Monthly Archives: March 2012

Happy to be a resource for a colleague

I see that one of my episodes of “The Brad Show” (a feature I really must get around to reviving one of these days) provided some grist for Kevin Fisher’s mill, in a piece headlined, “Harpo, Homophobia and Hypocrisy:”

Harpo characterized McConnell as “prancing” in Civil War reenactments rather than “marching” or “participating” or “performing” in those events for a reason, the same reason for similar comments he made in a video interview with local blogger Brad Warthen in April 2011.

In a discussion of McConnell’s high-profile involvement in Civil War history, Warthen noted that the then-senator reportedly owns “17 Confederate costumes,” to which Harpo replied, “And one of them has hoops.” To make his point crystal clear, Harpootlian gestured around his waist to indicate a hoop skirt…

Finally, what about you, Cindi Ross Scoppe and Warren Bolton, editorial writers for The State — does Harpo get a free pass that you wouldn’t give anyone else of his prominence who was making such remarks?

Speaking of which, Harpootlian also told Warthen that “the girly boy thing didn’t work” for Democrats. For Harpo, it’s all macho, no homo, no doubt.

If you’d like to go back and view the full episode, here it is.

Oh, and as for Kevin’s challenge to my former teammates… well, I suggest he’d be hard-pressed to find when Cindi or Warren ever took anyone to task for their perceived “homophobia.” So, no, they’re not giving him a “pass” that they wouldn’t give anyone else. I think Kevin is falling into a trap here, one I see folks fall into a lot: Cindi and Warren work for the MSM. That means they must be doctrinaire liberals. Therefore they’re probably always going on about “homophobia.” So they must be hyprocrites for not castigating their fellow “liberal.”

Fine theory for the ideologically inclined, except that it can’t be supported.

As for my own part — I showed you what Dick had to say. You decide what you think about it. I’m just glad I was able to provide Kevin with some original material. Makes me feel authoritative…

Why I am not an Eagle Scout

On a previous post about the Carolina Cup, after I had expressed my aversion to being trapped somewhere far from my car and adequate sanitary facilities, Steven Davis II asked whether that meant I had not been a Boy Scout. I answered as follows…

Actually, I was, but not for all that long.

I was really active in a troop in Ecuador, made up of expatriate gringo kids. I had finish Cub Scouts there, and made it through Webelos, and was really pumped about becoming a full-fledged Scout. Ever since I was a really little kid I had read my uncle’s Scout Handbook, which I took to be The Guide to Life for Guys. I was excited about the opportunity to apply some of those things I’d learned about.

My troop went on one camping trip, to an undeveloped beach near the town of Salinas.

There were zero facilities, of course. It was like a beach on the surface of another planet, with surf pounding against sandstone formations that framed little patches of sandy beach. We carried in our own water in canteens, and washed our mess kits in the surf, scrubbing them with sand. We had brought along some ice and some new metal trash cans. We put our water and perishable food in the garbage cans, and buried them up to the lids in the sand just above the high water mark. You know, for the insulation, to keep things cool.

That night — the darkest night I’ve ever experienced (no moonlight or starlight that I recall, and definitely no manmade light) — we lay in our tents and told the scariest stories we could make up (I was a big Poe fan at the time). The one that stuck in my mind as I tried to get to sleep, listening to the unseen surf, went like this — a ghost ship of undead Vikings lands on our stretch of beach and hacks us all to death before slipping away, and NO ONE ever knows what happened to those Boy Scouts. I lay there thinking that it was the height of irrationality to pay any heed to a ridiculous story that a bunch of 11-year-olds had just moments before collaboratively made up, while at the same time constantly hearing, above the surf, the keel of a Viking longboat grounding itself on the sand mere yards from our tent.

Anyway, during the night, some jerk went to the garbage can and dumped out a lot of people’s water, including mine. Why? You’ve got me.

The next morning, I participated in my five-mile hike requirement for my Second Class badge. We marched out along the beach to a distant point sticking out into the sea, and back. In the equatorial sun. Without water.

I was a pretty scrawny little kid anyway, without a lot of water in my flesh to begin with. Very wiry. It didn’t take that much to wring out what moisture was in me.

It had rained slightly during the night, just enough to dampen the driftwood we had collected for our fires, so I had a hard time cooking my lunch, and finally gave up because between the heat I was able to generate with the coals and the sun beating down on my back, I was about ready to pass out.

On the long drive home that afternoon, I got a bad case of the runs. The van we were in would pull over to the side of the road (facilities? in the third world? are you kidding?) and I would assume the position right there with my fellow scouts watching.

When I got home, I was clinically dehydrated, with my skin starting to wrinkle up here and there.

Later, my Dad was transferred to New Orleans, where our troop leader often didn’t show up for meetings and was extremely disorganized when he did show, and I never could get the paperwork done to get my Second-Class badge I had earned in South America.

I retired from the Scouts as a Tenderfoot.

And my enthusiasm for camping never really recovered from that experience.

Talkin’ about the man…

Speaking of people who’s general tone I don’t like, Paul Krugman is to me a sort of buttoned-down version of Bill Maher (in terms of the incessant tone of disdain toward anyone foolish enough to disagree with him). But rather than launch a debate about that, let me say that today I’m here to praise him.

Well, actually not him necessarily, but whoever wrote the headline on this piece:

Lobbyists, Guns and Money

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: March 25, 2012

Florida’s now-infamous Stand Your Ground law, which lets you shoot someone you consider threatening without facing arrest, let alone prosecution, sounds crazy — and it is. And it’s tempting to dismiss this law as the work of ignorant yahoos. But similar laws have been pushed across the nation, not by ignorant yahoos but by big corporations…

And so forth and so on. To save your time, I’ll tell you that it’s another piece labeling the American Legislative Exchange Council as the root of all legislative evil. In case you hadn’t heard that one before.

