LMRWA Runs Out of Cash; Clyburn Blames Everyone Else...

I realize that it had been a while since I wrote about my old buddy. But that is the great point with Jim Clyburn: something that he is involved with goes wrong, and he will always blame it on someone else. I submit Exhibit A.
An article in the Sumter Item this week said that the $150 million Lake Marion Regional Water Authority project has run out of money. How does that happen? Easy. It seems that the money comes like a faucet - it turns on, then shuts off. You'd think that was the whole point of earmarks - hide the project, slap it onto something else, and get your money.
Here's the problem. The Army Corps of Engineers has a system where they rate which projects to work on, and so some of the money intended for the LMRWA went to something else, and now, they've run out of moolah. Your tax dollars at work! When asked, Clyburn did what he usually does - blame someone else. In essence, Jim said his job is to just get the money, not to make sure it goes where it's supposed to go - kinda like the fake Rolex guy on the corner.
Fear not, Old Jim says he'll fix it - by going back to DC and appropriating MORE MONEY for the project. Nevermind that the the Army Corps ripped us off, just jack up our taxes that much more. It's agood time to remind everyone that Clyburn lives on Lake Marion, so if everyone on the lake had to get a Dasani fountain installed, he'd do it. He doesn't want their water tasting like poo, but it is okay if it smells a bit like pork......

America's Top Schools: No Pee Dee Schools to be Found......

Each child in this class represents one school that was on Newsweek's top schools list. Wait, there aren't any kids in the class..... and there aren't Pee Dee schools on the Top 1000 list either. South Carolina as a whole didn't fare very well - there were about a dozen schools that made the list -mostly Upstate and Midlands schools.

Lists like these stir up a lot of thoughts. Are they arbitrary? Are they biased? Maybe a little, but generally there are correct. Nearly every school in suburban New York made the list. Do these schools get more tax revenue? Absolutely. Is that why they are better? Doubtful. Many of the top schools are inner city private schools , with very high subsidized lunch percentages. Want a better example? Try Guilford County in North Carolina. Greensboro Page, High Point Central, NE Guilford, SE Guilford and NW Guilford all made the list, and all are public schools with high minority rates in an area decimated by the loss of textile and manufacturing jobs.

It sounds a lot like South Carolina, doesn't it? If NC is making the list , why can't we? Some people (including the two knuckleheads I'll be running against) blame it on equity in educational funding. What exactly IS their definition of equity- I haven't heard a specific one yet. I get the impression that they mean dollar for dollar equity, meaning that a district with 5000 kids should get the same as a district with 30,000 kids. Good luck with that one. I read a list of recommendations given by a local Equity in Funding group recently. Among them was having a class size below 20 students, an assistant in every class, pay raises (of course), and a few other pie in the sky wishes.

I know , you can never spend too much on Education........ and that's what I worry about. For some administrators, an open checkbook is what they really want. While you might not be able to spend too much on education, you can waste too much of my tax dollars on some of these silly suggestions. I've said it a hundred times: we didn't have the tools kids have today, but somehow, despite the freezing old buildings, the lack of computers, and the 32 kids in class, we learned more proficiently than kids today.

What will it take to get some Pee Dee schools on that list? It might take a little money , targeted at specific areas. What it will take a lot of is work. It's not easy to get kids to learn when their parents didn't, and it's not easy when there are so many distractions - both in and out of the classroom.

The First Mike Reino Meet & Greet / Fundraiser Set for May 18th.

We will have our first fundraiser for the County Council campaign on Thursday, May 18th, at the home of Kim and Lynn Robb in Vintage Place Subdivision. The focus will be on the District 3 race, but every Republican member of County Council and Florence County Government is expected to attend. This gives voters a rare opportunity to discuss local issues with current and future members of their local government.

There will be no charge to attend, but contributions to the campaign will be accepted , and are encouraged. If you are unable to attend, donations can be mailed to 455 Harborough Ct. Florence, SC 29501. Light finger foods and refreshments will be served, and dress as you wish.

Florence County District 3 covers the following neighborhoods: Vintage Place, Foxcroft, Grove Park, Windsor Forest, Lakewood, Downtown west of Darlington St and Oakland Ave, Spaulding Heights and Quinby. for information, you may e-mail me at reino2004@msn.com.

This Week, The Milton Waddams Award Goes to the McColl Fire Dept...

"Sir, I ordered a Pina Colada, and I specifically asked for no salt, NO SALT...... I could put strychnine in the Guacamole" - Milton Waddams.

This week, I had a toss up for the Milton winner, but our next winner could wait a week. That and this week's winner was just too stupid to be overlooked. This week's winner is the McColl Volunteer Fire Dept. for trying to withhold (or steal) funds to the Town of McColl. I'll try to be brief. If you want more, ask Rusty Ray from Channel 13, who covered the comedy all last weekend.

For those of you who don't know where McColl is , it's in Marlboro County, near the N.C border. It's claim to fame is that they found Michael Jordan's father in the swamps outside of town after he was killed a dozen or so years ago. Earlier this year, McColl sold one of their firetrucks, and somehow, the Fire Dept. got the money, so they kept it. Since the truck was technically Town property, the town asked for the check. Well, the boys decided they earned the money, and they refused, tempers flared, and the Fire Dept. decided to strike.

I know you' re asking, "How can McColl function without a Fire Dept.? Who will get the kitty out of the tree, or put out a fire - if it's ever happened.?" Well, the Mayor felt the same way, and to keep McColl from going up in flames, he fired the Fire Chief, and demanded the $35,000 again.

The Fire chief's response? "How can I get fired? I'm a volunteer!!" Well, that's easy. Plenty of volunteer groups have told members that they're not needed anymore. The part I don't think Bubba understood was that he was very close to getting his butt thrown in jail for misuse of public money. What he essentially tried to do is the same as me selling a company car, and trying to keep the money for it. Nice try, but that's not how it works.

The latest is that the Town got their $35k, and Bubba is still fired. Now McColl can drift back into sleepy obscurity. Have a nice weekend, and keep working on those TPS reports!!

Fuzzy Thoughts, Episode 3: Revenge of Lumbergh!!

Time to clear the gunk-like stuff taking up space in my head this week, so welcome to another Fuzzy Thoughts....

I see a poll from MSNBC says that President Bush has hit another low - 36% approval from likely voters, meaning unmarried illegal immigrants in the greater San Francisco area. There is one tidbit they included that shouldn't make blowhard Democrat cheerleaders like Jim Clyburn happy ( bet you thought I was going to leave him alone). Approval ratings for Congress are down as well for both parties, and the gap in approval for the Democrats has dropped from 13 points to only 6. Like I posted on the blog for a certain low calorie soda drinker(Diet Kool Aid?), if the Dems expect to win on protest with no plan, they're in for a big disappointment in November.....

The neverending unpacking of Dad's stuff continues.. He swears someone stole some shoes and shorts of his, so whoever has them, please bring them back, so I don't have to unpack the 20 remaining boxes of junk to find them...... I sat through a 3 hour Planning Commission meeting last night (how Andy Cole goes to these every month is mindboggling). Since I last went two years ago, it is like night and day. They actually THINK about the rezoning issue before them, instead of just ok'ing it. Good things happen when you don't let Real Estate agents on the Planning Board. Kudo's to Glynn Willis. Yes, Glynn is Frank's nephew or cousin, but at least he's not embarrassed to say he's a Republican........

Is the SC Blogosphere on Spring Break lately? Some major blogs haven't posted in a while here. There is always something to chat about, so get back on the wagon, gang!!...........Is it just me, or has Pearl Jam completely lost their relevance? I've heard the new song about 20 times, and I think it's a remake of the "Beep, Beep " song on the Ford commercials. I gave up on Eddie and the boys returning to the huge sound that they had when "Ten" came out long ago, but this is starting to become like the Bearded Lady or Lobster Boy... They would have been better if they flamed out like Nirvana and Guns & Roses. No one likes a player who stayed in the game 5 years too long....... Speaking of which, Barry Bonds hit Number 711 today. It looks like his bat is starting to come around a bit, and that he will pass Babe Ruth - too bad. I think he'd be liked better at this point if he blew a knee, and had to retire....... Thank God, it finally rained today!

Check in Friday for this week's Milton Waddams Award - the winner will receive a 10 year old, Red Swingline stapler!

Tony Snow as Press Secretary?? It's Gonna be Real Boring at the White House.......

I think this is a picture of Tony Snow accepting an award for saving the Bush Administration... I thought this was a joke at first, but according to sources, you're looking at the next White House Press Secretary. He will be succeeding Jay W. Ragley, I mean Scott McClellan.

