By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The other day after a church meeting, someone commented, “We need a free press now, more than ever.” Let that sink in.
Why would someone say that? Is it because he doesn’t like the bombast of President Trump or she doesn’t like the preening of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi? Is it because they’re worried about the legitimacy of what they read on Facebook, Twitter or the Internet?
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The first Thanksgiving in South Carolina probably was in French. Or Spanish.
More than 100 years before the English settled in Charleston in 1670, the French built a small wooden fort on what is now Parris Island. Known as Charlesfort in honor of the French king, it was abandoned after a couple of years.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | South Carolina is just one of four states without a law that punishes people who violently lash out against others or property because of hate. Rep. Beth Bernstein, D-Columbia, is working to build a coalition of lawmakers to change the status quo — and soon.
“Tragic events like the Mother Emanuel church shooting [in Charleston] and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting highlight the need for hate crimes legislation in our state,” she told Statehouse Report. “Those incidents represent some of the most heinous crimes, and they were committed based solely on who the victim is as a person.”
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | State legislators might have a little extra incentive to do something about nameless groups that pour dark money into elections to affect their outcomes: their own political hides.
If elections set for Tuesday in the Charleston area are a hint of the political future, state House and Senate candidates in 2020 should get ready to be hammered by nasty direct mail pieces. The way out? Rein in dark money.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | “Lynching” is a word that should be discarded from political discourse, especially throughout the South where thousands died from racial terror after the Civil War.
President Trump, now under intense scrutiny in a growing impeachment inquiry by the U.S. House of Representatives, tweeted in a diatribe in the wee hours of Oct. 22 that “All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching.”
No, Mr. President. You’re wrong. You are not being lynched. You are not being physically ripped from the White House, bundled up ropes and taken by a mob for execution by shooting, hanging, burning or something as horrible.
What is happening, sir, is that you are facing the very process you deny is happening – due process required by the Constitution to investigate whether you and your administration violated the law in discussions with a foreign country. For the U.S. House – Democrats and Republicans – to do less is for them to abrogate their sworn duty.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | It’s been two weeks since Tom Steyer came over for supper.
On a campaign swing through Charleston, the billionaire presidential candidate sat down with a few people to eat Rodney Scott’s awesome barbecue and ribs and have a beer. Well, he actually had one glass of wine. He is, after all, from California. I didn’t intend to write about this visit because I didn’t want it to seem like an ad for a guy running for the Democratic nomination. (I still don’t know who I’ll vote for in the February primary; there is no GOP primary, so I won’t be voting in that one.)
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | A weekend family trip to New York City was simply delightful, an adjective we never thought of using to describe the Big Apple.
The weather was moderate. People were relatively friendly. The bagels and pizza were awesome. And two attractions provided a “wow” that still lingers.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | John Tecklenburg is Charleston’s only viable and reasonable choice for mayor Nov. 5 if the city wants to remain on the path to deal with flooding, traffic and more.
Over the last four years, he’s provided critical leadership to move us forward with dozens of infrastructure projects from stormwater and flooding improvements to new fire stations, improved and new parks, road improvements, affordable housing and community centers.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | There’s been more drama recently among S.C. Education Television leaders than on Downton Abbey.
The chairman of SCETV and two others resigned this week after months of scheming to try to get more money from the nonprofit endowment that has pumped in millions of dollars to ensure South Carolinians get high-quality public programs.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Charleston will have a series of big parties next year as the Holy City celebrates the 350th anniversary of its founding.
In 1670, English settlers first set up on Albemarle Point along the Ashley River, only to move 10 years later to the peninsula for better health and safety. They built a palisade wall around the settlement to become the only English walled city in what would become the United States, according to historians Jack Bass and Scott Poole.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina! (2019) by editor and publisher Andy Brack offers incisive commentaries on the American South, politics, the common good and interesting South Carolina leaders. Available exclusively for Kindle for $7.99. A paperback version will be ready soon. Learn more.
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