Truth: Central to journalism
We should all be thankful for our free speech rights. It granted The Island News editorial contributor Tim Newman the right to express his personal views (“Episode 3”) — which clearly also illustrated his (perhaps unconscious?) biases.
My wife Cheryl and I have participated in nearly all of the rally gatherings adjacent to City Hall, each week with a sign expressing a concern around government action. But Mr. Newman wrote some untruths. I suggest we’re obvious projections of his blindness to factual reality.
No one blocks traffic, and it is only some few passing motorists yelling epithets — not rally participants who accept those curses without reaction. Organization leaders advise us every week to maintain civility and be respectful of opposing viewpoints.
I respect law enforcement, you included Mr. Newman. Thanks for what you do. I do NOT respect masked men in military garb refusing to show their faces, proving [neither] IDs nor warrants, literally disrespecting the rule of law. I abhor our abandonment of a commitment to Ukraine and its democracy and defend my right to honor their flag along with our own — don’t you?
We are not lemmings, Mr Newman; we are patriots expressing our Constitutional right and OBLIGATION to disagree with our government when its actions stray from the values sacred to us all. The lens through which Mr. Newman sees all the issues we express in our signage at each rally, that lens has blinded him to other or more complex points of view, deafened him to the voices of his neighbors.
So, Mr. Newman, maybe make a sign, perhaps “Support LOCAL Law Enforcement,” and you and Beth come out on July 17 (A big rally in honor of John “Make Good Trouble” Lewis), and stand with your neighbors. You will find we are a very civil bunch, a beautiful cross-section of our community, all who simply care about America and worry about where she is going. See you and Beth there? (Remember to bring water, it is hot out there!)
— Timothy Dodds, Lady’s Island
re: Dickson and Newman
Mr. Dickson, I can’t wait to sit on the front porch with the fine people (spelled MORANS) who drive by the Monday afternoon protest, roll down their window and shoot me the bird and yell “Fxxx You,” while I am exercising my constitutional rights to peaceful protest. The Republicans are calling for more babies to be conceived. I hope my younger friends don’t pick one of those morans to assist in that process.
Mr. Newman, I rather liked your approach in Episode 1″ and I did try one of those online apps that help you figure out if you are politically this or that. Somehow I missed Episode 2. In Episode 3 you lost your cool.
I have been at most of the protests and have only seen one or two signs that went a little too far. Don’t forget we are protesting against a man who insults people, bullies dignitaries in the oval office, and uses foul language all while serving as our President. One sign I didn’t see was the ACAB one. I don’t think anybody protesting with our group believes that all cops are bad. In fact they believe the great majority are good hard working public servants, just like the thousands of public servants that DOGE fired.
Are there bad cops? For sure. If there are cops’ kids who protest against their own parents, that ought to tell you something about that particular cop. A few cops are not heroes (ACAH). I imagine it depends on why they joined the profession to start with.
You also said that President Trump knows how to win and lose, in the part where you called us sore losers. I think you need to rethink that part about being a good loser. He is still trying to say he won and planning to reinvestigate that election. How many times and how many independent people does he need to hear “you lost” from.
You can’t really think there is something wrong with people waving the Ukrainian flag in support of a country that is being attacked by the Russians (actually Putin). There are plenty of American flags proudly displayed out there. Maybe those folks waving the Ukranian flag have family or friends over there and just don’t want to see a beautiful country overrun by just another bully. And what in the world is wrong with a sign protesting guns? I guess you like seeing a guy at Publix with a glock strapped to his belt.
And citizen Musk (think apartheid South Africa) has found some waste — but it’s in the millions. What the heck, let’s give him credit for a billion. Not chicken feed, but a far cry from a trillion. It takes a 1,000 billions to make a trillion. So one tenth of one percent in waste. I’d love to have a 99.9% score on just about anything.
Remember, in the U.S.A., even the most despicable criminal gets his day in court. That is one of the many reasons America is already great.
— Bob Lewis, U.S. citizen, Port Royal
Make them even richer
Eight million a day
And much much more
Taxpayers continue to
Pay for alien boy Elon to
Come to our buffet
It’s called the USA
The ultimate coup
A massive scheme
Of far too many
Lying billionaires
Telling us it’s OK
To be a criminal
Stealing our country’s
Wealth in front of our
Faces it’s for our own
Good they say to make
Them even richer
— Carol Connor
‘Woefully inadequate’
We love residing in Beaufort, but find the local food scene so disappointing. Menus are repetitive, boring and rarely change, regardless of the season. Great for tourists, not for locals. Service is spotty, and any consistency of product quality and subsequent execution is woefully inadequate.
Latino food is well loved, but do we really need over 24-plus eateries and food trucks with even MORE coming? We don’t even have a legitimate local bakery anymore and no, Publix doesn’t count.
Beaufort just doesn’t have enough chef driven restaurants. We had such hope when Blacksheep opened its doors — it offered such diversity, incredible flavors and combinations. The tremendous skill and passion was felt in every bite.
Chef Matt could convert the most die hard carnivore into a vegetarian for the evening as his ability to turn the most pedestrian of vegetables into masterpieces was amazing. And guess what? People responded in such numbers, that a whole new booking system had to be developed to accommodate the tremendous response. Doesn’t that say something?
It seems no one here does any market research before opening a restaurant. If they did, they’d realize how much the locals crave variety, seasonality, unusual or exotic flavors, and creative dishes. Like us, many of our friends and neighbors have simply stopped eating out. We’ve decided to save our dining dollars for when we travel. What a shame really, as we want to support as many local businesses as we can.
— Regina Sixta, Lady’s Island