Especially flattering this month was getting my profile featured in the National Journal, and having the Beaufort Gazette and The State run with my lead in the Beaufort State Senate race. I appreciate the NJ and Ian Leslie from the Beaufort Gazette taking the time to tune in.

Ok, time for Monday's round up of what's gone on in the SC blogosphere over the last week ...

Faith in the Sound and the Laurin Line both noted the passing of long-time GOP confidant Rick Davis, who passed unexpectedly at the young age of forty-five.

Say a prayer for Rick’s family, folks. This is going to be a tough time for them. It’s tough to lose a father and a husband, but when there are children at home, even tougher.

Painter in Hiding talks about the stupid things people do.

Nettie is taking a break – enjoy the time off, and we hope you come back soon!

The Body Politic is taking part in a straw poll of potential 2008 GOP Presidential candidates. Go cast your vote.

Over at Cavaliers and Roundheads, Darth Vader faces imminent doom.

S.C. Solon continues to ride a wave of publicity over their discussion of online commentaries by Democratic state Comptroller candidate Drew Theodore. They’ve done a really good job making bloggers a credible source of media information.

Brian McCarty, over that Voting under the Influence, attempts to set the Drew Theodore straight about his misdirected attack upon Will Folks regarding questions McCarty raised about Nick Theodore, Drew's father, using state vehicles and staff for personal trips while he was Lt. Governor in the late 80s and early 90s:

One line from Mr. Theodore stood out to me. He blasted Mr. Eckstrom for hiring someone convicted of domestic violence to attack Mr. Theodore’s family and his “seventy eight year old father.” Well, I don’t know what Mr. Folks, who I assume Mr. Theodore was talking about, has done. I know that I, on this blog, pointed out the hypocrisy of the Theodore campaign.

But, let me be clear. I am on no political payroll. Indeed, I have been on the outside looking in for quite some time now. But, I do think it is hypocritical for Drew Theodore to criticize someone for using a state car when his own father had bodyguards and drivers at state expense, and took those people out of state with him for a purely partisan political event.

For daring to challenge Theodore, Brian has caught quite a bit of flak, including some very bitter personal cheap shots from the usual (anonymous) suspects.

To be nice, Faith in the Sound turns its aim away from Drew Theodore, who complained about being picked on by bloggers, and takes aim at State Treasurer Grady Patterson:

If you haven't yet seen the video of Treasurer Grady Patterson's editorial board interview with The State newspaper, click here.

You may never see anything quite like it again.

"He makes up stuff," Patterson says of GOP nominee Thomas Ravenel, but then fails to offer any examples.

"I don't have a list of it or anything," Patterson says.

While on the way to a job site in Bamberg Friday morning, I took this picture Friday morning of a rather lucky turtle.

The sucker that I am, when I saw this guy trying to cross the highway, I turned around and carried him the rest of the way across the road. Once released on the other side, he quickly scurried into the ditch. I hope he got where he was going.

... and I'm betting this shoots my callous, arrogant jerk image all to heck. Except with the more moderate Nazis.

Speaking of good occasions to have a hard protective shell and the ability to hide in it, my friend, Columbia attorney Brian McCarty, makes some valid points about stepped-up security at a Midlands football game in the wake of threatened gang activity on his blog, Voting Under the Influence:

I hope everyone gets where they’re going this week. Be sure to travel and cross those highways safely, and remember that the middle of the road isn’t always a safe place to be, no matter how hard your shell might be.

That's a really good question.

According to reports, Earl survived some very challenging times in his life. “I’m so glad that Earl’s blog has actually survived a full year, " said Joshua Gross of The Body Politic, who left behind years of partying, surfing, and chasing attractive blondes in Hollywood when he moved to South Carolina. "He’s come through his dark times... especially the obsessive compulsive binge drinking that led to the downfall of the ‘Icons of Rock - Melkite Metal World Tour’ a couple of years back.”

Not much is known about his early years, but rumors abound about his roots. “I heard that Earl Capps is a closet Duran Duran and Wham fan,” said Brian McCarty, Columbia attorney and author of the blog Voting under the Influence.

Mike Reino, author of the SC6 blog, offers this insight into what is allegedly his background:

He led a rough and tumble life, from the dead end streets of South Carolina, often eating bologna on hand sandwiches 3 times a day. But destiny had Earl in mind, when a chance meeting with Lee Atwater at a Cinderella concert gave Earl the big break he needed in politics.

But eventually, the ride would come to an end. Women, inflated egos, and a raging addiction to Heroin left him insane and destitute.

Some of you who've visited my blog and seen my quote have probably wondered about it's origins: