Governor Manchin Makes His Move

In a move that is bound to get the attention of national news media, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin has announced his intention to give every full time state worker a $500 bonus.

Most states have laid off public employees due to rash overspending on wasteful programs and unwise raises of public salaries. West Virginia adhered to a much more conservative line by doing unexciting things such as shoring up pension funds and courageously refusing to raise salaries when the economy dove into recession.

However, lottery proceeds remained good and revenue from coal continues to give the state a relatively robust bottom line. The state ended up with more revenue than projected. If the governor has his way, half will go to full time state workers and the rest goes into the emergency reserve funds.

Whether or not Governor Manchin intended this result, this action (unless it somehow backfires) will propel him into the national spotlight. As California still wonders if it can open schools this fall, West Virginia not only refused to lay off employees, but will extend bonuses. West Virginia had to make tough and courageous cost cutting decisions to get to this point, but it was certainly helped by the balanced budget requirement of our constitution and Republican fights against any raising of taxes. Responsible cuts and refusals to bow to political pressures from the teacher unions helped to get us here.

Should Obama continue with his magical mystery tour of a presidency, Manchin could emerge as a strong contender for the Democratic nomination in 2012. Incumbents, such as Ford in 1976 and Lynson Johnson in 1968, are not automatically handed renomination when they have not satisfied the voters in their own party. Manchin certainly better resembles the Democratic Party of Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy than those who are leading it today.

I am not saying that Manchin would be a better choice for president than a Republican who will stick to our tried and true principles, but he does make me wish that if the Democrats were fated to win the presidency in 08, they would have nominated him instead what we have now.

Blast from the Past: Mother Necessity

New Common Sense West Virginia Ad

Five Bureaucrats With the Godlike Power of Life and Death in Their Hands: Obama's Health Care Star Chamber

That is one of the features at the core of Obamist health care cost cutting, rationing health care and deciding who lives and who dies. These decisions will not rest in the hands of doctors and families, but in unelected presidential appointees in Washington DC.

This sends a chill down one's spine. Deficits spiraling out of control wrecking the country are fearsome, but they do not have the same sinister quality as a health care star chamber.

England in the 15 and 1600s established a court known as the Star Chamber. It had the power of life and death and was accountable only to the king or queen. They saw it as a necessary response to English judges' propensity towards granting writs of habeas corpus even when the accused was in jail for a good reason. It turned into, under King Charles I, an instrument of repression and was abolished later.

Think of that. This commission would have the power of life and death over every individual that happened to get sick. It would decide who does and does not get medical attention. Could this be abused? You bet! Politiicans found the IRS an easy tool to harass opponents. The IRS enabled politicians to mess with your money. Obamacare allows them to mess with your health care.

Very disturbing. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of political wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder (paraphrased from Jonathan Edwards' Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God) You get sick, you get denied care, you die, potentially because of your political beliefs.

Obamacare puts way too much power into the hands of the Executive Branch.

The Newt Gingrich Plan to Cut Health Care Costs

If we can cut costs by focusing on simple, private sector, and commonsense solutions, we can cut insurance premiums and expand coverage to many more who want to buy it. And we don't need a federal star chamber to ration health care to the deserving and withold it from the undeserving.

I add to Gingrich's solutions a seventh step. Assure all illegal aliens that anyone over eighteen that shows up for health care will be turned over to Immigration and Naturalization as soon as they are treated.

1. Stop Paying the Crooks. First, we must dramatically reduce healthcare fraud within our current healthcare system. Outright fraud — criminal activity — accounts for as much as 10 percent of all healthcare spending. That is more than $200 billion every year. Medicare alone could account for as much as $40 billion a year. (Read about our latest CHT Press book, Stop Paying the Crooks, edited by Jim Frogue.)

2. Move from a Paper-based to an Electronic Health System. As it stands now, it is simply impossible to keep up with fraud in a paper-based system. An electronic system would free tens of billions of dollars to be spent on investing on the kind of modern system that will transform healthcare. In addition, it would dramatically increase our ability to eliminate costly medical errors and to accelerate the adoption of new solutions and breakthroughs.

3. Tax Reform. The savings realized through very deliberately and very systematically eliminating fraud could be used to provide tax incentives and vouchers that would help cover those Americans who currently can’t afford coverage. In addition, we need to expand tax incentives for insurance provided by small employers and the self-employed. Finally, elimination of capital gains taxes for investments in health-solution companies can greatly impact the creation advancement of new solutions that create better health at lower cost.

4. Create a Health-Based Health System. In essence, we must create a system that focuses on improving individual health. The best way to accomplish this is to find out what solutions are actually working today that save lives and save money and then design public policy to encourage their widespread adoption. For example, according to the Dartmouth Health Atlas, if the 6,000 hospitals in the country provided the same standard of care of the Intermountain or Mayo health clinics, Medicare alone would save 30 percent of total spending every year. We need to make best practices the minimum practice. We need the federal government and other healthcare stakeholders to consistently migrate to best practices that ensure quality, safety and better outcomes.

5. Reform Our Health Justice System. Currently, the U.S. civil justice system is the most expensive in the world — about double the average cost in virtually every other industrialized nation. But for all of the money spent, our civil justice system neither effectively compensates persons injured from medical negligence nor encourages the elimination of medical errors. Because physicians fear malpractice suits, defensive medicine (redundant, wasteful treatment designed to avoid lawsuits, not treat the patient) has become pervasive. CHT is developing a number of bold health-justice reforms including a “safe harbor” for physicians who followed clinical best practices in the treatment of a patient.

6. Invest in Scientific Research and Breakthroughs. We must accelerate and focus national efforts, re-engineer care delivery, and ultimately prevent diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease and diabetes which are financially crippling our healthcare system.

US Solider defends the Constitution

This US Solider takes his oath to defend the Constitution to heart, both on the battlefield and in the political arena. This is how it should be.

Half Million Credit Cards put at Risk by Security Breach

Network Solutions which owns the Monster Commerce webstore sites notified its merchants when they logged in on Monday that an unauthorized code may have been used to transfer data on approximately 4,343 of their more than 10,000 merchant websites to servers outside the company. The unauthorized code may have captured data on transactions by approximately 573,928 credit card holders.

