What to do about Jake Pickering’s ‘distressing’ viewpoints? Give him ‘Carpet Chewers Corner’

It came to my attention that Jake Pickering’s editorials (technically, letters to the editor and a few guest columns) in the Daily Planet were distressing some readers, but the paper’s editors responded that the paper was just presenting a variety of viewpoints.

Now, Mr. (correct suffix?) Pickering should be lauded for his subtle humor, keen insight into matters political, historical and racial, his moderate language, and his standing boldly as an example of the thinking that comes from the left edge of the United States.

With that in mind, perhaps the Daily Planet should give Pickering his very own byline. May I suggest “Carpet Chewers Corner”?

Given the current leaders of the Democrat Party, I ask all Democrats — are you a Democrat or an American?

You can’t be both! The Democrats are no longer the loyal opposition. They are a dreaded subversive force. Let me provide some evidence from current events to support my assertions.

The majority of American citizens support Israel. The current darling of the Democrats, AOC (U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.) loves Hamas.

Most Americans, including some rational Democrats, support President (Donald) Trump’s decision to join Israel to defeat on the world’s greatest sponsors of terrorism.

Democrats should ask AOC why she supports those who have voewed to wipe America and Israel from the face of the globe. I have not heard any Democrat “leaders” ask her this question.

A vast majority of Americans support the removal of murderers, rapists, terrorists, gang members, etc., who (Joe) Biden allowed to come into our country unabated for four years. Democrats have demonstrated they cannot do enough to support them! Democrats have demonstrated they cannot do enough to support them!

Democrats have encouraged, if not sponsored, so-called demonstrators (some paid) to obstruct federal officers (ICE), trying to arrest and remove these threats from America.

In fact, one Democrat congresswoman (LaMonica McIver) in New Jersey was indicted by a grand jury for assaulting an ICE agent at a detention center for illegal immigrant detainees.

Many Democrat mayors have ordered their police not to assist ICE agents in their efforts to make America a safer country! Contrast these Democrats with President (Bill) Clinton, who deported 12 million illegal aliens during his years as president.

Most Americans do not support a communist (Zohran Mamdani) to be the next mayor of New York City! But, the Democrats just voted one onto the ballot for the upcoming election this fall. Their candidate wants to replace police officers with social workers. He wants to eliminate billionaires. He want the grocery stores to be run by city government. He wants to take over private property to make affordable housing. And he has many other communist proposals that have been tried without success throughout history!

The national “leaders” of the Democrats have NOT disavowed this candidate! They, as well as rank-and-file Democrats, need to decide and declare to America if they support or oppose the direction in which their party is moving.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following letter to the editor is in response to a Daily Planet news story about a presentation by Hendersonville attorney Bret O’Conner during a June 14 breakfast meeting of the Henderson County Republican Men’s Club that appeared June 18 edition of the newspaper.

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HEADLINE: “A self-described ‘conservative attorney’ from Hendersonville speaks on role of federal, state judiciary, fields questions”

Self-described? Ok... if a human can “self-describe” themselves as mermaids, animals and such, then self-describing themselves as conservative is no big deal.

However, self-describing is the belief of one person only. As a 20-year South Carolina representative and senator, consistently voted one of the most — or the most — conservative member(s) of the South Carolina General Assembly, I would describe Mr. Bret O’Conner as a moderate, at best.

Mr. (Bruce) Hatfield (HCRMC chairman) posed a question: “What about proof of citizenship?”

The comedic O’Conner quipped; “Last I saw, you have to be a citizen to vote... I have no explanation for insanity...”

He — as most attorneys will — didn’t answer. My understanding, and I have asked others, of his answer is “ALL RESIDENTS, CITIZENS AND ILLEGALS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO VOTE.”

If that is correct, it is not difficult to understand his inability to explain “insanity.” Insanity can’t be explained by the insane.

Next question: “What can a citizen do to learn how to ‘vet’ a judge?”

Wiseacre O’Conner replied, “go to law school.”

One way to “vet” future judges is to not allow wiseacres like Bret O’Conner to enter law schools.

Unconstitutional? “HELL, NO.”

Students of all stripes are denied entry into colleges and universarties for a multitude of reasons — wiseacres becoming attorney is disastrous.

An unidentified woman posed the question; “So do illegal aliens have rights?”

His wiseacre response was “OF COURSE.”

She responded “What, I don’t think so!”

Wiseacre O’Conner quipped, “I know you don’t (think so)... but you’re wrong.”

In my view, the only rights illegal aliens have is a trek by foot to the edge of the Rio Grande — and told to jump.

Due process is not in the Constitution. Due process was enacted by Congress and was intended to protect American citizens.

Esquires (lawyers) are not always right, neither are they always wrong, but are always SELF-INDULGENT.”

LEWIS R. VAUGHN

South Carolina Senator, Retired

Greer, S.C.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Vaughn added the following below the letter he sent the Daily Planet:

“History does not entrust the care of freedom to the weak or timid.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower

Buckley must be spinning in his grave...

William F. Buckley Jr. must be spinning in his (expletive deleted) grave right about now at the thought of his beloved National Review being edited by a minuscule moron like Rich Lowry, who is a decidedly dumb-ass, delusional dimwit whose sole claim to conservative fame was co-starring on the long-running McLaughlin Group television show on PBS.

