So Easy A Cave Republican Can Do It.

Finding Contributors to the West Virginia Republican Party, it is posted every month by the 20^th.

Use a Search Engine and type: Federal Elections Commission or just go to www.fec.gov

On the left of the screen move your curser over “Campaign Finance Reports and Date, the Search the Disclosure Database, then Candidate and PAC/Party Summaries.

In the Summary Reports Search for name type “Republican” then selected the state “West Virginia” then click Send Query.

On the next screen click “West Virginia Republican Party, Inc.”

That will bring up a screen were you can see the Individual contributions and who gave them. You can click on any number of reports. The data is easy to find. So easy a Cave Republican can do it.

Bald Eagle attends Flag Day Tea Party

Sunday at Grand Central Business Center a Tea Party was held. Turn out was good with over 118 counted in attendance from 2 states and 11 counties, not including a Bald Eagle that circled the group several times. No doubt to give his approval of those gathered to support the Constitution and liberty. The meeting was opened with, "Welcome Patriots, by attending your now on the Department of Homeland Security terrorist watch list." There was a big cheer from the crowd!

Matt Ryan, co-editor of "Unleashing Capitalism: Why Prosperity Stops at the West Virginia Border," gave an excellent speech on Capitalism and how the current steps Congress is taking is hurting our county.

Also Bob Adams said this is a non-political event, but when the President is making mistakes they need to be pointed out. His talk was themed, "If the shoe fits," and when talking about President Obama the shoe fits on a lot of things that are socialism. Dr. Doug McKinney of Clarksburg talked about the military and how there budget is being cut in time of war. We can not do enough for our military.

The microphone was opened up to people in the audience. They were told this is your Tea Party and your time to exercise your right to free speech. Even an Obama supporter took the mic and quoted some scripture. He later told me he disagreed with everything we said and did. I told him, "That's OK, we are supporting your freedom of speech to disagree."

At the end after a benediction given by R. Scott Smith of Terra Alta, WV a Liberty Tree was planted. During the planting it was stated, "While the Founding Fathers hid their meetings from the British Government by holding them at the Liberty Trees, we proudly notify our government this is our Liberty Tree and we disagree with what you are doing and want you to follow the Constitution."

John Sununu gives speech to West Virginia Republican Party

Blast from the Past: The Great American Melting Pot

Keyser Flag Day Tea Party - Sunday June 14th

Date: Sunday, June 14, 2009
Time: 2:00 to 3:00 PM
Location: Grand Centeral Business Center, 1 East Piedmont St.
City: Keyser, WV 26726

Planned Events: Planting of a Liberty Tree

The first Liberty Tree was near Boston Common and was a meeting place for the first patriots. As time went on many towns and cities had their own Liberty Trees for meeting places prior to the Revolution. The new Liberty Tree will be our meeting place and symbol that we wish to return to following the Founding Fathers vision of Liberty.

Featured Speakers:

Dr. Matt E. Ryan, Ph. D.
Charles G. Koch Doctoral Fellow
College of Business & Economics
West Virginia University
Associate editor on "Unleashing Capitalism"

Bob Adams of Charlestown
Business Owner and Patriot

Greg Brown, US Army, Veteran OEF - 2002, OIF - 2003-2004

Parastatals Are Always Problematic

Parastatals are corporate entities either partly controlled by both the public and private sector, or wholly owned by the government. We see them most often in Third World countries, but the United States has seen these combination from time to time in its own history.

In the 1790s the Washington Administration established the Bank of the United States. It served as one of the rare examples of an effectively run parastatal because the government allowed its private partners substantial latitude in its operations (when antagonistic presidents were not trying to eliminate it, that is.) This occurred due to the fact that even Federalists, who supported an assertive federal government, believed in limited government relative to modern liberals.

Modern parastatals include Amtrak and the old West Virginia State ABC stores (in other words, the liquor store.) Neither one turned a profit. How can you not profit from a liquor store chain?!?! Government can find a way, obviously. Like parastatals in the Third World, corruption reared its ugly head with the state liquor store system. Government owned businesses are especially vulnerable to the job ambitions of younger relatives of powerful people. In Africa parastatals employ many hundreds or even thousands more than necessary because people get hired for the wrong reason and cannot be let go.

Britain nationalized many key industries after World War II, only to find that increased costs made it uncompetitive. When government runs business, business decisions become political. It is hard to cut costs in such an environment. As a result, the government run industries hemorrhaged money for decades while producing lower quality products.

Government, excuse me, General Motors now finds itself surviving via a deal with the devil. The White House now controls their operations and if history is any guide, the government will run the company into the ground while subsidizing it with cash from time to time. GM should have split itself into two or three companies with familiar brands that could better maneuver and compete in a fast changing market.

Meanwhile Ford sales are still rising and it has become the belle of the ball of the auto industry. It also has a stronger claim on GM's traditional markets due to its remaining a fully capitalist enterprise.

As soon as the GOP returns to the White House it must undo this Faustian bargain and liberate General Motors.

Time for 3-lane between Saint Cloud and Lincoln Streets?

The center turn lane on most of Mineral Street and US 220 has really helped with traffic flow. It allows for turning traffic to get out of the way, but there is a 3 block section between Saint Cloud and Lincoln Streets that doesn't have a turn lane.

If your traveling north on 220, you find you get stopped a lot for traffic turning onto State Street or Fort Ave, especially when college is in session. The primary reason for not putting the center turn lane in this area was the needed parking for Potomac Valley Hospital. Now that the hospital has moved the parking is no longer needed. With a new paving project is ready to start, maybe it is time complete that final section of 3 lane between Saint Cloud and Lincoln Streets an improve traffic flow through Keyser?

