REPUBLICANS? WE DON'T THINK SO

By now, we suppose all of you have received your invitation to the big event. On the slim chance you haven't heard about it, allow us to fill you in. Ambassador Robert Royall is throwing a big shindig at his Silk Hope plantation "honoring" our very own Supervisor, Dan Davis. The invitation contains, in small print, the fact that contributions between $250 and $1000 will be gratefully appreciated. Please make all checks out to the Dan Davis reelection campaign.

It is really amusing how the truth will always come out. You see, there is more to the story. Everyone in Berkeley County has seen the photo, released by Bob Call, of Dan Davis standing in Democrat Caldwell Pinckney's living room on election night, helping Mr. Pinckney celebrate his win over his Republican challenger in the Council District 7 race. Even the willing accomplice, the Berkeley Independent, tried to convince everyone, by implication, that the photo in question was taken at the Cross Community Center upon a different occasion. It wasn't.

Now Mr. Davis is receiving this great honor from none other than Ambassador Royall, appointee of both Gov. Beasley and President Bush. Good, strong Republican, right? Wrong. This is the same Ambassador Royall who supported and campaigned for none other than Vincent Sheheen during the last election.

Isn't it interesting how these "republicans" with a small "r" (we like to refer to them as RINOS) stick together? In fact, the only reason these people put an "R" behind their names on the ballot is that, otherwise, they could not be elected to any office of any consequence in Berkeley County. It would serve the voters well to remember this the next time they step into the voting booth. Unless, of course, some voters simply enjoy being played for fools.

AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE

We attended Dan Davis' 7th Council District meeting in Cross last night. The meeting hall was packed and, it seemed, everyone had a question. Mr. Davis was well prepared to face any eventuality since he brought with him every department head known to man. County vehicles filled an entire row of the parking lot.

On most fronts, there were no surprises. Davis was confronted about the Hwy. 311 water line and, of course, he dodged all questions. (It's still Jim Rozier's fault) He was asked about the expense of the number of county vehicles parked outside. He dodged that, too. He was asked about the portion of the Fee In Lieu of Tax funds he has stolen from the school system. He wouldn't talk about that either. We are all familiar with Davis' response to these important issues. He simply says the subjects are "old" and moves on to the next question that he has no intention of answering.

It is a bit redundant to recap this behavior from DD (Diminutive Dictator). His tactics of refusing to answer direct questions and/or obfuscating issues to his own benefit have become legendary in Berkeley County. There is no news in this area. But, there was one issue brought up last night that was truly shocking.

A very nice black lady who lives on Asazlee Dr. at the edge of Cross stood up and politely asked Mr. Davis for some help with a problem in her neighborhood. She explained that there was a rehab facility located a few doors from her home. Residing in this facility are numerous registered sex offenders. She said she was concerned for the safely of the children in the neighborhood as these residents from the facility are unsupervised and roam the neighborhood at all times of the day and night . She said they regularly gather on the cul-de-sac where she lives and remain there until the wee hours of the morning. She recounted one incident when she was walking along her street and one of these people jumped out of the woods at her. It was obvious that this lady was very upset and concerned about the whole situation.

It came as no surprise to anyone in the room who had any experience with DD that he did not personally address the concerns of this lady but passed the question off to one of his flunkies. Eric Greenway proceeded to explain the zoning laws to the degree that everyone's eyes began to glaze over. It was obvious to all in the room, except DD and his band of merry men, (sorry Nichole) that this lady didn't give two hoots in hell about the zoning laws. She was concerned about her personal safely and that of her children. But, as usual, this very serious issue was buried under a pile of DD's bureaucratic BS and the lady's legitimate concerns went unaddressed.

We, as with the majority of you, don't live anywhere near Asazlee Dr. and we are in no danger from this situation. But, in our humble opinion, when ANY citizen in Berkeley County is put into a situation of peril, it is the business of EVERY citizen of Berkeley County. The supervisor was remiss when he neglected to personally address the concerns of this lady. His offhanded remark at the end of the exchange was, "If you've got a problem, call the sheriff."

Once more, but certainly not for the last time, we would like to thank those 8000 idiots who put us in this position. If the last four years are any example, things will only get worse.

GUEST EDITORIAL

Guest Editorial: Haley is right choice for South Carolina

Published Tuesday, October 12, 2010 10:11 AM

By Tim Callanan
Berkeley Independent

In June of this year a true milestone was reached in South Carolina politics.

For the first time the voters defied the pundits and elitist Columbia powerbrokers and voted for someone who they thought would bring true reform to the tired Good Ole Boy system that has controlled South Carolina politics for generations. They voted overwhelmingly for Rep. Nikki Haley, a Republican from Lexington. They saw in her someone with whom they could identify.

Nikki is a first-generation daughter of immigrants who exemplifies the values and freedoms that this nation has afforded her. She is a working mother and a wife of a soldier who has learned to balance the family checkbook during tough times.

Nikki did not run for public office because she felt she was entitled; she ran because she saw a system that ceased being accountable to the citizens it was supposed to serve, a system badly in need of reform.

Nikki has been fighting for South Carolinians for years. When she won her seat in the statehouse she did so by defeating one of the longest serving and most powerful incumbents. Nikki hit the ground running and quickly acted to fulfill her campaign pledge to bring smaller, more accountable, more efficient and more transparent government to South Carolina.

Her first target was to make legislators accountable for their votes by mandating house votes be on the record rather than the traditional tactic of hiding behind unanimous consent and voice votes. To the average voter this may seem like a common sense proposal but it put her at odds with good ole boys in Columbia and ultimately resulted in her being stripped of her committee post. This action only strengthened her resolve and with her continued efforts on behalf of the taxpayers she was able to convince her House colleagues to join the fight for transparency and she prevailed.

When she announced her candidacy for governor, she promised to continue with her record of reform as the state’s first female chief executive. With better-funded and better-known candidates in the race, she was not given much of a chance. But as she crossed the state delivering her story and message of reform, it resonated with the voters.

I witnessed this first hand in April when she spoke in front of our county executive committee meeting. She turned a room of largely undecided voters into supporters. Three weeks later she won the Berkeley County GOP straw poll; two weeks after that Sarah Palin endorsed her and a 20-point poll deficit was eliminated.

It was about that time that the Columbia “Republican” elites went apoplectic. They took out their playbook of sleazy campaign smear tactics and began to unload on her. They questioned her fidelity, her faith and her finances. They proved time and time again their willingness to reach new lows in order to bring down Nikki’s surging candidacy.

Unfortunately (for them), they did not count on two factors. The first was that they were up against a candidate who has proven her mettle in battle and was not going to back down. And second and more importantly, they did not anticipate a newly energized and informed electorate that was intelligent enough to see through this pathetically transparent attempt to destroy the reform candidate.

Voters passionately joined her fight to reform Columbia. Moms, dads, military families, small business owners and working families know her as one of their own. Her message of more efficient and accountable government resonated. The voters answered the call and she won the primary with a historic plurality.

Now with one month until the general election, the “Republican” elites are at it again. Recently, a group of GOP “has beens” and “also rans” decided it would better serve their interests to back a liberal Democrat if that meant they could protect the status quo. They are not going to let a working mom from Lexington derail Columbia’s infamous Good Ole Boy money train without a fight.

So expect more arrows and mud to fly in the direction of Rep. Haley in the coming weeks. As always, I expect Nikki will prove her mettle and forge ahead, just as I expect the voters of South Carolina will reject these tired smear tactics and answer the call once more and elect Nikki Haley as the 116th Governor of South Carolina.

Mr. Callanan is the Berkeley County GOP Chairman and a Berkeley County Councilman.

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY........MISSED

Exhibiting proper manners is usually a very good thing. Demonstrating professional behavior and decorum is, also, admirable. Attempting to avoid embarrassing your adversaries and maintaining civility in the public forum should usually be pursued. BUT, there are exceptions to these rules of behavior. If one is walking down a street at night and a thug jumps out of the dark and falls upon you, all bets are off and you must fight for your very life. That is exactly the position in which the BC School System finds itself on the issue of funding.

The facts are simple. For many years there was an agreement between BC Government and the BC School System as to the division of the Fee In Lieu of Tax funds. Now, Supervisor Dan Davis has decided he wants, and fully intends to take, a larger share of these funds to finance his agenda items. There is a myriad of smaller periphery issues connected to the main issue but this is the crux of the disagreement.

