War on Terror: The Enemy Gets a Vote

Regarding the "War on Terror", Obama recently said:“This war, like all wars, must end. That’s what history advises. That’s what our democracy demands.”

He's right that wars end, but he's not right as to why.

Wars end when both sides stop fighting. Usually that's because one side totally defeats the other. It only takes one side to start a war, and it only takes one side to keep a war going. If people want to pursue certain ends through the aggressive use of force, then they're going to do that until they decide not to. Jonah Goldberg sums this up quite nicely in his piece: Our Enemies Gets a Vote.

Obama can say that the "War on Terror" is over as much as he wants to. He can genuninely wish for it to be over. Heck, I wish that it were over. The only problem with that is that the Islamic radicals get a vote. They get to decide when it's over, and so far, I'm not seeing any signs that they are giving up.

Wars continue until both sides agree to stop. No war in the history of the world has totally ended until both sides agreed that the war was over. Usually, the best way to convince the other side to stop fighting is to destroy their forces. That's the lesson of history.

Seattle Turns Fake Double Play [VIDEO]

Here's a little something to get y'all into the baseball mood. The NCAA College World Series is starting soon, so I'm going to have a few posts on that.

If you watch baseball for a long time, you'll start to feel like you've seen it all. I bet you haven't seen anything like this:

If you watch baseball for a really long time, you'll realize that there's always something new. That's just something that I've never seen before.

Random Awesomeness

No particular reason. Just being awesome.

Back to the Routine: Tuesday Headlines

The long weekend is over, campers. Back to work. Looking around the headlines, here's what I'm seeing this morning:

1. IT'S ACTUALLY COOLING. If you bought in to the global warming nonsense, I have some bad news for you.

2. WE MIGHT HAVE OLYMPIC WAKEBOARDING. Seven sports (baseball-softball, karate, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, wakeboarding and the Chinese martial art of wushu) are vying to replace wrestling as an Olympic Sport.

3. CAROLINA VS. CLEMSON? The NCAA Baseball Tournament field is set, and Clemson will be in South Carolina's Regional.

4. INSPIRATION. Memorial Day in 90 photos.

5. TAKING SIDES. Looks like the EU is ready to start arming the Syrian rebels.

Enjoy your short week. I know I will.

Memorial Day 2013

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The Navy Hymn; Eternal Father from the USNA.

 

If You Like Motor Racing, Today Is Your Day

If you like racing, today is your day. The morning started with the Monaco Grand Prix, which might be Europe's most famous F-1 location. The race takes place along the streets of Monaco, and the turns are tight, and the elevation changes dramatically in places. It's also set in the glamorous setting along the seaside. It's a very European vibe:

How Europeans watch racing.

Later in the afternoon, the Indy 500 gets rolling down in the Midwest of the United States. It's probably the most prestigious race in the world, but it has a more workmanlike feel to it. There's no French models lounging on rooftops in Indy. The track is nicknamed the "Brickyard" due to the fact that it was initially paved with bricks. Even though it now has a more modern surface, there is still a section of the track that contains the original bricks. It's the gold standard for car races, and it's classically American.

If that doesn't satisfy all of your racing needs, NASCAR runs the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte at 6:00PM. If you still need more racing after that, go run around outside.

Friday Open Thread

Content? Ain't nobody got time fo' that! In lieu of actual blogging content this Friday, I'll give you some music. The money I get paid to blog has been docked accordingly.

On a more somber note, it's Memorial Day Weekend. Feel free to BBQ the heck out of some meat, drink beer, and have fun. But just remember why we have this weekend.

Spurrier Wants SEC Title

Well, yeah. Obviously.

It's still way too early to start breaking down matchups and games, but we're closing in on that territory. A blind goat could tell you that winning the UGA game is important.

In any event, if you've been looking for something to scratch that college football itch, the link has plenty of Clowney highlights - including a certain fan favorite.

Sometimes life just isn't fair.

Good Advice from the Shop Tart

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Why it pays to be a regular at your favorite restaurant.

Guess the Gun

Haven't done this in awhile. Here's a classic gun. Can anyone guess the model?

