1990, Kim returned to her hometown to serve her community as a pharmacist. She is a lifelong resident of Waynesville and has deep roots in the community. Kim is also, actively involved with Altrusa of Waynesville, DSS Christmas and Foster Child Program, and Relay for life. Kim’s Pharmacy is proud to have been selected favorite pharmacy by the readers of The Mountaineer 4 years running and is grateful to the residents of Haywood County for patronizing an independent pharmacy in this age of big box chain stores. Kim’s Pharmacy is located at 366 Russ Avenue, Waynesville. Visit www.kimsrx.com.com for additional information regarding current product and service offerings.
Smoky Mountain News
To the Editor: From U.S. media coverage we get the impression that the Muslim world is burning with anti-Western anger over an Islamophobic film, with hordes of violent protesters on the streets threatening us all. Actually, however, most Muslims have found that video as trashy and offensive as we have. To be sure, the protests have tapped into understandable and lasting grievances over racist, neocolonialist U.S. policy in the Middle East, as well as religious sensitivities about depictions of the prophet Muhammad. But our media have mostly ignored the following facts: • Early estimates put participation in anti-film protests at between 0.001 and 0.007 percent of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims – a tiny fraction of those who marched for democracy in the Arab spring. • The vast majority of protesters have been peaceful. The breaches of foreign embassies were almost all organized by the Salafist movement, a radical Islamist group that seeks to undermine more popular moderate Islamist groups. It was the Salafists
age, middle-class citizens like you and me. I’m sure Davis will probably say he actually did cut the gas tax after he raised it. Davis wrote himself in the Asheville Citizens-Times on Sept. 18, 2011, that, “It is a fact that teachers and teacher assistants were fully funded in the new state budget.” The N.C. Department of Public Instruction in a news release on Aug. 31, 2011, writes, “This is the first time since the Great Depression in the 1930s that North Carolina public schools have decreased the number of teacher positions during a time of student growth.” Lost educator jobs (both vacant and filled) during the 2011-12 school year that Davis is responsible for were 1,723 teachers and 2,282 teacher assistants. A total of 4,005 educator positions were eliminated that were not available to our students. Clearly the state could have budgeted and funded every one of these lost positions but chose not to, and clearly these jobs were not “fully funded in the new state budget” as Davis wrote on Sept.18. Davis writes in Macon County News on Sept. 6 that “the facts have not fared well in Ed Morris’ hands.” He is complaining about a quote from the Department of Public Instruction website (www.ncpublicschools.org/budget) that reads, “The 2011-13 biennial state budget that was passed by the General Assembly in June 2011 contained more than $1 billion in cuts to public school funding.” He attacks me for quoting the Department of Public Instruction, but never denies that the quote from the Department of Public Instruction is
September 19-25, 2012
Don’t legitimize hate and violence
that distributed the film far and wide to instigate the rage. Their tactics resemble those of anti-Muslim U.S. pastor Terry Jones (who first promoted the film in the West) and other Western (often Christian) extremists. • Libyan and U.S. officials disagree as to whether the killing of the four Americans was pre-planned to coincide with 9/11, and therefore not connected to the film. • Apart from Libya and Afghanistan, up to Sept. 20 the protesters had killed no one. The deaths cited by media were protesters killed by police. • Nearly every major leader, both Muslim and Western, has condemned both the film and the succeeding violence. • When the pope visited Lebanon at the height of the tension, Hezbollah leaders attended his sermon, refrained from protesting the film until he left, and called for religious tolerance. • After the attack in Benghazi, ordinary people turned out on the streets with signs, many in English, grieving and apologizing for the ambassador’s murder and saying the violence did not represent them or their religion. • A leading figure in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood wrote in the New York Times: “We do not hold the American government or its citizens responsible for the acts of the few that abuse the laws protecting freedom of expression.” We must be careful not to view the Muslim world as an homogenous unit. In both Western and Muslim worlds moderates far outnumber extremists. The Muslims I’ve known — as a missionary in Malaysia and Singapore, and as a peacekeeper in Palestine — were all among the vast majority who are moderate, friendly, gentle, courteous, generous, hospitable and respectful of me and my faith. Uninformed, one-sided anti-Muslim comments — whether in pulpit, pew, or private conversation — only serve to perpetuate (and heighten) the us vs. them, good guys vs. bad guys, Christian vs. Muslim climate that legitimates the hate and violence on both sides that we are now seeing. Doug Wingeier Waynesville
opinion
clean up the mess G.W. Bush left this nation. Almost from the day Obama took office, the Republican members of Congress signed a pledge to stall any and everything he tried to accomplish in an effort to make him appear as a “do-nothing” leader. She decries the efforts of the president’s campaign and PACs that have “thrown everything they can conjure up at Mitt Romney,” conveniently forgetting that Karl Rove, the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson’s PACs have spent many millions of dollars smearing the president and his efforts, while offering little in substance and few details as to how they would fix things. She goes on to present her statistics of how much worse off people are, forgetting that the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy have served to increase the national debt, how deregulation of banks and Wall Street has served to increase poverty and trash many people’s retirements, destroyed home values and sent many families to the financial brink — and shaken Americans’ confidence in our government. Does she really think the president controls the price of gasoline? As a GOP communications chairman, she has an obligation to promote the party’s message, so rather than an opinion of her own we got a regurgitation of the party line which appears to center around “trash and deride the president, without presenting anything substantive or specific about our candidates.” I also notice the Bushes are somehow missing throughout this campaign, and I can only wonder why. I thank Ms. Adams for her comments since I feel it only adds to my position that re-election of our president and dumping the Washington do-nothings is the best choice for America. John Beckman Cullowhee
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