We are putting on a play about Manse Jolly and the time of Reconstruction in Pickens, Oconee and Anderson counties, when we were under martial law and occupied by federal troops.

One of the sets for the play is Gettysburg, or at least our interpretation of Gettysburg. We picked the area of the Devil’s Den, an area covered with large granite boulders and the site of fierce fighting and great loss of life.

Fowler is the set designer and prop builder. I paint and look up directions on how to make rock out of paper and how to make cardboard look like wood.

I found directions online which said we should first shape our boulders from chicken wire, then mix up a flour and water paste and create a rock surface out of paper mache. The step-by-step pictures online didn’t look all that hard, so we bought the wire and went to work.

Our boulders were large. One was about five feet long and three feet high. The other was slightly smaller. We got the wire shaped into what looked like a rock, then mixed up our flour paste.

We started with five pounds of flour. Before we finished the project, we’d used 15 pounds of flour.

We first used sheets of newspaper. After realizing it might take longer to cover the wire with paper than we had left to live, we switched to brown wrapping paper. We treated it like wallpaper and paste, except we coated both sides, saturating it before fitting it over the wire base.

It was one of the messiest projects ever done in the tractor shed. At least we had some assistance. All five dogs were part of the paper mache rock team. They stood beneath the sawhorses while we spread paste all over the paper.

When I started shaping the paper over the wire, they worked hard to lick all the paste off the paper.

Soon they were pretty well covered with thick splotches of flour paste. It dried on their fur and gave them a spiked look. I looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy.

The step-by-step directions online said the whole thing should take about two hours. I sincerely hope they were making much smaller rocks, because it took us almost a week to complete our rocks. And that was just the paper mache part. Next came the painting. I must say that was a lot easier. We took a rock out of the yard to Home Depot and got the color matched, spread it on the rock, then spray painted some lighter and darker color. It looked pretty good.

Then we had to find a place to keep the rocks, because Fowler had to move the Farmall tractor back into the tractor shed. After some rearranging, we were able to get the rocks into the bay formerly occupied by the horse trailer, which is temporarily parked in the tractor yard.

The rocks are in good company out there with the fireplace for the log cabin, the picket fence for the village green, the log cabin walls and the old wooden wagon wheel that now serves as a wheel off a field cannon, lost on the way to the battle when it came off near the rocks.

All that’s left to do now is finish painting the log cabin wall to look like logs and construct the shelving for the general store set. Fowler is building that. And then we’ll be ready.

If you want to see some pretty decent-looking rocks, come to the Liberty Civic Auditorium on March 12 and 13. They’ll be on stage.

Still waiting

Dear Editor,

The campaigns have begun, and I am still waiting to hear one of the GOP candidates tell me how he’s going to close the tax loopholes that allow the rich and corporations to offshore money to evade paying taxes.

I am also waiting to hear how he’ll close the loophole that allows American companies to set up phony headquarters in other countries to evade taxes.

And how he’ll stop companies from sending our jobs overseas.

Still waiting to hear how he would replace Obamacare if they repeal it, or do they care that 20 million Americans will lose their healthcare if repealed?

So far I have heard nothing, but that is expected from those who make sure the rich and powerful are protected.

One candidate even said raising taxes on the rich was class warfare — then again, cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, education, minimum wage and the Affordable Care Act isn’t class warfare?

I guess it depends on the class that gives you the most money. So it’s the same old smoke and mirror routine to distract the voters.

Larry Allen

Easley

Politics 2016

Dear Editor,

It’s another presidential election year, and the political talk is much the same as the previous 14 I’ve seen. Might as well include the 14 off-year election cycles also. They always say the same thing — “The country’s in bad shape; Elect me and I’ll fix it.” “It’s all the other party’s fault; Vote for ours and we’ll make things better again.”

Instead, the country gets in worse shape because it’s both their faults. Liberals/Democrats and Republicans/conservatives can’t get along together any better than the Sunnis and Shias over in the Middle East. It feels like what the latter has done to those countries, the former has been doing here.

For the last eight years it’s been Republicans complaining about most everything Obama’s done. They even started with the objective of making him a one-term president. The eight years before, it was the Democrats complaining about Bush II’s Republican policies. Before then, it was back to Republicans versus Clinton. Yep, it’s both their faults.

Elect an outsider as president to change/reform Washington politics — that’s just wishful thinking. Then it’ll be established Republicans and Democrats opposing everything the outsider does. I suppose that would be the only time the two would work together. Besides, what’s one person — the president — going to do by himself against 535 senators and representatives? More government shutdowns and disruptions of people’s lives when one side or the other doesn’t get their way?

