Who Is Truly Ready to Make a Difference in West Virginia?

West Virginia received some good news today. Beth Walker's run for State Supreme Court has impressed exactly half of the state's voters. The most recent polls show that the race between Walker and the second place Democratic opponent remains too close to select a leader. In a state where 2/3 of the voters register with the Democratic Party, this is good news to anyone looking to change our anti-business climate.

A Walker victory means a shift away from our state's "judicial hellhole" reputation. She can join others on the bench who join many West Virginians in being tired of crackpot lawsuits and their damaging effect on our economy. Why would anyone want to do business in a state that does nothing to discourage the most ridiculous claims against honest business owners while allowing benefits to the friends of the powerful? We need rule of law in West Virginia, not rule of lawsuits.

On the other hand, Nancy Guthrie has swallowed the Obama change mantra hook, line and sinker. She has adapted it to her own political campaign, albeit clumsily according to Vic Sprouse's Change West Virginia blog. How West Virginia Democrats can run on a change platform is beyond my comprehension, unless they tell the whole state to do something it has rarely done in the past seventy-five years, vote Republican.

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They may have reached that decision anyway. With Democrats putting signs for Gary Howell, Dan Greear, Russ Weeks, Beth Walker, and others in their yards, maybe our state is finally fed up with seventy-five years of misrule.

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Has anyone else noticed the change in Obama lately? Mean spirited, sarcastic, no longer confident and pleasant looking. We may be seeing the real Obama here folks. As was said so eloquently on the movie Super Troopers, "desperation is a stinky cologne." The weird inability to stay on message is also a telling sign that the wheels fell off some time ago.

As for Biden, has anyone seen him at all lately? Do the Democrats have a bunker that they stuffed him into? What an inspired choice for them. It is almost as if they saw Biden as Obama's Dick Cheney. Taking pages from the Bush victory story is something I never thought I would see a Democrat attempt. Maybe they ought to listen to the Republican experts that say personally attacking Palin is a horrible idea. I can honestly say that Uncle Joe would have done that campaign a lot more good than Biden.

Personally I would almost bet that the Democrat power brokers have privately folded their tents. They will return to do penance at the Temple of Hillary, and wait for the next favorable time to unleash her on the electorate.

Desperate Times

Almost six weeks from the election, candidates have started falling into desperation mode.

Anne Barth, in an odd strategy designed to link Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito to the president that West Virginia convincingly supported twice, has accused the 2nd District representative of supporting the George W. Bush agenda blindly. In reality nothing could be further from the truth. Capito supported measures designed to reign in institutions such as Freddie Mac while voting with the president 49% of the time. Her desire to follow her conscience and constituents has earned her the respect of the voters. Barth also accused Capito of failing to hold committee hearings on housing problems until too late. Most folks know that only committee chairs can call meetings.

Barack Obama refuses to retract in any way his remark "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig." This is a colloquialism that the Ivy League has learned from someone in flyover country that unfortunately resembles Palin's "Pit bull with lipstick" remark at the Republican convention. It was probably not an attack on Palin. If so it would be in tremendously poor taste. However, Obama refuses to back off the remark. He refuses to even apologize in case he caused offense. The Obama campaign has lost tremendous ground over the past month and shows no sign of regaining traction.

Shotgun Career Choice

Tenth graders in a local high school were shocked recently when a guidance counselor walked into their classroom and announced that the State of West Virginia determined that they must have a clear idea of who they wanted to marry by their date of graduation.

Okay, this did not really happen, but it is not far from the truth. The counselor stated that the State of West Virginia expected each student to have a career choice by graduation from high school.

Say what? I did not know what I wanted to do until I was almost done with college. Some people do not find their calling until much later in life. How can tenth graders, many of whom experience trouble picking out their socks in the morning, understand what they will want to do when they are thirty, forty, or fifty?

What ever happened to the school encouraging children to use their youth to try out different choices? What ever happened to teachers telling their students that they could do anything they wanted? Sure not everyone can be a brain surgeon, but let the intrepid find out on their own whether it is for them or not.

One student called it "Communist" while some parents advised their children to not inform the counselor even if they did have one in mind. After all at the end of the day, it is not really their business. It actually does encourage a more socialist view of schools manufacturing children like tractors and playing a heavy role in "helping" students make choices that in all honesty they do not need to make at this time.

It is not even desirable for students to be pressured into such choices so early. Most people change almost completely between high school and their mid twenties. You gain perspective on life, your experiences change your dreams. The kid who wants to be an NBA superstar at age 15 figures out he wants to be a dentist by 22 because his life experience helped him to choose all on his own. But who has the right to take away this kid's dream before life has convinced him to give it up (unless he really is that good!) Hard work and determination sometimes turns impossible dreams into wonderful realities unless someone along the way crushes the dream by encouraging the kid to be "more realistic." If Owen Schmitt were realistic when he was 20, we'd never have heard from him and he'd certainly never be in a Seattle Seahawks uniform. We'd also have many fewer doctors, researchers, writers, and poets from the ghettos and hollows who were told "you'll never make it out, don't even try."

Again, like any blog entry I write about the school system, the blame rarely lies with principals, teachers, or counselors. It lies with those at the top who make decisions that sound wonderful on paper and make them look good politically, but actually disrupt the learning process and undermine respect for the entire system.

We need to encourage kids to dream big, to dream about all the possibilities, and to make choices in their own good time, not on the regimented schedule of Uncle Joe and the State of West Virginia.

I don't like Ike, I like Walmart even less

While most of us knew that Ike would have an impact on the price of fuel at the pump, I believe most of us know there is a delay in that correlation. A delay of about 7 hours is a little short, but that is the time it took.

Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast at 2:10 AM local time on Saturday the 13th. Ike hit the Keyser Walmart 7 hours later. I pulled in to fuel up my truck and when I tried to turn on the pump it would not come on. There were a fair amount of people standing at the pumps and none would come on. As us customers began to talk with each other, and the information was the power was off and they were resetting it.

When the pumps came back on it was apparent that Hurricane Ike had struck Walmart, because when the pumps came back on fuel was $0.30 higher that when I had pulled in the station. No delivery truck had delivered any knew fuel. Even if the fuel had been piped from the Gulf Coast it takes about 4 days to arrive to eastcoast terminals (yes there is a gasoline pipleline that runs from the Gulf Coast to New Jeresy).

That Walmart gas station probably has 8000 gallon tanks in the ground and 3 grades of gasoline. Assuming they were half full at the time that means they raised the price on 12,000 gallons of fuel by $0.30. That makes an extra $3,600 profit for Walmart off a Hurricane that never hit the Keyser Walmart. That is wrong it is price gouging.

Some people would blame unchecked capitalism, but they would be wrong. We are Walmart customers and I doubt any of us like what they did. We are fully aware they were taking advantage of the situation and their customers. Capitalism has the answer, we simply take our business elsewhere. There are plenty of other service stations in the area and we should reward those that have the lowest price on fuel.

If you use the gas price checker on this page you will find by not shopping for fuel at Walmart you will usually save money. Dale's Pit Stop north of McCoole is usually the low cost leader and that is how you use capitalism to your fuel advantage.

Enough is Enough

On August 29th Allegheny Power submitted a request for a rate increase. If approved, everyone's power bills will increase based upon usage. The Farmer's Almanac has predicted a rough winter. Should this rate increase go into effect, it will be more difficult for many to heat their homes.

That being said, Allegheny Power claims that it must recover $173 million in costs. A company must make some kind of profit to be viable. If utilities were public, they'd be just as inefficient as any other public entity and also probably be run by someone named Manchin. In the short term, not granting rate increases makes the problem worse.

The long term demands solutions that many have suggested. Al Gore wants to eliminate fossil fuel usage completely. Any realist knows that is not feasible, that it is more of a political statement than a plan. Too many areas depend on mining and it gives us a very high percentage of our energy production. Definitely keep looking for ways to burn coal more cleanly, but you cannot rule it out as a resource. Another option is to expand natural gas production in our state.

Our power bills have gone up because demand is high and supply short. In West Virginia there is no excuse when we sit atop massive deposits of coal and natural gas. It is time for the state to lessen the restrictions on gas drilling.