Abortion Doctor Killed

Last weekend Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed in his church while serving as an usher.

To begin with no one should be shot and killed while serving as an usher in church. Regardless of how heinous the target, respect ought to be shown to the house of God. Not even Dr. Joseph Mengele (the Auschwitz in-house doctor that performed experiments on Jewish prisoners) should be cut down in the aisles of a church.

And let's be honest, this guy was heinous. He was one of the few in the United States performing late term abortions, killing the baby after the 21st week of pregnancy. Left wingers will make political hay out of this to try and head off gun rights and anti abortion activists. However the vast majority of anti abortionists decry any violent act against abortion doctors because it only harms the pro life cause.

Pro abortion activists and Tiller's family claimed that a good man was taken down, one that "dedicated his life to providing women with high quality health care." Abortionists prey on unsure and insecure young women, offering them what seems like an easy way out of a tough situation but neglecting to tell them about the years of emotional scarring and suffering.

A child is a gift from God and a test of the body, mind, and spirit. Be a good parent and you cannot fail to emerge a better person in the process. However few would be parents know whether or not they are up to the task until it is sitting in their arms. Then something biological kicks in and you just know you were born to do this most sacred of jobs, regardless of your personal, financial, or any other situation. A human being has the natural right to live. If you don't believe me, check out the Bible and the Declaration of Independence. None of the authors associated with these works would think highly of "Doctor" Tiller and his work.

Count me as one who is shocked and appalled at a shooting inside the bounds of a church, but I have little sympathy for the target. As far as I am concerned he was little better than the aforementioned Dr. Mengele. Both took an oath to "do no harm" and both performed shocking and very painful procedures on human beings that they knew would result in torturous death.

Keyser past appears briefly

Keyser past came back to light for about a day this week. While grinding Armstrong Street for paving, the work crews exposed the original brick street that lies beneath.

NBC does not want to hear any critisism of their bias coverage

He Needs to "Reid" Up on the Meaning of Class

Harry Reid can't stop taking pot shots at former President George W. Bush and his family.

Talk about obsession. George W. Bush has ridden off into the sunset, refrained from offering criticism, despite the floundering nature of his successor and the Democratic Congress, and they still can't lay off of him.

Reid in a recent book recounts a converstion with former Senator Lloyd Bentsen in which the failed candidate for vice president referred to Barbara Bush as a b****. Reid commented that the 43rd president must take after his mother.

W may have exited office with low ratings, but the public always held Barbara Bush in high esteem. Perhaps Reid and others fear the bouce that most ex presidents (except Jimmy Carter) receive when they leave office and people gain historical perspective. As democracy continues to survive in Iraq and people figure out that Congress had more to do with the downturn than the president, Bush will be more appreciated. Attacking "Bar" (as her husband affectionately referred to her, is a cheap shot probably designed to bring her son out of his post presidential silence.

Regardless, combine this sort of statement with those of Ms. "white men cannot make good decisions" Sotomayor, Mr. "clinging to guns and religion" Obama, and the general goofiness that drops from the mouth of the vice president and you get a pattern of liberal lack of respect. Democrats may jump on the inflammatory rhetoric of Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reily, but those are not government officials.

Harry Reid is classless and polls seem to indicate that his constituents are starting to agree.

A Bridge for Evacuation

Prior to the 1950's if there was a train derailment on the tracks through Keyser there was a way for those on the north side of the tracks to escape. The could simply drive across the bridge into Maryland. For the past 50 years that has not been an option. When Memorial Bridge was completed at set of stairs were added for evacuation in an emergency. That is fine if you are able bodied, but not if you have health issues. A question ask is will the new bridge even have a set of stairs for evacuation of the north end? There is another escape route, the Porter St tunnel, but if the water is high it will be blocked as well.

While nothing has happened for the past 50 years it does not mean that nothing can happen. Consider trains hall many types of hazardous materials; Explosives, Chlorine Gas, Fuel and things we many not even want to think about, then it would be very easy for a train to derail and block both crossings which are only about 350 feet apart. What if the derailment causes a fire on the north end? Most modern fire and rescue equipment can't fit through the Porter Street tunnel. Many homes could be lost while trying to build an emergency rail crossing in a different location.

The intent of this story is not to be alarmist or predict catastrophe, but to make a simple suggestion. The city could take an opportunity to look in to building a small bridge to McCoole at the end of Main Street where the original US 220 bridge once stood. It may not be something that is economically feasible, but if we don't check we will never know. Perhaps there is money available from Homeland Security to provide and escape route. Perhaps not, but if we never ask the question, then we will never know. Maybe we should just ask to see if it is something that is feasible to add to our community.

Jon Voight: Obama False Prophet

R. Scott Smith Leads in WV GOP Congressional Primary Poll

In an early non-scientific poll R. Scott Smith has a strong showing among voters. 73% of those polls said they were likely to vote for R. Scott Smith of Terra Alta in next years Republican Congressional Primary. Cindy Hall, a California transplant currently living in Wheeling, garnered 23% in the poll with former Parksersburg area resident Daniel Scott Swisher polling just 3%. We are still 12 months away from the 2010 primary, but the battle is heating up to unseat Alan Mollohan.

Dead White Men

For the past couple of decades now, many in the world of academic history have shunned the study of what left wing professors call "dead white men." Instead they try to seek historical truths by looking at the lives of the masses. Peasants count more than kings, servants more than presidents.

In some fields, they are called "structuralists." They study patterns of large segments of people. "Intentionalists" adhere to the more traditional studies of history, emphasizing the effects of leaders and innovators. They believe that the actions of some men and women resonate more than others. George Washington had more impact than a Continental Army private in their eyes.

