Beaufort County buys a white elephant for $2.2M

Our Beaufort County officials just spent $2.2 million on a white elephant. Yes, the property at Buckingham Landing near Bluffton is highly visible, but very difficult to get to and dangerous. Thus, two restaurants went out of business there.

I’ll bet the banks were jumping up and down when they heard that a government agency wanted to buy it. Next the county will pay top dollar for land that is probably not buildable and use it for a park.

Just remember this fall when the new tax bills come out and while most everyone’s property values will increase, the taxes do not have to increase. The tax base has grown. Yet, no doubt our taxes will increase, because our county government knows how to spend your money better than you do. Just where did the $2,200,000 come from?

It’s like that old line attributed to P.T. Barnum: “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

Zero tolerance has never worked

Zero tolerance: anyone crossing the border without proper documentation gets punished.

Leadership knew all along it wouldn’t work. It never has.

We tried alcohol prohibition.

We tried putting marijuana in the same punishment class as heroin.

We tried speed limits.

South Carolina law requires our state budget to provide $3,000 per student for K-12 education. Legislators budgeted $2,400. Shouldn’t they be jailed and separated from their families or something?

The courts demanded that President Donald Trump get families back together. His success rate is about 80 percent. How about zero-tolerance for that?

We fought in World War II to eliminate discrimination and passed laws forbidding it. Now even some of our highest political and religious leaders think discrimination is OK.

We took turns wanting the cheap labor, but then not wanting the culture, of the Africans, Italians, Irish, Chinese and now, the Hispanic. We accepted, and then rejected during wartime, the Germans, the Japanese, the “Communists,” and the Middle Easterners. It took a long time to accept the Catholics. And some are still uncomfortable with the Muslims or Jews or evangelicals.

Our ancestors (except the slaves) came here for a better life and to escape persecution, war, or famine. They came with no money and could not read or speak English. They came looking for friends or relatives who could take them in and help them make the transition. This is not any different from those seeking asylum now.

There is no easy answer on our borders, but zero tolerance was a waste of tax dollars.

GOP’s official color is now red

I remember the “Better dead than red” rallying cry during the 1950s Cold War, especially by conservative GOP’ers.

Fast forward to the Trump-terrified GOP that believes it’s “better red than tweeted against.” Now the official color of the GOP is red. The president, aka “Putin’s Poodle,” is in love with Russia and the Republican Congress is too cowardly to perform its oversight. The GOP, and Cadet Bonespurs, have done absolutely nothing meaningful to punish Russia, and the mid-term elections are just around the corner.

Perhaps it is time to change the GOP logo to a hammer and sickle, and move the RNC headquarters to the soon-to-come TrumPutin “No Collusion” Tower in Moscow. New campaign logo: MRGA?

P.J. Tanner did not lose

“Longtime sheriff’s loss in primary raises questions about future prospects.”

What a misleading headline (Aug. 5). When you read the article, it does say that P.J. Tanner won with 55 percent of the vote. Since when is that a “loss”?

Do you have a vendetta against Sheriff Tanner? Most folks I know seem to think that he and the sheriff’s office do an excellent job for the county.

I expect better writing and headlines by your paper.

Hilton Head: Keep it low-key

Forest Beach is getting to be a high-rise location. I moved here in 1992 with hopes of an environmentally friendly Hilton Head Island, with views and beach access for all. We need to vote to keep our island low-key and available to nature lovers.