Slow news day, especially locally, but here’s what we’ve got:
- Duchess of Cambridge gives birth to baby boy, third in line to the throne (The Guardian) — Yep, things are that slow that I’m leading with this. Set aside all the tabloid nonsense, and the birth of the third in line to the throne is still news, for an Anglophile like me, anyway.
- Hundreds escape in attacks on Iraq prisons holding al-Qaeda militants (WashPost) — Anyone wish we were still there providing security, so as to prevent this sort of thing?
- Faster Than the Speed of Light? (NYT) — Quote: “A NASA team is experimenting with photons to see if faster-than-light travel — warp drive — might be possible.” If they succeed, you’ll have to wait until next week’s news to find out about it. Time travel joke. Sorry.
- U.K. Cracking Down On Porn, Blocking It Unless Users Opt In (NPR) — According to other sources I’ve seen, the P.M. is stopping child porn, but not the Page 3 girls in The Sun. Which indicates he has a sense of proportion. I wish him luck with this.
- Haley says she was thinking of certain people while firing weapons (The State) — No, really. This apparently happened Friday, but I just saw it today. It’s great that the gov supports FN, but that’s just not funny.
- Ryan Braun Suspended for Rest of Season (WSJ) — I hate to see this sort of thing in baseball…
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Of course, the story I hadn’t seen yet when I did this VFP was Thomas Ravenel been charged with drunken driving. While he was in the Hamptons. Playing polo. That’s the way he rolls… http://www.thestate.com/2013/07/22/2875135/thomas-ravenel-accused-of-driving.html
Hope that the DUI charge derails his political comeback. No more retreaded politicians. Glad that nobody was hurt.
First doing coke, now in the Hamptons, playing polo. It’s “men” like T-RAV that give Republicans a bad name. How much more stereotypical could this saga get?
4. Well, I guess that proves the government (British in this case) isn’t misusing the data dumping that they’ve been engaged in. Identifying child abusers would seem to be the easiest way down the slippery slope; not that I would mind for this use.
Otherwise, sounds like he is standing against the tides of time. It is likely easier to vacuum up all the data ever sent over the net than to devise the perfect censorship structure; especially those (like democracy advocates or paedophiles) most likely to find alternates. [Not that they are otherwise similar.]
Re #3 – Didn’t you report on this next week? Will you report more on the time travel situation last week?
More CPD black ops? http://www.wistv.com/story/22904217/cpd-officers-allege-second-black-ops-plot
What is the minimum number of police officers who have to come forward to make this grounds for suspension? We’re at three plus the admin who worked for Navarro who corroborated his story. And isn’t it telling that everyone who comes forward mentions being afraid of suffering retaliation?
Well, the idea that Les Wiser and Ruben Santiago cooperated on “black ops” is implausible, since they do not get along at all and were rivals.
The entire CPD scandal is implausible, and yet it seems to be gathering steam. Hopefully it will get unwound and Columbia taxpayers will end up with a police force that isn’t a nest of snakes. Not saying that it is one now, but just hoping that everything ends up OK.
Is there any plausible explanation for why four people would come forward with these allegations?
They are looking for a payout, perhaps?
Doesn’t explain why Navarro’s admin would come forward to corroborate his story.
Nope, but the dates on her story don’t make any sense.
Admin is loyal, but clueless. Others are looking for something….
“It’s great that the gov supports FN, but that’s just not funny.” -BW
Brad you are certainly right, it is difficult to imagine how it could be funny to anyone. Yet, Haley’s jest is both ironic and refreshing candor for any poitician — something we would not expect for those habitually hiding what they really think and want for SC from the public.
No, Juan, I would certainly appreciate her candor on those last two things you mentioned. But that isn’t what she did here. Or ever.
Mark Stewart, its interesting how you dare you say. “But that isn’t what she did here. Or ever.”
With objections that strong, officious, authoritative and opinionated, freedom loving Americans would expect that you are able back to back up your liberal-speak with at least some salient facts, that is, if you have any!
Put me in the “it’s not funny” camp.
What do I think about when firing a gun? It depends. When I’m shooting a handgun, I really focus on squeezing the trigger slowly (as opposed to “mashing” it). If I don’t focus on squeezing the trigger with smooth pressure, my shots have a tendency to go about 3 inches low and left at a distance of 15 yards.
For a rifle: controlling my breathing.
For shotgun shooting sports (skeet, trap, sporting clays): Gauging the distance and speed of the bird, then calculating a proper lead all in about .25 of a second.
That reminds me, I need to get back out the range again soon.
“Haley called shooting targets a stress reliever. Of the targets, she said, “I imagined a lot of different people.”
Who exactly, guv?