Anyone who invokes Warren Zevon in general, and that album in particular, gets at least a thumbs-up from me.

Krugman, however, concerned as he seems to be about guns, probably would not approve of the fact that the next thought in my mind after “Lawyers, Guns and Money,” is “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner:”

Roland searched the continent for the man who'd done him in
He found him in Mombassa, in a barroom drinking gin
Roland aimed his Thompson gun, he didn't say a word
But he blew Van Owen's body from there to Johannesburg

Roland the headless Thompson gunner
Roland the headless Thompson gunner
Roland the headless Thompson gunner, talking about the man
Roland the headless Thompson gunner

The eternal Thompson gunner
Still wand'ring through the night
Now it's ten years later, but he still keeps up the fight
In Ireland, in Lebanon, in Palestine and Berkeley
Patty Hearst heard the burst
Of Roland's Thompson gun and bought it

Great stuff for excitable boys. Can’t be beat.

Jenny Isgett, candidate for the District 3 seat on Columbia City Council

Jenny Isgett is our fourth and final candidate interview for the Columbia City Council seat being vacated by Belinda Gergel. I caught up with her at the Five Points Starbucks this past week.

You may note a certain resemblance between her signage and that of Dr. Gergel four years ago, right down to the exclamation point. That is fitting, because she sees herself as a natural heiress to the seat, noting that it “has been held by a woman for 30 years.” (Candy Waites, Anne Sinclair, then Belinda.)

Ms. Isgett is an attorney. A young one — she was in law school with my daughter — although still 10 years older than her youngest opponent, law student Daniel Coble. She says her work with a title insurance company has given her a lot of relevant experience with municipal issues, as she’s had to deal a lot with zoning and land use. She says she is only a thesis away from a master’s degree in criminal justice, which would also be useful in a council member. She also notes that she is part of her company’s budget process every year, which she says gives her something to set against the business experience Moe Baddourah touts.

Originally from Cottageville, SC, she’s been in Columbia for 17 years. She lives in Shandon, within a couple of blocks of Mr. Baddourah and Daniel’s parents.

She started knocking on doors in the district in late September. I asked, as I often do of candidates, what she was hearing from those residents she was meeting. Mainly, she said, about water and sewer, flooding and potholes.

For her part, she sees a need for improving the city’s infrastructure, which in part means “stop robbing that water and sewer fund.” She wants the city to “invest in Rocky Branch Creek” to improve flow and reduce flooding.

She also wants to promote the city “as an attractive place” to do business, as well as a good place to live. That means streamlining the permitting process, and, “if we can,” eliminating the business license fee.

To come up with needed funds, she suggests looking at annexing more areas into the city. When it comes to cutting spending, she sees no “magic bullet,” no big cuts that would free up a lot of money — although she believes there’s room for “trimming” in the budget.

She says she’s supportive of suggestions the Urban Land Institute has made for the city. She says the city has a lot of “great spots” — such as Main Street, the Vista, and USC, but she doesn’t see them as “connected” as they should be.

As for Innovista, “I’m sure it was a good idea, but practically speaking, I haven’t seen it take off yet.”

The issue of a penny sales tax for transportation is “really hard for me… I don’t want to say this or that when I don’t know all the issues.” She says “I’m one thousand percent for public transportation,” but has her doubts about the plan that has been put forth for it. She’s also concerned about what restaurateurs say, that the penny is “basically a dime when you go out to eat,” thanks to taxes already put on dining out in Columbia.

She suggests that she would approach many issues humbly, listening to all views because “Sometimes you don’t know the answer.”

Michael Miller, candidate for the District 3 seat on Columbia City Council

Mike Miller left The State in 2003, six years before I did. Since then, he’s been “exploring the calmer side of life.”

He’s been exploring it from the sedate and homey Rosewood neighborhood where he lives. It was at a fixture of the neighborhood, Rosewood Market and Deli, that we met recently to discuss his candidacy for the District 3 seat on Columbia City Council. He stops in there regularly for coffee in the morning. It was a regular lunch spot for me when I worked at the paper, and I still stop in there for some beans and rice and falafels now and then.

This was only the second time I had seen Mike since he had left the paper. The first had been at this event just over a year ago — the kickoff of the “One Book” project led by Belinda Gergel, whom Mike is seeking to replace on city council. I say that to satisfy the curiosity of those who wonder whether I have sufficient detachment in writing about a former colleague. Mike and I were never close, and our work never overlapped, even when I was in the newsroom — he wrote about popular music and nightlife in Columbia (as his successor Otis Taylor does now), while I supervised reporters covering political news. I knew him the way I knew The State‘s movie critic, back when it had one.

So anyway, to get back to the subject at hand, Mike is running for the District 3 seat. He’s the only one of the four candidates who lives in Rosewood. That makes him, in Kevin Fisher’s estimation, the “beer-and-chips” candidate, opposing the “wine-and-cheese crowd” of Shandon. I failed to ask Mike about that, but I get the impression he’d be comfortable in that role.

Mike, whom I never knew was that into politics back in the day, has been edging up to it for some time now. He got involved in the Gergel campaign four years ago, after which he says the councilwoman encouraged him to serve on some city committees. For instance, he later served on Mayor Steve Benjamin’s transition committee on the arts and historic preservation.

Probably most relevant to his candidacy is his service as vice president of the Rosewood Community Council. Through the council he has worked to improve parks in the area, and set up community crime watches.