Answer below the jump, along with an additional triva challenge about this rifle:

Ft. Jackson Commanding Officer Suspended

The CO was suspended. Apparently, it had to do with both adultery and physical altercations. Nothing surprises me anymore. What's worse is this guy spelled his name the same way I do.

Good grief, Charlie Brown.

Top IRS Official Will Invoke Fifth Amendment

Per the L.A. Times, Lois Lerner (the head of the exempt organizations division of the IRS) is scheduled to testify before Congress tomorrow. Apparently, she's not planning on saying much.

For those of y'all who don't know, the Fifth Amendment protects witnesses from being forced to incriminate themselves. You don't get to invoke the Fifth Amendment's protection just because an answer would be embarrassing. You don't get to invoke the Fifth Amendment's protection just because an answer would be politically embarrassing. You only get to invoke the Fifth Amendment's protection when your response would expose you to criminal prosecution.

Well, well, well...Everyone was telling me that no crime was committed here. Accordingly, I'm slightly puzzled at why the head of the IRS division would invoke her right to be protected from criminal liability. I hope it's on TV tomorrow. Apparently, she knows something big enough that the old "I don't remember" won't even cut it.

Shit status: real

Cool Photos From Greece

Check out these 59 black and white photos from early 1900's Greece. The photos are cool, but the rest of the site is all Greek to me.

College of Barbeque Knowledge

Sign me up. Most of the time great barbeque masters don't share their secrets. That's not the case with Sam Huff:

“I want more people to cook like me,” he says, laughing. Over the course of eleven hours, Pork U students
learn to prepare rubs, sauces, injections, mops, and marinades—and when to use each. They’ll see a dozen different cookers, smokers, pits, and grills. They’ll cook butts, brisket,
stuffed pork loin, beer can chick-en, baby back ribs, spareribs, wings, sausages, a few (greenish) sides, even desserts prepared over hot coals. Students prep, cook, and—yes—eat all day.

Probably the best tasting education you'll ever get.

Journalist Broke The Law By Getting a Story?

The WaPo is reporting that Fox News Reporter James Rosen has been classified as a "aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator" by the DOJ for reporting on what I assume was classified information leaked to him.

The court documents don’t name Rosen, but his identity was confirmed by several officials, and he is the author of the article at the center of the investigation. Rosen and a spokeswoman for Fox News did not return phone and e-mail messages seeking comment. Reyes wrote that there was evidence Rosen had broken the law, “at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator.” That fact distinguishes his case from the probe of the AP, in which the news organization is not the likely target.

Wow. Talk about a chilling effect. If the government is now taking the position that a journalist has criminal liability for reporting on classified information, that's a new level of scary. If this is a legitimate position by the DOJ, then that's going to stop a whole lot of reporting. The really scary thing is that the government just has to make an accusation - not a case. All this happens without the journalist knowing.

 

This cannot be right.

Monday News 5-20-13

Happy Monday.

Here's what I'm seeing as the top headlines today and from over the weekend:

1. Tea Party Protest of the IRS Tuesday. Remember the people who think the taxes are too high and the government is wasteful? Yeah, those people are upset about the whole "IRS targeting them" deal. I can't imagine why. In any event, the Tea Party is planning to protest outside the office of IRS buildings Tuesday. I'm not even sure where the closest IRS building is here in in Columbia. Do we even have one here? I don't know. I've got to work, so I don't have time to go protest stuff.

2. City of Columbia Contemplates Issuing H-Tax Bond. Remember the "Hospitality Tax"? Yeah, the tax you pay when you go out to eat and stuff. The City of Columbia doles that money out to groups it chooses. (Hey, nothing could go wrong there.) Unfortunately, the only problem is the City wants to give out more money than it's currently taking in. I know, you're shocked. So, instead of doing the responsible thing and prioritizing, the City Council is contemplating issuing a bond (borrowing money) with the Hospitality Tax revenue stream as the collateral. Awesome.

3. Syria is still a mess. Remember Syria? Yeah, that's not really getting any better. Apparently, Assad is amping up his strike capabilities against Israel.

