TweetTalk about your basic destructive nihilism. Sen. Kevin Bryant offers nothing positive, but simply gives us a Sanfordesque trashing of USC, in his column today in The State. Go ahead and read it, and tell me where he offers any kind of solution. Show me where he suggests how we might see to it that […]
TweetOn a previous post, Kathryn Fenner had the following to say (sort of taking off on something Phillip had said) about our economic and political systems: Free market capitalisn is the best system going for creating wealth, but it is really poor at distributional equity. You have to redress it somehow, or the disenfranchised will […]
TweetJust when you thought Lindsey Graham had collapsed back into a complete defensive mode to protect his right flank, he has stepped out again to lead on an issue that could cost him political support across the spectrum. This is good to see. This is the Lindsey Graham who more than earns his pay. Because […]
TweetI’m beginning to suspect that when people go to compile such things as this piece on Salon, “Why are the governors of America saying such dumb things?,” they look at South Carolina first. The very first example given was: According to the Associated Press, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced at a cabinet meeting on […]
TweetOn Tuesday, while still eating breakfast, I sent Cindi Scoppe an email telling her what a good column she had written about Nikki Haley’s ridiculous claim (later retracted) that half the job applicants at SRS had failed drug tests. I was proud of the fine job she had done. I was also proud of myself, […]
Tweet In a more serious vein, I thought I’d share with you more of what Joel Lourie had to say at Rotary today. I realize when you read that headline, you’ll think, “So? Everybody knows that, and all politicians say it.” But Joel said it better than most. One thing he did was share the […]
TweetDon’t know whether you’ll be able to actually read this Greenville News editorial online (they make it hard), but here are excerpts: Stop bashing state’s unemployed The state’s more than 236,000 unemployed workers deserve better treatment than they have gotten in recent days from Gov. Nikki Haley. In her rush to score points with voters […]
TweetI’ve never liked one thing that traditionally has been core to the makeup of members of Congress: bringing home the bacon. Yes, I know it’s a particularly honored tradition in South Carolina, from Mendel Rivers through Strom Thurmond and on and on. This state was devastated in The Recent Unpleasantness, and it was sort of […]
TweetThe other day, Bart shared with me the following piece from The New York Times. Before I provide an excerpt, I’ll share what Bart had to say first: Brad, I am copying and pasting an article in the NYT about Jim Cooper, a Blue Dog Democrat considered to be the last true moderate in the […]
TweetJust read this a few minutes ago: Bachmann Says Irene, Earthquake Were Messages From God “I don’t know how much God has to do to get the attention of politicians,” the GOP presidential hopeful said over the weekend at a campaign event in Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports. “We’ve had an earthquake; we’ve had a […]
TweetPerhaps that headline was a bit too alarmist. Because that would be TOO cruel — cutting anyone off from the black nectar. But to politicians, if not to normal people, being cut off from the cash flow would be as bad as losing the coffee itself. Because, you know, their priorities are seriously out of […]
TweetLast night, I went to see “Page One: Inside The New York Times” at the Nickelodeon. I had been asked to watch the movie, a 2010 documentary, and then stay to be a panelist for a discussion — along with Charles Bierbauer of USC and Dan Cook of the Free Times. As I arrived, I […]
Tweet First, the Facebook page of a Tea Party-related group called “Kershaw County Patriots” posts a link to a blog article headlined, “When Should You Shoot A Cop.” A sample of that content: Pick any example of abuse of power, whether it is the fascist “war on drugs,” the police thuggery that has become so common, […]
TweetThis news got me to thinking, again, about something I’ve thought about a lot over the years: Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman’s (R) presidential campaign manager, Susie Wiles, is resigning and will be replaced by communications director Matt David, according to the campaign. Huntsman is announcing the changes to his staff at a meeting this afternoon. […]
TweetSpeaking of Rick Perry, which we were doing in passing back here… I don’t go in for blasphemy, which means I don’t like it when politicians (usually conservatives) claim to be tighter with God than other people, or when critics (usually liberals) make fun of them for it. I especially, speaking from my own brand […]
TweetCindi had a good column today on the subject of arbitrary caps and limits and pledges and the like. There are a number of good things to get out of it. The first is the fact that Jon Huntsman is the only Republican presidential candidate who has refused to sign Jim DeMint’s Cut, Cap and […]
TweetThis paragraph in a Robert Samuelson column jumped out at me: Just in case you hadn’t noticed, no one has elected Grover Norquist to anything. Still, he looms as a major obstacle to Congress reaching a deficit-reduction agreement needed to raise the federal debt ceiling. Norquist heads Americans for Tax Reform, a conservative group that […]
Tweet OK, so Lee Bandy wasn’t the only person visiting Columbia Rotary today. He was just the one I enjoyed seeing the most. Nikki Haley made her first appearance at the club since back during the election. As I said on Twitter, she gave a good speech, centered around her usual themes. She just gets […]
TweetYou hear people of various political stripes saying apocalyptic things about how the country is going down the tubes, or WILL go down the tubes, if this or that faction is or is not elected, and so forth. I started my adult life with a sort of fatalistic attitude that caused such warning to sound […]
TweetHeard an encouraging report on the radio this morning that I can’t seem to find now online, but there’s this from the WSJ: WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama, under pressure to respond to rising gas prices, will outline Wednesday a series of initiatives to cut the nation’s reliance on foreign oil, including new initiatives to expand oil […]