Columbia's as mad as H...and it's not going to take it anymore

Howard Beale from the 1976 movie Network.

His rant against an uncaring, callous establishment

 is similar to WIS-TV's handling of

Ben Hoover, and its audience. 

Is the outrage over the way a large corporate media operation in Columbia is treating Ben Hoover a sign? 

Hoover, a favorite of viewers, has released a statement saying WIS management was not upfront with him when he was fired. 

He said “never in discussions did (WIS management) indicate that my future at WIS was not an option. In fact, I got a very different response.”

Hoover was blindsided by WIS bigwigs. 

But good for Ben Hoover for standing up to the establishment and telling us what happened.

So often, a cog in the machinery of a bull dozier, like WIS GM Donita Todd, is rendered silent.

The people she bullies will not speak out, because they are left to pick of the pieces of their lives after she callously shatters it. What does she care? She is secure with a fat salary and a license to say anything she wants about the locals, no matter how insulting.

The people she steps on have to be good, protect their reputation, in hopes of finding another job.

But not this time. The masses are beginning to react to the large, tone-deaf machine that looks at us like chattel. The powerful seem to never be listening, never accounting. The untouchable giants, like Todd, pay lip-service to us, but then just do what they want.

In the 1976 film, Network, Howard Beale is a TV anchorman portrayed by Perter Finch. Beale goes on air, in a rage, and laments the:

"The Reckless Operation of a Corporation.
They are playing American Roulette and betting our
lives against our money, with out criminal accountability.
Are you their next victim?"
He yells “I'm as mad as H--- and I am not going to take it anymore!”

In the last month, the Midlands has had a Lexington County sheriff indicted, a Columbia mayor implicated and a staunch anti-tax reformer elected to Lexington County Council.

Change seems to be coming. One way or another.

People are mad, and fed up with being told what they must take.

Hopefully the reaction to how Hoover was treated is the start of something bigger.

Maybe there will be a movement in which people will stand up, and pull a Howard Beale, each time the powers-that-be push us around, lie to us, and walk away.

Maybe people will stand and say: I'm not going to take this anymore.  

It is long overdue. 

Prosecutors were unfair to drag Mayor Steve Benjamin through the mud, Big Media says!

The media feels like prosecutors in the Jonathan Pinson trial were unfairly picking on Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin.

Pinson was convicted on 29 felony counts, a week ago. He also took a trip with Benjamin to Florida, paid for by a wealthy developer. There was testimony in the federal trial that Benjamin partied with strippers, was paid-out of a housing deal, marketed influence and failed to report the $7,000-to-$8,000 trip to the state's ethics commission.

But was it fair to drag Benjamin's name through the mud?

The State, Columbia's big corporate newspaper, laments in an unsigned editorial Thursday: 

“It remains a mystery why prosecutors went out of their way to feature Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin so prominently in the public corruption trial of Jonathan Pinson,”

The State accuses federal persecutors of “almost” appearing to put Benjamin on trial.

The State admits Benjamin's actions may have been “unsavory” but argues Benjamin “never was charged with a crime and prosecutors never presented any evidence that suggested he had done anything illegal.

The worst thing Benjamin did., according to The State. is not disclosing the trip to Florida.

Benjamin said he does not have to disclose it.

But The State said if Benjamin wants to make everything hunky-dory, disclosing the trip to the ethics commission will do that.

And The State figures Benjamin's lone egregious offense of non-compliance with ethics “should serve as a wake-up call. The State scolds Benjamin to “be careful to review the nature of their trips..... to determine whether they are business-related or connected to their official duties.”

The State even gets in a promotion for a Strong-Mayor system, that the voters just rejected. The State said if Benjamin were full-time, as he wants, he would have to report the trip, no questions, and there would not be this cloud over him.

The State also implies that this unknowing oversight by Benjamin serve as “a wake-up call.”

The State does not note that Benjamin was involved in a horrific vehicle accident in 2010, just hours after his first election party. That should have been Benjamin's WAKE-UP CALL for ethical behavior, if he had not learned accountability by then.

But The State is hoping persecution of the otherwise innocent mayor snaps him into shape, and by clearing up this silly ethics disclosure mix-up will show that Benjamin finally gets it.

This running interference by if The State asks another question, too.  Will the newspaper have to disclose this editorial to the ethics commission as a campaign contribution. 

National Democrats have already Impeached themselves

The I-word is surfacing more these days, as President Barack Obama continues to wield his power, more like a third-world dictator, than a US President.

It's likely those on the left, including the Establishment Media, who are trying to perpetuate Impeachment talk, as much as some on the right.

Conservative writer Pat Buchanan is talking about it, as is Sarah Palin, a national voice for Conservatives. The Drudge Report has an Impeachment Poll on its page. 

Obama Impeachment Poll 

It's not irrational to mention the impeachment of Obama. The right is extremely fed up with the lack of accountability from Obama after his wrecking of the economy, numerous scandals, foreign policy bungling, Obamacare, immigration, and failure of the American people. Obama's numbers are nosediving. 

And with no end-game for the media (re-election) they have no urgent reason to prop up Obama.

The left desperately needs a distraction, in the form of a Republican Boogey Man. Impeachment would give them that enemy.

Hillary Clinton, the presumed Democrat nominee is lamenting her poverty, and making a laughingstock of herself. After a $14 million advance, her book has sold only 168,00 copies and her poll numbers are nosediving as fast as Obama's food stamp dependency has increased.

If Hillary does not save the Democrats, which is almost absurd to expect, Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden comprise the Democrats' bench.

Now, with the left, anything is possible. Barack Obama came out of nowhere and cast a spell on the Democrat Party that they will never un-fix.

And even if an African-American opponent manifests from the ranks, voter integrity laws have been enacted, and backed by the courts. More voter ID is likely to hurt a Democrat presidential candidate. That undocumented, over-vote is desperately needed in swing states, with many urban precincts, like Ohio.

Those voters are just not likely to turn out for Hillary, Warren or Biden like they did Obama.

And there is the malcontent Republican voter that stayed home in 2012. That is estimated at three-to-four-million. That could be the difference, especially if Democrat voter numbers are suppressed.

