SC Prog Blog

FYI: Duke Energy’s contributions to SC by party

For details on contributions to candidates, click here.

Feds tell Westinghouse its design is off track; doubts over new nukes grow

Federal regulators now say a nuclear plant design touted as “certified” in 2004 remains years from completion, more delays in the design approval process are likely, and problems involving major components and plant systems persist. In response, public interest groups in North and South Carolina today filed legal motions calling for revocation of $230 million in preconstruction costs approved by both states’ electricity regulatory commissions in May and June for two new Duke Energy reactors.

Friends of the Earth and NC WARN told utilities commissioners in both states today that escalating design problems threaten Duke Energy’s chances of ever completing two new Westinghouse AP1000 reactors it wants to build near Gaffney, SC. They also say the delays mean Duke cannot provide a firm project cost estimate for the Lee Nuclear Station by year-end, a commitment the company made to both commissions during hearings over the preconstruction costs.

“The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has served notice that the ‘nuclear revival’ is in trouble,” Tom Clements, of Friends of the Earth’s Columbia, SC, office said today.  “Duke Energy’s customers should not be stuck holding the bag if the company keeps pouring millions into that risky project.  The state regulatory agencies must now reverse their earlier decisions to approve Duke’s reactor project and require that the company not come back for reconsideration until the reactor design is finalized.” 

(more…)

Check out Publishers Weekly’s review of Candace Chellew-Hodge’s forthcoming book, Bulletproof Faith. Rev. Chellew-Hodge serves as a pastor at the Garden of Grace United Church of Christ (a member of the SC Progressive Network) in Columbia and edits the online publication Whosoever.

Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge (right) joins Rev. Tom Summers (center) and Rev. Bennie Colclough in facilitating a group discussion at a Network retreat at Penn Center.

Last week, Anderson County Republican Sen. Kevin Bryant posted a “funny” picture on his blog comparing Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden, saying the only difference between them is a little BS.

Yes, really.

After realizing not everyone saw the humor in it, he removed the picture. The comments are still up — at least the ones he hasn’t purged — but he is now trying to change the subject.

State Democratic Party Chair Carol Fowler issued the following statement:

“This degrading blog post is a desperate and juvenile attempt by Kevin Bryant to get attention for his troubled reelection effort. South Carolina voters, both Democratic and Republican, hate to see this type of ugly campaign tactics from our candidates,” said Fowler. “Of course, this is just the latest in a string of John McCain’s supporters and surrogates whose remarks have to be denounced by the GOP nominee. Kevin Bryant was an early McCain backer, but it’s time Senator McCain pitched him off the campaign bus. Senator Bryant’s actions are inexcusable and Republican Party leaders like Katon Dawson and Mark Sanford should join me in saying so. The residents of District 3 deserve to be represented by a leader who will campaign and serve with integrity, maturity, and honor. They should elect Dr. Marshall Meadors in the fall.”

The GOP has remained strangely silent on the matter.

By Becci Robbins and Brett Bursey
SC Progressive Network

About 25 activists met yesterday in Columbia to talk about the future and direction of the South Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which in April was taken over by the national after years of poor management and in-fighting. While the national organization has twice before taken over a state chapter, this is the first time in the ACLU’s nearly 90-year history that it has done so without the affiliate’s blessing.

It’s too bad that it has come to this, but it appears it was the only way the SC ACLU was ever going to get out of the ditch it has been mired in for more than a decade. Under the leadership of libertarian David Kennison, the chapter has been at ideological odds with the national organization and has alienated longtime SC ACLU supporters and board members.

It didn’t help that the SC ACLU hired a series of executive directors who ranged from inept to corrupt. The last director was fired after it was discovered that her law license had been suspended and that she was stealing money from the chapter.

Tension deepened two years ago, when the chapter became the only state affiliate to sign onto a Web site criticising the ACLU’s national director, Anthony Romero. Kennison has argued that the chapter take-over is tied to his past criticism of Romero. (You can read more about this dispute in The Nation.)

All this drama has not come without a price. While the SC ACLU has been battling with itself, abuses of civil liberties have gone unchallenged. Absent, too, has been a clear and consistent voice in the South Carolina media addressing privacy concerns, chronic problems regarding the separation of church and state, and a host of other legal and legislative matters.

Yesterday’s meeting in Columbia was the first in a series that the ACLU will hold across the state in an effort to gather input and chart a new course. If you want to add your two cents, the organization is soliciting feedback through an online survey.

We wish the new SC ACLU well.

When John F. Kennedy challenged America to put a man on the moon in 10 years, many called it impossible.

Now, Al Gore has given a major speech with another visionary call: “Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.”

By Yifat Susskind
Communications Director, MADRE: Rights, Resources and Results for Women Worldwide

Last week, leaders of the world’s richest countries, the Group of Eight (G8), met to chart the course of the global economy at the luxurious Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa in Toyako, Japan. While President Bush and his colleagues discussed world hunger over a six-course lunch, women in Haiti were preparing cakes of dirt for their children’s dinner.