Predictably, left wingers embrace structuralism and blast the idea that "dead white men" had any importance at all (of course Elizabeth I of Britain and Catherine the Great of Russia are among these figures.)

My question to left wingers is this: if leaders had no effect on the past, if history was shaped entirely by commoners, then why get so bent out of shape over George W. Bush or treat Obama like some kind of messiah? After all if George Washington or Winston Churchill were not worthy of study because masses make history, why was Bush such a demon?

And just think of how much better off we'd have been if the country were founded by "wise Latina women" who according to Obama's choice for Supreme Court, have naturally better decision making skills than any white men.

Supreme Court’s Massey-Caperton ruling muddies the waters, rather than bringing clarity

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Gary Abernathy

Monday, June 08, 2009 304-768-0493

Supreme Court’s Massey-Caperton ruling muddies the waters, rather than bringing clarity

CHARLESTON, W. Va. – The United States Supreme Court’s decision today on the Massey-Caperton case has far-reaching implications regarding independent expenditures on state Supreme Court races that will ultimately affect all sides of past and future elections, state GOP Chairman Doug McKinney said today.

McKinney said that one of the most important distinctions to be made in today’s decision is that Chief Justice Brent Benjamin’s ability to remain impartial was not questioned by the justices. Instead, justices focused on the “perception” of bias, which is a standard that will be difficult to determine and likely lead to a flood of recusal requests.

“The Supreme Court has today established a new recusal standard based on perception rather than on actual bias,” said McKinney. “The result will likely be a flood of recusal requests that will further create a bottleneck of backed up cases in our judicial system.”

The narrow 5-4 decision seems to create another “I know it when I see it” standard much like a previous landmark decision on pornography cases, McKinney said.

“By failing to define exact standards for recusal, the court has unfortunately opened a can of worms that will simply lead to more confusion and debate,” said McKinney.

As Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the dissent, “This will inevitably lead to an increase in allegations that judges are biased, however groundless those charges may be. The end result will do far more to erode public confidence in judicial impartiality than an isolated failure to recuse in a particular case.”

McKinney noted that even Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, made it clear that the court was not impugning Justice Benjamin’s integrity or impartiality.

As Kennedy wrote of Benjamin, “We do not question his subjective findings of impartiality and propriety. Nor do we determine whether there was actual bias.”

Said McKinney, “By admitting that it is not questioning Justice Benjamin’s impartiality and propriety, or whether there they are was actual bias, the court is unfortunately muddying the waters even further, rather than bringing clarity to the issue.”

-30-

Paid for by the West Virginia Republican Party

WVGOP Leadership in the right hands under McKinney

How would you like to be handed a bankrupt demoralized organization and asked to fix it? Well that is exactly what Doug McKinney was handed when he became the Chairman of the WVGOP. Republicans across the nation were handed defeat after defeat in elections and in West Virginia the WV GOP was out of money when he took over.

True leaders emerge in hard times not in good times. Leadership doesn’t come from making popular decisions; it comes from making necessary decisions. Abraham Lincoln led a divided nation back to unity. Lee Iacocca took over a dying car company returned it to profitability (they could use him back now) and fortunately the WVGOP; Doug McKinney was cut from the same cloth.

A first ever Presidential Convention for the state of West Virginia was handed to the party when it had no money. A team of some of the best and brightest in the state was assembled and it became a great success. With a lot of help, Doug took the party from six digits in the red to back in the black giving the party a strong financial position in the upcoming 2010 election cycle. This was all done in political atmosphere where Republicans across the nation were at a disadvantage and under the leadership of Doug McKinney it became a success.

A minority few that hide in the shadows have grumbled about the leadership of McKinney all the while ignoring the facts in evidence of what his leadership has accomplished. They bemoan the fact that he has put much of his personal life on hold to attend Republican events across the state and personally contributing to many Republican Candidates. The shadow lurkers make noise, but when given the opportunity to step up to the plate, they just move silently back into the shadows. The shadows crave power, but fail to understand real power comes from leadership.

Leadership by example is one of the reasons Doug McKinney has been a great success for the WVGOP. He has not stood silently, he spoken boldly about the ideals of the party. Doug McKinney’s leadership has taken the party from melancholy shades of grey to bright RED!

Blast from the Past: I'm Just a Bill

The Great Crusade

Thanks to all the Veterans on Day D

There was ammo on these shelves

There was ammo on these shelves
Shared via AddThis

By Drew Zahn
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Reports from across the country confirm that gun owners seeking to stock up on ammunition are facing the same list of problems: shortages, back orders, elevated prices and a long line of people staring at empty shelves where boxes of bullets used to be.

"Just about everywhere I've been, it's sold out," Darren Lauzon told KMGH-TV in Denver after he failed to find ammunition for his new .45 pistol. "Wal-Mart, Sportsman's, wherever."

"Folks have been experiencing shortages all over the country," a spokesman for the National Rifle Association told the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat in California. "Since the election there has been a great increase in firearms sales as well. Background checks are up, enrollment in training and safety classes is up, concealed weapons permits are up, gun sales are up – and ammo manufacturers can't keep up with demand."

Gun shops and retailers agree: the press for ammunition is emptying their shelves quicker than the manufacturers can restock them.

"We're probably selling ammunition right now at a 200 percent increase over normal sales," said Richard Taylor, manager at the Firing Line in Aurora, Colo.

"We've probably got over 4,000 cases of ammunition on back order currently. But we just don't know when we're going to receive that," Taylor told KMGH. "Y2K was just like a little blip on the radar screen compared to this. I mean, it's just phenomenal."