But o get those latent votes, the GOP MUST move away from nominating moderate, Republican-lite candidates.

The Democrat party has already Impeached itself, let's make sure we replace the office they have vacated. We are at a dire crisis. America needs healing. The country cannot afford another Democrat as president. It is time for all of us to come to the aid of our nation.

New SC government healthcare program not likely to provoke personal responsibility

Healthy Connections is a
concession to the demand from the
left for more government  healthcare.

Healthy Connection or Healthy Concession?


The South Carolina media is championing a new $48-million, Medicaid-related program called “SC Healthy Connections Checkup.”

SC HHS Director Tony Keck, on Tuesday, explained one of the reasons for the program.

He said discovering cancer early (through Healthy Connections) would be a step forward, considering people are showing up now at the emergency rooms with late-stage cancer.

But the truth is - and most politicians or the media would never admit this - preventive programs are difficult to implement among Medicaid-level patients.

To get a check-up or to follow-up on a health issue, in advance, is not as common among those who qualify for assistance. If you are not prone to astute planning in the other areas of your life, you are not likely going to be vigilant about healthcare, even if it's free.

It's why so many free-healthcare recipients clog emergency rooms, many times with non-emergency symptoms. It's a form of going to the doctor. It's the most-costly level of healthcare, but the recipients are not paying, so they do not have to consider price. A non-Medicaid payer is guided by how much it is going to cost and acts accordingly. But the ER cold patient drives healthcare costs through the roof for the rest. 

The new SC program, Healthy Connections, is scheduled to begin on Aug. 1 for anyone in South Carolina earning less-than $22,500 annually.

The new program, advocated by Gov. Nikki Haley, "covers screenings and some procedures related to family planning and sexually transmitted diseases" according to a newspaper report.

Cost-ignorant advocates from the left already want more taxpayer funded coverage.

“Telling someone they have colorectal cancer then they don’t have any services available (to pay for it)  is devastating,” said Sue Berkowitz, director of the S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center.

It is a common tactic. First the left, through the misery suffered by others, solidifies the premise that we all must pay for their broad programs. Then they attack us for not agreeing. The approach has been wildly successful for them.

Basically Healthy Connections is expansion of Medicaid after the much-larger, federally-pushed expansion of Medicaid was rejected by Haley and S.C. legislators.

Politically, Healthy Connections is a good idea, if you want to hold down costs, but still do something different and say you did something. The program is likely the route of least damage to the already-convoluted, ill-conceived and overpriced free healthcare system.

Chances are few of the eligible will get the check-ups being handed out to them.

The state already has a Medicaid program similar to Healthy Connections, called Family Planning.

Family Planning has an enrollment of 107,000, but 300,000 qualify for it.The number of people actually using Family Planning was not published. 

As a practical matter, healthcare advocates in the non-profit community have a hard time getting the eligible to use check-up programs. It is just not a way they are likely to address their health issues.

But the media, and government expansion proponents are hailing Healthy Connections because it is program expansion. It is not all they want, but they figure that will come later.  

Why the Ben Hoover debacle touches the people of South Carolina

There is something more profound operating in relation to the firing of Ben Hoover.

It is bigger than just one job and one newscaster. 

WIS is battling a fierce backlash from substantial numbers of an angry public. Protesters are lining the streets, holding signs, in opposition to WIS management. 

This is happening because Donita Todd, WIS-GM, is a tone-deaf media executive, who thinks her job is to come into South Carolina and dictate your values to you.

She is but one example. The corporately-owned State newspaper has had the same dictatorial attitude toward South Carolinians for years.

And it's not just a cultural or political authority Big Media wants to exert. Remember the Ron Morris fiasco in The State newspaper's sports department.

Thankfully, Steve Spurrier was powerful enough to slay that dragon. But it did not solve the problem of Big Media in South Carolina.

And scandals among our elected leaders just exacerbate the situation, to where we are even more demoralized.

Lexington County Sheriff James Metts is indicted. Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin is linked to ethics lapses and Lexington County Council is trying to burden residents with more taxes.

The federal government is wrought with scandal and contempt for fellow American-political enemies. We scream in protest, and nothing happens. We feel powerless and unrepresented.

If you are a law-abiding, faith-based, humble, hardworking citizen, how do you deal with all the chaos, injustice and lack of values?

It is out of control.

The same lack of values exists in our institutions, including the media.

The media is the most public, private business. The media has to find a way to serve the masses, almost like a government entity, and generate income.

And the people, who are suffering under the corruption among elected officials, need the media more than ever. But sadly, too many times our media is in bed with the corrupt.

Politicians have been able to sell us on the idea that opening our minds means being liberal. And part of being liberal is accepting a national, not personal, morality.

It's the “They're All Doing It” mentality. So if you don't want to be a square, if you want to be with the “In” crowd, you better get with it.

The command is to fit in with Washington's morals. It is the basis of how South Carolina has been weakened. We've allowed media executives to come in from other states, where their morality is different, and dictate our values.

South Carolina is Conservative. We are a state where we want to know, and like, our neighbors.

But if your values are not like the values of the media, you are not going to be in their club. The media is not going to favor you, if you don't not espouse their belief system.

But sometimes the people fight back. See Chik-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby. 

The backlash over the firing of Ben Hoover is a reaction from those who are tired of not being represented.

We are tired of being told what we should like, who we should like, and why.

Their values are not like ours. And sometimes we demand to be heard and treated fairly.

Does big law firm's silence on Benjamin tell us anything?

A major law firm and lobbying group is no longer involved with Columbia  Mayor Steve Benjamin.

Is that an ominous sign of things to come?

Parker, Poe, Adams, and Bernstein (Big Law) recently, and quietly, let Benjamin go.

Benjamin enjoyed the term of “special counsel” with the firm for two years. Why would one of the state's top Democrats be on the payroll of a big firm like PPAB?

Lobbyists like friends in high places. It's good to have them there, and let other clients know that you are cozy with the players.

While thrilled when Benjamin came on board at PPAB, the firm was was not so proud of the break-up.

