Will Folks book cover leaked

According to a highly-trusted, but anonymous, source, here is the cover and title of the Will Folks "tell-all" book which is rumored to be awaiting publication.

Meanwhile, the honeymoon cruise continues, with stops in Portland and Kennebunkport today.

Cruising ...

The Blogland is going to take a little downtime as yours truly is off for a ten-day honeymoon cruise in the North Atlantic.

We'll see everyone in October. Either be good or have a great alibi.

Become certified in CPR and First Aid - for free!

As Upstate Congressman Mick Mulvaney recently discovered, you never know when someone might be in urgent need of help, such as CPR. With the right training, you might be able to save a life in an emergency situation with just a little bit of training.

For those who don't know, as part of my job, I am a Red Cross-certified instructor, which means I can teach First Aid, CPR, Biohazards and some other important life-saving and safety skills. In addition to classes for workers, I've taught community organizations, staff in schools and courts and private citizens these skills.

You don't have to have a medical background to take this class. Many people, including teachers, law enforcement officers, construction personnel, and even teenage babysitters, take these classes to learn how to respond to save lives. All you need is four or so hours of your time on a weekend to learn how.

So here's your chance to - regardless of party label - get FREE Red Cross CPR and First Aid training.

More trouble for organized labor in South Carolina

This week hasn't been a good week for labor unions in South Carolina. In addition to ongoing efforts to resist the NLRB, two events presented additional challenges for organized labor.

On Monday, a decertification petition (11-RD-064845) was filed regarding the Johnson Controls facility in Florence S.C., which presently has a United Auto Workers presence. In August 2010, the UAW barely won the union vote at the plant with 76 votes for the union and 71 against.

In Charleston, the S.C. Chamber of Commerce joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in filing suit against the National Labor Relations Board to challenge NLRB-issued regulations on August 25 which will require nearly all employers to post a large notice to employees informing them of rights under the National Labor Relations Act, including their right to unionize.

Wedding day in the Blogland

If you weren't in Charleston Saturday night, you missed a really good time - and a pretty special one. Thanks to all of those who could make it, those who tried but couldn't make it and those who reached out to wish us well. Nothing like spending the evening with 300 or so family, friends and colleagues to make for a wonderful weekend.

Of course, having an open bar helped with the fun as well.

Next stop - a ten-day ocean cruise in the North Atlantic.

AG opinion takes aim at the "Florence Fix"

On The Pickle Barrel blog, Florence County GOP Chair Bill Pickle updates readers on the "Florence Fix": a deal in which members of Florence County Council are reportedly working to appoint Rusty Smith, the current Council Chair, to fill soon-to-be-vacated position of County Administrator.

Pickle reports that the S.C. Attorney General's office has issued an opinion cautioning County Council to not appoint Smith, warning that he may not be legally eligible for appointment to the job:

At a minimum, South Carolina law requires that Chairman Smith removes himself from any influence over the process of selecting the new administrator. Moreover, while it does not appear the Ethics Act requires Chairman Smith to resign from his seat on council during his candidacy, section 4-9-100 of the South Carolina Code might make Chairman Smith ineligible for appointment at this time. Finally, it is the opinion of this Office that it would be contrary to the public policy of this State for a county council to appoint its own member as administrator.

After the rumored deal to fast-track Smith's appointment came under fire by local good government advocates and GOP activists, Council has slowed the selection process, with no information available as to the current status of the candidate search, or if council is vetting other candidates for the job.

GOP special election two-fer wins: What's the message?

Three of the last four people to hold New York’s Ninth Congressional District went on to bigger things:

• Geraldine Ferraro was the 1984 Democratic candidate for Vice President,
  
• Charles Schumer went on to the U.S. Senate, and
  
• Anthony Weiner showed us … things in his own way.

Tonight, the seat saw another historic moment when Republican Bob Turner became the first Republican candidate to win the seat since 1920, taking a seat which had gone two-to-one for Al Gore in 2000 and had been won by Republicans just five times since the Civil War.

Two time zones away, in Nevada, a race for an open GOP-held Congressional seat wasn’t even close, with Republican businessman Mark Amodei trouncing the Democratic State Treasurer.

Guest Op-Ed: Democrats just cannot afford to let Mark Sanford go

Today's Guest Op-ed comes from Bill Connor, an Orangeburg attorney and Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army reserve. Guest submittals will be considered for publication if sent via email to earl@earlcapps.org.

With unemployment at the highest levels since the great depression, America’s recent loss of AAA credit rating, and an economy continuing to plummet, the Democrats are floundering. For a time, the President’s promises of massive job growth through stimulus held off criticism. He promised future jobs and growth. For the first two years of his Presidency, Barack Obama got by blaming George Bush for every economic ill.

In South Carolina, for over a year and a half, Democrats were able to deflect the misery of Obama’s failed policies by hammering Governor Mark Sanford and his affair. Over and over and over and over again we were all forced to relive the summer of 2009. Unfortunately for the Democrats, Mark Sanford left office over eight months ago and they have now lost their favorite punching bag. In desperation to deflect attention from a sinking economy and a President at the lowest popularity levels in history, Democrats in South Carolina have decided they need back their punching bag. Thus comes the story about the hypothetical “return” of Mark Sanford by former SC Democratic Chairman candidate Phil Noble.

What brings the renewed lambasting and rehashing of the Sanford saga? Phil Noble, writes in the Times and Democrat (Sept 7): “(during a) recent appearance on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, South Carolina's disgraced former governor strode back onto the national stage, apparently testing his viability as a national Republican leader, and even, perhaps, as a possible presidential candidate.”

