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Thursday, December 24, 2015
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
High School Coach Suspended For Praying Files Federal Lawsuit...
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
December 2015 Meeting ...
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
A summary of the December 2015 County Council Meeting (12/7/15)
Last night the Pickens County Council had their last public meeting before the Christmas Holidays.
It was the pleasure of the Conservatives of the Upstate to wish each and every member of the Council a Merry Christmas and remind them of Jesus Christ's birth.
Junius Smith presented Mrs. Patricia Watkins' Children's book featuring her doggy. Was very professionally and interestingly done.
Junius Smith represented The Conservatives of the Upstate and he covered the following items:
1. The performance of the County County Council is far better than that of the School Board for the following reasons. The School Board failed to follow law 12-43- 285 at the last meeting and even after being warned that they were breaking the law in spending some of the $789,000 dollars over collected that should be refunded to the people, they voted to spend some of the money anyway on assistant principal pay raises.
2. They refused to stop refinancing the revenue bonds that they do not own; thus violating a court order and the law concerning the limitation of borrowing by schools to 8% of the appraised property in the county. SCAGO owns the bonds. and cannot transfer them or the money to the Board.
3. The County Council just recently came out in favor of a non-admittance to unvetted Syrian refugees at the request of the Conservatives of the Upstate. Johnnelle Raines led this discussion for COTU. We all are proud of their foresight in light of the San Bernardino massacre.
4. The County Council was praised for their swift action in eliminating the fire fee on vacant land. They were reminded that the mobile home fee is still too high and were asked to lower this fee.
5. The Conservatives of the Upstate recommend that the Council study the following requests for action in 2016:
A. Over-collection of taxes and their disposition.
B. Refuse the $6.5 million demand by Tri-County Tech for the purpose of building a Student Union building because Pickens County has spent $10s of millions already on a career center which duplicates the Tri-County mission that they have practically abandoned.
C. Reclassifying road front property
D. Change Comprehensive Plan to a more free enterprise, capitalistic, plan.
E. Fix the County Jail problem without building a completely new jail. Lead a forum on the Judicial system which is broken and causing the jail to be over occupied.
F. After requesting relief for the umpteenth time, sue the State of South Carolina for not funding the county properly.
G. Involve the Pickens County Auditor and Treasurer in the setting of millage and the over-collection as per 12-43-285.
H. Establish a system for monitoring the internet and instructing the Sheriff's office to follow up on dangerous items posted.
Then Pree Hamilton of the County Humane Society thanked Neil Smith for contributing $500 dollars for a computer and asked for any available funds. Mrs Patricia Watkins and Junius Smith also made contributions.
The auditing of the County books revealed no major problems.
The More Peaceful Side Of Islam Speaks ...
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Charleston Senator Pre-files SC Gun Registration Bill ...
A BILL TO AMEND CHAPTER 31, TITLE 23 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO FIREARMS, TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON WHO OWNS A FIREARM SHALL REGISTER THE FIREARM WITH THE STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION; TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION SHALL MAINTAIN A LIST OF FIREARM SERIAL NUMBERS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MUST PUBLISH A REPORT; TO PROVIDE FOR PENALTIES; AND TO DEFINE NECESSARY TERMS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 31, Title 23 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
“Section 23-31-30. (A) For the purposes of this section, ‘firearm’ means a weapon which is designed to or readily may be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive, or the frame or receiver of that weapon.
(B)(1) A person who owns a firearm within this State shall register the firearm’s serial number and the person’s contact information with SLED within thirty days of purchase.
(2) Any change of contact information must be communicated in writing to SLED within ten days of the change.
(C) A person who owns a firearm that does not have a serial number shall bring the firearm to SLED headquarters to have it registered in a manner determined by SLED.
(D) SLED must maintain a list of all firearm serial numbers and the names and contact information for each person to whom the firearm is registered. SLED may release the list of firearm serial numbers or verify the status of the serial number only if the request is made by a law enforcement agency to aid in an official investigation, or if the list is required to be released pursuant to a subpoena or court order. SLED may charge a fee not to exceed its costs in releasing the information under this subsection. Except as otherwise provided in the subsection, a person in possession of a list of firearm serial numbers obtained from SLED must destroy the list.
(E) During the first quarter of each calendar year, SLED must publish a report of the information regarding the previous calendar year. The report must include a breakdown of the information by county.
(F) A person who fails to register the firearm’s serial number in accordance with this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.”
SECTION 2. A person who owns a firearm as of the effective date of this act shall have one year from the effective date of this act to register his firearm with SLED. During the first year after the effective date of this act, the penalty provision contained in this act shall be suspended for violations by a person who owned a firearm prior to the effective date of this act. In lieu of the penalties for those people, warnings shall be issued for violations. The warnings must include information related to registration requirements and the manner in which the owner of a firearm must register the firearm. SLED shall undertake an educational campaign to inform the public of the registration requirements contained in this act.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
* Credit: Spartanburg Tea Party
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Pastor Jailed Over Holiday For Handing Out Informational Flier In Front Of Court House
And Pickens County just finished buying a whole bunch of Chrome OS laptops ...
