The state Education Department received Kristin Maguire's resignation letter Monday. In her letter to Gov. Mark Sanford, dated Friday, the Clemson mother of four cites increasing family demands as the reason for her departure.
Maguire served on the board since 2000. Sanford reappointed her in 2004 and 2008. Maguire drew criticism because she home schools her four daughters.
The county Republican leader also co-founded a group that pushes for abstinence-only education, private school vouchers and the teaching of intelligent design.
She became chairwoman of the 17-member board in January. Maguire became the nation's only home-schooler to head a state board overseeing public schools.
Nothing unusual there, although some would argue it was her ideology, not her personal preference for her childrens' education, that drew the most criticism.
Enter Will Folks. Since The State newspaper blew the cover off Gov. Mark Sanford's affair, Folks has declared open season on personal scandals and today looks to be his first score with a report that Maguire authored adult sexual stories and the Governor's office helped her clean up a dirty trail to prevent them from ever going public. From FITS:
When Maguire was elected to lead the S.C. Board, her appointment was hailed as a victory for social conservatives and feted on Christian blogs and websites across the Southeast.
Maguire’s alleged alter-ego would obviously be quite a contrast from her carefully-cultivated public persona.
“I fantasize about being the ’second’ F (female) in a MFF (threesome) where the other two are in a committed relationship,” the sultry “Bridget” writes on one post. “I would like to focus on pleasuring her and ‘enhancing’ their intercourse …”
So, did Sanford’s office help Maguire engage in a cover-up of this highly-sensitive information? Or, as English told FITS, was the Governor’s Office simply reeling from the distraction caused by the governor’s own sex scandal? Who knows, but shortly after Sanford’s office was informed of the alleged connection between Maguire and “Bridget,” her writings began disappearing from the web.
While the timing, motivation and source of Folks' report are all highly suspect, it'll be interesting to see if any journalists follow him down this path. What's more interesting is the future composition of the State Board of Education. As recent events in Texas and last year's biology textbook dust-up in South Carolina have shown, these boards are becomming an increasingly-partisan battleground.
Following his announcement over the weekend that he would not run for governor, House Minority Leader Harry Ott announced today that he is endorsing state Senator Vincent Sheheen in the race for governor.
South Carolinians are yearning for a trustworthy, hard-working governor – one who can build the coalitions and provide the leadership necessary to address the challenges we face,” said Ott. “On the issues that will define the success or failure of our next governor – particularly creating good jobs and revitalizing our public schools – Vincent Sheheen is the candidate with the independence, experience and vision to move South Carolina forward.”
Ott and Sheheen served together in the South Carolina House from 2001 – 2004. Since 2004, Sheheen has served in the state Senate, where he represents Chesterfield, Kershaw and Lancaster counties.
“I have had the pleasure of knowing Vincent over the last decade and I believe, without a doubt, that he and I share a common vision of what South Carolina can be with the right person at the helm,” Ott continued. “Vincent has a longstanding reputation for forging partnerships and getting results. And perhaps most importantly, he believes deeply, as I do, in the value of our public schools and knows that they are the cornerstone for economic development and job creation.”
"South Carolina is at a pivotal juncture,” Ott said. “I believe it’s time we elect a governor we can all be proud of – one who has the character and integrity to help this great state find its way again. Vincent Sheheen is that person. I am excited to endorse Vincent Sheheen for governor of South Carolina, and I will work to help him get elected."
South Carolina plans to cut aid to the VFW, American Legion and Disabled American Veterans in the next budget. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn recently outlined a "doomsday" budget that would close all four of the state's veterans' homes if an income tax increase is not passed, leaving more than 1,000 veterans without care. [...]
Funding for veterans' service organizations, or VSOs, is a fraction of multibillion-dollar state budgets that support schools, prisons and health care for the poor. But a $27,000 reduction means the South Carolina VFW will not be able to pay its lone service officer when she returns from medical leave.
The public is most familiar with veterans' groups for their baseball tournaments, bingo nights and participation in parades. But veterans and widows of veterans rely on service organizations for help with benefits, especially in states that give money to the groups instead of hiring their own employees to help file claims. [...]
