More response to column in The State's letters to the editor

Shealy failed to get facts straight before launching attack

Ross Shealy (“On barbecue, politics and what defies parody,” Aug. 1) exemplifies the ignorance and vitriol of the fanatical left.

Mr. Shealy is a coward hiding behind a slippery keyboard. For the record, Mr. Shealy never contacted me and does not know a wit about me, my business or the disease that 20 million people, including me, suffer from. Rather than a doctor’s note, Mr. Shealy needs a lesson in reporting facts. They are:

I have had Lyme disease for 14 years, have been hospitalized on too many occasions to recall (even when appearing pretty in pink). I sit on the Board of Dispoz-o Products Inc., a major manufacturer of plastic disposable products that has done great good for humankind, exceeded only by the greater shame Mr. Shealy brings to journalism. I am a founding director of the Philadelphia Trust Company. We have broken more records for funds under management than Shealy has writing any reputable news.

I have never signed a pledge to support the Alliance for Separation of School and State.

I have a passion for kids, freedom, excellence, learning and the American way. South Carolina would not be left behind if organizations such as the National Education Association would get out of the way.

One of the hardest things I have ever done was resign from the Education Oversight Committee. Maybe I should have asked Mr. Shealy to chauffeur me back and forth between Greenville and Columbia, because I temporarily lost my hearing and eyesight and could have used a good seeing-eye pit bull.

The S.C. Club for Growth knew I was ill and recruited me as a board member. This is one of the savviest groups of people I have had the pleasure to join. It waited for me to get well and work the phones.

So, what else does Mr. Shealy want to know that’s fit to print? He should call me sometime. I’ll be happy to supply the facts, only when he stops writing bad fiction.

KAREN IACOVELLI

Greer