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Hiott Bill To Destroy Mobile Pet Vaccs Ressurected In SC Senate ...
Friday, November 27, 2015
You'd be jailed for stealing $10,000. Then why aren't our elected officials jailed for stealing hundreds of thousands, millions, or billions?
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
A summary of the November 2015 Pickens County School Board Meeting ...
Sunday, November 22, 2015
November 2015 School Board Meeting ...
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Syrian Refugee Reference Points ...
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Notary Services ...
A Summary Of The November 2015 Pickens County Council Meeting ...
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Six Mile Water District Plan To Pin Water Bills On Property Owners Could Kill Mobile Home Rentals County Wide
Endangering Public Liberty ...
The Real War On Christmas ...
This Is NOT the War on Christmas, But I’ll Show You What Is…
There’s a real war on Christmas, but it’s much harder to look at than a Starbucks cup.
There is a real war on Christmas.
But it has nothing to do with Starbucks.
I’ll explain.
If you’re one of the Christians “outraged” about the war on Christmas you have been duped. Deceived. Tricked… Into thinking a company that takes snowmen and ornaments off of their cups or keeps their employees from saying “Merry Christmas” is throwing down the gauntlet on Jesus.
The over-hyped story about the war on Christmas is really a war on Christian intelligence. And, to be honest, I don’t think many of you are falling for it. Most of it’s just media noise.
The real war on Christmas, which I’ll share in just a minute, is much darker than any coffee Starbucks serves up.
One quick rant: We should never expect a mainstream, non-Christian company to uphold “our” beliefs and convictions about Jesus. Starbucks is not the church and they can do whatever they want with their cups. Besides, they never had the baby Jesus or the cross on their cups—we’re talking about Snowmen. Trees. Ornaments. Snow flakes.
These symbols might mean a lot to us, but they are not Christian.
I repeat. These symbols are not Christian.
Every year the controversy about mainstream companies assaulting our right to say Merry Christmas gets stirred up and social media goes crazy with well-meaning Christians posting knee-jerk responses.
It’s ridiculous. I’ll prove it to you.
There are Christians in prison in Iran right now. People Like Pastor Saeed Abedini who have given their life for the gospel and endured extreme persecution—with no end in sight.
There are Christians in Afghanistan who worship together—risking their lives in the midst of religious extremists.
There are teenagers in Sudan who are staking their claim for Jesus at the risk of torture, banishment and death.
This is the real war on Christmas.
The one that we like to look away from because it’s horrible, dark, gruesome and evil.
These are acts of war—focused on the actual person of Jesus and his followers.
If we could bend all of this energy away from cups and holiday greetings and open up our eyes to see the real battle—remember, the one where Satan seeks to devour us? Just think about the impact we could have on the mission of Christ?
It would be astounding.
If we could bypass all of these silly arguments and get serious about Christmas—and what it really means for the world, we would never cry out about pithy slogans or decorations. We would, instead, cry out for the world to know Jesus and for our brothers and sisters in prison—and suffering from persecution—to find freedom and relief through the very power of God.
We have the Holy Spirit within us. The same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead and claimed victory over death and sin forever.
This Holy Spirit does not suffer silly arguments and neither should we.
This Holy Spirit is ready to be unleashed like wind all over the world when the Church prays holy prayers filled with expectancy, power and confidence in the strength of God and his listening ears.
Who cares what happens with cups and ornaments or holiday greetings? Let’s care about what happens to people. Real people. Our real brothers and sisters who are experiencing the war on Christmas like you and I have never imagined.
Would Jesus jump on social media in outrage over Starbucks’ cups–or any other media story about a company keeping their seasons greetings generic? I think it’s silly to think so. Not just silly, I’ll say it—it’s foolish.
Don’t fall for it. Don’t get sucked in.
Instead, let’s take our collective strength—and our social media real estate—and shoot up prayers and encouragement to the imprisoned, the persecuted and the faithful.
It’s so much easier to debate the color of cups or the petty religious micro-persecutions we see in America—and call that a war—than it is to fix our gaze on real persecution and all the darkness surrounding it.
Let’s never forget about the real war on Christmas.
Jesus come quickly.
By Brian Orme, founding editor of ChurchLeaders.com & Faithit.com
Lawsuit Alleges Oconee County School Board "Rubber Stamps" Superintendent ...
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
South Carolina Receives "D-" Grade In Disclosure & Judiciary From Watchdog Group
In a report by the Center for Public Integrity, looking at government accountability and transparency in all 50 states, South Carolina gets a grade of “D-“ and ranks 36th overall. South Carolina got grades of “F” on public access to information, political financing, legislative accountability, judicial accountability, and ethics enforcement agencies.
