In William Harpine's letter ("Limbaugh should get quotes straight," March 8), he states, "My belief is different from Mr. Limbaugh's" and proceeds with "I believe that people who have no idea what the Constitution actually says have no right to accuse the president of violating the Constitution."
The belief that he quoted as Mr. Limbaugh's is as follows: "We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights -- among them life, liberty, freedom and the pursuit of happiness."
Mr. Harpine interjected his opinion that Mr. Limbaugh's belief is different from his belief. This is incongruent to his argument. Is the belief Mr. Limbaugh expresses different from Mr. Harpine's belief in the meaning that our forefathers intended in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution?
Is it instead Mr. Harpine's opinion that Mr. Limnbaugh is not an adequate spokesman because of his misquotes? If Mr. Harpine meant to say that he does not believe that "we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights -- among them life, liberty, freedom and the pursuit of happiness," then that is an opposing and unsettling belief for any American.
This is especially troubling since the writer is a professor at a state college. Most Americans cannot quote the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution verbatim. This does not preclude their right to life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness. The First Amendment to the Constitution confers freedom of speech on citizens, including Mr. Limbaugh, to criticize elected officials, including the president.
It is my opinion that the chairman of a college's Department of Communications should be able to articulate a three-paragraph letter in a more intelligible manner. Surely the University of South Carolina Aiken can find a better voice.
Judy Berry
North Augusta, S.C.
Comments
More short pencils for the black man! I'm with ya justus!
Excuse me; the all-white-media? Who are you kidding? That same media blasted Bush unmercifully for every verbal gaffe he made (and he made quite a few). Regardless, it's not a race issue, so don't make it one.
William Harpine's letter was the same letter every liberal has written for the past 20 years. "Limbaugh is a conservative so he must be evil". Numerous reasons for the evil are listed, but the letter is the same. Liberals don't like conservatives. Their messages are opposite. Personal responsibility compared to responsibility passed to others. Where's the common ground?
justus uses the term all white media because he assumes none of his strong black men are intelligent enough to perform this job. I disagree. I say let all epople, regardless of color, suceed or fail based on their abilities alone. justus & his ilk have one goal. Perpetuating racism.
justus4, Herman Cain, Ken Hamblin....
The Declaration of Independence claims for us the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution guarantees that the government cannot take those away. Let us all read and enforce the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution. The government has grown too large, and PBO is working to make it larger. Government is not supposed to involve itself in our lives to such an extent that its intrusiveness costs us those claimed rights.
Harpine has written that southerners used the Constitution to cover all kinds of misconduct. Now he suddenly is worried about it being quoted right? So if it is quoted right, he thinks it is a document southerners use ot justify misdeeds? It's difficult to understand what the man is actually saying, but not hard to tell what he is trying to do.
Limbaughs speech at the CPAC clearly showed he is still under the influence of some kind of drug, probably cocaine or speed. That kind of hyper-sweaty overdrive does not occur in a normal man.
I'm amazed that his more of his followers didn't pick up on that, especially considering his past fondness for prescription painkillers. Or maybe they did and just turned a blind eye. Whatever the case, Limbaugh needs help.
In my day, every school child was expected to learn the preambles to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Now, to know what these great documents actually say is "splitting hairs." Has ignorance become the new religion?
Anyone can misspeak including Obama getting the number of states wrong. We can learn someone's knowledge by listening to the whole speech. Limbaugh was obviously pretty good. Heck, SouthernLady thinks he was so good that he had to have been on drugs.
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