Enforce current SC traffic laws to make roads safer
Enforce current traffic laws
Our state recently passed a law in which drivers in the left lane can be fined $25 for driving slow in that lane. I was curious. If I am driving in the left lane and going 70 mph in a 60 mph zone and several cars pull up behind me going 80-plus mph, as one sees every morning on roads around Columbia, do I get the ticket? Who is going to issue the ticket? The SC Highway Patrol has all but disappeared from our roads, so I am not really sure who would issue the ticket. Drivers have little or no fear of getting a ticket for speeding, improper lane change, or pretty much any other traffic violation. Traffic deaths each year continue to climb as roads get more congested and more drivers are driving very aggressively with no fear of any consequences. Maybe in lieu of continuing to pass highway laws such as this one, which I have to assume was likely proposed by some in state government who don’t like their speed limited to those driving 70 mph in the left lane, it might be more beneficial and save more lives if current laws were enforced.
- Dan E. Reider, Lexington
Haley running in 2024?
I see Nikki Haley has chosen another deep dive into running for the Republican nomination for President. She has penned a false scenario of the Afghanistan situation to endeavor to show her relevance.
As usual, she failed to do her homework. Republican President George W. Bush got us into this Afghanistan sticky wicket, which was made worse by Republican President Trump when he negotiated with the Taliban for America’s pullout by May 2021.
Who cares about Afghanistan? The media needs grist for its mill. The military complex depends on wars. Of course, defense contractors who have made billions on the Afghanistan war don’t want to see the war and their spigot of funding end.
Yet, if the Sunday news programs are correct, we the people are ready for the Afghanistan drain on our treasure and U.S. human lives and suffering to end.
Meet the Press reports people are ready for Afghanistan to leave our news because we are ready to move on to more immediate concerns like Covid, jobs and the economy.
Once again, Nikki Haley shows up in print, to prove she does not understand the big picture and showing again just how irrelevant she is to U.S. politics.
- Marie Vevik, Cayce
History shows vaccines work
When I was a baby in the 1960s, they jabbed me in the shoulder with a piece of sharp glass to administer a vaccine. If you know anyone over 55 or so, ask them to pull up their shirt sleeve and show you the round small smallpox vaccine scar. Why were we jabbed? Listen up all you anti-vax folks. You probably didn’t get the small pox vaccine-jab. You know why? Because everyone got vaccinated and It went away. It went away just like polio and measles and mumps, etc. I had the mumps, you didn’t. You know why? Because everyone got what? Vaccinated! If you are a 40-year-old American, you probably have 14 or so vaccines pumping through you right this second. Older folks haven’t had as many because our brilliant American scientists had not made them yet.
Get your shots now. Do not think you know more than the brilliant scientists and physicians that have been able to make the 14 or so vaccines you have on board right now.
Please get your two, painless Covid shots.
- Gary W. Schwab, Mount Pleasant
Support child care funding
My 3-year-old grandson just started an early education program in Kershaw County. Through him and my work as a teacher in Richland County, I see how vital investing in child care and early education is for everyone in our state. President Biden’s Build Back Better Plan does just that and it is time that we all see the benefits to his plan. This plan includes a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s child care and early education systems. It is beneficial to each and every person living in our great state whether they have young children or not. Supporting the day care industry and early education programs not only contributes to a safe place for our young children, but also provides jobs that help our economy grow. Join me and the Save the Children Action Network in urging Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Tim Scott in prioritizing our nation’s future adults, our children, by supporting the Build Back Better Plan. It is the right thing to do for South Carolina’s families and our state’s future. Everyone wins with the Build Back Better Plan.
- Judy Ryan, Elgin
End the pandemic
The South Carolina Attorney General spending time, energy and taxpayer’s dollars over the Columbia mask mandate is irrational and political posturing at its worst. Do our elected officials realize that COVID-19 does not discriminate? All South Carolinians (black, white, rich, poor, young, old, democrat and republican) have been deeply affected by COVID-19. After 674,431 COVID cases and 10,182 COVID related deaths in S.C. and 53,431 cases in Richland County with an average of 199 new cases per day, we should do as much as possible to slow down and end the pandemic. If it takes wearing masks in schools, so be it.
Mayor Benjamin and the Columbia City Council should be applauded for their leadership. For the topic of mask wearing to be a state and national debate is embarrassing and negligent as young people return to school. Even more disheartening is the fact that the mask debate has become a political issue. Will the health and safety of our communities become the primary goal of our politicians?
We should spend more time working on issues like gun violence, affordable housing, jobs and the mental health crisis the community is experiencing as a result of COVID-19.
- Carey Grady, Columbia
Would would Trump do?
In Marc Thiessen’s column published in the Aug. 20 edition of The State, he criticized President Biden’s handling of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan by writing, “Does anyone really believe that he (Trump) would let the United States be humiliated this way?” I certainly believe he would. After all, he wanted the Taliban to meet with him at Camp David.
- Donald Craig Capp, Columbia
Vaccines work
I understand that everyone has the right to choose to receive the COVID-19 vaccination or not. What I don’t understand is the people who decide not to get the vaccination because they don’t trust the science or the doctors who promote the value of vaccinations?
Now, a great majority of people hospitalized with COVID-19 are the unvaccinated who didn’t trust the science.
Ironically, they now trust the science and the doctors to save their lives. Don’t listen to the opinions of politicians, Facebook, your neighbors or talking heads on cable news channels about vaccinations. Listen to the science and the doctors. You know, the experts who save your life when you can’t breathe.
- Chris Adolfi, Summerville