Beaufort Letters

• Gay marriage debate sounds all too familiar
  I happened to be in North Carolina a few days before the vote on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. While listening to WBT-AM, I heard host Keith Larson plea for tolerance, equal rights and freedom for all. Shortly afterward, he received an e-mail, which he read on the air, chiding him for being "either a homosexual himself or a homosexual lover."

• Taxes going to enemy; use it to help heal vets
  Hearing on Fox News about billions of taxpayer dollars being sent to Islamic countries that include terrorists has totally broken my heart. It's sad to see what our president with his Islamic background is doing. The Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt intends to destroy the U.S., as do other Islamic terrorists.

• House Ethics Committee gets a second chance
  The House Ethics Committee has an opportunity to restore its credibility by reopening the inquiry into Gov. Nikki Haley's actions while a member of the House.

• Politics might account for left-lane abusers
  The law in South Carolina related to lane use on multi-lane highways is clear.

• Jasper port solution safer, better for all
  This letter is in response to a May 9 Associated Press story.

• Club pledges openness, commitment to mission
  Thank you for acknowledging in your recent editorial the positive impact the Boys & Girls Club of Beaufort has on our children and community.

• Help US economy, needy people in world
  I have had it with President Barack Obama and his party's tax and spend policies. The GOP's slash and cut policies are only slightly better as they only attempt to hold down the deficit. Neither approach moves the country's economy forward.

• Vegetarian, vegan not the same thing
  As a vegetarian for more than 20 years, I find it necessary to explain vegetarianism and veganism. To simplify, a vegetarian is someone who does not eat flesh from any creature, from cows to clams. The only word for someone who sometimes eats chicken or beef is a meat eater. A pescetarian only eats fish and seafood. Simple.

• Leave nature alone on idyllic Harbor Island
  Thanks to the recent contributor on the topic of community wildlife.

• Low-cost energy can make SC competitive
  An inspection of the tags on the goods for sale at the local Walmart store will show many of the items are made outside the United States.

• Americans didn't get their hoped-for change
  Many Americans are beginning to rethink the hope and change we were offered in the last presidential race.

• Courageous leadership needed to fix country
  November offers the easiest choice since 1980. Just think about filling up your car with gas at prices twice what they were in January 2009 and a president with no energy policy. Oh, I forgot, President Barack Obama did provide taxpayer money to political cronies at Solyndra, which went bankrupt. He buys into the green myth that a modern, prosperous economy can be powered by solar panels, wind and cooking oil, while at the same time stopping the Keystone Pipeline and cutting the number of drilling leases for oil and natural gas offshore and on public lands. Meanwhile, his Environmental Protection Agency is trying to kill the coal industry in America.

• For our country's sake, elevate political debate
  The fall national election process is entering the "open sewer" stage for political media wags, who, because of a 24-hour news cycle, feel obligated to fill their time with endless commentary on mindless issues concerning candidates.

• Mosquito Control critical to public health, safety
  Mosquitoes are more than pests, they are carriers of dangerous diseases. More than 1 million people die annually of malaria. Malaria is called "The disease of apathy."

• Let workers control their hard-earned money
  Monday's letter, "Future looks bleak for retiring boomers," concludes that privatizing money paid into Social Security should not be an option because "giving money to Wall Street is not the answer." This is an invalid and insulting conclusion.

• Up to people, not Haley, to decide about unions
  Love it or hate it, people have the right to accept or reject unions, not government.

• Charter schools could help education system
  I write in support of the April 28 column "We don't have to be at bottom in education" by Tom Hatfield.

• Panel made right call on house demolition
  I would like to commend the Bluffton Historic Preservation Commission's pragmatic decision to allow the demolition of the Graves House.

• Are we hard-wired in our political beliefs?
  Why is Congress polarized? The following is not my personal opinion, but it is worth considering.

• Obama's record issue for 2012 campaign
  Recently, we heard a few curious yet revealing statements from President Barack Obama's campaign and its surrogates.

Elected Representatives

South Carolina

Nikki Haley, Governor	803.734.2100
Jim DeMint, Senator	843.727.4525
Lindsey Graham, Senator	803.933.0112
Tim Scott, Congressman	843.852.2222
Alan Wilson, Attorney General	803.734.3970
Joe Wilson, Congressman	843.521.2530

Beaufort County

Ed Allen, Coroner	843.255.5150
Sharon Burris, Auditor	843.255.2500
Doug Henderson, Treasurer	843.255.2600
Jerri Ann Roseneau, Clerk of Court	843.255.5050
Frank Simon, Probate Judge	843.255.5850
Duffie Stone, 14th Jud. Circ. Solicitor	843.255.5880
P.J. Tanner, Sheriff	843.255.3200

Weston J. Newton, Council Chairman	843.706.6111
Paul Sommerville, Vice Chairman	843.379.7114
Steven Baer, County Council	843.689.3570
Rick Caporale, County Council	843.689.9999
Gerald Dawson, County Council	843.846.4830
Brian Flewelling, County Council	843.379.9805
Herbert Glaze, County Council	843.846.2845
William McBride, County Council	843.838.2264
Stewart Rodman, County Council	843.363.6470
Gerald Stewart, County Council	843.705.4753
Laura Von Harten, County Council	843.868.1062

City of Beaufort

Billy Keyserling, Mayor	843.521.2600
Donnie Ann Beer, City Council	843.379.6099
Mike McFee, City Council	843.522.1528
George O'Kelley, Jr., City Council	843.522.2043
Mike Sutton, City Council	843.252.5687

Town of Bluffton

Lisa Sulka, Mayor	843.540.1579
Oliver Brown, Town Council	843.757.3690
Karen Lavery, Town Council	843.384.1442
Ted Huffman, Town Council	843.247.8337
Mike Raymond, Town Council	843.540.9471

Town of Hilton Head

Drew Laughlin, Mayor	843.689.5700
Ken Heitzke, Mayor Pro Tempore	843.681.8182
Wm. Lee Edwards, Town Council	843.686.9020
Willie Ferguson, Town Council	843.686.2863
William D. Harkins, Town Council	843.263.3261
Kim Likins, Town Council	843.785.4909
George W. Williams, Jr., Town Council	843.363.6601

Town of Port Royal

Samuel Murray, Mayor	843.524.4890
Vernon DeLoach, Town Council	843.524.4655
Mary Beth Grey-Heyward, Town Council	843.524.4561
Thomas Klein, Town Council	843.522.0068
Joe Lee, Town Council	843.522.9867

 

Letters to the Editor