This just moved a few minutes ago:

COLUMBIA, SC — Fort Jackson’s commanding officer has been suspended following allegations of misconduct, according to a spokesman with the US Army Training and Doctrine command.

Brig. Gen. Bryan T. Roberts was suspended by Gen. Robert W. Cone after learning about the allegations, which included claims of adultery and physical altercations, said Harvey Perritt, the spokesman. The exact circumstances of the claims are immediately unknown…

That’s about all I know right now. On the bright side, for those who take solace in such things, the fort now has its first female commander, with Brig. Gen. Peggy C. Combs stepping in as interim.

You know, if we’re going to keep having scandals involving generals, I’d sort of like to have one that didn’t involve sexual allegations. Just for variety. Maybe they could bust a brigadier for calling his rifle a “gun,” or something.

And “physical altercations”? Generally that’s usually more of a problem with the more junior ranks…

The thing that strikes me about this is the bipartisan nature of it:

WASHINGTON—A key Senate committee overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday that calls for the U.S. to provide small arms to moderate Syrian opposition groups fighting strongman Bashar al-Assad, underscoring growing sentiment among lawmakers for a change in the U.S. approach to the conflict.

The 15-3 vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee showed broad support from both Democrats and Republicans for arming the rebels, though some lawmakers from each party voiced concern over the difficulty of ensuring the weapons aren’t misused and won’t slip into the hands of radical Islamists aligned with al Qaeda….

Sometimes it appears that the president is the only person in Washington who does not want to arm Syrian rebels. If you’ll recall, his national security team was all for it last year, but he said no.

I don’t just dismiss the concerns of Rand Paul, et al., about weapons falling into the wrong hands and other unintended consequences. I realize that the mujahideen we backed in Afghanistan provided a training ground for Osama bin Laden.

But given the alternatives of a) Assad prevailing and b) affiliates of al Qaeda coming out on top, it seems we ought to be doing something to try to tilt things in another direction.

Given that the president keeps getting closer and closer to his own “red line” (see the BBC’s story last week, “US has seen Syria chemical weapons evidence, says Obama“), maybe even he will be on board with that ere long.

I don’t think for a moment that any options are attractive in this situation. But in the real, messy world of shooting wars out there, options seldom are.

A digression…

The president and his “red line” remind me of a brief lesson my Algebra II teacher gave us on the concept of “limits.” I don’t know how it came up, since it was way beyond the level of that particular class, but I remember it because it was a much more vivid explanation than anything I later heard in calculus classes.

He stood facing the wall, and then stepped halfway to the wall. Then moved to half of the remaining distance to the wall. Then he did it again. Then he said, imagine that operation repeated infinitely. You would forever get closer to the wall, but never reach it. That’s a limit.

I found it kind of a mind-blowing concept. Forever moving toward something, and never reaching it…

We had a busy weekend — the Twins had a cello recital and a soccer game, we celebrated my Mom’s birthday at our house, and my grandson had his first birthday.

I thought the above picture was pretty cool. Our little guy (on the right) is really into pointing, and apparently that’s all the rage with kids his age, because his guest at the birthday picnic likes to do the same. I don’t think they were intentionally mimicking the Sistine Chapel, but you never know. The little boy on the left is in almost exactly the same position as Adam…

Speaking of pointing… I decided to take my grandson to a toy store for his birthday. He loves anything with wheels. You know what? There are a lot of toys out there with wheels. He pointed at every one of them. I decided it was a little cruel to take him along on such an expedition, as most of them were for ages 3 and up. Fortunately, we found something age-appropriate…

Practicing his Clint Eastwood tough-guy squint.

This just in from The Washington Post:

Senior White House officials, including Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough, learned last month about a review by the Treasury Department’s inspector general into whether the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, but they did not inform President Obama, the White House said Monday.

The acknowledgement is the White House’s latest disclosure in a continual release of details concerning the extent to which White House officials knew of the IG’s findings that IRS officials engaged in the “inappropriate” targeting of conservative non-profits for heightened scrutiny. Previously, the White House said counsel Kathryn Ruemmler did not learn of the investigation until the week of April 22^nd, and had not disclosed that McDonough and other aides had also been told about the investigation. On Monday, Carney said the chief of staff and other aides learned of the probe the week of April 16.