Meanwhile, down in Columbia, the legislators are again talking about fixing the roads. Somehow that’s become a three-way debate, since they want to also restructure the way the money is managed and spent along with giving back some part of the tax increase. First, one would think that after 75-plus years of road building and maintenance, they would have already figured out how to do that. Second, restructuring probably means they just want to update the politics of mismanaging tax money for roads. Third, my gasoline cost will be increasing, along with driver’s license and vehicle/road-use fees, while someone else will get the benefits of reduced taxes.

Meanwhile again, back up here in Pickens County, there are those school board trustees with their school building construction and school closing issues. An earlier group of trustees decided to build new schools and upgrade existing schools. Now a later group wants to close some of those upgraded schools to save taxpayer money. Apparently the long-range planning of the trustee system is limited to about five years. Makes me wonder what the next group of trustees will want to do — re-open the closed schools to accommodate population growth? Or will it be convert them to semi-private/public, magnet schools, where taxpayer money supports an effectively private school? That accreditation group made a mistake in giving its approval of the way the school district conducts its business. Maybe closing the political school board trustee system and finding another way would be better.

Of course there are other issues — immigration, refugees, Wall Street, rich vs. poor, terrorists, gun control and all the rest. And then there’s just plain American politics, which also threatens the nation.

Jerry Hughes

Pickens

Challenges facing teachers

Dear Editor,

It’s no secret that three local elementary schools, near and dear to the hearts of small communities, are in jeopardy of being closed. Several challenges arise from this situation: unemployment and scarce jobs for teachers, less-effective teaching environments and a much larger number of students to teach. This “solution” may be effective financially, however, students are more than just a number, and schools more than just a facility.

I attended Holly Springs Elementary. This school is the perfect environment for teachers and students — one-on-one learning, everyone is included and beautiful outdoor areas to exercise and learn. If they close Holly Springs and place these students and teachers in an over-crowded dump, teachers will not have the opportunity or blessing to get to know the students and figure out how they learn individually. This will stunt the growth of a student’s learning academically and morally, and prevent them from blossoming into a unique, confident individual.

For a teacher, it’s impossible to teach a large amount of kids that are all on different levels. Teachers can’t just make them grow up and pay attention — it was only a few years ago they were in diapers.

I teach guitar and mandolin for the Young Appalachian Musicians Program at Six Mile Elementary. Whether I have three students or 10, I have to teach a tune to them one by one. These students tell me every week about what’s going on in their lives. They are more attentive and care about what I have to say because I listen and care about them. I think this is important, and a big plus in small elementary schools. In big schools, a teacher cannot engage them in the same way, and the student will reflect a no-care and non-attentive attitude that will follow the student throughout high school. That is if they finish.

With a tight budget, teachers will have a difficult time finding local jobs. If a teacher is employed, it will be much more stressful to keep the attention of 30 young wandering minds. It will be tragic for teachers to see the absence of growth and family-like qualities in a classroom.

Danielle Yother

Pickens High School junior

Questioning Collins

Dear Editor,

House District 5 Rep. Neal Collins voted no on HR3521, which as written bans Sharia (Islamic) law and any other foreign law in South Carolina. He chose to vote against this protection for our state and citizenry.

Rep. Collins justified his no vote in part by citing his fear for future legal battles for the state. But perhaps his trip to Turkey and his interaction with Muslims there last year has shaped his current convictions.

I am disturbed that my representative chose to oppose banning this barbaric Muslim law for our state.

Fortunately, this bill did pass by the majority yes votes of strong leaders taking a stand. Our state still has elected officials who chose to approve this bill for our protection and to keep the principals of our established American way of life.

As one who originally voted for Rep. Collins, I am now regretting my support and vote. In monitoring his positions and votes, his record reveals his support for safe, politically correct issues. However, his stands on actual hard issues which require strong leadership are lacking.

Collins has announced his intention to seek re-election for a second term. All voting citizens are urged to review his record. His aspirations for a long-term career in politics should be questioned to determine if he warrants re-election for our particular local area.

Pickens House District 5 residents deserve strong leadership supporting our local values, especially in these unsettling times.

Marie Vaughan

Easley

Flawed thinking

Dear Editor,

Here are the thinking skills that reflect not only some on the Pickens County School Board but the other people cheering them on to raise taxes and close schools. The thinking goes like this — “I am going to set aside funds within the budget for the eventual replacement of roofs and air conditioners. And If I set aside too little, then I’ll just have to borrow or tax more to replace those items when they inevitably fail, or I can just close the school, kick everyone out and move them into another school that doesn’t need a roof or air conditioner just yet.”

