Pres. Obama, issues

Mr. Radics letter prompts the following comments.              

There has been some transparency — meetings were covered by a cable channel at least for a time while the Administration made an effort to encourage bipartisanship — because I didn't watch, I'm unable to name the channel.

 Please detail the anti-business, socialist agenda Pres. Obama is accused of.  Certainly Wall Street, as an emblem of capitalism, bears substantial blame for the economic losses of the last 18 months although the role of both political parties share the blame for pressuring mortgage lenders into making thousands of sub prime loans, a root cause of this recession.

 This was all pre-Obama and the verdict isn't yet in on his efforts in this area.

 Stimulus spending has helped and again the verdict isn't in as it's an ongoing effort.

 The scope of this effort is huge and can't get off the ground in a finger-snap — also I feel the Administration has done poorly telling us what is being done on so-called shovel-ready work and where.

 Health insurance/care reform is not an unpopular program. It may trail in polls currently, but millions favor it, and our country desperately needs it in some form or other.

I don't agree that this issue and climate change are being forced down our throats.

A leader should be alert to and  concerned about climate and so should we.    

 On bipartisanship Pres. Obama has often extended his hand in several ways and almost always it's been slapped away and now  an election year brings out the worst in political parties, which are saying, in so many words, the hell with bipartisanship, get ourselves elected and re-elected.

 Finally, we've been over spending and over borrowing for years (except for a short time under Clinton when swith help there was a budget surplus for a year or 2) and in Pres. Obama's place what would you have done — sit on your hands?

 He's tried and sought help from, among other unvetted czars, Warren Buffett, Carl Voelker and Bill Gates.

 As a non-lawyer I'm unable to comment on where and how terrorists should be tried in court. Awaiting response.

   Alan Burrell

Pawleys Island

Supporting troops, families

Chartering a New Georgetown County Chapter of Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc., serving Murrells Inlet, Litchfield, Pawleys Island and Georgetown areas:   

We are parents who have children serving our country in the United States Military.

This non-profit, non-political and non-denominational organization serves to support one another and to send support to our troops.

We symbolize our support through flags displayed in the windows of our homes during wartime and we actively support our troops and veterans through a variety of loving, creative ideas.

If you have a loved one in any branch of the military and need a shoulder to lean on in these uncertain times, we are here for you.

 Our members are at all different stages of their loved one’s military careers and can help with your questions and concerns.

We will have a casual informational get-together at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 4 at Pawleys Island Presbyterian Church  

For more information, please contact Rhonda Carreras   rcarreras@sc.rr.com  ( 843-450-4417) or Micki Williams      bluestarmomcoast@aol.com      ( 843-215-5055)

 Rhonda Carreras, proud Marine mother of Nicholas Bedzek

Micki Williams, proud Marine mother of Dan Williams  

Government oversight

Recently, while having lunch with family and friends, a county vehicle drove up. The driver got out and walked around the premises. A roofing contractor crew was taking a lunch break from replacing the asphalt shingle roof.

 A knock on the door interrupted the lunch.

The lady owner of the house answered the door. This jaybird with a badge on his belt informed her that she had to have a building permit and he could subject her to a $500 fine.

 She was visibly upset and apologized to the code enforcer. She stated that she had no knowledge of any such requirement.

The contractor later stated that even with his 18 years in business in Williamsburg County, he was not aware of this.

I, like probably most people in the county, have some difficulty in accurately expressing feelings and thoughts in a letter to the editor.

I use the term jaybird not as a personal insult to the code enforcer, but as an expression of the sense of outrage felt by those at the lunch gathering.

The ever increasing violation of personal rights and freedom, which until fairly recently have been taken for granted in our country, have become oppressive.

The officer tried to explain that this is for her protection against poor work by the contractor.

We do not need government to oversee every detail of our lives, and charge fees for it. We are not children or idiots.

Will the code require a permit and fee for all simple home repairs? Where will it end? How can we slow down and reverse this control of our lives and property?

I am in my 81st year. My life began with almost no local government, and has progressed to the point where my freedom is well on the way to being lost.

Other than a small property tax and not interfering with neighbors’ rights, we were free to do pretty well as we liked.

Most people reading this probably understand what I am trying to say, so I will stop at this point for the present, except to say to the code officer that it is understood that he is doing what he thinks he has been trained to do and I have no fault with him.

 It is those we elect to represent us who make the rules and too often forget their oath to protect the Constitution.

Doug Bodiford

Andrews

SC Club for Growth

Too often people in power see themselves as above criticism. Perhaps that explains why a recent opinion piece regarding SC Club for Growth's 2009 legislative scorecards struck such a nerve. A few follow-up letters defending the status quo and mischaracterizing our work to defend taxpayers later appeared in these pages. As the group's executive director, I feel compelled to write and set the record straight.

South Carolina has serious problems that need serious solutions. Unemployment is rampant, special interests have too much influence in Columbia, and our state's finances are a mess. Who is to blame? Unfortunately, we remain as one of the last legislatively-controlled states, therefore legislators deserve much of the "credit" for our current situation.

Over the past ten years, state government spending grew from approximately $14 billion to nearly $21 billion. Has your own income grown by 50%? It hasn't for most people. Simple math says that state government is taking even more of your paycheck. State legislators simply ignored fiscal realities and spent beyond our means – like a child wasting his or her lunch money on a morning candy binge.

SC Club for Growth aims to expose these kinds of bad decisions in our annual "scorecards." We are a nonpartisan movement of fiscal conservatives from around the state who believe government can do better. We support common sense reforms that will give us an efficient government delivering real value to the taxpayers.

It is hard to argue against common sense reforms like crafting responsible state budgets, not spending tax money to hire lobbyists to lobby for more tax money, banning taxpayer-funded, politically motivated television ads, and fixing the state's broken unemployment system. Apparently, legislators like Representative Vida Miller – who voted against EVERY good government reform mentioned above – think otherwise.

It is astonishing that status quo defenders would support such behavior. But maybe they only listen to what legislators say back home rather than checking what they actually do in Columbia. After all, every legislator cannot be doing a good job, given the mess we're in.

That is why we founded SC Club for Growth. Our members are committed to spreading the truth about what really happens in Columbia. Some who do not like our message just want to shoot the messenger. However, in spite of efforts to depict us as something else, our organization is comprised of hundreds of South Carolinians from all walks of life. And our Board of Directors include successful entrepreneurs, small businessmen, a doctor, a former United States Secretary of Commerce, and an alum of the Reagan White House – all of whom are long-time South Carolinians.

One writer criticized our organization because our board members do not hold elected office. But that is the true beauty of America. We are a nation of the people, by the people, and for the people. Given recent letters to the editor, too many status quo defenders disagree. In their worldview, we should apparently look to the career politicians, who frequently say, "Shut up and take your medicine." Citizen groups DO have a right to hold elected officials accountable for their actions.

Some argue that we should not criticize members of either political party – especially Republicans. However, as we have witnessed throughout history, blindly following a political party can have disastrous consequences.

Fortunately, there is hope outside of the political parties. SC Club for Growth represents a "special interest group" that has too often been taken for granted in Columbia – South Carolina's taxpayers. If you want to learn more about our efforts to end wasteful spending and hold politicians accountable for a change, please visit our website at www.scclubforgrowth.com.

Matt Moore

Executive Director

SC Club for Growth