GUEST POST

Hello Everyone,

Well, the initial firestorm about the Healthcare Bill has been extinguished. Now, the ashes must be cleared and a road forward constructed. In this debate, there was little, if any, substantive contributions from REAL practicing physicians as to the merits of this grand plan and how it would effect the day-to-day doctor/patient relationship that has been the bedrock of medical practice from ancient times (Hippocrates). These ten predictions are from me to help you understand where we will be once Mr. Obama leaves office in January 2017 (an eleventh prediction!!). These predictions are based on solid data and a 25 year practice experience.

1. Up to 200,000 physicians will quit or retire. The average age of the practicing physician in America is 49. Each one of these doctors will take four jobs with him. The New England Journal of Medicine (liberal as it comes in medicine) actually predicted 250,000 doctors leaving practice. Well, you do the numbers. I will be one of them.

2. The Federal government will continue to decrease reimbursement to physicians in the Medicare and Medicaid programs to unsustainable levels. Doctors will be forced to join the new National Physician Manpower Corps or face economic disaster. This will happen in primary care first and specialist physicians will follow.

3. Many states will be driven to the brink of bankruptcy as more and more individuals will now qualify for Medicaid. In South Carolina alone, the estimate is 480,000 more people on Medicaid. The state will be forced to make drastic cuts in education, transportation and other programs to support this. Taxes will soar here and elsewhere to support these programs. California is looking at 3.2 Million more residents on MEDI-CAL! Who would want to live there?

4. Hospitals across the USA will close because of unsustainable cuts in funding and increased lawsuits. The border states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California will be especially hard hit as more undocumented people from Latin America come to the USA for health benefits. More jobs lost.

5. Pharmaceutical companies will have massive layoffs. They have already started as they are forced to pay higher taxes and receive less for their products through government programs, especially Medicare. Drug R&D will essentially be non-existent in the USA due to lack of revenue and liability.

6. Healthcare rationing will be implemented in small steps. The first programs to be restricted will be dialysis, organ transplants, oncology care, and neonatal services. (KIDS DO NOT VOTE) Vaccines will be in chronic short supply, if available at all, as the reimbursement will not cover costs. Ultimately, the FEDS will take over almost all vaccination programs.

7. The additional taxes to support the massive expansion in Medicaid, pharmacy coverage in Medicare, and coverage of illegal persons in the USA will accelerate unemployment. A permanent unemployment rate of 12-14% here will be a reality.

8. Abortions and other progressive initiatives will be covered by the new plans.

9. The government currently covers 55% of all lives in the USA by Medicare, Medicaid, and the military programs. Once that number exceeds 85%, a single payer system will take it all just like England and France. Think of what that will really mean for you and your family who have been perhaps accustomed to on-demand medical care with excellence.

10. Finally, as 10,000 baby boomers go on Medicare daily starting in January 2011, the Federal deficit will explode and likely top $22 TRILLION by January 2017. And do not forget Social Security, pension bailouts, and the California bailout will be looming. OUCH!

I do not know one doctor who would turn a patient away. This is not part of our "culture". However, the current administration has a general distain for physicians and their generally conservative values. Despite what many in the progressive movement think, physicians are small businessmen who provide jobs, pay taxes, provide uncompensated care, and support their communities at many levels. The NEW doctor who is left will likely have all of the compassion of their predecessors, but in the final analysis, will expect the same entitlements generally provided to most Federal employees, i.e. time and a half over 40 hours, paid health, dental and disability insurance, six weeks paid vacation plus CME and, of course, retirement with COLA!! (cost of living adjustment) I am glad that I was able to practice medicine at a time when the doctor/patient relationship really had value. This will not be the case in a single-payor Federal system as the system design does not allow that type of special relationship. Please share with me your thoughts but please base any criticism on sound facts not emotion.

Bless you all,

Dr. Salvatore Moscatello

Elms Digestive/Endoscopy Center

GOOD IDEA..... BUT.

Supervisor Davis planned and chaired a "Citizens' Meeting" on Daniel Island last Thursday night. According to Mr. Davis, in his opening remarks, he formulated this plan before the primary but waited until after the fact to put the plan into action, as he didn't want the plan to appear self serving. He stated that he realized a great number of voters are interested in the workings of County government and have many concerns and questions. He went on to say he understood that many of these folks couldn't make it to the Council meetings and he wanted to create a forum where people in each District could participate in the process. He noted that he planned to have one of these "open" meeting each month until he had included every Council District. The next meeting has been announced and is to be held in District 7.