It's Monday. Make sure you get your coffee before you head out there.

When Does a Lawyer's Demand Letter Become Extortion?

That's the question in a California case right now. In my experience, demand letters don't usually get much of a result anyway. In any event, lawyers need to be careful with how aggressive they come across.

I-20 Blocked By Nuclear Equipment

I hope you weren't trying to go anywhere on I-20 today. Apparently, there was some enormous thing that had to be transported to a nuclear power plant that was so big it couldn't be transported via train.

So they took it on truck. But they had to cross over I-20.

 

Just a normal day on I-20.

Top 5 Bond Girls

Here's an important top 5 list for everyone, since some people think that Tiffany Case is the best bond girl. I can't let that kind of wrongness stand. She's not even in the top 10. So anyway, as part of my public service to everyone, here are the actual top 5 Bond girls.

1. Honey Rider: This first one isn't up for debate. First of all, there's no better scene than when she comes out of the ocean up on the beach and sees 007 watching her. Shes asks "What are you doing here? Looking for shells?" and Bond says, "No, I'm just looking." Enjoy just looking.

Ursula Andress as Honey Rider

2. Tatiana Romanova. The Russian KGB agent checks in at number two on the list. She's used as a pawn by SPECTRE, but Bond ultimately prevails and ends up with her in a gondola in Venice where Bond destroys the evidence that he's sleeping with her - to keep up foreign relations and all.

Daniela Bianchi as Tatiana Romanova

3. Pussy Galore. She's probably the toughest and most assertive of the Bond girls, as she's an accomplished pilot, and in her first meeting with 007, she tells him to "Turn off the charm" because she's immune to it. After a little roll in the hay (literally) it's all over for her. Probably the best name, but that's not the sole criteria. She also holds the distinction of being the oldest bond girl.

Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore

4. Sylvia Trench. Although some people would argue that she's not technically a bond girl, this is my list, so I get to do what I want. Get your own blog. She was originally intended to be 007's regular girlfriend in the film adaptations, but she was dropped after two movies. She holds the distinction of being the only "Bond Girl" to appear in multiple films. The scene where 007 hears noises in his apartment and opens the door gun in hand only to find Sylvia chipping golf balls in high heels and a dress shirt is classic Bond.

Eunice Gayson as Sylvia Trench

5. Xenia Onatop. She's an ex-Soviet Air Force villainess who crushes men to death between her thighs. Everyone except for 007 that is. That's enough to make the list.

Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatop

No, my list is probably not the same as yours. That's because I'm right and you're wrong.

NAI Avant Moving to the Vista

In contrast to the City of Columbia buying the Compress Warehouse, a private company has decided to buy the Dupre Building in the vista and move their offices in there.

The Dupre Building - Future Home of NAI Avant

See, this is how things are supposed to work. Private companies buy buildings. They'll pay property taxes, open up retail on the first floor which will generate jobs, commerce, and more taxes. This is good for the local economy and the vista. I look forward to seeing what ends up on the first floor.

Need 10MB of Storage Space?

I've got just the thing for you:

 

It's amazing how far we've come with technology since 1980, which is when this ad ran. Think about what you can store now on your iPhone, which costs far less. I wonder what the world is going to look like in another 30 years. Will people look back at our iPhones and laugh?

Mexican Cake Is Back!

It's back. "The brewery has readied 6,000 bottles (500 cases) of Mexican Cake, a sharp increase from the 1,440 bottles (120 cases) produced during the initial release."

I had a growler of Mexican Cake from Morganelli's when it first came out. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a serious beer. This isn't something you take out on the boat fishing, though. This is something that you'll want to schedule some time to sit on the porch and just enjoy.

How to Button your Suit Jacket

Every time I go to Court I see these rules violated by guys who don't wear jackets very often. For goodness sakes, y'all. If you sit down, unbutton your blazer.

Captain America's Dog

I've got lots of work today (court, real estate closings, etc.) so I don't have time to break down all the scandals in DC. Suffice it to say that government sucks and politicians suck. But you already knew that.

Instead of all the mopey political garbage, I've decided to leave you with something happy below the fold. Eventually, I'll get around to some substance. Maybe.

