General Robert E. Lee was born January 19, 1807, at Stratford Hall, Virginia. General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson was born January 21, 1824, at Clarksburg, Virginia. These two Virginians became officers in the United States Army, distinguished themselves in service to their country during the War with Mexico, chose to defend their homeland during the War of Southern Independence and are considered worldwide to be two of the greatest military leaders the world has known.

Jackson died of wounds May 10, 1863, and is buried in Jackson Cemetery in Lexington, Virginia.

The Sixteenth Regiment, Sons of Confederate Veterans was honored with the presence of Mrs. Martha Van Schaick,  President General of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, above center, at their Annual Lee-Jackson Banquet. From left to right, the President General is accompanied by Dr. Julia Barnes, Piedmont  District Director, UDC; Mrs. Pam Evans, 3rd Vice President, Winnie Davis # 442; Mrs Eloise Verdin, SC UDC Division President; and Pam Durham, Treasurer, Winnie Davis # 442.

Denny’s on Wade Hampton was packed Friday night despite the sheets of cold rain blowing across the parking lot and no seats for at least two dozen attendees who stood around the walls and in the entrance. It was RINO Hunt meeting night, and despite the presidential  primary that would take place the following day, this group was focused on changing the South Carolina government, specifically the Senate. Four individuals announced their intentions of challenging incumbent Senators. Two are from Greenville County, one from Pickens and one from Senate

District 26 that includes part of Aiken, Lexington and Saluda Counties

For the past two weeks I have related to you my experiences while touring Cades Cove during a visit I paid last August to the Gatlinburg area. After exiting the 11-mile Cades Cove loop road, disappointed in my lack of an ursine encounter, I returned to Gatlinburg.

I found a reasonably-priced parking space on the top level of a parking deck behind the Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies and rode the elevator down to street level. As I walked by some parked city buses that were collecting tourists for the next run through town, I considered buying a bus pass and riding one of them to the various attractions I planned to visit. I decided instead to walk since my destinations were not too far away and because I could use the exercise.

While most South Carolinians were watching the election returns on television or pursuing their routine Saturday night entertainment, one hundred Upstate residents were celebrating the birthdays of two of America’s most admired and emulated military heroes, General Robert Edward Lee and Lieutenant General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson. Gen. Lee was born Jan. 19, 1807 and Gen. Jackson was born Jan. 21, 1824.

If you were born since World War II, you probably never heard anything positive about these men. That is, unless you attended a military school or one of the service academies where Lee is premier example of leadership and Jackson’s tactical genius is admired and taught.

Let me begin by putting my cards on the table.  I adore Ann Coulter.  After all, what’s not to love?  She is beautiful, smart, funny, and conservative.  She is always right about the left and she is usually right about the right.  But her analysis of why Gingrich won South Carolina is not only wrong, it’s wrong to the point of placing her firmly in camp of those who are actually helping fuel the Newt surge.

On Sunday’s edition of “Fox and Friends” Coulter opened her diatribe against South Carolina by saying, “Apparently, South Carolina would rather have the emotional security of a snotty remark toward the president than to beat Obama in the fall.”  She followed by accusing the “tea party crowd” of loving the name calling while ignoring Gingrich’s past.  She ended with a flourish saying, “With Gingrich you throw out the baby and keep the bath water!”

Costing Every Man, Woman and Child Estimated $1,300 per year

Greenville County Sheriff Steve Loftis and other law enforcement officials have confirmed that a majority of all crimes are committed by individuals involving or under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. The fallout from addiction and drug abuse  makes up a large portion of the workload of law enforcement, emergency medical personnel and facilities and is a burden on families and county taxpayers.

A study conducted by Tripp Umbach Healthcare Consulting, Inc. estimates that South Carolina spends more than $5 billion annually on substance abuse including criminal justice costs, social services, healthcare, loss of productivity and treatment.

A Love Story

The miraculous true love story that follows is that of two young people whose lives were changed when Cliff dialed a wrong number. It is also the story of a loving mother who sought help from the source of all wisdom and power. Finally, it is the story of how a group of former alcoholics and drug addicts, who are now new creatures in Christ, have used the Holy Scriptures to tap into the source of all wisdom and power and allow the love of Jesus to transform the lives of the most hopeless alcoholics and drug addicts.

Working together, with obvious divine guidance, they all contribute to the current happiness and joy of Christina and Cliff.

Senator Phil Shoopman, who represents District 5 that includes the northern third of Greenville County and a slice of northern Spartanburg County joining Greenville County, was the speaker at the annual dinner held by Americans for Constitutional Government. Sen. Shoopman talked about reapportionment, Voter ID and state funding problems and solutions.