References to strippers, pay-outs, influence-peddling and ethics – related to Benjamin - dripped out of federal court testimony, in the last two weeks. Benjamin left PPAB June 30. 

News of Benjamin's severance from PPAB was first leaked, by an informant, to a political blog that has a penchant for smear and sensationalism.

If a deep-pockets operation like PPAB is tip-toeing around its separation from Benjamin, what could that mean? 

Benjamin has not been charged with anything. There has been no public announcement of an investigation. But there is no doubt a corporate law firm knows what's in the chatter.

It is a BIG move if the firm dumped such a well-connected figure.

Benjamin used the famous left “ to pursue other private business opportunities” line in describing his move away from PPAB.

The spokesman for PPAB said nothing. Sometimes silence speaks volumes.

Is this one of those cases?  

Diocese of South Carolina being sued after national church changes policy on gays!

If you are a Christian, your right to practice your faith without losing local church property, could be threatened.

The national Episcopal church is suing some South Carolina churches that have had enough of what they see as the diluting of Christianity.

The national Episcopal Church wants to take close to half-a-billion dollars in land, buildings and other property in the state, that was purchased by the Diocese of South Carolina (DSC.) 

The DSC was forced from the national Episcopal Church after the national church breached Scripture and elected an openly gay bishop and endorsed same-sex marriage.

Bishop Mark Lawrence, who heads the DSC, is being hailed as a hero for his defense of the integrity of the Gospel and not acquiescing to pop culture whims.

The DSC is a group of about 50 churches – in southern and eastern South Carolina - that split from the national Episcopal church syndicate in 2012.

The split came after the national church chose what some would call pop-culture theology over what the DSC practices as the Word of God.

The assets the national church covets are property of the DSC's Gospel ministry, according to documents from the DSC. The DSC is what is left of the once Episcopal-affiliated parish, whose members paid for the holdings the national church is now trying to take.
The action by the national church could give enemies of Christianity ammunition in the claim that large denominations care about money and assets, not their faith.  

There are still approximately 20 churches in South Carolina taking the side of the national Episcopal church

Did WIS, GM Donita Todd use a racial slur?

“We will not tolerate this Boss Hogg mentality. Because we deserve better,” WIS GM Donita Todd screamed in an editorial two weeks ago.

LINK: Does Donita Todd see Southern white men as Boss Hoggs

Todd is on the hot-seat for firing a popular white newsman at a TV station that lacks a true representation of South Carolinians. Only one of ten on the WIS news staff is a white male.
Thousands are calling for Todd to be fired because of her personnel strategy, after Hoover was let go.  

The term “Boss Hogg” that Todd so recklessly used, conjures up an image of a fat, corrupt, Southern white man.

The character, portrayed by Sorrell Brooke 1980s Dukes of Hazzard TV show. is the epitome of a negative stereotype. It is meant to portray white Southern males as stupid, backward and corrupt.

How responsible is it for a woman, who is the General Manager of the largest TV Station in a Southern state to use such a term to describe the people she is attacking.
Is it OK for a powerful TV GM to attack based on race, if the object of hate is white and Southern?
Ironically, Todd writes in her June 27, editorial “Whether it's the arrogance of believing you'll never get caught, the conspiracy of power or the utter disregard for the law, one has to wonder what drives this behavior. Also makes you wonder what else is going on and when that shoe will drop. It's an assault to our daily senses.”
Could that not be said about Todd, today?
Todd ends her tirade: “Perhaps these headlines will urge South Carolinians to send a strong message to their public officials  that we will not tolerate this Boss Hogg mentality. Because we deserve better.”
Yes, Ms Todd. Maybe we do deserve better.

Is there a lack of diversity; inequality at WIS-TV?

There are NO white males on the WIS-TV Anchor Team.

WIS, last week, forced out popular newsman Ben Hoover, a white male.
Did Hoover's race and gender have a role in his dismissal?

Of the Top 10 news positions at WIS (newscasters and reporters) only one reporter is a white male.

Link: Dearth of Diversity at WIS-TV

The white male is a veteran journalist, and with the recent trend at WIS, you have to wonder how much longer he will be there.

Recently, WIS' most-effective investigative reporter, Jody Barr, left WIS. He was the SC Broadcasters' "Journalist of the Year"  and one of the most aggressive reporters in WIS' history,
 You have to ask the question; Was he forced out, too?

While Affirmative-Action has been the law of the land, and the voluntary mindset of many employers for decades; has it resulted in the very bias, inequality and unfairness its supporters said it was meant to prevent?

And has the quest to place one set of Americans above another, damaged the quality of our institutions?

Some are calling for WIS General Manager Dontia Todd to be fired

Todd bills herself a a liaison between WIS and the community. But is Donita Todd using her position to implement her politics?
There is an Internet petition circulating, that asks for Todd to be dismissed from WIS. It has 2,000 signatures as of Monday morning. Link: Petition to Terminate Todd!

In a statement, issued by WIS, backing the firing of Hoover, Todd is not referenced. Is the station attempting to shield Todd from responsibility for the politics-driven direction of WIS? 

A glance at Todd's editorial opinions, on most local issues show her to be vanilla, non-committal or obvious at best. She's anti-corruption, like everyone else. She complains, in a cookie-cutter fashion, but does not really offer any solutions. 

Link: Donita Todd's opinions reveal a liberal slant

What is interesting, is that on national issues, Todd likely reveals her hand a little more, as one who swings left. She seems to be for more gun restrictions (blaming legal gun-owners.) Todd also chastises Columbia City Council for choosing economic development over the homeless. And Todd was against the GOP Congress-supported Sequester, that sought to thwart government waste. Todd also supports Amnesty for illegal immigrants.

It's an easy bet to say that most of Todd's political opinions, and political beliefs, go against a majority of South Carolinians.

Interlopers who go against us

South Carolina is a Conservative-voting state. Yet, we see the management of big media come into South Carolina, and take upper-level jobs from our people. And if those transplants are fair and operate with competence, they deserve those jobs.

