Author: Paul Gable

The Media Education of Chris Christie

New Jersey governor Chris Christie discovered the real meaning of the political microscope in the last couple of days when a scandal that had been brewing around his administration broke into the national spotlight Wednesday.

Whether Christie knew about it or not, closing a couple of traffic lanes to cause massive traffic congestion into the George Washington Bridge for a couple of days as retribution for failing to get the endorsement of a small time New Jersey mayor is peanuts as far as political scandals go.

However, when you are thought of as a leading candidate for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, it takes over national news.

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Flow Control Amendment Passes Second Reading

Horry County Council passed second reading of an amendment to its flow control ordinance to eliminate regulation over construction and demolition solid waste debris originating within the county.

The vote was the exact same 6-5 in favor as first reading with the Horry County Solid Waste Authority apologists on council voting in the negative.

The discussion over this issue has concentrated on how much revenue the HCSWA will lose of the amendment passes. This is totally an unconstitutional argument according to the Supreme Court decision in the United Haulers Ass’n v. Oneida Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority lawsuit.

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Horry County Council Flow Control Workshop

It does not appear that any votes changed sides at yesterday’s Horry County Council solid waste flow control workshop.

Council is currently considering an amendment to the county’s flow control ordinance that would remove construction and demolition debris from regulation.

The workshop allowed the Horry County Solid Waste Authority to make a presentation on the possible effects of the amendment followed by questions and discussion by council members.

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John R Rakowsky ESQ

Southern Holdings Settlement Check Saga – Corrected

A settlement check issued by the state of South Carolina for the Southern Holdings case plaintiffs wound up nine months later in the account of an attorney not connected to the case.

After six years in litigation where the state Insurance Reserve Fund spent several million dollars on lawyers defending the case, a rushed “settlement” was allegedly arranged between lawyers for the plaintiff and lawyers for the defendants.

The alleged settlement took place behind closed doors with the federal trial judge, after jury selection was complete.

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Horry County Council Flow Control Workshop

Horry County Council will hold a workshop on solid waste flow control and the ordinance amendment now being considered on Monday January 6, 2014 beginning at 3 p.m. in council chambers.

The amendment passed by a 6-5 vote on first reading at council’s December meeting. The workshop is expected to bring a full bore attack by council members opposed to the amendment, which is the same as saying apologists for the Horry County Solid Waste Authority.

Final passage of the amendment would remove construction and demolition debris from flow control regulations.

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Bureaucracy to prevail at expense of the taxpayer

SC General Assembly Pre-filed Bills

Pre-filed bills for an upcoming session of the SC General Assembly always provide interesting reading, especially in an election year.

Three definitely caught our eye in recent weeks.

Sen. Katrina Shealy is evidently trying to give her friend Gov. Nikki Haley a campaign issue by filing a bill that proposes to eliminate the state’s income tax over a five-year period.

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Big Talk Special Program Sunday

The “Big Talk” television show will feature a one hour special “Talking Big Trash” Sunday December 29th and Sunday January 5th.

The show is a response to the Horry County Council ordinance that will amend the county’s solid waste flow control ordinance if it passes two more readings.

Since county council introduced the ordinance, opponents led by Horry County Solid Waste Authority officials and several council members who blindly support the HCSWA have been spreading rumors about how much the amendment will cost the county.

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Bravo SC Supreme Court Justice Donald Beatty

S.C. Supreme Court Justice Donald Beatty told solicitors to obey the law and now those solicitors, with Attorney General Alan Wilson’s support, want him to recuse himself from criminal cases and cases involving lawyer misconduct.

According to a September 2013 speech Beatty gave to a solicitors’ conference in Myrtle Beach, he said, “The court will no longer overlook unethical conduct, such as witness tampering, selective and retaliatory prosecutions, perjury and suppression of evidence. You better follow the rules or we are coming after you and will make an example.”

Reportedly, Wilson cited case law in a letter to 13 solicitors around the state that he said he would use to support an argument for recusal.

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National Security Agency Spying and the Constitution

Seven months after the Edward Snowden leaks about National Security Agency spying started becoming public, President Barack Obama is now saying some changes in programs may have to be made.

A Blue Ribbon panel appointed by the president, Review Group on Intelligence and Communication Technologies, recently published a 309 page report.

One of the conclusions in that report were that the NSA program of vacuuming information about phone calls and other electronic transmissions within, into and out of the U.S. was, from all available evidence, worthless as a tool to fight terrorism.

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A View on the Budget Compromise

I had to let out a hearty laugh recently when I saw that the House of Representative passed the budget compromise measure.

Especially when so many of my political friends were jumping for joy that bipartisanship is not on life support after all in Washington, D.C.

Forgive me for not blowing out my knee while jumping for joy.

Instead, I laughed because the budget compromise is just another prime example of a bill that was passed but never truly read.

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