What is to be done: Reflections on the Mother Emanuel shooting

At left: the victims of white supremacist Dylann Roof, all members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (known as "Mother Emanuel") in Charleston, South Carolina.


Left to right, from top: Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Reverend Clementa Pinckney, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Simmons, Ethel Lance, Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Reverend Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Myra Thompson.









When the shooting in Charleston happened (June 17), I nearly had a nervous breakdown.

All the work we have done towards racial reconciliation here in the South, all the dialogue, all the reaching-out, making alliances, supporting one another and going the final yard... POOF--I felt it all go right up in smoke, the smoke of gunpowder, the permanence of death. Holy God... REVEREND PINCKNEY???? I thought I would faint right there on the spot. No, I thought, panicked, please, NO, not Reverend Pinckney. I had to go on the radio and report this horror, and what possible words could there be? On the air, my voice quavered, and I said as simply as I could, this was exactly like a hard, sharp blow. On the head.

My co-hosts, looking stricken, just nodded silently along with me, encouraging me to go on. I was speaking for them too.

And I asked, how can white activists talk about this and not make it "about us"? Because its not about us.

One of my co-hosts, the amazing Double-A, disagreed. Of course this is about us. A self-identified white supremacist shot these people and we are white. We must always make it clear that this person does not speak for us, that this person is a dangerous renegade. He is the proverbial LONE GUNMAN.

Yes, okay. That is true... but of course, we do not want to claim him as one of us. And we don't have to, that is one of the main privileges of whiteness, isn't it? White sociopaths are... sociopaths first. Black sociopaths are... black first. Black criminals represent their race, while white criminals are just anomalies, outliers, sicko-crackpots safely apart from the rest of us... surely they do not represent the entire white race.

Do they?

Some black children will be afraid of us now. They are already afraid; they do not stop to ask, are all whites dangerous? They already know the answer to that by what they have seen. They act accordingly. They will avoid us, cross to the other side of the street when a group of us approach. They are looking at the record, they see what is right in front of them.

I wept passing the local historic black church close to my home, Reedy River Baptist, when I saw the marquee out front advertising Wednesday night Bible Study. YOU HAVE RUINED THIS FOR US, YOU MISERABLE FUCK DYLANN ROOF... At this point, I would no sooner walk in there for Bible study than I would go to Mars. A white person was welcomed for Bible study, and he drew his gun. On the air, I recalled the warmth and kindness of folks when I first moved South over 28 years ago, didn't know the neighborhoods and ended up at an all-black AA meeting. I was welcomed as one of their own, although they did wryly ask where I was from. Their kindness hit me hard, because I knew in the reverse situation, the black person in an all-white AA meeting would not be welcomed warmly, but probably just ignored or possibly chatted with on a superficial level (and *I* would be the one to do that). I was ashamed of what I knew then, and now.

The next time one of us strays in, or deliberately goes in, what will be the response? If it is suspicious and/or hostile, can we blame them? Maybe the response SHOULD be suspicious and/or hostile.

Even as I wept after the news of the shootings, the arraignment of Dylann Roof nearly drove me under. All that incredible, unbounded forgiveness reminded me of why I flunked out of Christianity so spectacularly. I have a hard time with forgiveness. (Irish Alzheimer's: you forget everything but the grudges.) Their incredible examples of humanity and decency made me sob with recognition, this is what we were taught: SHOW MERCY. I would have had none, and that made me cry even harder. Perhaps my own privilege is the reason I am unable to show mercy? My white arrogance somehow tells me the wrongs committed against me are of paramount importance... I can't let them go.

I decided the next time I needed to forgive, I would remember the words of these family members, forgiving Dylann Roof. I will remember and I will take them as my model, the spiritual heights that mere humans are capable of reaching when they dedicate themselves to the very highest principles, these truths we hold to be self-evident.

They felt sorry for him. He wasn't right, he was tormented and lonely... and they saw this. So did I, but... no sympathy.

I decided I wanted to be like them.

And so, the event changed me. This is why it has been so difficult to write about. As a white resident and political activist of South Carolina, the actions of Dylann Roof pierced my soul, and the forgiveness of the people he wronged set that same soul on fire. DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU MUST DO?--my inner self asked me, the voice I have always attributed to the Blessed Mother, whom I love. DO YOU SEE NOW?

Yes.

~*~

How to write about these things and be respectful? Specifically: How not to excoriate the opportunistic Southern politicians who suddenly came out of the woodwork to claim... I dunno, something. They came fast and furious, babbling and talking about prayer. Finally, Governor Haley decides the confederate flag must be taken down from the South Carolina State House, after defending it nonstop for two terms. Liberals threw spitballs, but she emerged looking good; she was all ready for her close-up, Mr DeMille! It was hard not to get mad all over again, as our very conservative, nonwhite governor decided to be nonwhite for the networks, and make a name for herself at long last. CABINET POSITION, she was whispering to herself... along with THIS IS MY SECOND TERM, THE RACIST LOONIES CAN'T VOTE ME OUT.

And so, Governor Haley signed the order and I waited around for hell to freeze over solid. She also attended every funeral, wearing her pricey, trademark designer duds. She even hugged Al Sharpton forgodsake. Luckily, cameras were around constantly to catch her dabbing at her eyes.

Believe me, this was hard to take.

Senator Lindsey Graham distinguished himself during the proceedings, talking not to the Masses but straight to South Carolina conservatives (his base) when given two minutes on any network: Please you guys, this is not the time to protect the flag... I understand how you feel, BUT THIS IS NOT THE TIME. Etc. He sounded like a kindergarten teacher trying to soothe an ill-behaved child who had locked himself in the utility closet with a rifle. Maybe that IS who he was talking to. The whites who feel wronged, left behind, their folkways and customs made fun of in international media, the southern whites who have felt the mass contempt of the world, sitting in their trailer parks, daily shit on by the rich. Angry, because its one more thing "they" are telling the poor whites they must leave behind, one more thing the liberals on the coasts have decided they can't have. Their resentment percolates, and in some times and in some places it is so pronounced, you can feel it.

And I watched confederate flags unfurl in the week the flag was removed. Many in the rural areas are still waving. One guy in a pickup was driving all over Woodruff Road with a stars-and-bars the size of Saskatchewan. But I looked around, and I saw other drivers pointing at him. Some shaking their heads in open disapproval. Its one thing to wave your flag before the NASCAR race, but another to wave it after someone has shot nine people to death, waving it in selfie after selfie. That wasn't cool, and even conservative SC citizens could clearly see that.

Progress of a sort. I wondered, does blood have to be shed before there is PROGRESS? Must we have martyrs before there is any damn PROGRESS???

More tears, more inability to write.

As you can see, it has taken me months.

