Kudos to Keyser Police Department

Yesterday afternoon I was walking off some turkey before my next meal by walking around Keyser. I could feel a few drops of rain, so I figured I would walk over through Keyser Square in case it started to rain heavy I could walk under the awning.

As I was walking past Clements Jewelry store I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought it might have been a reflection in the store window, but when I looked I saw some one moving in the store. The store was closed and all of the lights were off. Being a business owner, I thought some one might want to check this out. I called 911 on my cell and Mineral County transferred me to Keyser PD. I told them what I had seen and that it might be nothing, but wanted to let them know.

It took less time for Keyser PD to get on the scene, than it did for Mineral County 911 to transfer me to Keyser PD on the phone. Turned out it was only John Clement doing some Christmas decorating while the store was closed with the lights off as not to attract attention. Had the lights been on, then I might have recognized him and not called it in. As a business owner I hope if someone sees someone walking around in my store after hours they will also call police and report it even if it is only me.

My hats are off to the Keyser PD for the quick response time and working hard on a holiday when I sure they would rather be with their families. I give thanks for your service on Thanksgiving Day keep up the good work.

Happy Thanksgiving

On this Thanksgiving Day
it seems more important than ever
to count our blessings.
May the years ahead bring
Peace, Good Health and
much Happiness to you and yours.

Palin Derangement Syndrome

Palin Derangement Syndrome should hit the DSM IV any day now. It refers to the chronic delusion among liberals and left wingers that former Alaska governor Sarah Palin is both irrelevant and a major threat. It is closely related to Bush Derangment Syndrome, symptoms of which included the beliefs that George W. Bush was dumber than a box of boxes, but also capable of altering the world's weather for his own evil purposes.

Newsweek's now infamous cover of Ms. Palin in tight running clothes turns out to have violated the law. The magazine, in its zeal to somehow harm Palin's image, used an image still under copyright protection from Runner's World. This rises almost to the obsession of Dan Rather, who tried to find any shred of a story that might compromise the presidency of George W. Bush. To President Bush's credit, this resourceful and experienced reporter never found anything worthy of reporting.

Next came the Washington Post's blogger Ana Marie Cox who sullied her own reputation as a book reviewer by claiming with smug satisfaction that, although she agreed to review Palin's bestseller Going Rogue, she actually did not read it. Then she claimed Palin didn't write it!

If I edited anything connected with one of America's more prestigious papers and my writer failed to do as assigned, she or he would be reprimanded or gone, simple as that. Why sign up for the review if you have no intention of reading the book?

A couple of years ago I read Tip O'Neill's autobiography Man of the House. I could not find much to agree with politically. much as when I read Raymond Chafin's autobiography several years before. However, I learned a great deal about politics at different levels from both men. There is not a lot that you would want to emulate from Chafin's, but it does tell you how some people think. I am not sure where the Post digs up its book review bloggers and writers, but I could send them quite a few college freshmen who could do better.

The level of hatred Palin inspires correlates strongly to the left and liberal media establishment's dislike of middle America. Palin comes from the same mindset that produced many of our greatest leaders. That mindset always strikes the more cultivated as too country, too unrefined, too close to the real American people for their comfort. People like Ana Marie Cox would like to pretend that regular folks didn't exist. That is something that even liberals like O'Neill and Chafin understood, that at the end of the day regular folks had their say and you as a politically minded person had to understand that. That is the gap between old time American liberalism and what passes for ideology among left wingers today.

Smart Republicans filled that vacuum and have fought hard to protect American jobs from false climate theories. New faces like Palin understand the connection that must exist between a political figure and the people. Her popularity comes from the fact that she is more like one of use than the Ana Marie Coxes of the world will ever be. And that is why they hate her so.

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I'll admit when I am wrong. I did not think that Palin made a good move when she resigned as governor of Alaska. I will say that I probably would not have done the same in her shoes, but she definitely exploded onto the national scene in the past few months. She joins a very large and worthy group of Republicans who will contend for the presidency in 2012.

Health Care Debate Gets Uglier For Democrats

The Democratic Party is nearly as old at the Republic and occasionally it has split. Before the Civil War it divided over the slavery issue; about ninety years later on Communism and segregation. As we approach the election year of 2010 another fundamental issue, again based on freedom, threatens to split the Democrats.

The debate over socialized health care, including provisions that will criminally pursue individuals that choose to not purchase insurance, has split that party between those that believe in traditional liberalism and European style left wing socialism. Traditional liberals belive in capitalism, freedom, and rights. Left wingers want to fundamentally change this country into something alien.

Even in West Virginia, those that have supported Pelosi find themselves in trouble. Not only have strong Republicans emerged to challenge for the first and third districts, but also formidible Democratic challengers. They agree that supporting Pelosi and her anti West Virginia, anti freedom agenda has made the incumbents weak. Unlike 2008, they will have a much harder time defending their seats than Shelley Moore Capito who has consistently stood for freedom. Certainly she and the governor have been united in their opposition to Obama's War on Coal.

Conservative Democrats are not Republicans and they will be the first to tell you that. It is more likely that they will either simply vote GOP or form a splinter group to demonstrate their unhappiness with the national leadership. Either way, the next two elections will reflect a lot of anger against left wingers.

Obama: Industrial Efficiency Bad!

Industrial efficiency is the foundation of our high standard of living. Building more goods with less workers lowers cost and raises the standard of living for all. It allows more people to purchase the same good increasing demand, requiring more product to be built thus increasing employment. The President needs to take an elementary Economics course before making any more statements on the economy.

Thankful For Wal Mart

You get thoughts at the strangest times. This morning's thought came as I made my sone a grilled ham and cheese sandwich before taking him to basketball practice. It centered on how good kids have got it these days.

I cannot get across to my children how things have changed in thirty years. For most kids growing up in the 1970s, going out to eat somewhere that did not get your food to you in a minute or so was a big deal. If you found yourself eating a sandwich, it was bologna or Spam and "cheese food." Cheese food was the slices of stuff they put in the plastic. Brown beans or navy beans came to our table quite often, as did tuna noodle casserole. Forget steak or chicken breast. You almost never saw a chicken breast unless it was from Kentucky Fried Chicken. And that was a special meal too!

How about the generation before that? Ever listen to old country songs like "Coal Miner's Daughter?" If you've never heard of that song, look up the lyrics. A lot of people lived like that even after World War II.

The point is that America has advanced its living standards by leaps and bounds every generation in this century. We could do this because we had the most powerful and productive economy on earth. Plus we always looked to find the most efficient and effective ways to produce and do business. Almost anyone can enjoy a ham sandwich with real cheese for lunch and a steak for dinner now, not just because we make more money, but also because food and other items got less expensive. Wal Mart generally provides everything from food to clothing to drugs at lower prices than anyone else. That includes many items once thought of as near luxuries by those with lower salaries. In many counties in our region they employ more people than anyone, too. They need the work because of Obama's War on Coal.

Remember this next time you hear a left wing snob bash Wal Mart. Think of their contribution to America's higher standard of living. Among so many other things, I am thankful for Wal Mart and the American way. Let's hope that the left wing Democrats and Obama don't crush the life out of it.