A Wal-Mart salesman told Ross Kaminsky of Human Events, "We used to get shipments almost every day. Now we only know we'll have it when we see it. I get at least a half-dozen calls a day asking for ammunition, especially for handguns, and when it arrives, the customers buy everything."

The shortages are creating multiple complications for both gun owners and sellers.

KSNW-TV in Wichita reports the cost of ammunition in many Kansas stores has risen between $5 to $15 more per box over the last six months, and even still, many retailers are limiting the amount of ammunition customers can buy.

"It is a bad problem," Bill Vinduska with Bullseye Firearms told the station, "because we really would rather be able to supply our customers their needs; and not being able to do that is really a problem."

"When you're turning down two or three thousand, four thousand dollars a day in sales because you just can't get the product, that's significant," said Burnie Stokes from Panhandle Gunslingers to KFDA-TV in Amarillo, Texas.

Jere Jordan, general manager Midsouth Shooters Supply in Clarksville, Tenn., a company that specializes in mail-order sales of ammunition and reloading supplies, told the Associated Press that his company has sold out of ammunition commonly used in semiautomatic pistols and popular military rifles.

And even though Midsouth is taking orders for supplies used by hobbyists to handload cartridges, Jordan has no idea when they'll be filled.

"The wait? We're not even guessing on the wait anymore," Jordan said. "It's exceeding 60 days."

Who's to blame for shortages?

According to Lawrence Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade organization representing both manufacturers and retailers, the shortages pinching store owners aren't the fault of their suppliers.

"We have heard from all across the country that there is a tremendous shortage of ammunition," Keane told the AP. "We've heard this from the manufacturers, that their customers are calling them trying to get supplies for inventory, and that the manufacturers are going full-bore, pardon the pun."

The shortages, for the most part, stem from a widespread surge in customer demand for ammunition, a surge many link to the election of Barack Obama and the belief, perpetuated in part by the National Rifle Association, that the new president favors limiting the right to bear arms codified in the Second Amendment.

"Sen. Obama's statements and support for restricting access to firearms, raising taxes on guns and ammunition and voting against the use of firearms for self-defense in the home are a matter of public record," declares Chris W. Cox, chairman of the NRA's Political Victory Fund. "Barack Obama would be the most anti-gun president in our nation's history."

"After the election," Midsouth's Jordan told the AP, "where you have a change of parties to a more liberal side, I would say I guess the conservatives want to protect what they feel might be taken away from them, either through a tax, or an all-out ban."

"Everybody's just worried about the new government coming in and trying to ban guns and make everything more difficult to obtain," NRA member Kevin Bishop told KMGH. "Well, the way [Obama] has been acting, there may be a little truth to the rumor."

Rich Wyatt, owner of a firearms shop and training facility outside of Denver, told Human Events' Kaminsky that even "old ladies and young people and liberals" have been buying ammunition from him.

Wyatt's position seems to be that the new president sparked the ammunition buying frenzy with careless words from the campaign trail, such as when he said small town folks in Pennsylvania "cling to guns or religion" during hard economic times.

"Barack Obama is right about one thing," Wyatt said. "We are clinging to God and our guns, and I defy him to try to take either one from us."

Why some officials get elected in West Virginia

Bob Hope learns why some officials get elected in West Virginia despite their voting records.

The Rattle Snake as a Symbol of Liberty

The rattlesnake was the favorite animal emblem of the Americans even before the Revolution. In 1751 Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette carried a bitter article protesting the British practice of sending convicts to America. The author suggested that the colonists return the favor by shipping "a cargo of rattlesnakes, which could be distributed in St. James Park, Spring Garden, and other places of pleasure, and particularly in the nobleman's gardens." Three years later the same paper printed the picture of a snake as a commentary on the Albany Congress. To remind the delegates of the danger of disunity, the serpent was shown cut to pieces. Each segment is marked with the name of a colony, and the motto "Join or Die" below. Other newspapers took up the snake theme.

By 1774 the segments of the snake had grown together, and the motto had been changed to read: "United Now Alive and Free Firm on this Basis Liberty Shall Stand and Thus Supported Ever Bless Our Land Till Time Becomes Eternity"

Other authors felt the rattlesnake was a good example of America's virtues. They argued that it is unique to America; individually its rattles produce no sound, but united they can be heard by all; and while it does not attack unless provoked, it is deadly to step upon one.

The Gadsden Flag: The American Revolutionary period was a time of intense but controlled individualism - when self-directing responsible individuals again and again decided for themselves what they should do, and did it- without needing anyone else to give them an assignment or supervise them in carrying it out.

Such a person was the patriot Colonel Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina. He had seen and liked a bright yellow banner with a hissing, coiled rattlesnake rising up in the center, and beneath the serpent the same words that appeared on the Striped Rattlesnake Flag - Don't Tread On Me. Colonel Gadsden made a copy of this flag and submitted the design to the Provincial Congress in South Carolina. Commodore Esek Hopkins, commander of the new Continental fleet, carried a similar flag in February, 1776, when his ships put to sea for the first time.

Hopkins captured large stores of British cannon and military supplies in the Bahamas. His cruise marked the salt-water baptism of the American Navy, and it saw the first landing of the Corps of Marines, on whose drums the Gadsden symbol was painted.

The 1st Navy Jack: One of the first flags flown by our Navy may have been an adaptation of the "Rebellious Stripes" created at the time of the Stamp Act Congress. It featured thirteen red and white stripes. Stretched across them was the rippling form of a rattlesnake, and the words, "DON'T TREAD ON ME"- a striking indication of the colonists' courage and fierce desire for independence.