~*~

Our Confederate Memorial Day state holiday remains untouched, as I reminded the kids on tumblr. In addition to South Carolina, there are official "Confederate Memorial Days" in Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia and Louisiana. (Virginia and Arkansas appear to have escaped this fate somehow, and good for them.) What are we going to do about that, anything?

Certainly, eradicating Confederate Memorial Day just doesn't have the ready-made media optics of taking down a flag, so maybe nobody cares? Except of course for the state workers insulted by the holiday. Do they count?

I say, lets get rid of it. And all those statues of John C. Calhoun? Calhoun Street, where Mother Emanuel is? Wade Hampton Boulevard, within spitting distance of me, also the name of a local high school? The entire South is named after slave-owners and confederate heroes. We have our work cut out for us.

As an American, I always believed the Germans went way too far, outlawing nazis, naziism and nazi paraphernalia for good. You know, free speech and alla that blahdeblah First Amendment bullshit I was raised with. But see, NOW they don't have to deal with this--they don't have towns, streets, boulevards and schools named after dead nazis, and that is the reason why. I stand humbled, and I officially apologize to the German people. You saw what needed to be done, and in your shame, you did it. Good for you.

Our turn now.

Primary elections depress me

I started to blog about the South Carolina primary of last Tuesday, but then I thought... WHAT FOR? Everybody was a shoo-in. I needn't have bothered to show up or vote. Senator Tim Scott won his primary bid, while Lindsey Graham was never in any real trouble at all, despite all his okey-doke on TV, designed to scare the hawks into giving him more money.

Depressing as hell.

As regular DEAD AIR readers know, I vote strategically, which means I vote in the Republican primary, since that's where the action is in my decidedly hyper-conservative state. Lindsey Graham fended off SIX (!) Tea Party challengers, with one hand tied behind his back. As Mr Daisy often says, only God knows how much money Lindsey Graham has. He could probably stand at the polling place (beyond the legal 200 yard-perimeter of course!) and hand out twenty-dollar-bills and not be any poorer for it. As it is, he and Tim Scott rate free commercials from Big Oil and Big Plastic, so he can hold onto his twenties. (and his fifties, and his hundreds...)

And yeah, that is WHAT I SAID: SIX TEA PARTY CHALLENGERS, including famously-wacky Lee Bright (I got a photo of him HERE, which got a new round of look-sees during the campaign) and a pro-lifer who drives an ice-cream truck and likes to call himself a "businessman". (He OWNS the ice cream truck, apparently.)

I voted for the ice cream truck driver, the only one I have met personally. I know ice cream truck drivers ("businessman" or not) will never make it to the Senate.

If these clowns could AGREE WITH EACH OTHER and band together as a unit, then ONE of them could have beaten Senator Graham in the primary. But they are SO specific about every jot and tittle of their conservative principles, it really is People's Front of Judea vs The Judean Peoples Front time. They can't even agree with each other. This is likely due to the fact that there are just SO MANY conservatives here, they can easily splinter over what the rest of us would consider small or inconsequential issues, just as the Left does in places like Berkeley or Boston.

The big news is that Brad Hutto, one of those conservative Democrats that are really Republicans, won the Democratic Senatorial Primary. He thinks he can take Graham, since Eric Cantor was ousted in Virginia. However, take note: Cantor was ousted by the aforementioned TEA PARTY, who managed NOT to have six candidates running at once, but only ONE, and then properly UNITED, they kicked ass. That's how its done; be advised!

Does Hutto think he can take advantage of Tea Party indignation over immigration and endless war? Well, maybe.

Democrat Vincent Sheheen, who already lost a gubernatorial election to (now Governor) Nikki Haley, is running against her AGAIN. As all of you know, I think this is a half-assed idea, and new blood would be far better.

Too bad they can't find any, since they are ineffectual as HELL.

Lindsey Graham has stood up against Tea Party outings, Tea Party attacks, David Brooks almost-naming him as a groper on TV, and countless other sticky situations. He seems bulletproof.

It also matters tremendously, as I have said before, that he is one of the most charming people in the world.

~*~

Stay tuned, sports fans.

The Execution of George Stinney, 1944

We did a radio show about George Stinney's execution back in November, and it seems the story is at last going viral.

George Stinney was executed by the state of South Carolina at the age of... 14. He is the youngest person ever executed by the USA.

And they found him guilty in 10 minutes. His family was not permitted to attend his trial. (yes, you read that right)

From Huffington Post:

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Supporters of a 14-year-old black boy executed in 1944 for killing two white girls are asking a South Carolina judge to take the unheard-of move of granting him a new trial in hopes he will be cleared of the charges.

George Stinney was convicted on a shaky confession in a segregated society that wanted revenge for the beating deaths of two girls, ages 11 and 7, according to the lawsuit filed last month on Stinney's behalf in Clarendon County.

The request for a new trial has an uphill climb. The judge may refuse to hear it at all, since the punishment was already carried out. Also, South Carolina has strict rules for introducing new evidence after a trial is complete, requiring the information to have been impossible to discover before the trial and likely to change the results, said Kenneth Gaines, a professor at the University of South Carolina's law school.

Arguments for a retrial were finally heard on Feb. 21st. Several radio shows besides ours spotlighted the case, as did CNN. Various local news reports have said today that these hearings have so far been "inconclusive"--so still more hearings seem to be on the schedule. (About what? Is there any question that this verdict should be overturned?)

Many have wondered: what good will this do? George is gone and won't be brought back. But clearing his name is very important to his family, especially his sister Aimee Ruffner.

And a 14-year-old? Should never be executed. Never.

Unaccountably, there are still those diehards who believe the execution was just.

I will be reporting on this as it unfolds. Let's hope South Carolina does the right thing, for once.

Photo: Racist celebration at Bob Jones University

A photo of the 2012 Election-Day celebration at Bob Jones University. This photo was belatedly discovered on BJU-owned WBJU's website and has been making the rounds on Facebook today. The photo was not hidden or private at all.

They don't even care if people see them acting like ... well, like what they are.

In the photo (below), as we see, a dark monkey-appearing doll (?) has been elected president, wearing a red, white and blue lei (after all, he IS from Hawaii) and overalls. Not sure I get the overalls reference, but I'm sure they had a reason.

This is what we've been talking about. This was 2012, not back in the 20s.

They have no shame at all.

The Lynching of Willie Earle

NOTE: I originally posted this in February of 2011, when the memorial was placed. It has now been 67 years; the memorial is now a mainstay of Greenville County Civil Rights/genealogical tourism.



65 years ago, the last lynching in South Carolina took place about 10-15 miles from where I live. And last year, after a very long 64 years, a memorial was finally erected on the rural back road where it happened.

[Caution: disturbing and violent content]


On February 16, 1947, Thomas Watson Brown, a white cab driver, picked up a black man on Markley Street in Greenville, South Carolina. Brown was later found half-dead, his taxi driven off the road in rural Pickens County. He had been beaten, robbed, and stabbed three times.