I joked with a neighbor who was struggling with a gas bill that it will soon be cheaper for them to buy their own equipment and drill for the gas themselves. It was said in jest, but the idea of people tending to their own needs is not so far fetched. Consider that not too long ago in our history many folks dug coal out of their backyard for their stoves. A radio commercial recently directed people towards information on distilling their own gasoline at home. West Virginians have always shown resourcefulness in tough times. The government and environmentalists may not like it, but a lot of people in this state may just take matters into their own hands and start doing for themselves.

Gov. Palin...An example for WV

She's on the cover of Time magazine. Biden didn't get on the cover. The article summarizes her political career and gives a strong strategy for how she brought change to Alaska and how we can bring change to WV. In the campaign for mayor of her small town, she drew on the state party and invoked major issues into small town politics. The message, don't just re-elect the mayor cause he's a nice guy, elect the person who represents you and your beliefs. When she left her mayoral position due to term limits in 2002 she refused to support her mother-in-law and backed the opposing candidate. The article points to her stance as a pro-life politician and her mother-in-laws position as pro-choice. As we have learned that is a major disagreement in the Palin house.

What impresses me about that decision is that she didn't back her mother-in-law because she was a nice person (she may not be, but let's assume she is), nor because she was related to her. She chose to support the candidate whose beliefs mirrored her own. I think there is a strong lesson for West Virginians in there. Too often we elect County Commissioners, City officials, mayors, legislators and senators based on their being nice guys. Often we are related to a person running, but that shouldn't force us to vote for that person. Maybe you went to high school with the candidate, maybe you see them monthly or weekly for lunch, but do their political beliefs match your own better than the other candidate's? After all, these shouldn't be popularity contests that always go to the good old boys, it is a political office where decisions are made that will impact your life and family. How many times do we hear about what Senator Byrd did for WV and that we owe it to him to keep voting him into office each go-around? Or the threat of lost jobs if he isn't around to dump a bunch of money into the state? Questioning that line of thought is border-line heresy in WV.

I hope the WV Republican party will run with her strategy. Introduce major issues into local races. Discuss abortion, gun-rights, taxation and other pro-family, conservative issues during school board elections, local, county and state elections. Too many people, including myself, forget that our political system doesn't filter down from Washington, it is built from the local level up. Supporting local candidates whom you disagree with politically allows them to support, both politically and financially, the next candidate up the totem pole. This support continues all the way up the line to our DC representatives. If we want to turn this state away from Democrat domination, it will start with local elections and impacting the lives of our neighbors for the better, not in a massive dog fight against Gov. Manchin, Senator Byrd, or Congressman Mollohan.

I hope we take this lesson to heart and bring real change to WV.

What It Takes to Lead

Imagine a candidate with small town roots, a hard worker that loves honesty and hates corruption. This candidate specialized in defeating incumbents that drank heavily from the wells of of big money and corruption. Now consider a candidate who is humble in demeanor but rich in life experience, a veteran of war. This candidate's experiences give him a dignity and perspective that make him a true leader.

You may think I am writing about the McCain/Palin ticket. Not this time. All of these attributes come in a candidate ready to lead our state, Russ Weeks.

If you have not read up on Russ Weeks, you owe yourself a few minutes to learn about him. Sarah Palin made headlines for putting the former governor's jet on Ebay. Weeks aims relentless criticism at the governor for gallivanting around on the state's dime in a helicopter. Palin defeated an entrenched incumbent thought to be unbeatable because the big business that preferred the status quo supported him. Like Palin, Russ Weeks believes that people, not dollars, vote in this state. He meets the people and listens to what they have to say.

Like John McCain, Weeks has a demeanor that shows the voters he will put the job ahead of himself. Weeks wants something better for West Virginia. He is passionate about changing not just the name on the Welcome to West Virginia signs, but also in changing our political culture. For Weeks it is about the state, not about himself.

Almost everyone agrees that the State of West Virginia needs a direction that takes us away from the failures of the past twenty years. How many people are willing to put their money where their mouth is and vote for a man that promises something different?

If you like West Virginia as it is run now, vote for the same people who have been ruining our state forever. If you think we can do better, put Russ Weeks in the governor's mansion. Alaska did it and 80% of them are thrilled with the results. We can too.

Republican Feminism

For the past few years in West Virginia, the Republican Party has witnessed the efforts of Secretary of State Betty Ireland and others to mobilize women and promote their influence within the party. West Virginia certainly has demonstrated little prejudice at the ballot box, selecting Ireland and Shelley Moore Capito to two of the most important positions possible. Both remain extremely popular with voters in general, not simply their own parties.

At the national level, Governor Sarah Palin has captivated the electorate. Liberal Democrats who never would have supported any Republican now pledge to vote for McCain. Palin is not just a woman to fill a place on a ticket. She understands family, hard work, and the challenges we all face at some time or another.

You never probably figured you would hear the words Republican and feminist in the same phrase. After all, Rush Limbaugh popularized the term "feminazi." The feminism shown by Republican female leaders is different. Women ought to have the cultural freedom to make choices. The women's liberation movement exerted pressure on women to decide to leave the home and go into the workplace in the same fashion as they were pressured to stay home and take care of the family in previous generations. Today's feminism shown by Republican leaders emphasizes an honest appraisal of life and making decisions to help yourself and your family.

Republican feminism preaches self-reliance. A woman should have the opportunity to run a business without over regulation and taxation. A woman has every right to protect herself whether inside or outside her home. That means that we should encourage women to educate themselves on firearms and buy them. Miranda Lambert would probably be one of the first to say that a well armed woman is a safe woman. If more would be sexual assailants got shot, we would see fewer kidnappings and rapes overall. No one wants to get shot.


Republican feminism means allowing women to choose their priorities without pressure and then respecting those decisions. Betty Ireland would have dominated in a re-election run for Secretary of State but she made the right choice to put family first. Other women in different situations will make different decisions and not bow to outside pressure to do what others think they ought. This is real world feminism, brought to you courtesy of the Republican Party.

Giuliani's Minor Flub

Last night, Rudy Giuliani gave a tremendous and effective speech that underscored the necessity of electing John McCain while aiming some well-placed barbs at his opponent. One of the barbs that liberals will surely respond to was the claim that Obama is the least prepared candidate in a hundred years.

We know what the former mayor meant, but liberals will seize upon the fact that one hundred years ago the GOP nominated and elected William Howard Taft. Taft actually was one of the most experienced men ever nominated to the presidency. He served as the personal troubleshooter of President Theodore Roosevelt, succeeding in such tasks as bringing peace, happiness, and prosperity to the Philippines. Unfortunately Taft's big heart was not into the job. He never wanted to be president and suffered from the taunts aimed at his ever expanding waistline. Although he enjoyed some successes, he suffered the worst loss of any GOP incumbent seeking reelection.

Giuliani likely referred to a less heralded Republican president, Warren G. Harding. We learned our lesson after Harding. This man was likable, attractive, and a good speaker. He garnered votes by vague promises of "normalcy" after World War I. However, Harding came from the Ohio political machine. He spent a short and unremarkable amount of time in the US Senate. After election, his friends took advantage of his congeniality and engineered massive scandals. Meanwhile he played a lot of golf, attended many parties, and befriended a lot of young women around the country. Luckily for Harding, he died before his friends could embarrass him too much.

The GOP figured out after 1920 that inexperienced senators with impressive speaking abilities do not make good presidents.

No News Is Good News in the Sunday Gazette Mail

Last Sunday I was near Charleston, so I got to read that wonderful old piece of objective, just the facts ma'am journalism, the Sunday Gazette Mail. After all, the selection of Governor Palin made a huge splash in the cable news media and elsewhere. I was fascinated with their take on her selection.

Their take was . . . nothing. No mention of her whatsoever. It was as if a journalistic black hole opened up, she fell in, and news of her was replaced by the Cheshire cat grin on the face of Barack Obama's destiny. Instead of commentary on the latest news, the Gazette served up the same old tripe.

