SC Legislation Continues To Submit Laws To Limit Free Speech

The Nerve gas this article about a recent bill submitted in the SC Legislature calling for punishment to anyone that in vague terms "misleads lawmakers":

http://www.thenerve.org/jail-time-for-misleading-lawmakers/

This is the second such law submitted by our legislature that attempts to limit free speech and reduce our rights to nothing. They take an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. They need to be sued every time they try to do such things.

A conversation about the jail with an old Milliken man ...

I am an old Milliken Man. Roger Milliken had the opinion and I have not seen it fail that if you build more storage, it will be filled up. Recently on Fox News, a sheriff had taken a number of steps and had reduced his inmate numbers by an average of 75-100, making a new jail unneeded. Our jail needs some repair for sure. The sewer system is a must , but we can get that done without a tax increase. It is a shame that we did not have more people attend our "Meet the Candidate Meetings at Conservatives Of The Upstate" , because each candidate posed his solutions on this problem. It requires a commitment to excellence by the Sheriff and his team, the judicial people, lawyers, the county council and cities. If you have read my stuff on facebook, I have given about four or five suggestions, but unless the above group is committed to the fix, it will not happen. The poor people of this county (average income = $17,000 for non teachers, $47,000 for teachers, $85,000 for administrators (2012 figures according to Appalachian Council Of Governments aka ACOG) are taxed to death now. Our goal should be to lower the number of inmates and reduce crime in Pickens County. My group will not approve of any tax increase.

A log of inmates with their number of days could be furnished to the Judges and Lawyers and County Council weekly.  This would let everyone know how long these inmates are waiting on justice as guaranteed by the Constitution.  

New jails, and major repairs are expensive. The Sheriff's Office and the taxpayers are a victim of an over-spending school board who has us millions in debt.

This morning on Fox They had a sheriff and I did not get where he was from, that said they had reduced their prison population by 75-100 inmates and that one of the most important things they have done was get a partnership with the judicial system. 

Conservatives of the Upstate was the first to say the same things to Lt.Leopard, Head Jailkeeper of Pickens County ~ months ago and to the County Council on three occasions.

Also on this matter as typed on social media: I was one of the first to tour the jail and tell what I would do to start with. I sent a letter to Lt. Leopard about about my findings. In the meantime the Pickens County Tax Payers wrote the Council favoring a new Jail which I consider a necessity down the road, but we simply cannot do it now without a tax increase or a depletion of the over-collected taxes that the Council has done. There is 25 million in this category. I recommended that the council put this up on the next election to see what the people will do with THEIR money knowing that all the reserves will be spent on a new jail that under the current management will be filled within a few months. Then Fox and Friends carried a story about a sheriff(didn't get where from) who has cut the average inmates by 75-100 by working with the judiciary and other places. I ask you, how much of the problem would be eased if we did the same. Also the cities are contributing greatly by dumping on the county, claiming this is their right because they don't get enough goodies for their tax money. Also I recommended that the cities contribute more on a daily basis for inmates of theirs. You cannot stay in a cheap motel and eat fast food for what they pay. We cannot put more taxes on our citizens. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry is asking for more money and the county is building tennis courts, tracks, and baseball seats around the county while the cities charge county children 50% more to participate in their programs. If they had to make plans for their law breakers and help pay for the facilities, do you think they would want a larger mill increase? Then there is a School Board who has spent us into debt comparable to the national debt based on the wealth of Pickens County. We have got to help the people sometime.

Unelected Offices Rarely Help You With Elected Offices ...

On the subject of unelected positions within government, you must consider the following;

Why would they investigate the people that put them there (i.e. elected officials)?The only one that can remove them ARE elected officials. So, for the most part, unelected bodies have little motivation to police or audit their activities or the activities of any branch of government they serve.

The ethics commission is made up of unelected people. They have the philosophy that if you break the law and benefit directly from your vote and yet others benefit too, that it is not against the law.  Legislators or elected Board members that vote on teacher pay increases or any other government employee that have a family member who is a teacher (retired or active) are in my opinion breaking the law (8-13-700).  

In the movie "The Kingdom Of Heaven" one of the stars of the show had the line: 

"You will be sorry that you didn't sin a little now for the greater good of later on."

At May 16, 2016 Candidate Forum For Pickens County Senator Seat ...

From The Greenville News:

None of the candidates said they supported creating an at-large seat on the Pickens County School Board, which has been proposed as a way to avoid the tie votes on critical issues that divide the current board. Martin said that would give the population centers, particularly Easley, a larger voice than the smaller communities.

"Easley doesn't deserve two representatives and Liberty one," Don Joslyn said.

A different perspective on "The Bathroom Issue" ...

The individuals featured in the linked video speak from firsthand experience dealing with the issue of sexual abuse to explain why opening the women’s restroom to biological men is a harmful policy. 

Watch at this link:

http://youtu.be/tg-MAMvkplE

To learn more about this issue, visit: ADFlegal.org/SafeBathrooms.

Pickens County Hasn't Raised Taxes In 11 Years?

From a recent Greenville News article about Dacusville candidate (District 6) Carl Hudson not facing any opposition:

"He said he doesn’t like tax increases, but he wouldn’t make any pledges not to raise taxes if necessary.

“I would not be in favor. However, I would never say never,” he said. “You can only kick that not-raising-taxes can so far down the line.”