The Pickens County sheriff reported that muddy footprints at the crime scene led to the house of Willie Earle, about a mile away, where officers reportedly found cash, a blood-covered knife and bloody clothing. (Many of these facts have always been in dispute, but this is what was presented at trial.) Willie Earle, age 24, wasn't at his residence; he was in another cab, driven by a man who would later become one of the 31 defendants.

Earle was arrested and put in the Pickens County second-floor lock-up.

The news of Brown's stabbing traveled like wildfire, as did the news of Willie Earle's arrest. The nexus of unrest was the Yellow Cab office on West Court Street, where Greenville's taxi drivers had congregated in an angry pack, and started passing around a bottle of whiskey.

The Greenville News, recently granted access to some of the trial records and police reports, offers some chilling accounts:

The attitudes of the time are reflected in the casual manner in which one of the defendants, Hubert Carter, explained in his statement to police how he joined the mob.

The 33-year-old driver and father of four called for a ride home from the Cleveland Street taxi stand at 1 a.m. on the 17th, according to the Greenville Police Department file. He was picked up by another defendant, Paul Griggs, who "asked me if I wanted to go with the others to get the Negro being held for stabbing Mr. Brown.

"I told him I'd go along with the crowd," Carter said in his statement.

And so, in a tableau reminiscent of the famous scene in To Kill A Mockingbird (and perhaps it was an inspiration for it), the taxis all lined up in the early morning hours and drove in formation out to the Pickens County jail, maybe 20 miles away. It was February 17th.

I have often re-imagined the striking sight of the line of yellow cabs driving down the old rural road I have traveled down so many times myself. Did other people see them? They must have. Did the onlookers know where they were going? Did they tell their wives or girlfriends first?

And there was, sadly, no Atticus Finch to stand by the door. Instead, there was a jailer named Gilstrap, who suddenly had two shotguns pointed in his face. He didn't argue.

The mob took Willie Earle from the jail.

A call to Greenville's black funeral home, notified authorities of where the body was.

Thomas Brown died six hours later.

~*~

The first lynching since 1912, the murder of Willie Earle became big news. The trial was biggest lynching trial the state had ever seen. Most lynchings had never even been investigated, while this one had then-Governor Strom Thurmond threatening to put the perpetrators away (yes, you read that right). Time magazine sent reporters, and The New Yorker sent no less than Dame Rebecca West to cover the event.

From Time magazine:

Somebody "pulled the Negro out of the car by his belt." The drivers ''hit him several times with their fists and knocked him to the ground." One of the drivers pulled out a knife. "Before you kill him," he said, "I want to put the same scars on him that he put on Brown." Said Jessie Lee Sammons: "I could hear the tearing of clothing and flesh."

Then the drivers "beat the side of his head with a shotgun." Said Marvin H. Flemming's statement: "I could hear some licks like they were pounding on him with the butt end of a gun. I heard the Negro say, 'Lord, you done killed me.' " Finally, said Charlie Covington, he heard Roosevelt Carlos Hurd Sr., a Blue Bird cab driver, cry out: "Give me the gun and let's get this over with." Just then, "a tall, slender boy with bushy hair hit the Negro in the mouth and knocked him down. The Negro started to get up when Mr. Hurd took the shotgun. He shot the Negro in the head. He unloaded the gun and called for more shells. . . . Mr. Hurd shot the Negro two more times." The tissue of Willie Earle's brain was left hanging on the bushes. The lynchers went back to Greenville and drank coffee.

Of course, it was an all-white jury. Of course, they offered no defense at all. And of course, they were acquitted.

Of the acquittal, Dame Rebecca West wrote:

There could be no more pathetic scene than these taxi-drivers and their wives, the deprived children of difficult history, who were rejoicing at a salvation that was actually a deliverance to danger. For an hour or two, the trial had built up in them that sense of law which is as necessary to man as bread and water and a roof. They had known killing for what it is: a hideousness that begets hideousness. They had seen that the most generous impulse, not subjected to the law, may engender a shameful deed. For indeed they were sick at heart when what had happened at the slaughter-pen was described in open court. But they had been saved from the electric chair and from prison by men who had conducted their defense without taking a minute off to state or imply that even if a man is a murderer one must not murder him and that murder is foul. These people had been plunged back into chaos.

Chaos is the word. Chaos was the state of race relations in the south until the Civil Rights movement, when the chaos was at last addressed.

Next week, after many long decades, the spot where Willie Earle was murdered will be officially and historically marked. Future generations will not be like me, driving by a rural place in the road without knowing whose blood was shed there. We will see, and we will know.

Tessie Robinson, Willie's mama, died 8 years ago. I am so sad she will never see the memorial to her son.

For black people, a memorial and a reminder of what they already know and do not have to be told. For us white people, a souvenir of our savagery, and the cover-up of that savagery. Which is why the memorial has taken 64 years.

Rest in Peace, Willie Earle.

Altruism and Angels

Above, from left to right: Rabbi Mark Wilson, Rabbi Joshua Lesser, Rev. Jerry Hill, Rev. Donna Stroud, and Jayce Tromsness (director of the upcoming ANGELS IN AMERICA at the Warehouse Theatre). As always, you can click the photos to enlarge.

It was really great to listen to ALL of their varied experiences!

~*~

A week ago today, on Martin Luther King day (January 20th), some of us from Occupy the Microphone radio show attended a Warehouse Theatre event, one of a series of community discussions/dialogues titled Altruism and Angels: A Community in Conversation. The one we attended was titled Religion: Blessing, Curse, Irrelevant? A Discussion of the Impact on the Spirit, Advocacy and Vision of the LGBT Community. (This special series of discussions is part of the larger "Year of Altruism" that will be a religious focus here in Greenville during 2014.)

It was one of those evenings that caught me off-guard... one of those things where I thought I knew everything already, but the discussion took me in surprising and unanticipated new directions. The discussion wasn't a modest one, with God-loves-everybody platitudes, but instead went right for the jugular. It wasn't just about the fundamentalists, everybody's favorite whipping-boy, but about the ongoing moral struggle now faced by the "mainstream" denominations, when they grapple with issues like gay marriage and adoption.

For that reason, I didn't know how to write about the event, since I had mixed feelings about it.

To wit: Is religion one of the main causes of pain and anguish in the lives of LGBT people? Listening to some of the stories, it sure sounded like that to me.

Is this fact due to some intrinsically-negative factor about religion/spirituality in and of itself, or a separate thing, religious dogma specifically?

Can we separate the spirituality/comfort of religion, from the dogma that provides its ultimate psychological wallop, as ultimate truth and metaphysical certainty?

