Archive By Section - Columns
Passing time with good folks
If you are over 50 years old, or were raised in a small Southern community or "from these parts," then you may have a better appreciation of this story than others would.
Good TV, bad politics
WASHINGTON -- The operative maxim in cable television can be summed up as follows: Is it good TV?
Celebrate Halloween with some spooky favorites
A few weeks ago, a friend and I happened to stumble upon a great old-timey store during a trip up to Clemson. No, we weren't in the market for handle-bar mustache wax or a top hat and monocle, but we did want to pick up something we haven't bought in a long time -- a movie from Blockbuster.
For protests, simplicity matters
After spending an afternoon with Occupy DC, the District of Columbia's branch of the Occupy Wall Street movement, I now understand why they avoid formal leaders. For one thing, when things go wrong, it's easier to spread the blame around. That's something the young radicals have in common with the folks on Wall Street and in Washington.
It's definitely time to talk about Phase II
In 2007, just as I was arriving in Kershaw County, the school district began work on Phase I of the Facilities Equalization Program. Phase I was envisioned to encompass eight construction and renovation projects at a cost of $102 million, which was generated through Installment Purchase Plan bonds. Through a combination of excellent management and a favorable construction market, the $102 million has been stretched to complete several more projects beyond the original scope. ...
Camden’s other Native American leader
Perhaps it's because most of my elementary and junior high school education took place in the Washington, D.C., suburbs. Perhaps it's just the too many years since I moved on from high school and college. Perhaps I just didn't pay attention.
Photo giant near sad collapse
When musical great Paul Simon wrote the hit song "Kodachrome" in 1973, nobody could have foreseen that 38 years later, the photographic giant Eastman Kodak would be on the verge of bankruptcy.
Growing Camden while preserving historic treasures
Over the last few months I have been meeting with people in this great community that I call home. I have been in people's homes, on the streets and in businesses talking about the direction in which the city is heading.
Herman Cain’s anti-race card
Tea partiers are delighted that their support for Herman Cain proves they don't hate black people. Unfortunately, judging by some of his statements, Cain doesn't seem to like black people very much, either.
‘Facts’ not always truth
There's a funny thing about facts nowadays: everyone has their own.
Celebrating failure
WASHINGTON -- By the time Steve Jobs' Wikipedia page had been adjusted to past tense, eulogists had added a footnote to his biography of success. Failure.
Struggling Colts should look for Luck in 2012
With about one-third of the pro football regular season over, the line between playoff contenders and divisional basement dwellers is becoming clear.
How local festivals improve our quality of life
During a recent weekend, I attended the Rock Around the Clock Festival in Winnsboro.
Solyndra case underscores flaws in 'stimulus act'
If anyone needs more proof that the White House sold us a bill of goods when it pressured Congress to pass the "stimulus" act of 2009, just look at what has happened with Solyndra Inc.
Two leaders lost, big lessons gained
What makes a great leader? While President Barack Obama and his Republican challengers grapple mightily with that question, the deaths of Steve Jobs and the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, two leaders who shunned political office, tell us the answer.
Articles by Section - Columns
What comes after the welfare state?
The welfare state is now omnipresent in every part of the United States. The federal budget is dominated by entitlement spending, with 45 percent of federal spending in 2012 going to Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare (among other health care entitlements). Simultaneously, states are struggling under the fiscal burdens imposed on them by mandatory entitlement programs: for example, spending by the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services ...
The 11th hour: Warsaw, Kiribati and South Carolina
What if I told you that it's the 11th hour, and that the proof is Warsaw, Kiribati and South Carolina?
Drop off our kids safely, please
I'm the parent of a Camden Middle School (CMS) student. Each weekday morning, I drop him off after taking his brother to another school.
The poor dirt farmer
There's nothing glamorous about being a farmer, nothing charming, little endearing and certainly few things easy about it. It is either a calling or a curse, depending on how one looks at it. Some are born into it and some just can't find a way to escape it for it's all they've ever known.
The GOP’s toxic messaging
WASHINGTON -- As the government health care website chugs along, the Obama administration has initiated a counter-initiative to combat Republican naysaying -- and its weapons are of superior grade.
What I AIN’T grateful for
Last week I told you about a lot of things for which I'm thankful.
‘Tis the season of lots to do
A blog I follow posted a piece last year about Christmas traditions. The woman who writes the blog is newly married and wanted to start some holiday traditions with her husband and carry them on if they should ever have children.
Imagine your crimson pot
I'll be first to admit I'm a pushover when it comes to stories of do-gooders and their noble deeds of "giving back." As it goes, at this time of the year -- the season of giving -- many of us find ourselves looking for ways to be charitable, for ways to help others in some capacity. No doubt, the stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year's finds most of us in ...
Spend the money and get what you want
Shopping for friends and family members can be fun, but it can also be very stressful. I can't tell you how many holidays have come and gone where I've waited until the last minute to buy Christmas presents for my nearest and dearest. It's not because I don't have the opportunity. Bien au contraire, mon ami, ce n'est pas vrai.
Food stamps and turkey tales
WASHINGTON -- If you peruse the news on any given day, the farm bill/food stamp debate produces two general impressions: Republicans are heartless turkey thieves; Democrats are spendthrift welfare caterers. If only neither were a little bit right.
Classically Carolina
"We are Camden, a place surrounded by history. Long a home of Native Americans, we were founded not long after Carolina was separated into North and South. Here, King Haigler, the Catawba chief, worked for peace among natives and colonists along the banks of the Wateree. Here, Patriots suffered one of the worst defeats in the Revolutionary War. Yet, from this place the tide of war would turn and ultimately lead to victory for ...
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