Archive By Section - Columns
Holding back on scathing emails
Many years ago, I adopted the "wait till the next day" philosophy regarding letters I wrote to people which were penned in -- how shall we put this? -- the heat of battle.
Voices across the decades
On the afternoon of February 15, 2013, the famed Beard Collection began to arrive at the Camden Archives and Museum. On March 5, the last large load arrived around 1 p.m. and the archives was a beehive of activity, with police and firemen carrying collection items in from trucks, cars and vans. As our new curator of collections, Rickie Good, and I checked items in, Mr. Beard told stories and related anecdotes about ...
Craft beer takes you to the high end
I think it's safe to say that I'm on my way to beer snob-dom.
Fruitful fire
When I was young, I remember arriving home to find Mom's face was awash with concern and intent. She told me there was a fire down in the pinewoods below the neighborhood. We were evacuating. I remember feeling intrigued by it all. The seriousness never set in until some of my closest friends lost their homes to the flames.
Optical illusions
WASHINGTON -- The media love optics and no one understands this better than President Obama.
The trouble with stoplights
There is something that has been bothering me lately. And no, I'm not referring to the fact that there will never again be a new episode of 30 Rock (RIP Liz Lemon) or the fact that the writers of Downton Abbey (SPOILER ALERT) decided to kill off two of the most likable characters on the show in particularly gruesome fashions. My beef is with something that we are servants ...
‘You are my Sunshine’
This week is Sunshine Week, that week of the year where journalists, especially in the newspaper business emphasize the importance of freedom of information acts (FOIA) and open government. Sunshine Week is a joint effort of the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP). It's called Sunshine Week because the observation started in Florida by that state's press association in 2003. Florida is, ...
Audit reveals good KershawHealth financial policies
In January, KershawHealth's accounting firm, Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, presented its annual audit report to the Board of Trustees. Dixon Hughes Goodman is one of the country's most respected Certified Public Accountant (CPA) firms and the largest based in the South. The audit report was excellent, and the auditors commented specifically on KershawHealth's outstanding accounting department. The CPAs found no areas which were substandard or issues to be addressed in ...
Yahoo’s in the crossfire
WASHINGTON -- Excuse me while I roll my eyes over the latest "mommy war."
A friendship no one predicted
In an age dominated by political enmity, bile and vitriol -- how's that for a hateful trio? -- the story of the friendship of former presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton gives us all a measure of hope that we can get past the ill feelings that so dominate our political landscape.
Student helps with English
English teachers border on the unstable, especially when it comes to the misuse of grammar! Newspaper copy containing errors causes them to receive telephone calls from acquaintances wanting them to censure the writing. Highway signs can cause physical discomfort for misspellings, apostrophe misuse, or substitution of a comma for a semicolon or vice versa. Some teachers solve their problems by making their tests consist of true-false or choice questions (a/b/c/d). ...
Not requiring gun permits is crazy
It's official: South Carolina has lost its mind. Some state representatives want a school resource officer in every school, while others want to forgo gun permits. Sounds like a bad joke, right? For what reason, someone tell me, are people offended by a permit requirement? I surely want people to know how to shoot a gun properly and if something ever goes down, I absolutely want to know that the person who ...
Basketball diplomacy, Pyongyang style
It is really not so odd that we would find Dennis Rodman partying heartily with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. After all, they have so much in common. Think of Kim as Rodman with less height, fewer piercings, more nuclear menace -- and more blood on his hands. They also both love basketball, self-promotion and keeping the world guessing about their sanity. ...
Coming home to Camden
I always told myself I would never move back to Camden after graduating high school. In my mind, I was bigger than the small town life and it would hold me back from doing what I wanted to do. Although, I had no idea what exactly that big thing I wanted to do was in the first place. Fast forward about four years and ...
Woodward and Sperling
WASHINGTON -- To the world beyond the Beltway, it might not mean much that Bob Woodward of the famed Watergate duo went public with his recent White House run-in.
Articles by Section - Columns
Noted and passed
** A new Gallup poll indicates that Americans rank the performance of Congress at the lowest level since polling on the subject began. Only 10 percent of citizens say they have confidence in Congress, with no discernible difference among those who call themselves Democrats and those who say they're Republicans. Congress rates last on a list of 16 institutions, with the American military ranking first. The Gallup organization has been asking opinions of Congress ...
Crisis of faith in government
WASHINGTON -- It is reassuring that in the midst of so much government dysfunction, the IRS has resolved the question of when and whether to tax tanning beds under the Affordable Care Act. Do not be concerned about that giddiness you feel. You are not having a nervous breakdown but are suffering a symptom commonly associated with recognition that the absurd has become the accepted norm -- and that you are, in fact, alone. ...
KCSD has had a one terrific school year
The end of the school is a veritable kaleidoscope of activities and excitement, with happiness and even a little relief thrown in for good measure. For me, it's also a time to reflect on the school district's many accomplishments over the past year. To say the least, it's been one terrific year! This month, I wanted to review just a few of the many highlights of 2012-13:
Game of Thrones is good, but tough TV
Back in March 2012, I wrote about my newfound love of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series. I mentioned -- almost as a side note -- the brilliant HBO television series based on the books (and named after the first novel) Game of Thrones.
Game of Thrones is good, but tough TV
Back in March 2012, I wrote about my newfound love of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series. I mentioned -- almost as a side note -- the brilliant HBO television series based on the books (and named after the first novel) Game of Thrones.
Welcome to the good life
Were talking coffee and burgers today, folks.
Secrecy scandal? Not so much
When is a scandal not really a scandal? Many are shocked to hear that the government, in its pursuit of terrorists as relentlessly as Wile E. Coyote chases the Road Runner, is massively snooping into our phone records and popular social networks without search warrants.
Addressing the marriage question
I think it's safe to say that I've definitely reached the age where people often feel the need to ask the "marriage question." And by that, I mean frequent inquiries about to whom and when I'm getting married, why I'm not attached at the moment, etc., etc., etc. Which is fine. I don't mind answering that I'm not seeing anyone serious at the moment or that I'm not ready ...
Ideas always welcome here
For the past couple of years, Kimbrell's has been considering closing its Camden furniture store due to the declining downtown foot traffic. Recently, the CEO of Kimbrell's met with Camden officials and, upon hearing of our plans to revitalize Camden, committed to renovate the interior and exterior of their store at the corner of Broad and Rutledge. For those who want to see the eventual results of the ongoing renovation, check out Kimbrell's in ...
Tweaking real life
NEW YORK -- It was never quite clear what feminizing the workplace would mean when women en masse invaded corporate America a generation ago.
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