Isn't the fact of unchanging dogma one of the things that comforts us when we need it? If not (and I've never found dogma by itself particularly comforting, but I realize others do), then what is it that we grasp for in times of spiritual need?

At left: Some of the discussion participants. It was a lively conversation.


These are the things we talked about. Very intense. I did not necessarily come to the conclusion that religion should be let off the hook, although I did come to the conclusion that it is probably not an unqualified good, which is something I have always believed on some level. Religion done properly, I would say, is a good thing. Done improperly, it's a bad thing.

I am now wondering if that truism (which I never fully realized I subscribed to in the first place!) is simply mythological. One of those just-so stories we tell ourselves so we can get along with all of our religious neighbors.

As I said, intense discussion. So intense, I could not fully deal with it until today, so thanks for hanging around while I try to figure things out.

~*~

I recently went on a bit of a screed over at Tumblr, ranting about the kids who won't do activism. (And like most kids, they shrug, roll their eyes, and go on about their bizness.) But seriously, I do realize this phenomenon is one big reason why people avoid activism... or start like gangbusters and then fade out over time:

People have cherished ideas they bring with them into their activism and then, BLAMMO, something happens (like this discussion) and we end up questioning what we think we know, what we tell ourselves we already believe. And stuff like this can sneak up on you and leave you too winded to deal with what is right in front of you. I probably should warn the kids about life-altering moments like this, if indeed they do ever decide to engage in some real activism.

Then again, nah. Let em all find out for themselves. ;)

What does this bumper sticker mean?

Its our brand new DEAD AIR holiday bumper-sticker-deciphering contest! WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?-- please offer your 2 cents.

I haven't thought of any cool prizes yet, but working on it.


I took this photo about two miles from here in a public parking lot in a nice suburb. Not in the backwoods or anything. But of course, this is still the South.



~*~



I understand the basic assertion of the bumper sticker: The Confederacy would never have "left" the POWs and MIAs in Vietnam. (And that's some deliberately-inflammatory rhetoric right there, that they were somehow "left" deliberately. By whom?)

1) Does this mean the Confederacy would have had a Vietnam war too, in some alternative universe that never happened?

2) Does this include the African-American soldiers, too? (Can they be forgiven for thinking that your word ain't much, on this particular score?)

Any other questions, please ask in comments. Play along at home!

~*~

PS: This also gets put in my "You Yankees don't know how easy you've got it!" file.

SC State senate subcommittee meets on Obamacare "nullification"

... and our local Greenville News was nowhere to be found. Does this mean it's a non-issue? We can only hope.

At left: The big meeting last night at the downtown library to discuss H.3101, which would nullify the Affordable Care Act under the Tenth Amendment, which (white) South Carolina has loved since that fateful December day in 1860. (As I have reported here before, our Governor has proclaimed the Tenth Amendment is the essence of the Constitution and "State Rights trumps everything".)

Gorgeous Gregg, our radio consigliere, spoke at the meeting and was characteristically fabulous. And as a bonus, Mrs Consiglieri (she actually prefers the term Mrs Gorgeous) also addressed the committee. That made two radicals. Two. In addition, there were maybe three well-mannered liberals, pleading with the good Christians for health care. The rest?

This being Greenville, I think you know the answer to that one.

~*~

The good news, as I will share on our radio show today, is that socialism in America is A DONE DEAL!

Yes, I know. You're shocked. Ohhhh, me too. I am STUNNED it will be this easy.

Some of us were schooled that a socialist revolution would be at the barrel of a gun... Che Guevara, Vladimir Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg, Fidel, Trotsky, Mao... you know, all of those people. They agreed on this fact, if little else. I had long ago given UP on the idea of socialist revolution, since as you all know, I am a bubbleheaded Buddhist peacenik vegetarian who gets agitated even when killing insects... and I try to transfer this unpleasant task onto my cats. (Very recently, I cried over the CNN documentary about SEA WORLD whales, forgodsake.) No violence!--sobs hippie grandma. I like to watch horror movies and suchlike, but that's make-believe, and not real. Authentic violence/brute force is something I do not endorse. I don't endorse it by MY government, and I don't endorse it from the Left. Collateral damage is a horrifying turn of phrase.

Well, all of that is MOOT. Yes, MOOT, do you hear me? Fuhgettaboudit, as the New Yorkers say.

SOCIALISM IS HERE. <----- I heard this sentence about a dozen times, from a dozen angry SC-citizens last night. In fact, the ideological lockstep was striking, the choice of words almost precisely the same in several cases. Did they crib it all from Glenn Beck? Are they unable to think for themselves? It sounded exactly like a script, like programmed androids. Mr and Mrs Gorgeous were notable for the fact that although connected in holy matrimony, they actually sounded markedly different from each other, whereas many of the speakers who supposedly were not acquainted and/or lived at significant distances from each other... sounded virtually identical in their phrasing. Brazen Tea Party lockstep gave me the major creeps. (I toyed with naming this post THE STEPFORD TEA PARTY and realized that title has probably already had its heyday.) In that sense, it was a lot like the Town Hall meeting I attended in the summer of 2009.

So, just to clarify--

You thought President Obama gave in to the health insurance industry; you thought Obama staged one of the biggest tax-giveaways to (decidedly unsocialist) Wall Street in history. No, no, NO. Obama is a socialist. In fact, the passage of Obamacare will SOLIDIFY socialism in our government as NOTHING BEFORE IN HISTORY. It's THE INSTITUTION OF SOCIALISM. It will happen, unavoidably and unequivocally. We listened to Tea Partier after Tea Partier gibbering madly about SOCIALISM.

I am now wholly and completely enthusiastic about Obamacare. I was admittedly rather tepid before, since I greatly-preferred the Green Party program of Medicare for all. But this was obviously before I attended last night's meeting and learned THE TRUTH. INSTANT SOCIALISM! Wow, is that GREAT or what? NO VIOLENCE, a totally peaceful transition! I am wondering what the Socialist Workers Party and the Revolutionary Communist Party and that whole red crowd I used to hang with, is thinking NOW. I guess they will be disbanding? Nothing to complain about now! Wall street, shmall street!

And that ain't all, sports fans.

A strange piece of paper was foisted on me as I entered the aforesaid meeting. It is authoritatively titled SIXTEEN FACTS ABOUT NULLIFICATION and was ostensibly written by the bill's sponsor in the SC State House, Bill Chumley, a proud member of Sons of Confederate Veterans. (Hey Bill, guess what? My Confederate ancestor was smarter than yours! And as we see, we have both inherited our respective CSA-ancestors' intelligence. Excuse me, I digress.)

First, we get all the (cough) 'facts' about nullification, but at the bottom, there are some fascinating editorial comments:

South Carolina will become the first state to nullify Obamacare by making it illegal for the state or any local government or agency to enforce that law. Also, the path will be cleared for further actions to resist the federal bully by indicating that this state will defend her constitutional rights by, if necessary, criminalizing FEDERAL enforcement of unconstitutional laws within our borders.

