My libertarian streak doesn’t want to limit the egotism of boat owners, but so many residents on our lake’s pristine waters are being disturbed. This bill would make it punishable to alter the manufacturer’s original muffler system and only effects Lake Hartwell. http://www.scstatehouse.net/sess117_2007-2008/bills/87.htm

On Wednesday morning I was invited by my nephew to visit his 3rd grade class in Augusta. We chatted for awhile about government, laws, and politics. Interestingly, this is the 2nd invitation I’ve had from 3rd graders in 2 weeks. Might it be that I’m more comfortable on their level?
At one moment I thought I was with much older students. I asked a question, “what does the bible say about government?” A young lad answered “the government will be on his shoulders.” I was very impressed with this answer. He is referring to the Old Testament author, Isaiah, as he is prophesying the incarnation. This bible passage is also found in Handel’s Messiah.
Isaiah 9:6 – For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
What a great reminder that Jesus is the King of Kings and the “Reason for the Season”. Merry Christmas!

I went to the Anderson City Council meeting on Monday night to show my support for constituents that own American Concrete. A few years ago, the company was pressured into signing an annexation agreement before getting their water turned on (The city owns the water company and this is the normal practice for water customers outside the city limits.) Not weighing the potential taxing burden the agreement was signed.

There are several disturbing issues with this utility annexation scheme going on:

1-The City Council is overlooking the fact that a tenant signed the agreement and the owner of the property did not.
2-The City charges water customers outside the city limits over twice the rate of those customers that live in the city. Taxation with out Representation; tea anyone?
3-The city doesn’t seem to be interested in annexing the nearby mill neighborhoods. These low income folks need the services much more than anyone else. Apparently, they will loop around to Camellia Drive and go after Loblolly Pines and Hunter’s Glen. I don’t have any proof of these plans, but my hunch does make sense. They want areas that need little services and generate lots of dollars. Can you imagine the revenue if they can get to Lake Hartwell?

The Council voted unanimously in favor of annexation on first reading. The resolution must get the necessary 2nd & 3rd readings. Let’s hope they change their minds even though they are licking their chops over a possible $20,000 or more tax collections. If this hit doesn’t put American Concrete out of business, they will probably need to move. Who cares if your city limits are inching towards money! Keep the pace slow so only a few people get upset as each fingerling extends. Remember the frog won’t jump out of the pot if the water is slowly heated up.

Even if the agreement was legitimate, should a municipality be able to black-mail folks into annexation in order for them to get their water? Unfortunately this practice is legal and happens every day in several areas of the state, but I don’t think it is fair.

Your thoughts?

Anderson displayed its true grit on Friday afternoon (12.11). As the family of James Davenport, fallen hero in Iraq, was saying goodbye to their slain son, thousands of Andersonians lined Main St. as the procession went through downtown. Two ladder trucks from the Fire Department were holding a large American flag. Our pharmacy’s parking lot was full of supporters as well as the very large Ingles parking lot across the street. Patriots either placed their right had over their heart or saluted the funeral procession.

The rumor of a protest was in the air, yet fortunately, the Fred Phelps wackos didn’t show up. You may have heard of these nuts from Kansas that have been protesting at the funerals of fallen soldiers.

Last session bill H. 4965 sailed through the SC House 105-0 and Senate 44-0 outlawing the protesting of funerals. Since the law took effect on June 14, any shenanigans would have brought on criminal charges.

We offer many thanks to the family of James Davenport. Your ultimate sacrifice for our freedom will always be remembered. Also, thank you Anderson for showing so much support!

From World Magazine www.worldmag.com
THIS WEEK “Looking at India” December 09, 2006
Pork chops
Politics: Conservative Republicans block a last-minute spending binge by their own party Mark Bergin
With the balance of power in both chambers of Congress set to tip Democratic next month, Republicans have one last chance to wield their majority before at least two years of impotence. But GOP Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Jim DeMint of South Carolina have forced the party to forfeit that opportunity, blocking the passage of pork-laden appropriations bills. In the name of fiscal conservatism, Coburn and DeMint would rather leave the 2007 federal budget in the hands of Democrats—a biting indictment of Republican spending habits.
“There are a lot of Democrats in the Senate and the House that ran on fiscal responsibility,” DeMint spokesman Wesley Denton told WORLD. “Let’s see if they’re going to walk the walk they talked about on the campaign trail. If they do, that’s wonderful.”
Critics consider that gamble foolish, a naïve bit of misplaced bipartisanship that will hand eager Democrats the chance to begin a reign of spending one year earlier than expected. But the Republican alternative, a slate of bills overflowing with nearly 10,000 earmarks, is no better. The Coburn-DeMint plan: a stopgap “continuing resolution” that will hold funding for programs at current levels until Democrats update the budget.
GOP appropriators decry the continuing resolution as a spoiler of Republican interests and a shirking of the congressional responsibility to pass a budget each year. Coburn, DeMint, and other fiscal conservatives respond with unyielding opposition to an earmark system run amok. Projects attached to the proposed spending bills include such pork as $300,000 for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, $175,000 for the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, and millions more to fix ball fields, add traffic lights, and research the Alabama horn fly.
Eliminating such earmarks for a year would save $17 billion in federal funds, prudence Coburn believes the recent midterm elections demand. “This year, in particular, pork did not save our vulnerable incumbents but helped drag them down,” he said. “The challenges facing our country are too great and complex for members of Congress and their staff to continue to be distracted by endless earmarking.”
Coburn contends that the Democratic sweep on Election Day did not constitute a rejection of conservative values but just the opposite—a rejection of big-government Republicans who had abandoned the party’s core principles. Strong fiscal conservatives such as Sen. John Kyl in Arizona and Sen. John Ensign in Nevada cruised to easy victories while many GOP incumbents known for earmarking and spending binges suffered defeat.
Since 1998, Republicans have overseen a seven-fold increase in pork projects. Since 2001, the supposed party of limited government has increased domestic spending by almost 50 percent. More than an indictment of the Iraq war, Coburn views the election results as a collective cry of “Enough!”
While many Republicans have affirmed the party’s need to recapture its thrifty identity, the notion of passing “clean” appropriations bills without earmarks failed to garner much support. “We can’t wait until January when the Democrats are in charge and say, ‘Now we’re going to be virtuous,'” Denton said. “If we’re going to have any credibility going forward at all, it has to start now.”
Waiting until January to feign a change of heart would not only lack credibility but would give Democrats a chance to take the lead on earmark reform. Prominent Democratic leaders such as Illinois Sen. Barack Obama have taken strong stands against the lack of accountability within the burgeoning earmark system. Obama teamed with Coburn last year in support of a measure that will soon provide full disclosure of earmark spending in an easily accessible internet database.
Such bipartisanship reflects a common aim within both parties against Capitol Hill’s covert third party—appropriators. Though some left-leaning pundits have complained that the continuing resolution is merely a Republican ruse to bog down the Democratic legislature from enacting its agenda, others view it as a chance to quickly prove that Democrats will alter Washington’s corrupt culture. “Democrats may in fact spend less with their first set of appropriations bills than Republicans did,” Coburn spokesman John Hart told WORLD. “The appropriators are saying the Democrats will spend more, but the facts of history don’t necessarily suggest that.”
Copyright © 2006 WORLD MagazineDecember 09, 2006, Vol. 21, No. 47