By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The first referendum on Donald Trump’s presidency was in the 2018 midterm elections, which found him losing control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The second will be Nov. 3 when voters decide whether to continue with lackluster leadership marked by rants, raves, scandals and corruption.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Health care is a sleeper issue that just might bite the Republican Party in the butt in 2020, just like it did at the midterm elections of 2018.
Imagine if the GOP had come up with some kind of inviting national proposal to provide affordable health care that was an alternative to Obamacare, instead of standing in the way and saying no, just like it has done for years.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | So the now-conservative U.S. Supreme Court, whose justices rail about judicial activism, now has butted into South Carolina politics with, you guessed it, activism.
At issue: How to cast ballots safely in November in the Palmetto State. The S.C. General Assembly recently voted to make it a little easier for state voters to cast ballots early in this coronavirus pandemic year by allowing anyone to vote absentee, thus dropping a list of reasons voters usually have to turn to if they want to vote early.
By Skyler Baldwin | Between World Wars I and II, the city of Charleston experienced a boom in the arts as writers, architects, artists, musicians and historical preservationists came together to represent and improve the city. This “Charleston Renaissance” period was part of a greater interwar artistic movement known as the Southern Renaissance that swept through the region. Today, it is credited with helping to kickstart the city’s tourism industry.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Bring up past American wars and it’s pretty certain you’ll soon get into a disagreement about something. Example: Which was more important — the Revolutionary War or the Civil War?
Some people focus mostly on the Revolutionary War, saying without the success of patriots in South Carolina and other colonies that we may not have been able to test our unique experiment with democracy.
Others intently study the complexities of the Civil War, its strategies, its inventions, its terrible tool and its enduring impact being felt in society today in everything from polarized bickering about the Confederate flag to racially-motivated killings and violence.
Part of the newly-released 350 Facts About Charleston highlights the influential roles of people and events in the Holy City during these two deadly conflicts. Here’s a preview:
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Donald Trump is not a Boy Scout. In fact, he represents just about everything scouts are not supposed to be.
While the reputation of the scouting movement has been tarnished by scandal in recent years — far less scandal than that in Trump’s Washington — scouts are taught to aspire to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. These values are the tenets of the Boy Scout Law. More than 40 years after being a scout, these teachings remain ingrained.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | It’s gotten so bad in the caldron of American politics that you wonder whether people are itching to argue about the color of the sky.
“It’s blue,” one might say. “No,” says another. “It’s orange. I saw it on TV in Oregon.”
“You’re both wrong, it’s black.”
In truth (real truth, not fake truth), all three are correct.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | America is coarser these days thanks, in part, to the politics of vitriol, greed to make a fast buck and the often self-absorbed bubble of the internet.
But have you noticed an increase in kindness, too? Especially since the coronavirus pandemic upended lives across the world?
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The founders of America’s experiment in democracy rebelled against monarchical rule from England because they wanted to do things their own way. They set up a map on how to govern, the U.S. Constitution, that’s become the envy of the world.
Now there’s a president in the White House who seems to view the constitution as a guideline, at best, that can be bent to his personal preferences. And an entire political party has changed, part in fear of retribution and part in the craving need to keep power, to enable the rusting of our democracy’s foundation.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Mark Sanford is onto something: If the United States doesn’t get control of the exploding national debt and deficit, the country will fade away.
As of Friday, the national debt was $26.6 trillion dollars. That’s 266 followed by 11 zeros. This number is mind-numbing.
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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