Letters to the EditorSaturday, July 5, 2008
Flag display The University Exchange Club's display of U.S. flags on Lockwood and Broad over Memorial Day weekend was met with overwhelmingly positive response. As a result, the club will be displaying the flags again over Independence Day Weekend. The Folly Beach Exchange club will present a similar display on the causeway to Folly Beach. We encourage you to drive down Lockwood Boulevard or over to Folly Beach during the weekend for a special reminder of how fortunate we are to be Americans. Thank you to the City of Charleston for approval of the flag display.
REMLEY CAMPBELL Unseemly stance A recent letter to the editor was so unseemly it should not be left without comment. The letter used Sen. Ted Kennedy's malignant brain tumor to mock him for his stance on universal health care. Unbelievably, the letter suggested that Sen. Kennedy, in seeking the best possible medical care to treat his cancerous tumor, contradicted his effort to provide health insurance for every American. There must be a better way to argue a position on health care. GEORGE W. EATON
Protecting rights The June 13 lead editorial condemned the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling overturning 2006 legislation regarding identifying and confining enemy combatants. I was halfway through a letter of strong disagreement with that editorial when the McClatchy Newspapers' Gitmo report hit the paper. Anyone who cares must read both completely and carefully. The McClatchy report clearly reveals that many, if not most, of the Gitmo detainees are not only not capable of being a threat to the U.S., but were apprehended based on "flimsy or fabricated evidence, old personal scores, or bounty "payments" provided by/to opportunistic Afghan informants. Hardly the "worst of the worst" as described by the Bush administration at the time. When military tribunals began in 2004 (again, forced by the Supreme Court), only six out of 770 (1 percent) were formally charged. Yet hundreds of the rest remain detained without charges or trial. And yet The Post and Courier and a whining Sen. Lindsey Graham castigate the Supreme Court. The assertion that civilian judges (U.S. Supreme Court) are intruding into military affairs is patently absurd. The Supreme Court's job is to ensure that constitutional law remains supreme, subservient to no other, regardless of circumstances. The dissenting justices (guess who?), all strict constructionists, should have been the first to point this out. The most precious, indispensable legal tenets that define our constitutional Republic are habeas corpus, due process and the rule of law. Arbitrary jailing of political dissidents for a thousand years by European despots taught us this (see Tower of London, Bastille). Let's not forget our Bill of Rights and the lofty principles that make our country great. SCOTT STALLINGS Port teamwork Nobody is going to tell you how the Port of Charleston's production rate is one of the highest in the world. I am a witness to a production feat not many ports can accomplish. On June 22, the forward gang (consisting of ILA Longshoremen, ILA Checkers and Clerks, SCSPA crane and equipment operators, and SSA stevedores) discharged and loaded 409 containers in eight hours on the ship "President Jackson." That is an average of 50 containers per hour. The cooperation of union workers, state employees and corporate supervision had to give an orchestrated effort to accomplish this feat. You have to understand we all work together to make the world realize we are the best port to discharge and load cargo. Even though the critics always try to beat down the port, we workers strive every day to provide the best production possible. I'm proud to be associated with workers who have a positive attitude and can come together for a common goal. This attitude comes from the work ethic our forefathers have taught us from the past. God Bless America. ANDY HOGUE First things first While I have sympathy for Ms. de Marquez, the illegal alien highlighted in the June 29 Post and Courier, I feel we should be taking care of our own first, and we are not. Everyone who has a mental illness in South Carolina and is uninsured and disabled must first go on Medicaid for two or three years before going on Medicare. During that time period they cannot find a psychiatrist and/or therapist who will see them. Thus, these citizens must go to the county health care system where they may be seen by a doctor or therapist once a month if the citizens are lucky. The medications for mental illnesses are extremely expensive and even on Medicaid, many citizens have to go without because they can't get an appointment with the county therapist/doctor and can't afford to get their medications on the outside. I really sympathize with the illegal aliens, but believe that our own medical system needs to be fixed for our own citizens before worrying about those who are here illegally. PATRICIA MERRIAM
An efficient ride Forty-two miles per gallon. No, it doesn't have two wheels or a couple of thousand pounds of batteries and this isn't highway miles; this is mostly around town. I must confess with the air conditioner, I only get 40 miles per gallon. My car is a 1995 Geo Metro, sold by Chevrolet, made by Suzuki. This subcompact has a three-cylinder, 1.0-liter engine with a five-speed transmission, and it does just fine in the Charleston traffic. I know this car is based on 20-year-old technology. I wonder what they could produce today and what would happen to the price of gas if half of the cars in this country got 42 mpg.
PAT KILROY Good police work Let's give credit where it is due. A few days ago a letter appeared questioning the priorities of our police department. The theme was let's don't worry about seat belts, "toters" at the art walk and tailgaters. I agreed with that letter completely. But on July 2 an article appeared announcing that a suspect has been arrested for the recent rapes and robberies. Kudos to the Charleston and North Charleston Police Departments' leadership and the detectives and officers who have worked diligently on this case. Let's also recognize the cooperative efforts by these two departments. Please, let's keep the priorities on the real criminals. Thanks for the work that you, our police departments, do on our behalf each and every day. CREIGHTON E. LIKES JR. |
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