Archive By Section - Editorials
Cancer detection
Despite the great medical advances of the past half-century, cancer has proved an elusive enemy; for many strains of the disease, survival rates are scarcely better now than they were decades ago. So every new discovery is met with enthusiasm, and that's certainly the case for a new blood test announced earlier this week by Boston scientists, who are teaming with Johnson & Johnson to market a test that will help doctors determine what ...
Noted and passed
• Country music fans in Kershaw County and across the country might get a special treat in the coming year. Superstar Merle Haggard, who's one of the only country stars who really did serve time in prison, was recently honored at Washington's Kennedy Center with a lifetime achievement award for his work. While there he got together with old buddies Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson and the three are contemplating getting together as a ...
A fresh start
As the final minutes of 2010 wind toward midnight, there are probably many people in Kershaw County who won't be sad to see the curtain fall on this year. The economy remained stagnant; jobs didn't bounce back as everyone had hoped they would; the housing market is still in the doldrums; and we suffered through one of the most brutal summers in history. Yet there is hope ahead as we move into the second decade of the 21st century.
Winter weather
Warmer weather is on the way for Kershaw County, and there will no doubt be lots of people who are happy about that. Above-normal temperatures could bring this month's averages up enough to avoid this year's being the coldest December on record, but it's been pretty brutal by southern standards, with more nights in the teens this month than we normally see in a couple years. There will no doubt be a great many ...
Noted and passed
• The new census brought good news for South Carolina, as the Palmetto State's population growth over the past decade will result in an additional Congressional seat, bringing the state's total to 7. As expected, most states which will pick up seats are in the South and the West, and most which will lose states are in the industrial Midwest and the Northeast. The new Congressional map amounts to an obstacle for national Democrats.
A wish for holiday joy for all
On Christmas Eve, we offer this timeless piece which was first published in The New York Sun in 1897, when editor Francis Church was faced with the following letter from a little girl named Virginia O'Hanlon:
Helping others: the gift to keep giving
As we near the end of 2010 -- it's almost unfathomable that a full decade has passed since the momentous millennium celebration -- the economy is still struggling to rebound both nationally and right here in Kershaw County. Many small businesses are just hanging on until things get better; real estate agents are not seeing an anticipated turnaround in home sales; and too many people are out of work. At the same time, there ...
Noted and passed
• It's been much colder than normal here in Kershaw County and many people are ready for an easing of the temperatures. But one friend suggested recently we should be thankful; he had checked weather information on-line, and for a recent week in Fairbanks, Alaska, the high temperature -- the high -- was negative 28 degrees. The low was negative 51. Those readings make our recent nights in the teens seem absolutely balmy.
Tort reform
As we approach a new year, one of the best presents the State of South Carolina could receive from the General Assembly would be a comprehensive tort reform measure that would make the state's business climate friendlier and would spur economic stability. Texas has been a leader in tort reform, and Gov. Rick Perry is pushing a new proposal that would take that state a step further.
On the horizon
Three situations worth watching: • Monday's ruling by a Virginia judge that a key provision of the Obama health care plan is unconstitutional will touch off a legal battle that will probably go all the way to the Supreme Court. Judge Henry Hudson said the constitution prohibits the government from forcing people to buy health insurance, just as it prohibits mandating that people buy certain cars, houses or rugs. Hudson is a Republican, ...
Noted and passed
• We're happy to see Rep. Laurie Slade Funderburk selected by her peers to serve as chair of the S.C. General Assembly Women's Caucus. We'll agree with Funderburk when she decries the fact that South Carolina is last in the nation in female elected officials, and we'd like to see more women elected to serve not only in Columbia but throughout the state. We're confident she'll do a great job leading the Women's Caucus ...
Tax facts
Voters in Kershaw County and nationwide have been bombarded with news during the past few days regarding the compromise between the Obama administration and Congressional Republicans on tax policy. Democrats in Washington, who for nearly two years have been accusing the GOP of obstructionism, are the people in this instance who are throwing up roadblocks. To listen to them tell it, lower-income Americans are being saddled with a lion's share of the American tax ...
A first step
Kershaw County voters, like their counterparts throughout the county, should take heart in the fact that Democrats and Republicans finally came together in Washington Monday to forge what looks to be a workable compromise on economic matters. They came up with a measure that will keep income rates at their current pace for another two years and will also extend unemployment taxes; the measure will also reduce the payroll tax on Social Security, instantly ...
Noted and passed for Dec. 6, 2010
• We're glad to see that the U.S. Congress has passed a bill which will prohibit television networks from jacking up the volume when commercials are shown. For decades, viewers have been forced to reach for the remote control device when the sound spurted during ad pitches. We also propose a tongue-in-cheek amendment to the new law: that whenever politicians appear on TV with too much blathering, the volume gets automatically cut down to zero.
Politics divided
With all the scent of change in the air in Washington, D.C., there's still an unpleasant aroma of business as usual in the nation's capital. Despite all the talk about cutting spending and the profligacy of earmarks, the U. S. Senate refused last week to outlaw them. We don't pretend to say banning earmarks would solve the country's deficit problems, but it would be a symbolic first step; Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma ...
Articles by Section - Editorials
The IRS
There are jokes aplenty about the Internal Revenue Service, but the latest revelations about that agency's conduct in targeting conservative groups is no laughing matter. In reality, it's not about conservative groups or liberal groups or apolitical groups. It's about the abhorrent idea that the IRS would single out any kind of organization or individual to harass -- and indeed it is harassment. <p class="MsoNormal" align="left" style="text-align: left; text-indent: ...
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