Hey, wait a minute
I thought it was Tom Ridge's job - as head of Homeland Security - to warn us about terrorism. Wednesday (May 26, 2004) he was not at the press conference when Attorney General John D. Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller issued warnings about the likelihood of terrorist attacks this summer. Are these people talking to each other? I would feel more comfortable if Ashcroft and Mueller were telling us they had thwarted terrorist planning instead of warning us to "duck and cover."
#189 (04-38)
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Celebrate Memorial Day
On the occasion of Memorial Day this weekend let us pause to remember those who gave their lives in defense of our country and our way of life, and give thanks for those who defended it yesterday, do so today and will do so tomorrow. Freedom is not free and we can honor our men and women in uniform by being as good an American as we can in all ways.
#188 (04-37)
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They are at it again
A report in the The New York Times in the (Saturday, May 22, 2004) morning will reflect that the Saudis have agreed to increase oil production by 500,000 barrels a day. They deny they are trying to help President Bush in his re-election efforts, as Bob Woodard recently reported they had promised to do. Strange.
#187 (04-36)
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Fast service response
One reader wrote: They (The Post & Courier) probably wrote the letters themselves.
#186 (04-35)
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Fast service
On Thursday, The Post & Courier ran a story on Wednesday's "he said, she said" argument between SC State Senator John Kuhn and Jenny Sanford, the Governor's wife. Today, Friday, there are two letters to the editor supporting Mrs. Sanford and criticizing Senator Kuhn in The Post & Courier. Does anyone wonder, as I do, how these letters got into the paper so quickly? Were the letters hand carried in? Were they faxed or e-mailed? Were there also phone calls? Was there pressure from the Governor's office? Is The Post & Courier expressing a preference for the Sanfords over Kuhn? Is The Post & Courier attempting to influence the impending Republican primary? Just wondering. (Oh, by the way, one of Senator Kuhn's opponents is running TV ads with a picture of him and the Governor side by side.)
#185 (04-34)
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William favored in South
William was the No. 1 choice for a baby boy's name in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee in 2003, according to the Social Security administration. In later years the boy can be then called "Billy Bob or Billy Jim" or if he turns out light in the loafers, "Billy Jean."
184 (04-33)
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Take the high road
We won the war but failed (to date) to secure the peace. In short order we knocked off Afghanistan and Iraq, neither of which was in our league. It was as if the Los Angeles Lakers took on a couple of third-ranked colleges and whipped those good.

Now, in Iraq we are faced with insurgency and guerrilla warfare and a horrendous prisoner abuse scandal. History proves that the hit and run tactics of guerrillas can go on for years, as witness 20th Century events in the Philippines, Vietnam and Chechnya.

In a few short days since the details started coming out on the prisoner abuses in Iraq, we are hearing rumors and suggestions that a small number of our troops in earlier wars may also have committed atrocious violations of Geneva Convention rules for the handling of prisoners. We are reminded that others have done far worse. We are also reminded of the terrible senseless horrors of 9/11, and that terrorists – who do not follow any rules of combat but improvise as they go along – attacked the United States in the first place. These rumors, suggestions and reminders imply, “It has all been done before and besides they asked for it.” How wrong is such thinking?

If we have not learned anything in the last 60 years, then what have we gained? Just because something was done sixty years or less ago does not make it correct or right today. Abominations committed by anyone in World War II, Korea or Vietnam – in the heat of battle or otherwise - do not excuse or justify similar or worse actions today in the War on Terrorism.

Restoring order and bringing peace to Iraq are the only legitimate American goals in that faraway place. The only way to do to do this is to take the high road and not slip into the gutter with our enemies in thought, word or deed.
#183 (04-32)
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The Hat Lady

My wife, Mary, wearing her own creation to the Hat Day tea in North Charleston, April 23, 2004. Mary took a common straw hat (purchased at local grocery store for $1.98) and painted it to match her jacket. She decorated the creation with a ribbon in the back and three butterflies, visible under the brim. The hat received several favorable comments at the tea and since.
(#182 (04-31)
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Something is wrong here
You can get a license for a firearm in South Carolina after 8 hours training but under legislation pending in the state Senate you will require 350 hours of training before you can braid hair. I feel safer already.
#181 (04-30)
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No. 1 in South Carolina
Many thanks to all who voted and propelled this website to the No. 1 position in South Carolina. You can see it all at Top NC & SC Sites
#180 (04-29)
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Shades of Florida voting
This evening the webmaster from the top North and South Carolina Web Sites called. He was compiling the April votes and was surprised my site was not moving up on the list of top South Carolina sites. We did a check on the linking code and it was defective. It linked to the site but your vote (if you voted) did not register. (Sort of like Florida a couple of years ago, although we did not find any hanging chads.) Those who have the time are asked to vote again (as Jim Curley used to say, "early and often"). Go to the site and see the "click here" message on the opening page (it is also on the links page) and click away. The vote ought to register automatically. The webmaster said in a second call that it appears to be registering. We'll know for sure in June. Meanwhile stay tuned.

