Charleston Woman Threatened to "Shoot Everyone" Over Stale Cinnamon Bun

What does she think this is, Pulp Fiction?

A customer at a Mount Pleasant restaurant threatened to "shoot everyone" after arguing over a stale cinnamon bun she was served, a witness said...Witnesses told police that three women were ahead of them in line when one of them began yelling at an employee that the Cinnabon cinnamon bun she was served was not fresh. The witness said the employee yelled back at the customer that there was only one left.

Don't mess with people's cinnamon buns, y'all.

Felt Naked In Court Today

I had to drive down to Charleston and back for a hearing today, so cut me some slack on not having any content up.

By the way, I spilled coffee on my tie right before the hearing, so I couldn't wear it. It was a catastrophic coffee incident on a light colored tie. Take my word for it - it was unwearable.

Anyway, first thing, the Judge asked why I wasn't wearing a tie. I apologized profusely and told the story of what happened. I also made a joke about my considering making an emergency tie purchase at Ben Silver. The Judge in a very good nurtured way commented that I probably wasn't making enough money on this particular case to justify an expensive Ben Silver tie - so no harm done.

Still, I felt very naked in Court without a necktie. I may start carrying an emergency tie in my briefcase.

As for today, I've sneaked a blog post in under the wire before 5:00PM. Luckily, I don't need a tie for blogging.

Enjoy your weekend. And don't get anything on your tie!

Top Headlines Thread (Russian Toilet Instructions Edition)

FRIDAY!

Here's a look around at the top five headlines I'm seeing today:

1. Jay Leno Says Farewell to the "Tonight Show": After a long run, he's finally leaving. I've seen plenty of criticism of Leno from people who say he's really dull, but I always thought he was pretty funny. My guess is he'll find some way to keep telling jokes for a living.

2. Charleston School of Law to Possibly Merge With the College of Charleston?: It appears that the State Legislature gets the final say on whether the Charleston School of Law can be sold to a private group, and that's not a sure thing. Accordingly the College of Charleston is looking into it. Law Schools can be quite a cash cow, since they don't require much overhead and rake in tuition dollars.

3. SC Legislature has Bill to Ban Abortions After 20 Weeks: If I remember correctly, this was the same thing proposed in Texas that (by her opposition) propelled Wendy Davis to the forefront of national politics. Could we see a similar phenomenon here in South Carolina? If so, which state legislator is the most likely to be the face of the opposition to this law?

4. Four Ways Obamacare Hurts Millennials: Spoiler alert -- Young people are helping pay for the older, sicker people's coverage.

5. Want to Buy a Gun? Be Glad You Don't Live In Massachusetts: Hey, it could be worse. I hear China has some pretty tough restrictions on guns as well.

Yeah, yeah yeah...the Winter Olympics are starting, too. I guess that's news. The real news is all the problems that are going on with the logistics. Russia is weird, though. Here is a sign that is above toilets in Russian Hotels

 What's that on the bottom left? Do some people fish in toilets? Is this a Russian thing? I also like the bottom right one. Is that guy doing "air drums" on the toilet with a beer bottle?

That's all I got for some Friday AM links.

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.

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.)

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

Weekend Thread - Charleston, SC

I'll be in Charleston this weekend. Y'all behave in my absence.

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition

If you're down in Charleston this weekend, the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (or SEWE) is a must-see for any good Southerner.

Still looking for perfect Valentine's Day plans? Tomorrow night (Valentine's Day) they will be having their preview Gala with a live auction. What better way to have some Southern romance?

It will be in Charleston this weekend (February 15-17) and will have everything from duck decoys, to art, to  conservation programs, to sporting dog competitions. Yes, that's right, you can watch dogs compete in an olympic-style long jump competition into a tank of water. That's worth the price of admission right there.

Westminster Dog Show? Forget that. We have flying dogs.

If you're in Charleston this weekend, I highly encourage you to attend.

Charleston Under Siege By Hogs

People of Charleston: Watch out for 200 lb. wild hogs rooting through your yards at night. The good news is that they are not protected, and there's no season on them, so you can hunt them as much as you want.

