Enough to make me a fiscal conservative

Complaints over "pork barrel" politics have become so commonplace as to border on cliche. In fact, after reading Cindi Scoppe's column this morning, I now realize that South Carolina's General Assembly has moved well beyond the barrel and planted its snout firmly in the trough.

I'll try harder to get worked up over the perks of local elected officials later, but right now I am entirely too pissed off at state officials to comment. The fact that a legislator who "retires" after 30 years draws a pension nearly $10,000 higher than the current salary - while state employees at the same pay level who actually work during those 30 years draw down about $20,000 less annually than the morons who make our laws - is too outrageous for words, even for me.

I used to feel that while their were certainly a few people who ran for state office to feed their own egos, enhance their business prospects or simply line their own pockets, the vast majority of our public servants were just that - people who were giving something back to their state or community. What a naive freakin' idiot I was.

Every one of these people - some of whom are personal friends of mine - have hoodwinked us all. No matter their intentions, the news of this pension plan convinces me that the S.C. General Assembly is absolutely committed to one thing: greed.

My only hope is that voters who think they are sending fiscal conservatives to the General Assembly will realize what a joke that is. Alas, I doubt it will happen, because it is increasingly apparent that the only life form less intelligent than the average South Carolina legislator is the average South Carolina voter.

Lovely Day For A Guinness!

Someone recently pointed out to me that I haven't ranted for a while on here, so before I lose my reputation as budding curmudgeon, I thought I better do a little blogging.

Guinness has long marketed its great product with the slogan "Guinness is good for you." Turns out they're right, with word of a study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2003 that finds Dark Beer May Be Better for the Heart.

Low-carb beers have become all the rage - the problem being that most of them taste like water with a drop or two of water added. But the true connoisseur knows that Guinness offers great taste and low carbs.

I've dropped a lot of lb's myself in the last few months, through a combination of a controlled - not necessarily low - carb diet and increased exercise. Guinness is a vital and fulfilling part of my diet. I urge each of you to hoist a pint tonight!

CNN.com - Wesley Clark may announce for presidency next week - Sep. 11, 2003


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Wesley Clark has begun building a campaign organization and several people close to the retired general told CNN Thursday they expect him to announce next week that he is running for president.

Clark has discussed his potential campaign with presidential candidate Howard Dean, the liberal antiwar former Vermont governor who, according to Dean campaign officials, asked Clark for his support.

According to one source familiar with the conversations, the two men discussed the vice presidency. But Dean campaign officials said such talk is premature and those close to Clark expect him to run for president, not vice president.

"I think he's going to run," said Skip Rutherford, a Clark friend and the executive director of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock. "Impressive people are coming forward offering to work on his campaign, run his campaign and consult his campaign."

Several Democratic sources said Clark -- Supreme NATO commander during the war in Kosovo -- has begun the process of putting together a campaign team, including talking to potential campaign managers.

"There is a lot of momentum here," said one former high-level Clinton administration official who has talked to Clark about a campaign. "It's 90-10 that he runs, but he has not pulled the trigger in his own mind."

Gore campaign veteran Mark Fabiani, who is advising Clark on the possible presidential campaign, cautions that Clark has not yet made a final decision.

"He's doing the kind of things you'd do if you are going to run. He's doing what he needs to do to put himself in a position to run," Fabiani said. "He'd be a great candidate, but at this point it's theoretical."

Clark is returning home to Arkansas Friday to talk to his family. Clark has said that his wife, Gertrude, has reservations about a presidential campaign but will support him in whatever decision he makes.

Destroying the Village?

Rumsfeld: Criticism Harms War on Terror reminds me of that old saw about "it was necessary to destroy the village in order to save it." We're supposedly fighting this war on terror - in the "centerpiece" of Iraq - at least in some fashion to lift our Arab brethren out of oppression. But in order to do so, we have to suspend our right to point out that we think Donald Rumsfeld is full of crap.

Link Via Suburban Blight

My inner child is sixteen years old!

Life's not fair! It's never been fair, but while
adults might just accept that, I know
something's gotta change. And it's gonna
change, just as soon as I become an adult and
get some power of my own.


