Archive By Section - Columns
Power of endorsements difficult to gauge
In presidential politics, endorsements are a prize candidates seem to covet, but don't necessarily need. On the rare occasion, however, a presidential backer can give a candidate that extra boost required to finish off the competition or a killer blow that eventually stymies a campaign.
Stupid is as stupid does
NEW YORK -- Are Republicans stupid? This seems to be the question du jour. Chris Matthews entertained this idea with guests recently, pointing to several Republican presidential candidates as evidence. How else to explain why so many in the GOP seem proud of their know-nothingness, as Matthews put it? As an example, he showed a clip of Texas Gov. Rick Perry bragging to an audience of students that he was in the ...
Rick Perry's cowboy certainty
Quite a few people were shocked to hear the audience burst into applause at Rick Perry's first Republican presidential debate after they heard that the Texas governor leads the nation in executions. That's why we have debates. They teach you things, not only about the candidates but also about their voters.
The challenge of 'Constitution Day'
Declaring your independence is risky, but it's relatively simple. Figuring out how to function as an actual nation is more complex.
'Where no one's gone before' for 45 years
It's been a long road/Gettin' from there to here.
Waiting to welcome sweet, little One and Two
As it turns out, I will be an aunt by the end of the year -- not once, but twice.
'Moderate Muslims'? Right here
If there are "moderate" Muslims, I still hear critics ask since the Sept. 11 attacks, why don't they condemn Islamic terrorism? In fact, most Muslims do condemn such barbaric acts but their critics aren't always listening.
And always remember...
The late comedian George Carlin made people laugh for decades, oftentimes with his own brand of off-color humor. You wouldn't ordinarily think of him writing a piece that would be appropriate for Christmas reflection, but I ran across this recently. Written shortly after his wife died, it's worth sharing:
A smoker's lung disease called COPD
COPD, which stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is now the third leading cause of death in the U.S., having recently passed stroke. COPD is a lung disease usually caused by years of cigarette smoking, often 10 years or more. The latest information on tobacco use in S.C. shows that about 720,000 adults are smokers and each year more than 6,000 persons die from smoking. Almost 50 percent of S.C. adults are current or ...
The year of school choice
We're used to hearing bad news from the education front -- poor test scores, falling literacy, slipping standards. But the new academic year brings a welcome change: school-choice programs have expanded significantly in recent months. Indeed, The Wall Street Journal has already dubbed 2011 "The Year of School Choice."
Legacy of hysteria
WASHINGTON -- The legacy of 9/11 can't be fully measured even now, but perhaps the most damaging aspect can be found in our national discourse.
Manning's legacy remains strong despite lack of Super Bowl success
Without even taking a snap during the opening weekend of the NFL season, Peyton Manning's name might have been mentioned more than any other player hitting the field Sunday. Even as this year's first overall draft pick Cam Newton was setting a new rookie passing record against the Arizona Cardinals, Manning's name still popped up as he had previously set the mark during his debut 14 years ago.
A 7-year-old and others remember World War II
At their meeting on Nov. 5, the Midway School Reunion's theme will be "World War II Remembrances and Remembrances of Our Principal, J. Hoke Murphree." We invited his two surviving children to attend but they have declined due to poor health and the long distance they would have to travel. However, Alice Murphree Kelsey did send us a couple of her remembrances while at Midway from January 1942 to January 1946.
Rick Perry grabs 'third rail'
I sometimes wonder whether politicians actually write the books they release. In the case of Texas Gov. Rick Perry's book, I sometimes wonder whether he bothered to read it, either.
What 9/11 means to me, 10 years on
I am angry. That's how I started my Sept. 17, 2001, column, six days after the terrorist attacks that felled the Twin Towers and punched a hole in the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. It was titled "Trying to be angry at the right things," and I used it as a reminder that we didn't need to be angry at Middle Easterners, Arabs or Muslims, ...
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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