BBQ anyone?

Mayor Joe Riley's Ideas for Gun Control

The much beloved mayor of Charleston has an editorial in Sunday's Post and Courier detailing his proposal for new gun regulations. I have a great deal of respect for Mayor Riley, and he is arguably the most successful mayor in South Carolina. Accordingly, I was interested to see what he thought would be "common-sense" regulations.

1) Restore the assault weapons ban. These are not sporting weapons. They are not needed for protecting our homes or for self-defense. And conversely, when they get in the hands of deranged or hate-filled people, they become the tools of mass murder.

An assault weapon can shoot many rounds per second. These are deadly, certain to kill — the weapon and the operator of the weapon can reload in seconds and keep firing.

Sigh. His first proposal is to restore the Assault Weapons Ban that was previously in effect from 1994 - 2004. What's an assault weapon again? I keep forgetting. When you think about the words, it's kind of funny. If I beat you to death with a lead pipe, the lead pipe would be the weapon...which I just assaulted you with. Oh no! Lead pipes can be assault weapons! So it's a silly term, and people who use it are equally silly and unserious.

Also, was everything better from 1994 - 2004? I don't remember a wave of peace breaking out across the nation. Anyway, Riley's assertion that certain types of firearms are not "sporting" strikes me as both odd and irrelevant. There isn't a "sporting" aspect in a great many firearms. However, that isn't a reason to ban them. Firearms aren't solely for "sportsmen".

On a side note, I really hate it when someone says You can still keep your guns for hunting and sporting. First of all, thanks for allowing me to continue exercising a basic right. Don't do me any favors, bro. Second, the point of the Second Amendment had nothing to do with hunting. I may do a whole post on that later.

Back to Riley, he throws out the "No one needs a _______..." argument for guns. We don't make things illegal based on whether or not they are necessities. We don't really need  a law school in Charleston, but they decided to put one there. You don't really need that dopey-looking SmartCar, but people have them anyway.

Just like guns, SmartCars can become a tool for mass murder in the hands of a deranged person. Maybe we should talk about helping deranged people. (just a thought)

Riley's second paragraph here is odd. Is this Riley's definition of an "assault weapon"? Firing many rounds per second? Also, "these are deadly, certain to kill" makes no sense. Most guns are "certain to kill" if you shoot someone in a vital area. However, Riley seems to be saying that the reason these guns are "certain to kill" is because you can quickly reload them. Wait, what?

You can quickly reload almost all firearms, or maybe you can't. That has to do with the skill of the person - not the firearm. I could give the same firearm to two different people, and they would reload it at different speeds based upon their familiarity with the firearm.

This first idea makes people in the "guns are icky" group feel good. Unfortunately, it won't really make our society more safe, so it's not really common-sense, is it? But hey, I'm just using reason, logic, and experience here. That's probably not fair.

2) Ban high-capacity magazines. These magazines offer deranged individuals who wish to massacre large numbers of people the means to do so. They can equip semi-automatic and automatic weapons to fire a hundred rounds per minute. An assailant with a backpack or pockets full of these magazines can keep firing for a very long time.

There is simply no place for high-capacity magazines in self-defense or home-protection.

Ok, so we've already banned "assault weapons", whatever those are. Now, we have another proposal to get rid of all those high-capacity magazines for...our "non-assault weapons" that we've been allowed to keep. Awesome.

Unfortunately, Mayor Riley doesn't give us a number on what is "high-capacity". Is it 15, 10, 5, or 3?  No specifics here. I wonder why. Also, notice it's because deranged people could get these. Maybe we should do something about all these deranged people roaming around.

As far as there being "no place" for high capacity magazines in self-defense, that's what my law professors would call a "conclusory statement". It just a conclusion - not an argument. You have to say WHY. Unfortunately we don't get that. Oh well.

Riley here also refers to automatic and semi-automatic, and he just glosses over that. It's almost like he's just throwing those words in there because they sound scary. I'm not going to bore you with the automatic vs. semi-automatic thing, and I'm tired of explaining it over and over. On the specific issue of magazines, it's just silly to think lower capacity magazines are going to change anything. It's like saying you're going to reduce DUIs by requiring that we buy beer in tiny cans. If you have a "backpack or pockets" full of loaded magazines, what's the difference?

