Noted and passed

Multiple sources are saying Katie Couric will leave her post as anchor of the "CBS Evening News," with the show mired in third place far behind rivals NBC and ABC. Couric was lured away from a long and successful tenure at NBC's "Today" show, and she is said to be eying a syndicated TV talk show. What works on a feature-type show such as "Today" doesn't always translate to success in the anchor chair. ...

A starting point

Rep. Paul Ryan has issued a plan for returning this country to fiscal sanity, and it includes cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. The Wisconsin lawmaker's proposal would slash about $5 trillion in spending over the next decade, making it by far the most intensive plan presented to date to try to deal with the country's unsustainable spending practices. But predictably, potential presidential candidates have had little to say, recognizing the political volatility of cutting ...

Noted and passed

• Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, who never met a television camera he didn't like, didn't realize a microphone was turned on when he started dispensing advice to his Democratic colleagues on how to picture Republican policies as "extreme." Schumer's pointers give one indication of why everything is endlessly "spun" in Washington. Of course, it's not only Democrats who do this, as Republicans are just as guilty. But Schumer's the one who got ...

Carolina Cup

Many years ago, there was a Carolina Cup race director who insisted that every person in attendance was there to watch the horses run and that none of them were interested in the social aspects of the day -- or in taking a drink. That, of course, wasn't close to true, and there's a reason that the Cup has often been called the largest outdoor cocktail party in South Carolina. It is indeed a ...

Open government

The word "transparency" has become a popular one for politicians to use. After all, how many citizens are there here in Kershaw County -- or across South Carolina and the United States, for that matter -- who aren't in favor of a more open government? Not many. Indeed, transparency was one of the key platforms of Gov. Nikki Haley's campaign, and the issue no doubt contributed to her victory. A little squabble is now ...

Noted and passed -- March 28, 2011

• If ever a college coach deserved firing, it was Bruce Pearl, the Tennessee basketball head man who lied to NCAA investigators about recruiting violations he'd committed, and then committed additional illegal acts after denying he had done anything wrong in the first place. Pearl was a flamboyant coach who took the Volunteers to basketball heights they'd seldom attained, but his cheating was too flagrant to ignore.

USC appointment

We commented last week on the puzzling decision that Gov. Nikki Haley made in not re-appointing Darla Moore to the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees. We still aren't clear why Haley chose to pick a fight with Moore and so many university alumni who are grateful for the $70 million pledge Moore has made to USC. But Sen. Jake Knott's intention to pass a new law opening another seat on the board, ...

Athletes and education

Even the most casual sports fan in Kershaw County can get caught up in the hoopla of March Madness, the NCAA basketball tournament that is arguably the best sporting event in the country. It's difficult to understand how college sports officials can continue to resist a football play-off system when you consider the interest drawn by the hoops tourney each year. And in this year's games, there have been lots of down-to-the-wire contests, generating ...

Noted and passed

• Kershaw County residents have a special reason to pull for Wofford's basketball team, as the Terriers are coached by Mike Young, who's married to the former Margaret Green, daughter of Davis and Gege Green of Camden. Young led Wofford to their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance this year after winning the Southern Conference championship, with the Terriers making the "Big Dance" field despite being one ...

Ousting Moore

Say what you will about Gov. Nikki Haley, but don't say one thing: that she's bashful.

Righting the wrongs

In a perfect world -- in a political system that functioned more as our forefathers intended rather than how it actually does -- elected officials in Washington would take on issues based on the importance of those matters rather than how the politicians would be affected at the ballot box in their next re-election campaign. But, of course, it's not a perfect world, and sometimes lawmakers can be most productive when they can plow ...

Noted and passed

• We see through news reports that a sizeable percentage of newly elected U.S. Congressmen have decided to sleep in their offices, partly due to the high cost of real estate in the Washington area. That brings back memories. Rep. Ken Holland, formerly of Camden, was one of the first to become an "office snoozer" when he was elected to Congress from the Fifth Congressional District in 1974. Holland, a lawyer by profession, served ...

Fine -- no points

The state appears on the verge of legitimizing a traffic ticket system that has existed on the gray market for years in many municipalities -- writing tickets and collecting fines while not counting the violations against people's traffic records, thus saving them the higher insurance premiums that often result with speeding violations. A bill in the House of Representatives would allow police to write a warning ticket to speeders who are going less than ...

A new life for Mather

We all like to think that when we go to the polls to elect our leaders that we're casting our ballots for people who will make bold decisions; few voters ever mark the box next to the name of a candidate they consider timid. Camden City Council has indeed made some bold decisions recently, the latest one being to buy the former Mather Academy property, with the purpose of building a new recreational complex to take the place of the aging Rhame Arena.

Noted and passed

• It's difficult not to like the candor of Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, the plain-spoken chief executive who's grappling with the Garden State's problems in a way that residents of that state have seldom seen. Christie lets the criticism of the media and special-interest groups roll off his back while he pile drives into the massive issues facing his state. Recently, Christie said he ...

Primaries

The S.C. Republican Party has withdrawn from a federal lawsuit that would close the GOP's primary only to members of the party. The state organization didn't do that because it opposes the suit but because it doesn't want to spend the money. But in reality, it should oppose the suit as a matter of sound policy; trying to accomplish closed primaries in a state in which voters don't even ...

The U.S. Open

IRS reform

People in this country -- no doubt many right here in Kershaw County -- are angry with the Internal Revenue Service and its heavy-handed methods. Of course, the IRS has never been popular, and probably wouldn't be if the agency did everything by the book. But its recent targeting of conservative groups has spotlighted the venom with which overzealous bureaucrats can operate. Adding to it are recent revelations about ...