Because, we come from a print journalism background, we carry the bias most print people have of their television colleagues. So, when this screen grab made its way across the Twitter feed Tuesday afternoon, it was time for much lollerskating. Keep up the good work, WIS.
We’re uncertain where the Twitter meme #joepinnerfacts started, or how, but it took off and a friend of ours was on us for a while to start slinging ideas. We weren’t real big on the idea — despite being residents of Columbia multiple times in the past 21 years, the most we knew of Joe Pinner was that he’s been a WIS meteorologist and spent so much time on TV and involved in local matters that he’s become the sort of local celebrity that everyone knows. But after some more goading, the back-and-forth got our brain going and we put a few tweets out there.
Little did we know it was going to lead to a lede by Otis Taylor in The State.
On Tuesday, election day, Wes Wolfe posted this from @WolfeReports, a Twitter account: “Joe Pinner doesn’t need to go vote. The voting machines come to him. With breakfast.”
The post was followed by #joepinnerfacts, a hashtag that allows users to track tweets on the short message social Web site twitter.com. Posts about Joe Pinner, the gregarious local television personality, were recently a trending topic on Twitter.
Wolfe was wrong, though. Pinner goes to the polls. He was voting when we reached him, and he was unaware of his recent Twitter fame.
Oh, journalism — always there to take down a joke. Actually, and here’s the thing, we’ve been seeing some activity among the #joepinnerfacts twitterati that are considering making plans to mosey on down to Capital City Stadium, where Pinner will be recreating his role as Mr. Knozit before a Columbia Blowfish game on Saturday. Nothing like seeing the man in person to help generate more ideas.
On an otherwise tame Easter morning, former Senate candidate Dee Compton pulled off a tweet with a Hitler quote, presumably a reference to President Barack Obama. Obviously, because Obama’s health care plan is right up there with totalitarian rule, instillation of marshal law and the murder of millions. But then, it’s not like Twitter can be a place for nuance.
Columbia man-about-town and former Rep. Bubba Cromer is quite a character. Even at 140 characters. The sasquatch enthusiast and white-trash chronicler had a burst of inspiration concerning the divorce proceedings between Gov. Mark Sanford and now-former First Lady Jenny Sanford. It’s best read in the voice of our gubernatorial lothario.
Don’t Look 4 me in the courtroom
My Lawyers stand in 4 me
Divorce Ct. Scares Me
My courage skimpy
Just read my statement
And call me WIMPY!
Brilliance knows many mediums.
Maybe it’s just us, but it seems like the gentleman who likes to roll over people’s feet got a little owned Monday evening through some Twitter exchanges. Couldn’t happen to a better fella.
GinaNSmith: Spent the day flying around S.C. w/ Gresham Barrett for a story. So windy that little plane was flying sideways! Glad 2 b back on ground!
PalmettoScoop: @GinaNSmith I’m sure you’ll straighten it all out in your “objective” story about @GreshamBarrett.
GinaNSmith: @PalmettoScoop excuse me?
SCSenatelawyer: @GinaNSmith didn’t get the memo? Unless you’re biased in our favor you’re not objective. :)
SCSenatelawyer: @SCSenatelawyer and I didn’t mean “our” as I’m a mcmaster guy
LoganJames: @GinaNSmith I’m also interested in his explanation. If you’re gonna take cheap shots, at least make them understandable :/
GinaNSmith: For the record, we’re writing profiles on each of the 10 gov candidates. Each candidate gets their own story. We’re hanging out w/ em all!
GinaNSmith: t fair reporting? Oh well. Thanks for letting me vent.
GinaNSmith: dSCSenatelawyer hi. Yeah. I find it hillarious when BLOGGERS who get paid under the table question our objectivity. What the heck do tho …
GinaNSmith: dSCSenatelawyer hi. What do those guys know about fair reporting? Oh well. Thanks for letting me vent.
wesleydonehue: @GinaNSmith you’re not direct tweeting him. you need a space between your d and “scsenatelawyer”
wesleydonehue: @PalmettoScoop You’d think that after @ginansmith’s ass kicking of Gov Sanford, you’d learn not to screw with her. I did.
scott_english: @wesleydonehue @GinaNSmith What Wes said. Also Ubertwitter is good.