Mark my words, unless the precedent of defiance is set, the feds will try to force homosexual marriage on us while taking our guns AND our right to public prayer.

DO YOU SEE THAT??? DO YOU???

Obamacare will usher in gay marriage, gun control and abolish public prayer! POOF! Just like that, just by existing. Is that some magic hoodoo shit or what?

More reasons to love Obamacare! No more of this state-by-state bullshit with gay marriage, sports fans! It will just...
HAPPEN BY FIAT. ABRA CADABRA! Obama has reached out to grabya.

I never knew it could be this easy. I was ready for a long battle. And I am assured by Bill Chumley that NO, its just going to HAPPEN, BY SOME MAGICAL POLITICAL OSMOSIS!

I woke up in a great mood today, since I realize now that a bloodless socialist revolution is imminent. Damn, do I feel GOOD! ITS MORNING IN AMERICA, yall!

And oh yeah, this was at the bottom of Chumley's screed:

Contact your senator and ask your friends and family to do the same. Tell him you want the senate to approve H3101. Also, attend the town hall meeting in Greenville, being held by Sen. Tom Davis on Nov 5th, to discuss nullifying Obamacare.

I truly believe the survival of our republic depends on two things: a return to Christ and the Scriptures; and, reestablishing States’ rights and state sovereignty as our political foundation. Feel free to contact me anytime at (864) 303-2726, with any questions or comments. I’d love to hear from you.

Do you think Bill really wants to hear from me? I am skeptical of his sincerity.

Bill's Rebel ancestor would be so proud of him. And mine would be so proud of me. This is the week we traditionally honor our ancestors, and I am proud to honor mine, by abandoning the backward Confederacy, once again. I love you, Thomas Hatcher... thank you for passing onto me the DNA to think for myself in the midst of racist, classist, reactionary insanity.

And I was extremely conscious of this fact, as I listened to the veritable parade of Tea Party speakers, that herd of independent minds using the exact same phrases and paragraphs, recited as a child recites from the Gospel of John in Sunday School. Independent-thinking was a trait in very short supply last night. They are still afraid of their boogeyman, whom they have erroneously confused with Jesus Christ.

Since as we all know, Jesus was a socialist who said, SELL EVERYTHING YOU OWN AND FOLLOW ME.

(((goes off to whistle the Internationale)))

Haley Watch: Why won't Democrats attack the governor?

South Carolina's progressives continue to twist slowly, slowly, in the wind. The official state Democratic Party seems to be ... well, where are they?

There are plenty of actual rank-and-file Democratic voters, but the state party leadership seems to be too timid to actually present these voters with any real options. (It might, you know, appear RUDE or something.)

It is therefore up to conservative libertarians like Will Folks, to attack Governor Nikki Haley for being corrupt. The conservatives are left to do the work of criticizing Republicans?!?

Yesterday, FITSNews reported:

S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley says she will openly defy a two-decade-old state law which prohibits elected officials from using taxpayer resources to conduct political campaigning.

Haley has been busted violating this law on numerous occasions in the past – most notably during the aftermath of a previously undisclosed car crash that followed a campaign event in North Carolina (news of this crash was reported exclusively by FITS).

Prior to that Haley has come under fire for racking up exorbitant security costs on political trips – including fundraising trips. The governor reimbursed some (but not all) of those costs.

Now she won’t have to pay any of them.

Check out the whole thing. Read it and weep.

And while you're at it, weep over the fact that Will is 100% correct. His CONSERVATIVE blog, FITSNews, exclusively reported Haley's North Carolina car crash that occurred on our dime. No Democrats have used this incident to go after Haley hammer and tongs, as they should. Instead, we get the usual tepid, perfunctory and meek "response" quotes; the sort of half-baked, apologetic political bullshit always offered for standard publication.

In the above post, for example, we read the following boring-ass quote from SC Democratic Party spokeswoman Kristin Sosanie:

Rather than following South Carolina’s laws and behaving ethically, Nikki Haley just writes herself a new set of rules so she can continue to campaign on the taxpayer dime.

Wow, ya think?!?

Will's post has more chutzpah in one sentence, than THE REAL DEMOCRATS can muster in all of their silly, inconsequential canned-media mewling.

How about something like this: "This irresponsible, lazy, narcissistic and inexperienced LIAR is thieving from the people of South Carolina to fund her pricey, designer-clothes wardrobe; her trips to France and Germany; crashes of unauthorized cars in North Carolina; and now... she is going to use our money to keep her job for another four years. Meanwhile, the Department of Revenue is hacked, while she takes another vacation. She needs to GO. She is destroying the state."

THAT is how it's done, people.

Hey Dems, if you need me to help you out, contact my radio show. I'll be glad to write you some applause lines. Or maybe you can call Will?

Apparently, the Republicans and Green Party people are more effective at being Democrats than the Democrats are.

~*~

The Democrats have launched no genuine, full-throttle, hard-hitting ATTACKS on this ethically-challenged, opportunistic political-nightmare, who is spending our money like it is going out of style, all while advertising herself as a fiscal conservative. Voters on both sides of the political spectrum are thoroughly FED UP with her.

Where are the Democrats and why are they not taking full advantage of this sordid situation? Same place they've always been: asleep at the switch. As always. As usual.

In this state, Democrats are too defeatist to even BEGIN. They are too cowed to realize when they actually have the upper hand, as they do with corrupt Governor Haley. They are so accustomed to losing, they practically announce their losses before election season. They expect the worst, and therefore try to behave and blend in, basically apologizing for existing.

Democratic slogan in South Carolina: "We're sorry for being the opposition! It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it!"

But see, they DON'T do it, is the problem. They are a collection of empty suits.

This is the party that nominated an unelectable man with a prison record to run for the 3rd District congressional seat, rather than dynamic Jeanne van den Hurk, who would have run a vital, energetic and very capable campaign against awful Tea Partier Jeff Duncan. This is the party repeatedly presenting us with the well-behaved snoozefest known as Vincent Sheheen (no offense, Vince, but facts are facts) to run against Governor Haley, an up-and-coming, razzle-dazzle neocon star (and Vogue model) with oodles of Tea Party money at her disposal. This is the party that gave us the disaster known as Alvin Greene to run against the formidable Jim DeMint. This is the party that did VERY LITTLE to help my friend Deb Morrow, in her congressional run against the 4th District's terrible Trey Gowdy.

Why are they so incompetent? WHAT ARE THEY DOING?

Why are they so comatose and complacent in the face of total disaster?

(((Daisy goes off to gnash teeth, pull out hair, and howl at the moon.)))

