Crazyworld

U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis is facing a fierce crowd tonight at a health care town hall in Boiling Springs. After several rounds of questions, he's going over the reasons he opposes the current health care bill. Couldn't find a link, so here's the 16 reasons his press office sent out earlier today.

What's below is straight from the press release.

-----------------

Reasons Rep. Bob Inglis opposes H.R. 3200

          o Inclusion of a public option competing with private insurers- lead to single payer system which will destroy choice and innovation, ultimately will ration by waiting
          o Taxpayer funded abortions could be provided – no exclusion language
          o Adds tax in a recession on individuals and small businesses
          o Job killer – Makes job creation more costly, rather than reducing cost
          o Does not address medical liability reform
          o Grows government
          o Creation of Insurance Exchange focuses on minimum benefits and mandates without incentive for innovation or specialization
          o No incentive for quality outcomes
          o Current private employer-offered plans will be driven into exchange program within five years
          o Public plan option will reimburse providers at Medicare-style negotiated rates which could be below private insurer rates- causing a major cost shift and undercut private insurers.
          o Adds entitlement program that will hamper recovery and add to the $32 trillion obligation of Medicare
          o Government mandate is the only way to control costs
          o Insufficient individual responsibility or choice
          o Insufficient reforms of Medicare and Medicaid
          o Expands Medicaid rather than transition those individuals to the private insurance to have ability to choose their own health plan
          o Inadequate incentive for healthy behaviors, prevention, and wellness from a patient and provider standpoint

In all the hub-bub that followed Gov. Mark Sanford's admission that he had an Argentine mistress, that he lied to his staff, that he actually saw her more times than he originally admitted, that some of his closest allies and Republican Party leaders have been urging him to resign... there was a promise.

That promise: His public schedule would be released in the future. It's been a busy month and, perhaps to the governor's surprise, other things have been going on. But I seem to remember hearing that timeless word in politics, that such a move would aid in "transparency" and help the governor build back trust.

While the likelihood of that happening is debatable, here goes the governor's schedule as released to the media today. Read below the press release for more on this.

----------

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
MARK SANFORD, GOVERNOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:   Joel Sawyer - 803-734-2100 - jsawyer@gov.sc.gov

Gov. Sanford's Public Schedule - Mon., July 13 - Fri., July 17, 2009

Columbia, S.C. - July 13, 2009 - No public events are currently scheduled for this week, but we will advise individually for any event added. Gov. Sanford will be working in Columbia for the week, with intermittent trips to Sullivan's Island.

Meetings and briefings Gov. Sanford will take part in this week include:

- Meeting with staff and First Steps Director Susan DeVenny regarding the potential transfer of the Baby Net program from DHEC to First Steps

- Meeting with new Emergency Management Division Director Ricky Platt, who was named recently to succeed retiring director Ron Osborne

- Briefing by Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom regarding the work of the Stimulus Oversight Task Force

- Briefing by Board of Economic Advisors Chairman John Rainey regarding revenue forecasts in advance of the following week's BEA meeting

- Receive a revenue update from state Department of Revenue Director Ray Stevens

- Receive an economic development briefing from Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor and Deputy Secretary for New Investment Jack Ellenberg

- Briefing by Department of Social Services Director Kathleen Hayes regarding the upcoming release of an LAC audit of DSS.

-###-

----------

Now, you wouldn't have found this information out by looking at the governor's Web site, as the press release section hasn't been updated in weeks.

But, really, does this go far enough in detailing the governor's schedule?

When I first heard of this, I thought we'd see something more along the lines of a daily itinerary... you know, something with much more useful information. (BECAUSE INFORMATION IS REALLY THE KEY TO TRANSPARENCY.)

I thought we'd see a day-by-day breakdown, specific meetings with specific times, the occasional redacted items that pertained to personal business or things like economic development. Personally, I feel those things should be made public, too, but I'm just one small voice. I also thought travel details would be included -- by car, by plane, whatever.

To me, this isn't transparent. It's translucent at best. (I know I've used that line before somewhere, but -- hey -- it fits.)

But what do you think? Is this enough? Are you comfortable knowing Sanford will receive a handful of briefings this week? Are we in the media too obsessed with this poor man's personal life and need to get one of our own? Let me know. Feedback and (constructive) criticism is always appreciated.

I can't find a link to it, so I'm just copying and pasting the e-mail that was just sent out.

----------------

Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell issued the following statement today:
 
"The Governor’s personal failings have become widely known in the last week.  Those personal failings are his alone and we should allow him and his family to deal with them privately.  However, the Governor has offered up details about his indiscretions very publicly and they have been widely reported. Those admissions and the reaction of the public have raised in my mind whether the Governor can effectively lead the state in the days, weeks, and months to come.  The Governor does not need to be a paragon of virtue, but the people need to know that he is trustworthy and he is committed to serving them.

The Governor has admitted he lied to his staff in order to travel out of the country.  In doing that, he left the state with no leadership for five days and with no ability to handle an emergency if one arose.

Now, after his latest admissions, we must wonder has the Governor come completely clean.  Each time the press uncovers a new issue or the Governor volunteers new details, both he and our state are embarrassed.
 