But when you look at the media in out state, from The State newspaper, to radio and TV, there seems to a pattern of very poor service to the community. When you base you decisions on your personal politics, and not on quality of product and respect for the people, you end up with a feeling of discontent and alienation among the masses you are charged to serve.     

Lexington County's penny sales tax causing rift among tax-lovers

Even its supporters are fighting
about Lexington's penny sales tax..

Warren Bolton is associate editor, and one of the two main columnists for The State newspaper.

He is sniping at Lexington County's penny sales tax because it could fund things he, and his media pals, don't deem deserving. His column is published in the July 6 copy of The State.

The tax, if passed in November, would go toward civic centers, parks, community centers and water-sewer projects, Bolton complains.

Bolton refers to a “Christmas list of extra projects” and says: “Quite frankly, officials should be embarrassed by some of the projects included on the list.”

Bolton said his fellow liberal columnist Cindi Ross Scoppe lashed out at the small towns bellying up to the trough. In her opinion, there should be no right for just anybody to incorporate as a “Town.” Bolton specifically identifies the Lexington County towns of: South Congaree and Pelion.

The po-dunks, in their opinion, are examples of those with the nerve to ask for funds they will contribute, be spent for their citizens.

How dare they take money in a way not approved by the media elites?

While there is much media attention directed toward squabbles among Conservatives, the media regularly ignores any rifts that may threaten unity among its own.

But this is a spat between two sides, both wanting to increase tax revenues.

Bolton writes: “Some voters — this is particularly true in conservative Lexington County — will see this as strictly a money grab and vote against it.”

Bolton expresses his true fear of failure of the tax after he agreed that promising everybody a little something is, “ not a bad tactic”....“If all you’re worried about is getting the tax passed.”

Kind of all over the road, there. Is Bolton's fear of losing the tax getting to him?

Eventually Bolton gives into his love for any and all tax. He says: “While (Lexington) county doesn’t have an urgent, emotional need such as a bus system on the brink of financial disaster (like Richland) Lexington’s tax is in some ways more palatable than Richland’s.

It's OK if you tax to fund projects Bolton approves of. And in the end, he cannot resist supporting Lexington's tax either. He dictates the money go toward roads, but if the only way you can raise taxes, is by including projects he sees as silly, he wants to raise taxes.

And Bolton signals that tax-supporters should be persistent. He says if the tax fails in 2014, he expects it to be brought back again and again, like Richland County. It passed a billion-dollar, 22-year penny tax. Even if it was in a very controversial and chaotic vote. The tax increase is now law, like it or not.

Bolton is hand-wringing, over Lexington County's tax increase, because he fears the Lexington County strategy of all-inclusive will doom the tax.

He is also has a fear of failure because all the funded projects are on the ballot. Bolton is scared pro-tax voters will get tired of waiting, and leave before casting their vote.

Basically, Bolton just wishes the pro-taxers in Lexington County would be honest with the voters, like he so brutally is. Say you want more money for government spending, without being specific.

And that is the spat in which Bolton is engaging with Lexington County tax-lovers.

What Bolton does not acknowledge, is that he does not have to answer to the voters.

And because we don't have elected leaders, who think like Bolton, we should be thankful.  

Steve Benjamin's luck, good or bad?

Like precision timing, the Jonathan Pinson trial ended just before the biggest holiday of the summer. Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin was able to issue the statement he  promised. We got the good word from him - he did nothing illegal - as all the happy people drove off “to where the pavement turns to sand.”
The big news in the city over which Benjamin sits, was the sacking of a popular newscaster, after Benjamin had cleared it all up.
Pinson, found guilty, on multiple counts, was not so lucky. 

And during Pinson's’s trial, the talk of parties and exotic dancers, a $50,000 pay-out, influence-peddling and ethics violations poured from the witness stand, into the streets, resting in printed headlines.

How much restraint and humility must it have taken for Benjamin, who knew he had done nothing wrong, to sit there and endure the battering-by-association being delivered upon him?
And who is the "Controlling Legal Authority" anyway?

On top of that, while we, the common, feast on the traditional grilled burger, topped with rumors of the powerful, with a seasonal watermelon desert, Benjamin is left in the stressful predicament of having to explain all the claims about him the people it affects personally. How fair is that?

But it is not a new position for the mayor. Bad luck has followed him before. Upon his election in 2010, there was that horrific vehicle accident in the early morning, scant hours after his election party.

And the failure of law enforcement to do their job, in processing the mishap, cast suspicion all over the high-ranking official.

In the end, there was nothing to it, as the mayor had assured us there wasn't. But still, the mayor had to face the whispers and the accusations of a cover-up.

And so we come to July 3, 2014. Again, the buzz is on the street. The character of Benjamin is in question. It seems lady luck has doled her fickle charms again upon the unfortunate son.

Did Benjamin do anything illegal or not? He said it is maybe just a bit of poor judgment, being around guilty people, at the wrong time. Benjamin said he has done nothing wrong. He said that in the car accident aftermath too, and he was backed up by the legal system.

So he has a track record of defeating the odds, when the evidence looked to be stacked against him. Who would bet against Benjamin this time?

And the bigger question is how can such happenstance befall such a good, hardworking and honest man?

Maybe the answer is luck.

Expect a media-democrat fondness for the felonious T-Rav!

A convicted felon may represent the democrats' only
hope to get one of their own elected to the US Senate.

The Establishment media is falling in love with Thomas Ravenel.
A recent establishment media headline  reads: "Ravenel plans to take fight for liberties into Senate race."
Ravenel was elected SC Treasurer, as a Republican, in 2006. After being convicted on cocaine chargers, Ravenel was sent to jail. He is an embarrassment that can be tied to the GOP. The media, and the democrats, will not let him fade away. He, and the shame he brought, is just too irresistible to let go. Ravenel now prostitutes himself for attention and that only enhances the hideous nature of his persona. And now Ravenel is claiming he wants to be a US Senator, and he's running against US Sen. Lindsey Graham. He announced plans to run July 4. Graham won the GOP Primary in June. Graham, a moderate Republican, was a media (and democrat) darling because he was challenged by the more Conservative base of the Republican Party. Graham also has a penchant for “compromising” with liberals sometimes, siding with them, instead of Conservatives in his party. It's the best deal democrats can get – the best they can hope for - from a Republican. But just like John McCain found as a 2008 presidential candidate versus Barack Obama, a moderate, compromising Republican, is only favored by the media versus Conservatives. McCain likely still has whiplash from the media reversal on him, after he became the GOP nominee. Now the media (and the democrats) will be friends of Thomas Ravenel instead of Graham. And not only because Ravenel is an embarrassment. Ravenel represents a path to victory, for otherwise electable SC democrats. The late US Sen. Strom Thurmond said: “I'm sure my opponent is a fine fellow, whatever his name is." Graham would have presumably been in the same position of strength in 2014, as Thurmond was then.
With the total failure of the Obama Administration, democrats' chances for election are lower now than they ever have been in South Carolina. But since there is a faction in the Republican Party, who identify as libertarians, Ravenel could conceivably trim enough votes from Graham, to get a democrat elected.
That is the hope of liberals in the media and democrats. Because of such dire prospects for democrats in Republican states, drastic measures must be employed. A grotesque, felon, in the form of Thomas Ravenel, is about as desperate as you can get.

Hysteria: Is the media trying to scare tourists away from South Carolina!

Tourism deposits more than $17 billion-a -year into South Carolina's economy.

Is the media, with paranoia and hysteria, trying to damage the state’s No. 1 industry?

It's the Biggest Week for Vacationers in South Carolina. And the day after the Fourth of July, The State newspaper in Columbia (SC) runs a large, highly sensational, BEACH WATER BACTERIA THREAT in a headline AT THE TOP OF THE FRONT PAGE.

It's an URGENT WARNING that our beaches, especially on the Grand Strand, may not be safe.

The media, specifically The State newspaper’s environmental writer, is allegedly upset because Grand Strand officials are only posting CAUTION signs at the few points where there may be some dirty water washing into the surf, from the streets, after a rain storm.

The reasoning, by local officials, is that people may not be reading a newspaper or listening to news before going to the beach.

The media thinks it is irresponsible that local officials are not running to the media, screaming with URGENT ALERTS after a rain storm at Myrtle Beach.

Simply put: It may not be a good idea to swim near a drain pipe. Things get washed into the ocean.

The media's warning is much more ominous sounding than the issue of water run-off.

The consequences of swimming near a drain, after a storm are eventually detailed in the three-quarter, page front-page article. It boils down to there are a handful, if that many, spots on the 60 miles of Grand Strand that may contain higher-than-normal levels of bacteria a few times during the summer.

The State warns [ Swimming in polluted seawater can increase a person’s chances of getting an upset stomach, sore throat or head cold. A 2009 federal study found that those who ducked their heads in the ocean at Surfside Beach had a “higher incidence” of skin rashes, earaches and gastrointestinal illnesses than non-swimmers.]

Like so many things in the establishment media, the report mentions a study, but it did not identify who conducted the study. And the newspaper reporter did not produce one person who had complained of the symptoms.

Near the end of the article The State does refer to an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The non-profit (does that mean environmental activist?) attorney said: “the more notice the public can have the better. You make sure the word is getting out about these problems.”

The State's reporter also references “the federal safe swimming standard.” Do we really need (or trust) the federal government to tell us it may not be a good idea to swim in what amounts to a mud-puddle. 

The State also looks to North Carolina, where a warning is issued to the media, and implies South Carolina should follow their system to meet the media's standards.   

THE ESTABLISHMENT MEDIA'S TOP STORIES

The ESTABLISHMENT Media's Top Stories, Via the State newspaper

MOST POPULAR PAGES

• WIS’ Ben Hoover says farewell, fans react (Read a companion piece on SC Political Digest) 

• Eviction notice filed against Jadeveon Clowney, mother settled

• Benjamin: ‘I have done nothing illegal’ (Read a companion piece on SC Political Digest)

• Lancaster boy, 3, in critical condition after being found in hot car

• Former SC State board chair Pinson guilty on racketeering charges (Read a companion piece on SC Political Digest)

• Cue the fireworks: South Carolina deemed the top patriotic state

• Restaurant owner cooperating with Lexington County corruption probe (Read related coverage on SC Political Digest)

• Man killed in early Thursday morning crash identified

• Horry County police charge 17 men with prostitution

• Two Irmo men charged with selling fake goods at West Columbia flea market

  
  Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/#storylink=cpy

Nothing to see here, move along

Steve Benjamin sounded like an impersonation of Barney Fife in an Andy Griffith re-run after his long-awaited statement.

“I have done nothing illegal,” Benjamin said Thursday.

A day after Benjamin's friend and associate Jonathan Pinson was found guilty, Benjamin said he can explain it all.

A property deal, where it was said in court, that $50,000 was needed for Benjamin, was all legitimate, Benjamin said. He got out of the deal and that was it.
Benjamin also said:  “As has been reported accurately over the past few weeks, I have not been charged with any criminal offenses. Now that a verdict has been rendered, it needs to be made clear that I have done nothing illegal," in his statement, Thursday.

Do you buy that? Will those words of reassurance fade into a lazy summer July of 4th holiday? Or, is there a fireworks show coming?

Benjamin is an attorney and his words, of course, were well-chosen.

Benjamin was accused, in court during Pinson's trial, of leaving an exotic dance club (commonly known as a strip joint) with female company. That's no crime.

Benjamin said: “However to be clear, I did not at any time engage in any illegal activity while (on a trip with Pinson) in Orlando.”
He also stated Thursday “I regret being present for certain aspects of the previously referenced trip. I should have used better judgment.”

Whew, I'll say. Talk about an understatement.

Lot's of wiggle room there. But no so much for a married man. It's doubtful the partying can be so easily explained away on a "personal" level. You have to cringe just thinking of the exchanges, at home those court revelations triggered. How proficient as an attorney must Benjamin be to navigate that?

I guess time will tell.

