<h4>re: David Taub’s column ‘… What I believe’</h4>
I also remember my Boot Camp experience (1951 San Diego, sans sand fleas). As a young Marine, I was selected for a scholarship/commissioning program at (gasp) Berkeley. I do answer to "Sergeant" as well as "Colonel.” So much for our Previous Conditions of Servitude.

re POTUS: Despite his thin skin and big fat mouth, I'll take him over a Biden/Harris, or is it a Harris/Biden ticket? (They can't seem to get that straight).

I'll defer as a dumb grunt to David's scientific expertise but I'm having trouble figuring out where natural science ends and poly sci begins.

Anyway, glad to see we agree on the list of things enumerated. However, between POTUS and Biden there are areas of disagreement on how we get there.

– Religion and Society: From the beginning, Judeo-Christian teachings have been the foundation of our republic. Our rights are natural and come from God, not man. The Democrat Convention expunged "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. Nuff said.

– The Constitution: It is to be interpreted as written by astute students of human behavior. Progressives view it as a "Living Document" – subject to the whims of whatever party won the last election.

– Capitalism: Free markets, individual liberty and limited government, a la Adam Smith, have lifted millions from poverty into prosperity. The Left desires governance by social/economic technocrats whether we want it or not. The Left's sterling examples, among others, are Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. Don't Cry For Me Estados Unidos!

OK, David we know what you stand FOR. Now who do you stand WITH for President? (And perhaps, WHY?)

– Carter Swenson, Beaufort
<h4>I’m a witness to the disaster called the Crime Bill</h4>
My wife and I are proud new residents of Beaufort, having moved here from a small town in western Wisconsin. I was originally introduced to Beaufort while serving for several years as a Marine at the MCAS during the late 1980s. Since then I have dreamed of returning to live out my retirement years here, only needing to convince my North Dakota born-and-raised wife that the Lowcountry is more than bugs and alligators.

I have enjoyed reading the local newspaper, up until I had the opportunity to read the “Voices” section. Several weeks ago I dismissed out-of-hand an opinion piece by David Taub likening the President to a strain of Covid virus. Even people who crow about achieving a minor elected office several decades ago are entitled to their opinion. What concerned me was seeing another piece by him in last week’s issue.

After wading through the “Potus” attacks, I stopped at the self-aggrandisement Mr. Taub awarded himself for instituting “community policing” during his administration. The fact that he is proud of such a program doesn’t surprise me, given his obvious left-leaning diatribes against the President.

I, Mr. Taub, am a walking and talking witness to the disaster that you and Bill Clinton, and now-candidate Biden instituted in the 90s. This disaster was called the “Crime Bill” and with it the “broken windows” theory that community policing is modeled after.

You see, Mr. Taub, after I left the Marine Corps I entered law enforcement as a Minneapolis police officer (yes, I did know Derek Chauvin). I rose from patrol officer to gang officer, and eventually to narcotics investigator and supervisor.

The “Crime Bill” and community policing ultimately produced results that nobody should be proud of Mr. Taub. I was a cog in a machine that included local, state, and federal agencies and prosecutors. We followed the law touted by Bill Clinton and Joe Biden that put many young men in prison for a very long time (30-plus years for some). These men, who were mostly African-American men, were sent away because I was arresting them with small amounts of crack cocaine.

To this day, I lament the fact that I did my job and did it well, all under the guise of what a Democratic president signed into law. To see President Trump use his Executive power to commute and pardon some of these unfortunate souls makes me have hope that we will not ever have such disparate sentencing again.

– Tim Lauridsen, Beaufort