In any event, enjoy.

The Telephone and Politics

Remember the movie Wall Street?

When I am speaking to students, I like to show them a still from the Oliver Stone movie Wall Street in which the masterful financier Gordon Gekko is talking on his cell phone, a Motorola DynaTac 8000X. The students always — always — laugh: The ridiculous thing is more than a foot long and weighs a couple of pounds. But the revelatory fact that takes a while to sink in is this: You had to be a millionaire to have one. The phone cost the equivalent of nearly $10,000, it cost about $1,000 a month to operate, and you couldn’t text or play Angry Birds on it. When the first DynaTac showed up in a movie — it was Sixteen Candles, a few years before Wall Street — it was located in the front seat of a Rolls-Royce, which is where such things were found 25 or 30 years ago. By comparison, an iPhone 5 is a wonder, a commonplace miracle. My question for the students is: How is it that the cell phones in your pockets get better and cheaper every year, but your schools get more expensive and less effective? (Or, if you live in one of the better school districts, get much more expensive and stagnate?) How is it that Gordon Gekko’s ultimate status symbol looks to our eyes as ridiculous as Molly Ringwald’s Reagan-era wardrobe and asymmetrical hairdos? That didn’t just happen.

If you don't know the scene, it's this:

The quote above is from a great piece over at National Review. Go read the whole thing, sport. It's worth it.

[h/t Maetenloch at Ace's Place]

The Guns at Last Light

The final book (The Guns at Last Light) in Rick Atkinson's WWII trilogy is finally out. I've read the first two; An Army at Dawn and The Day of Battle, and they're great.

Atkinson does a great job of giving the reader both the large, strategic points of view, and then zooming down in on key points on the individual soldier's level. He's taken a really long time to finish this trilogy. I think the second book came out in 2007, so this third book has been six years coming.

Hopefully, it is as good as the first two. SPOILER ALERT: Germany loses.

Southern Night Sky

If the clouds aren't in your way, and you're not near a city's light pollution, enjoy the Southern Night Sky's wonders right now.

Important Dog

Just because.

Il Giorgiano Pizzeria & Wine Bar

Happy Friday.

I don't often recommend restaurants, but I had such a great meal last night, I'm compelled to let you know about Il Giorgiano. It has what I would consider some of the best pizza and pasta in Columbia. Seriously.

After attending the MIRCI fundraiser at 701 Whaley last night, Mrs. Permanent Press and I decided to take advantage of the fact that we already had a babysitter and get a little late dinner. We went over to Il Giorgiano since we had heard good things about this local pizza place. Sitting outside, we had a perfect evening to enjoy. The outside patio is a little brick area that is cozy and peaceful. There was a little fountain to give the place some old Italian charm.

We ordered some of a pizza and some pasta to share. I don't take very good pictures of food, but trust me it was amazing. My pictures would not do justice to the food.

I've been to Tuscany, and this food tasted like the food from Florence and Siena. It was like I stepped into a time machine and ended up back on vacation in Italy. The pizza was a smallish (maybe 9" in diameter) and perfect for sharing with another person. It was thin crust, lightly topped, and amazing. The pasta we had was the little stuffed tortellini kind in a cream sauce. Oh my god, it was good.

For dessert, we shared some bananna pudding gelato that was made in-house. In fact, they make all their desserts in-house. It was one of the best meals I had in a long time. The food was amazing, the prices were actually very reasonable, the service was great, and the atmosphere was perfect.

At the end of the meal, one of the owners (Monica) came out to thank us for coming in and talked about her love of Italian food. This place is a local restaurant that does everything right. They're located on Devine Street right next to where Dianne's used to be.

Side note: You're officially from the South when you give directions by referencing where certain landmarks used to be. All the time, I find myself telling people "You know where Rice Music House used to be? Yeah, my office is two blocks down from there." I'm not sure what the deal is, but that's a Southern thing.

Anyway, if you're looking for some authentic Italian food in a casual atmosphere, stop by Il Giorgiano, and let George and Monica take care of you.