President Barack Obama is moving to remove combat troops from Iraq in 2010, and they will return with physical and psychological problems. Fort Jackson already has an outfit full of injured soldiers recuperating from combat, training injuries or other illnesses, says Albert Landsperger, senior vice commander/adjutant for the South Carolina VFW.
"They're all going to need assistance putting in claims with the VA," he said. "We're going to need more service officers than we've got now."
This AP article is the first mention I've seen of any potential cuts to state funding, but considering the circus that was our statehouse this session, I'm not surprised. While our politcians play games, people on the ground are suffering.
While that seems to be the status quo around here, I'm attempting to contact my legislators as well as the governor's office to get some answers about these cuts. I hope you'll do the same.
While South Carolina GOPhers were ostensibly uniting (Jim DeMint praises Lindsey Graham? Wow...) this weekend, one governor-wannabe was getting hosed in The Greenville News. Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer's campaign for governor hasn't gotten off the ground yet and with criticism like this coming from someone who was once very close to him it might be time to start polishing the resume.
A former director of the state Office on Aging said Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer's office has spent $85,000 in taxpayer funds for political reasons to create a program for the elderly that hasn't been successful.
Curtis Loftis Jr. told The Greenville News that he told officials in Bauer's office last year that the program to verify businesses to protect the elderly from fraud was too expensive, wouldn't work and wouldn't draw the interests of senior citizens. He also alleged that creation of the program evaded the state's procurement code.
Bauer's chief of staff, who pushed the creation of the program, told The News that Loftis is a “disgruntled former employee.” The Office on Aging is under the control of the lieutenant governor. Loftis, who left his job with Bauer in July 2008, said the Senior Shield program “is unproven, expensive and unsuccessful.” [...]
Loftis said he left Bauer's office in part because of Senior Shield, before its creation was announced. He said Bauer was aware of his criticism, but he doesn't believe the lieutenant governor is aware of the program's “downsides.”
“I repeatedly warned Jim Miles about deep flaws in his Senior Shield business model and that his plan was sure to beexpensive and of little importance to seniors," Loftis said. “I argued Senior Shield would bea private organization that would always be dependent on state employees and taxpayer subsidies."
Loftis said the Office on Aging actually granted Senior Shield $105,000 but has so far drawn only $85,000 of that. He said when the salaries of office staff and officials are considered, the program's costs total close to $225,000. [...]
Sen. Jim DeMint does not like big business. The picture he paints in today's Washington Times would make you think that the feeling is mutual, but no sir. Nearly $275,000 in first quarter campaign donations from big business political action committees suggest that DeMint has got more friends than he's willing to admit.
The column in the Times is in response to the national Chamber of Commerce, which gave DeMint and others low marks for opposing the federal stimulus. DeMint calls the chamber members the "corporate elite" and says that he's not their stooge.
The road back to Republican success is not to reinforce our weakened coalition of corporate interests, but to drop it altogether. Republicans shouldn't be the party of business any more than they should be the party of labor - we're supposed to be the party of freedom.
That's a costly proposition, particularly for DeMint. Tons of big businesses have donated to his reelection campaign, particularly in this first quarter of the year. There were $1,000 contributions from political action committees at AFLAC, Allstate, Bayer, Coke, Chevron, G.E., and McDonald's. Larger contributions included PAC money from Sprint Nextel ($1,500), Campbell Soup ($2,000), R.J. Reynolds ($2,500), and Cisco Systems ($3,000)...
WITH THE S.C. House having capitulated and passed a bill feigning to regulate payday lending, and many in the Senate eager to do the same, possibly even this week, some lawmakers who want strict rules might be willing to allow the legalized loan sharks to continue their predatory ways.
After all, it’s not that they haven’t tried. They’ve just been outgunned. The payday lenders, having unloaded hundreds of thousands of dollars last year in the form of contributions to legislators and statewide officers and payments to lobbyists, came into this legislative session loaded for bear. They’ve mounted a relentless effort; to top it off, they brought back the-man-who-would-be-governor-turned-payday-lender-defender Tommy Moore to glad-hand former colleagues into embracing an industry-friendly bill.
