The Opinion Blog

Long Fall From Grace

Saturday's editorial explores the trajectory of Atlantic Beach Mayor Retha Pierce's path from a well-liked community fixture to, frankly, an embarrassment to that same community, and suggests she step down so the town can move forward.

As news of Atlantic Beach Mayor Retha Pierce's fourth arrest since her 2007 election played across the Grand Strand this week, many doubtlessly wondered how she was ever elected in the first place.

'Sober or Slammer' campaign

Friday's editorial promotes the S.C. Department of Public Safety's anti-drunk driving campaign heading into Labor Day.

Contrary to what the young drivers in the television spots say, there is absolutely nothing cool or acceptable about drinking and driving.

Detectives dedicated for Donovan

Tuesday's lead editorial notes the end of one of the Grand Strand's most enduring mysteries.

Forensic science and good police work have confirmed that bone fragments found in January are remains of Alice L. Donovan, abducted more than six years ago.

Horry officer testifies to "confidence" in Sotomayor

Former Horry County Police officer Chuck Canterbury, now national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, testified on behalf of Judge Sonia Sotomayor on Thursday, defending her commitment to the Second Amendment and calling her "a jurist in whom any beat cop could have confidence."

'Reefer Madness' melodrama to return to S.C.

Ripped from the wires ... S.C. resident Kathleen Parker, in full contrarian mode, says the real problem with the Michael Phelps pot scandal isn't Phelps; it's the marijuana laws:

By KATHLEEN PARKER

It's hell being a celebrity, especially if you're young and find yourself at a party, where marijuana and cameras should never mix.

And it's not exactly heaven being sheriff of a county with escalating drug crimes and pressure to treat all offenders equally.

Thus it is that Olympian swimmer Michael Phelps and Sheriff Leon Lott of South Carolina's Richland County are being forced to treat seriously a crime that shouldn't be one.

Heroic Illinois prosecutor barely escaped AG purge

Ripped from the wires ... The St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted editorially on Thursday that the hero in this week's take-down of Illinois Gov. Blagojevich came perilously close to being taken down himself -- by former Attorney General Gonzales -- for insufficient zeal over the Bush political agenda. Ain't irony ironic?:

In March 2005, a month after Alberto Gonzales became U.S. attorney general, Justice Department staffers sent to the White House a chart ranking all 93 U.S. attorneys in terms of their allegiance to President George W. Bush and his administration.

Illegals treated in un-kosher fashion

Ripped from the wires ... Robyn Blumner provides a contrarian view of the recent immigration-enforcement raid on an Iowa slaughterhouse -- that it was a mission of mercy, not persecution:

By Robyn Blumner

The list of allegations against the Postville, Iowa, slaughterhouse, recently raided by federal officials for its use of illegal immigrant workers, reads like a story collectively written by Upton Sinclair, Charles Dickens and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Agriprocessors, the nation's largest kosher meatpacking plant, is at the center of page after page of sickening accusations. These are contained in an affidavit for a search warrant filed by a federal agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Rid the Highway Patrol of the taint of racism

Today's editorial recommends independent monitoring to restore the credibility of the S.C. Highway Patrol:

"Does the S.C. Highway Patrol warrant a federal takeover to stamp out institutional racism? Maybe. Too many S.C. troopers seem unable to do their jobs in impartial fashion, based on the skin color of the folks with whom they come into contact professionally. And too many folks in a position to do something about patrol excesses at the S.C. Department of Public Safety, its parent agency, seem to think that's just fine.

"It's not. Six patrol videos obtained by The (Columbia) State newspaper under the S.C. Freedom of Information Act create the perhaps-inaccurate impression that S.C. troopers are racist goons. In recent weeks, South Carolinians have seen images of troopers kicking, punching and screaming racist epithets at African-American motorists during traffic stops. One recent Highway Patrol video posted on MyrtleBeach Online.com even shows a trooper jabbing an already subdued suspect with the business end of his shotgun.

Did Hewett succumb to corrupting influences of power?

Today's editorial takes note of the rise and fall of Brunswick County Sheriff Ron Hewett:

"What once was a stellar law enforcement career came crashing down with the suspension last week and indictment this week of Brunswick County, N.C., Sheriff Ronald Hewett. If the charges of embezzlement and obstruction of justice prove out - and the county's district attorney, Rex Gore, is noted as a meticulous public official - then Hewett becomes the latest local case study in the dangers facing those whom voters entrust with power.

"Few public officials have more clout than N.C. county sheriffs - particularly those, such as Hewett, whom the voters repeatedly re-elect. The job is unique, requiring those who win it to be skilled politicians and credible layers-down of the law. Those who manage to hold the office longterm amass great power in both realms.