The flag we know today as the first Navy Jack (sometimes known as the "Culpepper Flag") is believed to have flown aboard the Alfred, flagship of the newly commissioned Continental fleet, in January, 1776. American ships used this flag, or one of its variations, throughout the Revolutionary War. This powerful American symbol was used by the Continental Navy in 1776 and is being used again by the U.S. Navy in the War on Terrorism.

Courtesy USflag.org

A great friend to the WVGOP moves on

Many of you may not personally know Gary Abernathy, but he is good friend.

Gary has always worked hard for the Republican Party and his Republican Gazette has pushed many stories the left would rather have not come to light. Gary also helped many Republican candidates even when they could not afford his services. Gary is a great Republican and a great friend and he will be missed in West Virginia. I wish all the luck on his new adventure whatever that may be.

The Slow Death of Old Journalism

I spent Memorial Day weekend in Atlanta and saw something shocking.

One of the great urban newspapers of the nation, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution had completely transformed itself. The once stately masthead with respectable headline font had now degraded into lowercase Times New Roman. Its size had shrunk into weekend same guide territory. This newspaper, once one of the premier dailies of the South, now looked much less respectable than our local and regional papers. It carried about as much news, too.

There is something to be said about a newspaper's audience and market. The New York Times and Washington Post struggle while the Washington Times and Wall Street Journal have avoided some of the same problems. It seems that conservatives tend to like actually holding a newspaper in their hand, turning the pages to read the news, in larger numbers than liberals. Our nation's capital actually supports two conservative dailies ( the Washington Examiner also seems to be doing well.)

The problems associated with newspapers lie in the fact that they continue to rely heavily upon their reporting of current events. By the time a major city newspaper has published and delivered, most people have either seen the news on television or read about it on the internet. Small town papers have always operated on tight budgets, but will probably survive because who else will report on doings in Cumberland, Moorefield, or Keyser? Who else will publish the picture of the Kelley and Church Award winners so that their parents can buy fifty copies apiece? The Mineral Daily News Tribune has a much more encouraging future than the Boston Globe.

Big city papers need to redefine their niche by focusing more in depth. The internet and TV will never be able to give its audience the kind of information and detail that print journalism offers. In the 1980s many papers moved away from such stories towards flashy colors and more concise writing to mimic the success of USA Today. Papers following this model give precisely the same quality journalism as the internet, but much more slowly. Also the hysterical liberalism adopted by many editorial boards seems to only sell in Charleston, West Virginia. Try moderating to the level of the market.

It's time for print journalism to remember that they are capitalists and act accordingly. It would be a real shame to see some of these old publications die off.

Home Owners Association goes overboard

Real Americans Thank and Honor Our Veterans

Last Friday I got the opportunity to see a ceremony that few people ever take the chance to see, a United States Army Ranger graduation.

My wife's cousin took his place as a Ranger last Friday and we couldn't be more proud. The stories he told about his training and school were probably just the tip of the iceberg. These guys experience pain, deprivation, and extremes that few of us could ever imagine. They do it to test themselves and out of love of their country. Praising them only makes many of them feel a little awkward. They see it as their job. Regardless, I am glad I got the chance to tell him how proud we all are of him.

We Americans never can thank these people often enough. Our cousin is one of the Army's newest Rangers and his wife serves in the 82nd Airborne. At some point he will serve as the tip of the spear, probably in Afghanistan. Only more danger and stress awaits. He won't get rich, but he will serve his country and know that he earned the right to be considered among the best of the best.

Last Monday the country took a day off. In our new era of warfare the enemy may fight the tip of the spear, but they also target the shaft, the hand that throws it, and even its place of manufacture. All of our veterans, living and past, deserve a prayer and a thank you, not just twice a year but every time they come to mind.

Last Monday I also remembered two veterans who passed. One grandfather served in New Guinea in the Army Air Force. The other served in the oft bloodied 36th Division that saw some of the toughest fighting in Europe. I never met him. All I have of him is a cigar box full of captured photographs and an old knife. I thought of a good friend of our family who landed at Normandy and has told a lot of colorful tales of fighting across Europe. You can often tell the guys who saw the worst; their stories are always humorous, never bloody. I remembered my stepfather who served in Vietnam.

Thank God for our veterans living and dead. Thank God for the sacrifices they made and continue to make every day. And thank the veterans. If you see one in uniform and you for whatever reason do not thank him or her personally, say a little prayer for the serviceman and the family that love him.

Carbine Williams

Oh the magic of TiVo.

A month ago I recorded on TMC an obscure film called Carbine Williams. This movie, said Robert Osborne, did not appeal to moviegoers but may have been Jimmy Stewart's best performance. It tells the story of David Marshall "Marsh" Williams of North Carolina. Williams was an impatient young man with an aptitude for machinery. Unfortunately he put that talent to work building stills during Prohibition. During a federal raid a firefight broke out, an agent was killed, and the court sentenced Williams to thirty years in state prison.

While in prison, Williams bucked the system and earned a trip to the chain gang. After serving out his punishment he went to a prison farm where he started working in the machine shop. While there, he secretly constructed a new kind of gun. When the warden discovered the weapon, he was so amazed at the advances made that he approved of a demonstration. Present was a representative of Winchester. Because it worked, Williams earned a pardon and a job with that firm. The gun's reduced weight and superior firing capability made it the "grandfather" of the M1 used by soldiers in World War II.

The hero of the film was a gun maker, described as a "rugged individualist." His hard work and persistence paid off for him and also helped our soldiers better combat our most dangerous enemies.

This kind of movie is why I would much rather watch TMC than pay to see a recently made film. American values dominate this movie, values that left leaning liberals would rather we forget.