The breach occurred on cards processed between March 12, 2009 and June 8, 2009. Network Solutions is working with law enforcement on the issue. As a courtesy to Network Solutions customers they are giving each of their merchants affected the option to provide free credit monitoring to their customers through Trans Union. This is at the discretion of the individual merchants.

Those merchants processing orders using Paypal as a payment method are unaffected. As more online merchants switch to Paypal for a payment method they are reducing the risk exposure to both their customers and themselves.

The Russians Would Like to Know Who Runs American Foreign Policy: So Would We!

The rank incompetence of Obama's foreign policy exploded once again in the Maximum Duce's face. This time the object of his policy has a point.

Obama took to Russia with him the language of apology and conciliation, part of the "America is evil" world tour that left him to embrace opponents and ditch old friends. That country, led by Vladimir Putin through a puppet president (no one seems to acknowledge that fact anymore) seemed to accept Obama at face value, just like everyone else.

The next interesting statement came from the Vice President. Joe Biden told an American newspaper (apparently not knowing that Russians read them) that Russia's economic weakness would present Americans with an opportunity to get more national security concessions out of them.

Russians, understandably, reacted with anger and confusion. Which statement reflected real American policy?

As usual, Joe Biden is right in his assessment. The Russians are right in saying that it reflects more of a Dick Cheney style hard nosed approach than Obama's airy apologies. Russians also tend historically to respect blunt hard diplomacy much more than airy platitudes. However, Mr. Vice President, truths need not be told simply to make yourself look intelligent. Russia knows what shape it is in. It does not need you to remind them. This certainly will not help relations.

As usual, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gets the job of sewer cleaner. When Obama, Biden, or the various czars leave a pile of crap, she must don the gloves and clean it up. She called Russia a "world power" on the Sunday shows, but no one believes that she has any input on anything.

The Bush approach lay in occasional expressions of vague concern with, very likely, blunt expressions in private. Russia understands the language and methods of power betterthan most. They are much better off when they respect your country because they only like those whom they find subordinate. Obama's schizophrenic foreign policy complex has undermined whatever his goals are yet again.

Give and Take

Obama's selection for the Supreme Court, likely forever after known as "the wise Latina woman" (time will tell if that will be a statement of admiration or derision) will be confirmed. Republican senators opened their guns on her and pushed her into a series of non statements, but she did not slip enough to warrant her rejection. There is also the idea that with a left wing president and a left leaning congressional leadership, she may be as good as we get even though, objectively speaking, she is awful.

Sotomayor's imminent confirmation also reflects the reality that is shaping up this summer. Obama and other leftists had two priorities in this non election year, health care deform and climate legislation. The costs of both upon Americans would be staggering. Climate legislation, also known as cap and trade, or the National Energy Tax, barely passed the House. With the opposition of Robert Byrd and other Democrats from states that stand to suffer from this bill, cap and trade may not yet be DOA, but with enough pressure from voters, it could be soon. Health care deform, with its horrible high cost and amazingly complex bureaucracy, might not even make it out of the House of Representatives. Majorities in both houses came from traditionally conservative districts voting Democratic so the margin for error for these incumbents going into 2010 is razor thin.

Sotomayor, thus represents a victory for Obama, but one that conservative Democrats will tout as an example of support for the president when they could not vote with him on his priorities. Bush saw the same dynamic when he could not pass controversial legislation on Social Security. Republicans worked that much harder to get his judicial nominees confirmed.

We still need voters to express their disgust over these major and costly initiatives that left wingers want to ram down our throats. Victory, however, is in sight if we keep the pressure up.

GOP Fundraising Outpaces Democrats in 2009 and Ted Kennedy's Mockery of West Virginia

Sunday, the Cumberland Times-News ran an Associated Press story coming out of West Virginia. The title claimed that the Democratic Party had raised more money than state Republicans, no shock there. It also spotlighted many of the factional divisions plaguing the party this year.

It included a curious nugget of information. Per voter, the West Virginia Republican Party took in over twice as much money as the Democrats. When one breaks down the fund raising, the WVGOP took in almost twenty-five cents per registered Republican voter while the Democrats only took in about ten cents per registered Democrat.

Now this is not yet cause to pop open the champagne, bang on the piano, and sing and dance. Happy days are still not here again. However, this must be recognized as progress. One more step forward in a long journey. Not too long ago a huge debt hung over the head of the party. In 2009 the fund raising numbers have accomplished this even in the middle of a recession and continuing intraparty strife. It shows a Republican base that is still smaller than the Ruling Party, but much more mobilized. The WVGOP has taken some advantage of the national political turn against Obama, Reid, Pelosi, and the lefties.

Life provides few magic bullets. Like a coach taking hold of a college football team accustomed to years of losing records, it takes time to construct a program. We have seen strong progress over the last few years as the WVGOP got its house in order. Now it is prepared to build upon a stronger foundation and get back to the priority of electing Republicans to office.

Many kudos to those that have been directly involved in West Virginia Republican fund raising. Stay innovative and keep up the good work. We'll have West Virginia seeing red if we keep at it.

***********************************************************************

I don't think anyone should be surprised at this. Ted Kennedy, the all wise moral compass of the liberals, was recorded at least once ridiculing West Virginia. Theodore White in his Making of the President 1968 recalled how at a party full of liberals at Robert Kennedy's house, the moral compass himself indulged in some insulting mimicry of the Southern West Virginia political bosses who enabled his brother to seize the primary in 1960.

We should have learned the lesson a long time ago, through this, through Bill Clinton aides tossing the phrase "trailer trash" around at Paula Jones, that elite liberals in Washington tend to see people like us as sources of votes and ridicule and not much else.

The Ant and the Grasshopper, Updated Version

IN a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

“Why not come and chat with me,” said the Grasshopper, “instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”

“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant, “and recommend you to do the same.”

“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper; “we have got plenty of food at present.” But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food, and found itself suffering from hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew:

“IT IS BEST TO PREPARE FOR THE DAYS OF NECESSITY.”