Up to this point, everything was wine and roses. Then Mr. Davis inadvertently opened the flood gates by asking, "Does anyone have any concerns or questions?"

"What effort is being made by the County to work more closely with the School District concerning economic development and its impact on the School District?"

"What effort is being made to assure that the School District gets its fair share of the FILOT funds from the Mount Holly Park?"

"Why was the existing ordinance allotting the FILOT over-ridden?"

"Why is the County pursuing a "no bid" process for the purchase of heavy equipment?"

"Why is the County so reluctant to provide information to concerned individuals and groups concerning these issues?"

"Why does the County expect the School District to blindly enter into an agreement with the County on the Jedberg project without having the Mount Holly dispute settled?"

"Why are there no plans to install a bike/walking path from St. Thomas Island to Daniel Island so the school children can safely walk to school?"

GE&P could go blow by blow with the attempted answers to these questions but that would be redundant for regular attendees of the Council meetings. We will just hit the high points.

Mr. Davis assured everyone that the County has always worked very closely with the School District concerning the impact economic development has on the School District. But, when Mr. Davis called upon the District to confirm this fact, he didn't receive an affirmative answer.

Mr. Davis connected the School District's effort to secure the FILOT funds to the story of the Little Red Hen. He indicated that the School District hadn't really done anything to secure the funds so had no right to expect to receive them.

Two people in the audience pointed out that the Roads and Bridges spokesman was disingenuous when he said the County followed an open bid process for heavy equipment because of the specifications required for bidding. One equipment supplier stated the specifications published on several contracts excluded all bidders save one supplier.

One attendee was told that all requests for information from the County were answered in a timely manner. When this person pointed out that his request was made in May of 2010 and still remained unanswered, an administration spokesperson said the County had to research the request back 20 years because the County didn't want to give out incomplete or inaccurate information. When asked if he had been sent a letter to this effect by the County, the spokesperson said he had not.

The meeting was scheduled and advertised to last from 6-8 PM. At 7:05 PM, Mr. Davis announced that he thought all issues had been addressed so he would call the meeting to a close. He did so and beat a hasty retreat to the parking lot, leaving most of the attendees gathered in small groups to continue the dialog. Most of the crowd didn't disperse until the 8 o'clock hour.

A thoughtful person would have assessed this meeting as a rousing success. Everyone was polite and respectful. Issues were addressed. No one was refused the opportunity to speak. Judging from the questions and comments, it was obvious the attendees were well informed and had done their homework on the issues. It appeared the only ones displeased with the outcome were members of the County administration.

GE&P has never claimed to be clairvoyant BUT we have a prediction. "The citizens of Berkeley have seen the first and the last of the new 'Citizens' Meetings'."

ANSWER THIS ONE

At last Monday night's County Council meeting, several of the county volunteer fire departments submitted a request for some additional funding. The amounts of money for each station were not exorbitant. The largest amount was $22,000. These funds were earmarked for such things as hoses and helmets, as the existing hoses leak and the helmets the firefighters are using now are of last century's vintage.

Well, "some" of the Councilmen sprang into action. They wanted an itemized list of the expenditures. According to one Councilman, "We have to insist on transparency on this request". That started an extensive discussion among "some" of the Council. These Councilmen grilled a volunteer fireman who was in attendance and happened to have an itemized list of the materials needed. These few Councilmen wanted "justification" for the request.

GE&P sat there listening to this dog and pony show. We couldn't help but be amazed at the hypocrisy. In 2008, when Mr. Pinckney introduced the contract for his $2.24 MILLION water line to his front door, there was virtually NO discussion, let alone dissension. When the subject of Mr. Steve Davis' "courthouse and library in St. Stephen that he can be proud of", (this will cost the taxpayers over $3.5 MILLION) there were no protests about this budget item.

BUT, when the people who protect our very lives ask for some little piddly amount of money to purchase vital equipment for their jobs, these same Councilmen want to be assured as to the use of every single penny of the request. Has anyone ever heard the story about the man who strained at a gnat and then swallowed a camel?