Blast from the Past: Sufferin' Till Suffrage

City of Keyser Backs Green Mountain Wind Farm

After a unanimous vote of approval, Keyser City Councilman Dave Sowers said of a proposed Green Mountain wind farm that it would generate county tax revenues, create more jobs, and help expand national renewable energy production.

Pinnacle Wind Force plans to spend $131 million to create the facility on the mountaintops above Keyser.

This puts the Keyser City Council potentially at odds with some members of the county commission who have expressed reservations about wind energy. Some concerns cited include the altering of aesthetics, damage to wildlife, and questions about what would happen if wind power was not profitable in the long run.

However Mineral County will gain benefits for years from the farm. Property tax revenues will bolster school budgets. The ripple effect from a $131 million investment will boost Keyser's flagging economy. Also it will promote the perception that Keyser and Mineral County embrace new technologies and ideas. Windmills are a symbol of clean energy independence.

Words Fail Us

Words failed us.

Not four months after Obama took office, his diplomacy of apologies starts to bear fruit. He and his secretary of state felt compelled to apologize for the United States so bluntly and brutally enforcing international law and ruffling the feathers of Europeans that traded with murderous monsters such as Saddam Hussein.

Now Iran has weapons grade materials. North Korea has exploded nuclear devices and launched more test missiles.

These developments drastically increase the chance that terrorists will get a device to explode in Tel Aviv, Madrid, or New York City. They also heighten the possibility that Iran or North Korea will try to bully their neighbors or even launch against the United States.

Obama will talk and try to get at the real problem through negotiation. I remember that Bush talked too. Then he acted. Bush's actions convinced Libya to abandon their nuclear program and join the community of peaceful nations. We didn't even threaten them. Bush leaves office and now the kiddies can come out and play with reckless abandon. Of course also on Obama's watch a known nuclear power is falling dangerously close to collapsing in the face of the Taliban.

The issue is bigger than just nukes. If Pakistan goes Taliban, India will be frightened and may take action. We can rest assured that Israel will act against Iran. North Korean belligerence scares Japan. If Japan rearms that provokes China, which could cause a chain reaction of fear and arming throughout Asia. American power and firm resolve have kept a lid on all of this for some time. Now that we have a president who does not even have the resolve to fill the jobs in the Executive Branch, the world is in a little more peril.

Chairman Steele Addresses WV YR’s

PRESS RELEASE

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 Contact: Lisa Peana

For Immediate Release (304) 730-4599

Chairman Steele Addresses WV YR’s

YR’s Accept Challange

Charleston, WV – RNC Chairman Friday night spoke to nearly 250 Republicans and in his remarks he addressed the WV Young Republicans to take action.

“We are determined not to live in the past, but to look forward to a prosperous future,” said Kevin Noe, National Committeeman for the WV YR, “It’s time we stand up, with a clear voice and let our state leaders know that we are going to take charge of our state's future. Realizing that the status quo is no longer acceptable in West Virginia, the Young Republicans are prepared to bring much needed change to Mountain State government.”

The Young Republicans are prepared to lead the way into next year’s election to let the voters of WV know where their representatives stand on key issues.

“We have representatives in Charleston and Washington that are not working for the people of West Virginia, and it’s time we let them know we are not happy with them. It's time to tell them that the radical Cap and Trade laws will kill West Virginia's coal industry. It’s time we stand up and let them know that we support the sanctity of life and traditional marriage.

“It’s time that we start making our voice heard. This is our state and our nation, we need to start acting like it and get involved,” added Noe.

For more information about the WV Young Republicans, please visit www.wvyr.org

Sidewalks Connect and Reflect a Community

I have been trying to get more exercise, so I have been walking several miles along the streets of Keyser most every evening. If you haven't taken the time to wander around your community, then I invite you to do so, because the sidewalk is a great way to meet your community. The sidewalks are your connection to your neighbors.

One of the first things you will notice is most of the sidewalks in Keyser were built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and that they were build in 1940 and 1941. The quality of the work and craftsmanship represents a time when we built things to last. After nearly 70 years in the ground they still bare the mark of the WPA (See right). This was a time when many were out of work, but they didn't just take money from the government. They took a job with government and gave something back to the community. A quality product that is still in use today as many of these sidewalks are still in great shape like the one to top and left left. The home owners take care of them and take pride in their community.

Unfortunately in some areas the sidewalks get abused. Not just in Keyser, but in other communities. Sidewalks were never built to be parking lots and as a result of being parked on many get destroyed. This reflects a change in attitude of people over the years. At one time most people had a respect for their community and the things it provides, like side walks. They didn't abuse the things that their own tax dollars provide.

Sometimes it is mother nature that destroys the sidewalks of a town making them hard to walk on. Tree roots are one of the hardest of mother natures tools for destroying a nice level sidewalk. Although the trees are now gone, their roots caused the damage to the side walk on the left. On the right below mother nature is reclaiming the the sidewalk with top soil and grass. There is a complete side walk under that grass although it is broken. Probably from being driven over or parked on through the years as it is now lower than the street next to it.

As the sidewalks are destroyed in our community, so are the connections to our neighbors. Gone is the smooth path where we greet and become neighbors. One of the judges of a neighborhood or a town for that matter is the condition of the sidewalks. Sidewalks are more than mere paths to walk on. They are a reflection of a community and the pride it takes in itself.

Imagine the sight of Keyser in 1941 when all the sidewalks were fresh and new. The community was fully connected and it reflected community pride and a strong work ethic. Perhaps Keyser should embark on a program of repairing and extending sidewalks into new areas of town. Let visitors know, no matter what part of Keyser they are in, it is a good section of town. Reconnect our community and reflect the pride we all feel of claiming Keyser as our hometown.