These types of thinking skills are flawed. Obviously they didn’t set aside enough funds for the roof replacements or air conditioners because they knew they always had a backup plan to fall back on called raising taxes.

They used poor judgment and mismanaged our tax dollars … now they think they only have three choices to make up for this poor judgment. They need to borrow more or get more revenue or close schools.

They don’t want to think about the fourth option of cutting back on “wants” and saving more till you have the funds for the true needs … because that’s too hard and requires effort.

What is going on in the SDPC is too much emphasis on “convenience” and beautification. Everyone wants things that make their job easier and looks good, which costs more funds. The SDPC does not understand the difference between wants and needs — it is as simple as that. I taught the difference between wants and needs to my first graders, and they get it better than the SDPC does, As a former teacher, I know why the funds aren’t getting to the classroom, and it’s called mismanagement of funds plus wrong priorities plus too many administrative employees equals not enough money for the classroom, which equals let’s fleece the taxpayer for more funds.

More than half of my income goes toward 100 different taxes the government imposes on us — it is time to stop denying me my rights to provide for my families’ needs by over-taxation!

Johnnelle Raines

Pickens

A plea from Holly Springs

Dear Editor,

I’m a retired teacher/librarian who, after five years of retirement, chose to go back to being librarian at Holly Springs Elementary in Pickens County. I thought about telling you how Holly Springs has been my family for more than 36 years. How, after moving from Raleigh in 1979 and walking through the front door of the school, I knew I was home and would never leave. I could tell you how it is to live in the same community, go to birthday parties, attend church, go to weddings, baby showers, and, sadly, even funerals of our students. Or, I could tell you of 25 years of teaching clogging at recess and after school to these children, of taking clogging trips with their families, and what good friends we still are. And, I could tell you of how proudly I’ve stood with our Holly Springs graduates at almost every Pickens High graduation since 1980. Last, I could say how the staff and faculty at Holly Springs have been the closest of friends.

Instead, I’m pleading to our Pickens County School Board members to find an alternate solution to closing our three mountain schools and reconfiguring seven schools in Pickens County. I truly believe that the wonderful people of Pickens County will be willing to pay $40-$60 per $100,000 home if it will keep our schools open. I also believe that there are other solutions, such as the penny sales tax, or even moving some district personnel into these schools which aren’t totally full.

Even though these seven schools make up less than half of Pickens County schools and many of our taxpayers don’t have school-aged children, the quality of education affects us all. Why, even many of our esteemed seniors at Hagood Community Center (aka Pickens Senior Center) signed a petition for not closing the schools, knowing how important quality schools are to our communities.

During these times, we have been witness to the struggles in and even the breakdown of many of our families. In my 32 years of teaching at Holly Springs, I’ve seen over and over our teachers and staff giving love and attention to these children who are hurting or needing uplifting and encouragement. Especially during these early years of a child’s schooling, it’s essential to educate them in an environment where they can feel loved, secure and successful. If these caregivers, educators and role models are taken away from our children, a huge void is left in their lives.

Researchers say that the emotional bond between student and teacher is of utmost importance in not only the students’ academic careers, but their lives in general. I hope that our school board will allow us at Holly Springs and these other schools to continue making a difference in these children’s lives.

I realize that it’s our school board’s duty and responsibility to make this decision. But closing schools, and therefore uprooting many children and destroying these small communities centered around their schools, should be the last option!

Finally, as a friend of mine who’s in city administration said, “I just hope the (school) board remembers who their customers are.”

Betty McDaniel

Holly Springs community

member and educator

Corrections necessary

Dear Editor,

What weird voices are speaking to the Pickens County School Board? How can these people be telling citizens that the taxpayers will save a bunch of money by closing Holly Springs, Ambler and A.R. Lewis, our three (happy!) hill-country elementary schools, and busing all these kids to town in Pickens or to Dacusville? Without doubt, it will take “modification” of the destination schools — or building new ones — along with transportation costs — to accommodate several hundred more students. We all should know by now how “economical” that will be.

Plus, we are still paying for modification of these would-be abandoned school buildings while our school district geniuses decide what to do with them once they are empty. Let the people remember — though the board does not seem to — that millions in bonds spent on bringing these three “expendable” schools up to pretty nice standards will still have to be repaid — just as bonds on now-empty Gettys Middle are being repaid, tax dollars to make its web-spiders cozy. How gullible do they think we are?