And oh yeah, the inquiry from the ethics commission about the $7-to-$8,000 trip being a gift from a rich developer to a powerful politician. That is nothing too, says Benjamin. Just a big misunderstanding. Like so much of it.

Benjamin said: "The South Carolina State Ethics Commission has inquired about a one day business trip to Orlando that was not related in any way to city of Columbia business." He said he is sure he'll get them straight on that. No worries.

So go on now, have a happy Fourth. Enjoy the fireworks. Nothing to see here.

Is there an agenda of bias in the news industry?

WIS-TV in Columbia (SC) has fired Ben Hoover.
Not too long ago, one of WIS' top investigative (heavy-lifting) journalists, Jody Barr left the station.
Both newsmen were very popular.

Look across the TV and print media landscape, and the news personnel seems to be there more to meet a diversity requirement. Delivering quality product is not the priority. 

Newspapers, also, seem to be following a trend in hiring leadership positions.
Look no further than The State newspaper. The State newspaper has two prolific columnists.
Cindy Ross Scoppe and Warren Bolton are liberals.There is no Conservative voice at The State.
And The State's Editor-in-Chief is in lockstep line with the rest of its hiring practices.
While South Carolina is a Conservative state; are all of  its residents represented well in media? 

Recently, there was a job application posted by the S.C. Broadcasters Association.
It was for the S.C. Radio News Network. The job was in South Carolina, but SCRNN is managed by Learfield and based in Missouri.

Ashley Byrd is SCRNN's in-state News Director.
 The application for SCRNN was for a news announcer. And a portion of the application asked for the applicants race and gender.

I can only guess who is at the bottom of that list to get hired by SCRNN.

WVOC, 100.1-FM radio, at one time billed itself at Columbia's Conservative home.

The Clear Channel station has ridden the back of the very successful Rush Limbaugh for years. WVOC used Miami-based Nathalie Rodriquez for its drive-time morning news reports.

Not sure if she is still doing the news because the news was at least a day old and Rodriquez' delivery is a reminder of Gilda Radner's old "Baba Wa-Wa" spoof from SNL. She is difficult to listen to. WVOC may have finally figured it out and pulled the plug. 

Aside from the issue of  hiring trends, TV news is filled with inexperienced and shallow  reporters, who usually just apply a national media (liberal) mindset to local news stories.
 It may not play well in South Carolina.
The news staffs don't seem to stay in Columbia very long. There is no sense of loyalty from the employee or the viewer. And even when a bond of trust is developed, personnel is being let go (see Hoover.) And was Hoover let go for the right reasons? 

Despite the backlash over the Hoover fiasco, expect media leadership to just keep following the same practices.
It's much easier for news management to blame the Internet and keep their jobs. 

That said: There is no problem at all with diversity in any media. But when quality is sacrificed for diversity, it is a disservice to us all.

Metts profiled by The New York Times!

Metts has been a popular
subject for many years. Now the
NYT is profiling his indictment. 

Under the Headline "Immigration Case Ensnares a Get-Tough Sheriff in South Carolina"

And the Sub head: James Metts Is Accused of Accepting Bribes

Former Lexington County Sheriff James Metts has been profiled by the NYT after huis June 17 indictment. 

The popular news website Drudge has a link to the story under the heading of: (link) CHARGE: Business bribed sheriff to free illegal workers from jail....

If you watch much cable crime TV, like Investigation Discovery or TLC, you'll see Metts a bit frequently. He is often interviewed about Lexington County crimes that have happened over the years. The Larry Gene Bell murder of Shari Smith has been profiled by news magazines like 20/20, and even made into a movie. The NYT mentions that William Devane portrayed Metts in that made-for-TV show. 

The NYT dances around the fact that Metts is acused of doing special favors for illegals. "In exchange for the cash, Sheriff Metts, who pleaded not guilty this week, is alleged to have freed restaurant workers arrested in an initiative against illegal immigration and sent to the county jail he controlled." Said the Times. 

Metts, in effect, was allegedly doing what President Obama is doing for illegals, so the newspaper known for its ultra liberal slant has to be divided between shilling for illegals, and reporting on a GOP elected official.

But The State (Columbia, SC) newspaper went so far as to try to say Metts' alleged special treatment was a threat to illegals. The NYT was not that ludicrous.SC Political Digest did find this quote in the NYT article humorous: "“Corruption — just like in Mexico,” said Alexei Martinez, 37, an out-of-work welder who is not authorized to be in the country, as he stood outside of the Lexington Village trailer park last week. “Usually, you can’t just bribe a police officer in this country.” 

The Times, eventually, of course, turns the story into a call for Obama's immigration amnesty program. 

Headlines, Pre-Fourth of July, in Obama's America!

Gas Prices Extend Painful Record: July 4 Marks 1,290 Days above $3-a-Gallon...

Woman suing Obamacare exchange dies...

SOCAL TOWN BRACES FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT DUMPING BACKLASH

DMV Clogged by Applicants for Alien Drivers' Licenses...

Krauthammer: 'If Fences Don't Work, Why Is One Around White House?'

Federal judge threatens to have outside expert investigate 'lost' IRS emails...

Law Requires Dispensaries To Provide Free Pot to Low Income Patients...

POLL: Voters Support HOBBY LOBBY Decision by 10-Point Margin...

GALLUP: Americans' sense of freedom drops...

'Privacy Board' Backs NSA Internet Spying...

Man arrested for 'cruelty' to rats...  

Presidential politics hurt SC - and all- families on this Fourth of July!

South Carolinians, and Americans, must fight harmful Democrat policies.

Gasoline prices are 21 cents-per-gallon higher in July 2014, than they were in 2013, according to AAA-Carolinas. Gas prices have been significantly higher for almost ALL of Barack Obama's presidency. 

Columbia’s average price per gallon of gas is $3.40.

It is $3.45 in Charleston and $3.41 in Myrtle Beach. 

The AAA, July 4, reports says “Unrest in Iraq is propping up prices at a time when they would typically be declining with refineries ramping up the supply for summer driving.”

What AAA, or any media does not say, is that for almost the FULL term of President Barack Obama, gas prices have been much, much higher than they were under President George W. Bush.

In the last six months of Bush's last term, gas prices spiked, but in July of 2008, Bush opened reserves, and prices eventually fell to below $2 a gallon.

But Obama, who said $4 was OK with him, has had no energy policy, other than 'no drilling' on public lands and staunch opposition to the Keystone Pipeline.

Oil traders, when Democrats are in control, know they can get more for oil, because democrats put sitting on oil - conservation of our VAST and growing reserves- ahead of the fiscal welfare of Americans. The appeasement of out-of-touch environmentalists is most important to democrats in office.

An example:  A family of five (mother, father and three children) that uses two tanks of gas a week, pays about $1,500-a-year-more for gasoline. Those numbers apply to almost six years of Obama rule. 

And not only that, higher transportation costs inflate all consumer goods, especially food. And food is an expenditure families must address. It's why almost 50 million are on food stamps under Obama. A record number of Americans, 50 million are below the poverty line, thanks to Obama's failed economic policies.

It does make a difference who is in the White House.

Americans can begin to fix the disaster of he Obama presidency in November, by giving the GOP control of the US Senate, to go along with the US House.

We also need to make sure we have as many Republicans in office in South Carolina. 

Gov. Nikki Haley has been good at fighting Obama policy, related to healthcare boondoggles, voter ID and right-to-work.

We cannot afford to go backward by electing democrats.   

Ethics commission to contact Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin

A rash of money-related ethics violations triggering political demise!

Is it possible Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin violated ethics laws?

A legal representative from the state Ethics Commission, on Wednesday, said Benjamin will be contacted for failing to disclose a trip to Florida, but a formal ethics investigation has not been launched.

Benjamin was treated to limo rides, accommodations at a swanky hotel and was in the company of $1,000-a-night female exotic dancers, according to courtroom testimony.

Benjamin was required to report the trip to Orlando that rich developer Richard Zahn paid for in 2010, according to the State Ethics Commission.

 Jonathan Pinson, a (presumably former) friend and business partner of Benjamin’s, testified in a public corruption trial, that Zahn sought a contract - worth millions - related to a government-housing project in Columbia. Pinson was found Guilty Thursday. 

To this point, Benjamin, has not been charged with a crime, nor has Benjamin offered any explanation for the claims made against him. The ethics commission seemed casual over the lack of disclosure.  

But in recent, and similar cases, Republican Lt. Gov. Ken Ard was prosecuted and forced to resign after he was accused of using his own money, contributed to his campaign fund, to purchase items for himself, and his family. Ard's downfall began with a newspaper reporter's accusations.

Former Lexington County Sheriff James Metts, also a Republican, was indicted June 17, for allegedly taking money to give special privileges to illegal immigrants.

Once news of a scandal broke in 2012, in which Mett's name was mentioned, he returned money to gambling-related campaign contributors and denied wrongdoing. Metts' recovery effort did not stave off an investigation.

The state ethics commission legal representative said, according to testimony about Benjamin, the trip should have been disclosed on 2011 forms. Benjamin was freshly elected mayor at the time of the junket, that is being dubbed The Stripper Trip, by some. The trip, valued at close to $10,000 has yet to be reported on an ethics document, according to one media account.

As allegations swirl around Benjamin, he has not addressed them. Aside from the claims of partying, money-deals and influence-peddling have been alleged in the Pinson trial. Since Benjamin has been tied to the Pinson case, he has traveled to Texas, Washington DC twice, and even held a “Famously Hot” Global Warming seminar.

Benjamin said he would explain later.

Zahn has pleaded guilty and Pinson is being tried in an alleged plot by Pinson to help Zahn sell a resort-type property to S.C. State University, and then use funding from it to on the government-subsidized redevelopment of the  housing complex in Columbia.

Democrat leader wants to add gambling tax receipts from "Murder Beach!"

Rep. Todd Rutherford, a minority leader for S.C. House Democrats, said he will  introduce legislation to bring casinos to the Myrtle Beach area.

The S.C. Democrat Party is already home of the “Buy a Lid for the Kids” mantra, created after a democrat education candidate proposed selling and taxing marijuana to fund schools.

Rutherford says he wants create new tax funds from gamblers to fix roads and bridges.

Democrats like the idea. On the June 10, democrat primary ballot, 80 percent of democrat voters supported legalizing gambling.

But since the number of voters in the Democrat Primary was in the neighborhood of one-third of those voting in the GOP Primary, it's difficult to gauge if the vote by democrats is relevant. Do such low participation numbers really tell us anything?

Liberal-Tarian (social liberal) voters are also typically keen on more tax money for the government to spend, from gambling. So Rutherford could see gambling as a way to Triangulate popularity, since democrats have been rendered all but unfit by voters for statewide office in S.C.

Rutherford probably does not care, but crime and other vice usually follow gambling. The Grand Strand is already being called "Murder Beach" after a murderous Bike Week recently, with killings in the streets.

Countless strip clubs, tattoo and piercing parlors, in addition to gambling boats out of Little River, have helped diminish Myrtle Beach's reputation.

Condoning vice may sound like a good idea to feed an already over-spending government, but like any sin-tax, the problems that come with it are costly fiscally, and even more in damage to our society.

Sadly democrats don't seem to care about what their laws do to people.

Humility, pent up anger follows Metts' court appearance

Former Sheriff James Metts was formally charged Tuesday.

The drama of his arraignment is thick. A sort of a morality play for sure.

It must be humbling for a man of the stature of Metts to have to go before a judge and be subjected to her orders.

To others it was a comeuppance that was due, and satisfying.

Sheriff James Metts in
March of 2014. 

Metts, after all, was one who was looked up to. He was the name that was dropped for those seeking favor. Metts was a heavy-hitter in a county, and a state, where personal, and professional relationships mean something.

But Metts was in front of Federal Magistrate Judge Shiva Hodge, Tuesday, to take his medicine after he was indicted June 17, for accepting a bribe, and other charges. 

He faces a penalty of up-to 10 years in prison, and fines as high as $250,000.