This is a master stroke - a rare feat these days - by the Bush team. Tony is tough, but with a smooth, calming effect to work the lunatics current working in the WH Press Corps. Most importantly, he is smarter than the people asking the questions, and they know it. The White House is gonna get dull real fast - and that's how George wants it...

Just for fun.... which is Jay W., and which is McClellan ?

Frank Willis: Handy With a Bulldozer , But Governor?

I've been reading with fascination the Press Releases coming from Frank Willis' camp. Apparently, Frank is the second coming of Reagan or Clinton, depending on which side you're coming from . If you believe all the press, you might be wondering, " Why hasn't Willis run before, and why just Govenor??"

It makes me laugh to see Willis and Hugh Leatherman take credit for everything that happens in Florence. The truth is that Willis does plenty wrong, and he'll look better if he loses in June. No doubt the Sanford camp will split Willis in half politically, and expose him for what he is: a Republicrat who twists with the political winds of the day.

His camp does it's best to make him look like a go-getter - he used his OWN BULLDOZER!! WOW!! So what will he do about unemployment.... hire every unemployed person in the State?? By the way, Florence's unemployment is currently 8.3% - about 2 full points higher than the state average ....as Earl would say, "Pot, meet Kettle!".

The fact is no candidate is perfect, but Willis is trying to let the myth take hold. The truth is that Florence's unemployment rate is about twice what it was 8 years ago, and the city would rather charge it's residents 2% higher sales tax to attract tourists, than spend it on road improvements to attract companies and residents. But, like Hitler said- The bigger the lie.......

** - Willis is not to be confused with Hitler.

The First Milton Waddams Award Goes to the Citizens of Lake City!!!

I wasn't sure who would win the very first Milton, but these things tend to take care of themselves I guess. in true Milton Waddams fashion, the voters of Lake City, SC have spent the past 2 years getting screwed and embarrassed by literally every public official in the area. This was capped off by the Mayor being arrested this week for knowingly passing counterfeit money.

In a nutshell, Lake City decided awhile back that they didn't need Florence County, and they incorporated themselves - and every division of local government has shown themselves to be crooked, ineffective or plain stupid. This is nothing new for the city without a lake - after all, they have been led by the Smith Clan, who have spent the past decade trying to ruin the County. But let's refocus on the city....

In the past two years Lake City has:

1. Contaminated the general election votes in 2004 when an election employee mixed in the disputed votes with the rest of the votes - oops!! The city Election Commission has since been taken over by the County.

2. Numerous Policemen have been arrested for drug possession and protecting drug dealers in the town.

3. They have had the police chief replaced a couple times.

4. The mayor was replaced, and now the new mayor has been arrested.

5. The schools in the area are subpar compared to other areas of the county.

The best part is for all this, Lake City residents pay the highest sales tax in the county - 11% if you go to McDonald's. Obviously, these poor people are not getting their moneysworth. Once the mayor is formally indicted, Gov. Sanford will be able to replace him. In my opinion, it couldn't happen fast enough. Or perhaps we could take Milton's advice, and " I Could Burn the Building Down"................. Have a great weekend, and GET BACK TO THOSE TPS REPORTS......

Note to Petit Thieves: If You Want to Stay off TV, Don't Break Into a News Anchor's Car..........

File this under the Bad Luck file... It seems that a number of parents have had their cars broken into while watching their kids play ball at Maple Park in Florence - which happens to be my District. Among the victims is no other than Channel 13 News anchor Nicole Boone. While events like this normally wouldn't merit a story on the local news, when the anchor gets robbed , it makes the 600PM news.

It gets better.... Most of you know that Nicole is married to none other than Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone. I doubt that this poor dummy had no idea whose car he broke into, but he just stepped in a huge pile of doo-doo. My advice to the thief is to turn yourself in, before 18 Steroided Deputies put the smackdown on you.

It just shows that there are more balls off the field than on at Maple Park.

Coming Soon: The Milton Waddams Awards....

We're going to give a weekly award in honor of loveable schlep , Milton Waddams. For those of you unfamiliar with Milton, he was a character in the movie ,Office Space, played fabulously by Stephen Root (NewsRadio, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?).

The award will be given to the person/people who have been stepped on by "The Man", be it the Government, Corporations, etc., or just to any pathetic loser of the week - sorry, I am NOT up for nomination!