How Old is Your Inner Child?
brought to you by Quizilla

Bush Bumper Stickers

I'd credit the original creators if I knew who it was, but this just came to my email box from my friend Zach. Choose your favorite re-election theme from those below:

Bush/Cheney '04: Apocalypse Now!
Bush/Cheney '04: Because the truth just isn't good enough.
Bush/Cheney '04: Compassionate Colonialism
Bush/Cheney '04: Deja-voodoo all over again!
Bush/Cheney '04: Four More Wars!
Bush/Cheney '04: Leave no billionaire behind
Bush/Cheney '04: Lies and videotape but no sex!
Bush/Cheney '04: Or else.
Bush/Cheney '04: Over a billion Whoppers served.
Bush/Cheney '04: Putting the "con" in conservatism
Bush/Cheney '04: Thanks for not paying attention.
Bush/Cheney '04: The economy's stupid!
Bush/Cheney '04: The last vote you'll ever have to cast.
Bush/Cheney '04: This time, elect us!
Bush/Cheney '04: We're Gooder!
Bush/Cheney: 1984 Now
George W. Bush: A brainwave away from the presidency
George W. Bush: It takes a village idiot
George W. Bush: The buck stops Over There
George W. Bush: Let them eat yellowcake! Vote Bush!
George W. Bush: Peace & Prosperity Suck -- Big-Time
Vote Bush in '04: "I Has Incumbentory Advantitude"
Vote Bush in '04: "Because every vote counts -- for me!"
Vote Bush in '04: "Because I'm the President, that's why!"
Vote Bush in '04: Because dictatorship is easier.
Vote Bush in '04: Who would Jesus Bomb?

A Little Football News

Couldn't resist a break from politics for a little football. Good news for Clemson fans. Auburn has replaced the Tiger Cubs in the (un)coveted No. 5 spot on ESPN.com's Bottom 10. Just goes to show you what a strong win over Furman can do for you (insert evil grin here).

From Palmetto Journal: Fox guarding the hen house

Palmetto Journal reports: "The toothless ethics laws and the political fiefdom known as the State Ethics Commission are about to be exposed in the coming weeks and months.

We understand that a legal action is in the works against the Ethics Commission. The suit will be based upon federal civil rights law and relate to freedom of speech and due process, among other things. "

This should interesting!

Welcome Back To Common Voice

Common Voice is one of the best South Carolina blogs around, for the simple reason that Jonathan Pait provides a forum for a wide diversity of opinion on the issues. I'm glad to see that he's put the site back up, and I look forward to the return of some of the lively discussion that has been a hallmark of the site.

On Tommy Windsor's second chance

The news that Tommy Windsor is back at the AG's office rankles some people (The State | 09/07/2003 | Writer of offensive e-mails rehired), and while his politics rankle me, I say he deserves a second chance. I've known Tommy for quite a while, I can tell you that his past transgressions really were a rather lame attempt at humor. Yeah, yeah, he shouldn't have used his state computer to send those messages to anyone, but you can bet he won't make that mistake again. Besides that, I continue to maintain that the Constitution of the United States does not include a right not to be offended. Offensive speech is the very speech that needs to be protected by 1st Amendment, and I'd be sorry if I didn't piss off a few of you every time I put pen to paper.

South Carolina Draft Clark

I've started a new blog, South Carolina Draft Clark, to share news about the Draft Clark movement in our state. Call me crazy, but the more I know about this guy, the more I like him.

Zogby shows wide open race

"No candidate has the edge, and it looks like South Carolina will be shaped by Iowa and New Hampshire. In this kind of vacuum, Clark may seize the moderate mantle."

Draft Clark

Is Wesley Clark the Great White Hope of the Democratic Party? I don't know, but I am very intrigued by the possibility. The Draft Clark movement seems to be picking up steam, going so far as to commission a Zogby poll that says In Blind Bio Match-Up, Wesley Clark Tops All Current Dems, Beats Bush 49 Pct. to 40 Pct.

How would Clark fare in a South Carolina primary? Depends on the crossover factor. Clark might be a guy that draws a lot of independent and even Republican voters into that primary, and his military credentials will appeal to many. Stay tuned.

Ouch!

