Oil prices are down, so why not gas prices in Hilton Head, Bluffton area? | Letters
In the last six or seven weeks, oil per barrel has gone from about $53 a barrel to just over $20 a barrel to date.
Yet local gas stations have stayed from $2.29 to $2.39 a gallon to date (except for a couple of stations that dropped only about 4 cents a gallon).
What’s wrong with this picture? The prices per gallon should be way below $2 per gallon with this huge drop-off in prices per barrel.
Something stinks about this injustice. Someone should be investigating. Local people should see the local gas station managers and ask why this is so.
Rob Muller
Hilton Head Island
Trump reacts to coronavirus as politician, not a leader
We know that our president has long sought a legitimacy to his election. Being outpolled by Hillary Clinton has rankled since day one.
Surely he must have thought, just give me one opportunity to show my mettle. There is a moment when leaders emerge, their understanding of the situation propels them forward. Not Donald Trump.
When this appalling virus first appeared he could have asked questions: How serious? How do we ward this off? He could have called on any number of people. He could have … but he chose to minimize. He is a politician, not a leader, and for that we as a nation are suffering the consequences.
Charles Fagan
Hilton Head Island
The difference between political parties
It amazes me how a person’s ideology can prejudice one’s thinking. I found this particularly true after reading a recent letter to the editor. The writer insisted “Trumpism” and the Republican Party centers around deception, mistruths, and corruption, without offering a single concrete example. Without facts, it is just name-calling, plain and simple.
It went on to complain that Republicans, with control of House, Senate, and presidency for two years, accomplished little or nothing on pharmaceutical prices, gun legislation, health insurance, infrastructure, education, environment, and election laws and protection. It neglected to mention that Barack Obama had the presidency for eight years and a Democratic Congress for four years, and also accomplished little or nothing except for the Affordable Care Act, which remains in trouble today.
There is an area, however, in which I have some agreement with the writer. I believe both the Republican and Democratic parties have let us down big-time as both presently care only about being elected and being in power.
A huge difference is that the Democratic Party is advancing rapidly toward secular (Godless) socialism – a socialism that translates into more dependency on a powerful government that requires more of our tax money and stifles private-sector business.
The Republican Party leans toward keeping our nation a republic with a private enterprise system that offers everyone more opportunities for earning a quality livelihood.
Charles Mirucki
Hilton Head Island
Yes, Trump is indeed a war-time president
For once in his presidency, he’s actually right. Donald Trump is a war-time president:
War on truth, war on science, war on decency, war on the environment, war on people of color, war on the poor, war on women and women’s rights, war on education, war on LGBTQ people, war on immigrants, war on healthcare and the right to healthcare for everyone, war on the right to vote, war on democracy/preference for autocracy, war on freedom of the press, war on freedom of religion and the separation of church and state, war on America’s standing in the world community.
He isn’t making America great again; he’s dragging her through the mud. He isn’t draining the swamp; he’s replenishing and expanding it. He isn’t strengthening the middle class; he’s undermining it. However, he is bolstering the rich. He is normalizing corruption. He is validating ignorance. He is propagating hatred.
This may resemble a rant, but the rants were in two previous drafts that I did not choose to send.
I believe this president to be a clear and present danger to our country, our government, our democracy. His performance during the current crisis, COVID-19, is only the latest example of his incompetence. If you are still “with him,” it’s time to think again about your criteria for where you place your loyalties.
Cheryl Kanuck
Sun City
Liberals unfit to govern
President Barack Obama once declared that “kindness covers all of my political beliefs.” By framing compassion as the essence of moral decency, liberals have reduced policy debates to arbitrary dichotomies of kindhearted versus heartless, victimizers versus victims. They view government as a fail-safe cure for society’s ills.
However, a compassionate welfare state creates moral hazards, giving recipients less incentive to work hard and live a dignified life, while encouraging citizens to delegate almsgiving responsibilities to Uncle Sam.
Government can build public housing but not communities; fund public schools but not good education. Voting to tax and spend other people’s money is not being charitable, but legalized robbery.
The liberal hypocrisy is further evidenced by their compassion based on political orientation. They label America a fascist state, but lose little sleep when non-Western cultures oppress women and religious groups. They denounce police brutality on minorities, yet thousands of black-on-black shootings in Democrat-run cities inspire no policy debate.
The gravest danger of liberals’ compassion lies in their indifference to the performance of government initiatives. Over 40 years, the federal government created 80-plus means-tested welfare programs and spent more than $15 trillion to help the poor, yet one in six Americans still live in poverty. Decades into affirmative action, campuses are less intellectually diverse, and black dropout rates remain high.
Liberals’ lack of interest in the efficacy of their policies renders them unfit to govern. It is time to elect politicians based on results, not rhetoric, before the liberals kill us with kindness.
Xiaodan Li
Hilton Head Island
Trump’s bad example
As good parents, we teach our children to respect others. We don’t condone name-calling, lying, blame-placing, or bullying.
As a lofty goal, we teach them to be truthful. And by our own example, to live by the beatitudes, even if we are not followers of Christ.
These kinds of actions, when carried forward, lead to better long-term relationships — even with those who have different opinions than you.
It continually saddens me to hear President Donald Trump speak in demeaning terms of his opponents, assigning them condescending nicknames for all the country to hear. And it saddens me further that his supporters cheer at his rallies when he does this.
In another example of behavior we would discourage in our children was the president deliberately not showing love toward his enemies by making a divisive speech attacking the faith of others at the National Prayer Breakfast. And sadly, his supporters cheer that behavior.
I’ve lived with presidents whose policies I haven’t agreed with, yet still respected them as a person working to be their best and be a good example to all of us.
In November, we have a choice to bring a new voice to lead our country — one who we can point to our children to emulate. When you cast your ballot in November, think hard on whether the person you vote for is someone who you would like your child to act like around the dinner table.
Fred Reichenbach
Hilton Head Island
You can be a bike ambassador on Hilton Head
Riding on our bike trails continues to be one of the top things to do on Hilton Head Island according to Tripadvisor. So it is not surprising that our multi-use trails are usually teeming with cyclists, both visitors and residents.
After being created seven years ago, the Hilton Head Island Biking Ambassador Program has assisted hundreds of cyclists every year by providing directions, maps, and safety tips. During the peak spring and summer seasons, about 60 volunteer ambassadors conduct regular patrols along William Hilton Parkway and Pope Avenue, within Palmetto Dunes and the Shelter Cove and Shelter Cove Towne Centre areas, and along the busiest leisure trails in Sea Pines.
In 2019, thanks in part to the efforts of our volunteer ambassadors and this innovative program, our island retained the gold designation awarded to a highly select group of Bike Friendly Communities by the League of American Bicyclists Association.
Thank you, biking ambassador volunteers.
Anyone interested in becoming an ambassador can get information by contacting hhibikingambassadors@gmail.com.
John Witherspoon
Biking Ambassador Governing Committee
Hilton Head Island
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