Friday, Jul. 04, 2008

Saturday Letters to the Editor

• Metts needs increase to keep growing county safe

I read with interest David Whetsell’s June 18 letter, “Metts’ tantrum shows costly to taxpayers.”

While his Stoptax.org may be a taxpayer’s watchdog, his “old dog” needs to widen his perspective or it may wind up bitten itself!

Sheriff James Metts did and always will show “his true colors” to all us citizens. I recently retired from 30 years of law enforcement in Charleston. The reason my family now resides in Sheriff Metts’ county is the high quality of public safety his department consistently provides.

As Lexington County continues to expand and stretch his department’s resources, the sheriff wishes to not simply maintain our safety but proactively improve it.

I, as a taxpayer and former police commander, know all too well that when it comes to my family’s safety I will only get what I am willing to pay for. My property taxes are much higher here in Lexington than in Charleston, and yet I support this small increase when it comes to effective law enforcement, as this will directly benefit our county.

Mr. Whetsell should continue to keep a tight eye on those static public departments where a fixed budget does not impact overall performance to the citizenry.

We citizens of Lexington County deserve to be safe in our daily activities. As our county and the complexity of modern law enforcement grow, so should the sheriff’s budget to adequately address and surpass our needs

I salute Sheriff Metts for taking a stand before County Council as our advocate for the best public safety possible. We deserve this, and with Sheriff Metts we are getting this.

EDWIN J. CHIN

Captain of Police, Retired

Chapin

• Young people need U.S. history lesson

I’d like to add to the comments Charlie Hurd made in his letter, “S.C. schools need lesson in patriotism.”

In recent months, it has become clear that not only teachers but parents are failing to communicate to these students and young people what dates in our country’s past should be honored and cherished.

Recently, one young adult asked what was so important about the date Dec. 7. Another asked why we observe Memorial Day and Veterans Day with such reverence. It seems some have no concept of what our country has gone through before many of them were born. Is it possible they haven’t been taught that this is the greatest country on Earth and it is so, in part, because of the sacrifices and love of the many who gave their lives for our freedom?

Maybe it is not the fault of these young people that they don’t realize what they have missed. But let’s hope before they die, they’ll find time to search out the answers they are so noticeably missing today as to what made this country great.

BOB BEAUMONT

Florence

• Thanks to those who pitched in for new charity

I would like to publicly thank several people for their efforts on behalf of a new charity, MedNeed of SC.

Several months ago, I had what some might call an epiphany to try to help provide medical equipment for those who are uninsured or indigent.

Having been in this business for the past 20 years, I have seen firsthand the vastness of this need. I have taken all of the proper steps with the IRS and the S.C. Secretary of State’s office to ensure that I am in full compliance with both federal and state laws.

Being new, my first and greatest obstacle has been name recognition. This is where the thank-yous come in.

Four of the media folks in Columbia have been instrumental in helping to keep this outreach alive: Keven Cohen of WVOC 560-AM, who gave me my first piece of public airtime; Bob Gillespie of The State, who has been tenacious enough to help get notice of my charity golf tournament into the golf page on Wednesdays; “Sugar Ray” Allen of Magic 98.5-FM, who took the time and interest to tape and air a spot for his station’s public awareness segments; and last, but far from least, Ron Morris of The State, for taking a personal interest and a lot of his time to help in any way he could.

Without the efforts of these men, as well as others too numerous to name here, I doubt that MedNeed of SC would still exist. It is a fact, proven over and over again, that we Americans have the biggest hearts on this Earth, and given the chance, we will think of others before ourselves. Sounds a bit mushy, but it’s true.

HUBERT SMOAK

COO, MedNeed of SC

West Columbia

• Faithful bring beliefs to office

I take offense at Craig Brandhorst’s letter June 18, with his “separation of church and state” nonsense.

The United States does not have a state church. The separation is thusly established. However, many citizens of the United States do have a faith, be it in God or not. When people take office, that certainly doesn’t require them to leave their faith at the door.

I would hope that Mr. Brandhorst isn’t endorsing only non-believers for office, because that would be discrimination, wouldn’t it? The faith and will of the people by far surpasses the political whims of politically correct individuals who would have all of us believe in man’s infallibility without substance.

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer holds a state ofice, but he is also a believer in God, and I thank him for putting up money for the “I Believe” license tag.

I would hope that Mr. Brandhorst can surmise that the separation of church and state doesn’t mean we can’t mention God, the one we claim we trust in, or that mentioning God is against the nature and structure of the state. On the contrary, it reflects accurately the people who make up the state.

STEPHEN R. LEACH

Lexington

• License plate being used as insurance policy

I want to begin by declaring myself a believing Christian.

Some might think I was elated when our General Assembly passed a bill that provided for license plates with the statement “I believe” and a cross symbol. Wrong.

My fellow Christians need to be aware of the true motives of our legislators, because God surely is. This initiative has nothing to do with a return to morals. This has everything to do with self-centered opportunism and the entrenchment of power.

Our legislators know this law is unconstitutional. Why would they pass it, you ask? They are probably hoping that a federal court declares this law unconstitutional. Then they will undoubtedly position themselves as martyrs and “defenders of the faith.”

Thus, when these “leaders” are justifiably criticized for immoral actions such as their apparent complacency with dooming our children to mediocrity with a “minimally adequate” education, having a House speaker content with keeping poor children in a low standard of living and failing rehabilitate prisoners (thanks to decreased funding for our penal system), they will distract us from the issues by pointing to these license plates and proclaiming: “See. I am one of you. I share your values.”

As their plan goes, they will deceive the electorate into keeping them in office and perpetuating our broken system.

I encourage Christians, as well as other people, to see through this false display of righteousness and to understand the nature of true moral leadership.

CHAUNTEL BLAND

Columbia

• Parties need to revamp primaries to reflect voters’ wishes

As my attention was focused on the tight presidential contest of the Democratic Party, I was stunned to discover that the nominating system is so flawed.

I always thought that each person had one vote. Now I understand that a person’s vote can be denied or reduced by the political parties. This awesome power has been revealed by the recent race for the Democratic nomination and has highlighted the levers that parties use to manipulate and maintain their control. The whole process is so tainted that we all should demand change.

For a start, here are some of the problems I have become aware of and solutions to consider:

1. Caucuses limit voting — replace with primaries.

2. Proportional voting by district favors urban over rural voters — replace with proportional voting by state (not winner take all). For example, 60 percent of votes equals 60 percent of the state’s total delegates.

3. A primary schedule controlled by party is subjective — replace with a certified drawing for one primary schedule for all parties. Each state would then have to hold primaries for all parties on the same day, place and time.

I don’t believe these changes will happen easily, because too many will lose too much power. Therefore, I think the best solution now for our country is a third party that is strong and capable enough to make the others take notice. If Sen. Hillary Clinton wants to help the people, as she outlined on the night of her win in South Dakota, then a good place to start is the formation of the “United States of America Party.”

When the Democratic Party could find no solution to the schedule issue of Florida and Michigan, except to refuse to seat the delegations, then how can we trust it to find real solutions to the huge problems facing our country?

JEAN WALTERS

Leesville