Sometimes a paper says quite a bit when it chooses to say nothing at all. Multiple columns commented on Obama's destiny and place in history. Phil Kabler took a pause from his lifelong pursuit of Vic Sprouse to wistfully wonder what might have been if Gore had spent more time in West Virginia in 2000, his theory being that more exposure to the anti-gun, anti-coal, pro-abortion Gore might have somehow convinced West Virginians to vote for him.

Yup, cover those ears, close those eyes, ignore the obvious. Barack Obama is about to fall into the dustbin of history.

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I hate to see the daughter of Governor Palin going through this crap. I am speaking as a father right now. Many Democrats think they have some kind of gotcha issue against the Governor and her family. Like they did with Vice President Cheney's daughter in 2004, they are willing to smear the families of candidates to score a point. A seventeen year old ought to remain out of bounds. Many Democrats see a pregnant teenage girl as the antithesis of family values ideals. Family values does not mean you have a perfect family that never encounters challenges. It means that families stick together and help each other out, just like Governor Palin and millions of others. Americans can understand that, even if the liberal media and Democratic strategists cannot.

Triumph of the Shrill

In the 1930s Leni Riefenstahl became the filmaker tapped to document the political rise of Adolf Hitler. Tremendously talented, she crafted an image in her Triumph of the Will for the new leader that distracted Germans from his bizarre beliefs and buffoonery and manufactured a vision of a powerful, wise, all knowing savior. Joseph Goebbels masterminded this image production and helped by staging spectacles. The larger the stadium, the more attendees, the more references to German and classical history and culture, the better Hitler could appear. In other words Goebbels and Riefenstahl sought to clothe the inadequacies of a lunatic in the robes of a demigod.

The 2008 Democratic Convention is no Nazi spectacle and Obama is no Hitler. This attempt at savior manufacturing looks more like a Mel Brooks parody of Riefenstahl's work. You half expect to see "PREZ" emblazoned in white on Obama's back. The goal is to unite the loud, neurotic, Bush haters with moderate and loyal Democrats in a last ditch effort to derail the McCain train.

Fortunately, Americans rarely accept this kind of stage handling in their politics. Anything so packaged raises suspicion in the eyes of most American voters. Only George Washington and, to a much lesser extent, Franklin Roosevelt ever enjoyed demigod type popularity and loyalty. Washington actively shunned any material manifestation of his authority, preferring to maintain tones of republican simplicity.

In 2008 the choice is clear. In McCain we have an accomplished man who acts in Washington's mold of republican simplicity. In Obama we have a demagogue seeking to win the presidency through the triumph of the shrill.

The Real Villain of Childhood Obesity

The media and many politicians often like to discuss childhood obesity. To them, this issue looms as one of the most horrible social problems of our time. Kids carrying extra weight will certainly cause the decline of Western Civilization as we know it. Most media figures and trial lawyers have a ready villain, the free market system that allows such evil places as McDonalds and such horrible items as video games to be marketed to children.

Video games are in their third decade of use. Ever since Pong and Pac Man, experts have told us that children spend too much time playing these games. Only now have diabetes rates confirmed their fears. Something must have happened between Asteroids and World of Warcraft to account for this. McDonalds served these kids' grandparents so do not blame them either.

The big changes have come in the public school system. Rural children are supposedly at highest risk for obesity, experts love to blame ignorance. So many rural counties consolidated their school systems, closing small community schools in favor of mega facilities at central locations. This means that children in a place like Preston County must ride the bus for well over an hour. Schools in an effort to cram as much knowledge into children's heads as possible whittled recess to a short number of minutes and in many cases do not run year round physical education. Some genius somewhere, probably in California, decided that elementary school children need mountains of homework to reinforce what they learned all day in school.

So the child gets up at the crack of dawn, rides a bus for over an hour, gets to school, sits there almost all day with little activity, rides home, has endless amounts of homework (while he or she does all this work they probably are snacking) and then hopefully has a short period of time to play before sundown. If the child takes the initiative and plays a sport, then there are times the homework simply does not get done and their grades fall. The decreasing numbers of children playing sports in some areas suggests that school has grown overwhelming in its time demands off campus.

I need not remind you of who has held the school system in their stranglehold for decades. Common sense went out the door long ago. Don't blame the students and do not always blame the teachers or administrators. Those up high that make decisions for all have pushed education in some very negative directions.

Where There's Not Smoke, There Are People Fired Up

Kanawha County's recent smoking ban for all restaurants and bars did not go unchallenged. Several bar owners have either threatened litigation or civil disobedience against a law they claim is unjust and harms their business. They work against the grain of the nanny state response that not only embraces the reasonable goal of helping people escape smoke, but the dangerous aim of forcing a morality on law abiding citizens.

The Legislature and county health departments agree that West Virginia must work towards becoming a smoke free society. I am not a smoker and I do not care to be around cigarette smoke for long periods (unless I am around my good friends whose company is enough fun to distract me from the smoke!) However people over the age of eighteen have the natural right to make this choice for themselves. This overt move towards prohibition only undermines the idea that individuals have the right to choose as well as the responsibility to live with the consequences.

And what about businesses? The idea of creating enclosed smoking sections was a responsible compromise. Keeping non-smokers from having to experience dangerous smoke was workable. It also recognized that individuals still had the right to choose. Jacking up taxes and eliminating public smoking areas reeks of the nanny state. New York now devotes millions of dollars in resources to combat cigarette smuggling, including paying for the incarceration of thousands. All of this resulted from extremely high taxes designed to eliminate the choice to smoke. Even those that do not smoke ought to fight for the reasonable rights of those that do.

What's next? The nanny state crowd never stops. They know what is best for you and me and will come after our unhealthy habits next. Snuff affects no one but the user, but do you think they will be left alone? Some cities have already started to legislate on the content of food served at restaurants. Others want to outlaw drive through establishments. They see obese children and blame the free market instead of schools that eliminated recess and phys-ed while making children take longer trips on the bus to go home and sit around doing increasing amounts of homework.

Are we a free society of adults that can make decisions about our lives, or are we a people that need guidance from our betters. It is not the government's business whether or not I or any other citizen are healthy. America was founded on freedom and real Americans must fight to prevent the control freaks from legislating our lifestyles.

Why Not Mo-Joe instead of Boring Joe?

When Obama selected Joe Biden last week as his running mate, it caught some folks off guard. Tim Kaine was assumed by many to be the front runner, a moderate Democrat from a prosperous swing state. Maybe he decided this was not the right year to go national, maybe Obama decided against him.

Joe Biden is solid in experience, but otherwise an odd selection. The podium beneath him has more natural charisma and name recognition. He comes from a state likely to support Obama anyway and will not help the Democratic nominee score points with conservatives.

Was another Joe at one time in consideration? Certainly Manchin has charisma and conservative credentials. He comes from a small state likely to go McCain, but Manchin has influence among voters. One must wonder if the recent WVU scandals eliminated Joe Manchin from the list of possibilities. Other than that, he would seem to have been a better choice than Biden in many ways. Then again Manchin also may have declined to become first officer on this sinking ship.

The Democratic Party is looking at a significant, if not a landslide loss this year. Obama's ties to domestic terrorism will shock the public when they become widely known. William Ayers is the Left's version of Timothy McVeigh, he just did not succeed in his most ambitious plans.

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Once again the media has opened a flurry of under the bus tossing. Obama has thrown a lot of folks under the bus lately as the wheels fall off his bid for power. This phrase likely refers to the statement often made bythe Bolsheviks that a just society would happen when the child of a factory worker could throw the child of a doctor under a bus and most would approve.

Pretty typical.

Jay Wolfe releases new video

Saint Ted?

The Democratic National Convention kicked off with a Ted Kennedy love fest that would make one gag. On one hand, the specter of any human being suffering from cancer is worth sympathy. However, the hero/saint treatment is appalling.

The nation knows about Chappaquiddick, when Kennedy's young female friend died on his watch. He saturated his brain in alcohol, drove off a bridge with a young woman in the car. When he miraculously escaped, he neither tried to help his friend, nor did he call the authorities. Instead he changed his clothes and went to a party while some parents' daughter lay dead under water.

