The Ultimate Secession Question
- By Mike Scruggs
Choosing between Union under Tyranny and Liberty
The Declaration of Independence in 1776 established two great principles asserted by the Colonies, namely: the right of a State to govern itself; and the right of a people to abolish a Government when it becomes destructive of the ends for which it was instituted. These were the principal themes of the South Carolina Declaration of the Immediate Causes for Secession on December 24, 1860.
The South Carolina Secession Declaration also addresses some slavery questions, but most of these 18 short references relate to Northern violations of Article 4, clause 3 of the Constitution and the toughened enforcement legislation of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. I would agree that the 1850 Compromise that brought California into the Union was a disagreeable one, likely to cause genuine future tensions on both sides. The South Carolina Declaration uses these violations as specific examples of Northern breach of Constitutional and legislative commitments, which added to South Carolina’s case for secession. However, these uncomfortable clashes over the unworkable and unpopular 1850 Fugitive Slave Act do not justify a conclusion that Secession and the War were only or even principally about slavery.
Hayley’s Happenings #1
- By W.H. Lamb
Observations by Hayley Lamb
Hello to everyone. My name is Hayley Lamb, and you can see my picture at the top of this page. It was taken recently at my human Aunt Cindy’s house, where she chained me in her kitchen because of my long-time perfectly reasonable determination, whenever I visit her, of getting rid of those horrible cats that she has allowed to live in her house. Just because I caught one of her cats a short time ago and had its neck in my mouth, and just because it was making loud and strange noises, is no reason to keep me chained while those stupid cats run all over the house. Why any humans would tolerate cats in their house (or in the city in which they live) is beyond me. Humans are always difficult to figure out. Have you noticed? But more on that later.
Post 214 Legionnaire of the Year
- By Stuart McClure
Commander Bobby Davis congratulates Ed Collins as American Legion Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr.Post 214 as Legionnaire of the year.
BJU to Host High School Festival
- By Randy Page - BJU
Bob Jones University will host the annual High School Festival Monday, Nov. 1, through Thursday, Nov. 4, on the BJU campus.
“After hosting a virtual festival last year, we are pleased to once again host an in-person event,” said BJU President Steve Pettit. “I know many of our perennial participants are excited to return to the traditional format and we look forward to them showcasing their skills.”
High Stakes in Virginia
- By Thomas Sowell
Although Virginia has been a politically blue state for years, this year's election has the Democrats' governor facing a serious challenge.
One of the reasons is that many Virginia parents are outraged by the "woke" propaganda their children are being subjected to in the public schools -- and the governor has sided with the education bureaucrats and the teachers union.
Very few politicians in any state dare to go against the teachers unions, which have millions of votes and millions of dollars in campaign contributions.
This is one battle in a much bigger war, and the stakes are far higher than the governorship of Virginia or the Democrats and Republicans. The stakes are the future of this nation.
Top Court Rarely Disciplines Judges Despite Numerous Complaints
- By Rick Brundrett - The Nerve
Prio week, the S.C. Supreme Court suspended Oconee County probate judge Kenneth Johns for 18 months after he formally admitted – for the second time in five years – violating ethics rules for judges.
It’s not often that the state’s top court, headed by Chief Justice Donald Beatty, publicly disciplines a judge, though the court system’s recent annual disciplinary reports show that more than 200 complaints on average are filed annually against judges statewide.
According to the latest report for fiscal 2020-21, which ended June 30, out of 213 complaints received during the year and 36 complaints that were pending when the fiscal year started, just 15, or 6%, were not dismissed.