Looking at the city as a whole, he complains that “We never really think big or act big.” He points to how long it’s been since any kind of community improvement on the scale of relocating the railroad tracks to help the Vista develop. With regard to big projects that the city is considering now — the Bull Street redevelopment, the Assembly Street plan, the Innovista — he sees a need for more long-range planning, since such things “have to be done in phases.”

He does see the city starting to “get over inertia” and move forward on some things, which is one reason why “the timing is kind of right to be on city council.”

He acknowledges that there are a lot of things city residents would like to have, but haven’t identified a good way to pay for. He supports the penny sales tax increase, “with the stipulation that the money go to support the buses.” He criticized the city for having taken over the bus system without a clear plan to pay for it after the cash from SCANA ran out. He used to ride the bus from Shandon the Main Street when he visited his grandparents as a kid (Mike grew up in Dillon), and indicates he’d like kids in the future to have such a resource in the future. He wants the service to be better than it is now. He sees restored “dollar-a-ride” trolleys in the center city as part of the transit solution.

Mike is spending less than other candidates. He hates yard signs, he says, although he’s been persuaded to shell out for a few. Actually, I think they’re probably the best-looking ones in this campaign (see below). They were designed by another former colleague from The State, design guru Rob Barge. Here’s what Mike has to say about them on Facebook:

Sheesh, political yard signs, what are you gonna do? Everybody said I had to have them, so I got ’em. And you can have one, too. Send me an email at mikeforcolacouncil@gmail.com, and I’ll deliver.

But here’s the thing. Not only will I deliver, I’ll also come and pick up the sign and recycle it after the election. In fact, I pledge to recycle all my yard signs. I even contacted the city’s office of Planning and Development Services, which issues regulations regarding the placement of political signs, and asked is there was a plan in place for the recycling of these signs. I was told there were no official guidelines for yard-sign recycling, but it was something that should definitely be considered.

So I encourage all my fellow candidates to recycle their signs after the election, and I hope everyone will encourage the city to put a plan in place that calls for the appropriate recycling of political yard signs…

He says he’s “trying to knock on some doors,” but doesn’t seem to be approaching the task quite as ambitiously as opponents Daniel Coble and Moe Baddourah. He’s also frequenting civic meetings.

While he wants to see the city embrace ambitious changes, there are some changes he’d like to see impeded. He finds it incredible, for instance, that city council’s initial vote to say yes to a downtown Walmart was unanimous, 7-0. “You mean nobody raised their hand?” He indicates he would have raised questions, partly because he considers Walmart to have a history of being a “poor corporate citizen,” but also because of the environmental questions particular to the old ballpark location.

Obama: ‘If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.’

On a previous post, Phillip said that he likes Bill Maher (or at least excuses him) because “I find myself agreeing with him about 99% of the time.” I made it fairly clear that I do not.

But there are people who I find myself agreeing with to a degree that it is remarkable — a rare experience for me, since I reject the orthodoxies of left and right (which enable the people who do adhere to them to find themselves agreeing with certain people a lot). A good example would be Tony Blair. When he expresses his reasoning behind a position, I am struck by how much it is just like what I would say — or wish I were clever enough to say.

I have a similar experience with President Obama. There are a lot of things I disagree with him on, rather vehemently in some cases. But then he expresses himself on an issue in a way that strikes me as just right, and I am deeply impressed. (Needless to say, on these occasions he’s being about as different from Bill Maher as any one person can be.)

Today was such an instance, when the president carefully weighed in on the Trayvon Martin tragedy. I haven’t commented on it myself because I have thought that everyone else was commenting in such a facile manner — generalizing the incident to fit their own political and social predilections — and I couldn’t find a way to grab ahold of the matter in a way I found meaningful.

But then the president said this:

“I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this,” Mr. Obama said. “All of us have to do some soul searching to figure out how does something like this happen.”…

“Obviously, this is a tragedy. I can only imagine what these parents are going through,” Mr. Obama said, his face grim. “When I think about this boy, I think about my own kids.”…

“You know, if I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon,” Mr. Obama said, pausing for a moment. “I think they are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves, and we are going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.”

Normally, I tend to react against such a personal, emotional response. But in this case, it was exactly right, and the president was wise to recognize it.

To me, this isn’t some microcosm of racial injustice or gun culture gone wild or any other generalization. This is a case — as near as I can tell, and my knowledge of the case is limited — of a confused, emotional, panicky, cowardly man with a gun in his hand pulling the trigger and causing a deep, personal, specific tragedy.

Yes, the president made a genetic, racial observation in saying that his theoretical son would look like the victim in this case. But the more important part of it is that he appeals to “every parent in America” to look at this situation AS parents, rather than as participants in a political debate. It says to whites who may want to recoil and get indignant at seeing, for instance, Al Sharpton exploit yet another tragedy, Set that aside. Look at the personal tragedy. Think of your own kids. That’s what I’m doing.

That’s the wisest possible thing he could have said.

If there’s anything else useful to say about this case, that is the best starting point.

Newt must be suffering from lack of attention, getting all huffy over De Niro’s joke

For perhaps the first time ever, Bill Maher has said a thing or two I sorta kinda agree with, in his “Please Stop Apologizing” piece in The New York Times. (OK, actually, he’s probably said lots of stuff I agree with — were it written out, or said by someone else. But the way he says it almost always repels me. The guy has been really off-putting to me ever since I first saw “Politically Incorrect.” It’s something about his habitual facial expression, which screams “Obnoxious!”)

We are achieving this rare alignment because I, too, believe it absurd that anyone was offended by what Robert De Niro said about first ladies. Specifically:

Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?