Few people outside of West Virginia know of the felonies committed in our state on his watch. Ted Kennedy supervised his brother's 1960 presidential primary campaign in Southern West Virginia. In separate accounts, political boss Raymond Chafin and Caperton administration official Dr. Allen Loughry wrote about the massive sums of cash sent from "bagmen" in Chicago to bosses in Southern West Virginia. Upon receiving the money the bosses changed their support from Hubert Humphreys to John F. Kennedy. They then used the cash to convince voters to support the new favorite. Ted Kennedy deserved federal prison, not the United States Senate.

Yet this is their patriarch, their saint. Saint Ted was on hand to give his approval to the next generation of crooked politician with questionable Chicago ties. At least the Kennedy ties were with a mob that supported their country in times of war (FDR let J. Edgar Hoover use the Mafia for port security.) Obama's friends such as William Ayers wanted to kill American lawmakers and police officers. Ties to the mob and the Chicago machine are bad. Ties to terrorists should rule out anyone from elected office. Sadly the Democratic Party overlooks such trivial relationships, thinking a Cheshire cat grin and vague calls of unity will mask the reality of Obama's past.

Decision 2012

It takes very little time at all for the 24 hour news networks to get started talking about the next presidential election with seriousness. I doubt that Fox waited more than a year after Bush's re-election to begin discussions highlighted with the logo "Decision 2008." Certainly this caters to political junkies that crave the discussion and speculation (if not usually die hard facts) that one hears on news programs.

It was probably before the 2006 congressional elections that the various news networks anointed the nominees. Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton would battle for the presidency. Commentators probed strengths and weaknesses of both, and talked about the supposed eventual losers such as John Edwards and John McCain. Would they be offered vice presidential spots? Obama never entered any serious consideration. By 2007 McCain had dropped from the radar was well.

Then we got reminded that voters decide elections. A plain spoken Arizona senator and an utterly inexperienced Illinois senator shocked the media world.

This election may have been partly a result of the early speculation on Giuliani and Clinton. Candidacies have a momentum all their own. Some build and keep building, others build, climax, and fall. The earlier one's name comes out as a certain candidate, the more likely that voters will get fatigued on the person. Also an early entry gives ample time for the press to dig up the kind of goodies that torpedoed the Giuliani attempt.

One lesson from this campaign season is to try to avoid early discussion of your candidacy. Enter later, make sure you have no foolish blemishes to hide, and try to be experienced and public enough so that people know who you are from the beginning. That is the formula for winning this season, as we will see in November.

Gary Howell wins endorsement of West Virginia Family Foundation

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Gary Howell

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 304-790-9292

Gary Howell wins endorsement of West Virginia Family Foundation

Gary Howell, candidate for the State Senate in the 14^th District, has won the endorsement of the West Virginia Family Foundation PAC, based on his pro-family positions on a variety of topics. Howell was notified of the endorsement on Wednesday.

In announcing the endorsement, Kevin McCoy, WVFF PAC chairman, said, “We commend Gary Howell for his favorable response to our family vales questionnaire and for his strong commitment to protecting tradition family values.”

McCoy added, “Our family values questionnaire is an excellent tool to evaluate a candidate's commitment to those values our organization and its members hold dear. We are please to endorse his candidacy and look forward to working with him in the near future.”

West Virginia Family Foundation is a conservative grassroots organization which seeks to promote pro-family values within the state of West Virginia. Howell said he was honored by the WVFF’s support.

“West Virginia families share values and ideals that are ingrained through a love of God, a belief in the family unit, and a commitment to strong communities,” said Howell. “In the State Senate, I’ll fight for those values, and I’ll be a voice for hard working families across the district.”

Howell is owner and operator of Howell Automotive in Keyser, a leading supplier of auto parts. In 2003, Gary was named “Exporter of the Year” by the U.S. Small Business Administration. He was honored by the West Virginia Motor Sports Council in 2005 for promoting West Virginia across the country. He was also honored with the Governors Commendation for International Market Entry 2007, in recognition for completing sales with the Philippines, South Africa, Aruba, Belgium, Greece, Spain and Sweden.

The 14^th Senate district covers all or parts of the counties of Barbour, Grant, Mineral, Monongalia, Preston, Taylor and Tucker.

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Obama's Chicago Problem

West Virginians will be very familiar with this kind of situation. When people from a certain political party want support for a statewide election, they must make a pilgrimage to see people they would probably rather not deal with (or should want to avoid anyway.) The southern coalfield bosses with their cheesy nicknames and tradition of corruption have helped manipulate results for politicians willing to "play ball" for many decades now. Some embrace the corruption, others do only what they must to get what they need. Few walk away untarnished.

Chicago is Southern West Virginia writ large. More money, more ruthless operators, and more sleaze. The main difference is that Southern West Virginia bosses may be corrupt, but none of them turned against their country.

Obama's biggest Chicago problem involves William Ayers. Today he has been embraced by left wing academics as an anti-war hero. In the 1960s and 70s he helped to organize and lead the notorious Weather Underground. This group targeted the US Capitol and police officers with the same kinds of bombs Al Quaeda uses in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ayers claims that his only regret lay in the fact that they were not more effective (i.e. violent.) Obama worked with Ayers on the board of a Chicago foundation and has been described by many as a friend of Ayers. A meeting with Ayers helped to kick off Obama's original Senate run. Robert C. Byrd was blackballed from consideration for national office because of his ties to domestic terrorism; now Obama has been shown to have ties as well.

Another problem lies in close Obama ties to disreputable slumlords in Chicago. He bought a house in Chicago under market value with a mortgage deal that average Americans could only dream about. These Obama friends are notorious in Chicago for providing substandard housing, at times they failed to keep the heat on for their poor tenants during the harsh Chicago winters. Obama jumped on McCain for not knowing how many houses he and his wife owned. However McCain used one of those houses to care for a child in need. Obama did not even use one room in his multi-million dollar mansion to house his half brother who lives in a Kenya hut on less than a dollar a month.

Corruption, lack of compassion, and questionable competence continue to erode the Obama candidacy. The careful Clinton orchestration of the Democratic convention indicate that they are looking past the looming Democratic disaster of 2008 to a candidacy for Hillary at the end of John McCain's tenure in office. Meanwhile Barack Obama has gone from utopian uniter to just another corrupt Chicago political hack without the effectiveness of someone like "Old Man" Daley.

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By the way, take some time to visit www.nomomojo.org This site keeps you up to date on the campaign of Russ Weeks and the growing reasons why we need change at the top in West Virginia.

China possibly cheating...No way

I love the investigations from The Fourth Medal on Yahoo! investigating the untold stories at the Olympics. The Chinese gymnast who is underage, the digitally enhanced fireworks during the opening ceremonies, the girl who lip-synced during the opening ceremonies because she was prettier than the girl with the great voice, Chinese gymnasts falling during their event and still winning a medal over an American with a nearly perfect vault, and more.

But, is anyone really surprised that the Chinese would cheat? This is the country that makes children's toys out of lead paint and breaks our patents and copyrights. Want to buy a movie before it premiers in theatres...the Chinese can help. Why would it be a stretch to win at all costs in the Olympics? Sure they have a great medal count, but how many of those medals are in straight forward competitions. Take out the judging which is subject to human error and influence, where do they stand in pure one on one competitions? Not too great at that point. Of course, the judgement sports have always been subject to speculation

Olympic Dreams

Growing up in Texas I was involved in very high level swimming. At age 10 I was a part of one of the countries fastest relay teams. We coasted through the Texas State Championships, swam twice a day in the summers, and really had a great time together. When I moved to Ohio, the swimming program was less focused and I drifted out of the sport. I picked it back up and competed in the Ohio state championships in high school. From there I was fortunate to experience just enough college level training to realize that I wasn't interested in committing that much of my life to the sport. Clearly I am no Michael Phelps. Heck, I wouldn't even have to get into the pool to prove that to anyone, I could be identified as not being anywhere in the same league simply standing by the side of the pool in a swimsuit. Unlike golf where I can dress the part, a Speedo swimsuit quickly betrays my lack of training.

