I read this online article about fake videos.  

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/jennifer-buscemi-deepfake/ 

Think about what "filmmakers" can do with this technology. Liberal Hollywood can put words 
in the mouths of conservatives to fool both their own side and people who would normally vote 
for Republicans. The falsehoods of an Al Gore documentary or willful inaccuracies of Michael 

Moore are going to be surpassed when the ability to create realistic fake videos gets perfected.  

If you recall Rush Limbaugh wanted to buy part of an NFL team, but was denied because 

players thought he said things that he had not. Today someone could put words in his mouth 

and keep playing the video over and over. Tell a lie often enough and it becomes "truth."  

How do you undo the damage? Are people supposed to believe their own eyes or the guy 

saying, "That video is not real!"?  

The 2020 Presidential election is going to be horrible if the technology gets better in the next 

couple of years. Think about how software companies release software in stages with better 

technology already developed, just not released. Someone at a research college developing 

this software could already be teamed up with someone in the movie or "news" business.  
If they do not use this in 2020 it WILL be used in 2024.  

Call me Nostradamus. 

Written by Steve Haynie 

Are We Being Overtaxed?

A tax increase here, a tax increase there, here a tax, there a tax, everywhere a tax increase...have you considered exactly how many taxes we already pay?

WE THE PEOPLE need to understand just how many taxes are in place for the average American taxpayer.

According to BalancedPolitics.org here is a list of Personal/Consumer Taxes & Fees Americans pay. (note that this list does not include the other taxes if you are also a business owner.)

Federal income tax

State income tax
Local income tax 
Employee social security tax (your employer pays the other half) 
Employee Medicare tax (your employer pays the other half) 
Property taxes (in SC this is local not state at present)
Road toll charges 
State sales tax 
Driver's license renewal fee 
TV Cable/Satellite fees & taxes 
Federal telephone surtax, excise tax, and universal surcharge State telephone excise tax and surcharge Telephone minimum usage and recurring/nonrecurring charges tax 
Gas/electric bill fees & taxes 

Water/sewer fees & taxes 
Cigarette tax 
Alcohol tax 
Federal gasoline tax 
State gasoline tax 
Local gasoline tax 
Federal inheritance tax 
State inheritance tax 
Gift tax 
Bridge toll charges 
Marriage license 
Hunting license 
Fishing license 
Bike license fee 
Dog permit/license 
State park permit 
Watercraft registration & licensing fees 
Sports stadium tax 
Bike/nature trail permit 
Court case filing fee 
Retirement account early withdrawal penalty 
Individual health insurance mandate tax 
Hotel stay tax 
Plastic surgery surcharge 
Soda/fatty-food tax 
Air transportation tax 
Electronic transmission of tax return fees 
Passport application/renewal fee 
Luxury & gas-guzzler car taxes 
New car surcharge 
License plate and car ownership transfer taxes 
Yacht and luxury boat taxes 
Jewelry taxes & surcharges 
State/local school tax 
Recreational vehicle tax 
Special assessments for road repairs or construction 
Gun ownership permit 
Kiddie tax (IRS form 8615) 
Fuel gross receipts tax 
Waste Management tax 
Oil and gas assessment tax 
Use taxes (on out-of-state purchase) 
IRA rollover tax/withdrawal penalties 
Tax on non-qualified health saving account distributions 
Individual and small business surtax (page 336 of Obamacare) 
Estimated income tax underpayment penalty 
Alternative Minimum Tax on income 

Another concerning possible tax has come to light recently. According to the SC Policy Council, within our SC State Constitution lies an amendment for the provision for an automatic “STATE” property tax to be imposed if the state cannot make a payment on bond debt? And with our state being in debt over $44,460,295 and rising according to the debt clock, we are on shaky ground and could see a state property tax kick in. It will require a 2/3 vote by SC House and Senate to repeal that amendment that allows this addition of a STATE property tax to kick in. Citizens should be contacting their legislators to protect taxpayers by repealing that amendment to the Constitution. We must force our elected to be more responsible in their borrowing. They shouldn't be putting us in more debt, or we may indeed see a State property tax come into existence.

Now let's talk about the recent gasoline tax SC legislators imposed upon us. When SC legislators passed the gas-tax-hike law, which raised the gas tax 12 cents per gallon over six years, and also increased vehicle taxes and fees, they promised we would see improvements in our maintenance of roads. Have you seen improvement taking place in your county? 

Finally let's all remember SC has a surplus in the coffers this year of over $1 billion dollars. Will any of that money come back to the taxpayers? Shouldn't our taxes be reduced at least? Will pork-barrel-type expenditures take place due to this “surplus” of OUR taxes? If history holds true to form...the SC taxpayers will not get anything back.

With our debt increasing minute by minute, legislators always wanting more money from the taxpayer, and according to gobankingrates.com SC is the sixteenth lowest total tax bill in the nation at a total of $13,562 on the average per taxpayer...we may see our legislators rationalizing taxpayers can afford more tax.

The site broke it down in the article written by John Csiszar on Jan. 19, 2019 to these numbers for the average SC taxpayer:

Fed income tax paid $6,251

State income tax paid $3,183

Gas tax paid $ 257

Sales tax paid $ 2,932

Property tax paid $ 939

Let's not ever forget that the Revolutionary War was fought over one of the main grievances being unfair taxation.

A great quote from former President of the United States Calvin Coolidge is appropriate to summarize what is truth, “Collecting more taxes than is absolute necessary is legalized robbery.”

by Johnnelle Raines

Is the coal ash ordeal done in Pickens County?

Is the coal ash ordeal done in Pickens County? 

Rep Davey Hiott entered a bill that would change the law passed in 2016 that was quickly passed because of the coal ash issue in Pickens County.  

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess123_2019-2020/bills/3483.htm 

Reps. Clary and Collins added their names to it today.  

This is what was passed three years ago.  

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess121_2015-2016/bills/4857.htm 

Here is the potential change:

"SECTION 3 of Act 138 of 2016 is repealed."  

That means this line is repealed.  

"SECTION 3. The provisions of this act are repealed five years from the act's effective date, unless reenacted or otherwise extended by the General Assembly"  

So, if this bill passes it will remove the sunsetting of the original law that passed.  

Federal Appeals Court Rules; Politicians Can’t Block Foes On Social Media

A federal appeals court said on Monday a Virginia politician violated the Constitution by temporarily blocking a critic from her Facebook page, a decision that could affect President Donald Trump's appeal from a similar ruling in New York. In a 3-0 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Phyllis Randall, chair of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, violated the First Amendment free speech rights of Brian Davison by banning him for 12 hours from her "Chair Phyllis J. Randall" page. 

The ban came after Davison had attended a 2016 town hall meeting, and then under his Facebook profile "Virginia SGP" accused school board members and their relatives of corruption and conflicts of interest. Randall had also removed her original post and all comments, including Davison's. Circuit Judge James Wynn rejected Randall's argument that her Facebook page was a private website, saying the "interactive component" was a public forum and that she engaged in illegal viewpoint discrimination. Davison's speech "occupies the core of the protection afforded by the First Amendment," Wynn wrote.