We thought about giving "The Lumbergh Award" out, but how do you earn it - just by being an idiot boss who says, " Uh.......Yeahhhhhhhhhh."? Send in any nominations you might have, and we'll give it out every Friday.

Scott McClellan: Free at Last, Free at Last !!

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan will be stepping down. Good for him! Take a look at the picture, and that is McClellan's usual position - like he's being robbed. While the Bush Administration hasn't done everything right, poor McClellan has spent the past 2 1/2 years getting hammered like no in history.

McClellan, who bears a striking resemblance to Jay W. Ragley, finally had enough of the barrage of insults and childlike behavior from David Gregory, John Roberts and the rest of the Pro-Left crybabies working the White House lawn. When McClellan writes a book about his experiences, I'm buying it!

Where does McClellan go from here? My first guest is straight to his therapist for a little venting... Maybe a small step down from this job would be Press Secretary for Big Oil, or even less popular- Defense attorney for Zacarias Moussaoui. No doubt Scott has paid his dues, and he should be allowed to write his own ticket for all the BS he took on that podium.

Congratulations, Scott! Take a nice vacation, and my best wishes in the private sector.

Lovelace Stories..........

LOVELACE:

<- Oscar

Linda ->

Just a quick story today. I was reading the post from Barbeque and Politics , and his Lovelace/Lovelace post reminded me of an encounter I had during college. It doesn't really matter, but I might be one of the few South Carolinians who have met both Oscar and Linda Lovelace.

Most of you have met Oscar by now, so I won't go too much into meeting him - not very interesting anyway. Linda was a little more odd....

Me and a couple buddies were driving around , basically wasting time when we decided we wanted to get some Ice Cream. We stopped at a Carvel store , and suddenly one of my friends yells, "Holy ****! It's Linda Lovelace!!" Right. The former Queen of Porn is hanging out at Carvel - 20 years after her heyday. " I heard she does live around here" my other buddy says. I thought I was the King of Useless Information, but knowing where porn stars live topped any stuff I knew.

We decided to wait for her to go in and out, and sure enough, the kids in the store knew who she was also. The girl at the counter almost followed her out the door in disbelief, and Linda left real fast. You'd think that 20 years after doing porn, no one would recognize you, but not in this case.

In a way, it's a cautionary tale for those of us in both porn and politics. Don't do something you'd be embarrassed of later - people will remember. And no, I've never seen Deep Throat..... a little before my time.

Suncom Introduces New "Choose Ten Candidates" Plan for Primary Season..........

At Suncom, we know you hate to get unwanted calls, especially during Election and Primary seasons. So, as an addition to our new Choose Ten Plan, we introduce Choose Ten Candidates.

Here's how it works... As you might ( or might not ) know, the Do Not Call list doesn't apply to political telemarketers, so this year, expect dozens of annoying calls at home from Candidates all the way from Governor to Dog Catcher. By Tuesday night, you might be apt to break your phone, or hurt someone.

Not with Choose Ten Candidates! Simply pick up to ten candidates that you would accept calls from, and they come directly to your cell phone, ID's by campaign for your convenience. That way, you can give 'em a quick " Hey man, I love you... You got my vote!" and you're done!

What about all the others? They get a short, "I already sent in my Absentee Ballot, and you ain't on it. In fact, I voted twice for the other guy." You can even customize it to block all of one party or the other. (Note: Block on GOP Candidates available Dec. 2006).

Yes, with Suncom's Choose Ten Candidates Plan, your free time on Election Day weekend is your own again. Now if they could only block calls from my wife *..... Suncom brings you Truth in Politics.....uh, I mean Wireless. **

** - Not Harry Connick Jr.
* Harry Connick jr actually loves his wife very much.

Best Wishes for a Happy Easter.......

I might be skipping the blog this weekend. I have boxes to unpack and set up for a yard sale Saturday. Then , of course, is Easter. Remember to skip the meat tomorrow, get up early Sunday for church, and don't forget the reason we celebrate - that God sacrificed his only living Son to take away all our sins.

Drive safe, and stop by Brandon Woods for a great deal on a used VCR - Dad only has four of them!