When the dream was gone, I was able to simply walk away with my head held high because it had been a decision not to pursue that interest anymore. In America, we get that choice. There has been some coverage of the Chinese Olympic machine, but much is glossed over. I expect that one brave journalist will come home to write their memoirs about what they observed in the Chinese athletes. I heard some dialog during the gymnastics portion about a Chinese athlete who had been put into the program at age 3. This isn't like in America where you go to football practice then go home to your parents, it's a full-time away from home program. During her early teen years (prime competition age for a Chinese athlete...against the rules, but prime age nonetheless) she desperately wanted to go home and quit. Her parents told her to stay because of what it would mean to her family if she stayed. When I wanted to quit swimming my parents told me I could quit at age 13, but they emphasized that they wanted me to learn the importance of commitment and seeing things that I start through to the end. It was about a lesson.

I am thankful that I was able to make a choice and pursue the life of my choosing. Perhaps being forced to compete could have one day yielded me an Olympic trial, but how many athletes were forced to dedicate themselves to the programs only to fizzle out in the end. I am sure that they were gracefully told they were wasting space in the pool because they wouldn't be one of the top three. I will take freedom and be accountable for my decisions over forced success anyday.

Mollohan's Memory

In Preston County recently, Congressman Alan Mollohan spoke at length on the need for a national energy policy. High gas and other fuel prices are the result of the nation lacking a sound plan and of course you know who, as usual, is to blame.

Maybe Mollohan and other Democrats forgot that in George W. Bush's first term he pushed hard on the need for an energy plan. His administration warned that unless the country expanded its access to domestic oil supplies, we could face shortages or severe price hikes in the future. Democrats and environmentalists produced staunch opposition while weak willed Republicans wilted under the pressure. (Shelley Moore Capito thankfully supported the president.)

Over and over again President Bush pushed his energy ideas and warned about the crisis to come. No one listened. Even when gas prices started a steep rise, no one listened. Yes America was short sighted, but do not count President Bush, Congresswoman Capito, and a few others with political courage among them.

West Virginia Democrats are now stuck in the unenviable position of opposing drilling on a few thousand of the many millions of acres in ANWAR while supporting widespread mountaintop removal in West Virginia. White tailed deer flourish here despite the mining, interstates, and cities, but we are to believe that reindeer would perish in Alaska with much less development.

Consistency alone demands that Alan Mollohan and other West Virginia Democrats back the president on this issue. Fairness dictates that they stop blasting the one man who constantly urged Congress to act on energy before it was too late.

Observations from Flyover

Recently I read an article in the London Times about Obama not doing well in polling in the rural south. In fact they say Obama’s elitist campaign alienates the south. It is not just the rural south; it is all the rural areas of the country that people fly over going from major city to major city, the snobby like to call it “Flyover.”

In flyover we trust in personal responsibility, we believe government is usually more cause of a problem than solution and we believe the framers of The Constitution never intended it to be a living document.

We believe that government assistance should only get you through the rough times and not be a life style that last from birth to death. We don’t like our taxes supporting people that never work. At the same time most of us in flyover will come to your aid when you need it. We will help move furniture out of your house as the water rises; we will pull your car out of a ditch in the middle of a snow storm and an invite you in for hot chocolate. We are apt to have volunteer fire departments, not paid fire departments. We are members of Rotary, Kiwanis & Ruritan. We support the boy & girl scouts, the Food Pantry, the United Way and many other organizations. We loaded up food, clothes and blankets and drove to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Katrina before we were asked because we knew our neighbors would need help.

We are patriots. We volunteer for military service to defend the nation at a higher rate that other areas of the nation. Our volunteers don’t get stuck in Iraq; they volunteer to go to defend our way of life.

We are not bitter, but we do cling to our religion. We believe in God. We believe in religious freedom. We know there is no separation of church and state clause in the constitution. There is a clause in the constitution states the government shall not "prohibit the free exercise" of religion. We believe that clause allows us to put baby Jesus and the wise men on the courthouse lawn as long as we allow other religions a similar display. We feel the Christian religion is under attack.

We keep and bear arms because we like to hunt and by the time the State Police or Sheriff get out of bed in the middle of the night more than an hour may have gone. Lot’s of flyover doesn’t have 24 hr police coverage. The intruder could be a burglar or even a bear, but we are quite capable of holding whatever it is at bay until authorities arrive. In flyover we are well armed and crime is low. In the cities citizens are not well armed and crime is high. That correlation is not lost on us.

While Hollywood likes to portray those in flyover as hillbillies, country bumpkins, rednecks and extras from Deliverance. The facts are our rural schools tend to have higher test scores than those in the cities. Our colleges and universities turn out Rhodes Scholars.

We are tired of high fuel prices. In flyover high fuel prices affect us more than they do for the cities. In many of our areas the bus lines quit running in the 1950’s and we haven’t seen a passenger train in about as long. Electric cars have a limited range, a range that is shorter than the round trip to work and back. We too have hour long work commutes, but those commutes are at 60 miles an hour. We like the idea of drilling for our own oil. We recognize an increase in supply reduces price. We don’t drive cars as an option we drive them as a necessity.

We are not environmentalist, but we are conservationist. We don’t visit the mountains, the desert and the plains for a week or two in the summer, we live in the mountains, the desert and the plains. We enjoy their beauty everyday and we will protect it, but we will also use it. We know our nation needs coal for power, wood for paper and furniture, and oil for our vehicles and industry. We will provide it, but we live here and will not destroy our backyard. We have learned from our own history.

The London Times story got it right. Obama’s elitist attitude fails. We want a leader that understands that rural areas have different needs than those of the cities and neither should be accommodated at the expense of the other. We want a leader that is our equal, not our superior. We are a government of the people and by the people. We understand something the founding fathers understood; all men are created equal, even in Flyover.

The Wisdom of Margaret Thatcher

I just started reading Margaret Thatcher: The Downing Street Years. First of all, this autobiography comes from a simply amazing individual. Thatcher's precise writing articulates a clarity of vision rarely seen in politics, but certainly shared by some of her contemporaries. It cannot be just coincidence that great visionary leaders such as this Prime Minister, Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, and Chancellor Helmuth Kohl brought their principles and courage together to save democracy and peacefully annihilate the Soviet Empire.

The introduction of Thatcher's book strikes me as unnerving though. She describes the sharp decline suffered by Great Britain after World War II. Certainly some of that came from Franklin Roosevelt's rather predatory policies towards Britain during World War II, but most of the blame lies with the British themselves. Simply put, they lost faith in capitalism and succumbed to the utopian dreams of the Left. Will our country follow the same path despite the fact that we have enjoyed our most productive twenty-five years in history?

The welfare state bloated to the point where 30% of the British people worked for the government in some form. Heavy taxation destroyed what was in the early 1900s one of the most dynamic economies on earth. The taxes passed after World War II were very similar to the ruin that Barack Obama promises our entrepreneurial class. Government regulation forced the supposedly free market into following policies planned out by the government. By 1979 strikes paralyzed the economy and the dead even lay unburied. Such was the success of Eurosocialism in Britain.

Thatcher spoke of the Soviet Union in an interesting way. She claimed that they imposed upon themselves economic backwardness and as a result lost power. What a fascinating observation. Self-imposed backwardness is not inherent only to totalitarian regimes. Look at the current United States where we risk our economy and national security because environmentalists will not let us develop a few thousand acres out of the many millions that compose ANWAR. At least the Soviets held themselves hostage to an ideal, as mistaken as it was, it was an ideal. We hold ourselves hostage to reindeer.

She had some interesting points to make about Jimmy Carter. Thatcher said he was a likeable man with good intentions. Carter's windfall profits tax on the oil industry, passed during an OPEC price hike, caused shortages and lines at the gas pumps. He was accountable to a Democratic Party that sought to minimize as much as possible the threat posed by the USSR. In other words, Carter was in over his head. How similar was Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama? The main difference lies in the fact that Obama is beholden to anti-American moneymen such as George Soros. The scary thing about the modern day Carter is that Obama's supporters think American weakness is good for the world. Why else would they continue to oppose reforms that would strengthen our economy? Like Carter, Obama merely says that we must get used to a lower standard of living. Luckily, Carter begat Reagan and America was saved before it was too late.