But hold on. This fight isn’t over. There are Good Samaritans in the Senate who don’t intend to let these legalized loan sharks continue bleeding millions from consumers without a fight. While some who’ve fought for consumers in the past now support minimal regulation, there are those who don’t intend to pass by on the other side of the street while borrowers are being robbed of hard-earned cash via triple-digit, short-term loans that lead to long-term debt.
At least one senator has come to the same conclusion I’ve reached: It’s better to do nothing than to pass flimsy legislation that won’t break the cycle of debt but that will be on the books for years before it’s corrected, if ever.
“They’re not going to pass a weak bill here,” said Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Darlington. He and a handful of other senators, including Wes Hayes, Joel Lourie and Robert Ford, have fought for tougher regulations. [...]
“The industry ain’t that significant for us,” Mr. Malloy said. “It’s the people that are important to us.”
We could learn this week if the rest of the Senate feels that way.
The predatory lending industry will might find out if pumping money into the statehouse was a good investment today this week... or next week. H. 3301, an industry-friendly bill paraded as reform, is scheduled for a second reading and debate on the Senate floor in Columbia.
While the industry itself feigns opposition to the bill in its current form, this legislation is a paper tiger. Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, an alleged champion of the free market and an unabashed friend to the state's predatory lenders, and other paid-to-promote tools claim state government is overstepping its authority by regulating an industry to death. Reform advocates want to put consumer protection before corporate profits.
Political Science 101 tells us government is the structure through which we exercise the will of the people. Today Eventually we'll see if the people or the profits win this fight for control. If you haven't contacted your senator today, get on it.
If I had a quarter for every time that line gets uttered at some state agency or organization, I could probably hire all of South Carolina's 250k unemployed.
President Barack Obama announced plans Thursday for a national high-speed rail network that would include lines crisscrossing Georgia connected through a hub in Atlanta.
The plan would create a European-like system with trains that could run at more than 100 mph. Obama is pledging $8 billion toward development of the system as part of the economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act. [...]
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for Atlanta,” Williams said. The chamber has been pushing the concept, he said, and years ago it put together a coalition of cities in the corridors.
On the other hand, he said: “Virginia and North Carolina are way, way ahead of us, probably by 20 years. I have been very disappointed that GDOT has not gotten onto this thing a lot sooner. But South Carolina’s worse off than we are. I think this is a great shot in the arm to rejuvenate Georgia and South Carolina.”
Luckily for Georgia, the fearless and failing majority in South Carolina are more concerned with preventing phantom voter fraud, protecting loan sharks, and discouraging tourism than working to improve the lives of their constituents. So don't worry, neighbors. It looks like South Carolina will be "worse off" than you are for some time.
With a controversial "reform" bill poised for passage through the state house, South Carolina's predatory lenders are sleeping soundly with visions of profits dancing through their heads tonight, and for good reason. Thanks in part to political donations, payday lenders have a strong chance of pushing watered-down regulation that protects their interests more so than the people of South Carolina through the Senate this week, if not tomorrow. And while their statehouse beneficiaries will call it reform, this legislation could ruin any chances of passing true reform with needed regulation.
One high-profile friend of the lenders, Lt. Gov. André Bauer, already has a seat at the head of the Senate chamber and is looking toward the vacant governor's mansion in 2010. And who will "South Carolina's hardest working elected official" be working for this week, down the road, and potentially in the governor's office? Apparently not the people who need his help the most.
In January, PBS' "NOW" program aired a feature, "Over Fifty, Overdrawn", on the burden of debt on our senior citizens, an issue Bauer claims to be passionate about as the head of the Lt. Gov.'s Office on Aging. During this show, however, Bauer dismisses the claim that payday lending practices take a toll on our seniors. When questioned if he has failed to seek reform for the industry because of the "$30,000 in contributions from payday and title loan companies" during his last campaign, Bauer equated the claim to people criticizing his choice of tie color.
You have a party void of ideas, without a hint of a forward-thinking agenda. When you win, it's because the other side hates America. When you lose, it's because the other side hates America. You're ugly and old. There's nothing attractive about you. Leaders of the future will not want to be associated with you. You let clowns like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh take the public face of your policies. Your values are a mystery to the rest of us.
But keep it up. As infuriating as you are to me, I have faith that you won't have a powerful base for much longer. Not with trash like this coming from you.