Campaign Issue: The 1% Tax and the State Infrastructure Bank

The major issue in Florence County this year is the 1% tax refendum to fund road construction. This November, the voters will come to the polls to vote on a tax bill that will raise about $128 million from the county, to be matched by $250 million in state funds over the next 7 years. Is this a big deal in little Florence County? You bet! County officials are licking their chops to get the money. Voters have a lot of questions, and the county has worked hard to "inform" them. The bigger issue may be the State Infrastructure Bank as an institution itself.

This year, the biggest statewide issue was funding equity in education for rural counties. The argument whether equity is equality in actual dollars , or dollars per student is still under dispute ( and not answered really by the ruling Judge). Let me ask a question... What if we took tax dolars form across the state and gave NO money to the rural counties for education? We'd have a riot. Well, the SIB is the same thing.

The SIB takes tax dollars from citizens across South Carolina, and then gives it to counties that get the approval from the board. Which counties are atking advantage of this? York (twice), Horry and Charleston ( up for a second helping again). Smaller counties are sending hundreds of millions of dollars to Columbia, and not getting any return. Legislators are not going to assist - the majority are from the bigger cities. It essentially is an example of rural South Carolina getting hookwinked and fleeced.

Now, the hard part. As unfair a plan as the SIB is, Florence has made it to the show, and gotten approved by the Board. Sen. Leatherman put the screws to them, and he got the money. Secondly, Florence County needs the improvements. I've had bosses in Charleston refuse to invest in businesses in Florence, due to the relatively poor infrastructure. The City of Florence is worse. I suggest that they drop the 2% "tourism tax" , and use it to repave Palmetto , Irby and Lucas streets. The five prioritized projects stretch across the entire county, and each has a need of either safety, or to attract business. I don't see pork in any of the projects ( barring what they do with them), and honestly, it's the best deal we're ever going to get. Therefore, I'm going to vote for it - along with most of the voters. When this happens, two other things need to be done.

No. 1: Eliminate the $30 Road Maintenance Fee. Most of the fee on registered cars in the county does not go towards fixing roads. Therefore, get rid of the fee. Councilman Ken Ard said that half of it could be dropped with no change in services, but he has no support. I'll help him with that.

No.2 : Watch the Politicians. Want to know how a lot of local officials make thier money? Building roads. Some make cement, some make rebar, some rent the equipment - and $378 million goes a long way. Right now, I have no idea who will be handing out the contracts, but the politicians need to know we have eyes, and we're not suckers. Now you want to know why they spend $250,000 campaigning for a $10k a year job??

I can hear the RINO calls already, but take a trip through the county sometime, and you'll agree that we need this one shot. We're lucky that we got this one chance, and the rare help from Columbia is all we need. A new Airport? - that's another issue.............

Superflake and Other Fuzzy Thoughts...

I'm beginning to experience the trap of running for office and having a non-standard blogsite. A supporter of mine suggested that I drop the blog, because it makes me look "a Bit flaky", and two camps have given me a little grief over previously posted comments this week alone. Well, I am a bit flaky, and I'll run with my flakes and all. As for the candidates, I'm not out to work against any GOP candidates - if you take the primary, I'm behind you all 100%. However, I may write a tidbit or two of truth to juice up a race..... So, don't expect much change....
Licia Stone and Bubby Floyd were not at Monday's GOP meeting, which was a candidate meet and greet - guys, bad idea. Some of these groups might be up in age, but they will call and campaign for you come Primary time....... Life with Dad continues. I've made it through about 50 boxes of stuff - only 25 more to go!..... On the bad side, Pops has lost every talent at Italian cooking...
I see Uncle Joe Riley has endorsed Tommy Moore for 2nd in the General Election for Gov. this Fall. I gotta say one thing for Joe Riley - he has HUGE eyebrows!..........Put a fork in Frank Willis in the Lowcountry... Is it that big a deal that Tiger Woods called himself a "Spaz"? ......... Gas Gouging is back with a passion again. Here's a small sample of stations today: $2.69 in Florence, $2.84 in Pamplico, but only $2.56 at the Hot Spot on Hwy 378 near the Pee Dee River - maybe they're drilling it themselves.........
To my buddy Earl Capps - where is my album review of Faster Pussycat??........... A point made a million times lately - have the Republican leaders completely lost their ideals that got them in office in the first place? I got a good piece of advice recently that I'll pass on to them now: When in office, legislate like you only have one term, not how to get re-elected - you'll sleep better, and time will judge you better as well.................