Blast from the Past: Elbow Room

Hate Crimes and the Constitution

Congress just passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. It expands the definition of hate crimes to include gays and related groups, but created fears that speech against such groups could now qualify as a crime.

Factcheck.org disputes the argument that this act will result in the prosecution of those simply speaking.

The problem lies in the notion of "hate crimes" itself. Way back in the good ol' days, the law responded simply to an act that really occurred. If I pulled out a 2x4 and hit somebody over the head with it, I'd be prosecuted for battery regardless of the victim's gender, race, sexual orientation, or whatever. The law also assumed that I might have some negative feelings, perhaps even hate, for the person that I just smacked in the head. Prosecutors and judges did not need to read my mind to figure out my motivation. I hit the guy. Mitigating circumstances or self-defense might come into play, but the state did not need to discern my personal feelings.

Hate crimes laws require the court to get inside the heads of criminals to figure out whether or not they have some prejudice that might have come into play. If one is found, extra harsh sentencing may be applied.

A man may "hate" an individual that he catches in a hotel room with his wife and beat him to a bloody pulp. A person may "hate" those of a different race or sexual orientation and do the same. In either case the law says that the aggressor is in the wrong if he or she is not facing a threat to their own person. Why should one victim of violent crime be granted a certain status and entitlement to a higher level of legal deterrence?

Sociologists might be able to come up with arguments that demonstrate a valid case for hate crimes. However, the Constitution says otherwise. All United States citizens are entitled to "equal protection under the laws," nothing more, nothing less. Applying harsher penalties dependent upon who the victim is could theoretically mean that a person would feel more deterred from beating up an individual enjoying a protected status more than just anyone else on the street. That does not meet 14th Amendment standards.

No one should be beaten or killed because of their lifestyle or the way God made them (unless the lifestyle or the way God made them leads them to harm others) but hate crimes statutes simply are not constitutional.

Facebook eliminating those with conservative ideology?

Many conservatives around the country have found the social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter are useful tools to network with other conservatives. After all these sites are specifically designed to assist people in networking, but it appears that at least one may not wish conservatives to be able to network with each other. Stories of conservatives being deleted from Facebook have been floating around the internet for months, but until it happened to a few friends on Facebook and then myself I though they were only rumors.

For me problems began shortly after appearing on the Fox News Channel, which is owned by News Corp which also owns Myspace, Facebook’s larger rival in the social networking internet realm. An influx of new friend requests and new friend suggestions began to roll in from people of like minded conservative ideology. Shortly after accepting the new friend requests and suggestions that Facebook was suggesting I began to get warnings about possible abusive behavior. After reading the “Terms of Use” I could not find anywhere where I was being abusive for responding to friend request and suggestions, so I requested clarification by contacting Facebook.

Inquiries to Facebook only resulted in automated responses, “The Facebook Team has received your inquiry. We should get back to you soon.” Nothing beyond this response was ever received. My experience is not unique among conservatives across the nation. One Conservative Facebooker, of Ames, IA, kept having her accounts deleted, but could get no where when trying to find out why, “I never got my original account back. I got my 2nd account back after a month after 30 emails someone finally bit and told me I was banned. I asked for specifics, [they] couldn't answer me.” Many conservatives are reporting that Facebook is unresponsive to request for information as to why their accounts are being deleted.

The deletions do not just affect the individual Facebook account of the user; sometimes they have far reaching effects. A Facebook event listing for a dinner with RNC Chairman Michael Steele, himself a Facebook member, was deleted along with the conservative user that posted the event. For many this was their only point of contact for the event which included times and directions. Friends and political connections also are also lost when Facebook is the only point of contact. The Iowa Conservative said, “I am very involved in politics. This is NUTS. I am losing friends like crazy to accounts being disabled.”

It has been reported in the media that Facebook has had problems with people registering under fake names and they are disabling those account, but so far most of the conservatives having their accounts disabled have had fairly normal names. The Iowa Conservative believes “We need a conservative Facebook NOW!”

The Republican Party Will Come Full Circle in the Kanawha Valley This Week

On Friday, May 22nd the chairman of the Republican Party returns to one of the origin points of its noblest crusade. This year the Grand Old Party elected a black for the first time as leader. A successful businessman from Maryland defeated after several votes a man who himself had attended segregated schools in South Carolina. In choosing Michael Steele as chair, Republicans did not embrace a new direction, but reaffirmed their roots as the party of freedom and liberty for all. Chairman Steele's visit to the Kanawha Valley this week has very symbolic overtones.

Few people remember today that the region surrounding Charleston can lay claim to being a cradle of the Civil Rights Movement. Before the Civil War, Booker T. Washington of Malden (about fifteen miles east of Charleston) lived as a slave. By 1900 he grew into the preeminent spokesman for the advancement of blacks in America.

Washington advocated a stance for the black community controversial in his time and rejected today. He witnessed the horror inflicted upon politically active blacks in the South. Washington relentlessly advocated the education of blacks in a region hostile to them advancing beyond menial labor. Ku Klux Klan terror raids bullied and often killed blacks who pushed into the political world in the 1870s and 80s. As a result, he spoke in Atlanta about separate development. Washington told the black community to embrace education and develop themselves economically in the present. When it attained a certain financial status, it could then use its clout to peacefully obtain civil and political rights. W. E. B. DuBois derided this in terms that we would today call "appeasement" but it is clear that the social and political culture of the South was very violently antagonistic to DuBois' immediate goals. Washington offered a path that families and individuals could follow in the nineteenth century without fearing for their lives.