Would it make you feel safer if a deranged person had ten magazines that held ten rounds each, or five magazines that held twenty rounds each? Math, how does it work again?

Again, this is a law that makes people feel good, but doesn't accomplish anything. This is some major-league fail-boating. Come on, Riley. You're 0-2.

3) Strengthen the background-check system and close the loopholes in our gun laws.

Through the gun-show loophole, for example, a person who would not be cleared by a background check can go to a gun show and buy an arsenal and go to another gun show and buy another arsenal.

Through purchases at gun shows, any individual can bypass the background check system and fill a house with weapons they are not legally allowed to purchase.

This is ridiculous.

I agree. Currently, if I want to sell you my shotgun, I can do that without as much paperwork as a gun dealer would. Basically, I give you my shotgun, and you give me money. That's pretty much it. Now, I still cannot sell my shotgun to someone who couldn't own it legally (a child, a fugitive, or a mentally incompetent person). So, how would I make sure I don't do this? I just ask you: "Are you allowed to otherwise own this gun?". Yes? Ok, here you go.

Obviously, that's not a great way to check. As you may be aware, people sometimes lie. If there was an easy, free, and quick way for me to check you out, I would do it. Let's figure out how to make that database current, secure, and easily accessible to check. It would allow responsible gun owners who want to sell their guns the ability to make sure they aren't selling guns to bad guys.

HOLY MOLY! I think Mayor Riley and I just came up with a common-sense gun law.

4) We should impose stiffer penalties on “straw purchases” of guns. A straw purchase is when someone who can legally purchase a gun buys one for someone who cannot. A person who facilitates illegal possession of a weapon should face penalties for helping the illegal purchaser circumvent the law and for the consequences of any illegal use of the weapon.

So, Mayor Riley is not saying we need a new law; he's just saying we should impose tougher sanctions for violating a law that we already have. That's cool with me. People who knowingly facilitate getting guns to bad guys should be punished. Count me in on this one.

To sum up, Mayor Riley has two bad ideas (banning some guns, and banning some accessories) that won't solve any problems and two ideas (helping to ensure that background checks can be done and putting tough sentences on criminals) that might help. I guess 50% isn't too bad.

Black Lab Ready to Go Hunting

I like everything about this picture.

More pictures where this came from.

Sullivan's Island Lighthouse Turns 50

The State has a nice little piece on the history of the lighthouse on Sullivan's Island. One of the more interesting parts of the history was how much say the residents of Sullivan's Island had over the development of the lighthouse. I would have figured that the government came in, said: "BAM, here's a lighthouse, have a nice day." However, that isn't how it happened.

Designed by Jack Graham, who studied under architect Louis Kahn at the University of Pennsylvania, the light was the second-brightest in the Western Hemisphere when it was commissioned with 26 million candlepower. That proved much too bright for the locals, and the Coast Guard reduced the light to 1.5 million candlepower.

Also, island residents didn’t care for the lighthouse’s original red-orange color – like that on Coast Guard helicopters. So tower was painted black and white.

I can understand that some picky Charlestonians (or Gamecock fans) didn't want an orange lighthouse. Changing the color to black and white doesn't seem like too big of a deal. However, I'm still mildly surprised that the government listened.

What truly surprises me is that the residents were able to get the lighthouse dimmed. Getting 26 million candles reduced to 1.5 million candles is a huge reduction, and the whole point of a lighthouse is to shine a light out to sea that is easily visible. Make it bright as you can, right? Having a light is the only purpose of a lighthouse. It isn't there to look pretty, it's a functional building.

I would be interested to hear the background of how and why the governmental authority in charge of the lighthouse decided to reduce it's brightness.

I was trying to find a good picture that shows the triangular shape of the lighthouse, but this is the best picture I could find. The idea of making it a triangle is an idea that never would have occurred to me.