Anybody Home?? The Blogosphere is Getting Lonely...

Let me take this opportunity to thank my two best commentors - Earl and Chip. I really appreciate knowing that someone is reading this mess of a blog. I do think it's relatively entertaining, and we keep the posts coming- quantity, not quality! However, the replies don't come as much as others.

I'm not sure why I don't get 25 people reading my posts, but I think I have a bad location. Maybe if I got on the LaurinLine, business would pick up. Honestly, some of the ones listed there are taking two month vacations between posts - out of ideas ( or agendas?).

If you read us a lot, leave a post - I'm not always right, just usually right. But the exchange of ideas are always more interesting.

On the Local Campaign Trail... Or , What Everyone Else is Doing...

The primaries locally are starting to heat up. Luckily, I get the Primary off, so I'm not in such a rush. I went to a couple of local events, and the two State House races will be interesting. At a fundraiser for Karen Floyd, given by Mark Buyck, I chatted with School Foundation Director Debbie Hyler, who is also my doctor's wife. They essentially raise funds for District 1, so naturally, she is not in favor of consolidation of Florence County. But I got a lot of useful info from her.

Next was a forum about the 1% State Infrastructure Bank tax hike. This was the 11th one in the past two weeks, so it's obvious that Florence County wants the money. I'll have a post on the subject at another time. Most of the citizens are for it, but they want assurances that the money will go towards roads. Some candidates have been around, some are laying lower, so here is my preview on the two primaries. Note: neither Jim McGee or Marty Coates have come out to endorse any candidate that I know of.

Licia Stone vs. Phillip Lowe. This will be the quieter of the two races, mainly because neither has the cash of the seat 63 candidates. Stone is chair of Citizens in Action, a local tax watchdog group, which should interest the Sanford camp. I know very little about Lowe. The only item that has come up so far is that he worked against a local candidate held in pretty high esteem in the area, and that person has a memory. Good Luck! The winner will run against LaRue Kirby, who I know pretty well. I can't tell you how much moolah he has spent at Florence Toyota, but you can guarantee his Tundra runs like a champ! However, business aside, he has lost twice ( the political kiss of death), and last time he backed out.

Bubby Floyd vs. Kris Crawford. This one will be fun... Doctor vs. Businessman , Old Florence vs. New Florence. The two are definitely going about running in different ways. Bubby is using his connections to be everywhere, Kris is going a little more gimmicky- he has a group of Red Smurfs in Crawford shirts wherever he goes. Right now, they are playing nice. However, I can see this one exploding near the end. Both are spending a lot of time and money on this, and neither wants to lose. They are promising to endorse the winner, and hopefully it will stay that way. Tick, tick, tick........ The winner will face Steve Calcutt, another attorney. I had a both next to him at the Senior Life expo. He was giving out Ice Cream and flags. I've read a couple articles he had about retirement , and he seems pretty smart, so the General could be tougher for the winner than they might think... Stay Tuned.

Kid vs. Katon: Who Would You Rather See ??

Katon is the one on the right.......








The scheduling Gods made it very difficult for we Republicans who still rock a little today. All of you know our convention is today, but there also is a concert at the Ladson Fairgrounds outside Charleston, featuring the American Badass himself, Kid Rock. What's a Rockin' Republican to do???

It's a tough decision: I could chit-chat with Hugh Weathers for the 10th time ( He doesn't read this , does he?). Or, I could hang with Pig Pen, Tank and the rest of the brothers and their old ladies while I get my butt kicked by a ex-stripper.

I've seen them both, so I able to miss out on them today in favor of unpacking my dad's stuff........ Anyone need any framed pictures? I only have about 300 of 'em...

Time to Get Yo' Freak On..... It's the Silver Elephant Banquet !!

This weekend, Republicans will let their hair down, and party like it's 1999. Yeah, right! There is going to be some serious politicking going on at wherever it's being held Friday night. Why don't I know where it's at? Simple . I never got an invitation... If the Postal Service is like it's been recently, I'll get it next week. No big deal, I'm not running, so i won't be too involved.

Since I won't be there, here's what I'd look out for:

1. Will the Lovelace people be as vocal in front of Sanford as they are when he's not around.

2. Will all the other Supt. of Ed candidates aside from Karen Floyd and Bob Staton be asked to stop wasting OUR time. ( Enter Jeff Spicoli quote here.....).

