Well, I hate to do back-to-back Open Threads like this, but it’s a busy week.

Here’s what I’m seeing out there…

1. Judge stops firing of SC State president — What a mess, I confess. So… is there anything anyone can do about this situation? Not that I think firing this guy who didn’t actually create the mess is the solution…
2. High Court Divided at Health-Law Argument — Does it bother anyone else when reporters and editors try to guess how the court will rule based on the hearing? It’s always kinda bugged me…
3. U.S. Calls on Ferguson to Overhaul Its Justice System — The cop at the center of the probe was cleared of wrongdoing, but the whole city government was essentially indicted in this report.

Anything else y’all want to mention?

Some possible topics:

Whoa! I need to run out and vote for sheriff — This totally snuck up on me, which never would have happened when I was still at the paper. Any of you who also live in Lexington County, please share any thoughts you have on the subject. I’m probably going to follow my colleagues’ advice (they’ve met with and quizzed all of these guys; I have not) and vote for Jay Koon, even though the governor backs him.

Netanyahu Criticizes ‘Bad Deal’ — Don’t know whether he’s right or not. But I agree with Susan Rice (for once) that “A bad deal is worse than no deal.” Hope she means it. But now that it’s done, what do y’all think? Should Bibi have spoken to Congress, or not?

House passes legislation to fully fund DHS — I know it was silly of me to worry, but I seldom travel by air, and I’ve never traveled as far from home as we’re about to, and it was stressing me just a little bit to think of having to deal with ticked-off TSA workers who are not getting paid to work. After all, I went to all that trouble to buy a backpack that I was assured was the right size for carryon, and what if I get somebody who arbitrarily announces it isn’t? I don’t want to check it and lose all my stuff somewhere between here and Southeast Asia…

Y’all have any other ideas?

And just for a little something extra to talk about: Do you suppose even Robin Hood could have done this?

You ever go to type “2015,” and think, “What happened? How did I get transported so far into the future all of a sudden?” Drat that Doc Brown…

Anyway, here are some possible topics. You may have some others in mind:

DHEC board chair defends Kitzman hiring process as new search begins — Talk about defending the indefensible. Yet, “In an email Tuesday evening to The State, board chairman Allen Amsler answered ‘no’ when asked if the eight-member panel made any mistakes in the process of choosing Kitzman as director….” Wowee.

Haley: SC should not borrow $500 million — And as is her wont, she’s talking about Brian White as though he were some wild-eyed, free-spending liberal or something (as if we’d seen anyone like that in leadership positions in the Legislature in the past decade or two): “We got an issue of a chairman of Ways and Means who wants to … run up the credit card debt just because he can.”

Some possible conversation-starters:

The Kitzman confirmation hearings begin — It will be interesting to see whether the Senate really holds the governor accountable on this one. The story at thestate.com doesn’t say much so far, but you might want to peruse Jamie Self’s Twitter feed. Here are some items that interested me:

Confirmation hearing for Eleanor Kitzman looks like it will take a long time. Senators may come back today & stay late next week to finish.

— Jamie Self (@jamiemself) February 19, 2015

Kitzman, ushered out by former DHEC director Catherine Templeton, does not take questions from media.

— Jamie Self (@jamiemself) February 19, 2015

Back at Kitzman hearing: she says DHEC board asked her for no references before offering her director job upon Gov. Haley’s recommendation.

— Jamie Self (@jamiemself) February 19, 2015

.@harveypeeler says @GovernorPerry sent him a letter in support of Eleanor Kitzman before saying hearing is over, will reconvene Tues 4pm.

— Jamie Self (@jamiemself) February 19, 2015

On to other topics:

Senate bill calls for ousting SC State trustees — The lurid saga continues. By the way, I saw an interesting headline in the NYT this morning, but haven’t had time to read it: “How to Hold Colleges Accountable.”

No, it doesn’t matter that Hillary Clinton is a woman — I just thought I’d take a second to argue with this piece in the WashPost this morning headlined, “Why it matters that Hillary Clinton is a woman.” The writer notes that three-fourths of voters say it doesn’t matter, and goes on to explain why they’re wrong and don’t even know their own motivations. Well, I’m a pretty introspective guy, and I can say with confidence that it doesn’t matter to me. I’ll neither vote for her (if I vote in the Democratic primary, which seems unlikely this time, since the only contest in doubt will be on the other side) nor against her because she is a woman (if I vote against her in the general, it will be because the Republicans have nominated someone I like better; if they don’t, I’ll vote for her). And if anyone else is going to vote for or against her because she’s a woman, then I wish they’d stay home. Choosing the president of the United States calls for deeper thinking than that.