Regardless of how modern ears regard Washington's message, his staunch advocacy of education and establishment of the Tuskeegee Institute helped to advance his cause considerably. Interestingly enough, Washington himself had engaged in political activism as a young man.

In the 1870s, while working in Kanawha Valley salt furnaces and coal mines, Washington opened his activist career as a political orator. He stumped the region speaking on behalf of the Republican Party and its candidates. This took courage considering that Kanawha County had strong Confederate sentiment during the Civil War. It would only take one ex Rebel with a grudge to have changed history. Luckily Washington remained safe as he preached support for the GOP. From this springboard he traveled to the Hampton Institute in Virginia to formally receive an education.

The ideas Washington spoke about to the Republican faithful in the Kanawha Valley in his youth will likely be similar to Steele's. First and foremost the Republican Party has always embraced expansive freedom for everyone. Washington found limits as a young man in that certain jobs were just not open for him. The GOP today seeks to expand access to opportunity while enhancing the incentives to succeed. Democrats believe that all should end up equal in the end regardless of effort or risk. Ensuring this "equality of outcome" means that freedoms and opportunities for the energetic and industrious will be diminished while handouts for others increase.

Michael Steele's visit to the Kanawha Valley this week is indeed hsitoric and symbolic. He has the opportunity here to reaffirm the traditional principles of freedom while charting a new course of action. Success is essential.

No Logic in States Numbers on Corridor H Funding

Recently an article appeared in the Charleston Daily mail entitled, “Official targets slow work on Corridor H” and state officials gave reasons for the continued delay of the highway. Most of the reasons given by the state make little or no sense.

The state claims they couldn’t pay the back the bonds. According to the article, “Even if the Legislature raised the cap, Walker said the state still couldn't pay back the debt on such a project.” This statement is totally illogical, as the bond method builds the highway at a lower cost. Consider that the current estimate for completing constructions is 1.5 billion dollars over the next 26 years. Of those 1.5 billion dollars, the state is responsible for 20% matching funds as outlined by the Appalachian Region Commission and that cost would be $300 million dollars.

Now if the state issues bonds to complete the final 50 miles of Corridor H that have yet to receive funding, at 22 million dollars per mile , then total construction cost would be approximately 1.1 billion dollars. The states portion of that would be $220 million saving the West Virginia taxpayers 80 million dollars and saving the US taxpayers 400 million dollars.

Walker went on to say, “"It would completely bleed the state road fund. If we were able to do all of that, very important programs, like paving and bridge repairs, would have to be sacrificed." My question to Mr. Walker would be; why would freeing up an extra 80 million dollars from Corridor H, require the state to cut other projects? Those 80 million dollars in savings from Corridor H could be used to increase funding of very important programs, like paving and bridge repairs. The reality is the exact opposite of what Mr. Walker says; the state will have to cut $80 million worth of future projects, because they are not changing the funding method.

Now it is estimated that Corridor H over its length will create an additional 8,000 jobs in the state. If we bond the highway and complete it in 2015, then using the median income in the state, 32,589 dollars , those 8,000 jobs will create an additional 260 million dollars of annual income in the state. The state taxes as on that median income will be around 15.6 million dollars in annual revenue for the state. From an early completion date of 2015 to 2035 the current funding completion date, the total taxes collected from those new jobs, adjusted for inflation , will be 439 million dollars. The estimated annual Federal Tax from the new jobs will be 39 million dollars annually or 1.1 billion over 20 years adjusted for inflation.

So our choices are continue with the current funding method of Corridor H, which will complete it around 2035 and cost the taxpayers of the nation and state 1.5 billion dollars with small increase in employment during the construction phase, or build it over the next 6 years at a cost of 1.1 billion generating around 1.5 billion in new state and Federal tax revenue between 2015 and 2035 in the process as those new jobs are created in the near term. I prefer the method where Corridor H is completed early and pays for itself with taxes generated from the new jobs it will create. We have to start being smart about how we build highways and other large projects in the state. We must be fiscally responsible.

Blast from the Past: Three Ring Government

The Inappropriate Sense of Humor of Barack Obama

So Barack Obama, as we saw last week, considers dredging up traumatic memories of 9/11 and scaring New Yorkers half to death to be fodder for a joke. The CNN commentator did not even stray from neutrality as she gleefully introduced the poor attempt at humor. He joked about his children taking Air Force One for a joyride.

The real story here is not the fact that Obama made a stupid and crass joke at the Correspondent's Dinner. No one responded or reacted to this.

The amazing thing is the contrast between Obama's humor and his predecessor. President Bush generally, in such situations, had the self-confidence to ridicule himself. The best example was when he brought out the impersonator and spoke alongside him. President Bush understood that he was funny, but also did not push it past the point where he would injure his dignity as president. Obama is not yet aware that his presidential persona is a huge target for ridicule.

There's nothing wrong with a president lightening up and joking around in the right forum. They still need to be respectful when considering joking about the worst attack on this nation within most of our lifetimes.

Interestingly, Obama was caught laughing at a statement about Rush Limbaugh being killed. Now in an unguarded moment, something similar could happen to any of us. However, compare the lack of comment to the heaps of abuse thrown at CBS golf analyst David Faherty. Faherty toured the Middle East and recounted his assessment of US troops' opinions of liberal politicians. "Despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Osama bin Laden, there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death." In his apology, he explained that he was simply trying to explain how US soldiers feel about their current commander-in-chief. CBS and the PGA Tour blasted his statements, which, like the Rush Limbaugh murder joke, were inappropriate.

Will anyone condemn or distance themselves from Obama and his friend yukking it up over their fantasized death of Limbaugh? Probably not.