But the grasshopper need not have worried. Barack Obama and his magic elves Pelosi and Reid showed up at the first snowfall. They said "Shame on you ant! Your selfishness does not reflect a proper sense of public duty. Can't you see the grasshopper could not have known the disaster that was to befall him?"

The ant protested, "It is natural and inevitable that winter should always follow summer. That is why I stored my food!"

Obama and his magic elves would hear none of it. They waved their magic wand and took almost 2/3 of the ant's food (this is a New York City ant.) The ant said "Now I don't have enough to last the winter! I have at least earned security and comfort with my hard work!"

But Obama and his elves had already left. The grasshopper went right on singing and not working. The ant suffered in silence. Who cared about the ant?

Here's the question. What happens if the ant decides not to work so hard next summer? How will the grasshopper eat then?

Blast from the Past: Tax Man Max

The Natural Born Right to Act Like a Jackass

At first glance even, the arrest of Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. looks odd. A professor in an upscale neighborhood led away screaming by suburban police does not happen every day. Professors do not normally kick up a ruckuss and police in the 21st century rarely seek trouble with an academic of Gates' standing. But there it is.

We posted the police report yesterday morning just for everyone's perusal. It's not like a famous local gets arrested every day. The Piedmont native, known best by his famous, or infamous depending upon who you ask, narrative Colored People has never shied from controversy. He certainly did not on the day of his arrest either.

Let's take the police report at face value. Police show up at Gates' home because he himself is trying to break into it. He locked himself out of his recently purchased home. Now you and I might have been grateful for the quick response to a perceived break in, we would have produced our driver's license, and thanked the officers for their punctual response.

Gates upbraided the officers for their questions, at first refused to produce identification, and shouted at them. According to the report he threatened them with his influence and called them racists. Eventually he produced a Harvard University identification, but continued making a loud scene. Gates never became physically violent, however. Eventually the police arrested him and took him down to the police station. Gates' mug shot became national news.

Unless the police report is horribly inaccurate, the police appeared to act with restraint. Gates basically, as we say here in the Mountain State, made an ass of himself. Some have speculated that he even tried to provoke an arrest for some reason. After Obama bashed the officer in question, residents rose in defense of the career officer. Apparently he even tried to save the life of Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis by using mouth to mouth rescusitation.

Here is my problem with this situation. Yes, Gates acted irrationally by the accounts of the report and all witnesses. However, he never became violent. Gates is an elderly man with a slight frame. At the time he wore a polo shirt and expensive slacks. The crime with which he is charged is vague in the extreme, something akin to "disturbing the peace." I do believe that the officers acted with restraint, not "stupidly" as the Maximum Duce Obama claims (or claimed before he retracted it, then didn't retract it.) Of course now his press secretary wonders why a topic that Obama mentioned in his own press conference would be covered by the media.

However there is something that bothers me about a loud, but otherwise peaceful and physically non threatening man, being led away in handcuffs for acting like a jackass on his own property. Officers certainly had the obligation to find out that he owned the home whose door he broke down, but after that, why not just leave the old man to gnash his teeth by himself? Gates and any of the rest of us have the right in broad daylight to scream, holler, and cuss so long as we do not threaten or harm others. His dignity remains his personal problem. Acting like a fool is a natural right, especially on one's own land.

Census Counts Illegals and It Changes Congress

Yesterday I had the opportunity to hear a great presentation by a US Census worker on the up coming 2010 Census. The expected questions about Acorn involvement where asked and answered. It was stated that all people living in an area will be counted, even non-citizens. That begged the question as to why were non-citizens and illegal aliens being counted in the US Census. The reason given was a good one, that resources for health care, transportation, etc are allocated on a basis of population and, citizen or not, those resources are being used. While I believe illegals should be deported, I do understand that they are a drain on social resources and I understand the reasoning, but I do not agree with it.

The problem is they should not be counted as part of the population of the US, because they are not citizens and only citizens of the US should be counted. Article I, Section 2 of the US Constitution calls for Enumeration to determine each states Representation in the US House. This was later modified by the 14th Amendment. "Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." It goes on to state, "Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed." It seems quite clear that only citizens are to be counted.

So what does this mean? According to the Department of Homeland Security the "estimated numbers of undocumented immigrants [are]-- California (2.0 million), Texas (700,000), New York (540,000)" By counting these non US citizens in the Census, these states get extra Congressional seats they should not have. An average of 693,000 residents is needed for each house seat. That means that California has at least three extra members of the US House of Representatives and Texas and New York each have one extra. Those five mis-allocated Representatives are at the expense of other states. Utah, Indiana and Mississippi would most likely pick up one each of those five mis-allocated seats.

It is important that the Census only count US Citizens. We are the only ones that are supposed to be voting. The presence of Legal or Illegal Aliens should not come in to play when dividing up the US House of Representatives. Once you become a citizen, then you should be counted and only then you should receive the benefits of citizenship, not before.

Singing the Blues With West Virginia Red

As of this writing, when you Google "Doug McKinney" and "Hatch Act," you only come up with a handful of left wing blogs and West Virginia Red. Only one of the above has launched a serious crusade to split the West Virginia Republican Party by ousting Chairman Doug McKinney, and it is not one of the Democratic or Socialist ones.

For the second time in a row, West Virginia Red has tried to unleash a bombshell against McKinney on the eve of a major state Republican gathering. What was shocking has grown predictable, what is predictable will soon become boring. I asked the question before when discussing this issue with a couple of those ranging themselves against Dr. McKinney, how on earth do you think that a supposed major violation of a well known election law escaped the attention of Secretary of State Betty Ireland, much less the West Virginia Democratic Party? There is no answer to that question unless you believe that state election officials and the Democratic Party willfully ignored a major oversight. Yes it is not Ms. Ireland's job, nor is it the obligation of the Democrats to quote federal laws to the West Virginia GOP Chair. Then again both, for obviously different reasons, would be very inclined to do so. It would be within their interest.

