Letters to the Editor

'I believe'

I believe in the one and only true God, the God of Abraham and Isaac, the same God that gave Moses the Ten Commandments. The God that sent his only son to die on the cross for those who choose to believe that their sins will be forgiven. This is the God that the fathers of our great country worship and pray to, not any other God, but the one and only living God.

I am sorry if my beliefs offend you, but it is my right to worship the one and only God. I believe that all things are possible through God our Lord and Savior.

Anyone who chooses to purchase a license plate to express beliefs should not offend anyone. Those who are offended only need not purchase the plate. Do not discriminate against me because I choose to believe and am not ashamed to express my belief.

I am a Christian and practice my faith daily. I live my life according to God's word. That is my right under the Constitution of this great country. You also have the right to express your unbelief if you so choose, and I will not be offended, I will just pray for you.

JANET OLLIFF

Red Oak Drive

North Charleston

What achieved?

So what has our state Legislature accomplished this year?

Well, let's see.

Legislators passed an enormous tax increase on cigarettes. Thankfully, the bill was vetoed and the House sustained it, though some might say this was bad since it was all earmarked for health care. Right?

Consider this: Just a part of that new tax (only $1 million) was for new marketing programs in the Department of Agriculture — for tobacco grown in South Carolina, perhaps. Anyhow, this bump in revenue, if history provides an example, might not have lasted a year — the bump from the tax shift in 2006 didn't — and would definitely have led to even higher taxes and spending. Unless checked, as many know, bureaucracies always grow and this one grows like Topsy.

Indeed, state spending has grown by more than 42 percent over the past three years.

Last year, the Legislature spent over $1 billion dollars in new revenue. Now, we are told there is not enough money to pay for the school buses we were promised, not enough to properly fund the operating expenses of our schools, funding we were promised as part of the tax shift, and not enough to fund the prison system. The prison funding is so short that our detention officers now need to add open rebellion to their concerns.

However, legislators still have money for a legislative slush fund known as the "Competitive Grants Program."

JOHN BRAUND

Chairman

Dorchester County Taxpayers Association, Inc.

Bertram Road

Summerville

Join discussion

Special thanks to all of the folks who made it out to Green Drinks Charleston on Wednesday, June 11. Visitors to Mixson in North Charleston were treated to live jazz, tours of Mixson properties and beer from a local brewer.

It was a wonderful evening to enjoy some time outdoors. For those of you unfamiliar with Green Drinks or Mixson, here is a little background:

Green Drinks is a dynamic group of people from around the Lowcountry who meet once a month to socialize, meet friends, grab a bite to eat or enjoy a cocktail all while discussing environmental and community issues and ideas.

We come from many different walks of life, but share a love of the environment and embracing this beautiful city we call home. Green Drinks, originally founded in London in 1989, now fosters over 300 chapters around the world. Our Charleston chapter is one of the fastest growing in the country.

The award winning I'On Group is developing Mixson — a sustainable "urbanist" community in North Charleston, which is one of the largest such projects in the country.

With rising transportation costs, traffic volume, and out-of-control sprawl, these types of neighborhoods reconnect residents. It is important to note that projects like this are also beneficial because they are built in proximity to schools, restaurants and shopping.

Green Drinks applauds the efforts of individuals and organizations that are working very hard to preserve our natural environment here in the Lowcountry.

We encourage you to check out a Green Drinks meeting or lecture sometime — the next is on July 9. Meanwhile, you can find out more about us at www.greendrinks.org.

JASON M. CRONEN

Organizer

Green Drinks Charleston

Charlotte Street

Charleston

Real change

Willing suspension of disbelief: Hillary first used these words against Gen. David Petraeus, but we all are being asked to do this in relation to the Barack Obama nomination.

First, Obama was nominated by the typical back room dealing that has always taken place in the Democratic Party and two major states have been disenfranchised, overriding the will of the people. Now, Obama is being touted as a "new beginning" and "a new face for the whole world."

Being a former Democrat, I can only say that the party line has morphed way beyond the Camelot persona and that we the people are now being asked to willingly suspend our disbelief and to liken Obama to the second coming.

Like President Bush and like Sen. John McCain, Obama is only a man. In deciding which man and party to vote for next, I ask myself whether I'm better off now than I was, say, 40 years ago when the Democrats began to take God out of our schools and to replace him with teaching about sex.

We all know the result. Our precious asset, our children, now know a lot about sex and are dropping out of school without critical skills needed to lead productive lives for our country. I believe that we have wasted many more dollars on education than we will ever spend in Iraq. Then there's the oil situation, which the Democrats have severely affected by not allowing any drilling or nuclear options.