After lunatic Lowry got caught on candid camera last September calling legal Haitian immigrants the N-word, it’s seriously surprising that any American newspapers would continue to run reprobate Republican Rich Lowry’s pathetic excuse for a syndicated column, unless of course that newspaper’s editorial board agrees with demented Donald Trump’s “they’re eating the cats, they’re eating the dogs” racist, untrue (as always) attacks on hard-working black folks in Ohio.

Donald Trump is deranged and dumb as dirt.

JAKE PICKERING

Arcata, Calif.

Reader even angrier with L.A. mayor... than Trump

I’m angrier at L.A. Mayor (Karen) Bass than at (President Donald) Trump because her LAPD is billing abortion funding city residents for their own brutalization, while Trump’s Marines send much of their bill to abortion-banning MAGAland.

Same for the APD.

Also, do IDF-controled parts of Gaza now have abortion rights — like the Golan and Rojava?

ALAN DITMORE

Leicester, N.C

Without a 2-state solution, other options questioned

On July 7, President (Donald) Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a White House dinner.

Also in attendance was U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who has stated that “there is no such thing as a Palestinian.”

At this dinner, Netanyahu reaffirmed his support for Trump’s “brilliant vision,” which would cynically allow Palestinians the “free choice” to move to other countries.

No mention was made of Israel reducing Gaza to rubble and destroying all means of sustaining human life.

As U.S. political scientist John Mearsheimer has warned:“If you don’t want a two-state solution, then what are you going to do?…Israel has turned into an apartheid state… And the Israelis understand that over the long term this is probably not viable… They want to get out of that situation, and the best way to do that, from their point of view, is to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip and the West Bank…”

President Donald Trump and his administration seem more than willing to help Israel achieve this goal.

TERRY HANSEN

Milwaukee, Wisc.

Trump going from golden toilets to golden shares

Having wowed the economic world with the brilliance of his tariff strategy, Trump has now moved on to nationalizing that American institution of the free market, U.S. Steel.

In something he’s calling the President’s “Golden Share,” he’s allowed Japanese company Nippon Steel to merge with U..S Steel by forcing agreement to a provision that gives the president a controlling vote on U.S. Steel’s corporate decision making power on important matters like the sourcing of raw materials, closing or idling plants, or moving jobs outside of the country.

I’m confused. Haven’t Republicans touted themselves as the party of “the free market?”

I guess Trump’s desire to wield power over as many U.S. institutions as he can get his hands on has overwhelmed Republicans’ allegiance to traditional Republican values of allowing corporations to operate without government control.I hope Trump does a better job of running U.S. Steel than he did the six other companies he’s already bankrupted.

LINDA FALCAO, Esq.

BS, Econ, Wharton School of Business

U.S. Presidential Scholar

North Wales, PA.

Henderson Count ripped as ‘Hell on Earth’ due to fueling skyrocketing growth

Henderson County has become Hell on Earth!

Even though Henderson County is hellishly overpopulated and overdeveloped and over-heavily trafficked, Henderson County leaders say they want to see 10,000 more homes in the next five years.

They have already approved of 776 new homes this year — and the year is still young.

And Henderson County leaders aren’t requesting that any new homes within the next five years be affordable housing and public housing.

It will all be upscale housing for the wealthy, who are flooding into the area.

And Henderson County newcomers are faceless, spineless and soulless zombies, who drive aggressively and super-fast — and want to try to avoid a human or an animal or a pet in the mean streets of Henderson County.

The faceless, soulless and spineless zombies flooding Hendersonville lack a social conscience and Henderson County has bcome a moral black hole.

Henderson County is a black hole because it is a plotocracy of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich, and is a playground for the rich and doesn’t give a damn about its poor and homeless!

Henderson County should stop touting the area as a great place to move to and, instead, should let the following poem accurately describe it:

Henderson County also has become hellish because Henderson County is obsessively and excessively politically correct.

Indeed, Henderson County is a politcally correct police.

Henderson County also is a miniature version of the national police and security and surveillance state.

Henderson Coumty knows that it is committing a grave mortal sin in allowing all this growth.

Henderson County is also earning a grave amount of bad karma.

And by worshiping and idolizing money and the bottom line, rather than God, you’ll be sorry.

I once asked Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity to open a homeless shelter in Henderson County — and they said “no” because Henderson County is wealthy enough to take care of its poor and to treat its poor as Jesus taught.

I rolled my eyes at that because Henderson County has become a hellish plutocracy and doesn’t even want its poor living in Hendersonville — and would like to bus its poor and homeless out of Hendersonville to make room for the “richie rich.”

RICHARD D. POPE

Hendersonville

EDITOR’S NOTE: Richard Pope added the following postscript to his letter to the editor:

In either 1999 or 2000, the (Hendersonville) Times-News newspaper published an editorial column by the Times-News columnist Stephen Black, headlined “Halt progress that destroys,” that tried to talk some sense into Henderson County about the need for growth control in Henderson County.It was the BEST and the BRIGHTEST editorial on growth control ever published.I don’t believe even climate activist Greta Thunberg (who opposes unlimited growth) could have done as good a job.I wish the Asheville Daily Planet could republish it (Black’s Halt progress that destroys” column), so that you’ll be even sorrier for the way you (Henderson County) treat the poor and homeless.

Upstate residents warned of Calif. Gov. Newsom’s claim of being a 'moderate'