Thank you for your time, effort and patience.
#179 (04-28)
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Plan of Attack
Finished Bob Woodward's latest book, Plan of Attack, last night. It is obvious President Bush was bent on attacking Iraq in November 2001. What is surprising is that it took until March 2003 to get it on. The war was over quickly in Iraq (President announced the shooting over on May 1, 2003, aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln) but preserving peace and instilling democracy still has a long way to go. One year later the number of dead American servicemen and women has risen to 718, (579 since May 1, 2003). The center point of the book is that Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney were fixated on Iraq and have used three themes at various times to justify the war: i.e. the 9/11 attacks (no Iraqi connection has been established), suspicions about weapons of mass destruction (none have been found) and getting rid of a dictator (what about all the other dictators in the world?). The book should be highly interesting to readers curious about the process of moving elephants around. The American military machine is so big it takes a tremendous amount of planning, know-how, effort and guts to get it moving. The cautious have to be prodded and the bold have to be restrained. I liken it to making a cup of tea. The teabag only goes in at the moment the water is at optimum boil.
#178 (04-27)
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Abortion and communion
It is unfair for any Catholic Church leader to expect all Catholics who hold public office to fall on their swords on the abortion issue. Catholic candidates are elected - as all candidates are - by a majority of the persons voting and it is delusional to assume all of these are either Catholic or support Catholic teachings on abortion. I respect a candidate who says he/she personally deplores abortion but supports a woman's right to choose. Spokesmen for the Church may urge communion be denied to Catholics who do not toe the absolutist line, but such a position is not likely to be widely accepted - among the faithful or the clergy.
#177 (04-26)
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Pat Tillman, R.I.P.
Without diminishing the sacrifice of the many almost anonymous men and women who serve, we pause to salute Pat Tillman who gave his life for his country in Afghanistan on Thursday (local time there.) Pat was an NFL defensive back with a great on-going career (and a $3.6 million salary) with the Arizona Cardinals, who put it all on hold to join the Rangers, part of the Army's elite fighting men. The media will undoubtedly report on Mr. Tillman's loss.
#176 (04-25)
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People Who Read Newspapers
GOOD MORNING LOWCOUNTRY (Humor column from The Post & Courier, Charleston, SC, April 16, 2004)

A friend of GMLc lives in Hanoi as an expatriate business consultant .....sent us this take on American newspapers.

WHO READS WHAT:

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.

2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.

3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.

4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics in pie charts.

5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country -- if they could find the time -- and if they didn't have to leave Southern California to do it.

6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.

7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who's running the country and don't really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.

8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running the country as long as they do something scandalous, preferably while drunk.

9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.

10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there is a country... or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for. They make exceptions if the leaders are handicapped, minority, feminist, atheist or illegal aliens from another country or galaxy, provided, of course, that they are not Republicans.

11. The National Enquirer is read by people stuck in line at the grocery store.
#175 (04-24)
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9-11 Commission
The nine staff reports of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, and other data about and from the Commission are available on the web, including the most recent (Number 9) about the shortcomings of the FBI in the war on terrorism. The Bureau's shortcomings were caused by a mixture of internal cultural self-inflicted wounds and lack of financial support from superiors and the Congress. One of the Bureau's self-inflicted wounds, and a major shortcoming, in my opinion, is the arrogant attitude they have had for decades toward the Attorney General's office and any kind of external supervision.
(#174 (04-23)
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Top Carolina Sites
My web site was featured on Top Carolina Sites today, a compilation of more than 200 web sites in the Carolinas touching on many aspects of daily living, business, shopping and the arts. Check the list out today at www.carolinasites.com. You can also go to the LINKS page (click above) and vote for my site. Currently I am 123rd on the South Carolina list and every vote helps to move up on the list. Thanks.
#173 (04-22)
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Backing up
I've had a computer since the early eighties and yesterday for the first time backed up my hard drive completely. For many years I kept data files backed up on CD's. I bought a 120GB external hard drive and installed it (really just plugged it in) and commenced the backup. This was about 5 p.m. yesterday and the backup finished this morning around 11 a.m. More than 180,000 files (26.3GB space on C:\) backed up. The external drive was in one of the slower USB ports on my computer. I switched this today to a USB 2.0 port, of which I have four (two in the back and two in the front). Had the initial plug-in been in the faster port I am sure the whole process would have finished much sooner. This afternoon I ran a test by deleting a file from C:\ and then restoring that same file from the external drive. Backing up in the future will be incremental as files are generated and thus the whole process will be on-going.
The price of external storage has dropped and this undoubtedly led me to this step. Coupled with the "no tools required" USB connection it seemed time to go beyond the saving of data files. I've read for years about the necessity and desirability of backing up and believe in it.
#172 (04-21)
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These guys mean business
The Washington Post reported today that an attack Sunday on the U.S. Government's headquarters in Najaf by hundreds of Iraqi militia members was repulsed not by the U.S. military but by eight commandos from the Blackwater Security Consulting firm which also sent in its own helicopters carrying ammo and subsequently taking out a wounded U.S. Marine. Reportedly thousands of rounds were fired and hundreds of 40mm grenades shot. The Iraqis suffered an unspecified number of casualties.
#171 (04-20)
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Against All Enemies
I finished Richard Clarke's book Against All Enemies today and am glad I read it. Maybe it is because I thought a year ago when the war in Iraq started that we should have been going after Bin Laden with the ferocity we attacked Saddam Hussein. No one doubts the world is better off with Saddam deposed, but that is not the issue. If knocking off despots was the issue why not do the same in North Korea, Sudan, and Zimbabwe, to mention a few candidates. We blew the chance we had to get Bin Laden when the world would have cared less, and would certainly have understood and might even have applauded. Clarke's book is critical of the Clinton and Bush administrations, but it is not an anti-Bush polemic purely for political reasons. I accept Clarke's argument that when the new administration arrived at the White House in January 2001 they wanted nothing to do with any ideas or programs left on the table by the Clinton administration. Every administration wants to invent a new wheel. We can only speculate whether things might have been different.
#170 (04-19)
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