Archive By Section - Columns
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? That's what I asked my husband as I watched "Eat, Pray, Love" last weekend. John, who at the time was staring at his computer screen after vehemently refusing to watch the "Ultimate Chick Flick of 2010" with me, didn't take more than two seconds to answer. "Unconventional," he said, without even bothering to look up. I guess for some ...
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. ...
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.
It's the women, stupid
NEW YORK -- Whether the topic is Libya's rebels or Afghanistan's "reconciliation" with the Taliban, the pivotal question is, or should be: What about the women?
'It was felt that the Rubicon was passed'
Captain Stephen D. Lee, CSA wrote on April 13, 1861 that, "We then proceeded at once to Fort Johnson (James Island), which we reached at 4 a. m. (April 12), and to Captain George S. James, commanding at that post, gave the order to open fire at the time indicated. His first shell was fired at 4:30 a. m….."
Covering KershawHealth for you
If there are times when you think that we publish a lot of KershawHealth stories in this paper, there's a very good reason for that.
Articles by Section - Columns
Don’t shoot the messenger
I've always heard the phrase "don't shoot the messenger" throughout my life. I somewhat understood what it meant -- don't take your anger out on someone who is simply relaying unwanted information. It wasn't until I started my career as a reporter that I developed a deeper and more meaningful relationship with this quote. Being a journalist means that not only do I get to be the bearer of ...
Googling ourselves to death
WASHINGTON -- At a party a few years ago, a young reporter bounded over to my cluster of social nodders and, with the breathlessness of a born tweeter, chirped: "What's the new hot thing?!"
Statehouse ethics: just tell the truth
When I was a young boy growing up and my mother confronted me with something that I knew I had done wrong, I often stammered around, making excuses and trying to avoid fessing up. My mom's response was always the same: "Let's begin by just telling the truth."
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.
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