Then, there's the Federal Reserve. The Democrats won't allow two (soon to be three) Federal Reserve board vacancies — of a total of seven — to be filled so that our country can have the input of more brilliant people to help get our country out of this financial mess.

We definitely need change in this country, but why not go for real change? Why not demand term limits for Congress so that we can start getting new people with new ideas who really want to devote themselves to solving our country's problems on a regular basis in accordance with our Constitution?

SANDRA TEDESCO

Bufflehead Drive

Kiawah Island

Commuter service

How is a commuter service considered a success if it requires my tax money for a subsidy. Are we trying to encourage people to live farther from work and thus contribute to the decline of our inner cities?

The idea of many people sharing a ride to work on a bus is wonderful if it makes economic sense for everyone and not just the commuters.

For the benefit of those who slept through the first day of Economics 101, state and federal subsidies are not free.

There is still no such thing as a free lunch.

This program does not benefit the poor or disenfranchised who have no other means of transportation. It simply takes money from the general population to provide a cheaper ride to work for a few.

Keeping cars off the road is certainly a benefit. However, higher gas prices will eventually solve that problem. Perhaps one day our neighborhood teenagers will even use the "free" school bus that takes them exactly where they want to go at exactly the right time instead of using their pick-up trucks as they do now.

A.D. HEATHCOCK

Palisades Drive

Mount Pleasant

We are 'Big Oil'

Who is "Big Oil"? I've heard a lot of complaints about the obscene profits made by Big Oil, as if it was some entity unto itself or a small group.

I have heard Democratic calls for a windfall profits tax or, in the case of Hillary Clinton, a call for confiscating Big Oil's profits for government use.

It may come as a surprise, but, if you have a pension plan, 401k, IRA or just buy insurance, you are a benefactor of the obscene profits of Big Oil.

If you have some kind of investment, it will be your returns that are taxed or confiscated. Only a very small percentage — less than 2 percent — of profits go to high-end investors as individuals. So if the Democrats have their way, it will be the little guys who suffer the most because we are the least able to shelter or defer government levies on our profits.

Big Oil (that would be us), earns a measly 8 percent return on investment. That's not a bad profit for a relatively safe investment but not a very good profit for a risky investment. Are speculators making a big profit?

Maybe, but they could end up taking a bath because they have committed to paying $135 per barrel of oil.

We have already started to reduce our consumption, 4 percent in just one month because of the current price. The oil companies may have to reduce prices just to get you to buy gas. If they have to slash prices below production costs, they lose, and we gain. We see this all the time in rigid production systems.

I personally don't care what they charge for gas as long as when I put the nozzle in my tank and pull the handle the gas flows. How much of that gas I use will be determined in part by how much it costs.

My spending habits will also send a signal to the car manufacturers, letting them know mileage is becoming a larger determinant in my future car purchases.

Gimmicks such as gas tax rebates or controls on price will only distort the buying habits of our citizens. It sends a message that big cars are OK, which is just the opposite message some politicians claim they want to send.

Let gas go for market prices and we will all adjust. Even the environmentalists may very well be happy with the outcome.

MICHAEL CANINO

Laurel Grove Lane

North Charleston

Wasting gas

I guess gasoline prices are not too high — yet.

I saw 11 cars at a fast-food restaurant drive-through with their engines running. The occupants had not placed their orders yet.

How high will gasoline prices have to go before these people park, turn off their engines and walk a few steps to the counter inside?

KIRKY KIRKLAND

Magnolia Road

Charleston

Not like theirs

Re: Same-sex marriage and children:

Where is our society headed? The children of these same-sex couples (whether they are married or not) will never know what it's like to have a female mother and male father to raise them.

How confusing will it be for these children when they are old enough to wonder why their friends' mothers are ladies and not men like theirs, or why their friends' fathers are men and not ladies like theirs?

MARY LYNN WEST

Tomota Court

Mount Pleasant

Rescue U.S.

The Supreme Court gave those who wish to kill us another victory by allowing terrorist access to our civilian court system. The only way the United States is going to be protected is to rid the political scene of liberals.

Liberals running for Congress or president must be kept out of office to reverse this madness.

This election is not about race or gender. It is about the thousands of judges who will be appointed and confirmed by our elected officials.

You can help rescue the United States by keeping liberals out of office.

BRUCE BATES

Little Ranch Road

Ladson