Governor Moonbeam's people still have to be smarting from yesterday's Augusta Chronicle saying that the Governor's tactics resemble Clinton's 08/25/03. I'm not sure Sanford is consciously pursing a strategy of triangulation - in fact, I'm not competely sure this is conciously pursuing any strategy at all. I do know that he has been a disappointment to many (including this Democrat) who thought he was the breath of fresh air South Carolina needed. So far, though, he seems to be giving us more of the same (see The State | 08/24/2003 | Sanford campaign donors land almost half of his appointments) except with fewer results to show for it.

As I read the news that Blue Cross Blue Shield could be forced to be cut up to 800 jobs in Florence and Myrtle Beach, it occurred to me that I don't recall this governor making a single "job announcement" since he took office. I guess Sanford really is doing things differently, since these little press events are usually a staple of gubernatorial politics. Instead, this governor has spent 8 months looking at a real estate deal, even at the expense of his own Commerce Secretary.

A Recommended Read
I haven't read Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom yet, but Cory Doctorow, who also brings us Boing Boing, is giving away his first novel. It's getting great reviews, including a plug from Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos on the NPR : Weekend Edition Sunday, Summer Reading 2003 list.

Track PACs and Contracts

Correspondences.org has a great concept on its hands - a daily look at Department of Defense contracts awarded, cross-referenced with political contributions made by the winning companies.

The site bills itself as a "newspaper out of the box" covering world events. Highly recommended.

Tell Bush to recall himself

Interesting logic behind this one, and I like it. Bush's sins are far greater than those of Gray Davis. I hope this one catches on.

Brought to you by one of my other favorite sites the Bushwackers, as well as Progressive Majority.

Thanks to SC Hotline for tracking down the original Roll Call article where Kevin Geddings again proves to be an ass:

Roll Call

Tenenbaum outpolled Geddings's candidate for governor by more than 120,000 votes. She got 45,000 more votes than Lindsay Graham in his Senate race. Granted, she was up against weak competition. But, going back to 1998, she outpolled Hodges by 37,000 votes and beat a decent Republican candidate, David Eckstrom, by 161,000 votes. She even beat Eckstrom in his home county, Lexington (you remember Lexington, don't you), albeit by a little over 200 votes.

TIME.com: High On Gals In Good-Ole-Boy Country -- Aug. 25, 2003

Inez gets some more national press.

From the Guys Who Brought Us The Disaster of '04

"Keep your noses out of our business," Dick Harpootlian was quoted as saying to DSCC in an interview with Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper. He told The Greenville News: "These are the guys who brought us the disaster of '02."

Interesting that this story was ginned up by Dick and Kevin Geddings, who closer to home brought South Carolina the disaster of '04.

I love Mayor Bob - but he ain't going to get elected statewide. Personally, I'm glad to see a primary. I think our eventual candidate Inez will emerge stronger because of it. But Geddings is the guy who ought to get out of South Carolina after his last masterful performance.

GreenvilleOnline.com - GOP gleeful at possible Dem strife

Pentagon Abandons Terrorism Betting Plan Dang! There's goes my chance!
Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Pentagon Abandons Terrorism Betting Plan

Profiting on Death and War is No Longer limited to the military-industrial complex! Now you can play too, thanks to PAM!

Policy Analysis Market - PAM

Kill a Middle East head of state, win prizes! - Pentagon shows how
By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco

"Poor people aren't necessarily killers," the current President of the United States tells us. "Just because you happen not to be rich, doesn't mean you're willing to kill."

Phew! However, the poor now have an additional incentive to take up arms, thanks to an extraordinary initiative from the Pentagon-funded research agency DARPA. Long ago DARPA brought you the Internet, although its more recent windfall has gone on projects that range from the sinister to the whimsical, from Admiral Poindexter's Total Information Awareness surveillance research, to invisible body suits, and a self-healing minefield, complete with winking knight.

The Register

The State | 03/18/2003 | Legislators who oppose cigarette tax happy to raise other taxes points out the hypocrisy of the alleged leadership of the S.C. House of Representatives quite well. A tax is a tax is a fee just doesn't wash.

The State | 03/18/2003 | Treasurer spurns bond proposal but I'm sure it won't stop the smoke and mirrors approach preferred by the alleged leadership of the S.C. House of Representatives.

On war with Iraq...