Far worse than the money angle, it’s really strange to hear school board member Phillip Bowers pushing for this move, when one of his championed causes, that he describes for voters, is preserving “community” for our children. What a great way to do that — yank away our schools, the centers of active community life for several generations, and dump our kids into some central pot — as far from home as they can be moved daily, unless the board decides to bus them to Columbia.

My daddy ended his Pickens County schooling in about 1902, when he finished seventh grade at Old Palestine, over near Keowee River. After seventh grade, children had to move to town to go to high school through 11th grade graduation, or call it quits .But few family farms could give up their child workers. There were no school buses, so high school students had to live somewhere near town or forget school. This may seem dreadful now — but was this worse for teens than it will be when 5- and 6-year-old children are spending nearly as much time on the bus as they will be in the classroom? Or with their parents? These are little kids, in many cases, who we are uprooting from the caring communities they are used to and deserve.

It looks like somebody is starving for control — generally a creepy sign. Something is terribly, terribly wrong with this picture. It’s time we all paid close attention to who and what is running our children’s future — and make corrections.

Dot Jackson

Pickens

Saitta weighs in on closing proposal

Dear Editor,

Revenue to the school district is growing at the highest rate in 10 years. But for some reason, the district cannot balance its books.

Revenue is growing like this. However, spending is not growing at the same rate like this, but way up here like that. The past 18 months, there has been an acceleration in spending that even the growth in new revenue isn’t keeping pace with. The solution by some is to close some schools to pay for it all. Instead, we need to restore some basic operating principles the board had previously followed.

One, the district does not have to cut its budget like it did in 2010 or 2011. Nor am I suggesting the district not grow its budget. However, it must slow the growth of its spending so it comes back in line with rising revenue. For instance, revenue in its general fund account is growing an impressive $4.6 million. Yet spending is growing by $5.1 million. Stop the overspending. Live within the growing revenue stream; not beyond it.

Two, refocus spending on things that impact direct student instruction. Smaller schools and class sizes do that. Did the district administration need to tear out all the landscaping at the district office, cut down the trees, put in new landscaping, plant trees, plus buy a $20,000 LED sign that flashes “Welcome to the SDPC”? No.

Three, the district spent $375 million on building seven new schools and renovating 20 others — a generation worth of construction. Rightfully so, the focus then shifted to maintaining those buildings.

This year, the board and administration got the bug to start building again, and just spent $50,000 in architectural fees for the Hagood renovation plan. The administration must resist its urge to do more construction (e.g., the district doesn’t need to construct a $1.2 million teacher training center when one of the new high school cafeterias or auditorium would do). Instead, we should stay focused on maintaining our existing facilities.

Four, any windfall in revenue should be devoted to maintaining buildings. For instance, working with the county treasurer and auditor, we discovered in late 2011 the city of Clemson was overcollecting on the TIF to the tune of $10 million. Starting on a path from the county government to State Senate legal counsel to the city of Clemson and then with all that evidence in hand, finally to superintendent Henry Hunt and the district’s attorney, and we uncovered the city was not following the TIF law.

The board and county council then partnered to sue the Clemson City Council. We won the case. The Easley and Liberty city councils were over-collecting, too, and both were settled. The settlement was that the district received back payments of $1.8 million. And in 2015, 2016 and 2017, the district collects $550,000 a year. In 2018, the TIF payment jumps to about $1.1 million a year.

That was an unexpected financial windfall, and guided by that last principle, it should be devoted to building maintenance.

Alex Saitta

School board trustee

Pickens

Cover the needs, not the wants

Dear Editor,

Our school board has three small community elementary schools on its radar for closure. While I never thought I’d be a proponent for a tax increase, we cannot allow our small schools to be closed!

The board proposed a 3.8-mill tax increase, which would only be about $22 a year for the average taxpayer — less than what a family would spend on a dinner out (and I’m talking about fast food, not fine dining). This is negligible for keeping in the community values and importance of keeping these schools open!

While many people don’t like the idea of higher taxes, if these schools are closed, property values will go down, and the resale value of your home will suffer much more than a mere $22 a year.

Pickens does not have the large business to drive people to live here, but it does have A-plus elementary schools like Ambler. I’ve heard of many people who moved to this area so their children could go to this school, and we are one of those families.

We need to let our school board members know that closing our communities schools is not an option and to use their business backgrounds to redo the budget to cover the “needs,” not the “wants” of the district’s schools.