Confederate Memorial

We went down to Springwood Cemetery, because Mr Daisy discovered that one of his favorite mystery authors was buried there, John Dickson Carr.



And so, while we were there, we had a look around. It was cloudy and overcast, giving off a perfect Halloween vibe. We saw some interesting tombstones, many very old.

This statue was on a toddler-aged child's tombstone, very poignant:




This being the South, lots of references to heaven:




Springwood Cemetery is well-known as a famous Confederate resting place. There are countless tombstones accompanied by the historic CSA (Confederate States of America) marker. Many are unmarked stones. It is a popular site for genealogical researchers, as well as history buffs.

Memorial to General Robert E Lee:



Interestingly, it is now known as Main Street, and hasn't been called "Dixie Highway" since I have lived here.


And there is a Confederate Memorial with some sobering words on the side. I knew as soon as I read it, I had to share it here.




The monument reads:

All lost, but by the graves
Where martyred heroes rest
He wins the most who honor saves
Success is not the test
The world shall yet decide
In Truth's clear far-off light
that the soldiers
who wore the Gray and died
with Lee, were in the right.


Obviously, speaking from 2013, Truth's clear far-off light has decided the opposite. But see, how utterly certain they were? As certain as today's war-partisans are.

And I often wonder, how will history judge us?

Throwing Stones

What a mess. What a total, complete, unadulterated, absolute MESS. It's hard to come up with anything more descriptive to say about the debacle that is the Republican temper-tantrum, i.e. the current government shutdown, which officially began at midnight. (I keep thinking of the Grateful Dead song that is the title of this post.) Of course, we talked about it at length on Occupy the Microphone today.

The puzzling thing, to me, is that Republicans don't seem to mind being perceived as the party that prefers the American people stay unhealthy and uninsured. "Anything to keep people from having health care!" is how most of the GOP congressional representatives sounded, proudly venting on various news shows late last night. It's worth it to STOP OBAMACARE! Do they know how they sound? Or is their own re-election the primary factor in their decision? Robert at Blue Heron Blast sums up a lot of my thinking:

The problem is that the House Republicans have all gerrymandered themselves into safe seats in safe districts. Any flak they will receive will be from their right in the primaries. Although I am sure that many are concerned with the health of the nation, at least I hope so, the overriding motive has to be getting re-elected. So there is really no hope for common ground.

The optics of this debacle are pretty clear. A CNN/ORC poll found that Republicans in Congress would shoulder more of the blame for a shutdown. Forty-six percent of Americans said that Republicans on Capitol Hill would be mostly responsible for a shutdown, versus 36 percent who would blame Obama and 13 percent who would blame both.

So 25% of Americans polled will blame you more than the other guy and you don't care, because it will play so well for the folks in your district and frankly, what else matters? Bravo!

I went to the outfitting store to get some straps to hitch my borrowed monopod to my camera pack this morning. The vacation to the National Parks between Wyoming and Montana that are scheduled to be closed at midnight tonight barring an unforeseen stroke of sanity barreling down on the beltway, which you should certainly not hold your breath for.

I will make do, lots of nice state parks I am looking at in the area, there are worse prison sentences than spending a week on a bar stool in Jackson Hole. But it sucks. And it even sucks worse for the man helping me in the store, who is in the naval reserve and ferries Navy Seals around on missions. He is now on no pay as are many of the private contractors who aid our defense effort. Awful thing we are doing to them, not to mention furloughing 800,000 civil servants and leaving millions without pay. Oh, I forgot, we hate the government and the people who work for them.

Yes. The party that loves war, does not want to pay their soldiers. Irony!

And such a depressing, demoralizing spectacle.

~*~

While waiting for Republicans to come to their wacked-out senses (might be awhile), we can work on getting us some gay marriage rights, and thus, continue to drive (some of them!) crazy.* From the Advocate, here is a great piece by Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, whom I was fortunate to meet during our local Campaign for Southern Equality demonstration in January.

Op-ed: How Resistance Will Change the South:

Growing numbers of people across the South are finding the courage to stand up to such laws by taking public action. Since the We Do Campaign launched two years ago, I have stood with more than 80 LGBT couples as they have requested — and been denied — marriage licenses in their hometowns across the South, from small rural towns in Mississippi to cities like Charlotte, N.C. To watch LGBT people stand at the marriage license counter, many with their children at their side, is to witness courage firsthand. In the face of a legal system that denies our humanity and tells us we have no right to even approach this counter, these families are expressing powerful truths: We are human, we are equal, this is our home, and we have a fundamental right to marry.

As we continue to grow the We Do Campaign, we are now actively seeking a public official in the South who will stand up with us and issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple as an act of conscience. Marriage license offices in New Mexico and Pennsylvania have recently started doing this, and in years past it has happened in California and New York as well. In Pennsylvania, Montgomery County Register of Wills Bruce Hanes has said of his choice, “I firmly believe that I’m on the right side of history.”

Can this happen in the South? We have contacted marriage license offices in more than 600 counties to pose this question. There may be a Bruce Hanes somewhere in our region. Or it may well be that the power of these discriminatory laws is so great that even those public officials who support marriage equality — and they exist — feel that the risk of acting on this belief is too great.

It's an interesting strategy, and I will be watching carefully to see how it goes.


*I acknowledge there are SOME Republicans who are in favor of legalizing gay marriage, foremost among them Cindy and Meghan McCain.

Florida rules that stalking and killing a black child is legal

If people don't believe racism is alive and well, I tell them to go to Twitter. They have these handy things called hashtags: #. And you can follow it yourself. It's on full display there every single day and night.

Today, racists are crowing and happy with themselves. So don't tell me this hasn't strengthened and emboldened them. I can read for myself. Last night, after the announcement of the verdict in George Zimmerman's trial, they were gloating and joking that nationwide, "blacks and white liberals are furious"--and they were enjoying the HELL out of it. So before you say my headline is over the top, go over there and read, and then get back to me.

Trayvon Martin's murder has been ruled justified. And he was an innocent boy doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG.

Let's review.

A grown man (with an ongoing wannabe-cop fixation) followed an unarmed kid talking to a girl on the phone; jumped out of his car and stalked him (directly against 911 advice, even though he blatantly lied and told the 911 operator he was abiding by their advice) and then pointedly picked a fight with him, at night. The boy thinks he's a freak or pervert and says something like that to his friend on the phone. The white man's first words to him are "What are you doing?" instead of "Hey, I'm 'Neighborhood Watch,' what's up?" and there is a fight, in which the kid feels he is being attacked by a pervert, and fights back. Zimmerman, who deliberately broke 'Neighborhood Watch' rules by being armed and stalking a suspect, shot him in cold blood.

If the races were reversed? It is impossible to imagine, isn't it? Would a black man stalk and shoot a white kid without being arrested immediately and pleading out right away?

