Appalachian Trail, my ass

Mark Sanford back in March, whipping up support in suburban Greenville for his anti-stimulus nonsense. Photo from the worshipful Greenville News.




Yes, we are continuing our sordid gubernatorial saga from yesterday, wherein South Carolina governor Mark Sanford goes on a binge... oops, I mean, decides to hike the Appalachian Trail all Father's Day weekend, without his four sons and (pointedly) not telling his wife where he is going.

What kind of patriarch is THAT, I ask you? Some Family Values THOSE ARE, Governor Sanford!

As stated yesterday, our chickenshit Gannett newspaper, ever-eager to tote water for the GOP, did not cover the story until it went national and people were giggling on cable TV outlets over it. Now, they have decided to (apologies to Gerald Graff) "teach the controversy" as a way of covering the story, without really covering it or doing any in-depth investigation.

Cagey!

Sanford's undisclosed getaway mocked in the media, criticized by lawmakers
Governor leaves town to 'recharge'
By Tim Smith • Capital Bureau • June 23, 2009

COLUMBIA - Gov. Mark Sanford has been hiking along with Appalachian Trail, his spokesman said this morning, and he will return to work tomorrow because of the attention this trip has garnered.

Joel Sawyer, a spokesman for the governor, said Monday that he could not disclose the location of Sanford. He said today that the governor’s staff waited until last night before releasing more detail, in part because “we wanted to have a little bit better understanding of where he was.”

He said the governor was taken aback by so much attention to his trip.

Sawyer said he did not know when the governor would finish his hiking trip or what section he was on of the popular trail, which runs from northern Georgia to Maine. Sawyer said there was no need to turn over his authority to the lieutenant governor.

Sawyer on Monday said the governor had left town last week to a secret location to “recharge” after his bruising political battle with lawmakers over the federal stimulus issue.

Sanford’s sabbatical drew the interest this morning of national radio talk show host Glenn Beck, who mused that the reason the conservative governor’s absence had stirred so much talk among politicians is because he poses a threat to the status quo.

“This guy’s a threat,” he told listeners. “What do they do? They smear him.”

Beck and his staff poked fun at critics of Sanford, mockingly suggesting that one reason Sanford’s wife had said she was not sure where her husband was could be because she had him killed.

“What’s next, Governor Sanford, fishing at Christmas?” Beck quipped.

One state senator questioned whether the governor’s location was known by his staff and criticized the governor for leaving without handling over control of state government to Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer.

“I think everybody in South Carolina ought to have a problem with it,” said Sen. Jake Knotts, a West Columbia Republican and frequent Sanford critic. “I don’t mind him taking off somewhere to be alone. But the constitution says that in the absence of the governor, the lieutenant governor should be left in charge.”

Sawyer said the Republican governor was taking time away “to recharge after the stimulus battle and the legislative session, and to work on a couple of projects that have fallen by the wayside.”

He said the brief sabbatical is not unusual.

Well duh! No, a sabbatical is not unusual, but not telling even your wife and children where you are, during Father's Day weekend, is just plain weird.

Further, it STINKS.

Does anyone believe this bullshit?

“The governor put in a lot of time during this last legislative session, and after the session winds down it's not uncommon for him to go out of pocket for a few days at a time to clear his head,” Sawyer said in a statement. “Obviously, that's going to be somewhat out of the question this time given the attention this particular absence has gotten.”

Before leaving last week, Sanford told his staff his whereabouts and let them know he would be difficult to reach, Sawyer said.

Should any emergencies arrive before his return, Sawyer said, the governor’s staff would contact other state officials to address them.

Knotts, a former police detective who first learned of the governor’s disappearance on Saturday, said Sanford left last week in a State Law Enforcement Division vehicle and that agency has not been able to contact him since. He said it is not the first time the governor has shaken his security detail.

“I understand that in other instances over the last several weeks, the governor has left without any detail and gone for short periods of time,” Knotts said, “but this is the longest.”

SLED Director Reggie Lloyd could not be reached for comment.

Knotts said he also had a problem with the governor taking a fully equipped SLED vehicle.

“I’ve had my battles with the governor,” Knotts said. “But this isn’t a battle with the governor. This is just plain out logical thinking.”

When Sanford first took office in 2002 he indicated he did not want a security detail watching him. He later relented after discussions with SLED’s chief.

Word of his disappearance on Monday prompted the leader of the Senate Democrats to say that he was praying for the governor.

“We’ve been concerned by the governor’s erratic behavior for some time,” Sen. John Land said in a statement. “We’re praying for him and his family. I hope he is safe and that he contacts the First Lady and his family soon.”

Sanford spent months opposing the acceptance of about $700 million in federal stimulus aid and even filed suit to try and get a federal judge to rule on the issue after the Legislature passed a budget with a provision that required the governor to apply for the money.