If you want to see some wild events and wilder things said, just tune into a GOP primary race in the Upstate. Such as it is with the multitude of challengers to U.S. Rep Bob Inglis in the Fourth District. Christina Jeffrey, who lectures at Wofford, has teamed up with SCHotline‘s Jeffrey Sewell. That wouldn’t be a big deal, normally. Then, strange things start to happen and you have to wonder what the hell is going on.
For instance, Friday evening, this tweet came from the SCHotline account:
Wait, what? That’s an interesting way to make an unsubstantiated hit on an opposing candidate. Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy is one of the several trying to unseat Inglis in the primary, as well. Maybe it’s just us, but if you’re going to say something like that about a candidate, you may want to show you actually have evidence of said conduct. A day later, there doesn’t appear to be any of that.
What is frankly bizarre is why Jeffrey allowed someone to run her campaign that put out a tweet like the one above, followed by this one, roughly 19 hours later:
We’re not saying Jeffrey made a mistake bringing on Sewell to run her operation — hey, different strokes for different folks — but her campaign is looking more and more like the fringe effort it was pegged as in 2008. For people just looking at the race, unsubstantiated rumors about a candidate’s personal life, plus unsubstantiated rumors of a retort, equal people not taking the campaign pushing those rumors seriously.
Gov. Mark Sanford‘s getting his neck stretched over the tree stump as legislators will be meeting next week in what’s called an ad-hoc committee to consider impeachment. Local Rep. Jim Harrison will be chairing it, according to Rep. Alan Clemmons and the Associated Press.
After a couple months of it looking like impeachment momentum had hit a wall, having this committee meet and discuss removing one of the least effective governors of this state seems to point to the gears spinning again toward removing Sanford. According to the AP, “The meeting is to take up the issue at the heart of an impeachment resolution that four Republicans filed this week. It says Sanford left no one in charge of the state, a dereliction of duty, while he ‘directed members of his staff in a manner that caused them to deceive and mislead the public officials’ about where he was. His staff told reporters he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.”
Per Clemmons, the committee includes Harrison, Reps. Greg Delleney, Walt McLeod, James Smith, David Weeks, Garry Smith and Jenny Horne.
We’re of the opinion that The Garnet Spy is stone-cold batshit fucking crazy. Really, we disagree with people, and absolutely despise others, but it takes a whole different class of person to rise to the level of becoming padded-room eligible.
The man actually thinks his Google and Twitter accounts were hacked because his political beliefs.
So, I post several controversial posts about politics in South Carolina and, coincidentally, almost immediately my Twitter account starts sending out spam Direct Messages and my Gmail account has been disabled.
According to Google, “In most cases, accounts are disabled because of a perceived violation of either the Google Terms of Service or product-specific Terms of Service.“
Nothing I’ve done with Gmail violates any terms of service, but I have gotten some “failure to deliver” messages for emails I never sent to people I don’t know.
Ain’t that the oddest thing?
Good lord. If our crap got hacked, we wouldn’t think it had anything to do with the blog, and we have people actually investigating us (Hi McLovin’!). Dude, YOU’RE NOT THAT IMPORTANT.
This week, Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffery has been “down with the sickness.” That left the door open to speculation as to whether he’d play in the Gamecocks’ matchup versus Tennessee on Saturday in the Gateway to Hell known as Knoxville. A lot of USC fans were getting the ol’ Columbia Twitch, an involuntary physical reaction honed by years of quick starts that devolve into depression-inducing late season slides.
The twitching got worse when the AP sent this across the wire.
South Carolina’s leading receiver, Alshon Jeffery, has missed practice with an illness and it’s not known when he will workout again.
Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier says Jeffery was sent home Wednesday because he was sick. Jeffrey is a freshman who has caught five touchdowns the last four games. Spurrier is hopeful Jeffery will be able to return soon. Jeffery has 24 catches for 443 yards, both team highs.
