Archive By Section - Columns
TRAC report sidelined
With the passage of Act 81 of 2009, the General Assembly took an important step to confront the antiquated and faulty tax structure that has been cobbled together over the decades, and that is now breaking down in the modern economy. The legislature created the South Carolina Taxation Realignment Commission to conduct a "thorough assessment of the State's current tax structure to determine its 'adequacy, fairness, and efficiency' and to ensure that our State ...
Muslim 'Cosby Show'? Couldn't hurt
CBS anchor Katie Couric startled some listeners when she suggested a Muslim "Cosby Show," but the idea has merit. It's hard for us to be afraid of the people we see on TV sitcoms every week.
Successful 2010 sets Camden on track to bright future
As we move into a new year, I'm proud to reflect back on 2010 as a successful year for the City of Camden despite great and obvious challenges.
Let's carry the dream and make it real
I've never been forced to sit in the back of the bus. I've never been drafted into the military to serve in a war on behalf of my country, only to return home and be denied basic human rights and opportunities in my own hometown. I've never been ridiculed and humiliated on a daily basis, for no reason other than the fact that my skin color is brown. But not too ...
To fight future Glock shock
We tend to respond in one of two ways to the news that a deranged gunman has fatally shot a group of people with an extraordinarily lethal weapon. Some people are simply horrified. Others wonder where they can buy one, too.
From Russia with envy
NEW YORK -- It is bracing, not to mention annoying, laughable and obnoxious, to hear a White House press secretary lectured by a Russian journalist about the parameters of free expression American-style.
Words that don't heal
WASHINGTON -- Sarah Palin feels victimized by critics who accuse her of helping create an angry political climate that led to the Tucson shootings, and she has a point. She chose a truly unfortunate way to make it, using the phrase "blood libel."
Taking a look back
I became somewhat nostalgic two weekends back. No, I wasn't flipping through photos of past loves or my travels in Europe. Or hitting up the Five Points bars stockpiled with sorority gals.
Tucson rampage wasn't about politics
The shooting in Tucson, Ariz., that killed six people, including a federal judge, and put many in the hospital, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, is a tragedy.
What's so bad about civility?
Just as it sometimes takes a scandal to engage Americans in a national conversation about sex, race or some other touchy topic, it sadly has taken a deranged gunman to launch us into a national argument about civility.
Proposed legislation impacting K-12 education
The beginning of a new year brings the start of many activities, including the opening of the 2011 session of the South Carolina General Assembly. Obviously, our legislators face more than even the usual level of challenges because of the $1 billion budget shortfall and the redrawing of legislative districts that will be done as a result of the 2010 census. As part of their deliberations, legislators will tackle a variety of issues related ...
What is enough?
WASHINGTON -- "High Capacity Magazines ... When ten rounds isn't enough," the Internet site offers.
Living with a bad case of puppy love
Is it possible to love your pet too much? That's a question I have asked myself many times since Oct. 28, the day I drove my new Labrador retriever-mix puppy home from the Walter M. Crowe Animal Shelter. I have always vowed that I would not be the kind of person who dressed their dog up in clothes or morphed into a baby-talking machine whenever their pet was around. No, I ...
Westerns still have their fans
I'm not much of a movie-goer -- maybe one a year, or two at the most. But I intend to see "True Grit." First of all, westerns are my favorite type movie, though they don't make many of them anymore. And second, Jeff Bridges is a good actor. I'm not a sophisticated enough movie maven to truly appreciate fine acting, but his performance as the down-and-out country singer in "Crazy Heart" was ...
Cooperation
My first Saturday night in office started at 8:00PM in the training room at the Sheriff's Office. I joined Sheriff's Deputies, Camden Police Officers, a couple of 16-year-old minors and two of my captains for a briefing by a Sheriff's Office investigator. He briefed everyone on our operations for the night. We were going to target stores in Kershaw County that could legally sell beer just to see if they would sell to these ...
Articles by Section - Columns
A trifecta with little payout
WASHINGTON -- Folks, deep breath time. This is not the end of the Obama presidency. It's a bad stretch with an unfortunate confluence of unfortunate events. None of which will make the first paragraph -- not even the first page -- of the account of the Obama administration in the history books. Let's tick through the trifecta of scandals and what they tell ...
A short vocabulary lesson
This past weekend, I had the rare, but always enjoyable, visit from my grandparents. I don't know about you, but anytime I have the opportunity to spend time with them I learn something new; sometimes about myself, sometimes about life, but always it's something.
Landscape, architectural history professor visits Camden
Camden welcomed an extraordinary visitor and new friend last week: Nina Antonetti, an "urbanist." She's been teaching about cities at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., for the last 15 years.
Not such strange bedfellows
WASHINGTON -- Breaking news: Conservative organizations suddenly have found common cause with one of their favorite objects of contempt -- the benighted Mainstream Media.
Seniors reflect
I meet with a lot of groups and committees over the course of the year, and I think it's important for me to do so. One of my favorite groups is Student Cabinet, which is comprised of student government leaders from each of our high schools. We meet four times a year over lunch. What I love and value about students is that they don't hesitate to tell you what's ...
A matter of conscience:
In 1929, my family moved from Chesterfield County to a farm adjoining the farm of Donald Holland's parents in the Cassatt community. I was a year old at the time but before many years passed, Donald and I established a friendship lasting until Donald's passing in 2003.
When DOJ targets press, we all lose
To say I was stunned was putting it mildly. I was shocked to learn about the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) decision to seize phone records belonging to the Associated Press (AP). The C-I does not belong to the AP; I have never written for the service. That doesn't negate my outrage at DOJ's actions.
Fredericksburg Township explored
Our grand city of Camden is a beautifully preserved town laid out in an 18th century plan devised by Joseph Kershaw. We are proud of our historic homes and buildings, carefully placed public parks, wide streets, and beautiful trees. So it is easy to forget that this was not the original plan for the "town" that was to develop in this area of South Carolina. The original plan was a part of the "Township ...
What was the IRS thinking?
Well, this is a fine mess.
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