Apparently, when he delivered this line in the presence of Michelle Obama, everybody laughed. I probably would have laughed too. And yet we have the absurdity of Mrs. Obama’s press secretary calling the joke “inappropriate.”

There was nothing inappropriate about it. It was a perfectly conventional joke, taking an easily understood cliche — in this case, a line you might have heard four years ago, asking whether the country was ready for a black first lady — and doing an unexpected twist on it. It wasn’t the world’s funniest joke, but it was not offensive.

But absurdly, Newt Gingrich declared the joke “inexcusable,” and demanded that… get this… President Obama apologize for it. That reminds me of a pretty funny joke some conservatives made during the last administration. Mocking BDS sufferers, they would say “I blame Bush” about things that plainly had nothing to do with the president, such as the weather.

I hadn’t realized that Newt — from whom we haven’t heard for some time — was that desperate to attract attention. Well, no one — including the too-ready-to-apologize press secretary — should have given him any.

For his part, Mr. Maher argues that we should assert our freedom to offend each other without anyone going ballistic over it: “I don’t want to live in a country where no one ever says anything that offends anyone,” he writes. “That’s why we have Canada.”

Funny. And if that bothers the Canadians, tough.

However… I won’t go quite as far as he does. I’m not defending any right to be offensive here. As you know, I believe we could use a lot more civility in public life, which is why I so often disagree with Mr. Maher.

All I’m doing is pointing out what should be obvious: That what De Niro said was NOT offensive.

Also, check out Robert’s latest cartoon…

I particularly enjoyed Robert’s most recent cartoon, which I ran across when setting up the link to his blog in the previous post…

Robert’s Carolina Cup poster

Robert Ariail has done a poster for the upcoming Carolina Cup, and prints are for sale:

The good folks at Camden’s National Steeplechase Museum commissioned me to create a cartoon poster commemorating The Carolina Cup’s 80th anniversary. This is what I came up with: a New Yorkeresque cartoon contrasting the race goers’ styles from the 1930s to today. They have printed only 80 copies which I have signed. The price is $50.
Anyone interested should Google Carolina Cup and you can order a poster online.
The posters are large- 18 x 24 inches.
Hurry, before they’re all gone
The original watercolor and ink cartoon is also for sale. Contact me atrobert@robertariail.com for more information.

Whether you’re in the market or not, I thought y’all would enjoy seeing it.

The affluent populist PAC that assumes melanin makes people think just alike

I thought this release interesting:

PAC+ Launches the New American Majority PAC 3-21-12

PAC+, a new national network of leaders focused on democratizing money and politics to give voice to America’s New Majority, launched today at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Recognizing that People of Color and progressive Whites are the New American Majority of people in the United States, PAC+ will combine the resources of its members and direct them to strategic races in states where the demographic revolution can change the political balance of power. In 2012, PAC+ is focusing on six strategic states — Texas, Arizona, Georgia, New Mexico, Ohio, and California.

Led by the team that in 2007 created Vote Hope, the country’s first Democratic SuperPAC, PAC+ is an innovative approach to politics that weaves together demographic developments, technological tools, and network theory into a powerful force for change. “Currently a handful of billionaires are hijacking our democracy and advancing policies that are harmful to the majority of the American people. PAC+ is piloting a new model of SuperPAC that is focused on many donors, not mega-donors,” said Steve Phillips, Chairman of PAC+.

PAC+ is being launched by a National Board of over 70 community and political leaders in 16 states and is “powered by” PowerPAC.org, a social justice advocacy organization that coordinated the country’s first independent expenditure for Obama in 2007 and conducted a $10 million, 18 state electoral program targeting African American and Latino voters in key states. “Democrats spend tens of millions of dollars pursuing a strategy based on an outdated and inaccurate picture of the American electorate,” said Dr. Julie Martínez Ortega, President of PAC+. “The census data make clear that People of Color and progressive Whites are a majority of the U.S. population now, and our strategies need to shift accordingly,” added Dr. Martínez Ortega.

There are twelve million U.S. households of People of Color and progressive Whites with a household income of more than $100,000, and PAC+ is targeting less than 1% of that market, 100,000 people. “Many of us who benefited from the struggles that opened up the doors of higher education and corporate America are now in a position to give back,” said Maria Echaveste, Executive Committee member of the Democratic National Committee and the former Deputy Chief of Staff to President Clinton.

“Rather than get into a battle with the billionaires on the Right, major donors on the Left should invest their money in institutions and organizations that can unleash the power of the country’s demographic revolution, and PAC+ is just such an organization” said Susan Sandler, a philanthropist and private investor.

PAC+ will pool money from members across the country and direct those resources to strategic races in its six 2012 priority states. PAC+ is a federal political action committee and SuperPAC incubated by PowerPAC, a nonprofit advocacy and political organization. PowerPAC was organized to champion democracy and social justice in states and communities across the country and conducted the 2008 Obama independent expenditure campaign and a successful 2010 independent effort to help Kamala Harris win election as California’s Attorney General.

I found it interesting for its assumptions. First, the big one — that the portion of the electorate it claims as its own is indeed the New American Majority.

But it gets worse the more you dig into it. The most offensive is the assumption (or should I say “presumption”) that, in this group’s stilted phrase, “People of Color” are a group in which all the individuals want the same things, believe the same things and have the same interests. Apparently, melanin eliminates individuals’ ability to think for themselves. It gets worse when in presumes that those in this group who make six figures will, or at least should, feel they owe something specifically to other “People of Color,” simply for having succeeded in life.

That emphasis on affluence highlights the fact that this group assumes that mere dark skin alone — and nothing having to do with income or education or other indications of social class — predestines one to think a certain way.