What is the interest here for the cadre in and around West Virginia Red? Sun Tzu's Art of War says "trust in self-interest." Theirs is to tear down Doug McKinney, but why? The 2009 meeting season has ended and it is extremely doubtful that, barring a massive rise in debt or the uncovering of criminal activity, that the West Virginia GOP will remove him prematurely next winter only months before the end of his natural term. If their interest lies in removing Dr. McKinney before the end of his term, that ship has sailed.

Is it someone's interest to capture the chairmanship for themselves? If so, what can be gained by firing torpedoes into the side of the ship? Who wants to be captain of a boat that they themselves sank? Leadership turmoils spell trouble for any candidates running for election next year. Instead of answering questions about their issues, candidates will face a barrage of inquiries about the state party that they neither can nor want to answer. Forget financial or any other kind of support.

With Obama polls falling and the country witnessing the slow collapse of his presidency, Republicans across the land have slowly started to believe again. The evil of socialism and the death of American foreign policy also are a tremendous concerns. Republicans need to attack Democrats and their failed vision, not each other!

I will say something very unfaddish. I love the Republican Party. Behind God, family, and country it has my allegiance. Throughout history from day one to today, it stands for freedom and opportunity. Very few groups can say that, ever. It does not approach our ideal of perfection, but nothing on this earth does. Nothing is perfect and we all have different images of what is ideal. Republican principles have stood the test of history and remain the reason why we care. Our state Republican Party has overcome many obstacles in the past few years in spite of an unfavorable tide. Now we have a chance to ride the tide if we can only get all our oars out and moving in the same direction.

If anyone at West Virginia Red wants to gain the chairmanship, by all means take the next year and lay out your vision. Contact delegates, form a campaign, convince people to vote for your program for positive reasons. This weekend's summit should give the present and future leaders a chance to propose constructive plans. Tearing down what we have does no one any good, except the fellas in blue quietly sitting off to the side chuckling to themselves.

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH): Many of my constituents would LOVE to wait in line for medical care

Police Report on the Arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. in Cambridge Massachusetts

http://www.amnation.com/vfr/Police%20report%20on%20Gates%20arrest.PDF

If I Could Go Back In Time . . .

If I Could Go Back In Time to September 2001 (assuming I could not go back prior to 9/12 that is) I would do the following.

Knowing what we know now about the idea to assassinate terrorists that never was implemented, and therefore never explained to Congress, but is now used as a political tool against the vice president (probably because he dares to speak against the Obamunists), I think the liberals may be on to something, but not in the way they think. Imagine if I could go back and have President Bush do this.

Speak to the nation Reagan style, from the Oval Office, just as Reagan did when he almost turned Moammar Qaddaffi into a crispy critter. President Bush would be brief and say the following:

"My fellow Americans. Terrorists have brought their fanatical hatred of freedom home to us. We will now take it to them. This is due notice that I am giving to the people and Congress of the United States as well as the world. We are sending out the best trained and equipped men and women on Earth. Their job, to locate every individual connected with the organization that murdered thousands of Americans. For some of you who are our enemies, we will find you swiftly, others it could take years. Trust me, you will be found. When found, you will be killed. It could be a silent bullet, it could be a knife across your neck. One way or another, you will die.

To escape certain death, you must turn yourself in to American authorities and cooperate in full.

Thank you and may God bless the United States of America."

Obama Administration Rescued the Econmy?

Health Care Bill Denies new Private Coverage: It's Right in the Bill

The Obama Health Care Bill will deny enrollment in new private care after it is enacted. Below is the text of that section of the bill, H.R. 3200, Section 102, (a), (1), (A). Outlined in yellow is the line denying new enrollment in private insurance. You can find this section and the full version by searching the office record at the Library of Congress.

H.R.3200
America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (Introduced in House)

SEC. 102. PROTECTING THE CHOICE TO KEEP CURRENT COVERAGE.

(a) Grandfathered Health Insurance Coverage Defined- Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section, for purposes of establishing acceptable coverage under this division, the term `grandfathered health insurance coverage' means individual health insurance coverage that is offered and in force and effect before the first day of Y1 if the following conditions are met:

(1) LIMITATION ON NEW ENROLLMENT-

(A) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day of Y1.

60% Taxation Rate Is Looming For Some

That is what experts warn that New York City residents will face if Obama and Congress get their way on health care deform. The rest of us do not fall too far behind.

It's time for a constitutional amendment to clarify what was done in 1913. In that year an amendment was ratified that established an income tax. This amendment was necessary because the Wilson-Gorman law establishing such a tax in the previous century was ruled unconstitutional (Wilson was William L. Wilson of West Virginia, unfortunately.) At the time, voters were promised that only 2% of the nation's wealthiest would pay and even then, not that much.

The property and income of Americans need protection under law. That means that we need a constitutional amendment to prevent Americans from sliding into the lower standards of living prevalent in the more socialized countries in Europe due to heavy tax burdens. Let us have a simple constitutional amendment that says that no individual or corporation may be taxed by the federal government more than 25% every year. This includes income, capital gains, and other taxes. The only exception would be the duration of a declared war. Anything above that amount in peacetime is theft because it is redistribution of wealth.

A cap on the percentage of taxation gives the government an incentive to boost economic growth without inflation through policies that are free market friendly. That way they get 25% of an expanding pie, not increasing percentages of a shrinking one.

West Virginia Republican Summit to be held July 25th

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Shane Wilson

Monday, July 20, 2009 304-768-0493

CHARLESTON, W. Va. - The West Virginia Republican Party will be holding its first annual West Virginia Republican Summit at the Embassy Suites in Charleston on Saturday, July 25th.

"For years now, West Virginia has ranked near the bottom in every good category and near the top in every bad category. As we have watched our children leave the mountain state to find jobs, we don't want handouts anymore; we want hand-ups.” said State GOP Chairman Doug McKinney, “The West Virginia Republican Summit is an excellent venue to get young people involved in supporting Republican principles that as a result provide them the opportunity to positively change their state.”

The Summit will feature a day of grassroots workshops, panels featuring current and former West Virginia politicians, a presidential straw poll, Republican of the Year awards for Teenage, College, and Young Republicans, door prizes, and more.

