TheSunNews.com: Opinion

Shameful Secrecy

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:37 EST

The Horry County Council's search for a new administrator has been fraught with secrecy in so many ways that it's hard now not to wonder what else they are planning when the public isn't watching.

The council's violation of the law by holding secret meetings to narrow the field of candidates was both blatant and shameful. A basic tenet of the state's open-meetings law - which states that "it is vital in a democratic society that public business be performed in an open and public manner" - is that the public at least be notified of every meeting of a governing body. There are no exceptions, and yet somehow the entire county government ignored this rule.

Once a meeting has been properly called, the law does allow elected officials to discuss certain matters out of the public eye, such as employment. If the County Council had wanted to follow the law, they could have simply convened a special meeting, gone into closed session and brought the applicants in after the chambers had been cleared. All the County Council members and all their senior staff members (most particularly county attorney and interim administrator John Weaver, who is also one of the applicants under consideration) are well familiar with this process, yet all chose to ignore it.

President Must Choose Carefully

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:37 EST

Editor's note: The following editorial appeared last week in the Sacramento Bee.

This month, the United States enters its ninth year of seemingly never-ending troop escalation in Afghanistan.

In 2002, there were a mere 5,000 U.S. troops there. The number quadrupled in three years. When President Obama came to office, 37,000 U.S. troops were stationed in Afghanistan. He has steadily increased the U.S. presence -- to 68,000 today. And now, some in the U.S. military are recommending a U.S. presence of 100,000 troops.

Players make children feel special

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:37 EST

I had the pleasure of attending the Coastal Carolina home game against Virginia Military Institute with my husband and two young sons, ages 4 and 6. That evening we opted to stay after the game so that the boys could go on the field with their friends. It was a grand moment seeing those precious little feet run across the grass toward the big football players. However, the moment became even better as we watched from afar at the reaction of the players to the group of six boys. Each player gave a "high-five" or "fist-bump" as they passed the boys. The boys looked up in awe with the biggest grins ever. Although each player was kind to the children, two players really went out of their way to make it special: Brandon Autry (#30) and Tyler Campbell (#48). They spent so much extra time with the boys - taking pictures, "racing" with the boys, and giving each child a picture or game memento.

As I watched this kindness exhibited on the field, it truly touched my heart. These fine young men could have rushed off the field to follow their own interests, but instead they spent extra time to make it a great night for these young boys. Brandon and Tyler and the other players deserve much applause for putting these children above themselves and taking the time to spend with the boys. If they continue to make such positive choices with such great attitudes, I know they will excel at football and everything else they choose to do in life.

The writer lives in Conway.

Letters to the editor

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:37 EST

Sanford's schedule appropriate to job

The media's ongoing mission to hound Gov. Mark Sanford out of office is simply appalling. Now reporters from McClatchy have taken to riffling through the governor's schedule and pulling out details that seem to suggest he's not "engaged" with his job.

Traditional media's role valid

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:37 EST

Each time another report surfaces about the decline of newspapers, I feel like a death row inmate counting the warden's footsteps.

The latest echo of doom arrived recently: U.S. newspaper circulation dropped 10 percent from April through September, compared to the same period last year. The largest decrease recorded thus far, the decline was attributed to the usual -- advertising and readership lost to the Web. Industrywide, ad revenues, which constitute newspapers' main source of income, have dropped $20 billion from three years ago. Even so, most newspapers remain profitable and circulation is astoundingly good, all things considered.

That's the delightful view of Alex Jones -- fourth-generation member of a newspaper-owning family, Pulitzer Prize-winning media critic, and now author of "Losing the News." In his book, Jones, who heads Harvard University's Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, combines a dispassionate look at the news business with a page-turning story of traditional journalism's highs and lows.

Do what you can for the homeless

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:37 EST

Tonight when you are ready for bed, I wish you would take your blanket and go outside to try to go to sleep. Now imagine having to sleep on the ground with no shelter, no cover except for a few trees. Now imagine it begins to rain, the wind is now blowing, and it is much colder. You are also hungry because you had only one sandwich all day. You are so thirsty and could sure use a cup of coffee. As your child begins to huddle next to you or your husband who is very sick can hardly move, you wonder how long before daybreak and sunshine to warm you.

I don't think I could do this. Could you? I cannot relate. We have all these preparations for hurricanes and none for homeless people. These folks don't want to be in this situation, but with loss of jobs, no money, no family, they have no choice. Who would choose to be homeless? If everyone gave even $1 we could help these people with food and shelter. Ask your neighbors and friends and give it to the shelters here to help them. Remember one day it could be you. Please, let's help these people, don't ignore them. Thank you, and may God bless you and keep you.

