Hey guys,

Our Faith & Freedom BBQ featuring Senators Rand Paul and Tim Scott on August 26th will be here before you know it. Every day, we’re receiving more notices from folks across the state letting us know they can’t wait to be there.

Every day, I’m also asked the question, “Jeff, what can I do to help get this nation back on track? What can I do to help stop President Obama’s liberal agenda?”

The best thing that the average person can do is to get involved and help get other people involved. In 2008 and 2012 millions of conservatives stayed at home on Election Day. Even now, with everything our country faces, too many people are sitting on the sidelines.

Let this event be the revival those people need to get them back involved in the political process. Come to our event, but also find friends or family members to bring with you.

All the information you need to attend is at www.JeffDuncan.com or by contacting Drea Byars at Drea@JeffDuncan.com or 803-413-5951.

I want you to be at this event, so if there’s a reason you’re on the fence let us know and we’ll try to work with you to make it happen.

Third Annual Faith & Freedom BBQ with Special Guests Sen Tim Scott & Sen. Rand Paul
Date/Time: August 26th starting at 6:30pm
Where: Anderson Civic Center (3027 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd Anderson, SC 29625)
Catering by Creekside BBQ

(all proceeds go to the Duncan for Congress campaign)

s. 128 eliminates the South Carolina High School League and directs these duties in the Department of Education. There are several troubling things that have been happening behind the scenes with the High School League.
Here’s a few:
I attended a meeting just a couple of years ago with a man and his son (a student in the public virtual school) who wanted to run track at the local high school, the coach from the local school and a representative of the High School League. The coach told the son that the HSL forbade the school from allowing his participation. The HSL told the man and his son that they in no way could prohibit the son from participating or the school from accepting him on the team. We went around in a circle like this until the HSL finally admitted that any participation by a non-enrolled student would result in disqualification of the team. I sat in utter amazement at the cynicism with which both the school and the HSL almost mocked this man and his son as each tried to deny responsibility for their discrimination against him. It was insulting.
Last year I heard the story of a young lady who transferred from one high school to another because of a documented case of bullying. She attempted then to play volleyball at the new school. The HSL refused to let her play. The old school, the new school, and both coaches agreed in writing that the girl transferred because of bullying. The HSL refused to budge. They finally decided that the young lady could play jv for a year. This veritable Solomon simply added insult to the injury of this poor girl. Again, I find it offensive.
The HSL represents public and private school sports teams, however, after Christ Church won two consecutive football championships, they now see a need to segregate the playoffs. So much for competition.
Finally, I’m sure you’re aware of the recent controversy at Goose Creek HS. I won’t recount it here, but suffice to say that it was just another example of arbitrary power wielded in a way that eventually demeaned the very children we’re supposed to be looking out for.
I simply cannot stand by any longer and allow the children of our state (with parents paying taxes), who want nothing more than to play sports, to be subject to the kind of negligence and arrogance consistently demonstrated by the HSL. It has worn out its welcome, and it’s time for it to go.
Former Sen. Greg Ryberg (R-Aiken) affectionately referred to the High School League as the 4th branch of government. Enjoy:

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We were unable today, on the last day of session, to compel a vote on providing tax credits to parents who wish to choose the appropriate educational setting for their children. We have watched this year, and for many years, this General Assembly pass out tax credits for everything from solar panels to restricting development on your own property. … The General Assembly routinely and adamantly refuses, however, to allow parents to keep their own money to help their own children. The insult that the General Assembly adds to the injury, however, comes in the shim sham that we see every time we try even to get a vote on the issue. … We are proud to vote for school choice. We are not ashamed to support the issue. We will continue to fight for parents and their children who simply want a better education. Next year, we will have a vote.”
State Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, reading a school choice statement on the Senate floor Thursday that was co-signed by Sens. Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson; Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg; Tom Davis, R-Beaufort; Mike Rose, R-Dorchester; Phillip Shoopman, R-Greenville; and Danny Verdin, R-Laurens

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/06/10/2309599/sc-political-briefs.html#.UHwRppG9KSM#storylink=cpy

S. 277 is legislation to establish licensure and regulation of the music therapy profession. I fully appreciate the value that music therapy practitioners bring to children in need of this kind of treatment. I would even consider music therapy biblical, as scripture is full of examples of the value of music.
I am wary, however, of an attempt, in any profession, to overlay government regulation where the consumer themselves already can make informed decisions about the service in question. My experience is that every time a service is further regulated, its price climbs with no discernible growth in the overall quality of that service in the marketplace. Indeed, in many cases the quality of the service in question declines because of the lack of market forces that promote excellence.
The modern age of communication makes it nearly impossible for anyone offering a service for a fee to remain unknown to consumers. I find it impossible to believe that anyone offering this service would be able to hide from the scrutiny of their potential customers who, in their turn, could make informed decisions about the practitioner in question.
From the Middle Ages up through the 19th Century, the practice of apprenticeships, usually within guilded trades, not only afforded a young person the chance to learn a trade from a master but also gave that person credentials that strangers could rely upon since the strangers had no internet or even telephone communication. The modern age has erased the need for such a regimented and restrictive vetting process. It thereby has opened up the market place to nearly anyone with the skill and drive to achieve. It has, in short, led to a greater distribution of freedom, both to pursue happiness and to make informed choices from a vast pool of selections.
I will have a very hard time turning back to the manner of previous centuries when considering how consumers choose their products and services.

Though provoking story:
I went to the party and remembered what you said. You asked me not to drink alcohol, so I drank a Sprite instead. I felt proud of myself, as you said I should feel. You said I should not drink and drive, contrary to what some friends told me. I made a healthy choice and your advice was correct, as it always is.

When the party finally ended, people began to drive without being able to do so properly. I went to my car with the certainty that I would return home in peace. I never imagined what awaited me, Mom. Now I’m lying in the street and I hear the policeman say: “The kid that caused this accident was drunk”. Mom, his voice seems so distant. My blood is spilled everywhere and I’m trying with all my might not to moan. I can hear the doctors say, “This girl is going to die”. I have the certainty that the young man, who ran at full speed, decided to drink and drive, and now I have to die.

Why do people do this, Mom, knowing that this is going to ruin many lives? The pain is cutting me like a hundred knives. Tell my sister not to cry, tell Daddy to be strong. And when I go to Heaven, I’ll be watching for you all. Someone should have taught that boy that it’s wrong to drink and drive. Maybe if his parents would have told him that, I would not be dying now. My breath is getting weaker, more and more. Mom, these are my last moments and I feel so desperate. I wish I could hug you Mom, while I’m lying here dying. I wish I could tell you how much I love you, Mom. So… I… love… you… goodbye… ”

~ These words were written by a reporter who witnessed the accident. The girl, as she died, was saying these words and the reporter wrote them down… very overwhelmed. The journalist started this campaign, if you read this note, please click “share”, so more people can be aware. Therefore, I ask one small gesture, send it to your friends, family and loved ones.

~ PLEASE BE RESPONSIBLE – DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE!
It might be your own life that you save, or the life of a loved one. Please don’t let anyone else drive that’s drunk either. Offer to drive them, call them a taxi or a friend. Please SHARE