“That’s my secret.” ”
Imagining shooting unnamed people is “refreshing candor”? Are you saying that you think this is an example of Haley not hiding what she really thinks and wants for SC? If pretending to shoot unnamed people is what she wants for SC, should I feel reassured?
I don’t.
I am also in the ‘not funny’ camp.
So what, Scout, Brad was first and I second to say the same. You, however, are first to ignore and marginalize the ironic and refreshing candor for a poitician. The chances of V. Sheheen saying anything as candid are zero. Yet, he hides his support of UN Agenda 21 and Obama. Go figure.
Is there a limit on how many people can agree in a comments section? I was not disputing that others said it too. I was agreeing.
I commented on it – how is that ignoring it? I thought it was disturbing enough to comment on it – how is that marginalizing it?
I suppose I disagree that candor is refreshing when it reveals disturbing thoughts or motives.
Please explain how her “candor” is ironic?
I also do not perceive Sheheen as a non-candid person.
I guess we just disagree. That’s fine.
Can you give an example of Sheheen being candid that doesn’t include the names Haley or Sanford?
Well, Doug, there’s his book, in which he sets out the policies he would advocate as governor.
Which I would think you would like, since last time around you complained that he wasn’t specific enough.
Specific does not equal candid.
Every candidate writes a book filled with things they will never do.
Brad, can you post a link to The Brad Show you did with Sheheen when he ran last time. I tried to find it but couldn’t get the video to play (maybe a problem with my computer??). Anyway, I could be wrong but I remember that conversation to be fairly substantive and candid to my mind at the time.
Also, the more I think about it – I’m not sure I buy that Haley’s statement was all that truly candid. I think she is always aware of and playing to her audience. It strikes me as possibly mock candor, personally.
Dang! I can’t get it to play either, Scout. And unfortunately, it resides on Blip rather than on YouTube.
Let me see what I can do…
First of all, every candidate for governor does NOT write a book detailing his policy proposals.
Second, how is a guy supposed to win with you, Doug? You say he has nothing to say except to criticize Haley, so I refer you to his book. Yeah, you say, but he’s just lying about all that stuff; he’s not going to do it…
Really, what can Vincent Sheheen do to gain your support? Because you seem determined to dismiss any effort he makes.
First, you complain that a guy won’t say the things he should. Then when he does, you say he doesn’t mean it. Come on, Doug!
I for one will not support Vinnie. I am still mad that he supported taking the federal bailout, rather than making necessary cuts to our state’s bloated workforce.
Have you read the book? I have. There’s nothing groundbreaking in there.
He wants to hold a Constitutional Convention to rewrite the state constitution. That’s one of his first plans in the book. Will you accept this bet? I will bet you $100 that if Sheheen is elected there will not be a Constitutional Convention in his first (or second) term. Do you seriously think he would be able to accomplish that?
He says “Reform the tax code”. What has prevented him from leading that effort as a legislator? What do you think he will be able to accomplish on that front as a Democratic governor leading a Republican legislature? He claims that “The goal of tax reform should not be to raise taxes.” yet he spends much of that section of the book talking about how low South Carolina’s tax burden is relative to other states .
Is he willing to make a statement that tax revenues should be the same or decrease under his plan? Or does he want South Carolinians to have a higher tax burden to match other states?
He also weasels around income tax – stating that 40% of returns had ZERO income tax liability. Then he follows that up with a very weak, non-committal statement: “Perhaps some of them should have a small financial stake in the income tax system as well?” Does that sound specific to you? Will he campaign on the platform that everyone should pay some income taxes? Doubt it.
He spends 13 pages of a 110 page book essentially leading to the conclusion that the key fix to South Carolina’s education problems is 4K kindergarten. That’s a joke, right? Then spend 3 pages on the rest of the education system solutions which boils down to: “Childcare ratings”, “Less paperwork for teachers”,
and a couple boilerplate paragraphs on STEM teaching.
I’ve stated many times before what it would take for me to vote for Vincent Sheheen. One thing: stop blaming Nikki Haley and Mark Sanford for South Carolina’s problems and point the finger directly at the legislative body he is part of.
I agree that we need a constitutional convention, or at least an amendment to change some of the structure of SC government. I think the problem is truly the “ol’ boys club” that is the SC Senate. Specifically I lay the blame on the tenure oriented system of powerful committee chairmanships.
Right, but can Sheheen make it happen?
Let’s start with term limits and then maybe once we get some needed turnover, we can get people with new ideas in there.
Doug, there’s a contradiction in what you want from him.
You castigate him for promising things he can’t accomplish, such as a Con-Con.
But then you want him to blame everything on the Legislature — like Pug Ravenel, who called it a “den of thieves,” or Nikki, who says the usual suspects fear her, and “that’s a beautiful thing.”