Veteran Goes to Post Ever-Lasting
- By Tony A. Dunn
Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 523 lost a Friend and Member 4 September 2021. Walter Jerome {Jerry} Brock a Vietnam Veteran was born in Columbia, S.C. 29 July 1946. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1966. He was married to his wife Doris for 51 years. He enjoyed getting out and sharing with other Veterans {especilly other Vietnam Vets} about the results ofAgent Orange exposure. He will be missed by Members of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 523
Biden's Department of Injustice and Intimidation
- By Tony Perkins - Family Research Council
The Loudoun County School Board may be in the market for a new superintendent, thanks to a bombshell memo about the district's cover-up. According to emails, not only did Scott Ziegler know about the sexual assault by a boy in a girls' restroom, he alerted the board to it that same day -- which, for people keeping track, was three weeks before he publicly told parents there'd been "no incidents" related to gender neutral bathrooms. The revelation, which only confirmed most locals' suspicions, has Loudoun's leadership in a swirling mess of their own making.
As Inflation Rises, So Will Tax Bills in Many States
- By Jared Walczak - Tax Foundation
Inflation is often called a hidden tax, but in many states it yields a far more literal tax increase as tax brackets fail to adjust for changes in consumer purchasing power. This phenomenon is called “bracket creep,” and it’s far creepier than the décor beginning to pop up in people’s front yards as we enter the final weeks of October.
Inflation currently stands at 5.4 percent over the past 12 months, the highest increase in decades, and is about 6.3 percent higher than when the pandemic began. A dollar doesn’t go quite as far these days, and compensating measures have been taken in a variety of sectors. Social Security recipients, for instance, will see a 5.9 percent Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) next year, the largest increase in about four decades. Wages are up about 7.3 percent during the pandemic, offsetting higher costs—though that may be cold comfort for those who didn’t see their own wages rise, or who saw the value of their investments decline.
Understanding the Danger America Faces From the Radical Spending Bill Democrats Want to Jam Through
- By Neil Patel
It's hard to overstate how bonkers the American left has gone. If conservatives weren't in such a state of disarray, they would be dominating American politics like never before.
President Joe Biden and leading Democrats somehow convinced themselves the 2020 election was a call to fundamentally transform America into a socialist country. They decided countries don't need borders. They decided police and other law enforcement don't deserve the backing of elected politicians. They decided the way to overcome racism is by literally dividing people by race. They have implemented policies to deter American energy production and thereby added to an energy price spike. They have implemented policies that take away incentives to work and thereby contributed to a labor shortage. They have even ignored advice from military leaders resulting in the U.S. government abandoning American citizens in a terrorist state.
Warnings and Threats -- or Bluster and Bluff
- By Pat Buchanan
Before the NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels this week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took a side trip to Georgia and Ukraine.
Purpose: Assure these nations that America has their back and encourage their hopes of future admission to NATO. Austin, said the Pentagon, would tell both nations there is an "open door to NATO."
"Ukraine ... has a right to decide its own future foreign policy," said Austin in Kiev, "and we expect that they will be able to do that without any outside interference." He went on:
"No third country has a veto over NATO's membership decisions. Ukraine ... has a right to decide its own future foreign policy, and we expect that they will be able to do that without any outside interference."
Eagle Forum Weighs in On Coach Fired for Praying
- By Eagle Forum
Next year will mark 60 years since the Supreme Court banned school-sponsored prayer. The High Court’s decision in Engel v. Vitale set off a chain of events that would slowly strip away religious liberty and have consequences that we are still fighting against today. One such example is Kennedy v. Bremerton, a six-year-old case that is knocking on the Court’s door for a second time.
In 2008, Joseph Kennedy was hired by the Bremerton school district in Washington state to coach football. For seven years, after every game, Coach Kennedy would take a knee on the field to say a short prayer giving thanks to God. This silent, 15-second prayer after players left the field led someone to offer a compliment to the school. However, a school staff member decided to return the compliment with malice. After the superintendent heard of the situation, he sent a letter to Coach Kennedy claiming that he neglected his students during that time, and it would cause others to think the district was endorsing religion. Coach Kennedy was suspended and eventually, his contract was terminated.
More secrecy on tap in upcoming PSC review?