Eating dirt, mixed with salt and vegetable shortening, is the latest coping strategy of Haitian mothers trying to quiet hungry children in a year when the cost of rice (Haiti’s staple food) has risen nearly 150 percent.

Ironically, many of these women were once rice farmers themselves. But in the 1980s, U.S.-grown rice began pouring into Haiti. Thanks to federal subsidies, the imported rice was sold for less than what it cost to grow it. Haitian farmers just couldn’t compete.

Neither could millions of other farmers around the world, who have been bankrupted by the influx of rice, corn, and wheat from the U.S., Europe and Japan. These farmers have gone from growing their own food and feeding their countries to having to buy food that’s priced on a global market. Now that these commodity markets have spiked, millions of more families cannot afford to eat.

Even here in the U.S., still the world’s richest country, more and more families are struggling to afford food these days. Thankfully, we are not forced to feed our children mud cakes. But ultimately, all working families and small farmers, whether in Haiti or Iowa, are hurt by farm policies that are designed for the benefit of giant food corporations.

(more…)

By Cecile Richards
President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

We have just received news that President Bush is trying to
sell-out women’s health in the most unbelievable way. Here’s
how:

The Bush administration is about to release a rule that will
make it possible for federal funding that is specifically
designed to prevent unintended pregnancy and promote
reproductive health to now be used for anything but that.

If it happens, it will be a massive betrayal of women and
families, and we must stop it. We need you to
speak out. Please let President Bush know that this change is
very wrong by clicking here.

A little background on this outrageous situation…

We’ve known for some time that anti-choice extremists have
wanted President Bush to deliver them some sort of “gift” before
he leaves office. This rule change is just that gift. And here’s
what one of the most egregious results could be:

Right now, anti-choice groups run so-called “crisis pregnancy
centers” in communities all around the country — often a block
or two away from Planned Parenthood affiliate health centers.
These facilities look like health centers, but in reality are
run by anti-choice zealots who deliver only the reproductive
health care options that fit their agenda. No birth control, no
abortion — and no choice for women and families who need it.

(more…)

Sean’s Last Wish is trying to raise money by writing reviews for businesses at palmettobizbuzz.com.

This will only take a few minutes of your time. All you have to do is go to palmettobizbuzz.com and write reviews about businesses in South Carolina. For every review, you can select Sean’s Last Wish in the Upstate (Greenville) to receive a $1 contribution.

The opportunity will last until the end of this month.

Harper’s
August 2008

Once again, South Carolina looks foolish in the national press. (To enlarge pages enough to read, keep clicking on the image.) This is the story behind the story of the two Egyptian students arrested in Goose Creek last August.

Below the Belt: A Biweekly Column
by Kim Gandy, NOW President

In my January Below the Belt column called “Maddening Reminder,” I wrote about the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the countless forms of violence against women internationally - from acid and bride burning, to genital mutilation, to sexual slavery, murder and more. Most recently, a painful reminder has me looking closer to home.

Two weeks ago, 25-year-old Jana Mackey was found dead in the home of the boyfriend she had broken up with a few weeks earlier.

Jana changed a lot of lives in her 25 short years. She had been the Kansas NOW lobbyist, co-president of the Lawrence NOW chapter, and was a volunteer advocate at a safe house helping victims of sexual assault. Jana had organized a Kansas contingent to the 2004 March for Women’s lives, lobbied against anti-abortion legislation, and in favor of equal marriage. And she was entering her second year of law school, so she could be an even better advocate for women.

A quick internet search turned up half a dozen news stories in the last few days - all young women who had been murdered or abducted, likely by husbands or boyfriends from whom they were estranged. Yet the Violence Against Women Act still doesn’t contain enough protections for women who are fleeing violence. In Jana’s honor, we need to do more.

The statistics of domestic violence against women in the United States are staggering - where three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends every day. And yet we hear constantly that judges are refusing protective orders to frightened women, and even ordering continued contact with batterers in order to accomplish custody or visitation exchanges. Some judges even turn over custody to the abuser. In Jana’s memory, we must do more.

I’ve read many blog discussions of Jana and her fate, and some of them devolved into victim-blaming of the “she knew so much about domestic violence, so how did she get herself into this situation” variety. On the contrary, the real point is that if this can happen to someone like Jana, it truly can happen to any woman. None of us are immune to partner violence, and each of us has an obligation to work to eliminate this scourge.

A few final words about Jana, who is being remembered by NOW leaders across the country. Gina Austin-Fresh, National NOW Board member, remembers Jana as, “…a remarkable young woman and a devoted advocate of women’s rights.” A close friend of Jana, Marla Patrick, the State Coordinator of Kansas NOW, remarked, “Jana was a daily inspiration. She worked so hard to ensure the women of Kansas would know a better future. We have lost a champion. The world is truly dimmer without her.”