Laura Demler

Pickens

Touting AR Lewis’ successes

Dear Editor,

My children are third-generation students at A.R. Lewis Elementary School. This school has been labeled by some members of our school board as being “inefficient.” However, it has efficiently served its community since 1959. It has not only been very effective in teaching our children reading, writing and arithmetic, but friendship, manners, love for others and life in general. These students go to middle school well-prepared to face life. They have been taught love and respect; therefore, they know how to show love and respect to others.

Also, I was told that our school is a “want and not a need.” However, I have looked at their proposed five-year budget and it is filled with “wants.” How could the following be needs? Included in the new budget are a rubber running track, AstroTurf for athletic fields, restrooms at athletic facilities, which already have restrooms, new additions onto a brand new high school, a $1.2 million teacher training facility (there are adequate facilities for this already), fancy LED signs,and exuberant amounts of money for feasibility studies for things that never happen. Are these things worth sacrificing our schools for?

Our school originally had one hallway, with a cafeteria at one end. As the population of the school grew, portables were brought in to accommodate the expanded enrollment at the school. In 1991 and 2009, our tax dollars paid for additions to the school. They were very nice additions that the community could be proud of.

This space was added with future growth in mind, so that they would not have to bring in portables again. Now, they are saying that we need to close the school because we have too much space for the amount of children there. Our tax dollars went towards financing these additions, and now they want to put them to waste by closing the school? I am sure that Ambler and Holly Springs went through a similar progression. If they close all three schools, that will be triple the waste.

This not only affects the three country schools, it affects every elementary school that feeds into Pickens High School. Pickens Elementary and Hagood Elementary will lose their current identity and become overcrowded, therefore creating the need for increased maintenance budget and costing the school district more money in the big picture.

Speaking of ignoring the big picture, the school board is using outdated census data to project that the number of school children in our communities will decrease in the next few years. This is a very short-sighted projection. Greenville-Spartanburg is one of the highest-incorporated and fastest-growing areas in the country. As people get jobs and move into the area, the greater Greenville area has become overcrowded. Many people have now started moving into the outlying areas, which explains the growth in the southern part of our county (especially Easley). When those areas become saturated, it only makes sense that people would start moving into the Pickens area. If we only have two very overcrowded elementary schools, where are those children going to go? At that point, we are going to need all five of those schools.

It is my sincere hope that the school board will listen to reason and not make the mistake of closing these schools. It affects all of us, but it will devastate the ages-old bond that exists in these three mountain communities. Please contact your school board members and politicians, and tell them not to go through with this plan.

Chad Keith

Pickens

Not honoring Lincoln

Dear Editor,

Many will be honoring Abraham Lincoln in February, but I won’t be. I refuse to celebrate a tyrant dictator who was the father of the loss of states’ rights.

It has become clear to me after reading the book written by Thomas J. DiLorenzo titled “The Real Lincoln.” “Honest Abe” wasn’t so honest. The history I was taught in the N.C. public school system was anything but the whole truth. The North succeeded in indoctrinating the Southern public school children with the North’s revisionist history to my generation, and it continues today.

If anyone will take the time to study the real history of Lincoln, one would find him to be a despicable, tyrant dictator, much like Obama is today. No wonder Obama chose to use Lincoln’s Bible to be sworn into office.

Lincoln is guilty of war crimes for his direct violation of the Geneva Convention by having non-combatants murdered. He ordered the homes of destitute women and children, as well as the elderly, to be burned to the ground, as well as confiscating all their food and livestock.

Lincoln’s motive for freeing the slaves was motivated by power and money. He continued to allow slavery in the North, where it served his purpose. Lincoln’s army captured freed slaves and forced them to do his dirty deeds.

The truth is that Lincoln was vehemently opposed to racial equality. It is well documented in his statements he never considered black Americans or Native Americans as his equal, and considered them inferior humans.

Every Sioux Indian in Minnesota was either murdered or run out of the state after Lincoln refused to pay the Sioux back the more than $1 million he owed them for the purchase of the Sioux land. How honest was that?

Furthermore, Lincoln used Fort Lafayette to throw people in prison who didn’t agree with his ideology and called them traitors. These prisoners included editors of newspapers and even preachers for their sermons opposing his war.

Lincoln completely ignored the 10th Amendment and used brute force to choke the South for their rebellion against federal tyranny.

Land in the South was condemned or confiscated by Lincoln. Railroads were taken over, private homes were seized, the banks were shut down and church services were shut down. Public assemblies were not allowed, and any person refusing to take an oath of allegiance was deported or put in prison, and in some cases executed.