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Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/08/08/2389387/sullivans-island-lighthouse-at.html#.UCJ0Q45j7zI#storylink=cpy

$1.1 Million in Charleston Wrongful Death Settlement

The lawyer gets $490,000.00 of it. And they didn't even have to try the case.

Yeah, I'm in the wrong line of work.

No Alcohol on Folly Beach?

Will someone please explain to me why we should not be able to drink beer on the beach in America?

Seriously, Folly Beach. This is a weapons-grade-stupid idea.

You're going to lose tourism dollars, and the local stores on the island will suffer. I guess the economy is so good that the Folly Beach stores, restaurants, and hotels don't want business from college students or any people looking to have a good time with a few beers.

I can tell you for darn sure, you won't see me down on Folly.

Businesswoman Fails to Give Credit to Government

It's a wonderful small business success story in the lowcountry.

She employs 11 people in Mount Pleasant, another 11 sales representatives across the country and 16 more at a site in Indonesia. The 85 factory workers who stitch together are contractors.  

Some of her local employees do market research as well, working months ahead for next year’s fashions. 

She’s always looking for talented people to add to her work force, saying if she finds the right person, she would create a job for them. 

This lady is so ungrateful, right? Nowhere does she give anyone else any credit for her business success. As much as Castillo is smart to spot trends and works hard to grow her own little business, we all know who should really get the credit for her business succeeding.

270-Year-Old Book Found in Charleston

It's a book about parties in the 1780s. I actually think the bigger finds are the letters that they came across in the same search.

The recent search of the archives has already turned up several other gems that librarians didn't know were there.

They include two letters written by Alexander Hamilton and a unique third letter written by John Marshall, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, to South Carolinian Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, who helped draft the Constitution.

"It was written the day that Thomas Jefferson was sworn in (as president)," Kometer said. "John Marshall was the one who actually swore him in. He started a letter to Charles Coatesworth Pinckney in the morning and then he took a break and came back at 4 o'clock to finish the letter and said I have just administered the oath."

I don't have much of an interest in party etiquette, but a letter from Chief Justice John Marshall to Charles Pinckney would be pretty cool to see. I hope they will put the letters on display. I wonder what else is just laying around in the vault. It kind of reminds me of the last scene from "Raiders of the Lost Ark". I'm sure some "top men" put those letters in that vault.

HMAV Bounty Coming to Charleston

It's not the original HMAV Bounty, but a pretty good replica will be in Charleston next week. I love seeing these pieces of history. If you're in the Charleston area next week, this should be a sight to see.

The story of the mutiny always makes me wonder what I would do in a similar situation.Faced with an idyllic life in Tahiti versus severe discipline on a British ship, I can certainly see the attraction of Tahiti. However, the mutiny is also a good example of "be careful what you wish for" as almost all of the mutineers eventually were killed in conflicts with the natives (and each other). Say what you will about the British discipline system, but it did have the advantage of not devolving in to a massacre.

Being a rule follower, I would have probably not joined the mutiny, and I would have ended up in the small 23' boat with Bligh. In what is probably one of the top ten feats of seamanship, Bligh sailed that little boat 3,618 nautical miles back to Timor (the Dutch East Indies) with out any maps or charts. He did it with only a sextant and a pocket-watch. Bligh may have been a harsh taskmaster, but he knew how to sail. Pretty damn impressive if you ask me.

Rep. Tim Scott Pumps Your Gas

Whether or not you think that our government can do anything about gas prices, it's not a bad way to get out and meet the constituents. Personally, I believe that the less time that politicians spend in the fever-swamp of DC, the better.

One Third of Chicken in Charleston, SC Has E-coli

I actually would have thought it would be higher, you know, like 100%, because that's why you don't eat raw chicken.

About a third of the chicken samples taken from two major Charleston area grocery store chains tested positive for E. coli bacteria, according to the results of a 10-city food safety study released last month.

 I guess I picked the wrong time to open up a chain of chicken sushi restaurants.

Safe Chicken

Boeing Ready to Roll out First Dreamliner

In keeping with our aircraft theme: The Charleston plant that was almost shot down by the NLRB is ready to bring their first aircraft off the line this week.

Here's hoping it is the first of many. Congrats!