COMEDIAN COVERS STORY, GIVES SANFORD UNDUE CREDIT
Comedian Stephen Colbert last night covered The Palmetto Scoop’s story about the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism’s attempted taxpayer-funded ad campaign targeting gay tourists.
On The Colbert Report, the South Carolina native told millions of viewers that he was “flaming… flaming mad” over the incident.
“Sure, South Carolina could lose a few tourism bucks over this,” Colbert said. “But it is worth it to protect our masculinity because South Carolina is so not gay. If anything, it’s not so gay. South Carolina is a state where big strapping straight men reenact Civil War battles and then shower together for historical accuracy.”
Colbert gave kudos to Gov. Mark Sanford, praising him for having “the courage to have the campaign pulled.”
The problem is, new information shows that — predictably — the “low level” employee who resigned over the incident may have been a scapegoat and that certain higher-up officials knew about the campaign.
In fact, I’m currently in the process of chasing down reports of a full-blown cover-up by PRT and possibly the governor’s office. That information, coupled with the results of Freedom of Information Act requests submitted by The Palmetto Scoop when the story broke, will likely paint a very sinister picture about what exactly happened.
Sphere: Related ContentThis entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 10:31 am and is filed under Executive. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
The Other Side of SC’s ’So Gay’ Ad Fracas
http://www.edgeprovidence.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=77823
Keep up the good work. Don’t believe a word any of them tell you…they all lie!
Sheriff Tanner is Planning on Dismissing charges for Illegal Aliens
As local officials explore the viability of Camp Beaufort, prosecutors and law enforcement are looking to modify how they handle detainees internally and how they are processed in the criminal justice system to lessen the load on the detention center.
Tanner said he and 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone were working to dismiss charges against about 15 illegal aliens at the detention center to expedite their deportation and get them out of the detention center.
When someone suspected of being an illegal immigrant is arrested by local police and booked at the jail, ICE agents determine whether that person is in the country illegally through a federal identification system, and they place a detainer on them.
The detainer can be lifted only when the local charges they face have been resolved, either by paying a fine or completing jail time, depending on the crime. Tanner said getting minor crimes and misdemeanors against illegal immigrants adjudicated quickly, even by dismissing charges, could speed the deportation process.
“If they’re under detainer and they’re going to be deported, then we’ll dismiss the state charges because we’re dealing with the individual that committed the crime,” he said. “We can get them out of the jail because once that case has been adjudicated, and dismissing the case is adjudication, we can notify ICE and tell them,’Hey, we have one here that’s ready for deportation.’”
Once the local case is adjudicated against an illegal immigrant, Tanner explained, the meter starts running and the federal government must reimburse county and state facilities for the time that inmate spends in the system past the first 48 hours, excluding holidays and weekends.
Tanner said his office and prosecutors would not consider dropping charges in cases where a crime has been committed against a person.
“If there is a misdemeanor crime committed by a person under detainer, and there is a victim wanting their day in court or a DUI case or a (criminal domestic violence) case, they will be held …and be tried,” he said. “If it’s a crime against the state of South Carolina, like no driver’s license or speeding, reckless driving — even possession of marijuana or simple possession of cocaine — then we’ll get permission from the solicitor to dismiss that case. If, and only if, that person is under detained and is going to be deported, will we entertain dismissing the state charges.”
http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local/story/50...
I really think this story is the best example of the absolute stupidity of South Carolina politics and politicians. Really. No one should have had to lose their job over this.
I have to agree with Rob W.
We know who lost his job — he was an extremely hardworking representative dedicated to bringing in tourism dollars to the SC economy.
He followed written policy and procedure to the letter in approving this ad.
Politicians are the people behind this stink. South Carolina tourism profit matters less to them than re-election it seems.
These SC politicians, like my fellow-Australian Paul Hogan, it seems might well say, as November approaches, let’s just throw another few homos on the barbie. At least they happily will if they think there might be a few votes in it.
Really disgraceful to witness.
Ian Johnson
CEO, Out Now
http://www.OutNowConsulting.com