The White House has said President Obama did not learn of the IRS’s actions until he saw news reports on the matter earlier this month….

For some reason, this reminds me an incident involving my two youngest grandchildren. My wife was keeping them the other day, and walked out of the room for a second. Immediately, my grandson (who had his first birthday over the weekend) yelled. My wife rushed back into the room and asked his big sister, 3, what had happened.

Her response: “I didn’t kick him in the head…”

My point being that sometimes, when you overexplain, it just gets you into more trouble.

Just got this dialogue box a few minutes ago:

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I have NO idea what the application (which I do not recognize, by the way) proposed to do with Runtime, but apparently Runtime was deeply shocked….

Clare with Karen Tumulty.

Here’s the second installment of Clare Morris’ report on her brief stint working on the Mark Sanford campaign for the 1st Congressional District:

How I Spent the Fin­­al Days of Mark Sanford’s Congressional Campaign – Part Two

By Clare Morris

Monday Evening, May 6

That Monday evening, the campaign had a volunteer-appreciation cookout behind the raggedy headquarters for everyone, and media were invited. I was super stoked because I was hoping to meet some national reporters.

Well, I got to meet Karen Tumulty (see pic) who was with Time for many years and now is with The Washington Post. I’ve always been a big fan of Karen’s because she is so not shrill. Her low-key and measured manner is such a welcome addition to the Sunday morning news show clamor. I told her as much and she seemed pleased in her modest way. My friend Lauren FitzHugh and I chatted her up and complimented Karen on her sassy red jacket and found out that she’d gotten it on sale at Talbot’s.

Late in the afternoon before the reporters arrived, Joel Sawyer, Mark’s campaign spokesperson, pulled all the volunteers together and gave them the 411 about the festivities. He let everyone know that reporters were invited and that they might be asked to give comments. He told them that it was up to them if they felt comfortable doing interviews. Again, with more campaign Zen – Joel told them that under no circumstances should they say anything bad about the opponent.

That evening was a really fun time! Although I’m busting on the headquarters for being raggedy, the burgers and dogs at the cookout were really yummy. The atmosphere, which was the same the short time I was in Charleston, was one of youthful optimism.

One of the most fun things about my little stint at the end of the campaign was seeing old friends from my time in Washington in the mid-‘90’s. What a great surprise to see April [Derr], Paige [Herrin Stowell], and Marie [Dupree] when I walked into campaign headquarters on that Monday! Back in the day, April was Mark’s district director and then chief of staff and Paige and Marie shared his scheduling responsibilities. It was so fun to see them all seamlessly slip back into their old roles and hear their perky chatter as they worked on stuff together.

It’s no understatement to say that Mark has more than his share of detractors.

However, it’s a special person who evokes such loyalty in former staff and friends.

These former staffers of twenty-plus years rearranged their lives and in some instances, made sacrifices to come and support him. Now, that says something.

Tuesday, May 7 – Election Day!

There was a subdued sense of excitement at the campaign headquarters on Election Day. Game Day, right? Mark had a very aggressive schedule, just like he’d had all during the campaign. I’d heard that he had eleven different places to be that day, while his opponent had four.

More former staffers and volunteers kept streaming in. The atmosphere continued to be cautiously optimistic.

The Charleston Post and Courier did not endorse Mark, but no one seemed particularly surprised by that. In fact, no one on the campaign ever mentioned it to me. I just know because I read the paper one morning at breakfast. It makes me wonder whether newspaper endorsements are as important as they used to be.

Again, I wore a dress and heels so that no one would ask me to hold up signs. Ten years ago, I helped with the last days of his gubernatorial campaign and did more than my share of sign-holding.

This Election Day was so different for me than the one ten years ago. For one thing, then I’d drawn the short straw and had to help Jenny get ready for the victory party.

That consisted of Jenny sending me into different party stores to pick things up and then telling me that I wasn’t doing it right.

More to come…the results coming in, the victory party, and meeting Maria.

The Richland County Board of Elections and Voter Registration, a useless entity created by the county’s legislative delegation for its own perverse, unknowable reasons, should definitely cease to exist.