Highest Paid State Employees

Before you click on this link to show you the answer, take a guess. Who do you think is the highest paid state employee in your home state?

I've left you a clue below the jump.

Ten Deadly Animals

There are some seriously deadly things out there. Here's one:

The Cone Snail

This thing is very dangerous.

The Cone Snail is one of those animals that no one thinks about, but it is as deadly as it gets. Usually, one may not even realize they are handling a Cone Snail because the first thing you see is their beautiful shell. The snail underneath is an afterthought, but a deadly one.

Shell collectors end up picking one up and the snail's harpoon will stick into the person. What happens next depends on the Cone Snail. Each one has a different poison. The deadly ones have a Neurotoxin that will temporarily paralyze you. Then your body will start to shut down. You will also develop severe respiratory problems. This could be the worst part of it.

Note to self: don't touch shells anymore.

Joy In a Three Judge Panel (and a Coke Float)

It's nice to get a little affirmation every now and then. In the tough world of litigation, you're always faced with opposing counsel telling you why you're wrong. Every once in awhile you need to get a little pat on the back.

That's why it's so nice that I got a Court of Appeals decision back today, where all three judges agreed with my argument. You win some and you lose some at every level, but it's nice to get a win at the appellate court level.

I'm going to go have a Coke float to celebrate later today. Then it's off to watch South Carolina play the Wofford Terriers in some baseball. Good times.

Mark Sanford: Straight From the Bottle

Mark Sanford has won the election for the South Carolina's First Congressional district, and is heading to the United States House of Representatives. I can sum up my thoughts with both a .gif and with words. First, my reaction to Mark Sanford being elected last night can best be summed up by Julia Ormond:

Yeah, straight from the bottle. No need to waste any taxpayer money on a glass, baby. Just open 'er up, and take a swig. The fact that the Charleston area sent Mark Sanford to the United States House of Representatives illustrates several things.

As an initial matter, Sanford should not have been the candidate. He won by a comfortable margin, but in the last few days before the election this race was starting to look like the GOP's failure to make an easy layup. This district is Red, Red, Red. The GOP could have run a Labrador Puppy, and as long as it had an "R" by it's name, the puppy would have been the favorite.

Second, and as a corollary, it shows that the people of this district would rather send and admitted adulterer to Congress than a Democrat. Think about that for a second. The people of South Carolina, who are always portrayed as socially conservative and "puritanical" basically took a look at a deeply flawed man who went AWOL on the job to have an affair...and they decided to go with him rather than with a Democratic candidate. Basically, Ms. Colbert-Busch's political views were more distasteful than Sanford's personal flaws.

In winning you learn no lessons. In losing, you learn. The GOP won, so they think everything is fine. But what conclusions should the Democratic party draw from this election?

There's an old rule that William F. Buckley put forward back in the day: Support the most conservative candidate who is electable. The Democrats would do well to heed this rule. Not every state is the same. Not every district in a single state is the same. If the Democrats really wanted to win this seat, they should have found the most liberal candidate who was electable. As the results show, Ms. Colbert-Busch was not electable. Her accepting large donations from labor unions was a self-inflicted wound that cost her lots of votes in a district that just obtained a new Boeing plant despite the efforts of unions.

She tried to put a conservative spin on every liberal position. She said she was proud to live in a right-to-work state, but she took money from labor unions, while Boeing donated to Sanford. You can talk all you want, but the money talks. At the end of the day, people knew that Colbert-Busch was hiding her true liberal views, and Sanford was just being himself. The voters chose to go with the unfaithful, lying guy who was honest about his political views, rather than go with someone who they distrusted on the issues.

Overall, the race doesn't have broad implications. South Carolina is a deeply conservative state. Yeah, we already knew that, thanks. Folks from SC have a history of sending flawed people to Congress.

I personally think that Sanford is too flaky for the job. Going AWOL while Governor is unacceptable and (in my opinion) unforgivable. The only silver lining is that he isn't seeking executive office. He won't be "in charge" of anything. I wouldn't put him in charge of organizing a bake sale.

