Archive By Section - Columns
Giving old electronics new life
Unwanted computers, printers, televisions, and other devices comprise one of the nation's fastest-growing waste streams. Inspired by the concerns of several constituents, I advocated and sponsored legislation over the course of several years to address this problem. Through collaboration with other legislators, manufacturers, recyclers, and the environmental community this effort culminated in the passage of legislation in 2010 that makes South Carolina a leader in responsibly managing this waste while protecting our environment and growing our economy.
Budget reflects where city is headed
It's budget season at City Hall. This is the time of year that we review our previous budget and formulate a new one. I'm proud to say that our 2010-2011 numbers are projected to come in under budget, and our new budget will pass without requiring any tax increases.
Coffee has come a long way
Someone sent me an Internet video of two soldiers in Afghanistan demonstrating how to make coffee using a device called a heat pack. It was entertaining though the language was pretty salty, as soldiers' language can be.
Reaganomics? Meet 'Ryan-omics'
What would America look like if the Tea Party movement ran it? You can get a good glimpse in Republican Rep. Paul Ryan's budget-balancing plan. Now, I wonder, will Democrats come up with a better plan? Or will they simply wait for Republicans to destroy themselves?
What word defines you?
Can you think of only one word that accurately defines you?
Lend me your tired, your poor, your yuan
NEW YORK -- So why do Republicans hate art, the elderly and children?
School vouchers a "lousy idea'
After having been involved in the political and governmental life in South Carolina since 1963, when I accepted a position on the staff of Gov. Donald Russell, I am still constantly amazed at how long awful ideas persist in our State.
Economic development and school choice
A few weeks back, my wife showed me a newspaper article about a television ad running in North Carolina by a group called "NC Together." In it, the narrator touts the fact that North Carolina has a world class education system that has attracted business and industry to the state and advocates for not making deep cuts to educational and other resources in order to keep the North Carolina's business climate a competitive one. At the end of the ad, a picture of a "Welcome to South Carolina" sign is flashed and the narrator says, "There is another way ...
A better way to reform welfare
When President Clinton signed landmark welfare-reform legislation in 1996, he said it would "end welfare as we know it." Wrong verb. More accurately, it changed welfare as we know it.
The first president I voted for
Ronald Reagan was already in office by the time I turned 18 in 1983 and was eligible to vote. The next year, however, I cast my first vote for president: for Reagan to have a second term.
Freedom to snoop
Conservatives express shock and horror over political correctness, which they roughly define as the Orwellian suppression of any frank discussion about issues that liberals hold dear. But conservatives practice their own PC, too. "Freedom fries," anyone?
Making life a little brighter
Gosh, life is good, and it's the people around us who help make it so.
Dealing a blow to drug dealers in Kershaw County
One evening last year when I pulled into my driveway, there was an unfamiliar car parked in front of my house and there was a man wearing a uniform, standing by the car. As I got closer, I recognized the uniform as a Richland County Sheriff's Department uniform. This officer identified himself to me and said that if I was elected sheriff, he and his partner would like to come work for me. He handed me an envelope containing their resumes.
A 'reverse beauty pageant' for tyrants
"What if they gave a war and nobody came? So goes an old Vietnam War era bumper sticker. I've got an update in mind: What if they gave a war and nobody paid attention?
Planning is for the birds
The more months and years I acquire in this here world, the more I realize how pointless it is to plan. Planning ruins things.
Articles by Section - Columns
The hand that rocks the ballot box
In their denouncements of the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling, Hillary Clinton and other Democrats have been accused of pandering to single women -- the so-called "Beyoncé voter" demographic, as one Fox News commentator sniggered.
S.C., immigration and ‘Us vs. Them’
First things first: every nation must secure and control its borders. This is not political rhetoric or an ideological judgment but a simple geo-political fact.
S.C. Supreme Court ignored FOIA in autopsy ruling
Let's make something perfectly clear: The S.C. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is not dead, but the S.C. Supreme Court is sure acting like they're trying to kill it.
Crazy and proud of it
My grandmother -- Daddy's mother -- was sometimes called "crazy" by others who didn't quite understand her eccentric ways. Of course, in the South, we are proud of such a label for it means that we are interesting and worthy of being the center of coffee and cake conversation.
Impeaching the president
WASHINGTON -- Sarah Palin is right about impeaching President Obama.
The real meaning of ‘freedom of speech’
With today's plethora of online news and the subsequent discussion forums that accompany most Internet articles, there is a lot of confusion on the somewhat vague thing called "freedom of speech." Really, it's not vague at all, but it sure seems to be quite vague to those who don't really know what it means. What it doesn't mean is you have the right to say whatever you want to whenever you want to without consequences.
‘Not Just Guns:’ The Ross E. Beard Collection
On Tuesday, July 1, 2014, at 11 a.m., the Ross E. Beard Collection became the property of the city of Camden, as Mr. Beard signed the paperwork at the Camden Archives and Museum. City officials, long-time friends of Mr. Beard and representatives from the Friends of the Archives and Museum looked on as City Attorney Lawrence Flynn, Mr. Beard, Ed Royall (his attorney) and Austin Sheheen (his accountant) processed the paperwork.
Tiny Tim
Isn't it odd how every once in awhile, something pops in your head that's been buried for a long time -- a distant memory that for some reason comes alive?
Op-Ed: Supreme Court autopsy ruling trumps public accountability
For the second time in a month, the S.C. Supreme Court has ruled against openness and punted important issues back to the Legislature for change.
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