Some photos, videos and links for today's People's Stimulus Rally organized by the South Carolina Progressive Network. I hope everyone who attended will write their own account.
The message was simple. The people of South Carolina need help now, and don't be confused by the vocal opposition: this is about investing now so we can save later, so there is something left to save later. This is about our public school system, our health and human services agencies, our higher education funding, and our law enforcement and public safety agency budgets. Make no mistake, this money will be spent and South Carolina will pay it back. The only question that remains is who receives this $700 million investment.
Governor Sanford has had six years to get South Carolina on track and he has failed.
("Do what?" Crawl out from under that rock and get caught up)
Sanford's second spokesman is promoting a press conference tomorrow featuring the part-time governor and his pet think tank, the SC Policy Council. Sanford will undoubtedly continue his pitch of the last several weeks that South Carolina should turn down the money because the long-term bill will be too high. Sanford, and his devoted supporters, fail to respond to stimulus supporters who say what the government spends today will boost the economy tomorrow, giving the state the ability to repay the loan when it comes due. Sanford prefers to use the issue to boost his own fiscal conservative street cred and bludgeon his Republican adversaries in the State House. South Carolina, meanwhile, continues to suffer.
But I don't blame Sanford, even though those on the right and the left have supplied plenty of ammunition to use against his failed hypocrisy. He's doing the best he can for at least one guy: himself. And in this state, that's about all you can do. See, 800 Richland St. isn't the only place lacking for leadership in our capital city. South Carolina has allowed the GOP to creep over our highest offices like a corrupt kudzu and Democrats must share the blame for letting it happen.
There are few bright spots to focus on in this state and lately we make headlines for all the wrong reasons. We elect ideologues who want to waste time blocking voters and impairing Federally-protected health rights. Their idea of a "compromise" is taking a Confederate flag off the statehouse dome and putting it behind a damn monument. They want to protect an industry that preys on the weak and poor and then declare government should not bear the burden of helping people up. South Carolina has potential and it has ability, but it can't go anywhere with a blind driver and a shit engine. As Barack Obama said during his presidential campaign, when someone drives a car into a ditch, you don't pull them out and let them try again. It's time to change drivers in South Carolina.
Mark Sanford and the GOP have given South Carolinians a great opportunity to recognize the face of our failed leaders. Will we step up and force them from behind the wheel? Can a new generation of leaders emerge in this state and help it get on a path to prosperity? Could Anton Gunn, Linda Ketner, Chris Hart, Rob Miller, James Smith, Anne Peterson Hutto or Vincent Sheheen be a part of the change South Carolina so desperately needs? If this isn't a time for someone to stand up and say enough with the bullshit, the license plates, the pandering, the shameless self-promotion, then when will that time come?
Tomorrow in Charleston and Wednesday in Columbia, groups will gather to protest Sanford and the SC GOP's version of leadership. If the majority of those who are hurting in South Carolina will not be present at these rallies, we can only hope someone who would lead, someone who can represent the people, will be there. The time is right, and right now.
A key Banking and Insurance Committee moved Wednesday to weaken proposed payday lending regulations, killing a provision that would tie the amount of a payday loan to a borrower's income.
The amendment is good news for payday lenders. The nation's largest payday lender said it probably could not operate under a provision that would have capped payday loans at $500 or 25 percent of a borrower's gross paycheck.
Senate President Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, offered the amendment that strips the income provisions and instead limits payday loans to $500 per transaction and requires a 2-day cooling off period between paid off loans.
Industry leaders breathed a sigh of relief, and consumer advocates mostly just sighed after the close committee vote.
"This still needs more work," said Sue Berkowitz, director of the Appleseed Center foe Legal Justice in Columbia.
H. 3245, a 24-hour abortion delay bill, which makes no exceptions for victims of rape or incest, will be considered by the South Carolina Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee today at 2 pm in the Gressette Bldg, Room 105. Subcommittee members are Senators Thomas, Fair, Hutto, Pinckney and Bryant. For more, go to TellThemSC.org
And to keep track of all the going-ons around the statehouse, be sure to check out Wolfe Reports.
This report is equal parts ironic and sad, less than a week after 
Is this really what it's come to? With 