The Summit activities are designed to both demonstrate that today’s political issues, such as cap and trade and judicial reform, are on the side of Republicans and to educate the next generation of leaders that the West Virginia Republican Party provides the most opportunity in the state to advance them.

Those interested in meeting fellow young Republicans, recognizing young leaders in the community, becoming involved in a Teenage, College, or Young Republican club, learning more about the immense opportunities for local Republicans in 2010 and 2012, or simply wanting to take a stake in plotting the future of our state are welcome to attend the Summit.

While a large youth turnout is planned, Republicans of all ages are encouraged to attend. Visit UnderwoodInstitute.org or call 304-768-0493 for more information and to sign up today.

-30-

Paid for by the West Virginia Republican Party

Congressmen ask to sign pledge they will read Health Care Bill

Let Freedom Ring has asked Congress to sign a pledge to do something they should automatically do, read the bill they are going to vote on. This should be a no brainier. All Congressional members if they are doing their job should be reading the bills.

Piedmont, WV Native, Henry Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr, Arrested

Henry Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr., director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Studies and Mineral County native, was arrested Thursday at his home in Cambridge, MA for disorderly conduct. Police were responding to a call from a neighbor of a person trying to force their way into Gates home.

According to reports Gates' front door was stuck. He had entered his home from the rear and disabled the alarm. He then proceeded to the front door of his home to force it open. When Police arrived they found Gates and he refused to identify himself as the home owner. The New York Post Reports, "When Gates was asked to step out on the front porch and talk, he allegedly responded, "No, I will not!" and, "I'll speak with your mama outside!" When the cop explained he was investigating a break-in, Gates snarled, "Why, because I'm a black man?" the report claims."

As Gates continued to rant outside of his home police arrested him for disorderly conduct.

"Where's the Birth Certificate?" Emerges From Obscurity

Major Stefan Frederick Cook, US Army Reserve, challenged his deployment to Afghanistan recently. His problem lay not with the idea of going to a combat zone. Such men do not rise to the rank of major. Major Cook's issue lay with the credentials of his commander in chief. He stated that he did not see how he could abide by Geneva Convention rules when his orders might not come from the constitutional leader of the United States.

This conspiracy theory predates the election. In Hawaii there are two forms of birth certificate. A short form is easy to acquire and requires little proof of actual birth. The long form is accepted as the more definitive example of proof of live birth in a certain place. John McCain actually had similar problems. His birth took place in the Panama Canal Zone. Had he won election, Secretary of State John Hay's almost century old assertion that the Canal Zone was not United States territory would have exploded into an open issue.

Obama thus far has refused to produce a long form certificate. I personally believe the man was born where he said he was born, but have no idea why he cannot or will not quietly produce the proof. The question is, say Obama is proved to have not been born in the United States. That means that his presidency took place under fraud and, like a marriage, would have to be annulled. Would that wipe from the books every act he has committed or signed into law? I should think so.

People continue to file lawsuits as quickly as judges toss them from court, so stay tuned.

This Could Help Car and Truck Sales

US Government Over Pays for Pork, Literally

The Stimulus Act has been called the Porkulus Act by many that oppose it saying it is nothing more than Pork Barrel spending and will lead to massive government waste. This where rhetoric meets reality.

The Federal Government purchased $1,191,200 of real Pork with your tax dollars as reported by Recovery.org. It appears from the wording of the report this was for only 2lbs of Ham, but the USDA released a statement today clarifying, "Press reports suggesting that the Recovery Act spent $1.191 million to buy "2 pounds of ham" are wrong. In fact, the contract in question purchased 760,000 pounds of ham for $1.191m, at a cost of approximately $1.50 per pound."

Had the government simply shopped around they could have saved the taxpayers money. The Romney, WV Food Lion is selling Smithfield ham for $1.09 a pound, $0.41 cheaper per pound than the deal they got. By shopping at the Romney Food Lion the government could have saved the taxpayer over $300,000 on this one purchase alone.

When you buying in bulk you usually will get an even better deal, plus think of the Bonus Buy points you would get buying 760,000 lbs of ham!

13 Rue Madeline

Liberals have launched a stunning new offensive against Dick Cheney and the idea that the United States ought to defend itself.

You have to just shake your head. After 9/11 the United States intelligence community mulled over the idea of assassinating known terrorists. The Bush Administration refused to implement the program and therefore never told Congress about the program that never happened. Democrats are so desperate to pin something on Bush that they now want to bash Cheney for not telling Congress what the president did not do.

Liberals misunderstand the public. We grew up on James Bond and our kids grew up on 24. Most of us assumed we had been doing this all along! The unpleasant shock is that we had not been hunting down and assassinating terrorists at close range, not the non disclosure of a non program.

Just watched a great James Cagney movie from about 1946 called 13 Rue Madeline. It was the story of US intelligence operations in World War II. James Cagney trained a group of operatives to attack Fortress Europe from the inside. He told them that they needed to forget ideas of sportsmanship and fair play. Trickery, lying, and killing at close range were all parts of war. This reflected the assumptions and reality of warfare against Nazi Germany.

At what point did we get so soft that this is considered unacceptable even by hawks?

Blast from the Past: Dollars and Sense

Barbara Boxer Plays the Race Card Against a Black Businessman

House bill to allow DC abortion funding and medical marijuana

WEST VIRGINIA

Democrats — Mollohan, N; Rahall, N.

Republicans — Capito, Y.

Voting yes were 215 Democrats and 4 Republicans.

Voting no were 38 Democrats and 170 Republicans.

Time to Roll Out a Plan of Action: the Honest Deal

10% unemployment and rising. Capital investment and purchases in decline. Yup the Democrats have done a great job since Congress took over in early 2007 of running the economy into the ground. Deficit spending and tax hikes are getting the country nowhere. Time for Republicans to roll out a plan. Here are some ideas:

CUT TAXES!:

Well, this will be a tax cut but it will probably bring more revenue than expected. Establish four numbers for income tax, zero, ten, fifteen, and twenty. Earners below a certain threshold pay zero, then ten percent, then fifteen, then twenty. No deductions allowed for any reason.

Eliminate any taxes on savings and investment. Our biggest economic problem as a nation is lack of capital even though we are the most productive country on earth. Encourage savings and investment in the United States.

This is not a tax, but here's a thought on Social Security. Stop raiding it for funds and deposit it into banks where the money paid in can collect interest. We put Bernie Madoff in jail for life for creating a failed Ponzi scheme that people had chosen to join. Who in the federal government will pay when this Ponzi scheme collapses? At the very least this fund will collect interest and help replenish the kitty while injecting real money into the economy. This is what we should have implemented rather than a bank bailout.

CUT SPENDING!:

The federal government needs to cut back its budget ten percent in real terms. There are quite a few ways to accomplish this.

How much money does the federal government waste on foolishness every year? Time to cut back on sheer waste. Any public service announcements funded by the government are a luxury. Get rid of them.

Federal grants not related to technology development or national security should be suspended for two years. No funding for art or humanities studies at all. again, this is luxury spending.

No work on new road projects for five years. Complete what we have started and maintain what we have.

Stop funding questionable groups like ACORN. That is a no brainer. Also stop funding any get out the vote efforts. If people don't know an election is coming in November of even numbered years, we might not really want them to vote anyway.

Cut off any education or welfare funds to states that distribute them to illegal aliens. Sorry, no benefits for those breaking the law. While we are at it, release states from unfunded mandate obligations while so many of them are about to break from the economic strain.

Cut off foreign aid that is not security related. Also suspend payments to the United Nations. This is a luxury we cannot afford.

Cut back the Census to a Constitutional minimum.

Of course there are thousands more ideas on cutting spending. If we stop proposing more crap and cut from what we are spending, life will be much easier and prosperity will return. Then when the economy is back on a firm basis, you can have luxuries like art and humanities grants.

OTHER POLICIES:

The United States relies upon cheap energy as an advantage in production. This offsets the labor cost advantages of third world nations when we have it. We need to make it a federal priority to increase the production of energy in this country to meet our own demand and to also make us an exporting nation when possible. Do what is necessary to get more power plants constructed. Do what is necessary to access a wide variety of energy sources, not only coal and natural gas, but also wind, solar, freshwater hydroelectric, and wave power. Get those power bills down and you will have more money available to invest and spend.

Simplify federal laws related to manufacturing. I am not saying that we should compromise the environment or work safety, but we add so many laws on a regular basis, how can industry really keep up? Every country from time to time has to evaluate laws and re-codify them. Let's make the law more understandable and more obeyable by simplifying it.

Get rid of all shares of privately owned companies. Also get the government out of the railway business. Privatize whenever and wherever possible.

Cheap power, tax cuts, and less government spending. That is how a country gains and keeps prosperity. This should be part of the Republican Plan for Resurgence. Call it the Honest Deal

Unemployment Rates by County in West Virginia, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Area	May 2008	May 2009	Net Change
United States	5.2	9.1	3.9
West Virginia	4.2	8.5	4.3
Barbour County, WV	4.7	9.5	4.8
Berkeley County, WV	4.7	9.4	4.7
Boone County, WV	4.0	9.7	5.7
Braxton County, WV	4.4	8.3	3.9
Brooke County, WV	5.4	12.4	7.0
Cabell County, WV	3.8	7.2	3.4
Calhoun County, WV	5.6	14.2	8.6
Clay County, WV	5.5	11.5	6.0
Doddridge County, WV	4.5	8.0	3.5
Fayette County, WV	4.3	9.7	5.4
Gilmer County, WV	3.5	7.8	4.3
Grant County, WV	4.6	8.9	4.3
Greenbrier County, WV	4.7	10.1	5.4
Hampshire County, WV	3.8	8.4	4.6
Hancock County, WV	5.4	12.4	7.0
Hardy County, WV	4.1	9.8	5.7
Harrison County, WV	3.7	6.9	3.2
Jackson County, WV	4.8	13.2	8.4
Jefferson County, WV	3.7	7.4	3.7
Kanawha County, WV	3.5	6.9	3.4
Lewis County, WV	3.9	8.0	4.1
Lincoln County, WV	4.7	10.8	6.1
Logan County, WV	4.1	8.7	4.6
Marion County, WV	3.5	6.0	2.5
Marshall County, WV	4.5	9.3	4.8
Mason County, WV	6.7	13.0	6.3
McDowell County, WV	5.8	13.0	7.2
Mercer County, WV	3.8	7.0	3.2
Mineral County, WV	4.2	7.3	3.1
Mingo County, WV	4.1	10.4	6.3
Monongalia County, WV	2.7	4.7	2.0
Monroe County, WV	4.2	7.7	3.5
Morgan County, WV	5.4	9.4	4.0
Nicholas County, WV	4.4	9.0	4.6
Ohio County, WV	4.0	8.4	4.4
Pendleton County, WV	4.2	7.9	3.7
Pleasants County, WV	5.1	9.8	4.7
Pocahontas County, WV	9.7	17.2	7.5
Preston County, WV	3.5	7.7	4.2
Putnam County, WV	3.3	7.0	3.7
Raleigh County, WV	3.9	8.2	4.3
Randolph County, WV	5.6	10.4	4.8
Ritchie County, WV	5.1	9.8	4.7
Roane County, WV	6.0	13.2	7.2
Summers County, WV	4.5	8.2	3.7
Taylor County, WV	4.2	7.9	3.7
Tucker County, WV	6.0	12.5	6.5
Tyler County, WV	5.3	10.4	5.1
Upshur County, WV	4.2	8.2	4.0
Wayne County, WV	4.7	8.2	3.5
Webster County, WV	6.0	11.7	5.7
Wetzel County, WV	6.1	11.7	5.6
Wirt County, WV	5.9	14.0	8.1
Wood County, WV	4.6	9.5	4.9
Wyoming County, WV	4.6	12.0	7.4

NOTE: Rates shown are a percentage of the labor force. Data refer to place of residence. State and county data for both the current and prior year are subject to revision early in the following calendar year.