The road towards a bright future runs through the Republican Party. It can only happen if Republicans and Democrats that believe in free market economics and a strong America band together to continue working towards less government and more opportunity. This takes the kind of courage shown by people willing to take criticism and even hatred. Republicans remain respected over time when they put principle in front of popularity, just like Margaret Thatcher.

Communist China Exposed By Olympics

Fawning journalists for weeks leading up to these Olympic games tried to convince us that the advent of the Chinese century had come upon us. Too many people, too many resources, too much to compete with.

Not long ago we got a glimpse of what Communist China was about. Tibetan protesters found themselves brutally beaten by Chinese police for daring to question the government. The Olympic shenanigans revealed much more. Chinese Communism suffers from a serious self-esteem problem.

What else explains their strange shenanigans? The lip syncing national anthem singer surprised a lot of people. It shouldn't have. Totalitarian societies from Nazi Germany to Soviet Russia put more of a premium on physical achievements and appearance. Crush a seven year old girl by telling her she is not cute enough to show the world? No problem. The fake fireworks displays were also a sad case of putting on an image to hide insecurity. The cheating in gymnastics reflects a culture accepting and even encouraging of corruption as long as it leads to desired ends. Because corruption encourages law breaking and greed, no society so saturated with it can ever advance too far.

The pollution, euphemistically called "haze" by some announcers, is much worse than one would see in a US city. Environmentalists warn that this is a view to the future if we do not radically change. In reality this is a look back in time. Communist governments do not have the same standards of clean air that capitalist democracies enjoy. We may not be perfect, but free market America produces more goods, more efficiently, with less waste and pollution than Communist China.

Worse for China is the massive amounts of empty seats shown at the games. Due to a fundamental misunderstanding of economics, they allowed scalpers to purchase large amounts of tickets to be sold again at very high prices. Tourists to the games cannot obtain tickets to even the most pedestrian events.

China's Olympic sized image problem has burst through the facade of progress. Any system that stifles individuality and steals from the productive to maintain the non productive will never compete effectively with real capitalist societies.

No Time For Newbies

Russia's move into the Caucasian Republic of Georgia demonstrates that a new challenge has started shaping up to American interests around the world.

Russia has restarted its traditional drive to the south, a historical expansion dating back to the 1400s. That country sees the belt of smaller nations to its south as its own national playground, a historical reality that should make Iran, Pakistan, and other nations very nervous. Certainly at one time nations did claim "spheres of influence" and asserted the right to total predominance in those regions and the US was no different. However it is 2008, not 1908. Times have changed.

Some commentators linked the drive against Georgia to the war in Chechnya that Putin prosecuted to success in the beginning of his presidency. The two situations could not be more different. Chechnya is a part of Russian territory inhabited by a separatist ethnic group. The Chechen War was fought to maintain the integrity of Russian territory and to prevent like minded Muslim minorities in Russia from also fighting to leave. Georgia is a sovereign nation invaded by Russia.

Russia through this invasion intends to reassert itself as a Great Power who can project its strength at times of its choosing. The drive by the US to incorporate Georgia into the NATO alliance certainly played a role in Russia's decision to flex its muscles at this point. Now that Russia has been well-fed by oil revenues and is led by a prime minister who desires to bring back Russia's imperial glory, the United States must have experienced leadership to deal with this new challenge.

Now is no time for a neophyte president from a party that sees foreign affairs as issues that distract from social engineering and tax hikes. Russia has issued the world a challenge. Nothing would make them happier than to see a newbie elected to the American presidency.

English at the Olympics

One of the debates we have had and continue to have in our country is whether or not to make English our official language. I have always been intrigued because in the past it has always been assumed by people that I have spoken to and met that English is the main language. I have never begun a conversation asking "Do you speak English?"

Now, as I watch the Beijing Olympics I am amazed to see that the Olympics has no problem with making English the official language, even in a country whose language uses a completely different alphabet. I know that technically the official languages are French, English, and Chinese but what language is posted all over the venues? Everywhere you look you read B-e-i-j-i-n-g 2-0-0-8. I don't know Chinese, but I would be willing to bet that is not written in Chinese. There is no secondary translation, no Chinese version of Beijing 2008 next to the script, just English.

Then there are the uniforms. I was especially humored to see Chinese athletes walking around in white uniforms with big red letters C-H-I-N-A. English has become the most universally accepted language. Yet, we debate that it should be the official language in our country. Athletes from numerous countries are interviewed and fluently speak English.

Fear and Loathing in Charleston, West Virginia

It must already be desperation time for the Charleston Gazette's drive to oust Representative Shelley Moore Capito from office.

Columnist Jim Haught last week produced a long and rambling column, more like a list, of alleged Moore misdeeds. Some of these came to light as a result of the paper's undying obsession with the popular Republican governor. The column raises interesting questions about journalism in West Virginia.

The obvious pride shown by Haught and his employer in taking down Arch Moore should raise a question in anyone's mind (anyone who does not live in a cave or who is not a non thinking left wing liberal) about the other side. Journalists pay lip service to objectivity, but when has the Gazette ever written an expose of a Democratic politician? If you read the pages of the Charleston morning paper, GOP misdeeds happen every day, but Democrats are merely victims of Republican vendettas.

What about the Gazette's undying love affair with John F. Kennedy? Interestingly, as a side note, Kennedy's policies look much more like Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush than Obama or Kerry, but the Gazette does not often deal in inconvenient facts. Put a (D) after Reagan or Bush and they'd be heroes worthy of beatification in the Gazette's partisan eyes. While Kennedy's foreign and economic policies often made sense, his West Virginia record was fairly mixed. He brought in the Appalachian corridor system, but to become president had to lie, cheat, and corrup[t his way into office. If you read Dr. Allen Loughry's account of the 1960 presidential primary, you'd probably figure that at the very least, Ted Kennedy (who led the campaign in Southern West Virginia) should have spent some time in a federal prison instead of the US Senate. Loughry, by the way, was a Caperton administration official, not a GOP hatchet man.

If you do not believe him, read Raymond Chafin's Just Good Politics. This autobiography of a Democratic boss in Logan County was written with the help of liberal writer Topper Sherwood. A subsequent and more detailed account written later by Keith Davis was forwarded by Earl Ray Tomblin. They discuss shenanigans that make Moore's alleged offenses look fairly petty, but presented them in a nostalgic, back home sort of manner. Of course Sherwood recently wrote a fawning commentary for the Gazette about Obama. The gist of the book is that Chafin was just helping the folks who helped him like good politicians always do. In reality, Chafin accepted thousands of dollars to buy precincts for John F. Kennedy in his primary campaign. He also used the State Road Commission as a place to reward the politically faithful. Loughry blames this campaign for introducing a whole new scale of corruption to the state political system.

As for Governor Moore, the Gazette never balanced the equation of his political career with his achievements as they certainly have with Democratic politicians who ended up in jail. Moore fought for and got an expanded interstate highway system, for example. During the Flood of 1985 he acted aggressively to secure federal funds, to help the afflicted, and got people's lives back to normal as quickly as possible. Instead of wringing his hands waiting for the president to act (like the Democratic governor of Louisiana during Katrina) Moore did everything the law allowed and then some.

It is time for state GOP press outlets to start shining the lights a little more closely on Democratic politicians and their past. It would only be fair. Questions and rumors about unfair elections have surrounded a few Democrats for years. The people are probably kind of curious to see what would come up.

We won't see this from the Gazette. They are too busy trying to use the problems of twenty and thirty years ago to unseat a popular and effective congresswoman guilty of nothing. It is typical of the Charleston paper to apply this kind of guilt by association tactic, especially since it looks like Capito will cruise to yet another strong victory in November.

WV Young Republicans Organized for 2008 Election

WV Young Republicans Organized for 2008 Election

August 11^th, 2008 Contact: Lisa Peana

304-730-4599

Kenova, WV – The WV Young Republicans are poised for the General Election. "Our organization will lay the foundation for tomorrows leaders here in West Virginia,” said Ashley Stinnett, State Chairman, "We are the oldest youth political organization in the nation - which is why it is so important to get our youth involved."