People will certainly make fun of South Carolina being a "punchline" for sending such a scandal-ridden person back to public office. But don't think for a second that South Carolina is different that other places. Illinois sent Jesse Jackson, Jr. to Congress while he was being treated for bi-polar disorder and plagued with scandals. New York sent Charles Rangel back to Congress even after he was basically exposed as a long-time tax cheat and formally censured. Heck, Massachusetts kept sending Ted Kennedy back to the Senate, and he killed a girl. To date, I am not aware of anyone that Sanford has killed.

So before all y'all in other parts of the country get on your high horse to judge South Carolina, look in the mirror. He won't be the most scandalous guy to make it to Congress. (I know, that isn't exactly a ringing endorsement.)

Ken Levine's Criticism of Mad Men

Quick, which character from Mad Men are you cheering for? Is that a tough question?

I really like Mad Men, but I agree with Levine's thoughts here. The show is really becoming a collection of horrible characters. Mrs. Permanent Press and I were discussing it after the last episode. It's just a story full of people that we hate. Where are the people we're supposed to be cheering for? I dislike all of these characters.

The first few years were phenomenal television. I loved it so much I almost took up smoking...But then things started to shift. Betty, who season one was my favorite character, became such a hideous bitch I now expect her to wear a coat made of Dalmatians. Still, almost everybody else had some redeeming qualities (although I’m still looking for Pete’s). Peggy was adorable, Roger provided comic relief, Joan advanced in a man’s world using both her brains and bra, and then there was Don Draper...Why should I care anymore about this miserable soul?  Because he gets to his front door, slumps down to the ground, and feels sad?  At one time there were glimmers of humanity, moments when he would exhibit surprising kindness. But not anymore. Not this season.

Levine hits the nail on the head, if you ask me. Think about it: Every story has a character that you somehow are cheering for, or you're on their side, or you understand why they do bad things. In Mad Men, they don't have a character like that anymore. (For me, anyways.)

If you like Mad Men, you'll really want to read the whole thing.

Should we care about these people?

Don't Bring Your Pipe Bomb to the Gun Buyback

“This is not a pipe bomb buyback; this is a gun buyback,” Beck said. 

The knucklehead was arrested.

Also, if you read farther down in the piece, some dope turned in "an antique 'Tommy Gun'-style weapon". If that was truly a 1920's era Thompson, they probably just turned in a gun possibly worth several thousand dollars for maybe a hundred bucks.

I'm not sure which person is dumber.

Mark Sanford's Contempt for the GOP

Brad has an interesting post on Mark Sanford's relationship with the SC GOP. Here's what I believe his thesis is:

Usually, people who go into politics are to some extent people people. With Sanford, that’s just not the case. He basically has no use for people other than himself, and that included Republicans.

Can you think of someone else whom you would describe in this way?

US Diplomat Calls Obama Administration Liars

Remember Benghazi? Yeah, remember that the Obama Administration/The State Department told all of us  that "No one was told to stand down"? Remember this from Obama?

“I can tell you as I have said over the last couple of months since this happened, that the minute I found out this was going on, I gave three very clear directives. Number one, make sure that we are securing our personnel and doing whatever we need to. Number two, we’re going to investigate exactly what happened to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Number three, find out who did this so we can bring them to justice.”

Yeah, about that.

Hicks is expected to be the first ground-level eyewitness to speak publicly in the nearly eight months since the terrorist attacks that killed Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans. When Stevens went missing, Hicks became the Chief of Mission for the U.S. in Libya.

According to excerpts released Monday, Hicks told investigators that SOCAFRICA commander Lt. Col. Gibson and his team were on their way to board a C-130 from Tripoli for Benghazi prior to an attack on a second U.S. compound "when [Col. Gibson] got a phone call from SOCAFRICA which said, 'you can't go now, you don't have the authority to go now.' And so they missed the flight ... They were told not to board the flight, so they missed it."

So let's remember what we're dealing with on a basic level:

1. We have an premeditated attack on US people in Libya on 9/11/12.
2. There were warnings that this was going to happen.
3. The intelligence was changed when it was presented to the public to blame a guy who made a YouTube video, which created a spontaneous (and thereby unpredictable attack) so as to fend off criticism that mistakes were made.
4. The guy they arrested in connection with the cover story is still in jail.