Rockefeller, Byrd must vote NO on Anti-Gun Sotomayor

Sotomayor had this to say on gun rights, "I understand how important the right to bear arms is to many, many Americans. In fact, one of my godchildren is a member of the NRA. And I have friends who hunt." She said nothing on her stance in that statement. Understanding how important gun rights are to some and supporting the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution are two different things. Having friends that hunt or family that are members of the NRA, doesn’t mean she shares those opinions. That was a total dodge of the question. You only dodge the question when you do not want to reveal your true feelings.

When Tom Coburn of Oklahoma asked about gun rights, Sotomayor said, "I can't answer...because I can't look at it in the abstract.” There is nothing abstract about the 2^nd Amendment. It is quite clear, “the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Coburn went on and pressed Sotomayor asking if a person had a fundamental right to self defense. Sotomayor’s reply should have been, “Yes!” It was not, she stated, "What we do is different than the conversations citizens have about what they want the law to do. It's not that we make a broad policy choice and say this is what we want."

Founding Father Thomas Jefferson summed up his feelings in letter to Peter Minor, July 20, 1822 when he wrote, “I presume he is a gun-man, as I am sure he ought to be, and every American who wishes to protect his farm from the ravages of quadrupeds & his country from those of biped invaders. I am a great friend to the manly and healthy exercises of the gun.” The Founding Fathers were quite clear the right to defend ones self and ones nation were to be in the hands of the people. Sotomayor’s position does not reflect that of the majority of the nation, the people of West Virginia or that of the Founding Fathers. Our Senators in Washington should vote NO on her appointment to the US Supreme Court and we must ask them to vote NO. The number for the Senate switch board is 202-225-3121.

Capitalism Beats Alarmists Again

Remember when alarmists told us that biofuels made from corn would drastically increase the price of that basic staple?

The best measure for whether or not that has held true is to go down to WalMart and see for yourself. Look at the price of an ear of corn. Earlier this year it was something akin to forty or fifty cents per ear. That's not really too bad and the early prices for fresh corn are usually higher.

This week I bought some ears for twenty cents a piece. That seems about right for this time of year and it should keep dropping as we move into harvest season. Now I thought that we were supposed to have a worldwide disaster because of the switching of production to biofuels. Of course people around here know that a lot of land lies fallow. If you increase the price for corn, you will see people increasing production. Is that what happened here?

Perhaps. Perhaps not. The bottom line is that capitalism has provided corn for fuel as well as corn for food without raising prices in the long run. Most alarmists base their predictions on models that do not take into account rises in production. The media will usually report the alarmists' point of view because it makes for more interesting copy. In the boring old real world, as long as we keep it, capitalism will provide food and fuel as efficiently as possible.

Is there a correlation between Unemployment and Election Results?

Obama Administration pushes race/sexual orientation based "Hate Crime" bill

According to, Lanier Swann, the special assistant to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. "Moments ago Majority Leader Reid filed a hate crimes amendment to the DOD Authorization Bill. He then filled the tree, which means no amendments can be offered to his amendment, and filed cloture on the amendment."

The amendment is not based on fairness under the law, but on race or sexual orientation. The facts of the matter are any violent crime is a hate crime and should be punished equally. Race or sexual orientation should never be the basis for the punishment for a crime. Those convicted of a violent crime should be treated harshly and equally no matter if the victim is straight, homosexual, male, female, black, white, etc.

By calling for cloture to rush the bill through, this will limit debate and could allow a race/sexual orientation based bill to move forward into law. We must have equal protection under the law with no special classes of citizens. If you value our nation of equality ask for this amendment to be removed from the bill. The number for the Senate switch board is 202-225-3121.

County to waste more taxpayer money on Water Shortage Farce

The on going waste of taxpayer’s money on the fake water shortage continues. As our economic continues to slide deeper into the recession many people are cutting back and saving their money for the future, but for some reason government doesn’t want to do the same thing. This puts an ever increasing burden on the taxpayers when they can least afford it.

The Wednesday addition of the News Tribune reports a WVU student was paid $5,000 as a precursor to a much larger study. The PHC reported last year that “DHHR notified the county they are making available $92,000 to assist with the study.” This $92,000 of taxpayer money is just an assist as the full study is expected to cost somewhere around a quarter million dollars.

This is what the study will tell us: We will find that Piedmont gets its water from Savage River in Maryland, the Elk Garden area gets its water from Grant County, and Ridgeley and Wiley Ford are connected to Cumberland’s water supply for now. This means that many of the people of Mineral County don’t even rely on water from within the county. History will also show that even in the worst drought, the Keyser and New Creek water systems have never ran out of water. Also keep in mind that the Limestone Dam is a water reservoir for the city of Keyser that is no longer used and they can’t seem to empty it, because to much water flows into it. The Mountaintop Water Department commissioned a study which claims that their reservoir contains over 100 million gallons of water and does not drop much even in dry spells.

The study will also find that Jennings Randolph Lake has 41,000 acre feet of water in storage that is enough to supply every man, woman and child with 100 gallons a day for over 13 years if the river stopped flowing today. There is an additional 51,000 acre feet used for water quality management, so we are looking at over 27 years worth of water if it didn’t rain for the next 27 years and nobody in Mineral County uses any of that water now!

The county government is acting very strange and very anti-business on many issues. Consider that the County Commission is not actively supporting the $138 million dollar investment in the county on the Wind Project which will generate an additional $326,591 in taxes for the school system alone as reported by the News Tribune on Wednesday. I cannot understand why the county commission would not actively support the increase in funding to the school system. County Commissioner Spiggle’s wife Betty sent a letter to the Public Service Commission actively opposing the project and can be viewed on the Public Service Commissions website. Commissioner Wayne Spiggle pushed the County Commission to request making US 50 a Scenic Byway which would hinder business. Now it is the water study, which if not done correctly, can be used as a way to restrict business growth and economic growth.

It is time for the County Commission to stop wasting the taxpayer’s money on anti-business policies and water studies. If you want to spend our tax dollars on water, then we believe you should spend it on providing additional water and water safety. Connect the different water systems in the county together, so that in an emergency the separate water systems can help each other. If a chemical truck were to wreck and spill its contents into New Creek, then a connected system would allow Keyser to bring in water from Elk Garden or Piedmont. If water quality becomes and issue in Fort Ashby, then water could be supplied from Fountain or elsewhere in a connected system.

