Free Republic

West Columbia, South Carolina (CNN)It was fitting that President Donald Trump chose his rally in South Carolina Monday night to thank film director David Lynch for his recently announced support. Lynch, who is best known for such cinematic trips into the surreal as "Blue Velvet" and "Wild at Heart," could not have directed the scene any better. I felt like I was in one of his movies. Approximately three hours before Trump took the stage in West Columbia, an elderly woman walked right up to me and ordered me to leave the venue. Her language would likely make her grandkids...

COLUMBIA, SC — A U.S. Army paratrooper from West Columbia has died in Afghanistan. The cause of the death of Capt. James Edward “Ed” Chaffin, an artillery officer with the 82nd Airborne Division, is being reported by the Department of Defense as a non-combat related incident. It is under investigation. Chaffin died Monday in Kandahar, Afghanistan, according to the military. He is the 48th service member with ties to South Carolina that has died in the Southwest Asian country sincd the war began after Sept. 11, 2001. Another 64 service members with ties to South Carolina have been killed in...