Balloons will paint the sky

Thumbs Up to the 25th annual Pontiac GMC Freedom Weekend Aloft that continues today at the Anderson Sports and Entertainment Center. This fun-filled event has something for everyone -- from hot-air balloons to free concerts, from dogs catching flying discs to top-name entertainment such as Train with Jewel and Toby Lightman (tonight) and Rob Thomas with Collective Soul and needtobreathe (Sunday night). The balloon festival runs through Memorial Day. This event also gives Anderson a huge boost by attracting about 150,000 people over this holiday weekend and pumping up the local economy by $7 million to $10 million.

End bloodsports in South Carolina

Thumbs Up to the state House of Representatives for showing once again that it wants to eliminate bloodsports in South Carolina. The House's bill that would make cockfighting a felony has languished in a Senate committee this year. This week the House gave key second-vote approval to the Senate bill that makes hog-dog fighting a crime. The House also amended the Senate bill by adding its earlier bill that bumped cockfighting up to a felony. Both of these bloodsports not only encourage abuse of animals but also nurture violent instincts in humans. The Senate should pass this bill swiftly.