But, lo!, how quickly things change. According to tweets from Post & Courier sportswriter Travis Haney, the biggest offensive threat on the Carolina offense will suit up and be on the field to attempt to send the Vols to 3-5 and prop up the Gamecocks to its Spurrier average of seven wins.
Carolina fans can now go back to normal-level twitching.
As the House and Senate reconvened for the second day of the extended session on Wednesday, everything calmed down until the Boeing announcement came down.
johnroconnor: Spotted: House reading clerk Bubba Cromer wearing an alien mask at the desk.
ZacherMediaPR: John O’Connor, reporting the real news… RT @johnroconnor: Spotted: House reading clerk Bubba Cromer wearing an alien mask at the desk.
johnroconnor: @ZacherMediaPR well if the House isn’t going to make any news, someone has to
yvonnewenger: Statehouse is in a holding pattern … Boeing news could come at any time.
NathanBallentin: patience is a virtue
johnroconnor: Speaker Harrell, Sens. McConnell and Leatherman and Nexsen Pruett attys meeting in McConnell’s office now
RepAlanClemmons: Private meeting in State House. Attending: Speaker Harrell, Sen McConnell, Sen Leatherman, Billy Wilkins, and unknown others. #sctweets
RepAlanClemmons: RT @JenniferDale: RT @WMBFmegmiller: Reports: Boeing calls emergency meeting for 787 employees in Everett
RepAlanClemmons: Two unknown gentlemen just left the private statehouse meeting and went to Gov Sanford’s office.
dphamilton: SC House now considering economic development incentive package for “major economic development.” Passes by a vote of 106-0.
sendavidthomas: BREAKING NEWS via WYFF 4: Boeing to locate plant in North Charleston. Bringing 12,000 jobs
senatortomdavis: Official BEA state revenue impact of Boeing incentive package: http://bit.ly/2uFQu7 Voting on final passage of bill in about ten minutes.
RepAlanClemmons: Swarm of ladybugs just landed on the Statehouse. Good luck sign? http://twitpic.com/nazmc
johnroconnor: Seattle, Wash., just sent us e-mail. Boeing is coming to North Charleston. #chsbrkg #sc #chsnews (via @CRBJ)
shanemassey: Boeing announces that it is coming to SC! Huge win for SC!
wesleydonehue: Standing ovation in senate. This is amazing.
shanemassey: Boeing to build 787s in N. Charleston. Expected 4,000 spin off jobs throughout state. Big day for SC.
RepBoydBrown: Boeing bringing thousands of jobs to SC. Harrell: “SC is back in business”
RepAlanClemmons: Rep Jeff Duncan sporting Boeing lapel pin to commorate today’s big announcement. #sctweets
vincentsheheen: Great news from Boeing today … Just a precursor of what we can achieve with a vision and hard work!
Grooms4SCGov: Senator Grooms helps lay groundwork to bring Boeing to Charleston – More SC Jobs: http://bit.ly/1FkACK #sctweets #tcot #scgop
AntonJGunn: Yesterday and today were my two proudest days as a House Member. Helped unemployed South Carolinians and created 3,800 direct jobs! Yay!
votetimscott: Boeing is coming to N Chas!!! I started working on this project as Chair of county council & now seeing it fly in more jobs to our community
SenJohnLand: Great Day for South Carolina.
RepBoydBrown: Governor, Commerce thank General Assembly for landing Boeing in South Carolina
RepAlanClemmons: Senators Leatherman & McConnell, the main negotiators, bask in afterglow of SC Boeing announcement. #sctweets http://twitpic.com/nb63a
SamPJohnson: elated that General Assembly exteneded Unemployment Benefits and played vital role in Boeing to SC! About time they did something! #sctweets
ZacherMediaPR: Seattle Times: “I bet 25 years ago in Detroit, they thought nobody in the South could figure out how to build cars.” http://bit.ly/3hHfar
VoteConnor: thrilled for what Boeing brings to our states economic future!
Then, by way of Rep. James Smith, comes this cell phone picture of the vote board in the House:
