Editor's note: This column originally appeared in The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. It is reprinted in the Aiken Standard with permission from the author.
For the record: I’m reasonably certain that the former president will not follow my advice, and I’m sure as well that many who usually agree with my columns will go bonkers over this one. No p…
When I began my work 25 years ago, my vision for fixing our poor, broken communities was driven by my belief in America and what made it successful.
It's time for another installment of "Places you should go before you can't tell a presidential executive order document from one of your White House German Shepherd's training pads." Yes, rec…
While some people in South Carolina and the United States who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 have gotten sick later after coming into contact with the virus, there is no reason to panic…
One week ago, on his 99th day in office, President Biden addressed the nation in a specially convened joint session of Congress.
We have seen a major transformation of the make-up of South Carolina's economy over the past 50 years. In this new "21st century economy," manufacturing has replaced textile mills in many comm…
The mission of Mental Health America of Aiken County is to serve as an advocate and a community resource by promoting positive mental health in Aiken. May is Mental Health Awareness Month.
It is indeed rare, if not unprecedented, to see a highly diverse group of organizations such as the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom, the liberal American Civil Liberties Union, the lib…
All good things must come to an end.
The annual refugee resettlement kerfuffle is underway.
The president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Alexis McGill Johnson, has used The New York Times as a confessional to fess up to the racist history of Planned Parenthood's founder…
I got back to normal last week.
Despite all the complaining and criticizing by remnants of Donald Trump's base, the far-right news media and Republicans in Congress, President Biden is doing what most Americans want and need…
Sometimes we wonder why two very similar events can lead to very different outcomes. When that happens it’s a dead giveaway that not everyone is playing by the same rules.
Across the globe millions of people are observing Earth Day with thousands of events and actions. While it is impressive to see or read about these, it is also fitting to turn our attention lo…
Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas raised ire from conservatives for vetoing legislation passed by the Arkansas state legislature that would have banned "gender-affirming" medical trea…
It’s no secret that I love sports.
There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution that protects freedom of thought, probably because the very idea that our personal views need protection seems absurd. Surely, freedom of speech is pr…
Mendacity is defined as mindfulness – the quality, state of being aware or conscious of something in a given moment.
The controversy surrounding the new voting law in the state of Georgia raises important issues regarding the governance of our country and the role of corporations.
Evening Post Industries, the parent company of the Aiken Standard and The Star of North Augusta, announced last week that shareholders were strongly considering a vote to split the company int…
It’s not hard for me to remember my first time at the Masters Tournament.
Only 78 days into the Biden presidency, we already know exactly whom we elected: A president who will say anything at all, true or false, as long as it meets his party’s political ends.
This is almost too easy but I can’t resist. I was actually going to write a column about President Biden’s dog, Major, biting people; also among the lowest of the hanging fruits. “President’s …
I’m writing this column on March 28, exactly 42 years after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident that changed my life – and in many respects, all of our lives – forever.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas summed up our border crisis in a statement he released March 16: "We are on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we…
It’s no secret that spring is my favorite time of the year.
The political temptation was just too good to pass up.
First off, Louis Armstrong was right about it being a wonderful world. And I realize many people suffer far worse troubles than mine.
The Office of Management and Budget is the largest office in the executive branch of the federal government.
Instead of documenting hundreds of fabulous parties and society affairs for which Aiken is well known, the last 12 months of the Aiken Standard’s Sunday Best has been a series of small masked …
There was no Hopelands Gardens my first 15 years growing up in Aiken. There was the serpentine wall, but I could only glimpse the oaks behind it from Whiskey Road. Back in the ’50s, there was …
Congratulations, American citizens – we, collectively, have just made one of the biggest purchases in our history, the American Rescue Plan of 2021, secured at a cost of $1.9 trillion. Chuck S…
It is Sunshine Week across America. South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act – the Sunshine Law – gives you access to government meetings and public records.
When the COVID-19 pandemic started and lockdowns became part of our daily lives, some romantic souls were predicting that this would produce a baby boom.
Did you remember to set your clock forward this morning?
As we begin a new decade, let's strive to make America better – more equal, more free and more just. We say we are the land of the free and our rights are spelled out in the Constitution. Howe…
When COVID-19 swept into South Carolina last March, the deadly disease proceeded to hit us with a gut punch. We did the only thing we could: joined hands and hit back with our initial plans to…
Donald Trump showed up at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, and reminded everyone why, with all his provocations, so many are still on board with him.
There will be no Triple Crown of equestrian events in Aiken this spring thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
My column four weeks ago — "The insurrection that wasn’t" — argued that portraying the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol as an armed insurrection is simply wrong, unsupported by the facts.
The issue of reparations to Black Americans as payment for damage done as a result of years of legal slavery and subsequent discrimination is back on the table.
Tiger Woods is alive. That’s all that really matters.
Has anyone noticed that President Biden’s impassioned search for unity seems to have fizzled? Evidently, he’s either disinterested or unwilling to deliver on his Inauguration Day promise, pref…
In a recent column, I questioned the motives of the mob that invaded the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6. The news media emphasized that the insurrectionists wanted to keep Donald Trump in off…
What are you giving up for Lent?
As we move into 2021 and a new Congress, it is important to prioritize what is best for families. My legislative priorities this year include working closely with the Government of South Carol…
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