Carolina Politics Online

Jane Dyer of Easley, a pilot for FedEx, announced Thursday as a Democratic candidate in the 3rd Congressional District.

Republican incumbent Gresham Barrett of Westminster is seeking re-election.

Also Thursday, Katherine Jenerette filed as a Republican in the 1st Congressional District where fellow Republican Henry Brown of Charleston is the incumbent.

Dyer said her campaign would focus on pocketbook issues and if elected, she would push economic development, improved education and affordable health care.

The Greenville News

Lawmakers have agreed to lower South Carolina’s minimum age to own and sell handguns from 21 to 18.Governor Mark Sanford has not decided what he’ll do with the bill.

The National Rifle Association says South Carolina is one of 18 states that require handgun owners to be 21 or older. There is no minimum age in South Carolina for owning rifles or shotguns.

State Representative Mike Pitts filed the bill.He says 18-year-olds can join the military and defend others’ rights to own guns, so they should be able to own guns themselves.

The Herald-Journal

The Second Amendment is clear, “the right of the People to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” An 18 year old is an adult according to the law, therefore they have a right to gun ownership for the purpose of defense just as much as any 40 year old does. They are voting, they are fighting our wars, and they are independent.

Gov. Mark Sanford will announce his decision on the pending REAL ID extension deadline at 11 a.m. Monday.

The Post and Courier

Don’t give in, Mark!  No retreat, no surrender!

ISLE OF PALMS — Building in the sand is free, but beach lovers who leave their castles behind could soon pay the price.

Under a new proposal, beachcombers could get a $128 to $500 ticket for not flattening sand castles and not filling in holes when they’re through. City leaders intend to discuss the proposal more in the next month.

Isle of Palms City Councilman Ryan Buckhannon, who sits on the public safety committee that formulated the law’s first draft, said the provision is part of a bigger proposal aimed at stopping droves of tourists from leaving items and large holes behind.

“It’s a disposable world now,” he said.

Tourists often abandon their tents, coolers and surfboards for others to enjoy. The proposed law would require people to pick up after themselves and knock over sand castles before leaving the area.

Buckhannon said the holes are the real problem. A police officer recently fell into a hole and twisted an ankle. Councilman Michael Loftus said he knows of others who have done the same while walking the beach at night.

The Post and Courier

Somewhere a village is missing its idiot.  That dim witted boob would be Ryan Buckhannon and Isle of Palms anointed him City Councilman. There is always some twit in government who thinks its their responsibility to pass a law to solve every single teeny tiny issue that pops up.

I can perfectly understand having policies enforced to keep people from leaving stuff on the beach and trashing it up. That’s absolutely acceptable, but sandcastles? His proposal is so idiotic someone should have just slapped some sense back into him, assuming there was any there to begin with, when he brought the inane proposal forward. The clear irrationality of how this would even be enforced should shame the man with gargantuan embarrassment. Will the Isle of Palms pay police officers to stand on the beach all day monitoring the building and demolition of every six year old child’s sandcastle? If they have the time to do that then they have too many law officers on the force.

If I had read this without knowing what paper it came from, I would have assumed that this was a parody from The Onion.

DURHAM - Restaurant and bar bills of more than $50 could be subject to a 3 percent tax in Durham County if a proposal being floated now gets legislative approval.But the tax would meet opposition from restaurateurs, and some local leaders don’t think it would generate enough money to be worthwhile.

Any revenue raised by the tax would help fund “visitor amenities” such as a proposed Minor League Baseball museum.

The “expensive” prepared foods tax is an alternative to a 1 percent tax on all restaurant bills that has been blocked for years by Rep. Paul Luebke, a Durham Democrat.

“I think a sales tax hurts disproportionately middle class and low-income people,” said Luebke, who said he might be able to support the tax on pricier meals.

The News & Observer

Where there is a county overrun with Democrats, there is a county overrun with taxes as sure as the sun will rise.  You can count on it.  Just ask the folks in Durham County.  The one percent tax is certainly the more logical way to go rather than mucking the works with a higher tax on only meals of a certain price or higher.  Leubke is full of it.  A one percent on the dining out meal of “the poor” isn’t going to hurt them.  One percent of $25.00 is 25 cents.  A quarter is going to break someone’s bank?  Instead of making this simple they now choose to engage in class warfare and make only certain people pay for their projects instead of all of the county residents sharing the burden.

Of course, I shouldn’t even have to be talking about this.  If a minor league baseball museum cannot support itself on private dollars then the damn thing shouldn’t be built in the first place.  The legislature should reject this request.

Edwards said Obama has brough many people into the democratic process that wouldn’t otherwise be involved and has inspired the nation.Clinton has served the country very well for a long time and has forged an historic campaign for the nomination and for the presidency, he added.

Asked after his speech if he would endorse either Obama or Clinton, Edwards declined to comment.

The News & Observer

Edwards is no fool, but he is ambitious. He wants a high ranking position in the next administration; he may even still be hoping for VP. As long as this race is still up in the air Edwards is going to keep his mouth shut. He won’t make an endorsement until it looks fairly certain beyond all doubt that either Obama or Clinton will prevail in the nomination. That way he doesn’t burn any bridges with either candidate. Then he’ll come out and endorse the supposed victor. Just watch and see.

Jacksonville City Councilman Jerome Willingham was in the Onslow County Jail late Friday night, accused of failure to pay child support.

Willingham, 52, of Kerr Street, was found in civil contempt and must remain in jail until he pays $4,723 to the court, according to an order signed by Onslow County Superior Court Judge Thomas G. Foster Jr.

Jacksonville Daily News

NEW BERN, N.C. — All five Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate, meeting in a debate for the first time Friday, agreed to end the war in Iraq, but the front-runners disagreed on how quickly troops should be pulled from the country.

State Sen. Kay Hagan said the war should not end immediately.

“I don’t think we can pull out just on Day 1,” the Greensboro Democrat said in the forum hosted by Public Radio East and the North Carolina League of Women Voters. “I think we need to have a diplomatic surge. This needs a political solution.”

Hagan’s chief rival, Chapel Hill corporate financial adviser Jim Neal, disagreed, saying he would even vote in Congress to withhold war funding in an effort to end the conflict.

“The time to talk about a diplomatic surge is way over,” Neal said. “It’s time to get out of Iraq.”

The Herald Sun

Hagan is being realistic; Neal is not. I was opposed to the Iraq invasion myself and still stick to my guns that we should have never gone there. However, I am also realistic enough to know that we just can’t up and leave the country in a mess. We created the current situation, therefore we need to mop it up. If we simply pull out on a whim and the Iraqi government and military are not capable of holding down anarchist uprisings the country will be a breeding ground for terrorism and be much worse off than it was even under Saddam.