Or, whatever y’all want to talk about…

Just so I can say I posted something new today:

1. Obama Seeks Congressional Authorization for ISIS Fight — Which includes, ahem, boots on the ground. Which was inevitable.
2. SC House votes to ban abortions at 20 weeks — I’m going to make a sad prediction: We can debate this as long as we like, and no one’s mind will be changed, and no common ground will be found. I’d like to be wrong about that, though.
3. SC Senator: Women Are “A Lesser Cut Of Meat” — When Will Folks reported that via Twitter, I supposed he must be bucking for Jon Stewart’s job. But perhaps it’s more accurate to say that Sen. Corbin is bucking for Jake Knotts’ old role as the Senate’s chief Sayer of Cringe-worthy Things.

Or whatever y’all want to talk about…

Just in case any of you are actually paying attention at this time on a Friday, which seems doubtful:

The latest on the apparent murder-suicide at USC — I’m a little surprised at the slow pace at which info is coming out. For instance, we still don’t have a name of the second person — the presumed shooter — who died.

The burgeoning Bryan Williams scandal — What makes people say stupid stuff like that? Is there something in their heads that tells them the truth just isn’t impressive enough? I don’t get it. You’d think being the best-known anchor in the nation, or the best-known woman in politics, would be enough. But NOOoooo…

ISIS Claims U.S. Captive Died in Jordanian Airstrike — Don’t know yet whether it’s true.

Hiring, Wages Up; Market Nears Full Health — That’s what the WSJ says the numbers say. But does it feel like “full health” to you? Not to me…

… or whatever else y’all want to talk about…

Y’all can probably come up with a better topic than I can, but here are some possibilities:

GOP contenders try to bolster their foreign policy cred — I’m encouraged to see Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal and Scott Walker taking trips abroad. Makes me think that maybe the 2016 election won’t be all about domestic issues (which to me are generally secondary with regard to the presidency), as I have feared. Which might undermine the rationale of Lindsey Graham’s campaign…

And what about that vaccination stuff? — Speaking of Christie, is it now a prerequisite for GOP candidates to cater to medical paranoia? On the one hand we have these potential candidates broadening themselves with travel, on the other hand we have this…

What were your favorite Super Bowl ads? — This is entirely self-serving. I need to write a blog item on the subject for the ADCO blog, and I could use some input. (I’m always a bit handicapped in this, since I don’t watch the game and therefore have to find time during the working week to track them down and watch them.)

Below is one of my favorites so far:

The Legislature is back this week, so the time has arrived when downtown Columbia comes alive with the original purpose of the city’s founding.

And here are two or three topics y’all might want to talk about:

What did you think of Nikki Haley’s speech? — If you missed it, you can read it here. It garnered some positive reviews from some unlikely quarters, such as from here.

Get ready for a huge fight over DHEC nominee — It sort of blew my mind when I saw that Eleanor Kitzman was nominated to take over our state health and environment agency. We’re talking about a woman whose main qualification for the position is her ferocious loyalty to Nikki Haley. Remember this? But you know what? Aside from this one nominee, it would probably be a good development if SC senators would start raising some questions about executive branch nominees, in the name of transparency. We definitely don’t need it to be like inside the Beltway, where nominees get blocked because they’re from the opposite party. But some germane questioning and challenging of credentials would be nice. And then, of course, if their credentials stand up, they should be promptly confirmed. Anyway, senators are indicating they’re going to start advising some before consenting. We’ll see how good a job they do.

How “free-range” should kids be today? — Here’s something you should definitely check out:

Story going viral: CPS Hounding Couple Who Let Their Kids, 10 and 6, Walk Home TOGETHER from Park http://t.co/ng2JSEx6Bc

— Lenore Skenazy (@FreeRangeKids) January 15, 2015

But don’t just take Lenore’s word on what happened — we know where she’d be coming from (these parents are devotees of her movement) . Here’s the story in The Washington Post today. An excerpt:

It was a one-mile walk home from a Silver Spring park on Georgia Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. But what the parents saw as a moment of independence for their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, they say authorities viewed much differently.

Danielle and Alexander Meitiv say they are being investigated for neglect for the Dec. 20 trek — in a case they say reflects a clash of ideas about how safe the world is and whether parents are free to make their own choices about raising their children.

“We wouldn’t have let them do it if we didn’t think they were ready for it,” Danielle said….

Or, we could talk about what you want to talk about…