The State made that case fairly thoroughly today. An excerpt:

The board has failed repeatedly to act in the public’s best interest. While former director Lillian McBride shoulders much of the blame for the botched election, a preliminary report noted that the board had failed to ask important questions.

After the election fiasco, the board initially refused to acknowledge that it had the power to discipline the director; when the panel finally acknowledged its authority, it refused to remove Ms. McBride. Once Ms. McBride resigned, the board bent over backward — much farther than it should have — to accommodate her, creating a deputy director’s slot that pays $74,600.

When it embarked upon the single most significant task involved in rebuilding public confidence and trust — hiring a credible director — the board blew it. It created a search committee led by a member who had just joined the board. That search committee chairman caused tension by barring a fellow member of the Board of Elections from discussions with candidates; he also played a role in the committee’s refusal to release the names of the three finalists as required by law.

But The State secured the names of the finalists and, through routine checks, discovered problems in each candidate’s work history. As troubling as it is that the candidates failed to reveal the matters, it is also unacceptable that the committee didn’t conduct a thorough enough search to discover them.

When two of the finalists withdrew their names, the only prudent thing to do was to start a new search. Instead, the Board of Elections hired the remaining finalist — Howard Jackson, the Orangeburg County elections director.

Mr. Jackson failed to tell search committee members that he had been investigated in 2008 for election-law violations involving alleged absentee ballot irregularities.

The State Law Enforcement Division found no wrongdoing, but his failure to be upfront about it doesn’t engender trust, which is essential to turning the Richland County office around…

But in case you find The State‘s opprobrium to measured and calm, there’s always Mia McLeod out there to channel our rage, like Key and Peele’s “Obama’s Anger Translator.” She put this release out today:

Since the infamous Richland County Elections fiasco of 2012, the Old Guard (“OG”) has really ramped it up a few notches. Turns out…fiercely protecting and defending incompetence is only a fraction of the skills they’ve acquired during their 6-month tirade.

Who else could take a beyond-botched general election and turn it into a reality-tv scandal in a matter of days? Yeah, the OG is mega-talented, alright. Some parts scripted…some not…but clearly, no shortage of actors or creative content.
And while the OG renders Oscar-worthy performances…it’s Richland County voters who stood in line for 6-8 hours last November, only to be cast as “extras” in this dramatic mini-series.

But sometimes, “extras” stumble onto their “five minutes of fame” and this time was no different because these lucky voters not only got a chance to be disenfranchised one time…they got to experience a 6-month “Exclusion Extravaganza!” And they even get to pay for it.

Brilliant…isn’t it?

In fact, the OG was gracious enough to allow us to take an “after-the-fact” glimpse of behind-the-scenes footage, just so our palates can get a taste (never-mind the smell) of what they’ve crammed down our throats.

Okay, I think we’re ready. Open wide, now…

(Brief pause while we rewind. Please hold your applause until the end).

November 6, 2012 – The biggest voter disenfranchisement in SC history
OG advises Elections Director to “shut-up” and shut it down, while they develop their game plan
Attorney General issues Opinion: County Legislative Delegation has no authority to fire Elections Director, despite hiring her
OG launches aggressive lobbying effort to influence County Elections Commissioners and Council members to not fire Director, while“stacking the deck” with OG Elections Commissioner(s); (new) OG Commissioner appointed; begins serving “officially” the same day
OG controls delegation meetings to appease and deceive the public; stalls for time
Investigative report” reveals the obvious…Director is responsible for Election Day debacle by not deploying enough machines or staffers
OG back room negotiations continue, to protect & insulate Director
Elections Director prematurely announces resignation (through attorney) to Legislative Delegation during executive session; delegation member publicly discloses the impending resignation too soon; director reneges until OG finalizes her “deal”
OG successfully secures contractual agreement for Director, who is publicly “demoted” and privately promoted to a newly created taxpayer-funded position
OG appoints Interim Director; pays him big money to carry out “master plan”; names “Search Committee” for new Director; stacks deck with OG members to ensure desired results
OG repeatedly refuses to acknowledge or accept meeting requests by delegation members to discuss critical elections issues
Seventeen applications received and “screened” by the Search Committee; three applicants meet eligibility requirements; two of three finalists “mysteriously” withdraw their names in the final hours
OG announces to the public and delegation on May 15th, that remaining finalist is new director and proudly welcomes yet another “Jackson” into the fold; trio (Delegation Chair, Councilman, Elections Director) is complete
OG schedules first delegation meeting of 2013 for June 4th (2 days before session ends), after critical elections decisions have been made

So with all due respect to the new Richland County Elections Director, because the OG has consistently and calculatedly closed the process to the public, his hiring and everything associated with it, looks and smells… shady. Why not reopen (or open) the process to new applicants instead of choosing one by default?