Point Lookout, Union POW camp for Confederate soldiers, was established after the Battle of Gettysburg and was open from August 1863 to June 1865. It is located along the coast of Maryland only five feet above sea level, on approximately 30 acres of level land. It was the largest Union POW camp and one of the most secure, as it was surrounded on three sides by water from the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River, with Union cannons pointed at the Confederate prisoners from Ft. Lincoln and Union gun ships anchored in nearby waters. There were only an estimated 50 successful escapes.

The First in the South, South Carolina Republican Presidential Preference Primary will be held Saturday, January 21st. It is hotly contested and the outcome is unpredictable. This is partly because Democrats and third party folks can vote to select the Republican candidate to challenge President Obama in November and because some candidates and political action committees are running vicious ads on television and mailing false and misleading information on their opponents. Uninformed voters will be confused.

American tax money is helping to fund the salaries of Palestnian Arab terrorists who are or have been in Israeli prisons. Those who committed the worst crimes and received the longest sentences are also receiving the most money.

And if that's not bad enough news, several American TV news networks came out with the revelation this past week that the US government has been giving several Arab Moslem countries financial aid for the purpose of repairing and restoring Moslem mosques. All this through our US State Department with the approval of the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barak Obama.

Santorum, Perry Courting Upstate Voters, Candidate Forum Friday Night

“My first big win in this campaign was right here in Greenville at your County Convention,” said Rick Santorum after thanking Gresham Barrett, his campaign chairman and Greenville County GOP Chairman Betty Poe for their “great, wonderful hospitality.’ Santorum won the straw poll at the county GOP convention last year as he was launching his campaign.

Barrett is heading up Santorum’s campaign in South Carolina. The former Third District Congressman introduced former Reagan policy adviser Gary Bauer, who described Santorum as “the Reagan conservative” in this campaign.

Army Medic Killed in Afghanistan

Private First Class Justin Whitmire was laid to rest at Cannon Memorial Park on Saturday following a moving memorial service at Simpsonville First Baptist Church and a journey of three miles through streets lined with thousands of mourners bearing American flags. PFC Whitmire, an Army Medic,  lost his life while on duty in Afghanistan on Tuesday, December 27, 2011. He was 20 years old.

Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas), presidential candidate, greets diners before speaking at Stax's near Cherrydale, Monday. Gov. Perry was introduced by David Wilkins, former South Carolina speaker of the House and U.S. ambassador to Canada under President George W. Bush. Gov. Perry was also accompanied by Katon Dawson, former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party.

One of the unchanging principles of warfare is: “Know your enemy!” The same applies equally to spiritual and political warfare. This year the United States of America is engaged in a political battle for the survival of our constitutional republic. If the political battle is not brought to an equitable conclusion violence could erupt. Warfare is raging in the spiritual realm, of which only those with appropriate discernment are aware.

For any Republican candidate to defeat President Obama in the 2012 General Election, the candidate must know all there is to know about his opponent and have the courage to tell the American people who Barack Obama is, and what the incumbent president’s plans are for our republic.

Joined by Terry Grissop with  a True (more or less) Grizzly Bear Story

Stan Clardy closed out the fifth and final Special Friday Celebration  titled Christmas in Dixie at the Museum and Library of Confederate History in Greenville.

The annual event sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans and Order  of  Confederate Rose, is free and open to the public and attracts hundreds on Friday nights each December.

A different program is presented each week. This year, the musical programs were presented by Leeanne White, TheReeves Family, Mark and Donna Simpson, The Joyful Harps and Stan Clardy. Each program begins with a children’s hour from 6 to 7 p.m.

The Joyful Harps entertained officers and spouses of the Greenville Chapter, Military Officers Association of America at the Thornblade Club during their Christmas Banquet.

Most Republican Presidential Candidates consider the Iowa Caucuses to be an important launching pad for their campaigns. Iowa is the first state to select candidates to represent them at the national convention that will nominate the Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates to challenge the incumbent Barack Obama. Next will come the New Hampshire and then the South Carolina primaries.

The caucuses and primaries are not elections; they are means for a political party to select candidates to represent them in upcoming elections. Some parties in some states may use conventions to select candidates.

Very few things in our world today are certain.  For example, planes and trains run off schedule more than they run on schedule.  Appliances break down after the warranty has expired.  Clothes come into and then go out of fashion (but if you hold on to your clothes long enough, you will be in style again).  Many times, the check isn’t in the mail and our job, which we think we will have until retirement, changes or we get laid off.  Change is inevitable and the future is very hard to predict.