Almost one year ago, I announced my candidacy for State Superintendent of Education. Before I ask you one more time for your consideration and your vote, I want to thank you for the support you’ve shown my family and me during this campaign. Each day on the campaign trail brought new challenges and opportunities, and I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting thousands of people from every walk of life in South Carolina, listening to their concerns, hearing their ideas and sharing my vision for improving education with them.

For me, this campaign has always been about putting the interests of students, parents, teachers, principals and taxpayers ahead of politics. Unlike past State Superintendents and my opponent, this office is not the beginning of a political career for me. Rather, it is the culmination of a lifetime of service that combines my leadership ability with my experience and passion for helping students achieve their full potential through a high quality education.

There are some very real differences between my opponent and me with regard to our professional experiences and leadership abilities.

I have classroom teaching experience. My opponent has never held a teaching position.

I’ve turned around a troubled school. My opponent has never led a school.

I’m not part of the political establishment. My opponent has years of experience as a political insider and partisan political operative.

I’ve managed limited budgets and stretched every dollar in order to maximize student success. My opponent’s sole opportunity to manage a large budget resulted in failed financial audits and millions of taxpayer dollars mismanaged.

Our campaign received several strong endorsements from major editorial boards (The State, The Charleston Post & Courier, The Myrtle Beach Sun News) and from every day teachers, senior citizens, business leaders and voters. While one independent poll showed our campaign leading our opponent, I have every expectation that the election will be a close one, which is why it is critical that you exercise your right to vote.

In closing, as a military officer I served my soldiers, my unit, and my country. As president of a faith-based college, I served my students, my campus, and my Christian faith. Both are lives of calling, both are lives of service, and in both lives I have been blessed to work with, lead, and educate groups of exciting, energetic young people. My comprehensive experience in education, strong leadership credentials, and proven record of reform uniquely qualify me to be the next State Superintendent of Education. This Election Day, let’s put education first ahead of personal political ambition and partisan allegiances.

My family and I cannot thank you enough for your generosity and words of support over throughout the campaign. Thank you for your thoughts and thank you for your prayers. I respectfully ask for your vote in the General Election for South Carolina State Superintendent of Education. With sincere appreciation,
Copyright (C) 2010 Mick Zais for Education All rights reserved.

By Dr. Keith  Ablow

The greatest gift of my training in psychiatry has been the ability my mentors nurtured in me to really listen to what people say. This is harder than it sounds.

It took me years to overcome the natural tendency to gloss over the very important things people say—the ones that might trigger anxiety or sadness or anger if focused upon clearly or at length.

This avoidance of hearing messages that people convey is a very human reaction when what they are saying is almost too big to take to heart.

The same dynamic explains why people fail to recognize predators even in the face of much data that they are unsafe, why they fail to hear the desperation in the words of a loved one who later goes on to commit suicide, why they fail to internalize expressions of genuine (and boundless) love from another person and why they fail to follow-up with questions about true revelations another offers about his or her deepest feelings and most powerful experiences.

It is as if the mind and soul are fitted with shock absorbers triggered only by the biggest bumps in the road—a kind of onboard, on call denial—so that special focus is required to register them.

I believe this internal shock absorber has prevented many Americans from really listening to the most significant messages President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have delivered.

One of these messages is that the Obamas are profoundly ambivalent about whether America and Americans have historically been a force for good or ill in the world. This is why the president has repeatedly apologized for America’s behavior, in a way that not only signals other nations that our leader is at best uncertain about our moral character, but may plant self-doubt about our decency in own population.

It is why the first lady honestly stated during the campaign that “for the first time in my adult lifetime” she was proud of her country.

It is why the president would remain in a church where the pastor has been quoted as saying, “God damn, America!” and would bring his children to that church to listen and learn.

These are not accidental facts. They are not meaningless. They encourage denial because they are so stark and so massive in scope that they make us not want to grapple with the inevitable conclusion that our country is being led by someone who isn’t so certain he likes his countrymen.

Another significant message from the president is that he is sincerely suspicious of businesses—large or small—unless those businesses are controlled by the government in a way that approximates government ownership of them.

This is what is meant by stating plainly that redistributing wealth is good, by teaching businesses to come to the trough to drink up bailout monies, by seeking oversight over which executives companies hire and how much they are paid and by burdening businesses with social agendas like “health care reform” and other red tape that can bring them to their knees.

Again, these are not accidental facts, nor meaningless. We can screen out the huge impact and import of them because they are almost unthinkable—constituting, as they do, this reality: Our commander-in-chief isn’t so sure he likes us, or our way of life. In fact, it certainly sounds, if you listen, to him, that he does not.

Americans are behaving a lot like the children I treat who grew up in homes in which their parents did not love them. They deny it. They do everything they can to believe, otherwise including wondering whether they themselves are to blame.