Quite frankly, it’s the “stench” of the last six months that makes so many of us turn up our noses in disbelief and disgust. So even if Mr. Jackson is the best Elections Director this county has ever seen (and he very well could be…) the OG has gone out of its way to present him on a filthy garbage can lid instead of the fine China that might’ve been a much more fitting and flattering accompaniment.

And once again, Richland County residents are the forsaken, forgotten ones. But, it’s not Mr. Jackson that we loathe. It’s the process and the “platter” upon which he was presented.

Closed-door meetings. Back-room deals. Lies. Cover-ups.

What else could we possibly need to restore public trust? This scandal leaves Richland County voters with uncounted ballots and a $153,000 bill. How could we not have confidence in a process that obviously works? Bravo, OG!

Perhaps Mr. Jackson will find his role in the sequel because in 2014 and 2016, the curtain rises again. Only this time, the “extras” are gonna make their debut…center stage. And the OG’s season finale will hopefully bring its tumultuous reign to an end.

Now, that episode will be one worth watching. Stay tuned…

In providing a sneak preview of his star turn on “Downton (or as he calls it, ‘Downtown’) Abbey,” Sean “P. Diddy” Combs breaks the color barrier, the time barrier, the genre barrier and of course the comedy barrier.

PBS denies that Combs has joined the cast of the wildly popular period drama, but “Funny or Die” provides video proof to the contrary. Besides, P. Diddy said it was so on Twitter, so whom are you going to believe?

Yes, there’s strong language, but quite mild compared to his performance in “Get Him to the Greek.”

I don’t know where I’ve been, but this is the first time I’ve run across “Funny or Die,” which according to Wikipedia was founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s production company, Gary Sanchez Productions.

Good stuff. Since SNL isn’t going to be funny any more with Bill Hader gone, y’all should definitely check it out.

This headline on thestate.com just cracked me up:

Don’t be alarmed by the helicopters, National Guard says

You really need to look at the picture with it.

I couldn’t help thinking of all the people who would not be reassured by those words. Starting with all those folks who thought Rand Paul’s filibuster about drone attacks in the U.S. was the greatest thing since Daniel Webster.

I’m further reminded of summer maneuvers that were conducted up in the Pee Dee one summer when I was a kid, and staying with my grandparents in Bennettsville. I guess I was 8 or 9. Everywhere you went, there were military convoys and soldiers bivouacking in farm fields. I seem to recall the sounds of the titanic struggle between the Red and Blue armies out on the edge of town — artillery, small arms fire — but that may be my memory making it seem more exciting than it was.

Of course, we kids were inspired to play war, too. One day, I was lying in wait in a ditch just off Jordan Street, ready for an ambush, when an open jeep with a couple of soldiers pulled up at the stop sign not six feet from me. The guy in the passenger seat looked down at me in the ditch, with my helmet and toy gun, formed his thumb and forefinger into a mock pistol, pointed and me and went, “Bang.”

He got me. I guess I should have found better cover.

I suppose I knew I was being condescended to, but being a kid, I was sort of flattered to have been included in the adults’ game, however fleetingly…

The author with the candidate.

Several weeks ago, my friend Clare Morris said she planned to go down to Charleston and volunteer in Mark Sanford’s campaign sometime before the 1st Congressional District special election was over. Knowing that she went to college with the guy, and worked for him in his congressional office and later in his Commerce Department, I did not react with shock or horror. At least, not outwardly. I flatter myself that I’m good at the deadpan reaction.

