The Opinion Blog

'The Good Outnumber You'

Wednesday’s editorial, on the horror in Boston:

Confronted with insanity such as Monday’s bombing of the Boston Marathon, our immediate reaction tends to be an initial gut-punching shock followed by a flood of questions. Who would do this? How many people are hurt? Are the people I know safe? Is the danger over now? What went wrong? Was this domestic or international? Sophisticated or amateur? Planned or spur of the moment? And, above all others: Why?

More Publicity Than Public Concern

 

AP photo

Is there any purpose left to Lindsey Graham’s continued and now-obstructive alarm calls about Benghazi other than energizing his base and raising his profile ahead of next year’s election? We don’t think so:

 

Dead horse, meet S.C. Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Clearly, a number of things went horribly wrong at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012. Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, were killed in a pair of terrorist attacks on U.S. compounds.

Without Great Choice for President, It's Obama

Sunday’s editorial offers the editorial board’s thoughts on the presidential election:

Few things about this presidential election have lent themselves to unambiguous, clear decisions, despite what the campaigns and their diehard supporters might like us to believe. Neither of the major candidates is a miraculous savior or unmitigated fiend. Both stand before U.S. voters with significant high and low points, and nobody has managed to leap to the fore as the obviously better choice.

For proof, you need look no further than the latest polling data. We give our fellow Americans credit for being fairly smart and invested in the future of this nation, and as such, if the decision on picking our next leader were an easy one, we wouldn’t be coming down to the wire with two candidates that are still neck and neck.

Decry the Violence, not the Religion

Tuesday’s editorial pleads for a little more restraint when it comes to our anger at the violence against our interests in the Middle East:

In the wake of last week’s violent protests in the Middle East, including one that left four U.S. Embassy workers dead in Libya, many in our area have been understandably incensed. The brutal actions were reprehensible and deserve swift and unerring justice. But while justifiably enraged at these indefensible attacks, some have unfortunately quickly turned the blame on the entire Islamic faith or Arab race.

Today, of All Days, Lend a Hand

Tuesday’s editorial urges readers to use today’s anniversary of Sept. 11 as a day of service to help others:

Many across the nation will wake up today and remember it as a day of tragedy, as a day of national mourning commemorating the loss of thousands of innocent lives in the terrible terrorist attacks that occurred 11 years ago this morning. And it is vital that we remember, so that we can both honor those who lost their lives and so that we can continue the efforts to prevent future atrocities.

To that end, there will be ceremonies and memorials up and down the Grand Strand today. Myrtle Beach will dedicate a new memorial at Broadway at the Beach. The retired law enforcement officers in the Coastal Carolina Shields will host a memorial in the Hall of Heroes at the Ocean Dunes hotel. North Myrtle Beach will hold a candlelight vigil at the Ocean Boulevard horseshoe, complete with 21-gun salute. Any of these events, or any of the many others that take place, would be well worth your time.

Remember Pearl Harbor



Wednesday’s editorial reminds us of the sacrifice and heroism 70 years ago at Pearl Harbor:

Dick Girocco, 90, a volunteer at the Pacific Aviation Museum at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is often asked by visitors what he remembers about the Japanese attack, 70 years ago today, that thrust the United States into World War II. His response: “The noise. What I remember is the noise.”

Not far from Hangar 79, where Girocco is a volunteer, he saw a bomb drop from an olive-green dive bomber on Dec. 7, 1941. He first thought the planes buzzing Naval Station Ford Island, where he was in a squadron of PBY Catalina flying boats, were U.S. Army planes. He is one of about 3,000 members of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. Girocco is one of the survivors featured in the current issue of The American Legion Magazine.

Build Away



Sunday’s editorial catches up with our local Muslim community as Ramadan approaches and on the heels of some divisive statements made in the presidential race:

GOP presidential contender Herman Cain made headlines recently with the vitriolic idea that communities have the right to keep mosques from being built in their towns. His worry, he said, was that Muslims are furtively trying to inject sharia law into the U.S. and many can’t be trusted. For the record, he’s wrong, and he’s admitted as such since.

Whether he truly accepted that his initial stance was way off base or whether he simply abjured in the face of strong condemnation, Cain apologized on Wednesday after a meeting with Muslims in Virginia, emerging “humble and contrite.” He further acknowledged in a statement issued afterward that Muslim Americans, “like all Americans,” have the right to freely practice their faith.

This Memorial Day, Don't Forget What it Cost



Today we offer a heartfelt show of thanks to our nation’s veterans:

Words fall short when attempting to describe the unknowable, unpayable debt owed to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. As we gather our families in fellowship and enjoy our barbecues this Memorial Day weekend, thousands of our country’s sons and daughters serve in far less hospitable locations around the world. Hundreds of thousands more have already given their lives in service of our nation, and the number continues to grow. Three or four times a week, the Defense Department releases the names of the latest casualties in our ongoing conflicts, solemn announcements of another heroic life laid down to protect ours.

Graham and Sotomayor: Enemy combatant monologue

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., questioned Judge Sonia Sotomayor again Thursday as part of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings. (Video is after the jump.)

Dick Cheney plays the terror card -- again

Ripped from the wires ... The Miami Herald takes former Vice President Dick Cheney to task for recidivist terror-attack scaremongering:

The following editorial appeared Wednesday in the Miami Herald:

Leave it to former Vice President Dick Cheney to throw custom and protocol to the winds to engage in partisan sniping with the new administration so soon after the inauguration.