Tuesday, Metts, who pleaded “not guilty” was ordered to pay $100,000 bond and relinquish possession of his passport and firearms.

For a lawman to have his guns taken is especially significant. Weapons possession is what differentiates the constable from the common. Arms, and the state's permission to use them, symbolizes power and a trust in one citizen over another. His lawyer, Tuesday, expressed a small amount bewilderment at the lack of respect for a man of such standing. But there was no alternative, but to accept the magistrates dictate. 

For 42 years, as sheriff, Metts was on the side of authority. He was one of the big men in the room. He was somebody. There are probably even judges he could intimidate if he wanted. Certainly there were attorneys who envied Metts' position and power.

But with charges being filed against Metts for providing special privileges to aliens, in this country illegally, so much of the pomp has seeped from his persona. Metts role reversal is a relief to some who have had to, reluctantly, take his word as the final arbiter.

How many normally law-abiding, tax paying residents of Lexington County had felt violated by harsh consequences for traffic offenses, deserved, or not. 

Now Metts, who made close to $120,000 a year, and perks, allegedly took money to grin and expunge men who got arrested by the West Columbia Police for driving recklessly. And the jailbirds were not even citizens. Egregious does not begin to describe the feeling Metts' action ignites among his critics.

Debra Gutierrez taunted Metts outside the Columbia courtroom on one of the days he would be judged.

Her outrage, not doubt, epitomizes a contempt held by some others. 

Gutierrez, who feels justice, with Metts' word, had abandoned her after her barely-past-toddler daughter vanished in 1986.

Regardless of her level of reason, Gutierrez had her day in front of the man she held responsible for her torment. And she is not the only one. There are others in Lexington County who feel they have suffered unfairly at Metts' final word. All of those are breathing sighs, feeling justified, as they say “I told you so.” On top of that, three candidates, in a county where challengers to Metts have been scarce, have already offered their names to be sheriff.

Where the legal system leads, no one really knows. Metts has not been convicted of anything.

But with each act of the play, the actors will do as they always have. Metts included.

Changes manifest in Lexington County politics

The Eagles sang in the song “Sad Cafe”: “Change in this life comes very slowly, if it ever comes at all.”

That line certainly applies to Lexington County politics. But this is the year that slow train came.

For 42 years Lexington County has had one sheriff. For 37 years there was the same coroner. And for years, a tax-hike majority had prevailed on Lexington County Council.

Coroner candidates Brian Setree and Margaret Fisher are headed to a July 14 run-off after an election to thin the field of six candidates, Tuesday. 

The winner will be the first new Lexington County Coroner since 1976.

Setree and Fisher got the most votes of several candidates vying to replace Coroner Harry Harman, who passed away in April 

The county has its first new sheriff since 1972, when Lewis McCarty was appointed last month to replace James Metts.  And Ned Tolar defeated a 16-year incumbent county councilman on a campaign to change the county's reckless-spending direction. 

Three candidates have already announced plans to run for sheriff.

In two of the three three moves the change was forced, but it is change nonetheless.

And replacing the figureheads is just part of the show. There will be more drama - in the courtroom and council chambers - to come, as the results of this change unfolds. Stay tuned. 

Metts pleads not guilty, gets 100,000 bond

Metts, right, gets $100,000 bond. 

Former Lexington County Sheriff James Metts entered a plea of "not guilty" today in front Federal Magistrate Judge Shiva Hodge. 

Metts was allowed to remain free on a $100,000 bond.

A Metts attorney was a little dismayed at the high amount of the bond. And obviously the judge does not consider Metts a flight risk or dangerous. 

Metts faces a 10-count federal indictment, charging him with taking bribes in exchange for giving special privileges to illegal immigrant. 

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2014/07/01/3541532/metts-free-on-100000-bond.html?sp=/99/205/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

Strong forces led Sheriff James Metts to today's court appearance

Former Lexington County Sheriff James Metts is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Shiva Hodges this morning.

What got the beloved sheriff of 42 years to this point?

How did Metts go from having prestige and respect, to indicted by the very system, he was charged to represent?

Greed can overwhelm all judgment and there is more than one type of greed.

There is the greed of one who is producing wealth, who just wants more.

And there is Government Greed, that takes money consensually, from people who have earned it.

Sometimes the corrupt, in government, can avail themselves to kick-backs, to feed their greed.

Did Sheriff Metts succumb to the desire to get lavishly rich, with no effort for the money?

What was going through his mind?

Gambling has a track record in S.C.

In the 1990s, mankind in his entrepreneurial wisdom, had incorporated advances in computer technology, to construct video poker machines. The devices were making millions in the state, with little effort by the owners other than buying them, and placing the machines in traffic-attracting locales.

The riches the gambling machines generated were obscene. The money made, along with the need to play, was addictive.

So when former Gov. David Beasley announced his mission to eliminate video poker, all hands – inside the gambling industry - rose against him.

Millions were contributed to defeat the Republican. Party affiliation made no difference. Saving the electronic cash cow, that glued mothers to its side and took Daddy’s paycheck, was all that mattered.

Democrat Jim Hodges defeated Beasley in 1998, and the video poker moguls, ended up losing their gold mine anyway. South Carolina's compromise was the Education Lottery. The government co-opted the gambling billions, and in the long run, took the pot.

The taste of gambling money never left.

In 2012, reports surfaced that the tumor of video gaming devices had returned. Lexington Town Councilman Danny Frazier, who was in the video gaming business in the 1990s was at it again, according to some recordings that were released to the public. And he named some muckedy-mucks as those who were helping him.

That report on gambling triggered an investigation by federal and state and law enforcement in Lexington County. And the inquiry led to the indictment of Lexington County's James Metts and three others, including Frazier.

Metts allegedly took a bribe in exchange for special privileges for illegal immigrants. But there is much more to come, if you listen to the chatter around the case.

Get set. For today, when Metts answers to a judge, it will be just the beginning. And Metts is likely but one in the path of prosecutors.

If you have an interest in power and litigation, public figures and the souls of men, there will be a lot to watch as this case of corruption unfolds.  It will not be dull.