Voters need answers
Syndicated columnist J. Mark Powell’s recent column on the worthlessness of political conventions was spot-on. They have become Hollywood-produced spectacles of foolishness.
Of course, many in the media eat them up because they, too, have lost their way. Instead of seeking the truth and holding politicians to account, many journalists are more like shills for their respective political corners, seeking to promote one side’s distortions or play “gotcha” on the other.
Journalists can do us all a favor and demand true and useful information. How can we intelligently vote when politicians keep us in the dark about their positions on the most important issues facing the United States?
We need answers, starting with these questions:
- What drove the inflation increase (facts, not demagoguery) and how would you fix it?
- What is the breakdown of federal taxes paid compared to income earned, and what constitutes fairness?
- What will you do specifically to reduce our national debt, now more than $35 trillion and growing?
- Are there any federal departments that you would dissolve due to their limited usefulness?
- Do you believe we need more government or less to solve our problems?
- After the COVID debacle, what would you do differently if we had another pandemic?
- What specifically is your position on abortion rights and abortion laws? When specifically do unborn babies gain rights?
- What role should the United States play in maintaining world peace? At what cost, and where should the funds come from if we support our allies?
Members of the media will be key in getting us some answers.
DAVID IAUCO
Charleston
Stop red-light runners
Every morning during the school year, students who attend Ashley Hall seem to risk life and limb by crossing the intersection at Calhoun and Smith streets as speeding drivers appear to race to see who can run through the red light the fastest.
Red-light running seems to occur every morning and on every light sequence.
Calls and emails by concerned parents to address this danger have fallen on deaf ears, and police do not seem to be watching the intersection.
Will it take the death of a young student for something to be done?
JACK HANDEGAN III
Charleston
End gun violence
There has been another mass shooting, this time in Georgia.
A 14-year-old student opened fire with a semiautomatic assault-style rifle, killing two students and two teachers and wounding nine others.
Who cares if Georgia has Republicans or Democrats running the state government? It’s time to clamp down on gun violence.
Those who lobby against all forms of gun control, including the NRA, need to wake up.
Young people should not have the ability to buy or obtain a gun until they turn 21. If they do, their parents should be dealt with first, then the shooter.
I am tired of all this violence and demand a change. The time is now.
ROBERT LANE
Goose Creek
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