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Columns

  • Column: Rejecting simple, easy, wrong answers

    “For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.”  – H.L. Mencken
    The S.C. legislature seems to live by this. We have some very big and complex problems in this state, and our lawmakers are masters at coming up with clear, simple, wrong answers. Three stories in the news last week are a perfect illustration of this.
    Many would argue that the two most basic core functions of our state government are to educate our children and to keep us safe. Figuring out how to pay for these things is the challenge.

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  • Column: Trump right to abandon Paris accord

    I am frustrated after reading Phil Noble’s June 11 column, which criticized President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris “climate” accord.
    Based on what he wrote, I suspect that Mr. Noble has not read and does not understand the agreement.
    It is not a climate treaty or an environmental treaty. It is an economic treaty. And it would be a disaster for America. The agreement helps the economies of all other nations at the expense of the U.S. economy.  
    Consider the following:

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  • Column: A cure in a pouch packs a punch

    Editor’s note: Kershaw resident Wilma Faile enthralled us last year with tales of the skunk army in her crawlspace. To our delight, Wilma is back.

    A few weeks ago, I got out of bed and my mouth felt funny. I looked into the mirror. I was cotton-mouthed.
    My tongue was coated. I used everything – salt water, mouthwash, cleaned with a toothbrush. Next day, I had blisters on it.

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  • Column: Stop yelling ‘fire’ in the political theater

    A man tried to kill Republican lawmakers practicing for a charity baseball game, but thanks to the quick action of Capitol Hill police, a slaughter was averted.
    It appears that the shooter asked who was practicing, Democrats or Republicans, and when he was told Republicans, he began his rampage.
    Before I say more, let me state that I do not blame a particular party for this event. But I do think there are some behaviors that are indirectly and partially at fault.

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  • Column: Paris Accord not needed, and it hurts our economy

    The Paris Accord and the threat of climate change were pushed from the headlines last week by James Comey and the soap opera that provided no bubbles, but I feel we need to take an analytical look at the accord and why President Trump decided to take us out of the mix.
    Here’s what the president said during his June 1 announcement: “We’re getting out, but we will start to negotiate, and we will see if we can make a deal that’s fair.”

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  • Column: Norman’s affinity for Trump good reason to back Parnell for House

    On June 20, the citizens of South Carolina¹s 5th Congressional District have an opportunity to send a message to the country.
    Are the people of this district content to sit silently by and watch a president embarrass himself and the nation, undermine our most important alliances, level unsupported charges against a former president, make baseless claims of voter fraud, and continually tell lies to the press and the public?

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  • Column: McMaster, Trump and saving the planet (and state)

    On Saturday morning, June 3, the newspaper landed with its usual thud on my front porch. As I bent over to pick it up, I saw the headline, “McMaster backs Trump’s exit from climate accord.”
    Instantly, I remembered the words from a radio interview the day before with English businessman Richard Branson (Virgin Airlines and Records et. al) about President Donald Trump’s action. He said, “When the leaders won’t lead, the people will have to just get on with saving the planet; we have no choice.”

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  • Column: Study shows why state’s pension fund is so troubled

    Legislators finalized a budget deal this week that was thought to have patched up the underfunded public employees’ pension plan. While it goes some way to addressing funding, it doesn’t do much to address the fund’s investing and spending.

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  • Column: Why I’m not voting for Ralph Norman

    Hm! U.S. House District 5 Republican candidate Ralph Norman is endorsed by the Koch brothers’ Club for Growth super PAC. He voted against relief aid to South Carolina farmers who had major crop damage during the 2015 floods and against an infrastructure bill that would improve South Carolina roads and transportation.
    And the police officers – are you kidding me? He voted against workers’ compensation if they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

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  • Column: To leapfrog progress for S.C., focus on innovation/digital

    For hundreds of years, we in Western society have thought about things with a linear and incremental mindset. Progress – in society, commerce, science, engineering, etc. – was believed to be something that happens sequentially, usually slowly, with one step leading to another. This mindset is embedded in how we think about things and express ourselves – “steady as she goes… one step at a time… the tortoise wins the race.”

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