A person who does that guarantees he won’t accomplish anything, because the first necessary ingredient is the cooperation of the Legislature.
Vincent understands that, and that’s one reason we’ve come closer to eliminating the Budget and Control Board recently than we’ve come to any significant reform in years. When he started on this several years back, he didn’t couch it in terms of empowering the executive. He sweetened it, from a legislative perspective, by talking about how to help lawmakers perform their oversight responsibilities better, and mentioning mechanisms for keeping the executive accountable.
This helped him make progress. And when that reform finally passes, it will be because of his careful advocacy, certainly not because Nikki Haley wanted it…
Then why doesn’t he stop blaming Nikki Haley and Mark Sanford as well? That serves no purpose in moving forward.
I want him to talk about what he will do.. not about Nikki Haley.
By the way, here’s a release about Sheheen’s speech to Columbia Rotary on Monday, which I neglected to share at the time:
And here’s a news story about it.
“reduce all the wasteful spending in state government to make the best use of tax dollars; ”
How about some specifics, Vincent? Where are we wasting tax dollars? What would you cut?
And don’t hide behind “I’ll create an Office of Inspector General to find the waste”. If you think
there’s waste, name it and claim it.
Disclaimer: My decision to not support Sheheen is not an endorsement of Haley. She’s proven to be
a lousy governor. But Sheheen lacks the fire in the belly to actually change South Carolina.
How does Sheheen propose to make the governor’s office truly accountable?
How is this administration that operates in secret different than all previous administrations?
SCDOR, SCDEW, DHEC, DSS and SCDOT have been cabinet agencies for a while now. What has the SC Senate specifically done under Vincent Sheheen to improve transparency and accountability in state government?
Sounds like he just wants to make SC government a whole lot bigger: expand 4-K, spend more on schools and colleges, spend more on infrastructure, shift more of the tax burden from landowners to individuals, and of course, that old gem, reducing wasteful spending.
Exactly, Silence. I judge someone based on what he’s done, not on what he says he’s going to do. Sheheen isn’t a leader, he’s a legislator/lawyer.
Also, in a state with a large black population, his book (actually it’s an extended pamphlet) only uses the word “black” three times in a historical context and no references to African Americans. How does he energize the black voters in the state when he doesn’t even recognize that they exist? I guess the assumption is that black voters will vote Democrat anyway.
One thing I will say for Vinnie. At least he filled out his income disclosure form for “Project Conflict Watch” which is more than I can say for the Guv, or most of our other local politicos.
Here’s a Wordle word map of Sheheen’s book. It’s not surprising that the five most common words
are state, South, Carolina, tax, and government. I’d expect nothing less of a Democrat.
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/6899715/Vincent_Sheheen%27s_Book
You guys are a tough crowd.
Can SC ever get ahead without a Constitutional Convention? Maybe, maybe not. It will never move up the chain of affluence amongst the states if it does not refine its political leadership failures, however. That it has not is a failure of everyone who lives in the state – not just the legislature or the governor. Too many people vote with their feet and leave the state; which is a not insensible path to follow, frankly. But South Carolina deserves better. You can knock Sheheen for not being a fire and brimstone guy, but you cannot knock his lack of commitment to working in an engaged fashion to better this state economically, educationally and politically.
If you want better results, support and vote for better candidates – and work to educate the malleable masses who allow the dysfunctional self-serving approach to governance to continue. At all levels.
You may not agree, but I’d prefer a Mitt Romney/Chris Christie style governor. I don’t think we have an equivalent in South Carolina. Sheeheen seems like a Hodges/Dukakis kind of governor.
And I disagree, Mark, that it is as much a failure of the voters of this state. Only a small percentage of voters continue to put Hugh Leatherman and Bobby Harrell into office. We have no option to replace them nor the rest of the multi-decade incumbents who have the power of the office to remain there.
Actually, it’s the representatives of all the state’s people (or rather, the ones who live in Republican districts) who give Bobby Harrell the power he has, by electing and re-electing him speaker.
As to whether you blame the people for that… it’s complicated. Most voters don’t understand the way state government works (or rather, doesn’t work). Add to that the fact that voters are gerrymandered into districts in order to produce certain electoral results, and you get a legislative body that really doesn’t represent SC well. For instance, most South Carolinians are less partisan and ideologically rigid than the people whom these districts are draw to elect.
The only plank needed in a State Constitution is the one that calls for geographically compact voting districts. All citizens will win; all politicians will adapt (as they always do).
But how to convince people, the pols included, that they will benefit from giving up certainty? Most people don’t understand the slavery of the current gerrymandering. Everyone is a slave to the system; everyone. Even Harrell and Leatherman.
And get rid of all the laws that belong in the Code instead, if at all!
Yes, geographically compact voting districts would be nice.