Category Archives: Opinions
Courier Letters to the Editor
Thank you to Richland
Dear Editor,
As a lifelong resident of Pickens County, I’d like to extend a thank you to the Richland County Council.
If I lived in Richland County, I would be upset, but as a resident of Pickens County, I couldn’t be more happy the Richland County Council decided to put misguided politics ahead of people.
We in Pickens County welcome FN America to Liberty with open arms and are excited for the 176 new jobs and $33 million investment they
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will bring to our community.
It’s unfortunate some of our neighbors in Richland either think we as citizens don’t have a right to purchase firearms for self-defense or that manufacturers are fully responsible for how their products are used. I wonder if they also want to blame Sleep Number for a bad night’s sleep or hold the Ritedose Corporation liable for doctor mistakes?
As for myself, I am not only happy for the new job opportunities, but also to add a manufacturer locally who provides an important tool to law enforcement, the military and citizens alike.
Clay Counts
Liberty
Political symbolism? From James Madison to Jesse James
Strap on your six-shooters, boys. Let’s go downtown and exercise our Constitutional rights!
Wait, you mean it’s legal to go walking around town toting a pistol, right out in the open?
Yes sir! The right “to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,” the Second Amendment says.
… Hold it right there, fellas. Before we go any further on this, let’s move into the 21st century.
I don’t think walking the streets with a loaded rapid-fire handgun poking out of your pocket at a time when mass shootings have become commonplace was what James Madison had in mind.
But apparently there are some who are afraid their right to go around with a Saturday night
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Courier Letters to the Editor 5-3-23
Ex-member weighs in on library board
Dear Editor,
I served on the Pickens County Library Board for about two years, 2019-21. During my tenure, I met wonderful people who I enjoyed getting to know, however, it seemed that every board meeting had another “urgent decision to make,” another “hot-button topic to address” or another “fire to put out.” This does not make sense to me. After all, it is a library, not an emergency room.
In my opinion, the library board, although having all the responsibility, never really functioned with authority, for almost all items on the
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Preventing germination for seeds of unforgiveness
How much grace does it take to love our enemies? That’s a good question. Tragedies occur all around us, and it’s true we are heartbroken and disturbed, but how do we react when our family is harmed or we are personally offended?
I admit that I do not always have the character of Christ when I’m being threatened or provoked to anger. Our natural reaction is to retaliate, because that’s a natural part of our carnal nature. Most of us agree that people need to be punished for their evil deeds, but Christians must
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It’s so hard to say sorry
There are several very important words in the English language that have lost much of their power by overuse and by assuming multiple meanings.
Some of them are needed to express the deepest emotions and feelings of the human heart.
One such word is “sorry.”
“That’s the sorriest excuse for a bicycle I’ve ever seen!”
A colorful comment, perhaps, but an unfortunate twist on a word that should be reserved for more serious purposes.
Even used properly, “I’m sorry,” doesn’t seem nearly adequate to convey what one person needs
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Courier Letters to the Editor 4-26-23
Food stamp reform
Dear Editor,
Twelve percent of the U.S. and 12.8 percent of South Carolina uses SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.
The No. 1 item bought on SNAP is soda. In fact, 22.6 cents of every dollar is spent on a combination of sweetened beverages, prepared desserts, salty snacks, candy and sugar. This acts as a multi-billion-dollar subsidy for candy and soda companies, with Coca-Cola alone making $13 billion per year from SNAP benefits.
Although 40 percent of SNAP must be spent on essentials, such as bread, eggs and milk, the rest can be spent on anything that is EBT
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Why are seniors scammer targets?
In one year alone, seniors lost over $3 billion to scammers, and it’s gotten worse every year. The 60-69 age group was bad enough, but the dollar losses rose even more after age 70, and much more after age 80.
Why are we targeted?
The thieves believe two things about us: We’re all rich and have great credit, having worked our whole lives, and, worst of all, that we won’t tell anyone if we lose money to them. Those two things alone make us constant targets.
All scammers have to do to turn us into victims, according to a study by Stanford and AARP, is raise our emotions. Whether happiness or anger, it doesn’t matter, because either will push us to
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Taking a moment to share my life and appreciation
For those of you who read this column, I hope the insights and considerations are worth your time.
I have political and social speculations like all of you, but I would much rather stay focused on how awesome God is. I’m just a student desiring to understand what I believe, while also trying to listen carefully and be discerning about the convictions of others.
Everyone has their own opinions about everything, and when we become involved in endless
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A column in three parts
This will be a column in three parts, with three different kinds of news: personal, commercial and ornithological.
************
The personal news is about my mom.
She had another stroke, and as I write this she’s at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
She had the first one three years ago, but this one was worse.
She’ll be 98 in June, although she never seemed old to me before.
But she’s a faith-filled lady and is keeping a positive attitude, as always.
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Will the return of Christ interfere with your plans?
Henry Allan “Harry” Ironside was a Canadian-American Bible teacher, preacher, theologian, pastor and author who pastored Moody Church in Chicago from 1929 to 1948.
It is said that Harry Ironside was one of the most prolific Christian writers of the 20th century and published more than 100 books, booklets and pamphlets, many of which are still in print. He also wrote several hymns including “Overshadowed,” “His Grace Proclaim” and “The Wonder of His Love to Me.”
One editorial reviewer wrote in a 2005 republication that, “Ironside’s commentaries are a
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