If we were deprived of denial, if we were willing to really listen and really be shocked, if we were willing to be wrong and wronged, we would have to admit that we elected a man to lead our country who just doesn’t express much love for it—or us.

Dr. Keith Ablow is a forensic psychiatrist and Fox News medical contributor.

from La Times

ITYS (I told you so) here

Justice Elena Kagan’s first vote is against an execution

The newest member of the Supreme Court is in the minority in backing a stay of execution over questions about the safety of a drug to be used in a lethal injection. Shortly after the stay was overturned Tuesday, Arizona executed Jeffrey Landrigan.

By David G. Savage, Tribune Washington Bureau

1:45 PM PDT, October 27, 2010

Copyright © 2010, Tribune Interactive

Unitex USA Announces New Facility in Anderson County
Investment expected to create 40 new jobs

COLUMBIA, S.C. – October 29, 2010 – The South Carolina Department of Commerce and Anderson County today announced that Unitex USA will establish its new synthetic products operation in Anderson County. The $4 million investment is expected to generate 40 new jobs over the next five years.

“Unitex USA is excited about establishing its first U.S. manufacturing operation in Anderson, South Carolina,” said Jim Posa, CEO of Unitex USA. “We feel very strongly that there is significant opportunity for a company like ours that brings state-of-the-art manufacturing and a unique product portfolio to the lifting and safety industries. We expect to energize the industry and grow rapidly in our targeted markets.”

Unitex USA will locate its synthetic products operation in an existing building near I-85 in Anderson County, where the company will manufacture and distribute its synthetic lifting slings and tie-down products. The company’s product portfolio includes synthetic slings that are used for commercial industrial lifting and material handling applications. The facility is expected to be fully operational during the first quarter of 2011.

“Today’s announcement that Unitex will invest and create 40 new jobs in Anderson County is another sign that efforts to focus on the business fundamentals such as keeping taxes and regulatory burdens low are working to attract new investment. This announcement is also a reminder that manufacturing continues to play a critical role in our state’s economy and growth in this sector over the past several months is a positive reflection of our state’s skilled workforce. We recognize that Unitex could have made this investment anywhere and we appreciate their decision to do business in South Carolina,” said Joe Taylor, Secretary of Commerce.

“The most important thing Anderson County Council can do, other than provide essential services to our citizens, is to promote a pro-business atmosphere,” said Anderson County Council Chairman Tommy Dunn. “Unitex USA’s choice to locate in Anderson County demonstrates the effective collaboration of our Economic Development Office with the S.C. Department of Commerce in order to bring quality business to the Upstate. Unitex USA’s $4 million investment and 40 new jobs over the next five years is a welcomed addition to Anderson County’s industry base.”

“In these tough economic times, every job and every investment counts,” said Anderson County Councilman Ron Wilson, District 6. “It is always gratifying when a company chooses to locate in our fine county, but being chosen during a time when competition for industry is fierce, speaks volumes about our business-friendly climate. I certainly applaud the efforts of our Economic Development Office and their efforts to attract industry. This is a success and we are proud to welcome Unitex USA to District 6.”

Unitex USA will begin hiring for the new positions in January. Anyone interested in job opportunities with the company should check the company’s Web site, www.unitexusa.net, in November for more information on hiring times and dates.

Unitex USA, headquartered in Atlanta, is a subsidiary of the Unitex group, a multi-faceted international manufacturing company that currently services companies throughout the world with a complete line of synthetic slings and tie-down products. The company is a vertically integrated manufacturer and controls all aspects of the manufacturing process, assuring customers the highest quality products at competitive costs. For more information about the company, please visit www.unitexusa.net.

About S.C. Department of Commerce
The S.C. Department of Commerce works closely with economic development professionals throughout the state to recruit new jobs and investments and help existing businesses grow. Commerce has been recognized for its success in the areas of job creation and economic impact by Area Development and Business Facilities magazines. The S.C. Department of Commerce was one of 10 state economic development organizations to receive Area Development’s Silver Shovel Award in 2009 and Commerce received the 2009 Deal of the Year award from Business Facilities magazine. Southern Business & Development also awarded the S.C. Department of Commerce the “Deal of the Year” for the 2010 SB&D 100. Commerce received the recognitions for Boeing’s selection of North Charleston for the company’s second final assembly plant to support the 787 Dreamliner program. In addition to job and investment recruitment, the agency provides a range of business support services and offers grants for community development and infrastructure improvements. For more information, visit www.SCcommerce.com.

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Kara Borie
SC Department of Commerce
1201 Main St., Suite 1600
Columbia, SC 29201
(803) 737-1998 direct
(808) 737-0894 fax