A federal judge sent the issue to the South Carolina Supreme Court, which ruled against the governor.

Why are we stuck with this jackass for a governor? Haven't we been punished enough?

And why DIDN'T he want a security detail? Oh yeah, all that Republican fiscal responsibility, right? Does anyone believe that?

I hope some intrepid, dedicated reporter with money and means, is snooping around the bank accounts as we speak, and looking for the brothel or the dope dealer or whatever else it is. Because I don't believe a single word of this CRAP.

Mark Sanford in hiding?

I've been getting hits for a couple of days now, with search terms like:

Mark Sanford Suicide?

Mark Sanford sick

Mark Sanford gone

Mark Sanford in hiding

Where is Mark Sanford?

And so on.

Of course, this excited lots of us, for obviously unsavory reasons, but I won't get into that.

The Greenville News, another Republican...oops I mean, GANNETT newspaper, has not covered the Governor's disappearance. I finally saw it on POLITICO, and now that the story has been picked up by the Associated Press, the Greenville News is forced to take note of the fact that Sanford has been incommunicado for several days:

Unclear if S.C. governor has talked to staff in days
By Jim Davenport • The Associated Press • June 22, 2009

COLUMBIA -- A spokesman for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford says the chief executive may not have checked in with anyone on his staff in four days.

Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said Monday he last spoke with the governor Thursday and was not aware of any other staff member speaking with him since. He says nobody in the office spoke with Sanford on Monday.

Sawyer said the the two-term Republican was expected to return later this week.

The spokesman emphasized that Sanford routinely takes time to unwind after a legislative session ends. But this time even Sanford's wife says she doesn't know where he went.

First lady Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press said she had not spoken with him for several days. That includes Father's Day. The Sanfords have four sons.

Translation: Even his kids don't like him.

Politico reports:

Staff says Gov. Mark Sanford is safe
By JONATHAN MARTIN & ANDY BARR | 6/22/09 6:25 PM EDT

South Carolina GOP Gov. Mark Sanford is safe and secure, his office said Monday afternoon, moving to tamp down speculation that he had gone missing.

Sanford has not been in touch with his office since Thursday and left Columbia without his state police detail.

His communications director, Joel Sawyer, wouldn’t disclose Sanford’s location but said that before the governor left town last week “he let staff know his whereabouts and that he'd be difficult to reach.”

“Should any emergencies arise between the times in which he checks in, our staff would obviously be in contact with other state officials as the situation warrants before making any decisions,” said Sawyer.

Sanford’s wife, Jenny, told The Associated Press Monday that she was unconcerned and that the second-term governor is “writing something and wanted some space to get away from the kids.”

Sawyer added: “The governor put in a lot of time during this last legislative session, and after the session winds down it's not uncommon for him to go out of pocket for a few days at a time to clear his head. Obviously, that's going to be somewhat out of the question this time given the attention this particular absence has gotten.”

Sanford allies blame that attention on some of the governor’s adversaries, especially state Sen. Jake Knotts, a veteran Republican who has clashed repeatedly with Sanford.

It was Knotts who provided the only on-record confirmation of Sanford’s absence to The State newspaper, prompting nationwide buzz about the unlikely story of the disappearing governor.

Knotts demanded in an interview Monday with The State to “know immediately who is running the executive branch in the governor’s absence.”

“As the head of our state, in the unfortunate event of a state of emergency or homeland security situation, Governor Sanford should be available at all times to the chief of [the state police force],” Knotts said.

State authorities told the paper that Sanford’s last known location was somewhere near Atlanta where the governor’s phone signal was picked up by a local cell phone tower.

Sanford’s solo summer sabbatical is only the latest reminder of his eccentricity.

“He marches to his own crazy beat,” said one veteran Palmetto State GOP strategist when asked about this Salinger-like episode.

Sanford, a potential 2012 presidential aspirant, has previously raised eyebrows in South Carolina for bringing squealing and defecating pigs into the statehouse to make his case against pork-barrel spending and for sporting a ratty blazer to his own Inauguration.

A former House member, he easily won his gubernatorial races and has been more popular with the electorate than the state’s political class.

But with unemployment climbing in South Carolina, Sanford has come under fire for initially refusing to take some federal stimulus funds.

Now he’s sure to become the butt of late-night television jokes for a time, not exactly the preferred launching pad for White House hopefuls.

Considering some of his sleazoid friends, maybe he decided to go on a coke binge.

Drugs? Booze? Women? Men? Solitude? Satan? You decide.

Hinky, part II

Why did it take five days to report Parker had a knife? Also, did the cop and the deceased previously know one another? Local gossip says yes. Why is there still no answer from law enforcement, to that direct question, as well as other very simple questions? Why is our local newspaper so clueless?