3. Will the Lt. Gov candidates drive themselves up to the stage?

4. How much longer can the 4 Treasurer candidates keep from finally ripping each other to pieces?

5. When do Thomas Ravenel and Greg Ryberg start buying drinks for everyone?

6. Will Ag. Secretary candidate William Bell bring his cowbell with him, or do we get a break? Will Hugh Weathers retaliate by making it rain indoors?

7. When do the delegates get a ballot , telling them who the Party wants them to vote for? BAAAAAA!!!!!

Sounds like it could be fun. I'd liked to have seen George Allen again, but I'm sure he will be back. For those of you going, enjoy!!

Weeks Like This Make Me Glad I Didn't Make it to DC.....

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Looks about right, don't you think? If ever you weren't convinced that Congress is made up of a bunch of out of touch, spoiled elitists, this week should have finally done the trick. The actions of Tom DeLay and Cynthia McKinney both show what is wrong with Washington, each in their own way. One or both could end up in the slammer, but i doubt it. That being the case, our job is to publicly flog them, and expose them for what they are - gutless.
Cynthia McKinney is a slam dunk in stupidity. Only about 5 years ago, when McKinney was in her first stint in Congress, that a gunman went loose in the Capitol , killing two of their policemen - the ones who protect members of Congress. If not for them, McKinney herself could have been in danger that day. how does she show her respect and appreciation? By hitting one of them for doing his job when she failed to stop while not wearing her ID pin.
These guys walk around like everyone there should recognize each of the 435 members onsite. A couple days in the cooler for assault and battery would be nice, but don't count on it.

As far as DeLay, here is my beef. I won't get into the guilt/innocence issue - that will play out later. What I take issue with is DeLay quitting when the going got tough. He won the primary, then decides to quit and run off to make millions on the side. Whoever wins the runoff will be considered second choice, and not a legitimate candidate. He should have fought it out and showed some chutzpah.
Personally, I feel that once DeLay knew he wouldn't be the Majority Leader again, with his hand on the chicken switch, he wanted out. What fun is just being a Congressman? The problem is, there are 534 other people who think just like him - that they are smarter than everyone else in the room, and that what's right takes a back seat to personal power.
Maybe this is a good thing, but the truth is that Congress is supposed to be made up of our best and most dedicated. Sure, it's a utopian view, but maybe if we were a little more discerning, we'd be a lot closer to the goal.

"Aim Small , Miss Small "......

Link to Hotties of the Hill !!

Click on the January '06 posts, scroll down to Jan. 14th, and check it out...........

So Far, The Press Has Been Good.......

The Florence Morning News had their campaign preview issue today, complete with all the local and statewide candidates today. The focus was mostly on the local races, and the first listed was District 3 on County Council, which includes yours truly.
Though not a lot was listed right now, I did have as much written as anyone. It could have just listed me as someone with no qualifications , which would be incorrect, but they didn't. The excellent part that the News does is they take questions from citizens, and submit a questionnaire to the candidates before Election Day. Sure, it could be a minefield for us, but it does give all the readers at least some idea of each candidate.
Since I don't have a primary, I'm not sure that I'll get the survey before November, but we'll see. Thanks to the Morning News for giving everyone an even playing field. Let the insanity begin!!

My Friggin' Feet are Killing Me!!!!!!

Today, I took part in my first (and maybe last) Cooper River Bridge Run over the beautiful new Ravenel Bridge. I'll admit, I walked the whole way.... My running days are over. The stuff you have to do to prepare for this race is unbelieveable. It started on Coleman Blvd, just east of Shem Creek, and ended on King Street, just south of Marion Square. We got up at 500am, so we were way too early for any fast food joints for breakfast, so I had a couple Ho-Ho's, a NutriGrain bar, and some Gatorade. I know, not good...

The goal is to have your car near the finish line, so we parked downtown, walked to the Marina and took a water taxi across to Patriots Point. Then we took a bus to Coleman from 526 , but the traffic was so bad, that we missed the 8am start by 20 minutes( about the time the Kenyan runners finished)....

I won't bore you with details of my 2 hr. walk, but the weather was perfect, everyone had a good time, and I am in extremely poor shape!! I didn't see Gov. Sanford, but there were 45,000 runners. However, I did finish - but my feet are pretty sore. And how did I celebrate?? Lunch at Andolini's !!!