The citizens of W.Va. chose Charleston as the state capitol
Earth to legislature; earth to legislature: the citizens of West Virginia chose Charleston — not Wheeling — as the state capitol more than a century ago.
Meanwhile, with the Mountain State celebration of the 150th anniversary of statehood primarily focused on the state capitol and Charleston, the legislature is holding its June interims in Wheeling so they can be a part of the activities there.
Ho hum. Even the premiere of the state’s new 3D movie will occur in CHARLESTON, not Wheeling. The governor plans to spend a part of one day in Wheeling while the legislature will be there at least three days. Incredible.
To their credit, Republicans cannot be blamed for the ridiculous error. They are in the minority in both houses of the legislature and have no real say in where interims are scheduled. But GOP leaders are not planning to take any staff members to Wheeling to additionally run up the tab for taxpayers.
If nothing else, Wheeling is, as some common folks know, located in the state’s Northern Panhandle. It is virtually inaccessible from some parts of West Virginia. I would say legislative leaders want to enjoy Wheeling’s celebration and the Wheeling Island casino without the “interference” of citizens who will find it nearly impossible to drive to the tobacco capitol of West Virginia.
Folks can thank Senate President Jeff Kessler and House Speaker Rick Thompson for this fantastic decision.
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Praise the Lord, there MAY be some justice in Logan County after all. Prosecutors and police are going forward with plans to prosecute 14-year-old Jared Marcum for obstructing a police officer. The flap, of course, centers over Marcum’s insistence that he could wear an NRA-sponsored shirt to school whether the teacher and principal liked it or not.
As I wrote previously, it amazes me that the same crowd that argues that we have lost a great deal in this country because students no longer respect their teachers and administrators think it was perfectly all right for Marcum to defy his teachers in this case. The reason: because he was wearing a shirt THEY agree with.
That’s the same as the insistence on a public prayer at ballgames and other events on public property when that is clearly against the law according to the United States supreme court.
Those who swear they take the Bible “literally” and “agree with every word,” must ignore the admonition to conform to “those who have rule over you.” One follows the law if one likes it, apparently. I’m not sure where that is in the Bible. Second Jude probably.
Anyway, whether prosecutors are able to secure a conviction is questionable, given the public mood in Logan. But I think it is highly commendable that they and the Logan Police Department are willing to stand up for what is clearly right.
As I said earlier, the student should have been suspended from school and his father, who is as big a troublemaker as the son, should have also been charged.
This is not a “free speech” case. It is a case of a student defying his teacher and principal. None of the Bible-thumpers agree with that, do they?
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One reader has regularly questioned my “conservative” credentials, especially since I admit to voting for Barack Obama the second time around. As I said earlier, I voted for Obama because I could not bring myself to vote for someone like Mitt Romney.
In my view, Romney is no conservative. On the other hand, I would have gladly voted for my favorite, Sarah Palin. Is SHE conservative enough for the reader? I would have voted for virtually any of the other 2012 GOP candidates. Rick Perry would have been an easy vote for me. Today, I would happily vote for Marco Rubio and several others, including Jeb Bush.
My theory was that four years of Romney would be no better than four years of Obama. Romney is no more a conservative than Obama. He authored the state medical plan that Obama modeled ObamaCare after. He has been pro-abortion; anti-abortion; pro-abortion … and the list goes on. I felt Romney’s election would set the GOP back 30 years. I believe Obama is now doing the same to the Democrats. I prefer it this way. Sorry to those who blindly follow party leadership, regardless.
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With Democrats in the house agreeing to hold hands and elect Tim Miley as the new Speaker, Republicans think the move will help them win control of the House in 2014.
The theory is that Miley is so liberal and pro-union that his appointments and leadership will convince voters it’s time to give the GOP control of the state’s lower house. With 46 members, the Republicans have to pick up just five seats to have a majority.
Thus, Republicans generally rejected any idea that they would vote for Miley’s Democrat opponent, Harry Keith White, on the first ballot to give White the leadership position. GOP delegates agreed to stick with their current minority leader, Tim Armstead, on the first ballot. With Armstead expected to get 46 votes, neither Democrat would have won a majority if both stayed in the race.
That would have set up a second ballot (the eventual winner must receive an actual majority) with Armstead facing the Democrat who received the most first-ballot votes. In that case, the GOP leader could have tried to pick off the five Democrats needed to reach a majority and make him the speaker. That would clearly have been a rare occurrence.
Despite some Democrats insisting they are “pro-business,” none want to turn leadership over the clearly pro-business Armstead. Rather, they will support Miley, the union darling, who will continue to set economic development in the state back another ten years or so.
As I said early on, don’t let any delegate who tells you he or she is “pro-business” convince you. It can’t be true if they vote for Miley. In most cases, it clearly isn’t true anyway. Most “pro-business” Democrats have voting records identical to all Democrats. There’s no difference in their public performances.
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The chance that Glen Gainer III might run for congress against Republican Congressman David McKinley would set up an intriguing match-up. I believe Gainer, with his Parkersburg roots, would be the clear favorite to unseat McKinley.
Meanwhile, Democrat Nick Joe Rahall got good news last week when State Senator Bill Cole announced he would not run for his seat in 2014. Cole would have been the odds-on favorite to top the Republican field and would have had a better-than-even chance of defeating the congressman.
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Back in the 1970s, when The Charleston Gazette management decided to break the back of their own union, I was a friend of the later Gazette publisher, Ned Chilton. While The Gazette has never seen a union they didn’t like — except their own, the paper’s ownership was determined to bust the union.
Chilton asked me to cross the picket line and take newspapers up Elk River toward Gassaway. “I don’t care if you toss them in the Elk River as long as you get ‘em out of here,” he said. He explained the paper needed to justify its advertising rates with numbers with the Audit Bureau of Circulation.
So, I crossed the picket line. Often I was cursed and followed by irate union members. Windows in the Charleston Newspaper building were broken and outright fights occurred. Another chapter in the interesting history of The Gazette that you don’t read about in that “independent newspaper.”
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Contact me any time with rumors, tips, questions and comments. Either email at the address listed or call me at 304-533-5185.
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