Lincoln was a dictator, thug and murderer. He ushered in the big federal government we see today.

I refuse to celebrate a murderer who expanded the federal government’s strong-arm control over states’ rights.

Johnnelle Raines

Pickens

I covered my first school board meeting in 1986 while working for the Clemson Messenger, and there began my real education. Dr. Curtis Sidden was the superintendent of education.

There have been many changes since 1986. There have been many different school boards and administrators. Some are more knowledgeable of the education system than others. But they are all made up of people who are willing to dedicate hundreds of hours each year to public service. Some have one goal to accomplish and are disinterested in anything that doesn’t help them reach that one goal.

Some who serve come in thinking they can change the system and make drastic reforms. Some can compromise, and some won’t consider compromise.

All want children to receive the best education that is available. The bone of contention is always how that can be accomplished.

I was very fortunate to go to a small school. There were 200 students in grades one through 12. My graduating class was the largest in history, with 21 students.

Every student was important.

Smaller class sizes allowed teachers to give individual students attention. Teachers knew when we got it and when we didn’t. We weren’t treated as numbers, but as people.

The school and churches were the center of the community and bound everyone together. It was an excellent way to get an education.

Not everything in education should be evaluated based on cost. Figures can be manipulated and sometimes are to support one position or another.

Can millions of dollars be saved by closing three small elementary schools? That’s debatable. And even if it turns out to be true, should that be the deciding factor?

In the past, we’ve all seen millions wasted and opportunities squandered. Sometimes various school boards have indeed “gagged at a gnat and swallowed a camel.”

Yes, children can be bused to larger schools, and it will cut the cost of heating and cooling buildings and it will cut the number of teachers needed when classrooms are consolidated and fewer teachers have more students.

How will that help these children learn? I don’t think it will. I’ve visited all three of these elementary schools facing the chopping block. They all enjoy community support and involvement. They all offer children a sense of security and emotional support so needed when dealing with the very young.

And the smaller number of students in these schools is a real advantage for the children attending Holly Springs, Ambler and A.R. Lewis.

It is to be hoped that the campaign to close these schools will fail. We all have a stake in the education of the children of Pickens County.

What is Hope?

Dear Editor,

Everyone has hope. We hope for good health, a new car, a new house, a good wife, a good husband; all kinds of hope. Most of which are what we want out of this life.

Let us look at a different hope. The hope that is from God and that is eternal. We read in the Scriptures (the Bible) that our blessed and eternal is in Christ Jesus the Son of God. If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior in your heart, you have this blessed hope.

In our day (today) there is a movement to take the God out of everything except curse words. We live in perilous times, but as a Christian we have this blessed hope of our eternity with Christ. Yes, we go through trials, and troubles, but this Earth is not our permanent home. Our eternal home is in and with Christ Jesus. To be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord. Praise God. I am looking forward to that day. We have no promise of tomorrow, therefore we need (must) know Jesus Christ to have that hope. This is not knowledge of Christ, but a personal relationship with him. I pray that you will come to Christ before it is too late.

We just need to look around and see what is happening in this world today. As I study the scriptures and prophecy, I have to believe we are living in the last days. In the 24th chapter of Matthew, we read of what will take place in the last days. Those things stated are taking place today.

As Christiansm we must stand for the things of God and not what is politically correct. Our politicians promise everything but this eternal hope. We pray for God to bless America, and He has. We need to pray that God will have mercy on America and that we will serve God rather than man. Be prepared for the days ahead. Accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. God Bless.

Mark Wilson

Pickens

There are many games played in our country, and spectators can really get caught up in them. And even though there are scandals galore throughout the sports industry, at least there are rules. And that may be why so many of us prefer football to politics.

In football, things are fairly clear cut. There are penalties for certain infractions and instant replay to determine whether or not the referees got it right.

There’s no way to change the outcome of a game. Either the team gets the first down or they don’t. If they make a touchdown, they get points.

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The team with the most points wins the game at the end.

There are time limits in each quarter.

When the clock runs out, unless there’s a tie, the game is over.

No quarterback can say the pass was completed if we can all see it was incomplete.

You can see how a play is carried out. You can’t lie about statistics, and the truth about the game is out there for all to see.

Have you ever seen a coach say the team won the championship when in reality the team did not?

Of course not.

But in the game of politics, there are no rules. In this country, if you run for president you can make any claim you like about what you’re going to do, and there’s no gong sounded to alert the public when you lie.