The More Things Change . . .

The American people have witnessed the calamitous consequences of full and unrestricted Democratic control of the Government. It has been a record of unparalleled incapacity, dishonor and disaster. In administrative management it has entailed an unceasing deficit, eked out ordinary current expenses with borrowed money, piled up the public debt, forced an adverse balance of trade, kept a perpetual menace hanging over the redemption fund, pawned American credit to alien syndicates, and reversed all the measures and results of successful Republican rule. In the broad effect of its policy it has precipitated panic, blighted industry and trade with prolonged depression, closed factories, reduced work and wages, halted enterprise and crippled American production, while stimulating foreign production for the American market. Every consideration of public safety and individual interest demands that the Government shall be rescued from the hands of those who have shown themselves incapable of conducting it without disaster at home and dishonor abroad, and shall be restored to the party which for thirty years administred it with unequalled success and prosperity.

Republican Party Platform of 1896. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

WV Delegation Returns from Young Republicans National Federation Convention

Press Release

Monday, July 13, 2009 Contact: Lisa Peana

For Immediate Release (304) 730-4599

　WV Delegation Returns from Young Republicans National Federation Convention

National Committeeman Elected to Regional Position

Kenova, WV - The West Virginia Young Republicans Delegation returned from the Young Republican National Federation Convention that was held in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Kevin Noe, WVYR National Committeeman was elected Sunday as Secretary for the Southern Region.

“I’m honored to serve, and I am determined to work to build a better network of Young Republicans that will continue to work to strengthen our core values,” said Noe.

The YRNF Convention activities included board meetings, the election of officers, establishing dates for future national meetings, appointment of positions, and establishing a statement for the YRNF.

“It was a privilege to be part of WV’s full delegation to be seated at the convention which is the first time in recent history that WV carried full voting power.” added Mike Howerton, WV YR chairman.

The convention began Wednesday, July 8^th and concluded Sunday, July 12^th. The WVYR Delegation consisted of 5 YR’s allowing WV to cast the state’s full voting power. The Delegation include Mike Howerton, Chairman; Kevin Noe, National Committeeman; Lisa Peana, Executive Director; Matt Clay, Secretary; Jamison Jeffrey, delegate.

For more information about the WVYR visit

www.wvyr.org

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Henry Morganthau and How Liberalism Has Changed For the Worse

Henry Morganthau served Franklin Roosevelt as Secretary of the Treasury during World War II. Needless to say, as a faithful practitioner of Judaism, Secretary Morganthau shared with the majority of Americans a deep hatred and disgust for Nazi Germany. Even before the full extent of the Holocaust was revealed by Allied troops, he had devised a plan for postwar Germany.

Morganthau, a liberal in a liberal administration, advocated that Germany be completely deindustrialized. Her factories would be demolished and her economy returned to an agrarian basis. This would serve as a means to prevent any resurgence of German power while punishing her for misdeeds.

What we have seen in this country over the past few decades is a reduction in our national ability to actually do anything. How long does it take to build a power plant? How long does it take to build a road? How many manufacturers have decided to build abroad because they do not want to go through the unending process of permits, studies, public hearings, etc.? Why would they not want to avoid the Byzantine labrynth of federal, state, and local laws as well as the off chance of a ridiculous lawsuit? Once you reach a certain threshold of regulation, how possible is it to avoid committing infractions of some sort?

Liberals do not want industry, at least left wing liberals do not. They take the money and support of unions and then turn around and pass laws, taxes, and pursue policies designed to destroy traditional manufacturing. What they want is clear, an America of forests, farms, and tourist attractions that do not attract many tourists. We wouldn't want to mess up the natural wonders by having too many real people looking at them. They want jobs, but only high tech, academia, health care, and other employment they consider "clean."

In other words they want to do to America what a liberal Secretary of the Treasury once thought was fit as a punishment for one of the most evil regimes in history. So many of the extreme leftists think that we are that as it is, spreading democracy and capitalism as we have.

WVGOP's Underwood interns’ Summer Roast

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Shane Wilson

Monday, July 13, 2009 304-768-0493

CHARLESTON, W. Va. – Please join the WVGOP's Underwood interns’ for a Summer Roast tomorrow Tuesday, July 14 at 6:00 P.M. at the Riverside Shelter in Coonskin Park in Charleston. As Republicans, we have decided it is time to eat pork, not waste and spend it like the Democrats. Come join your state GOP legislators, party activists and community leaders as we pass out pork the only way everyone can enjoy it. No bailout money required – however, donations are welcome! Red t-shirts will be sold for $20.00 with the slogan – "Eating pork so the Democrats don’t spend it." For more information contact Shane Wilson at 304-768-0493.

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Paid for by the West Virginia Republican Party

Just in Time For The Fourth of July, Compulsory Health Care

You are going to buy health care and you are going to like it.

The Senate's version of health care deform includes a clause that makes it mandatory to purchase health care. Those who opt not to will face a federal fine of $1,000 per year.

I do not even pretend to be able to understand the monster that Congress and Obama is currently trying to conjure. All I know is that taxpayers will be paying for something that will eventually be worse than we can possibly imagine. The government will be shouldering a great deal more of the decision making and organizational burden currently held by the private sector. If anyone thinks that this can be run without corruption and extreme inefficiency, they should check out other federally run operations.

The worst aspect is compulsion. Advocates say that we have to buy car insurance, why not health insurance. The difference is at the end of the day you can choose to ride a horse, a bicycle, a bus, or use the feet God gave them. How do you avoid the all compassionate hand of Mother Government?

And if we ever dare to ask why, Obama answers "because I said so." The Won cannot be bothered to defend his ideas except in front of sycophants at specially arranged "town meetings."

This sets yet another ominous precedent in our path towards feel good fascism. If Republicans can only delay this monstrosity past this year we have a chance to bring this process back to an American way of thinking.

Blast from the Past: This for that