Minor digression: I attempted to log on to the Greenville News, and I am repeatedly told my username is invalid, even though I AM able to edit my profile. (?) I am also unable to send an email to the webmaster to ask why I can't log in. This extremely user-unfriendly website totally sums up the Greenville News, which I wouldn't even link here if I felt I wasn't forced to; we have no other daily local newspaper of record. But they make it as difficult as possible for the public to participate. (I've had numerous letters-to-the-editor turned down for flimsy-ass political reasons, as well. If you can't feign bourgeois objectivity like a journalism-school graduate, forget it.) I called the Greenville News, pissed off, and I was promptly transferred all over creation; it seems no one has a fucking clue. Typical. No replies, no call back, no answers forthcoming. Welcome to Gannett!

In case anyone wonders why people prefer blogs to the all-hallowed mainstream media these days, maybe it's because the mainstream media puts up as many roadblocks to regular folks' participation as possible, and bloggers DON'T. One requires a variety of arcane chants and spells to access mainstream media--and I confess, I don't know the magic formula. Most of us out here and the heartland don't know the magic formula either, and have no time for that. By contrast, on blogs, vox populi still rules.

Pardon digression.

They finally have their stories straight, and this is the finished version:

Officer says suspect had knife before he shot her, report says
'Confrontation' came when he decided to cuff her, report says

Published: Wednesday, September 5, 2007 - 2:00 am

By Paul Alongi
STAFF WRITER

A Greenville police officer who fatally shot a woman says he was standing about two feet from her in her downtown apartment when he saw that her left hand was behind her back, according to an incident report released Tuesday by the Greenville Police Department.

Cpl. Russell Irvin wrote that he decided to put the suspect into handcuffs and a "confrontation ensued," the report states. The suspect had a knife or some other cutting instrument, according to the report.

Sabrina M. Parker, 35, died at the scene of a gunshot wound to the chest at 6:07 p.m. Friday, according to Greenville County Deputy Coroner Ken Coppins. A weapon was found near her body, he said.

The two-page incident report doesn't say at what point Irvin drew his gun but provides several new details about the burglary investigation that led to the shooting and about Parker's past.

Parker told the officer that she "rode on the back of the garbage truck for the city," the report states. City Manager Jim Bourey said the record wasn't clear but that Parker may have worked temporarily for the city.

When the officer asked Parker for her age and identification, she said she was 28 and provided an ID from the state Department of Corrections, according to the report.

Parker was released on probation from Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood on May 1, according to corrections spokesman Josh Gelinas. She had been serving a three-year sentence for grand larceny, he said.

She also had convictions dating to 1991 for driving under suspension, shoplifting, public drunk and possession of more than one ounce of marijuana, according to the State Law Enforcement Division.

SLED is investigating the shooting. It will be up to the 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office to determine if it was justified.

Irvin, who has been placed on administrative leave, arrived at the scene, 208 E. Stone Ave., about 5:55 p.m. in reference to a burglary, the report states.

A woman told him that several items, including a television and computer, were missing from her apartment, according to the report. The woman told the officer that she confronted Parker about the items and that she denied knowing anything about them, the report states.

Irvin went to Apt. 4, where music was playing loudly, and knocked on the door several times, the report states. Parker answered, the officer asked to speak with her in private and they went inside, according to the report.

When the officer asked if anyone else was in the apartment, Parker said no, according to the report.

Parker said that she and the woman who complained had been in prison together, the report states. Parker denied stealing anything from her and told the officer that the woman held a grudge against her, according to the report.

While Irvin questioned Parker, she smoked two cigarettes and then went to the kitchen to dump the ashes in an ashtray, the report states. Irvin followed to ensure his own safety and saw a man lying face down on a bed in a "back room," according to the report.

He asked the man for his identification card and then Parker for hers, the report states.

While sweeping the apartment for other people, Irvin checked a living room closet with a partially opened door and saw a television and computer matching the description of the ones reported stolen, the report states.

Parker told the officer that she got the items from the trash at work, according to the report.

Irvin went to the kitchen, where the suspect was, and the confrontation ensued, the report states.

SLED spokeswoman Bobbi Schlatterer declined to say how many times the officer shot or how many times Parker was hit, citing the open investigation.

HE FOLLOWED HER WHILE SHE WENT TO EMPTY THE ASHTRAY???????????? She sounds real dangerous.

These other details mean little, except that she was a suspicious character. Well, stop the presses: "Irvin went to the kitchen, where the suspect was, and the confrontation ensued, the report states." Uh, well, duh. Of course. Obviously, since she is dead. WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED, WORD FOR WORD, ACCORDING TO EVERYONE THERE? Why is our lame-ass newspaper unable to get this story? If witnesses and law enforcement are unwilling to answer questions, we need to be told, explicitly" LAW ENFORCEMENT REFUSED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.

God, this story stinks. Too bad we don't have real a newspaper, with a real website, with real journalists and real webmasters. You know, like in the big cities?

Dream on, huh? (((spits for emphasis)))