There wouldn't even have been any trial.

As Tavis Smiley commented this morning on TV: Under existing "Stand Your Ground" laws, it is understood that George Zimmerman could legally "stand his ground"--but Trayvon was not permitted to stand HIS ground and fight back. His act of fighting back against a strange attacker, was seen as proof that he was dangerous and deserved to die.

And so, there has now been a trial. A bad one. A trial with no African-Americans on the jury. Let me ask you, if the above reverse-race scenario occurred, would the jury trying the black man (if he didn't plead out, which he would have) be all black?

Again, it's a laughable reversal, isn't it?

It would never be permitted to happen.

Travesty does not cover it. This is a seriously racist country, and some places (like here and Florida) are obviously far worse than others. And plenty of racists defend Zimmerman's stalking-behavior and murder. (Right-wing commentator-queen Ann Coulter promptly tweeted "Halleluyah!" after the verdict was announced. )

It is open season on black males in the South. Well, let me amend that... the recent award-winning film FRUITVALE STATION, about the murder of Oscar Grant in Oakland, reminds us that it isn't just the South. Certainly, I saw comments on Twitter from as far away as the UK, saying rah-rah George Zimmerman.

I remember asking one frenetic Twitterer why they thought Trayvon seemed so "suspicious"; he looks like any one of the random regular kids in my neighborhood. I walk at night around here and I pass them all the time. They have their late-night candy in their hands, just as Trayvon did. They are polite and say hi to me, nodding amiably; I have never been afraid. One of the Twitterers said WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!? HE LOOKED SUSPICIOUS, HE LOOKED DANGEROUS!

No, he didn't. Only if you believe all black kids are intrinsically scary, could you claim such an outrageous thing.

It was due to the torrent of racist tweets that I knew what the trial's outcome would be, and said so, repeatedly, on our radio show. Local activist Traci Fant went to Sanford, Florida during the trial and called our show, making the same prediction. We knew that Zimmerman would be set free. He speaks for too many people; he is their hero.

The sacrifice of Trayvon Martin appears necessary to sustain the heart of racist America, since we now have a black president. The racists couldn't get rid of Obama, so this is their consolation prize. That's the only thing I can figure out.

I am deeply ashamed of our country and court system today.

~*~

Comments welcome, as always, but PRO-ZIMMERMAN COMMENTS WILL BE DEALT WITH VERY HARSHLY. As far as I am concerned, if you are pro-Zimmerman, you are a racist and I will be addressing you that way.

If you are pro-Zimmerman and somehow believe (i.e. lying to yourself) you are "not racist", you will hereby convince me that the race-reversal I offered above, could actually happen and the outcome would be exactly the same. There will be no other pro-Zimmerman discussion allowed here. NONE.

Take it to Twitter. They wallow in it over there.

Friday update (after the red velvet cake)

Today's Multicultural Festival was fabulous. Red velvet cake! Imani dancers! A special shout-out and copious compliments to Traci Fant for her hard work and terrific organizational skills.

It was especially fun because it was at McAlister Square, which is also the location of the WOLI radio studios, where we broadcast Occupy the Microphone. Today's show is up, as well as yesterday's, wherein we discussed various events in the ongoing trial of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin. We discussed the racist trashing of young Rachel Jeantel (prosecution witness) at length, on both shows. (NOTE: I will be writing about the Zimmerman trial at length after the verdict, as I will also be writing about the Jodi Arias trial after her sentencing.)

And speaking of trials, my deepest apologies for omitting a link to Gregg's great interview with Alexa O'Brien, one of very few reporters covering the trial of Wikileaks whistleblower Bradley Manning. Extensive daily coverage of Bradley Manning's trial is available at her website.

Today, we wondered why some trials get daily televised coverage, and yet Manning's has been virtually ignored by the mainstream media. One might even come to the conclusion that the government and media don't want us to hear the details.

Ya think?

~*~

OTHER RANDOM STUFF you might find interesting:

[] Paula Cooper, who made big news as a teenager sentenced to death row, was released from prison on June 17th. She was only 16 when she was sentenced to death for the grisly killing of 78-year-old Bible teacher Ruth Pelke, and in 1986 was the youngest death row inmate in the USA.

The Gary, Indiana, murder was quite famous throughout the Midwest, and often cited by various pundits of the day as proof that the world was going to hell in a handbasket. Cooper stabbed Pelke 33 times, and with three of her friends, took off with Pelke's car and a whopping $10. Due to her age and (lack of) social status, there was an international outcry over her death sentence, including an intervention from none other than Pope John Paul II. Her death sentence was set aside in 1988, and it has since been found unconstitutional to execute inmates under 18.

[] Me and a horror-movie actor get in a Twitter argument after the announcement of the Supreme Court's DOMA ruling. Meanwhile, Mike Huckabee tweets "Jesus wept" and gets a torrential (and sometimes hilarious) response.

[] Charlotte, a local progressive, crafts strategies for electing Democrats/liberals here in South Carolina--and by extension, other conservative southern states. Contains an excellent analysis of the political psychology of the South, by a Greenville County native (and one of our regular radio show listeners).

[] I wrote about the documentary "Project Nim" over on Facebook.

[] Obama's War on Journalism (Salon) and Seven Myths about Edward Snowden, NSA whistleblower (The Nation)

[] Sweet three-year-old Jameson Kessler is eager to save his baby sister's life with his bone marrow; he calls himself "Marrow Man"... yes, we all want to be superheroes, don't we?

And little Jameson will become a superhero for real. :)

~*~

Your official DEAD FROM CUTENESS video for this month features adorable Jumbo Pillow (he is only 6-months-old but looks older since he is, well, JUMBO PILLOW) meeting his new housemate Cooper. OMG!!! ((((faints from the cute))))



PS: This is called "Friday update" because I will not be online tomorrow, and this will have to do until after the weekend.

Duke Energy public hearing

... last night at County Square in Greenville, SC. The South Carolina Public Service Commission listened to community testimonies regarding the impact of Duke's latest proposed utility rate hike. Various politicians and local activists also attended, including your humble narrator.




At left, Les Gardner, development director for the Greenville Tech Foundation, claimed Duke contributed over $4.3 million to the school through its AdvanceSC program. His was the only pro-Duke voice I heard during the brief time I was at the hearing, although apparently a few other capitalist hacks showed up to appropriately genuflect to their big-money patrons.

These few were easily drowned out, but I sincerely doubt the Forces of Good will prevail over Duke Energy greed and their desire to suck money into building even more destructive nukes... as well as the all-important distribution of $45 million golden parachutes to their corporate shills/parasites. (Meanwhile, Duke can't even make sure its EXISTING local nukes are safe.)

From the Greenville News:

Upstate residents revolted against Duke Energy’s latest plans for a rate hike during a public hearing Monday night with state regulators in Greenville.

