Loud, obnoxious and dangerous vehicles have invaded every town in South Carolina

On the Democrats

As an independent voter I am repulsed by the despicable acts being committed by the Democrats in their efforts to impeach President Donald Trump. The Democrats are insulting the intelligence of the American people: we can all see that they are going after Trump for political reasons.

Trump simply requested that the Ukraine president look into former Vice President Joe Biden’s actions when Biden asked that country to remove a prosecutor who was investigating his son. The Democrats are ignoring Biden’s behavior while accusing Trump of trying to interfere in the 2020 election. The Democrats are trying to deceive the public and they should be held accountable for that.

Gregory Topliff, Warrenville

On taxpayer money

There have been recent articles in The State that have reported on how our lawmakers are once again misusing our tax dollars. Why does this continue? It’s because there is no oversight over these lawmakers — and because they are not held accountable.

When it was recently revealed that Richland County misspent millions of dollars that should have been used for roads, state Rep. Todd Rutherford said, “Just tell them don’t do it again and keep moving. That’s how government usually works.” But can Rutherford tell us who exactly will repay the millions of taxpayer dollars that have been misspent?

Why do the voters continue to keep these people in office? When are these officials going to be held accountable?

Joe Pappas, Columbia

On Joe Biden

The current occupant of the Oval Office has tarnished all that the American presidency has come to mean. While President Donald Trump’s administration continues to peddle false statements and launch baseless attacks, the American people are suffering more each day.

We need change in our county, and I believe that former Vice President Joe Biden can provide it. Biden is the polar opposite of Trump: he will restore the soul of our nation and bring respect and dignity back to the Oval Office.

Martha Fowler, Columbia

On solar energy

The South Carolina Legislature passed the Energy Freedom Act and Gov. Henry McMaster signed it — yet a dysfunctional Public Service Commission has effectively gutted the intent of the law for the benefit of the big energy companies. This is the kind of shortsightedness that has left our state with a legacy of poor roads, failing schools, overcrowded prisons and many other problems.

The solar industry could be a huge success in South Carolina, but it needs the support that all new and emerging industries require.

Jerry Pait, Hartsville

On loud vehicles

As the horsepower in vehicles continues to increase, our streets have become playgrounds for loud cars and motorcycles; these noisy vehicles have now invaded every town in South Carolina.

The state has a law that makes it illegal to have vehicles that produce loud, unseemly noise through altered pipes or other apparatuses on vehicles, but those in law enforcement say that actually enforcing the law is too difficult to do. And because the law is not being enforced, these violators are able to keep driving their loud vehicles while showing no respect for others in the process.

Our lawmakers need to push for greater enforcement of the law, and for a crackdown on these violators.

Michael Thompson, Beaufort

This story was originally published December 31, 2019 at 10:02 AM.