Peanuts and breast-milk….

That is what has been served up on the genda under the State House Dome this week….I am glad that our legislators are getting ‘down to business’ in Columbia this week and enacting some ‘good laws’. I mean who cares about government spending increases or addressing the re-paving of roads across the state….let’s foucs on ‘nutz’ and ‘breasts’…..the articles follow…..give us some feedback on these topics. Should peanuts or moon pies be the state snack and what do you the readers think about breast feeding in public?

Boiled peanuts could become official state snack food
Associated Press
COLUMBIA – The slimy, juicy boiled peanut is on its way to becoming South Carolina’s official state snack food.

A Senate committee passed a bill Wednesday that would recognize ‘that this truly Southern delicacy is worthy of designation as the official state snack food.’ The bill defines the snack as peanuts, still in the shell, immersed in boiling water for at least an hour. It doesn’t say whether you should open the slick shells with your hands or teeth. ‘Boiled peanuts are a delicious and popular snack food that are found both in stores and roadside stands across the state,’ according to the bill. The proposal, passed by the House last month, now moves to the Senate floor.
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Senate panel approves breast-feeding bill
Associated Press
COLUMBIA – A bill to allow mothers to breast-feed their children in public without being ordered out of sight passed a Senate subcommittee Wednesday. The measure, approved by the House last month, allows women to breast-feed anywhere they have the right to be and exempts breast-feeding from indecent exposure laws.

“I think this is a good public policy statement here,” said Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Columbia.
Advocates hope it will encourage mothers to breast-feed, rather than bottle-feed, their children. They testified today about the health benefits of breast-feeding to both the mother and child.
“Anything we can do to help women feel comfortable breast-feeding benefits society,” said Dr. Harvey Kayman, a pediatrics professor at the University of South Carolina’s School of Medicine.
Mary Beth Mullaney says women often go to a hot car in 90-degree weather or sit in a dirty public restroom to breast-feed because they fear being asked to leave. Mullaney, a lawyer, said she did not feel comfortable breast-feeding her 5-month-old son when she moved to South Carolina from New York because of the dirty looks she received. “We need the support from the state,” said Dawn White, a spokeswoman for the South Carolina Breastfeeding Action Committee.

South Carolina is one of just 11 states nationwide with no law on breast-feeding, she said. The state ranks near the bottom nationally in the percentage of women who breast-feed.
The bill was written after a clerk at a Victoria’s Secret store in Mount Pleasant last year suggested that a woman go to a bathroom to nurse her child.
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