Gov.-elect Nikki Haley won’t grant Oprah Winfrey an interview with Susan Smith, the Union mother convicted of killing her two sons in 1994.

Winfrey said on her show that aired Wednesday that she wanted to interview Smith for her final season. Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey said the new governor won’t allow it.

“While Gov.-elect Haley has great respect for Oprah, let’s be clear: Ms. Smith got enough press when she killed her two children and lied about it to the country,” Godfrey said. “South Carolina suffered enough from this tragedy, and we are now focused on the positives in our great state.”

Jeff Duncan (S.C.) — The incoming Natural Resources Committee freshman wants to help boost the panel’s profile when it comes to energy issues. Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) lost his bid this year to swipe energy jurisdiction away from the Energy and Commerce Committee, but Duncan said there’s plenty of room for the Resources panel to get more active on energy issues by opening up federal lands that are currently off limits to energy exploration. “Let’s further explore the Outer Continental Shelf,” he said. He’d also like to see legislation to expand nuclear power and energy production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

As the Blogland is unrepentantly stuck in the 80s, only we would come up with a "Righteous Dude of the Year" award, inspired by that famous line in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off:

The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wasteoids, dweebies, dickheads — they all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude.

A jury took less than one hour Friday to find Brandon Simmons guilty of shooting Charleston County Sheriff's Deputy Jeffrey DeGrow six times.

Simmons, 22, received the maximum 25-year sentence from Circuit Judge Deadra Jefferson, 20 years for one count of assault and battery with intent to kill and five years for one count of possessing a firearm during a violent crime. The years will run consecutively.

Last week, Les Agro of Summerville told a story about being a Navy SEAL who'd taken part in the 1991 liberation of Kuwait. It was a tale he's convincingly spun for at least eight years.

On Tuesday, Agro admitted he's an impostor.

• Rob McCoy from Lancaster. McCoy recently lost a challenge to Democratic State Rep. Jimmy Neal.
• Mike Short from Fort Mill. Short served several terms on York County Council.
• Winston Smith from Lancaster. Smith is the current Chair of the Lancaster County GOP.

The office of the House Majority Leader gives an overview of its intended working calendar for the 2011 session of the House, featuring less time spent in Washington by members, more transparency of the legislative process and better planning.

An unidentified Democratic lawmaker let slip his frustration at President Obama’s proposed tax compromise, apparently muttering “f**k the president,” during a heated debate this morning.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting House GOP freshmen standing their ground on limiting the terms which a House Republican can be a Chair or ranking member.

The two of South Carolina's four House freshmen that we were able to reach indicated they were standing their ground on this position.

According to the WSJ:

Newly elected Republican lawmakers say they don’t like the idea of granting waivers to GOP term-limit rules that bar members from serving more than six years as a chairman or ranking member of top committees.

That’s a bad sign for Rep. Jerry Lewis, who is seeking the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Joe Barton, who wants the gavel for the Energy and Commerce Committee.

• When he tells you he's just 37, he's probably handing you a line.
• When he tells you today's his birthday, he's telling you the truth.

Last week, Secretary of State Mark "Dirty Harry" Hammond's office did a sting at the Metro Flea Market on Highway 1 in West Columbia, snagging three people selling just under $200 grand worth of counterfeit merchandise:

The Secretary of State’s Office partnered with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department to conduct a sting in West Columbia on December 1, 2010, that resulted in the confiscation of nearly $188,000 in pirated DVDs and CDs and counterfeit merchandise.

While it seems as if every new Speaker makes substantial promises to use technology and transparency in new ways, House Republicans can already point to ways they've done just that, including asking for feedback on the America Speaking Out platform and YouCut, where users can suggest and vote for government programs they wish to be cut from the federal budget. The agenda that's been put forward to date by leading Republicans like incoming Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has the potential to increase the use of technology in enforcing congressional transparency.