At least with the whites who are shanghaied into this coalition, there is an ideological qualification — that they be “progressive,” however this group defines that. The whites are allowed to make up their own minds, to a limited extent (you know the contempt in which I hold the notion that people on the “left” or “right” can actually have identical positions on all issues — the notion upon which most political rhetoric in this country is based, tragically). But not the “People of Color.” Their attitudes are assigned, and they have no choice.

I do have to admit to being intrigued by this group’s combination of populism and affluence. That seems like a new wrinkle.

But we really don’t need any more efforts to herd groups of people together and assume they all think alike. The Democrats and Republicans are doing all they can on that score already.

Getting in the mood for ‘Mad Men’

NEW YORK CITY—An office party, 1966. © Leonard Freed / Magnum Photos

Slate has put up a really interesting photo slide show invoking the “Mad Men” era, to help us all get psyched up for the season premiere coming Sunday.

This is but one. I urge you to go view the whole package. And check out other excellent archival images from Magnum Photos.

Oh, and in case you wondered, fans — working at an ad agency is just like that. Only without the smoke.

Something weird in the world of sports…

Apparently, someone out there has decreed that all football-related news this week involve someone named “Peyton,” whether spelled that way or with a slight variation, such as “Payton.”

I don’t know why. I don’t even know why we are subjected to any football-related news when this is so clearly not the season for it. The only sports we should be hearing about should be NCAA basketball, and the impending baseball season.

Maybe we could get a meme going about Jay Payton, left-fielder for the Rockies. It’s worth a try…

Talking blogs, reaching no particular conclusions

The seminar from the panelists' point of view.

Late yesterday, I was one of three bloggers — the others being Will Folks and Logan Smith — who spoke to a seminar journalism class taught by Charles Bierbauer at USC.

It went fine, although I can’t tell you with any certainty that the students learned anything useful. They didn’t learn, for instance, how blogging will lead to a business model that will pay for real journalism in the future, because none of us know the answer to that. It’s sort of the Northwest Passage of our day — people keep looking for it, generally in the wrong places.

The unanswerable question is, and has been for some time: How, going forward, are media that report news and share commentary going to pay the bills — most particularly, the salaries and expenses of those who do the reporting, writing, editing and presentation of the content? Mind you, I’m talking about doing so on the state and local levels. One can still make money reporting national and international news and commenting on it, which is why we are inundated to the point of suffocation with news and opinions about Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. But it’s almost impossible for the average voter to be fully informed about state and local government or issues, and increasingly, too few even try. Which does not bode well for the health of our federalist system.

Will blogs be part of the solution to creating an informed electorate on levels below the national? I don’t know. As I joked to one of the students who asked something related to that, obviously The State didn’t think so, because I was the only active blogger at the paper, and they canned me. (Lest the students get the impression that I’m portraying my former employers as Luddites, I quickly added the truth, which is that I was canned for making too much money.)

Among the three of us, Will has made the most progress on the making-it-a-business front. He repeated what Nancy Mace told me months ago, which is that his blog brings in “several thousand” a month. I, so far, am more in the several thousand a year category. Logan is just starting out.

That points to the wide difference between the three of us. Back when I was a newspaperman, you could assemble a panel consisting of me and editors from other papers, and we would have a lot in common. A general-circulation newspaper was a definite thing, and working at one implied certain things that were predictable. Assemble a panel of bloggers, and you’ve got a group of people who are doing entirely different things, and for different reasons. It’s as though you had put together a panel consisting of one newspaper city editor, a photo editor from a magazine, and a newsletter writer.

For instance, among the three of us:

Logan started the Palmetto Public Record because he thought the “progressive” outlook was sort of thin on the ground in the SC blogosphere, and he probably has a point, with Tim Kelly and Laurin Manning currently out of the game. He’s trying to build it up from nothing, and learning as he goes.
Will started his blog by accident. He wanted to leave a comment on another blog that was criticizing him (he now says that the criticism was justified), and he clicked on the wrong things, and got a page inviting him to start his own blog. Which he did, and used it to push his Sanfordesque political views. But he tried to do more than that, becoming a news source, and breaking stories whenever he could (which, if you ask me, is why he has more traffic than I do — I reject the idea that it’s because of the cheesecake pictures). He devotes himself totally to the editorial content — which you have to do to post as often as he does. His wife handles the money, and Nancy Mace handles the technical side.
The roots of my blogging are in the 1980s, when I was governmental affairs editor of The State. I had about 10 reporters working for me in those days, and I was always frustrated by something: Reporters would come into the newsroom and share some interesting incident or exchange with sources that didn’t really rise to the point of being news, and wouldn’t fit logically into the news stories they were writing that day (even then, the finite nature of available space was highly restrictive), but which added color and life and context to my perception of what was happening out there in state government. I wanted readers to have that same benefit, so I started a column made up of such tidbits, which ran on Sunday and was called “Earsay.” (Something roughly like that still exists in the paper, I think.) Later, when I was editorial page editor, I was likewise frustrated by the fact that I had SO many things I wanted to say about the day’s news that I had no room for on the editorial pages. So I started the blog for all that other stuff — things I felt motivated to say beyond what got into print, things that interested me and might interest someone else, but probably not the vast majority of newspaper readers. That’s still what my blog is. I don’t even pretend or try to “report the news.” Having once commanded platoons of reporters, I know how impossible it would be to presume to do that well alone, even if I didn’t have a day job. So it remains a medium consisting of stuff I want to comment on, period. And I still never manage to get to all of that.

A couple of other quick points…

One of the students wanted to know when blogs would command the respect that mainstream media still do. He said he covers prep sports for The State, and when he arrives at an event and tells people that, he gets respect and cooperation that he wouldn’t get otherwise. I told him he had a long wait on that; the blogosphere is still the Wild West and will take some time to settle down and be respectable.