When I ran into her at the benefit for Boston bombing victims Tuesday evening at the Capital City Club, she started telling me about working in the campaign. I asked her to write a guest piece about the experience. She jumped at the opportunity. In fact, she got into it enough that she’s giving it to me in a couple (or maybe even three) installments. This is the first.

So never let it be said that nothing sympathetic to Mark Sanford runs in this bit of the blogosphere. Enjoy Clare’s report:

How I Spent the Final Days of Mark Sanford’s Congressional Campaign

By Clare Morris

I’ve known Mark Sanford since I was 17 years old. We met during Orientation Week for Furman’s Class of ’83.

I’ve always liked Mark – he was an easygoing and fun guy in college.

When he was elected to Congress in the mid-‘90’s, I worked as his press secretary. We kept in touch over the years, and when he became governor of South Carolina, I was the spokesperson for the SC Department of Commerce.

This gives a little context to what I’m about to describe.

I went to Charleston the last few days before the 1st Congressional District special election and volunteered for Mark’s campaign.

When I told people that was what I was planning to do, the answer was pretty much, “Are you crazy???” I was like, “He’s an old friend from college, and I want to be there to support him.”

So, here’s a little timeline of what it was like:

Sunday, May 5th

I wind around East Bay Street in Charleston until I finally find the campaign headquarters. It’s in this small kind of dirty old building across from the Harris Teeter.

I get there and Mark is chatting with a couple who have driven all the way up from Fort Lauderdale to help with his campaign – Laura and Paul. When I noticed that Paul had on a jacket that had a Cato Institute logo on it, I thought, well, this guy is a true believer.

It had been years since Mark and I had seen each other – I’d left Commerce in 2006 to start my own company – and he seemed so tickled to see me. He gave me a big hug, thanked me for coming, introduced me to Paul and Laura, and made me promise that we’d have a “visit.”

What was so interesting about seeing him after all these years is that he seemed so comfortable in his own skin and genuinely happy. You’ve heard in press reports that he’s humbled and appreciative of the support he’s received from former staffers and volunteers, and that’s absolutely how his demeanor seemed.

The campaign headquarters was filled with former staffers (folks I’d worked with back in the mid-‘90’s) and volunteers from all over. The atmosphere was unbridled optimism.

The volunteer coordinator needed us to make calls to get people out to vote and to encourage them to support Mark. The phones were pretty complicated, and the Florida couple and I needed a little orientation to figure out how to work them.

They had phone numbers of likely Mark supporters queued up, and also a script to follow. It was something like this:

“Hi! My name is Clare (no last name) and I’m a friend of Mark Sanford.  I’m just calling to remind you that the special congressional election is coming up on Tuesday. Are you planning to vote?”

At this point, you would document their answer directly into the phone. The next part was:

“Great! Do you think Mark can count on your support?”

Again, you document their answer and thank them for their time.

I have very limited campaign experience. What was really notable about this campaign, however, was that volunteers were instructed to absolutely not say anything bad about the opponent. I was told, “We’re really not into that.”

I made 100 calls that afternoon. It was pretty even between Mark and his opponent. However, one kind of crazy old irate guy said, “If I were you, I wouldn’t say that I’m a friend of Mark Sanford’s!”

I said, “Well, actually, I am. We went to college together.”

He hung up on me.

Monday, May 6^th

I purposely wore a dress and heels that day so that I wouldn’t have to hold up campaign signs out by the street.

I was back on phone duty and this time the folks I called could not tell me soon enough that they were voting for Mark and they were taking several of their friends to the polls. They actually interrupted my spiel to tell me that.

Also, interestingly enough, several folks I spoke to said that they were praying for him. One lady actually said that she and her friends were going to hold a prayer vigil for him that night. I made sure to tell him that and he seemed really touched by that.

Not all of the volunteers were human. There was this one lady who dressed up her dachshund and rolled him around in a stroller that had “Mark Sanford for Congress” stickers all over it. She talked to Mark every time he came in the room. I asked him at a volunteer appreciation cookout that night how he knew her, and he said that he didn’t.

At that party, the lady was taking pictures and suddenly put her little dog on my lap. I was sitting by Mark and he started making fun of me. A little while later, she put the dog on his lap. All of a sudden, it wasn’t that funny after all.

More to come…Election Day, the victory party, and meeting Maria.

With the dog…