The writer lives in Myrtle Beach.

Sarah: Keep up the great writing!

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:37 EST

(Confidential response of Sarah Palin's book editor to the first draft of

her coming memoir, "Going Rogue")

Dear Sarah,

Restrict What May Distract Pilots

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:44 EST

Editor's note: The following editorial appeared last week in the Miami Herald.

To the many woes plaguing airline passengers -- smaller seats, higher ticket prices, fewer flights, etc. -- add one more: Piloting while distracted.

The concern arises from a genuinely disturbing report that two Northwest pilots on a flight to Minneapolis/St. Paul on Oct. 21 were so busy toying with their laptop computers that they forgot to land. Nor was it some momentary distraction, but rather a prolonged period of inattention during which the pilots maintained radio silence for 90 minutes while frantic traffic controllers repeatedly tried to get a response from them.

Modern Carpet-bagging

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:35 EST

This week's electoral debacle in Atlantic Beach proves that the tiny town's longstanding tradition of employing a "transient electorate" to decide elections is still alive and thriving, though its practice has changed hands. In fact, the transients are no longer just the voters - they're the candidates, and the winning ones at that.

For years, the town's voter rolls have swollen with the names of dozens of people who have stopped at the town's various motels and taken a sudden interest in local politics - the address of the Woods Apartments, owned by the family of former mayor Irene Armstrong and current Councilman Jake Evans, for example, is used by nearly 60 mostly-inactive voters who have passed through town. This election again saw a surfeit of new voters without any noticeable increase in the town's population, leading this week to nearly 40 challenged ballots - many of which had addresses at the motels run by allies of suspended Mayor Retha Pierce.

The latest twist is that the two write-in candidates who gathered enough ballots to oust incumbents Charlene Taylor and Josephine Isom (longtime town residents both) now seem to share the transitory nature of the voters who elected them. The Rev. Windy Price, a longtime North Myrtle Beach resident pastoring a church in Atlantic Beach, changed her voting address to that of Mayor Pierce's home about a month before the Oct. 2 deadline, according to county records. Carolyn Cole, the former Atlantic Beach town manager who until very recently lived in Florida, did so on the actual day of the deadline, registering along with Price's husband and 15 other new voters living at local motels.

Letters to the editor

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:35 EST

Council leader sets poor example

Horry County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland appears to be above the law. I find it appalling that she is allowed to proceed as an elected official without paying the consequences for her actions. To further make my case I am 71 years old, a resident of Garden City and never had a traffic ticket. On a clear sunny day, April 27, 2008, I was issued my first ticket (for speeding 52 mph in a 35 mph zone) with a fine of $180 (which I paid) and four points off my driver's license. I paid for my actions.

Obama mania clearly over

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:02 EST

Sure, Election Day 2009 will scare moderate Democrats and make passage of Obamacare more difficult.

Sure, it makes it easier for resurgent Republicans to raise money and recruit candidates for 2010. But the most important effect of Tuesday's elections is historical.

It demolishes the great realignment myth of 2008.

Justice, truth take backseat

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:02 EST

Anthony McKinney got a life sentence for running down the street.

The suburban Chicago street down which he ran, on Sept. 15, 1978, took him near the spot where security guard Donald Lundahl had earlier been shot to death. Police, still on the scene investigating, arrested McKinney, 18, who said he was running from gang bangers. With no physical evidence linking him to the crime, they ended up letting him go.

But they did not forget him. Eventually, police turned up two men who said they had witnessed the crime, one of whom said that from 50 yards away, he saw McKinney, who had no history of violent crime, point a shotgun and say, "Your money or your life." Detectives re-arrested McKinney. After a long session in the interrogation room, he signed a confession.

Cracking open the school books

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:11 EST

Following an emerging and highly laudable trend, the Grand Strand has seen a number of its local governments begin regularly posting their spending records online for anyone to see: first Myrtle Beach, followed quickly by Surfside Beach and, most recently, the city of Georgetown.

Soon, thanks to a little-noticed but likewise commendable new provision in state law, they will be joined by some of the area's largest governing bodies: local school boards.