A corollary to that… Logan complained that he can’t get credentials to get onto the Senate or House floor over at the State House. When someone noticed me shaking my head I elaborated… I told Logan it doesn’t matter. Nothing much happens in the chambers anyway. Debate is dead in this country; the days of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay are long gone. To know what really happened on a key vote, you’ll have to talk to people outside afterward anyway. And all the members have cell phones if you want to ask them to come out for a chat.

I’ll close with this postscript that I enjoyed, posted by Logan Smith on Twitter:

Highlight of tonight’s Q&A: @BradWarthen talking about being a reporter in 1980, @FITSNews turns to me and asks “were you born then?” (No)

The funny part is that 1980 was when I stopped being a reporter. I was an editor from then on…

Again, I give my very lifeblood (some of it, anyway) for the cause

Do not try this at home, boys and girls — even if you are one of the Twitterati!

Late yesterday afternoon, I Tweeted out the above picture with this message:

I’m giving blood at the Red Cross with my right, and Tweeting with my left!

Once again, I was giving double red cells, on account of this region needing it so badly. I can’t do it again until 16 weeks from now. But you can fill the need in the meantime.

But again, don’t try it at home. Go down to the Red Cross office on Bull Street (or attend one of the Red Cross blood drives). Click here for info on how to give.

A very UnParty press release from Rep. Taylor

Still catching up on releases sent to me via email, I ran across this rather remarkable one from Rep. Bill Taylor, a Republican from Aiken:

Unanimous Agreement !

Passage of a

Bi-Partisan State Budget

Dear Friends:

In Washington D.C. partisan bickering seems to rule. In South Carolina elected officials know how to work together for better and more efficient government. Democrat and Republican legislators joined

Unanimous

together in the House of Representatives to unanimously pass a state budget this week.

Be assured there were disagreements and much debate on how to wisely spend your tax money, but both sides came together to pass a balanced budget that falls well within the proposed cap on spending. It focuses on the core functions of government – education, infrastructure and law enforcement – all of which are vital to our state’s growing economy.

The spending plan also provides tax relief, pays off debt and replenishes the state’s ‘rainy day’ reserve accounts.

Headlines from the $6 billion General Fund appropriations:

$152 million in additional funds for K-12 used in the classroom and not for educational bureaucracy.

$180 million set aside to pay for SC’s share of the deepening of the Charleston Port, the major economic driver for SC.

$77 million in tax relief to employers of all sizes to assist them with some relief from the high unemployment insurance costs caused by the recession.

$549 million in tax relief; 88% of which is property tax relief that must be granted annually if the relief is to remain.

Nearly $400 million to the Constitutional and Statutory Reserves – those funds go into our savings account for the next economic downturn – “The Rainy Day Fund’.

While the General Fund budget grows by 4.56%, this plan calls for far less spending as compared to the beginning of the recession. The increase is aimed at patching the severe cuts that have occurred in recent years in law enforcement and education. It is a fiscally conservative spending plan designed to make SC more competitive.

The Governor’s Criticism: In Governor Haley’s fly-around-the-state tour this week she promoted her idea for a one-year only tax cut benefiting major corporations. The House budget plan cuts taxes for every single SC employer, hopefully, that will stimulate hiring.

The Governor also took aim on House Republican’s 7 point comprehensive tax reform plan introduced this week. She called it “disingenuous” even though she and her staff worked with our tax reform committee over the past eight months and the legislation included everything she asked for and much more. (Read the Aiken Standard’s story on this topic.)

What’s Next for the Budget? The proposed budget heads to the Senate. If past years are any indication, senators will bloat the budget with additional spending. Please let your senator know that’s not acceptable.

Wow. First we have all the Senate Democrats voting for John Courson. Now we have a Republican — a House Republican (the most partisan kind), no less — bragging to his constituents that the budget just passed was bipartisan. Instead of the usual business of giving all the credit to the GOP and mentioning Democrats only as obstacles, if at all.

Oh never fear — the zampolits are probably rushing to censure these folks for such UnParty sentiments, denouncing them as double-plus ungood. But for now, I’m enjoying this little Prague Spring.

Partial roundup of legislative candidate filings

In recent posts I’ve mentioned the candidacies of Beth Bernstein, Mia Butler Garrick and Joe Wilson. While this list is by no means comprensive — I’m just sharing the ones that have been sent to me (what, you think I’ve got reporters to go out all over the state and get them or something?), but something is better than nothing.

First, there is this confirmation that Joan Brady is indeed asking for re-election to the post that Ms. Bernstein is seeking:

Columbia, S.C. (March 18, 2012) – South Carolina State Representative, Joan Brady filed today for a fifth term in the SC House of Representatives. Rep. Brady currently represents the constituents of House District 78 in Richland County, which includes neighborhoods in the City of Forest Acres, the Town of Arcadia Lakes, the Woodlands, and Wildewood. Northeast Columbia neighborhoods including Woodcreek Farms and Green Hill Parrish will also be part of District 78, under the newly approved re-districting plans.

“I look forward to the continued opportunity to work on issues impacting the families of District 78 including, encouraging new jobs and investment in our community; strengthening our schools in Richland One and Two; and, advocating for our most vulnerable citizens – the children of our state.”

Rep. Brady has the unique distinction of being one of only 16 women currently serving in the South Carolina General Assembly. She holds several prestigious leadership positions in the SC House of Representatives including: Chair, House Insurance Committee; Vice Chair, Jt. Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children; and Secretary, House Ethics. Rep. Brady was recently elected to the Executive Board of Woman In Government, a national organization of female, state legislators.