You can assassinate the character of your opponent, and anything goes.

You can promise to enact change without mentioning that the president is the head of the executive branch, not the legislative branch.

In order to win an election, you have to tell people what you or your staff determine they want to hear. Then you campaign on that issue. If people are concerned about rattlesnakes invading their homes, you must promise that if you are elected you will see to it that all rattlesnakes in America are eliminated.

You don’t have to explain how this can be done. That’s not important. You just have to say you will do it. You have to convince people that the elimination of rattlesnakes will improve the economy, education, health and the overall standing of the United States to the rest of the world.

A campaign is basically an attempt to carry out mass brainwashing. It’s not as hard to do as some may believe.

History has shown us over and over again how little it takes to accomplish this.

Hitler did it. He convinced a nation that all their problems were the fault of one group of people and told them they would prosper if only the country was rid of the Jewish population.

Senator Joseph McCarthy did it through his witch hunt for communists in America.

Successful cult leaders have the ability to do it.

Right now there’s too much dust blowing around to see what’s really happening. So I think it’s best for me to wait until next November to check back in on whoever is left standing to try to pick a candidate.

As we’ve seen in the past, the savior of today may be in prison tomorrow. It’s the American way.

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Jay Bender

S.C. Press Association

I confess. I had more fun responding to inquiries about Mike Pitts’ (R-Laurens) journalist registration bill than I have had answering questions about any other proposed restrictions on the press or personal freedoms.

A client called and asked what the response to the bill should be. I responded, “laughter.” The client then asked, “What do we say when someone wants our official response?” “Tell them when we quit laughing we’ll think of something.”

Unfortunately many news organizations groaned and harrumphed like the sea lions on the beach in front of William Randolph Hearst’s castle in California. A reaction I suspect Pitts desired.

If he were honest, and I have no way of knowing, Pitts would have known that his bill had very little chance of getting even subcommittee consideration and no chance of passage.

Of course Pitts’ explanation for filing the bill was as humorous as the bill itself: unhappiness with press coverage of firearms legislation.

If Pitts really had a complaint about news coverage of firearms legislation, as distinguished from editorial and opinion treatment of the issue, he could have responded on the merits of specific proposals. With respect to editorials and opinion pieces, I am confident most newspapers would have welcomed a piece from Pitts addressing specific legislative proposals regarding such things as closing the “gun show loophole” where one can buy a firearm without a background check, or methods to get mental health information into the background check data bases.

But, because he is a member of the General Assembly, with lawyers and typists at his disposal at state expense, Pitts decided to demonstrate what a big shot he is. He used public resources to take the language of the state’s concealed weapons law and modify it to require the registration of journalists. I am guessing that if Pitts had been required to draft the bill himself rather than use the professional staff, he might have decided it would be a better use of his time to take a hunting trip to Alaska (which he has done apparently using his campaign treasury to finance the trip).

Some have suggested that Pitts’ registration bill has less to do with his unhappiness with firearms legislation coverage and more to do with The Post & Courier report on his use of campaign funds to underwrite hunting trips.

Pitts is not alone in promoting legislation to burden the press for fulfilling the role of the press in our democratic society. Every year someone in the General Assembly proposes to remove the sales tax exemption on newspapers and newsprint — exemptions that have been in the law since South Carolina’s initial sales tax legislation was adopted. And a historical note, the imposition of a tax on newspapers and newspaper readers by the Crown was one of the rallying points for colonists in the days leading to the American Revolution. The exemption repeal usually pops up after a newspaper has disclosed questionable or illegal conduct by a public official.

Louisiana and Minnesota both enacted tax schemes that imposed taxes on the largest newspapers in those states — the papers most likely to write about governmental corruption. The Louisiana legislature didn’t even try to hide the fact that the tax was being imposed on those newspapers critical of Huey Long. The United States Supreme Court ruled both schemes unconstitutional.

Minnesota also had a statute that allowed a court to issue an injunction to stop the publication of a newspaper deemed to be a “nuisance” on the basis of what it published about government and government officials. The concept of nuisance in common law allows a court to enjoin an activity when noise, odors or light from an activity on one person’s property interferes with the use of an adjoining property. Minnesota, like Pitts, was trying to be clever in taking law that dealt with one subject and modify it to enable a court to punish a newspaper for publishing that which a public official found offensive.

This is not a new notion. During the administration of John Adams, Congress enacted a Sedition Act to allow the imprisonment of publishers who criticized government and government officials. The notion of sedition was imported from England where one could be put to death in a gruesome fashion for criticizing the monarch. Those punished under the act were supporters of Thomas Jefferson. When Jefferson became President he pardoned those who had been imprisoned and the law expired.

Certainly Pitts was throwing his weight around and acting the bully with his pretend (I hope) legislation, but he is to be applauded for causing us to think about why we have the First Amendment. I tell my classes that the First Amendment exists to protect from the government speech that nobody likes. Even if the nobody is in the General Assembly.

Jay Bender is the Reid H. Montgomery Professor of Journalism at the University of South Carolina. He also represents South Carolina Press Association as its attorney.

The other four-letter word

Dear Editor,

Although it is very small, with only four letters total, it is very powerful just the same. It can lift your soul from the depths of Hell and put it on the mountaintops of Heaven.

So powerful that if it’s the true kind, Satan and all the demons of Hell can’t destroy it. It can also do just the opposite. Many graveyards are full of those who encountered the wrong kind.

Some have given their lives for it or taken others’ lives because of it. In the right hands, it calms the most violent of souls, but in the wrong it can enrage the most timid and bring on great destruction.

It can make a complete fool out of even the most learned or wise. More songs, poems, stories and books have been composed, written or told about it through all of history than anything.

It has brought down kings and queens and many a politician.

Be very careful if you encounter it, for as with fire, you may get burned, and as with life, there are no guarantees. Pray if you find it, and few are they that do, that it is the true kind.

The one kind that can bring more happiness than great riches or worldly fame. Only four letters — this the other four-letter word — so small yet powerful just the same.

Yes, a word spelled simply, L-O-V- E.

Something to think about in this month associated with love. Better yet, think on it all year long and be careful, be very careful, who you fall in love with, for not all love stories end with happily ever after as in the fairy tales.

Eddie Boggs

Westminster

When the sun showed its face after too many days of back-to-back winter, we were jubilant. It’s amazing what a difference a little sunshine can make to a person’s outlook. I am so thankful to see it.

There are so many things about this winter snowstorm, thankfully over, to celebrate.

First of all, we didn’t lose electricity. We are fortunate enough to have our electricity supplied by a rural cooperative. Our lines are well-maintained, and underlying brush and trees are kept in check. Although downed power lines and outages do occur, there aren’t as many outages as seem to happen with some other suppliers.

Next, our water didn’t freeze. And that is wonderful. If you’ve ever experienced that, you know how miserable it is to have no water supply and to have that coupled with no heat in the house. Plus, when you have farm animals, keeping them supplied with fresh water can be a brutal chore in inclement weather.

I don’t have to do that part. Fowler makes sure the horses and chickens have water each day. That involves dumping frozen water from the hen house and refilling containers in freezing temperatures, draining the hose each day after each use and coiling it up so water doesn’t freeze inside it, and weatherizing all outside spigots. We filled the bird feeders, and during the longest day of snow, ice and cold enjoyed watching a multitude of birds at the feeders.

Sparrows and wrens, red birds and chickadees ate together. A few crows fed on the ground. The only bullies were the blue jays, who are so aggressive, but they are beautiful, too.

There are also the horses and the dogs and cats.

Fowler keeps a fire going in the wood stove in the shop, and the dogs and cats all enjoy that. When he’s trudging around out there doing chores, he can go into the shop to warm up his hands.

Also, he has installed heat lamps in all the dog houses so they are comfortable at night.

And we were still able to cook. In this weather, hot soup is a requirement in order to keep going.

We were fortunate to be able to get to the grocery store before the storm and had enough food to last through the three days we were unable to get out.

We normally don’t watch daytime TV, because there’s always so much to do, but the afternoon of the heaviest snow I sat and watched two back-to-back episodes of “Gunsmoke.” That was all I could stand. I’m not used to being confined to the house, and finally hauled out the rubber boots from Ocracoke Island and dragged on all the layers of clothing necessary to survival for 30 minutes outside.

I was given a pair of bib coveralls one year for Christmas, and they usually come into service each winter. They are wonderfully warm, but getting into them takes an act of congress. It’s important to wait to put on your boots after you’ve got the coveralls on, or I assure you, you will find yourself in a predicament.

Tramping through the snowfall was invigorating, and after the Chihuahua and I had patrolled the yard and checked the feeders, we were ready to go back inside. He had more of a challenge than I did, as the snow came up to his chest. But he soldiered on. I finally carried him back to the house.

But now it’s all over. I hope this was our first and last winter storm of the season. Not that I’m complaining. Just a few more weeks and spring will come. It comes every year. I have faith.