Earlier this year, confronted with sagging tax revenues statewide, state legislators (including local Reps. Nelson Hardwick, George Hearn, Alan Clemmons, Tracy Edge and Jackie Hayes) drafted a law intended to give school boards more flexibility in writing their budgets, temporarily lifting restrictions on various fund transfers to help local schools cope with the recession as best they could. As part of that loosening, however, they included a provision requiring the school boards to post all their spending - including credit card statements - online for the public to see by summer of 2010.

Promises that can't be kept

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:11 EST

One of the strongest talking points of those who want a government-run medical care system is that we simply cannot afford the high and rising costs of medical care under the current system.

First of all, what we can afford has absolutely nothing to do with the cost of producing anything. We will either pay those costs or not get the benefits. Moreover, if we cannot afford the quantity and quality of medical care that we want now, the government has no miraculous way of enabling us to afford it in the future.

If you think the government can lower medical costs by eliminating "waste, fraud and abuse," as some Washington politicians claim, the logical question is: Why haven't they done that already?

Youth overtaking old regime

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:11 EST

Iranian students are engaging this week in Round Two of their street-level struggle for reform. Round One took place last June, when young people protested the fixed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

About 30 people died in those huge demonstrations. That was a remarkably low number given the brutal tendencies of the hardliners and the in-your-face challenge of the protestors. The old leaders had clearly pulled the choke-leash on their Basij paramilitaries. They understood that they were not dealing with downtrodden masses that they could mow down without enormous consequences.

The maxim "demographics is destiny" helps explain this careful behavior by the side with the guns. Iran's plunging fertility rate has created a different kind of young person, one with a sense of entitlement. These students are educated. They own cell phones. They have ambition.

Abel needs to do more research

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:11 EST

Thank you for relocating Dan Abel's column to the Opinion page from the Outdoor section. I began reading his columns to help myself better understand the environmental issues. Unfortunately, I have found that his columns consist of his opinions and disparage any who disagree with his opinions. As he is employed as an educator, I expected discussion and fact. Rather than convince me of the validity of his cause, he has made me more cynical and questioning of his opinions.

Dan says if we don't act now, our ecosystems may be irreversibly altered or may even perish, disease will likely spread, weather events will became more extreme, and millions of coastal residents will became refugees from rising sea level

I note that what formerly was known as the global warming crisis has now become the global climate change crisis. I guess that's because the global temperatures have been falling for the past six years. The Arctic ice has been melting, but why is the Antarctic ice pack increasing? Polar bears are classified as endangered, but why is their population count increasing? The planet Earth has been through six ice ages, so by extension followed by a warming period, none of which received any contribution by humankind. How does the wobble in the Earth's axis affect us?

Columnist doesn't present all facts

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:11 EST

I am getting tired of reading the misinformation and distortions of Dan Abel being presented as scientific fact. He is either totally ignorant of Earth's history or intentionally chooses to ignore it to promote his political agenda.

Let's set the record straight about climate change:

1. The climate has been changing (warming and cooling periods) since the beginning of time.

Time to grow up

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:57 EST

Re D. Banks letter, "Less favoritism needed at SJHS," Oct. 21:

I am a parent of a child who has played football since he was 6. My son is 17 now. I have heard parents, friends and relatives complain about their child's playing time since that first day we stepped on the field. My child has not always played, and many times he has had to earn his place and learn to be patient. That, my friend, is part of life.

Recreation ball days are the days when everyone plays, when kids are learning the game and learning whether they really want to work hard for it. However, even then some people think it is never enough playing time.

One Last Chance

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:37 EST

Attacks on family members, anonymous mailers, allegations of kickbacks - the politics in the Myrtle Beach city elections were filthy enough the first time around that we hope the next two weeks will be an improvement.

No matter how they ultimately cast their ballots on Election Day, the intensity of the mudslinging lately has disgusted most voters, all but the most callous of political operatives. Now, with five candidates headed to what is sure to be a heated runoff (Mayor John Rhodes versus former Mayor Mark McBride, plus council incumbents Randal Wallace and Chuck Martino and challenger Mike Lowder), it's a sad possibility that the same style of campaign could continue.

It doesn't have to be that way. We would love to see the candidates use these two weeks to prove the quality of leadership they can offer, running on their own merit and the strength of their positions. When the dust from Election 2009 settles, what the city will need most is leadership and healing, and a clean, respectful runoff campaign would be an excellent place to start.

Letters to the editor

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:37 EST

HOAs don't have racial role

I am very disappointed to read Patricia Buck's Oct. 19 letter concerning homeowners associations. To suggest that HOAs exist "to keep black people out of predominately white communities" shows her ignorance and raises again the deplorable practice of using the race card.