MyrtleBeachOnline.com: Issac Bailey

Issac Bailey: McCain's associates also shady

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:23 EDT

This is how easy it is to play the guilt-by-association game that seems so popular in presidential politics:

I know we are facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, have U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and are eyeing a re-emerging Russia and an unstable Iran.

But why aren't we talking about white supremacist Richard Quinn, who had a connection to John McCain?

Facts are best bet in bad times

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:20 EDT

O n Dec. 1, 2007, Nick Kremydas, the chief executive officer of the S.C. Association of Realtors, published a piece discussing the state's real estate market. His argument:

South Carolina's market was "strong" and "stable."

"Reports of foreclosure and families thrown out of homes seem to make sensational news stories. But the truth is far less titillating," he wrote. "We are already seeing signs that our markets are improving. That makes us optimistic about 2008."

Issac Bailey: Myrtle Beach man renders aid in Amazon

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:01 EDT

In 16 years of trips along the Amazon River, Robert Shelley of Myrtle Beach hasn't seen many of the region's much-discussed, larger-than-life snakes.

He's encountered two.

But he has seen children dying from worms and malaria, and little boys with arms deformed after breaks went untreated.

Economic survivor keeps hope

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:25 EDT

What's the most upbeat thing Ann Comer of Myrtle Beach can say about the unfolding Economic Crisis/Uncertainty/Armageddon/End of the World As We Know It/Worst We've Ever Seen catastrophe?

"I still have a house that I live in. I still have a car," the 57-year-old said after laughing heartily to a seemingly absurd question. "I don't know. Things are going to get better. But when? And at what cost?"

In times like these, voices such as Comer's might be more important than Henry Paulson's, because Comer has gone through the dark days and survived.

Racist label can lead to progress

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:17 EDT

I t's OK to be called racist. Sometimes it's a sure sign of progress.

That's the irony of race.

A reader wrote a letter to the editor in which he said I should be fired because he is sick of reading my "racist columns on almost a daily basis."

DSS keeps kids with loved one

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:15 EDT

The S.C. Department of Social Services got a case right after initially getting it horribly wrong.

Katrinna Bellamy lost her mother on Monday. She almost lost the kids they were adopting on Tuesday.

On Monday, 53-year-old Christeen Bellamy died after battling for a week an illness related to a kidney infection.

Hero's death refocuses priorities

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:16 EDT

He was a good man. He loved God. He loved his country. He loved his children.

And he died doing what he loved, in his chosen profession.

That's what Ronald Phillips Sr., father of Staff Sgt. Ronald Phillips Jr., who was killed in Iraq last week, wants you to remember about his son, if you don't remember anything else.

Hope dwindles for Atlantic Beach

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 13:31 EDT

It's time for Atlantic Beach to give up the ghost.

I'm finding it harder to come up with legitimate reasons why it should hold on to its town charter while its leaders refuse to commit themselves to the kind of compromise and clean up necessary to put the shine back on the "Black Pearl."

The town was born during the days of segregation.

Hard Rock Park's ride rocky, short

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:25 EDT

Lyric, my four-year-old, said she wanted to ride the big Hard Rock Park roller coaster.

My wife and I thought she was referring to Led Zeppelin: The Ride, the roller coaster you can see from the airport on a clear day.

We laughed. I'm not all that comfortable with large roller coasters, and we couldn't imagine our long-legged preschooler would be either. Lyric made her announcement during a discussion we were having to settle on the day we'd finally get over to Hard Rock Park.

Job cuts a jolt back to sad reality

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:15 EDT

I could lose my job.

While I was away from the office last week, I saw a news alert scroll across the bottom of the TV screen. It said The McClatchy Co. was cutting another 1,150 jobs.

The next day, I heard that another round of layoffs was happening here, at The Sun News, a member of the McClatchy chain of newspapers.

Vets offered 2nd chance at closure

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 00:18 EDT

L ou Krieger, formerly of WSYN-FM, 106.5, and Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 925, Myrtle Beach, want to do it again.

Last year they spearheaded a fundraising effort that allowed 120 World War II veterans to fly to Washington, D.C., to visit the WWII war memorial.

This year, they want to take two bus loads of veterans, the spouses who didn't get to go last year and others interested on a similar trip.

Campaign is not about race

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:19 EDT

I've said this before, but given the feedback I continue getting, I may have to say it many more times:

Voting for John McCain does not make someone a racist. Having doubts about Barack Obama does not make someone a racist.

Actively working to elect McCain or to defeat Obama does not make someone a racist. If Obama loses, it won't be because of race.

Budgeting watch would be welcome

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:10 EDT

Maybe the Coastal Carolina University newspaper staff should have been in charge of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The two mortgage giants are being taken over by the federal government after their executives ran them into the ground. It is being called "the biggest and costliest government bailout ever of private companies."

For months now, we've watched corporations grapple with the mistakes, short-sightedness and greed of their executives (as well as that of shareholders and mortgage holders) who have sparked a financial crisis.

Made 'for the brothers'

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:49 EDT

ISSAC J. BAILEY

As Peter Ortel chiseled the face, he thought of the Twin Towers crashing.

As he chiseled the oversized hands - and the ax in the left - the retired New York City firefighter thought of the men he knew who died that fateful Tuesday morning seven years ago.

Palin nod sets hypocrisy on its ear

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:36 EDT

Thank you, Gov. Sarah Palin, for bringing perspective to the world of presidential politics.

The people who slam out-of-wedlock mothers and say they are testament to an increase in immorality are praising a pregnant teenager, using her to prove Palin's genuineness and "family values." (Dr. Laura is the exception. Sort of. She's disappointed in the Palin pick but plans to vote for her nonetheless.)

The people who said Sen. Barack Obama should be disqualified because of nasty things said from the pulpit of his church are defending Palin against the offensive things said from the pulpit of the church she attends.

Smooth government help handy

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:22 EDT

The government's No. 1 job is to protect its citizens.

Three years ago, the government failed. People were stranded on rooftops while 85 percent of New Orleans was underwater.

Almost 1,900 people died - about two-thirds the death toll of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks - and rotting bodies were left in the streets. The Gulf Coast was hit, and hit hard.

Area economy at mercy of MB council

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:24 EDT

Take a picture of Myrtle Beach City Council.

Frame it. Those seven men and women may end up becoming the most important board in the Grand Strand's history.

They are making decisions that could forever change the landscape. None will be bigger than what they decide to do with AVX. Corp.

Last night goes out to all the strength that came before

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 01:16 EDT

The black man was lying on his back next to a Dumpster. Near his right hand was an empty KFC bucket, to his left pieces of watermelon.

The picture was attached to a message titled: "Barack Obama's victory party."

It was part of a mass e-mail sent by a regular reader, maybe by accident, a reader who has told me a thousand times how much of a Christian he is, how racism is overblown, how it would go away if we just let it go.

Candidates could break boundaries

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:15 EDT

It would be cool to have a non-Christian in the White House, cooler still to have millions of voters from the Bible Belt be the foundation upon which that potentially important political sea change occurs.

It could happen if Sen. John McCain chooses Sen. Joe Lieberman, who is Jewish, as his running mate. The choice of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Mormon, would also be a first.

Barack Obama's success has been (rightfully) noted for what it represents. And while that might be the most significant, there are other potentially noteworthy symbolic changes during this election cycle.

Obama answers big question

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:12 EDT

"Is there something wrong with being black?" my son asked me on the night of our 10th wedding anniversary.

We were enjoying a family celebration - my wife, Tracy, 4-year-old Lyric, 6-year-old Kyle and me - at Medieval Times.

"What?" I asked Kyle, talking above the noise.