Here's the thing. The Benghazi scandal isn't the botched intelligence or the failure to go rescue the guys for whatever reason. That's just run-of-the-mill incompetence. It happens. The real scandal is railroading a guy to jail for political gain in the run-up to an election. That's the real scandal. And it worked. Don't forget about how much Obama was running on the "I'm the guy who kept you safe" meme.

 

Sanford vs. Colbert-Busch

According to a new Public Policy Polling survey, Sanford leads 47 percent to 46 percent over Colbert Busch.

I was in Charleston this weekend for a Kentucky Derby party, so I took the opportunity to keep my eyes out for the amount of bumper stickers and yard signs out for each candidate. My hypothesis was that Sanford (having lost the backing of the National GOP) and having so many personal problems, would not have the normal amount of signs/stickers.

I could not have been more wrong. In the entire weekend, I covered the downtown peninsula of Charleston, James Island, North Charleston, West Ashley and John's Island. I saw a grand total of about 10-15 Sanford signs, about 5-8 Sanford bumper stickers and a whopping total of ONE Colbert-Busch bumper sticker - no signs at all.

Now, maybe this doesn't mean anything. Maybe she's not really into signs. Maybe I just happened to miss the democratic strongholds where here signs are. Maybe anecdotal evidence isn't really that important. However, I was slightly surprised to see ZERO Colbert-Busch signs.

We'll see how it turns out.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2013/05/05/2758186/poll-sanford-holds-slim-lead-in.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2013/05/05/2758186/poll-sanford-holds-slim-lead-in.html#storylink=cpy

Top News 5-3-13

Not too much out there today, but here's what I've got for you, campers:

1. This Day in History. On this day in 1937 Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Gone With The Wind. Back in1937 the Pulitzer and the Academy Awards weren't as caught up with whether something was politically correct.
2.  Coldest Spring Evah? I bet you won't hear that on the news, since this is an inconvenient fact for the narrative about global warming.
3. Reese Witherspoon's Arrest Video. Yeah, it's probably not "news", but it's funny.

That's pretty much all I have. Today's post brought to you by Harrison Ford drinking tea.

 

New Blog Addition to Sidebar (Drink. Blog. Repeat.)

I've added a new blog to the side-links on the right hand side of the page. I stumbled across Drink. Blog. Repeat. in connection with the Pint Bill pending in the SC Legislature. If you don't know what the Pint Bill is, you should read the very good explanation of it from Drink Blog Repeat.

If you like local South Carolina beer, you're going to love this blog. It has reviews, opinion, and upcoming events in the local beer world. If you're a beer guy (or gal) this is your go-to place for South Carolina beer happenings.

Plus, he has a cool logo, which kind of makes it look like a pirate's blog.

Drink. Blog. Repeat.

 

Cheers!

Top Ten Kentucky Derby Hats

But first a little advice: “Do not, for the love of God, decorate your hat with toy horses.”

I like this one.

For guys, simple is better.

SC Gas Tax Increase?

The SC Legislature is considering raising the gas tax by tying it to inflation. The tax money would (allegedly) be used to maintain roads and bridges here in South Carolina.

It may surprise some of y'all, but I would actually be ok with raising the gas tax if the funds were only used on actual infrastructure projects. Maintaining the roads and bridges is one of the core functions of our government, and I don't mind paying for that.

What I do object to is tying the tax to inflation.That's a cop-out way for the tax to go up in the future passively. You want the tax to go up in the future - fine. Take a vote. That's what the legislature is there for. Each time you want to raise or lower a tax, the legislature should have to take an affirmative vote. Tying the gas tax to inflation is going to result in the tax going up (or maybe down) without our legislature actually doing anything, and that's neither smart nor responsible. No tax should automatically move around.

In short, ensure the money isn't going to be diverted to other stuff, and make the tax a hard number.

Amazon Reviews: How to Avoid Huge Ships

If you liked the Amazon reviews of the banana slicer, you're going to love the reviews of this book.

[h/t WSJ]