Pickens County hasn't had a tax increase in 11 years.

“A lot of people may not be against a tax increase if they can see where it benefits,” he said. “But if they go by third-party information and this is what somebody told me on the street, they may not be making a decision on facts.”"

Pickens COUNTY hasn't had a raise in PROPERTY taxes in 11 years.

However, they have significantly raised fees, add a 1¢ sales tax and rejiggered a lot from reassessment- especially the 2010 reassessment where they used pre 2008 housing bubble figures.

They also didn't take a more active role against the school district raising taxes by 150+ mils

May 2016 COTU Meeting...

Conservatives of the Upstate will host Sheriff Rick Clark as a guest for its May 2016 meeting. 

Sheriff Clark is challenged for re-election in the upcoming Republican primary on June 14, 2016. This is an opportunity for Pickens County residents to meet with him and ask questions.  

The meeting will be held on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 6:30PM. 

The location is 

Blue Ridge Bible Church

769 Belle Shoals Rd

Pickens SC 29671

Summary of May 2016 Pickens County Council Meeting ...

Last night revealed again that the County Council doesn't understand  the conservative people of this county.  I will discuss this issue later on.  

First, let's talk about the Pickens County Comprehensive Plan which was described by me as being Socialist, Communist, and a part of an Agenda 21 initiative by the United Nations.  I asked the council to abandon this document because it was written in large part by the Upstate Forever group out of Greenville which believes like the Socialist Brad Wyche in his address to the Business in Action Conference on May 27, 2010.  He described his beliefs to include "Natural Capitalism" which Mr. Wyche described in detail as being socialistic.

Yet the County Council accepted the document for amendment to address the coal ash problem.  They did this at the recommendation of the County Attorney who blatantly said that the Comprehensive Plan was not an actionable document.  In other words it does not contain ordinances,etc.  But what he didn't say is that at other levels of this plan like the Appalachian  Council of Government's plan, the County Council would have to have their proposed projects approved by this socialist group in order to receive any of the tax money that we have paid; back for use.  I also reminded the Council that Johnnelle Raines had furnished them a booklet "Special Report: Agenda 21 and How to Stop It" prior to this meeting.  This booklet contains the top ten sustainability fallacies which are included in the Pickens County Comprehensive Plans.  It sets the stage for the implementation of Agenda 21.  Yet we still passed on this document and the County Council wonders why they get criticism from local conservative groups.

The Conservativesoftheupstate.com contains a conservative  approach to Agenda 21 and can be found on this web site in the 2010 Archives.  The Pickens County version can be found on the Pickens County Web Site.  

This was not the only criticism that the County Council complained about last night.  Their"county reserve account" has come under scrutiny of late.  I am going to try and explain once and again that not only the Conservatives of the Upstate, representatives of the people, the writers of the state Constitution, and statutory laws, nor the forefathers of our government do not allow slush funds because this is revenue that has been collected from the people and not refunded in accordance with law 12-43-285.  Anyone in government whether elected or not can cook the books.  Budgetary collectability, value of a mill set too low, reassessment appeals funneled into the appeals system as a delinquent account, and other ways can be used to deliberately over-collect.  I point to the 2008 audit report for which the county council was given an award, points to the "conservative approach" taken by the county in setting values that produce mills and revenue. (about $8,000,000 worth of conservatism) This is not because of the frugality of the County Council, but an over or under budgetary fudging.  The people are due to be refunded but are not.  Fuss at us all you want, this issue needs to be cleaned up and can simply be by going to the public when they vote in November and explain to them why the money needs to be used.  Don't try to hide the money in the recreation accounts of the various Council people.

In spite of all this evidence the County Council does a reasonably good job with our money.  They have not spent the over-collected funds on trivial items.  They do care for the most part about the people.  That is why they get a pass on some things.  Just last night they wisely turned down Tri County Tech's request for at least $6.5 million dollars because of lack of funds.  That was alright, but they should have turned it down because it is the State's responsibility to fund Tri County Tech and told them to never come back to them to break the Constitution's laws (Article 11 Section 3).  Never-the-less they showed courage in rejecting this bid for the county to fund the state's responsibilities.

Last, the County Council is a victim  of mismanagement  by the school board who also has over-collected millions ($45-$100) and in my opinion; illegally.  Because they use many of the same budgetary figures that the council does, their integrity is sometimes questioned unfairly.

May 2016 Pickens County Council Meeting ...

Please don't forget the County Council meeting tomorrow night at 6:30 at the County Administration  Building.  The third reading for the comprehensive plan will be coming up.   This document is truly a progressive, communist, socialist, Agenda 21 document.  I am shocked that it is up for adoption again.  We fought this battle years ago with the promise that it wlould be left on the shelf and not used.

(Some candidates for council believe we should re-adopt The Comprehensive Plan.)

It was mostly written by Upstate Forever people.  When we went to battle over the document,  all of the environmentalists were there to make sure it passed.  We fought long and hard and got it promised for the shelf, but because of the coal ash problems it is being revived for use.  I have no objection to having plans but should be  plans that are written for the free enterprise, capitalistic type economies.  I wrote such a document when we had this discussion and this plan should be put on hold until a entirely new plan can be written.  This one is certainly not the one for this county.

Please come and voice your opinion!