- By Rick Brundrett - The Nerve
A powerful, legislatively controlled committee is scheduled Thursday to conduct annual reviews of the seven Public Service Commission members, though if recent history is a guide, the public won’t see any final written evaluations.
That’s because they haven’t been done in the past several years, despite being required by state law.
The written evaluations by the State Regulation of Public Utilities Review Committee (PURC) are important because state law requires that they be included in a PSC member’s record for “consideration if the member seeks reelection” by the full Legislature. The terms of three PSC members expire next year, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Who's Choking Off Your Children?
- By Michelle Malkin
COLORADO SPRINGS -- The latest horror story involving COVID-19 control freaks erupted right here in my backyard on Friday. It's breathtaking. Literally. No responsible parent can in good conscience sit by silently while pandemic tyrants choke off our children's freedom and oxygen supply.
Stephanie M. is a work-at-home mother of three young daughters. On Friday, she received a text from her sixth grade daughter, Rylee. It was a selfie photo of the girl taken at Chinook Trail Middle School in Colorado Springs. The school is in District 20, which imposed a blanket indoor mask mandate a month ago for all preschool through 12th grade students. Rylee's face was covered not only by a black mask but also by three thick strips of blue painter's tape sealing the top of the mask over the bridge of her nose.
Fairwell to Vietnam Veteran Chris Baird
- By Tony A. Dunn
Hundreds turn out to Woodlawn Cemetery to say their farewells to Vietnam Veteran Chris Baird.
American Legion Post 214 of Taylors, S.C. sent their Honor Guard to give Chris a proper Military respect.
The Great American (Vaccine) Purge
- By Tony Perkins - Family Research Council
Democrats have a new strategy to enhance the security of Americans: fire those who provide it. On Thursday, the U.S. Navy became the latest branch of the military to announce it will discharge sailors who don't meet their definition of "fully vaccinated" by November 28. Following President Biden's vaccine mandate, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed all military personnel to be vaccinated against COVID on August 25. As the deadline looms nearer, the military is now forced to deal with the reality that many service members will not comply -- and they are increasingly turning from diktats to punishments.
Progressives Versus Independent Contractors
- By Star Parker
Despite being a politician all his life, and never having worked in a blue-collar job, President Joe Biden declared, "I'm a union man," when he announced his presidential campaign at a Teamsters union hall in Pittsburgh in April 2019.
What our president really loves is big government and political power, and there is no more reliable money trough for Democrats than unions.
According to OpenSecrets, which tracks political spending, Biden's campaign received $27.5 million in contributions from unions, compared with $360,000 from unions that went to former President Donald Trump's campaign.
Afghan Girls 'In Terror' of Becoming Taliban Brides
- By SAT-7
SAT-7 is 'lifeline of hope' for women, girls facing rape, trafficking, forced marriage to Taliban fighters
EASTON, Md. -- Young Christian women and girls in Afghanistan are living in terror of being abducted as child brides for Taliban fighters -- and they're turning to a unique ministry for help.
"(We) are terrified," 16-year-old Nisha told satellite and online Christian broadcaster SAT-7 (www.sat7usa.org). "Everyone is afraid and scared of the Taliban. I cannot take what is happening around me. I'm crying out to God right now -- someone please help us. My family's situation is very bad."
Nisha is one of many desperate people in Afghanistan using phone apps like WhatsApp and Telegram to call or message the Middle East-based broadcast ministry, begging for prayer and help.
Polls Show Mounting Support for State Secessions
- By Mike Scruggs
Strongest among Southern Republicans
A Bright Line Watch/YouGov poll of 2,750 Americans taken in late June 2021, revealed that a jaw-dropping 66 percent of Southern Republicans indicated a willingness for their State to secede from the United States and join other seceding States. This was up from an already high level of 50 percent in a poll following the January 6 incursion of crowds of protestors into the Capitol building. Most of these protestors were frustrated by questionable election results but had no destructive or evil intent. Overall, in the June national survey, 37 percent indicated a “willingness to secede.” Republicans in the Western Mountain regions also evidenced strong sentiments favoring secession at 43 percent. Curiously, Democrats on the West Coast and in the Northeast also showed above average sentiment for secession, but obviously for different reasons.