During her eight years serving as a state legislator, Rep. Brady has successfully sponsored numerous pieces of legislation including: expanding notification on the SC Sex Offender Registry; limiting residency of convicted sex offenders; expediting adoptions with the Responsible Father’s Registry; curtailing illegal methamphetamine production with a pharmaceutical log; and setting new “green” building standards for state buildings. Currently, she is working on passage of the “Angel Investment Act”, a bill that encourages investment in start-up companies.

Rep. Brady is involved in community issues, serving on the Executive Board of EngenuitySC and is a founding member or the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce Northeast Council. Prior to serving in the SC House of Representatives, Rep. Brady served for four years on Richland County Council and is a former mayor of the Town of Arcadia Lakes.

Rep. Brady is the proud mother of three grown children. She resides in the lovely Town of Arcadia Lakes.

For more information on the Re-elect Brady campaign, visit Joan Brady for the House District 78 on Facebook and follow @JoanBBrady on Twitter.

###

Then, somewhat more briefly, here are some other filings:

Rep. Tom Young of Aiken is going after the Senate District 24 seat being vacated by Greg Ryberg. Young, an attorney, was elected to the House in 2008. He cites by way of qualification: “While in the House, Young has pushed several restructuring bills which were lauded by conservative groups across the state. He also sought to impact the social and economic costs associated with high school dropouts with a bill that would encourage those between the ages of 15 and 17 to stay in school in order to keep the privilege to drive. Young has gained a reputation of being very attentive to constituent service and providing a weekly email update to voters in the district.”
Rep. Mike Sottile of Isle of Palms is seeking a third term in the House representing District 112. From his release: “Some of the bills Rep. Sottile has taken a lead role in advancing include point of sale tax relief for home buyers, frivolous lawsuit reform, on the record voting, voter ID and illegal immigration reform. Sottile said his goal in being reelected is to push for further reforms in our state such as charter school reform, comprehensive tax reform, state spending limit, a shorter legislative session, stronger right to work laws, and restructuring.”
Rep. Mike Forrester, yet another who calls himself a “conservative reformer,” is seeking re-election. Beyond that, he describes himself thusly: “Forrester, known as a strong advocate for job creation through conservative reforms, has been a consistent voice for restrained spending, lower taxes, and government restructuring.” He represents District 34 in Spartanburg.
Rep. Derham Cole of Spartanburg wants to be returned for District 32. “I am running to ensure a proven conservative represents the people of House District 32,” he says in his behalf. “I want to continue the progress we have made in the House on restructuring and tax reform issues. On that front, the House just passed a conservative budget that replenishes reserve funds, provides tax relief to South Carolina’s employers, and sets aside funds to deepen the Port of Charleston.”
Sen. Larry Martin of Pickens, who has been in the Legislature since 1979, and in the Senate since 1993, wants District 2 to return him yet again. Here’s what he has to say for himself: “Senator Martin has been at the forefront of conservative reforms during his time in the Senate, and a leading advocate for lower taxes and responsible budgeting. In recent years, he led the fights on on-the-record voting, frivolous lawsuit reform, immigration reform, and abolishing the Budget and Control Board. He has also fought hard for bringing jobs to Pickens County, working in partnership with state and local economic development officials to bring more employment opportunities to the district. In addition, this week Sen. Martin was elevated to the position of Judiciary Committee Chairman, giving Pickens County an incredible level of influence in the Senate’s legislative process.”
Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler of Gaffney, the best Tweeter in the upper chamber, is asking the voters of District 14 for a ninth four-year term (meaning he’s been there since 1981). The dairyman says he “has played a leading role in cutting income and property taxes, pushing for spending caps, cracking down on illegal immigration, on-the-record voting, and restructuring.” His 190-word release uses the word “conservative” no less than four times. It’s like a verbal tic or something. Tom Young tied him in this regard; the others confined themselves to two or fewer.

Meanwhile, Rep. Leon Stavrinakis is thinking about running for the Senate District 41 seat that Glenn McConnell just vacated. He says: “Anne and I are humbled by the encouragement we have received over the last week by folks all over the tri-county area. This overwhelming support has driven us to reassess where I can best serve the people of South Carolina. To even be considered as a successor to Glenn F. McConnell is quite an honor. Anne and I are currently discussing this possibility with our family and friends along with the possibility of offering to continue with the great honor of serving in the South Carolina House of Representatives. Our focus has always been on determining how I can best serve the place I’ve always called home. I want to thank everyone for their well wishes, words of encouragement, and continued prayers.”

Arguments heard in Haley ‘corruption lawsuit’

If you didn’t read the Free Times last week, you may have missed this:

Judge Hears Nikki Haley Corruption Lawsuit

by Corey Hutchins, March 16th 02:53pm

A judge heard oral arguments on March 12 in a public corruption lawsuit brought on behalf of a prominent GOP fundraiser against Republican Gov. Nikki Haley.

Fifth Circuit Judge Casey Manning has yet to make an official ruling on whether the case will move forward.

Reached by phone, Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey said the governor’s office had no immediate comment on the matter.

Former Board of Economic Advisors chairman John Rainey, who recruited Mark Sanford to run for governor in 2002, filed the lawsuit in November. It asks whether Haley broke any laws as a House member either by lobbying a state agency on behalf of her employer Lexington Medical Center or by doing secret consulting work for Wilbur Smith and failing to properly abstain from legislation benefitting the engineering firm. Both occurred during the time she represented Lexington County as a Republican in the S.C. House prior to becoming governor in 2010…

It continues to puzzle me that South Carolina went through such paroxysms over Ken Ard buying a few trinkets with campaign money, to the point of his resignation, while we’ve never had a satisfactory answer to the question, What did Nikki Haley do for Wilbur Smith to earn that $42,500?

