No backslide for House ethics

As I watched the sad sight of Rep. Charles Rangel, a decorated Korean War veteran, stand in the well of the House to be humiliated by Speaker Nancy Pelosi with resounding censure like a misbehaving schoolboy, I was reminded of a joke I once heard about a critic's review of a singing cat: "It is not that the song was done well that mattered, but that it was done at all."

Publisher's comment

His name is David Underwood. His call sign is "Stevie." His face is the face of American freedom. His face is the face of American power.

It's grow-up time in America

NEW YORK -- Thanks to WikiLeaks, even Vlad the Putin can raise an eyebrow and presume to know more about founding American principles, democracy and free speech.

As I see it

Given I've had my coffee in the morning and wine in the evening, I'm quite the happy-go-lucky character. It takes a powerful event, one with a lasting impact, to grip my mood. Stoic, not quite; let's just say I'm indifferent to most of the daily world, and I mean that in a positive sense. Too often, I believe, indifference is seen as a negative.

A dog's life, then and now

I used to see those people who catered shamelessly to their dogs and snidely chuckle into my sleeve.

TSA and security: the naked truth

Years ago, the biggest question you'd get while flying was "Coffee or tea?" Now it's "Naked body scan or aggressive pat-down?"

That's 'techie' entertainment!

With my busy schedule here at the C-I and being a dad to two rambunctious boys, it's sometimes hard to watch what I want when I want.

When will Obama go 'gangster'?

Leave it to the famously politically incorrect Bill Maher to get to the heart of what's bugging President Barack Obama's supporters these days:

Turkey Bowl

The game was a beat-down of epic proportions. It was actually close at the beginning, both teams knotted at a touchdown, but the wheels of my team soon began to lose their grip from the proverbial axle. I would not say that the wheels "fell off" necessarily. This would imply that they simply came loose and rested in place. They actually flew off at quite an alarming rate and at last sight were still ...

Don't dumb down ... just grow up

Sometimes, it just pays to be dumb. That's what a 22-year-old anonymous young man -- let's call him Bob -- told a group of DJs on a morning radio show earlier this week, as he bemoaned the fact that he constantly had to "dumb down" when trying to date girls or when hanging out with friends. Girls don't like nerds, Bob said, and smart guys are always picked on by the more ...

How WikiLeaks can make us less free

It is symbolically appropriate that among other charges in Sweden WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is accused of having unprotected sex with two women in Stockholm. I don't know whether the world-famous Internet whistleblower is guilty or not, but the allegation certainly fits his reputation for world-class recklessness.

Ringing in the season

Ray Hazelwood still recalls the day in 1973 when his cherished class ring from The Citadel vanished.

America's reality show: gloom and doom

NEW YORK -- Pending catastrophe is not an easy notion to entertain, much less sustain. Americans moreover have a low tolerance for doom and gloom. We are the nation of optimism, after all. We elect leaders who promise hope and change. We are the shining city on a hill.

Hitchens confronts the Big C

Journalists and writers serve numerous purposes in society, one of which is to stimulate thought and make you reconsider some, or all, of your beliefs. A simple way to do this is by providing all sides of an issue, regardless of whether one side is vastly more popular or accepted as true.

A time to govern

WASHINGTON -- New Hampshire Republican Judd Gregg could reel off a list of problems with the debt-reduction blueprint produced by the president's fiscal responsibility commission -- beginning with the fact that, as Gregg sees it, the plan doesn't do nearly enough to reduce the debt: By 2020, in the unlikely event that all the recommendations are enacted, the debt would still stand at an unhealthy share of gross domestic product, ...

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.

Are we willing to pay for increased public safety?

Kershaw County public safety is at a crossroads. The sheriff's office is greatly understaffed and deputies are compensated for their mandatory overtime work by an antiquated and grossly unfair payment system. The solicitor's office is working with half the staff it needs to properly prosecute the cases it receives every month and the jail is barely able to keep sufficient staff to meet state standards. <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: ...

Benghazi redacted

Gatsby? What Gatsby?

Another view of Plan B

In "Getting it wrong about Plan B," Ruth Marcus ends her column by stating that the debate over the proposed Plan B policy "isn't about the government coming between parents and children or society condoning teen sex. It's about preventing teen pregnancy."

Are you (fill in the blank) enough?

WASHINGTON -- Enough with this "enough" business.

Reflecting on 100 years of success

KershawHealth recently completed a week of celebration commemorating the opening of the Camden Hospital in 1913 and a century of outstanding care. One of the things that struck me during those activities was the incredible amount of community support the hospital has always enjoyed, and the amazing things that strategic thinking and teamwork can accomplish.

What Sanford win says about S.C.

Somehow, the man who walked the Appalachian Trail all the way to Argentina to see his mistress got elected to Congress last Tuesday in a voting outcome that almost defies belief.