So Just When Did The First American Revolution Begin? 1775? Maybe Not!
- By W.H. Lamb
We all know that our first glorious Revolution of the British American colonies began on April 19, 1775, when the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” was fired on the hallowed public “green” in Lexington, Massachusetts, a place I’ve walked on several times over the years. (It’s one of my very favorite places in the entire nation). Eight colonists were killed by the British Regulars on or near the Green, and ten were wounded. That’s when it started. Right? Then, it began to blossom a few hours later in Concord, Massachusetts, a few miles from Lexington, as our guys made a stand against that same group of British regulars at the Old North Bridge, over which I’ve walked several times (the several times rebuilt bridge, that is). So April 19, 1775 is the day that our first American Revolution began. Everybody knows that (well, everybody used to know that, but today not everybody does know it).
Taxing America First
- By Stephen Moore
Back in early 2016, when Larry Kudlow and I suggested that then-presidential candidate Donald Trump propose a 20% business tax rate for U.S. companies (down from the highest in the world rate of 35%), he enthusiastically endorsed this "America First" policy -- not because he loved corporate America but because he realized that as long as small and large American companies were paying the highest tax rates, jobs and factories would continue to move offshore.
We argued that the biggest beneficiaries would be American workers who would have access to more jobs and higher wages.
The liberal economists we debated on this disparaged the tax reform as "tax cuts for big corporations and the rich." They predicted that it wouldn't work.
Republicans Beat the Buzzer with Girls' Sports Win
- By Tony Perkins - Family Research Council
Plenty of parents have been fed up with Joe Biden's fixation on letting boys into girls' private spaces. But after the rape of one teenage girl in Loudoun County schools and the sexual assault of another, even fewer states are buying the line that the Left's radical transgender policies don't hurt anyone. If anything, it made states like Texas even more motivated to keep the two sexes separate -- like voters demand, and students deserve.
It took four tries, but on Sunday, Lone Star Republicans (and a few Democrats) could finally celebrate the passage of a girls' sports bill almost a year in the making. For members of the Texas House, that meant a draining, 10-hour debate that pit Biden's party against common sense. For State Rep. Valoree Swanson (R) and State Sen. Charles Perry (R), who'd fought tooth and nail for this moment, it was "a long time coming." Getting the bill through the House had been a major challenge this year, thanks to leading Democrats on the Public Education Committee who seemed determined to crush the dreams of female athletes.
Nationalism to Confront Globalism in Glasgow
- By Pat Buchanan
"Extraordinary, isn't it? I've been hearing all about COP," said the queen to the duchess of Cornwall. "Still don't know who is coming. ... We only know about people who are not coming. ... It's really irritating when they talk but they don't do."
Queen Elizabeth II was expressing her exasperation at the possible number of no-shows at the U.K.'s coming climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
Among the absentees may be Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose country generates more carbon dioxide than the U.S. and EU combined.
Behind the queen's exasperation, however, lies a political reality.
New Addition to Post 214 Military Museum
- By Tony A. Dunn
Pam Durham Stands next to her uniform she presented to the Cecil D. Buchanan Museum of Military History located at 3110 Wade Hampton Blvd.
Nite Line Guest Line-up for October 25-29, 2021
- By Nite Line Press Release
Nite Line broadcasts live Monday through Friday on WGGS-TV from 8 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. The program features local and/or nationally known guests who share their testimonies and talent. Our goal is to be an inspiration to our viewers as well as inform them of Christian and community events in the upstate.
Monday, October 25, 2021: Annie Broughton welcomes Jim Wiprut of Tryon, North Carolina to share how he became saved and returned to The Lord after straying. Disciple V ministers in music throughout the program.
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