The organization consists of:

Ashley Stinnett- State Chairman and holds a BA from Marshall. Served as Chairman for Wayne Co. YR's and as National Committeeman for WVYRs 2003-2006. Served as interim campaign director for Mike Teets for WV Comm. of Agr. May-July 08. Works in film, journalism, and public relations.

Lisa Peana – serves as Executive Director for the YR’s. She recently served as President of the State Republican Club where she over-saw the recruitment of candidates and is currently a Candidate for the House of Delegates in District 17.

Mike Ankrom – Regional Coordinator. Formerly worked for the WVGOP and as a field rep for Bush/Cheney 04. Currently, he is the Campaign Director for Dan Greear. He holds a BA and Masters from Marshall University.

April Black-Cabell Co officer and Treasurer. April is a Marshall Graduate and works for a Huntington based Law Firm.

Nora Ankrom- Secretary for the WVYR's and recent Marshall Graduate.

Sara Schofield- National Committeewoman with the WVYR's and holds a Bachelor’s and Masters in Biology from Marshall. She is a Putnam County resident originally from Charleston.

"Our main purpose (as an organization) is getting Republicans elected in the Fall. We share the same notion that 75 years of a one party system has crippled every facet of our state from education to jobs,” added Stinnett.

The Young Republicans is the oldest youth political organization in the nation. Members include volunteers and political activists under the age of 40.

The State YR’s Headquaters is located in Kenova, WV. Those interested in volunteering can email: acscj1980@aol.com.

Have You Seen These People?

The following respected West Virginians have come up missing in the last few months. If anyone sees any reports on these people's whereabouts in the state media, Katie bar the door because it is a sure sign the Apocalypse is on the way.

Russ Weeks, Republican Nominee for Governor: This former Vietnam vet and state senator published a book and has toured the state using personal money. He has probably used a much higher percentage of his assets to run than some multi-millionaire incumbents. Weeks has strong positions against cronyism and corruption, but on any given day could be pushed off the news pages by reports of a cat stuck in a tree. Distinguishing characteristics include blunt honesty and a willingness to challenge the status quo.

Charles Minimah, Republican Nominee for Secretary of State: Another veteran, a successful businessman, and another candidate spending more time meeting the people than his opponent. While his opponent spent her youth in a mascot costume, Minimah was serving his country. Minimah is well known for promoting black heritage in the Kanawha Valley and is determined to help the handicapped have better access to voting. When the national media bashed West Virginia as a state of racists after the Democratic primary, you might think that proud newspapermen and women would have cited this gentleman as proof positive of the opposite. Distinguishing characteristics include a strong desire to continue Secretary Ireland's reforms and preventing the bosses from getting their rotten influence back.

Dan Greear, Republican Nominee for Attorney General: If you get your political news from Phil Kabler, you might assume that Greear's consultant Vic Sprouse was running for some sort of statewide office. Amazingly, Kabler's vendetta against Sprouse gets more attention than any of these people actually running for office this year. If you get your news from the Wall Street Journal, you know that Greear is West Virginia's best chance to overthrow an attorney general infamous even within his own party for questionable practices. Distinguishing characteristics include tremendous speaking ability and a passion for cleaning up state government and how the attorney general's office operates. If you see trial lawyers wandering around looking for job handouts, you will not find Greear in the vicinity.

J. Michael Teets, Republican Nominee for Commissioner of Agriculture: The entire country is entering a revolution in agri-energy. West Virginia should be poised to take a strong role in creating new products as well as providing raw materials. Teets may not have been in office for many, many, many years. However his home is in Hardy County where the capital city of state poultry production is located. Distinguishing characteristics include amazing energy and the constant presence and support of his wife, Joyce.

Jay Wolfe, Republican Nominee for United States Senate: Wolfe can be spotted on the correct side of energy debates. He supports the expansion of drilling for oil to reduce prices and foreign dependence. Wolfe also supports reforming the tax code to promote prosperity for all and making revenue collection more fair. Jay Wolfe is pretty easy to spot. He stands head and shoulder above a lot of politicians.

Beth Walker, Republican Nominee for West Virginia State Supreme Court of Appeals: Walker is an amazing individual among those seeking the position of justice. She regards the law as her guide rather than special interests or personal whims. When she joins Brent Benjamin on the bench, the state will finally have a strong and solid group on the bench dedicated to interpreting law correctly and fairly. Walker has legal experience in a wide variety of issues.

If you just read state newspapers (outside of The State Journal, The Charleston Daily Mail, the Mineral Daily News Tribune, and a few others) you won't know that these people even exist because of the bias that permeates the profession. It is up to you, the voters, to go out and educate yourselves since the press won't do it for you. Look up their websites. See what they stand for as individuals. Read non partisan blogs such as Lincoln Walks at Midnight or partisan outlets such as Change West Virginia or The Republican Gazette. In all these places you will see information that will balance the bias of the state news establishment. You know that every vote for the people described above is a vote against seventy-five years of Ruling Party mediocrity.

The People Behind the Scenes Often Make the Difference

Politics, like almost anything else, usually reveals only a small percentage of its actual workings. Television, print, and electronic media show the candidates as they go from here to there, meeting and greeting. Most people do not understand how it takes a physical and financial toll on most candidates to interact with the people and find out what they want and need from their officials.

No one ever sees the hard working and dedicated souls that work behind the scenes to make all this possible. Few politicians have the time or the skill to organize large scale campaigns. They often have to travel to several events in the same day and remember which people are at what place. If a candidate is lucky, they have someone carefully scanning the media, finding out when events are, and making schedules for them. Also most candidates need money. Most in our state live on the same middle class salaries as many of the rest of us and need help from the people. Many would be amazed at how important each candidate considers every donation even and sometimes especially the $10 and $20 ones. Once, Governor Arch Moore received a small donation from an elderly woman that he knew lived on a low fixed income. He tried to return it to her but was met with refusal. She wanted everyone to know that she supported him. Candidates strongly appreciate every bit of support they get.

If candidates are fortunate, they have dedicated volunteers arranging fundraisers for them. One of the best in our region at mastering the fine art of scheduling and fund raising is Christy Barnett of New Creek. In her third year of political work, she has made a tremendous impact in local and state races and has become indispensable to many Republican office seekers. She is also one of the district delegates to the State Republican Executive Committee.

Another important person worth mentioning is Tommy Phillips, President of the Harrison County Republican Club. He tirelessly labors at making the state GOP website one of the most effective and efficient political site in the country while constantly keeping it up to date. Under his control, it has grown into one of the top sources for news and events in the state party. Phillips also manages events for his club and assists the party directly in a variety of capacities. Phillips is definitely part of the glue that holds the West Virginia GOP organization together.

These behind the scenes warriors get little credit, but deserve many accolades. Thanks to all of them who sacrifice their time and energy to bring the Republican Party success in West Virginia.

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Home sales rose 5.3% nationally in the last report issued. With the nation still in a growth phase, home sales showing signs of life, and gasoline prices starting to drop, it will be interesting to see what the main issues will be in two months should these trends continue.

The New Yellow Peril? Probably not.

Western alarmists have made a cottage industry for over a century in warning Americans and Europeans of "the Yellow Peril." In most variations, some Asian country uses underhanded dealings to gain an advantage over the West. Soon the world will be dominated by China/Japan/India, etc.

Twenty years ago we feared Japan. Japanese work ethic and aggressive investments were going to take over the world and make the US a second rate power. Paul Kennedy in 1988 ended his well received Decline and Fall of the Great Powers with this prediction. Guess what? It never happened. The Japanese overextended themselves, suffered the debilitating effects of a real estate bubble the size of Mount Everest, and have not really seen tremendous economic expansion since the early 1990s. Japan's closed economic system prevented them from growing past a certain point because it prevented truly fair trade. Plus, US industry got its act together and competed more strongly than Japan expected.