“South Carolina has some basic problems,” says John Crangle, state director for the government watchdog group Common Cause. “One is a conflict of interest problem, where a lot of public officials of this state are part-timers and they’re using their public office as an opportunity to make money on the side."
The state’s lowest ranking, 44th, comes in public access to information. The state gets a “zero” for the public’s ability to get information in a timely manner and reasonable effort.
An example of that may be a school board that doesn’t publicize how it chooses a new superintendent, and then stonewalls a citizen who tries to get more information about the candidates. “If their stonewalling isn’t effective, then they’ll come back and try to charge you more than the law allows to look for the records and make them available, to dissuade you from making your request,” Jay Bender, a Freedom Of Information Act lawyer and proponent says.
Judges are not elected in South Carolina as well. The report indicates this doesn't give the citizens recourse against an irresponsible judiciary or cronyism.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/11/09/18517/south-carolina-gets-d-grade-2015-state-integrity-investigation
November 2015 Meeting ...
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Fire Fee Punishes Mobile Home Owners / Renters
Conservatives,
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Eminant Domain; A new bill may sound familiar to Pickens County Residents ...
Summarized from The SC Policy Council:
A Senate Judiciary subcommittee met on the State House grounds on Tuesday October 20, 2015 to consider a bill that would give eminent domain powers to a private company.
Eminent domain is the government’s power to take private land for monetary compensation. Originally eminent domain was only supposed to be used for clearly outlined “public purposes” – the building of a highway, for example – but the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo decision of 2005 has allowed state and local governments to take land for all sorts of reasons. Even under the best circumstances, eminent domain power can easily lead to gross violations of citizens’ right to own property. The Doodle Trail in Pickens County can be your local example.
That leads us to the bill now in the General Assembly. It was crafted in response to efforts by energy corporation Kinder Morgan to build a pipeline for petroleum products. The pipeline would originate in Belton, South Carolina and terminate in Jacksonville, Florida. The corporation believes it already has eminent domain powers under existing South Carolina law, but the Attorney General’s Office says it does not. The bill has the potential to resolve this conflict in favor of the corporation.
The state constitution reads that eminent domain shall not be used to condemn private property, unless the taking is for a public use – projects such as roads and parks. But nowhere in the constitution or code is “public use” defined, leaving it open for public officials to interpret more or less as they wish.
The constitution also allows eminent domain to be used as a remedy for “blight.” Not only is the term “blight” expansively defined; the constitution allows land condemned for "blight" to be put to private use.
State law already grants eminent domain powers to privately owned utilities – telephone companies, electric lighting and power companies, water supply companies, pipeline companies, and canal companies.
Rather than repairing the damage done by the U.S. Supreme Court a decade ago, South Carolina lawmakers may be poised to chip away at South Carolinians’ property rights even further. Handing out eminent domain rights to private companies would do exactly that.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
An Overview Of The October 2015 Pickens County Council Meeting ...
Monday, October 19, 2015
What really ended "The Great Depression" ...
Here's a very well written piece with some truths you may not have considered ...
http://dailysignal.com/2014/10/18/truth-great-depression
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Pickens County Legislative Delegation Spotted At Liberal Leaning Event ...
http://www.fitsnews.com/2015/10/13/polluters-ball
It should also be noted that Collins recently traveled to Turkey to be courted by the Atlantic Institute ... Where he spent considerable time "understanding Muslim culture and political bonding".
Thursday, October 8, 2015
The October 2015 COTU Meeting ...
Monday, October 5, 2015
RESOLUTION OF THE CONSERVATIVES OF THE UPSTATE RESOLUTION ASSERTING NON-APPROVAL OF PARTICIPATION IN THE REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROJECT
Junius Smith
President Conservatives of the Upstate
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Pickens County School Board Shoulda Done The Same ...
http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/30136244/childress-police-chief-tells-freedom-from-religion-foundation-to-go-fly-a-kite#ixzz3n8OLqtWI
Friday, September 25, 2015
Court says SC legislation must act on "minimally adequate education" clause ...
Read more:
http://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article36469272.html
It will be interesting to see what the legislature does about " minimally adequate education". This is a phrase coined by the Supreme Court and is not a law of the state of South Carolina. The Constitution of this State concerning education is covered in Article 11 Section 3 making the State responsible for education funding from buildings, teachers salaries and benefits, and all operational expenses. This cannot be changed without a vote of the people to change the Constitution. The courts cannot demand that the constitution be changed by the legislature because that in itself is unconstitutional.
Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article36469272.html#storylink=cpy
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Pastor is asked if abortion is killing babies ...
http://youtu.be/_IxnkqRx5xk
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Register to vote ...
Please register to vote and have a voice ...
https://info.scvotes.sc.gov/eng/ovr/start.aspx
Register online today!