Hundreds of residents attended the night meeting at County Square for a chance to protest Duke’s request, which would raise home power bills another 16.3 percent by Sept. 18.

If approved, the rate hike would be Duke’s third since 2010 for about 540,000 South Carolina retail customers, including residences and businesses, most of them in the Upstate.

Duke says it has spent $3.3 billion for capital improvements to its electricity system in the Carolinas since its last rate hike in 2012.

As a result of that and other factors, the company says it no longer collects enough from its Upstate customers to recover what it spends to operate and maintain the system that serves them.

Members of the Public Service Commission, which will rule on Duke’s request, listened to numerous complaints during the hearing in Greenville County Council chambers, and not just about the proposed rate hike.

They also heard complaints about what residents called unreasonable late fees and heavy-handed treatment over delinquent bill payment.

Barbara Keeton of Taylors told commissioners that Duke executives were still getting their raises and bonuses. “When was the last time these people got raises and bonuses?” she asked, pointing to the crowd.

The leader of the homeowner’s association at Bear Grass Townhomes, a development for senior citizens south of Greenville, said Duke’s plan would force an increase in the association’s fees, because of seven street lights in the development, as well as raise residents’ bills.

“Residents living on fixed incomes do not need this burden,” she said, drawing applause.

Seth Powell, president of the Greenville County Taxpayers Association, turned in 600 signatures on a petition and asked that the Public Service Commission “put the public first.”

If approved, Duke’s proposal would add $17.83 to a residential bill for 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. That would bring the total monthly bill to $118.28 and represent a yearly increase of nearly $214.

The Charlotte-based power company is proposing less of an average increase for factories, 14.4 percent, and a 14 percent average hike for retailers and other commercial customers.

Jeff Stewart, a contractor from Easley, asked why South Carolina hasn’t deregulated the electricity business as other states have. That way, “We don’t have to be stuck with Duke,” he said.

Now, there's a good idea.

At left: local folks listen intently during the Duke Public Hearing.

State Sen. Karl Allen, a Greenville Democrat, asked commissioners to balance Duke’s needs with “the needs of the people.”

State Reps. Mike Burns of Taylors and Leola Robinson-Simpson of Greenville also attended.

A representative of state Sen. Mike Fair of Greenville read a statement saying the proposed rate hike would put “undue stress” on residents, especially those on fixed incomes.

Duke hadn’t implemented a general price hike for 19 years until 2010, when it raised residential rates more than 9 percent while decreasing industrial rates nearly 5 percent. In 2012, the company was allowed another overall rate increase of 6 percent.

And from WYFF:

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Duke Energy is seeking to raise rates for the third time in four years -- and as hundreds of people file complaints, there is now a chance for residents to voice their opinion on the increase.

Monday night, a public meeting was held at Greenville County Council Chambers.

Dozens testified to the Public Service Commission regarding a proposed rate increase.

Duke Energy Carolinas has filed a request with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) for an increase that averages 15.11 percent.

Residential customers would see a 16.3 percent increase. The commercial increase would be 14 percent, industrial would be 14.4 percent and lighting would be 15.9 percent.

In 2009, Duke Energy asked for a 9.26 percent increase and settled on a 5.16 percent increase.

In 2012, the utility asked for a 14.61 percent increase and settled on a 5.98 percent rise.

"In the current economic situation, I think this rate is the most crass thing Duke Energy could do," said a citizen.

Duke Energy, the corporate parent of both Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress, said the new increase would boost the utility's revenue by $220 million.

Duke cites capital investments including fleet modernization, upgrades and new power plants as necessitating the increase.

Let's start with taking back that $45 million given to the CEO for working a whole 20 minutes. Do you think he's the only Duke boss making that kind of cash? I want to see ALL of their salaries, and then WE can make up an appropriate (and suitably frugal) budget for them. If they are a utility serving the people (without our consent or choice), they need to be managed by the people (without their consent or choice). Its obvious they can't run their own company, so maybe we should run it for them.

After all, when Oconee melts down, it will be US paying the price, not the CEOs with pricey co-ops in Malibu and Manhattan.

Knuckleheads of the world, unite!

Above: Blue Ridge Christian Academy.

My grandfather, the Christian Scientist, frequently used that expression when confronted with anti-science dolts. I immediately knew it had to be the title of this piece.

I can do no better than to simply quote my local newspaper, the Greenville News, about this latest horror.

And to the rest of Blogdonia, Tumblr, all points of the internet and beyond, let me underscore it: SEE WHAT WE PUT UP WITH AROUND HERE? This is why I often do not take your intramural lefty-theoretical squabbles seriously. In these parts, we are still dealing with the freaking Scopes trial.

The title of the Greenville News account is Blue Ridge quiz ignites firestorm, accompanied by the coy subtitle, Furor brings attention, but possibly salvation. This is a cute example of how the Greenville News always tries to have it both ways. As is evident in the article below, this phrase could refer to 'salvation of the school itself'--which was ready to go belly-up financially... OR it could mean, literally, the way to Salvation with a capital S. (article is credited to Lyn Riddle, staff writer)

Which meaning is intended? You decide:

It was labeled “4th grade science quiz. Dinosaurs: Genesis and the Gospel.”

Eighteen questions. The first four were true or false.

The earth is billions of years old. A lopsided pencil mark circled false.

Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago, another circle: false.

It went on from there, testing students on the beginning of the world according to creationism, the belief that the literal interpretation of the first book of the Bible explains it all. Both were marked correct.

Before long, the quiz was posted on the social news website Reddit, unleashing a firestorm of criticism on Blue Ridge Christian Academy, a tiny private Christian school in northern Greenville County.

In what board chair Joy Hartsell says shows God is at work in the world, the controversy may be what saves the school from closing.

About six weeks ago, parents were told that the school would close May 31 because the founder and major donor would no longer make up the loss in operating expenses, said Diana Baker, the director.

“We may have found the path to get the money,” Hartsell said Friday.

So far, about $10,000 toward the $200,000 needed to stay open next fall has been received and more checks arrive in the mail every day, Baker said.

She said she received a $3,000 check on Thursday.

Cue my grandfather's phrase, the title of this blog post.

Fundies to the rescue! Knuckleheads of the world, unite!

The rest of the article makes it clear that the sheltered and ignorant denizens of Blue Ridge Christian Academy have never even seen Reddit before. Someone obviously unleashed the "DIAF" meme, which made them hyperventilate and call the sheriff's office. Do you believe? If I had called the sheriff every time someone online wished a nasty death on me... well, the Greenville County sheriff would be permanently camped out in my kitchen.

But yes, pick a fight with stupidity and then howl when the world takes you seriously, as I have said numerous times, is the usual fundamentalist technique.

Your thoughts?