The Governor is to the citizens of this state, the people of the United States, and those around the world the face of our state government.  For people who seek to bring new business or expand existing business in South Carolina, he represents South Carolina.  He can either be a great asset or a tremendous liability.

Neither I nor my colleagues in the General Assembly can require that the Governor resign.  That decision is his alone.    I do believe, however, that the Governor has lost the support of the people that is needed to govern.  Therefore, I would ask the Governor to look in his heart and decide whether with his family situation and the public uproar over what he has done and said locally and nationally whether he can lead our state for the remainder of his term.
 
This is not about Mark Sanford the person.  This must be about the government of South Carolina and making sure it operates effectively for the next 18 months.  He needs to decide immediately if he is an asset or a liability for our state.
 
I would beseech the Governor to do the right thing for himself, his family and our state.  I believe he knows what the right thing to do is and I hope that he will do what is right."

Former Presidential candidate Savage Dragon puts in his endorsement for the Democratic nominee!

18 August 2008 (Berkeley, CA) - As reported in the New York Times, a former presidential candidate will give his endorsement for this years' race in SAVAGE DRAGON #137, as the titular character supports Democratic nominee, Barack Obama!

"Four years ago the Dragon was a reluctant presidential candidate," SAVAGE DRAGON creator Erik Larsen said. "Fans have asked if he'll be running again, but given the importance of the upcoming election it seemed appropriate that he would back Barack Obama, the candidate whose politics most reflect his own. Savage Dragon will be giving Barack Obama his full support."

Savage Dragon made his initial play for the presidential election in the 2004 campaign, but rescinded once the man claiming to be his running mate turned out to be Dreadknight, a supervillain bent on world domination. SAVAGE DRAGON #137 will sport a special 1:5 variant cover featuring Dragon formally endorsing the one candidate he is confident is not a potential nemesis, Barack Obama.

SAVAGE DRAGON #137 (DEC072099), a 32-page full color comic book for $2.99, will be available September 3rd, 2008. The full New York Times story may be read at http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/geek-beat-savage-love/.

Image Comics is a comics and graphic novels publisher formed in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Since that time, Image has gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. There are currently five partners in Image Comics (Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino), and Image is currently divided into four major houses (Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, and Image Central). Image comics and graphic novels cover nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable, offering science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor, and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. Visit www.imagecomics.com.

July 1 2008 (Berkeley, CA) - As announced at Wizard World Chicago this
weekend, Image Comics Publisher Erik Larsen is stepping down from his
current position and will be replaced by Executive Director Eric
Stephenson, effective immediately.

"Being the publisher has been a blast, but it's long past time I put my
focus on what matters most to me - creating new comics," said Larsen.
"We accomplished the goals I set out for the company, and it's long past
time for me to go back to doing what I do best. Even more so, I feel
Eric deserves the position as he's completely instrumental in our
company's recent success. It's an honor to hand him the reins."

Stephenson's background with Image goes back to the inception, as Jim
Valentino's assistant. He later went on to work as the managing editor
of Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios before returning to Image as Director
of Marketing in 2001. Stephenson became Executive Director in 2004.

Stephenson added, "Even after over sixteen years of working with Image
off and on, I'm more excited about the company now than I've ever been.
The unprecedented variety of creators, genres and formats we've been
publishing really reflects what I love so much about this medium, and
I'm looking forward to carrying on and growing upon this tradition."

Image Comics is a comics and graphic novels publisher formed in 1992 by
a collective of best-selling artists. Since that time, Image has gone on
to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States.
There are currently four partners in Image Comics (Erik Larsen, Todd
McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino), and Image is currently
divided into four major houses (Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow
Productions, Shadowline and Image Central). Image comics and graphic
novels cover nearly every genre, sub-genre and style imaginable,
offering science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical
fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the
medium today. Visit www.imagecomics.com.

Tori Amos debuts the upcoming COMIC BOOK TATTOO in both a panel and signing at this year's Comic Con International!

26 June 2008 (Berkeley, CA) - Tori Amos will appear at this year's Comic Con International, taking place at the San Diego Convention Center, to debut her upcoming anthology, COMIC BOOK TATTOO.

Amos' Comic Con plans begin with LIVE FROM COMIC-CON, TORI AMOS & COMIC BOOK TATTOO, hosted by comics and music critic Douglas Wolk, on Saturday, July 26 from 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The signing will be held the same day at 2PM. Fans wishing to meet the acclaimed songwriter can receive tickets to her signing, limited to two hundred fans, by purchasing a copy of COMIC BOOK TATTOO at the Image Comics booth (#2729). Tickets will be made available in increments with twenty on Wednesday, seventy five on Thursday, another seventy five on Friday and thirty on Saturday.

COMIC BOOK TATTOO, a 480-page anthology available in hardcover and softcover, will be in comic book stores July 23rd and everywhere July 29th. For more specifics about the release dates please visit www.toriamos.com. San Diego Comic Con International will take place July 23rd to 27th. For more information, please see www.comic-con.org.

Image Comics is a comics and graphic novels publisher formed in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Since that time, Image has gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. There are currently four partners in Image Comics (Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino), and Image is currently divided into four major houses (Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline and Image Central). Image comics and graphic novels cover nearly every genre, sub-genre and style imaginable, offering science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. Visit www.imagecomics.com.