By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | An Australian journalist phoned the other day wanting a South Carolina take on the two recent Democratic presidential debates.
“Didn’t watch the debates,” I said. “It’s all a little bit too early. There are eight months before the primary on Feb. 29, 2020. There’s more than enough time to make an informed choice.”
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | There’s a reason that a horse wears blinders: So it won’t get spooked by something weird that’s outside of its vision tunnel.
All across our country, too many people are wearing blinders on an array of issues that is unraveling the fabric of the American way of life. We are ignoring big problems, hoping they’ll just go away. But they get worse and worse.
Instead of proactively confronting issues from race and gun violence to immigration reform and the decay of our democracy, we keep drinking from the font of ignorance.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher, part 2 of 2 | If you ignore the bloody prick of a rusty nail, the wound may become infected or lead to something much worse.
Across America, but particularly in the South, the underpinnings of our society continue to be infected by the ooze of racism. While there are laws on the books to provide equal access and treatment for the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness, there’s still a lot of unfinished business bubbling under the surface that inhibits progress.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher, part 1 of 2 | This is the story of three cousins. Well, they’re pretty sure they’re all cousins because they think they are linked genetically to the same man. But they’re not 100 percent sure because some of the records are lost.
They do know, however, that they’re linked by circumstance and family to that man, a South Carolina plantation owner who moved his family and 14 slaves to Florida before the Civil War. Later he moved back to the Palmetto State, signed the state’s Ordinance of Secession, fought and served in the state Senate.
Staff reports | Carolina Day, a special day for remembering a key day of South Carolina’s historical role in the Revolutionary War, will be celebrated June 28. Back in 1776, a British fleet pounded Sullivan’s Island and landed troops to take what is now Fort Moultrie, but were repelled by patriots in what became their first significant victory.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Millions of American students attending college for a classic liberal arts education don’t sit around watching MSNBC, attending Democratic Party meetings or reading The New York Times.
Unfortunately, the word “liberal” in the three-word educational phrase has morphed into a pejorative term, often leading to misunderstandings for what’s intended to describe a broad-based education that expands how students understand and relate to the world.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Regardless of whether you are a climate change denier or someone who believes that science shows the globe is warming, there’s one thing we can all agree on: It’s been hot. Real hot.
Summer’s annual blast furnace of high heat and humidity came earlier than expected this year as the middle of the country dealt with lots of flooding and a whole bunch of freaky tornadoes.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | There’s a lot that goes on in a legislative session: Thousands of bills are filed. Hundreds of news stories are written about those bills. Scores of committee meetings underscore why making laws is as unsightly as making sausage.
Through it all after several months of work, much hot air was expended. Tempers flared. Filibusterers filibustered. Lobbyists lobbied. Visitors gawked. And a few laws got passed.
In 2019, legislators agreed enough to pass 113 measures – everything from the $9 billion budget to rejiggering voting precincts in Anderson, Greenwood, Dorchester, Pickens, Abbeville and Dillon counties. In fact, they seemed to like fiddling so much with Greenwood County’s precinct maps that they did it twice, first in March and later as the session was coming to a close.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The Nerf candidates of Charleston’s mayoral race are up to no good again.
Instead of working to make Charleston more livable and better, as exemplified by what Mayor John Tecklenburg is trying to do, these nimrods are spewing slimy spitballs during council meetings and generally wasting time.
And perhaps, they’re showing their intelligence and leadership, or lack thereof. Or maybe they’re just taking attack bait supplied by the Tweedle Twins, West Ashley council members Bill Moody and Keith Waring, who have spent three years plotting against Tecklenburg.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | An ultra-conservative culture warrior is not the right person to lead the state Commission on Higher Education (CHE).
But hey, this is red South Carolina where some folks apparently think that a past editor of a neo-Confederate journal who got a Ph.D. in government and international studies is a good choice to be a finalist to lead the state agency with oversight for new college programs.Hmmm. Wonder if this means someone wants more God in public liberal arts education?
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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