“So it wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all if we pushed this whole things into next year,” he said. “There are a lot of people advocating for it, saying this is the best that we can get. But I’ve talked to a number of the conservatives today who have grave concerns. I know a lot of them won’t vote for it unless it’s paid for. I don’t think the Democrats are going to cut spending enough to pay for this.”

“I’m glad the President recognizes that tax increases hurt the economy. I mean, I guess that’s progress. But frankly, Hugh, most of us who ran this election said we were not going to vote for anything that increased the deficit. This does. It raises taxes, it raises the death tax. I don’t think we needed to negotiate that aspect of this thing away. I don’t think we need to extend unemployment any further without paying for it, and without making some modifications such as turning it into a loan at some point. It then encourages people to go back to work. So there’s a lot of problems with it. I mean, and frankly, the biggest problem I have, Hugh, is we don’t need a temporary economy, which means we don’t need a temporary tax rate. A permanent extension of our current tax rates would allow businesses to plan five and ten years in advance, and that’s how you build an economy.” read on

S 0117 General Bill, By Bryant, McConnell, Verdin, and Ryberg – TO AMEND CHAPTER 3, TITLE 56 OF THE 1976 CODE, BY ADDING ARTICLE 109, TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES MAY ISSUE GADSDEN FLAG SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES.

Whereas, Christopher Gadsden led the Sons of Liberty in South Carolina; and

Whereas, Christopher Gadsden was made a Colonel in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War; and

Whereas, in 1775, Colonel Gadsden was representing South Carolina in the Continental Congress; and

Whereas, Colonel Gadsden and Congress appointed Esek Hopkins to serve as Commander in Chief of the Navy; and

Whereas, Colonel Gadsden presented Commodore Hopkins with a distinctive personal standard that is now recognized as the Gadsden Flag; and

Whereas, Colonel Gadsden presented a copy of the flag to the South Carolina legislature which identified the flag as “an elegant standard, such as it is to be used by the commander-in-chief of the American navy; being a yellow field, with a lively representation of a rattle-snake in the middle, in the attitude of going to strike, and these words underneath, ‘Don’t Tread on Me'”; and

Whereas, the Gadsden Flag has long been recognized as a symbol of American independence, freedom, and liberty. Now, therefore, Read the bill

Unsuspecting shoppers got a big surprise while enjoying their lunch. Over 100 participants in this awesome Christmas Flash Mob. This is a must see!

You may be aware of a recent audit by the Legislative Audit Council of the State Fire Marshal.  The audit revealed instances, statewide, of local and state officials inaccurately interpreting the appropriate regulations and codes.  This has resulted in many businesses, churches, schools, and other organizations spending unnecessary amounts of money.  One school district was told to replace 626 working fire extinguishers at the expense of $37,000.  This is just one example.
I will be chairing a Subcommittee of the Senate Labor, Commerce & Industry Committee that will meet on Thursday, December 16, 2010, at 1:00 pm the Gressette Building in Columbia.  The sole purpose of this meeting is for public testimony as many have requested to share their horror stories with the Committee.  Others have asked to tell of their experiences anonymously from fear of retribution.  If you are aware of a positive or negative experience with a state or local fire marshal and would like to attend the meeting or forward information to me, please contact my office at 803-212-6024.

Here’s the full report. Here’s a summary.

Voters have spoken; we must listen By HARVEY PEELER For the Herald-Journal

The past year has been pretty eventful for South Carolina. We passed a number of conservative reforms in the Senate and made the hard choices when it came budget time. The primaries revealed some surprises, and when Nov. 2 rolled around conservatives took every statewide office. That means well for next year and the years to come.

However, not everything was coming up roses. There are lessons to be learned from what wasn’t working and what voters are telling elected officials.

Politically, you’d think a nasty virus swept through the electorate. People are sick of excuses. What we have to do is double down to find solutions to problems like the state budget woes, and not kick it down the road. People are sick of politicians putting faith in government. The way South Carolina moves forward is by empowering individuals to find their own way and allowing businesses to grow in a free market, not coming up with “fixes” from government.

People are sick of Republicans acting like Democrats. A voter goes to the polls to elect a Republican because he or she expects us to cut taxes, limit government and encourage economic growth. Elected Republicans who stray from that may soon find themselves out of office. The people know that we will fix our economy and create jobs when we put our faith back in people and not in government.

As majority leader, I take my responsibility seriously to help craft the priorities Senate Republicans will champion, work hard for and see passed into law. There are policies we’re fighting for that have stuck around for a while, whether it’s something that happens in committee, or disagreements with the House or the governor. Next session, though, with a nearly new slate of state officials and large GOP majorities in the General Assembly, we have an unprecedented opportunity to move forward.

One of my top priorities for next year is driving our caucus more to the right and demanding common sense conservative reforms like spending caps and government restructuring, including needed changes to state health care agencies and the Budget and Control Board. The crisis with the funding of Medicaid and other programs through the Department of Health and Human Services, in particular, cries out for changes to make sure needed services are provided without requiring running deficits, higher taxes, more spending or more government.

Also at the top of the list is tort reform. There’s no excuse. It’s past time for action.

We also need a good voter ID law. As much as our friends on the other side may act like it’s no big deal, voter fraud is not a laughing matter. The rest of the caucus and I are ready to push through the Democrats’ stalling tactics to make certain our elections are safe, secure and beyond doubt. Considering the amount of things on a daily basis when one needs to show a picture ID, doing it to vote is not that large an imposition.

And let’s not forget on-the-record voting. We’ve passed Senate rules to require on-the-record voting for a particular session, but that’s nothing permanent. At any given session, if enough senators agree, that session could be without what we’ve been doing recently and reassert the old order. We need to pass a law and make on-the-record voting real. Some people say that’s unconstitutional. If that’s proven, then we will put through a constitutional amendment to allow the voters to decide, correcting that issue.

The voters have told us they’re fed up. I’m listening, and I’m going to demand that my colleagues get down to business.

Sen. Harvey Peeler represents District 14, which includes portions of Cherokee, Spartanburg, Union and York counties.