One of the blog writers posted a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, which had been written in honor of suffragist Inez Milholland, who died at age 30 while campaigning for womens’ right to vote.

It is a fitting tribute to our friend and sister in the struggle, Jana Mackey:
Upon this marble bust that is not I
Lay the round, formal wreath that is not fame;
But in the forum of my silenced cry
Root ye the living tree whose sap is flame.
I, that was proud and valiant, am no more -
Save as a dream that wanders wide and late,
Save as a wind that rattles the stout door,
Troubling the ashes in the sheltered grate.
The stone will perish; I shall be twice dust.
Only my standard on a taken hill
Can cheat the mildew and the red-brown rust
And make immortal my adventurous will.
Even now the silk is tugging at the staff;
Take up the song; forget the epitaph.

Will you take up Jana’s song? If you’re not already involved, what better time to find out how you can help. Contact your local SC NOW chapter by clicking here.

Ever wonder why simply stating our positions on the hot button issues isn’t enough to win votes? Or why Democrats who try and adopt conservative stances on issues usually lose their elections even in conservative districts?

Professor George Lakoff has the answers and will show us how to frame the solutions during the next Night School. On Thursday, July 17, Professor Lakoff will be the special guest trainer; highlighting specific thinking points from his new book “The Political Mind” and teaching the framing progressives need to know to win. Join us “Live from Netroots Nation” at a special time: 5:30pm Eastern.

The Political Mind with George Lakoff
Thursday 5:30pm Eastern Time
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR NIGHT SCHOOL NOW!

Howard Dean called Professor Lakoff “One of the most influential thinkers of the progressive movement.” Lakoff’s 2004 book Don’t Think of an Elephant taught progressives how to take back the message and expose Republican framing. He changed the way people speak about the issues and now he’s taken it to the next level with his new book.

We’ll be spending an hour with Professor Lakoff as part of this special Netroots Nation edition of DFA Night School.

Night School is DFA’s interactive online training program. Every month Night School brings top campaign experts right to your home at absolutely no cost to you. Simply visit here to sign up and get the info you’ll need to listen to the program live Thursday afternoon or listen to the recording on your own time. As always, Night School training will be accompanied by a slideshow that you can view from your computer.

Join Professor Lakoff at Netroots Nation and learn the secrets of the Political Mind.

Find out by clicking here.

By Rev. Dr. Neal Jones
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Columbia

Ever since I became a therapist, I have dreaded the possibility of getting involved in a lawsuit. I was warned in my grad school psychology courses that the odds were great that at some time in our careers as clinical psychologists, a disgruntled, hostile client would take out his or her frustration on their therapist in the form of a lawsuit, and I have seen this happen to colleagues, with expensive consequences regarding time, money, and reputation. Innocence makes no difference in terms of the damage done.

Yet here I am participating in a lawsuit, and I couldn’t be more proud to do so. I have agreed to be a plaintiff in a suit brought by Americans United for Separation of Church and State against the state of South Carolina over its production of a Christian license plate. The plate features a cross superimposed on a stained glass and bears the words “I Believe.” In South Carolina, specialty license plates are created either by an organization or by an act of the General Assembly on behalf of an organization. In either case, the organization must pay either $4,000 or produce 400 orders before the plates are created. The Christian license plate did not go through either process. It was created by the legislature on behalf of the Christian faith generally, not for an organization. Eager to produce the plate as soon as possible (and just in time for the fall elections), Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer has offered to pay the required $4,000 out of his own pocket, to be reimbursed by the state later. It is clear that the “I Believe” plate has received preferential treatment.

It is also clear that the plate is blatantly unconstitutional. The 1st Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” and under the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment, this prohibition applies to state governments as well. It is significant that the plaintiffs in this case are religious leaders. I am joined by Rev. Dr. Tom Summers, a retired United Methodist minister; Rev. Dr. Monty Knight, pastor of the First Christian Church of Charleston; Rabbi Sanford Marcus, rabbi emeritus of the Tree of Life Synagogue; and the Hindu American Foundation, a non-profit advocacy organization that provides a voice for over two million Hindu-Americans. As citizens, we are offended that our legislators, who have a duty to represent all South Carolinians, are showing favoritism toward a particular group of citizens. As ministers, we are offended that the government is meddling in religious matters, an area beyond its competence and authority. The principle of the separation of church and state protects both sides from the intrusion of the other, and this is good for the integrity of democracy and religious faith.

One reporter asked me if I would like the state to produce a Unitarian Universalist license plate. I told her that our principles are too large to fit on a license plate. Then I said, “No, I would not want the state to create a UU license plate. Government has no business messing with religion, whether it’s my religion or someone else’s.” That’s my story – and the Constitution’s – and I’m sticking to it.