That’s right, according to Democratic Chairman candidate Noble, Making an appearance on CNN equates to becoming a possible “presidential” candidate.

Mark your calendar: Sept. 17, Lancaster - 5th District GOP rally

Having teamed up to topple former Congressman John Spratt last year in what was the highest-ranking national-level political ouster in the state since the last Royal Governor fled Charleston in 1776, Fifth District Republicans are leaving nothing to chance, planning a big regional rally to start planning for next year's elections:

September 17, 2011 - 10:00-3:00pm
At the Buford Recreational Center
4073 Hurley Walters Road Lancaster, SC

This event is being hosted by all of the 5th District Republican Parties and the SCGOP.

I won't be there since there's a scheduling conflict with my wedding, but here are some of the people who WILL be attending the event:

The high price of messing with Kevin Brackett

Kevin Brackett, York County’s Republican Solicitor, is known for being tough on crime, as well as a man of his word.

Two years ago, the Blogland reported on a “second chance” program targeted at youthful first-time offenders in Rock Hill. Brackett offered eight drug dealers with clean records a chance to get their lives together, get a job and stay out of trouble – or be prosecuted for those charges, along the new ones.

Of the eight, four were never heard or seen by local law enforcement. Three of the other four who got in trouble again were arrested for more drug offenses.

Don Regan, Rescue 3, FDNY

For our second tribute of the day, we present the story of Jimmy Regan, a City of Charleston fireman whose father, a New York firefighter, died while responding to the World Trade Center attack on 9/11:

Johnny Heff, Ladder 11, FDNY

On the morning of 9/11, Johnny Heffernan was a father, a husband, a guitarist in The Bullys, a NYC-based punk rock band and a New York firefighter.

In two weekends, his band he'd put together several years before was set to play a show at Manhattan's Contential Club. The band had developed a growing following, playing larger venues and attracting fans, including early punk pioneers such as Deborah Harry of Blondie, Fear's Lee Ving and Joey Ramone

Johnny Heffernan, known as Johnny Heff on stage, had a more important performance to put on that day. Heffernan and his fellow firefighters rushed to the World Trade Center, where he was one of those lost when the second tower fell.

9/11: Giving thanks

Tomorrow, we commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The Blogland will profile two of those who were lost on that day.

Today, the day started with a visit to the Lowcountry GOP Breakfast Club, which featured a 9/11 memorial and Homeland Security presentation. The group remembers this by setting aside each September for a presentation on Homeland Security and tribute, asking their speakers to discuss what has been learned and what’s improving.

They’re challenge themselves and others to do their part to keep moving the ball forward, as did their speaker, retired Air Force Major General Arthur Rooney, who challenged attendees to “do something”.

They haven’t forgotten what happened. They haven’t forgotten that freedom isn’t free.

In remembering, they’re thankful.

So what am I thankful for?

Hanging with the Clarendon GOP

Thursday night in Manning is more fun when you add Moye Graham and the Clarendon County Republican Party.

A meeting where Graham estimated twenty-five would turn out saw over fifty fill the French Hens restaurant across from the county courthouse – more proof of the growth in the county’s GOP, which ran a surprise close finish in a recent State House contest, is becoming an important player in the region's political landscape.

GOP activists from around the region, such as SCGOP 1st Vice-Chair (and Charleston County GOP Chair) Lin Bennett, were there, along with representatives from several Presidential campaigns.

Several in the room were discussing candidacies for next year, raising the prospect of another primary surprise. The last one did much to upset the local Democratic establishment's efforts to retain control of the county's primary State House district.

As always, we appreciate their hospitality.

Mark your calendar: Sept. 17, Lancaster - 5th District GOP rally

Having teamed up to topple former Congressman John Spratt last year in what was the highest-ranking national-level political ouster in the state since the last Royal Governor fled Charleston in 1776, Fifth District Republicans are leaving nothing to chance, planning a big regional rally to start planning for next year's elections:

September 17, 2011 - 10:00-3:00pm
At the Buford Recreational Center
4073 Hurley Walters Road Lancaster, SC

This event is being hosted by all of the 5th District Republican Parties and the SCGOP.

I won't be there since there's a scheduling conflict with my wedding, but here are some of the people who WILL be attending the event:

The next Scott Brown?

Following the 1994 elections, Democrats saw their electoral prospects improve by the summer of 1995, giving them hope for their eventual reversal of electoral prospects which allowed them to trim the GOP congressional majority and hold onto the White House.

The kind of early electoral gains that gave them hope then aren't happening now. Especially in a New York special election where polling is showing the growing potential for a GOP upset in the race to fill a long-time Democratic Congressional seat which had been held most recently by Anthony Wiener and Senator Charles Schumer.

Mark your calendar: Labor Day, Columbia - Second Amendment BBQ

If you're going to be in the Midlands for Labor Day, Palmetto State Armory is hosting a Second Amendment cookout.

Attorney General Alan Wilson will be headlining this event. Presidential candidates are also expected to attend.

There will be free BBQ and Music at this event, which goes from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. Those who attend can enter to Win a FREE AR-15 Rifle and all firearms 10% OFF.

Mark your calendar: Sept. 5 - Charleston GOP Labor Day picnic

Charleston County Republicans are having a Labor Day picnic that you don't want to miss. Last year's event was a great one.

The event starts at 10:00 AM, and it's located at 1155 Eaglewood Trail on James Island, which is off Ft. Johnson Road near James Island High School.

In addition to the usual cast of GOP politicos and candidates who attend, they'll also feature conservative political comedian Eric Golub.