For that matter, we don’t know what she did for Lexington Medical to earn that $110,000 salary.

We’re still waiting. Nikki’s still silent on these matters. And no one is bothered by that, apparently, except John Rainey.

Darrell Jackson’s right; Dick Harpootlian’s wrong. Period.

Have you seen this offensive nonsense?

Democratic chairman criticizes one of his own for endorsing a Republican

A Democratic state senator, who has endorsed an incumbent Republican state senator over his Democratic challenger, earned the wrath Monday of the state party’s chairman, Dick Harpootlian.

State Sen. Darrell Jackson, a Democrat, has endorsed state Sen. John Courson, a Republican, for re-election, The State newspaper reported Saturday. Jackson and Courson both represent Richland County, and Courson recently was elected the new leader of the Senate, largely on the support of Senate Democrats, including Jackson…

In an email Monday, Harpootlian urged Democrats to call Jackson’s office and “ask him to behave like the Democrat he claims to be.”

“I’m building a party here. It’s tough when, every time I put up a couple of bricks, one of my own party wants to take one down,” Harpootlian told The State…

Of course Sen. Jackson is supporting John Courson’s re-election. He and every other Democrat in the Senate just voted for him for Senate president pro tempore. You can’t be pro tem if you’re not a senator, so by implication, every Democrat just endorsed him as a senator.

They supported him over the partisan Republican option, Harvey Peeler, because Sen. Courson has served the Democrats of his Shandon district just as faithfully and ably as he has the (relatively few) Republicans. He has earned the trust of Sen. Jackson and his other Democratic colleagues.

Dick Harpootlian should butt out with his pointless partisanship. His attitude is what’s wrong with out politics today.

But I think voters should call Sen. Jackson’s office, as Dick suggests — and thank him for being a statesman.

Filing for re-election: For some, a big deal; for others, a ho-hum matter of routine

Cleaning up emails from the past few days, I was struck by something.

First, I saw this email from Mia Butler Garrick:

Friends,

I am writing today with some exciting news!  Just a few moments ago, I filed as a candidate for House District 79!  With your continued support, I hope to return to the State House in 2013 as your House District 79 Representative.  It has been an honor to represent you over the past two years, and I do not take that responsibility lightly.

Despite a slow economic recovery statewide and nationally, new companies and industries are making the move to the Palmetto State to bring thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.  As a small business owner, I will continue to fight for and with you to make sure we create a business-friendly, competitive environment for businesses to locate, relocate and expand right here in South Carolina!  Just this year, our state experienced nearly a $1 billion budget surplus, a major accomplishment during these tough economic times.  But we can do even more…

We must focus on improving education and fighting to keep partisan politics out of public education if we’re serious about laying the foundation for a better tomorrow and having a competitive, 21^st century workforce.  Improving our infrastructure to better support commerce, and working together to develop a meaningful, comprehensive tax reform plan that fosters balance and equity for individuals and businesses are examples of other critical issues that I’m fighting hard for everyday.

I will continue to fight for the people of District 79 and the State of South Carolina and together, we can accomplish so much more, but I can’t do it alone.  I need your help. That’s why I’m asking you to make a $50, $75 or $100 donation today,by clicking here.

Good ole boy politics continues to rule this state.  And although I have the courage to stand up and fight, it takes resources too.  Let’s commit to work together to ensure that our voices are heard at the State House and beyond. There is still much work to do to help move our state forward.  I’m truly grateful for your prayers and generous support over the past two years.

Together, we can make the next two years our best, most impactful ever! Please stand with me today.

I had thought, by the buildup, that she was going to announce something that was a really big deal. But all it was was that she, a freshman legislator, was filing for re-election. We grow so used to pols doing that automatically — in fact, it’s treated as news when they don’t run again — that there’s something charming and disarming about the fact that to Mia, this is a big deal. In other words, she doesn’t assume anything. It’s sort of endearing.

What we’re more accustomed to is this earlier release from Joe Wilson:

Congressman Joe Wilson Files for Re-election

Joe Wilson: “It is necessary for South Carolinians to send effective leaders to Washington… “

Columbia, SC – Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02) issued the following statement after filing for re-election today at the South Carolina Republican Party Headquarters:

“Our nation’s economy is broken. President Obama and his liberal allies in the Senate continue to tax and spend. This will only put us further in debt. With an unemployment rate of over eight percent for the past three years and a growing deficit of over fifteen trillion dollars, it is necessary for South Carolinians to send effective leaders to Washington who will stand up for our founding father’s values and put our great nation back on the path to prosperity.”

“I am committed to standing up for the people of South Carolina’s Second Congressional District by fighting to cut Washington’s out of control spending and promoting a conservative, private sector growth plan to create jobs. Over the coming months, I look forward to visiting with and seeking the support of the citizens of the Second District.”

For a photo of Congressman Joe Wilson and South Carolina GOP Chairman Chad Connelly, click here.

###

The sun came up in the east today. It’s unseasonably warm in South Carolina. Joe Wilson is running for re-election. And he’s blaming everything in the world on those nasty liberals. Ho, and also hum. Compared to this, “Dog bites man” is news. This is more like, “Dog scratches, looks forward to dinner.”

It doesn’t seem to occur to Joe that if the nation’s economy is broken, and nothing gets better, then maybe sending “effective leaders to Washington” means sending someone other than him…

Joe with GOP Chairman Chad Connelly, doing what comes naturally. Notice how Chad is wearing a Wilson sticker -- just going ahead and assuming he won't have primary opposition?

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