Legendary Columbia anchorman Ed Carter was a warm and trusted figure on local TV

On Ed Carter

I met Ed Carter when we were both enrolled in a journalism class at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn., during the early 1970s. Ed was already working part-time as a reporter for a local television station, but he didn’t make a big deal about it.

Even back then, Ed was quiet and reserved.

After I graduated from ETSU, Ed didn’t cross my mind much until I moved back to Columbia and saw him doing the news on WIS-TV.

He still had the same quiet and reserved demeanor that he had during our days at ETSU.

To me Ed Carter was South Carolina’s version of Walter Cronkite — viewers trusted what Ed had to say.

He will be missed.

David Stout, Chapin

On Joe Biden

A very credible allegation of sexual assault has been levied against Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden.

That is a far cry from when Christine Blasey Ford made her accusation against now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings, yet had no evidence to back up her charges.

Patrick Lauterbach, Columbia

On Jay Ambrose

In a recent column Jay Ambrose appeared to suggest that progressives think profits are evil, which is a completely ridiculous assertion. According to Ambrose progressives want to take rich people’s money through “sky-high taxes” and distribute it to less-fortunate “others,” thereby setting off a chain reaction of lower productivity, higher prices and employee layoffs.

And Ambrose actually claimed that this would incentivize people to drop out of the workforce — in contrast to President Donald Trump administration’s “triumph” of giving African Americans “their highest employment record ever.”

But this is what Ambrose failed to grasp in his column: having large numbers of Americans making $7.50 per hour in modern-day America is nothing to brag about.

To establish some sort of economic balance in our nation, we should consider changing our tax code to reduce the number of exemptions to the bare minimum — and we should look into asking all citizens to pay a single, all-inclusive tax rate.

Such a measure would greatly reduce the income gap between those at the top and those at the bottom.; meanwhile, the wealthy would not be able to claim that they were being singled out for punitive tax rates.

Ed Aylward, Columbia

On reopening SC

As you journalists sit in your offices getting your paychecks on a regular basis, it is easy for you to espouse your biased opinions about reopening South Carolina.

Recently The State Editorial Board urged Gov. Henry McMaster to ignore the “clamoring “ as if it was stating facts rather than just its opinion. But many people don’t agree with that view because they are living paycheck to paycheck, and while I am no longer in that category I do have compassion for these Americans. In addition I base my opinions on scientific data and the big picture, and not just on what I have been spoon-fed by a group of opinionated out-of-touch journalists.

Every life matters — including the lives being destroyed by a government that is making decisions on the difference between “essential” and “non-essential” work. And we should consider the emotional and mental elements in every individual’s life, too, as well as the quality of their life..

This virus is nasty and real, but the reaction to it has me just as concerned — if not more so — than the virus itself.

It is time to have common sense and reopen.

Gayle Ulm, Mt. Pleasant

On voting

I lived in South Carolina for the first 30 years of my life, and I still have relatives and friends there.

For the last 40 years I have lived in Oregon and about 25 years ago, I began asking for an absentee ballot. I didn’t have to give a reason why I wanted the ballot; I just received it in the mail, filled it out, signed it and mailed it back.

So many Oregonians liked the vote-by-mail procedure that it eventually became the process for all voting. In the decades since then there have been almost no complaints or fraud. The procedure saves Oregon money, and it has also led to an increase in the percentage of people who vote.

I hope the people of South Carolina take a look at the Oregon method and see that there are good reasons to adopt vote by mail.

Harry Lofton, Portland, Ore.

This story was originally published May 2, 2020 at 10:50 AM.