.....Advertisement.....
.....Advertisement.....

Columns

  • Column: Exit polls show party differences across our state

    Unlike a lot of other states, in South Carolina we don’t have voter registration by party affiliation, so the only way to really know who is a Democrat and who is a Republican is to either ask them or look at primary elections.
    This month, we have had the rare circumstance of having both a Democratic and Republican presidential primary one week apart. And because they were primary elections and far fewer people vote than in a general election, we get a look at who are the most hard-core partisan voters.

    Click here to read more...
  • Column: Effectiveness more important than candidates’ spirituality

    I would like to respond to Dr. Frankie Melton, my respected friend and colleague, concerning his Feb. 28 column “Donald Trump the antithesis of the Sermon on the Mount.”
    Dr. Melton opined that evangelicals who voted for Trump in the S.C. primary are either lost, carnal, ignorant or not paying attention to politics. I disagree.
    When did POTUS come to be an acronym for Pastor of the United States?

    Click here to read more...
  • Column: Congress cares about self-interest, reelection

    Millions of Americans have lost confidence in those individuals whom we have elected as our representatives of Washington. The adage that we love our representative or senator, but hate what all those others in Congress are doing, has long since passed. In truth, there now is little difference between Republicans and Democrats in our nation’s capital.
    Oh sure, the philosophies, the talk and the issues are starkly different between the two. But self-interest and reelection rhetoric is what really compels their actions.

    Click here to read more...
  • Column: McCullough: After 8 years on council, time to step aside

    While it has been my pleasure to serve the citizens of District 1 and Lancaster County on county council since January 2009, I will not seek a third term.
    Around Thanksgiving, I decided not to run again. It is now time for me to be fully retired, and to spend much more valuable time with Ann, my wife of 40 years, enjoying friends and family, traveling and doing the things we have always dreamed of doing “someday.” Now is the time.  

    Click here to read more...
  • Column: Van Wyck organizing to oppose IL proposal

    After several months of trying to nicely tell the Voters for a Town of Indian Land (TOIL) people to please get lost, Van Wyck has concluded that these people intend to destroy Van Wyck and must be defeated.

    Click here to read more...
  • Column: Donald Trump the antithesis of the Sermon on the Mount

    There is a dirty little secret about those so-called evangelical voters who picked Donald Trump in the S.C. Republican primary on Feb. 20. Pastors serving in the trenches of daily parish life know it, but few beyond those boundaries are aware of it.
    Here’s the secret – a cultural Christian is not an evangelical. South Carolina is a bastion of cultural Christianity. Many of those so-called evangelical Christians do not attend worship and do not live a life that conforms to the teachings of Christ.

    Click here to read more...
  • Column: Hillary Clinton talks about her spiritual life

    Hillary Clinton isn’t much given to talking about religion on the campaign trail, but she veered off that path in Iowa in a detailed response to a voter’s question a few days before the Iowa caucuses.
    That insight may be of interest to S.C. voters as focus turns to our Democratic presidential primary this Saturday. The source here is a detailed article that ran inside the New York Times on Jan. 30.

    Click here to read more...
  • Column: GOP primary shouts ‘welcome to the new S.C.’

    In the closing days of the Republican presidential primary, the image that dominated S.C. media was Tim Scott and Nikki Haley campaigning with Marco Rubio.
    An African-American Republican U.S. senator and a first-generation female Indian American governor endorsing a first-generation Cuban America running for president of the United States. The average age of the trio is 46 years old.
    Welcome to the new South Carolina.

    Click here to read more...
  • Column: When an army of cops converges on your porch

    My day started well enough, and I was puttering about the house when movement on my front porch caught my eye. For all the world it looked like someone was sneaking around my home.
    My place is a bit off the road, so I do not normally see people just wandering around. I am frequently away from home and have been robbed three times in the last few years. My guns stay loaded and near to hand, but this time I was more curious than afraid.
    I walked out onto the porch and heard a voice shout “Stop! Stay where you are! Put your hands above your head!”

    Click here to read more...
  • Column: Debating what causes decline of middle class

    I would like to thank William St. Louis for his Feb. 21 response to my Feb. 17 column. I sense that we may be close to agreement on several issues.
    I see the erosion of the middle class, and so does Mr. St Louis. The point of disagreement seems to be my observation that many are focused only on leisure and recreation. Leisure and recreation are not evil in themselves. However, when these become an obsessive priority in life, it may reflect a sense of frustration and helplessness.

    Click here to read more...