Now the new "peril" lies in China. It has over one billion souls, boundless resources, and a will to regain a position of respect not held by them since the 1700s. We risk being fooled again by their tremendous growth numbers and predictions by some experts. Chinese growth does occur at 10% compared to 3% in good years for the US. However in simple numbers, our 3% growth is 3% of a very massive GDP. China's GDP is nothing near ours, so their 10% is actually quite puny. The main problem for China lies in its corrupt and worn out brand of Communism. Like Poland in the 1970s, everyone knows Communism is finished as a system. No one believes in it anymore. However the social betterment promised by Communism has been the historical justification for secret police establishments, torture, and lack of freedom.

The good news is that China has nurtured a growing middle class. Historically, middle classes seek material gains and political freedoms. Chinese middle class members have seen material gains, but political freedom has not occurred yet. Additionally economic opportunities are not fairly open to all. Much of this is reminiscent of France in 1788.

That leads us to the bad news. The rickety and corrupt China that currently confronts us is stable and seeks little more than a chance to expand its economy and be a leader in East Asia. A revolution on one hand would be good because it would free the people. Hopefully it would not lead to a redux of France in the 1790s, a bloodthirsty revisionist state that confronted the entire world violently. China has a historical hatred of Japan and seeks territory from Russia and India. Revolutionaries could potentially seize on these nationalist issues. Luckily it also has little history of seeking to expand beyond its current frontiers. However we must not forget that they have nuclear missiles.

A revolution would be appropriate given Chinese political philosophy. Their mandate of heaven, loosely like our Declaration of Independence, claims that divine Providence will help the people sweep away a government when it is no longer beneficial. Our government must be in a position to anticipate these kinds of events when they occur and channel them in positive directions.

China has a lot of developing and growing pains to experience before they become a true world leader. Structural problems in their economy and social system will prevent them in their current incarnation from becoming a more powerful nation than the United States. The biggest threat they pose comes not from what they are now, but what they could become.

Politicians win when they put the American People First

In the 1990's the Republican Party took control of the US Senate and House when they promised to put the needs of the American people first. Unfortunately once in power they forgot that there primary job was to take care of the nation first and not the special interest groups and the American voter took away their majority in the 2006 election.

The Democrats have not learned from the mistakes of the Republican Congress and are now putting the needs of the special interest ahead of the American people and the people are not happy. Some in the Democratic party are starting to realize that. Surprisingly extreme left wing group, MoveOn.org, is warning members they are loosing the energy argument. In an e@mail to supporters they wrote, "Here's the truth:Right now, progressives are losing this argument." They don't realize they are wrong, just that they are loosing the argument. I can tell them the reason they are loosing the argument is because they are WRONG!

Last week when Congress walked out on the American people without doing anything to help with the current energy crisis. Many in congress had had enough. Republicans have been staying in Washington protesting speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's choice to ignore the plight of the average American. American Solutions held a press conference at the capital on Wednesday.

Unlike the anti-energy elites that have a stranglehold on the Democratic Party, the American people clearly understand that laws of economics still apply. If you increase the supply of any product that price will drop. Drilling for more oil is only part of the answer, but it will bring oil prices down. Ironically Paris Hilton is right on energy policy, we need to move forward on all fronts. We need to drill now, but we also need to explore alternatives such as bio-fuels, wind and solar.

The Republican Party is on the side of the American people on energy policy and for any political party being on the American peoples side is the right place to be. The Republican party should not do what is right for the party, it should do what is right for the American people. If you do what is right for the American people, then it will automatically be what is correct for the party.

The Republican party has been the party of common sense. We used common sense solutions that helped the average American. We got away from the in the 1990's drunk with power. Now we have an opportunity to return to the core values of the American people and the party. Standing firm on drilling for our own oil to bring down fuel prices and help the American people is the right side of the issue.

Howell launches radio ad across district

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Gary Howell

Thursday, August 7, 2008 304-790-9292

Howell launches radio ad across district

Gary Howell, state Senate candidate in the 14th District, is launching a multi-county radio ad touting his belief in lower taxes, stronger education and protecting gun rights.

The ad will play on multiple stations and reach most voters across the seven-county district.

“I’m running an aggressive campaign to take my message directly to the voters,” said Howell. “As our campaign progresses, the citizens of Tucker, Preston, Taylor, Mineral, Barbour, Grant, and Monongalia counties will have a chance to talk with me personally and hear my message delivered in a variety of mediums.”

To listen to Gary’s ad, visit www.garyhowell2008.com

Realistic

West Virginia Congressman Nick Joe Rahall spent some time on the political hot seat recently, getting a good "grilling" series of questions from President George W. Bush about energy policy. The two spent quite some time together, but Rahall came away saying the president was "realistic" about the fact that a Democrat controlled Congress will not lift a finger to help America bring down the cost of energy.

Who is more realistic here? House Republicans stayed in session as House Democrats went on vacation. Republicans, including Shelley Moore Capito, remained in Washington to hammer home the point that Americans want action now. Our prosperity has traditionally come from inexpensive transportation. MoveOn.org has predictably protested the GOP determination to continue the debate in the absence of their opponents. Certainly images of this will end up on commercials this fall. Amazingly, Nancy Pelosi has taken a hard stance on the issue while encouraging House Democrats to show independence by publicly disagreeing with her. To Republicans energy is serious business. To Democrats it is yet another political game.

The Republican Party continues to show the American people its commitment to helping boost the economy (which by the way never went into recession as predicted) while bringing down the high cost of energy. Democrats continue to put the unlikely potential of environmental problems ahead of the real world trouble faced by Americans daily.

Nick Casey, chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party, must not be aware of his own party's reluctance to do anything. He criticized Senator John McCain's visit to the Marshall University football team, saying he should talk energy prices instead of football. Casey should explain that to House Democrats who refuse to move on energy and would rather go on vacation than even talk about the issue.

Interesting Military Statistics

Thanks to Anne Palmer who sent me a link to a report recently put out by the Federation of American Scientists. This is a non partisan group that often publishes on the internet some fascinating material on the militaries of the world, among other topics.

Some of the numbers that one sees are very interesting. In the three year span that opened the Clinton Administration, 3,328 American service personnel lost their lives. These represented the worst three years of losses during his presidency. Incidentally, this was the high tide of post Cold War budget cutting as well. The highest three years of US military casualties during the George W. Bush Administration in this report (which only extends to 2006) number 5,489. So yes the Bush administration's number is higher; however we must remember that we were fighting a tenacious enemy on two separate fronts in the Bush years.

Amazingly in the top three years of accident related deaths, the Clinton Administration's worst three years totalled 1,714 while Bush's presidency saw 1,825. In time of war, one would expect higher levels of stress and long term deployments to lead to more accidents. They have, but not by a substantially higher number. The figures for self-inflicted incidents are eye opening as well. The media has continually reminded us that our forces are in a seriously strained condition. Undoubtedly the horrors of war do take their toll on each man or woman exposed to them. However, the top three years of self-inflicted incidents during Clinton's term total 718 while Bush's top three years in the study were 579. Almost 150 fewer than in Clinton's first three years of office.

These numbers do not say anything personally about Bill Clinton; however since Democrats including his wife have continually bashed the military's performance at war under Bush, it is worthwhile to listen to what they tell us. Under George W. Bush the military has shown itself to be at a peak of efficiency and effectiveness. This is the result of the pride shown by each serviceman and the leadership demonstrated by officers as well as the determination to see the job finished correctly and effectively.

The report can be read in its entirety at the link below.

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf

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Every day we see Barack Obama shoot himself in the foot. Now he needs to explain why tapping into the strategic oil reserve is a good method to lower gas prices and alleviate suffering now, but tapping into the massive pools off our coastlines and under ANWAR will do no good for decades. Simply put, Obama has figured out that he must deal with John McCain's arguments of substance in some fashion.

Mineral County Republican Candidates Support the Farming Community

Republican candidates in Mineral County support the Ag community by purchasing champion livestock last week at the Mineral County Fair. Above, from left, Sheriff candidate Paul Sabin, Assessor Rose Ann Main, Senate candidate Gary Howell, Delegate Bob Schadler, Amanda Michael, Del. Alan Evans, and Sen. Dave Sypolt with Michael's reserve champion feeder calf. Below, the same group poses with Brent Ebert after purchasing Ebert's reserve champion sheep. Both animals were donated back and reauctioned, and the money given to a 4-H college scholarship fund.