Personally, I don't really know what else those who oppose war would have the President do. "Give diplomacy a chance?" It's failed for twelve years, not just since last November. While I'm a p.r. hack, not an attorney or law student like many of my friends, my own reading of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441, in citing Resolution 678, seems to give us the authority to use force:

"Recalling that its resolution 678 (1990) authorized Member States to use all necessary means to uphold and implement its resolution 660 (1990) of 2 August 1990 and all relevant resolutions subsequent to Resolution 660 (1990) and to restore international peace and security in the area,"

I would definitely be interested in hearing someone on the wire versed in international law to share their opinion.

Even without UN authority, however, I'm still convinced that we are justified in going into Iraq, even if it means embracing the doctrine of preemptive war. Can anyone honestly debate that Adolf Hitler was evil? Would the world not have been a better place had someone, anyone, taken a preemptive strike against him?

We can have a philosophical debate on the existence of evil if you want. But I was raised a Southern Baptist and converted to Catholicism, so I believe that some things, some people are, in fact, evil. In my view, Saddam has demonstrated his nature, and stopping him is justified.

But philosophy aside, in my mind practicality justifies preemptive action in the world in which we now live. Sitting around waiting for Saddam - or anyone else - to attack before we act is suicide.

The Sun News | 03/13/2003 | Tricks Prevail in S.C. House says it as well as anything I've seen. Fuzzy math and funny money from the alleged leadership of the S.C. House of Representatives.

House panel rejects cigarette tax, supporters rally at Statehouse

Kinda figures, huh?

Jimmy Moore at Common Voice raises some interesting points concerning the debate over the cigarette tax, and I suppose yesterday's action by the alleged Republican leadership meets his definition of "creative revenue-generating ideas." But some of this crap still sticks in my craw.

Mossback Democrat Herb Kirsh laments the fact that retailers in his area will be hurt by those going across state lines to buy cheaper cigarettes - where was this concern for retailers and their employees when the issue was shutting down video poker? The Employment Security Commission says that of the approximately 3,000 workers left unemployed when the anti-gambling jihad took hold, just 212 have found work since.

Republicans claim their plan to refinance tobacco bonds to fund Medicaid is designed to stop spending non-recurring dollars to pay for recurring needs - but the proposed Medicaid budget still relies on at least $45 million and maybe up to $70 million in one-time money.

While claiming to follow their governor's lead in funding Medicaid without raising taxes, the alleged House leadership seems to be ignoring something else Governor Moonbeam said in his State of the State address:

"Let this also be the year that we curb the annualization problem. No sensible family would use a one-time bonus to finance a new car - if they didn't have some other source for payments - not just this year's - but also each following year's payments. This principle should also hold true for our state."

Tax smokers or everyone pays, study says

Private health insurance premiums could increase 4 to 9 percent if the state does not fully fund the state-federal Medicaid partnership, a study by the Grant Thornton accounting firm states.

Proposed State Budget Underfunds Health Care By $95 Million, No wait, $51 Million, No, Um, It's Funded Completely!

Thanks to creative financing by the alleged leadership of the S.C. House of Representatives, South Carolina's woefully inadequate Medicaid system is now fully funded! Except, of course, they are proposing to continue the practice of funding recurring needs with non-recurring money - the kind of irresponsible action that has created the budget crisis we're now in.

By refinancing the state's tobacco settlement funds, House leaders Wilkins, Harrell and Quinn say they can fill the roughly $51 million hole in the Ways & Means Committee's Medicaid budget. They say it will raise approximately $45 million - though that still doesn't equal $51 million, but who's counting - and that this is all good, solid, recurring money that we can count on for years to come. No, wait a minute, upon further review, they admit that it does include $15 million in non-recurring funds, maybe.

The fact is, the alleged House leadership continues to play with funny money. Under their revised proposal, Medicaid would be funded with $10 million in unspecified eligibility changes (read: kicking people off the rolls), at least $45 million in one-time money (including $30 million they admitted to last week and $15 million from tobacco settlement refinancing), a $20 million tax increase on hospitals and by taking $20 million out of an underfunded Department of Education.

The time for Bandaids is over. This temporary, one-time solution will leave us with an even bigger problem next year. It is time for a stable, recurring, dedicated source of funding for health care, not more creative financing. The cigarette tax is the only solution that works, and the alleged leadership knows it.