From the Land of Busted Budgets and State Bankruptcy . . . A $578 million High School

You heard me right. A half billion dollar high school. It's more expensive than China's Olympic Stadium. It has fine art, a faculty dining room finer than most restaurants, and countless other luxuries that equal about $250,000 per child. This happened when the school system had a $640 million shortfall that caused the layoffs of 3,000 teachers.

People ask why we are so tough on government. Why is it that conservatives and libertarians do not trust government to do anything. Right here is the answer. This school district laid off teachers so that a high school could have avant garde architecture and fine art. It got rid of experienced educators so it could have a school more expensive than almost any professional football stadium in the United States. This money was not even invested in instructional and educational needs, but swimming pools and fine art.

On top of all that, this school was built by the worst school district in the entire country, L. A. Unified. This district has a 35% dropout rate. Maybe a state of the art swimming pool can convince kids to not drop out? I have my doubts.

The current superintendent cannot even defend the project, saying it was planned before his time. He has the good sense to plan to not attend the ribbon cutting of this monstrous insult to the taxpayers.

Okay, I'm not very socially conservative. I believe in live and let live, freedom of choice, etc. Sexuality is something for the individual consenting adult to make choices about. However, this blog post from Chicks on the Right really bothered me.

http://chicksontheright.com/2010/08/23/im-not-a-prude-but-this-is-totally-wack/

Why would any parent want to sexualize their child before their time? When my son played for the Mini-Tornadoes, we'd travel to towns in Maryland where their cheerleaders danced to sexually explicit music. You have to wonder why.

Nine year old girls pole dancing is just plain sickening. They have to spin on a pole to workout? They can't play soccer, basketball, or tennis, or just run around in a park? They have to pole dance? This sounds more like mothers trying to look hip on sexuality more than trying to keep their kids in shape. They want to shock their friends and look cool. Meanwhile their daughters will be exposed to the cultural perceptions of pole dancing, and may try to live up to them as time goes on.

My question is, why do so many parents want sexualized children? It's not cute. It's downright creepy and almost an open invitation for sexual predators. It also teaches girls that their sexuality is more important than brains or accomplishments. Parents need to wake up. Prudently guiding children does not make one prudish. Be open about sex when kids ask questions, but guide them towards appropriate behavior while they are growing up.

An Omission Or a Plan?

In the map to the right, and it may be too small a scale to see clearly, there is a startling omission.

This map comes from the Mineral County Comprehensive Plan draft. The county commission is trying to push the draft into law. On the other hand, some local businessmen have cried foul and claimed that the public hearings on the draft were more of a facade than a true input session. Some have claimed that the current plan violates the law and that court action will be taken.

This map's omission could open a Pandora's box of questions about the plan. It lists every school in the county save one, Fountain Elementary. Although the public has been reassured for years that this small but effective school will remain open, Fountain has no presence on the map made for the Comprehensive Plan.

Is this an oversight, or is closing Fountain Elementary part of their plan for the county?

Is Recovery Impossible?

With an out of control debt combined with the government willing to only raise taxes to address it, many Americans ask "can we ever get out of this mess? Is recovery even possible?"

You can see why people ask that question. We are getting close to seeing over 50% of the country on some form of government assistance. Our debt approaches 90% of our GDP. Business are holding back $2 trillion in investment capital because they fear that it will just get confiscated in taxes. The stimulus spending has only driven the private sector into hiding, like John Galt in Atlas Shrugged.Things do look bad. Even worse.....they are bad. Meanwhile China just surpassed Japan as the second wealthiest world economy.

The answer is this. America can always bounce back. This country went from a military of a little over a hundred thousand to many millions in World War II. Then, as now, faith in what we accomplish if we do what is right will see us to victory.

This time the enemy is the basic human urge to let others take responsibility and provide guidance. Freedom is hard, slavery is easy. Free people have to make choices and live with the results. Brave people relish the risk. America has always been the land of the free and the home of the brave. When we get people into office who trust free markets and individuals, we will once again unleash the potential of this country.

This November we will see voters take back the country from those who think they know better. We will see an America with elected oficials that work with what the people want, not try to rule over them.

For Appearances Sake At Least . . .

For the record, I will say this. I like John Raese. I like his principles and I think he is a good man. This writing is meant in no way to disparage him or his campaign. I also like Metro News, seeing it as the premiere source for state political news. However, someone at Metro News, I believe, goofed in this instance.

Yesterday, Metro News ran a story called "Gas Pedal Down on Senate Campaigns." It featured only the schedule and quotations of John Raese without even mentioning his primary opposition. At the end, the story did include the disclaimer that Raese himself operates Metro News.

It would have been far more appropriate for the writer to have included at least some details from other campaigns, like say the names of the other people running. Even if you want to angle the piece in favor of Raese, a much more subtle approach would pay dividends, such as including some detail from other campaigns, but giving Raese the final quote in the piece. Simply writing about Raese and ignoring the others only leads the reader to wonder about the opposition and why they were not mentioned.

Like I said, I like John Raese, and if he is the eventual primary winner I will be more than happy to do what I can to help him win the Senate seat this November. All the candidates in the field have strong principles. I believe that Raese, like Mac Warner and a few others, can bring lengthy experience and determination to the job and not be overawed by Washington. However, stories like this can only undermine somewhat John Raese's campaign and the integrity of Metro News itself.

Mosque? Sure! Greek Orthodox Church? Nope.

Various elements of the government of the City of New York have in recent weeks expressed support, or at least neutrality, when it comes to the building of a gigantic mosque near Ground Zero. Defenses of the building from the president on down have centered on religious and property rights. Even though the building is certainly meant to be an insult, if you believe in these rights, you have to let it go forward.

Then comes the story about the small St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. This was the only Christian structure destroyed by the 9/11 attacks.

New York's Port Authority, according to Fox News, has ended the congregation's eight year odyssey to rebuild their church. This comes despite community support and the active assistance of former New York Governor George Pataki.

Why is New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg so enthusiastic about this mosque while his administration has blocked the reconstruction of a church?

Shelley Moore Capito Garners More Endorsements

The Save America's Free Enterprise Trust, a political arm of the National Federation of Small Business has endorsed Shelley Moore Capito's re-election bid.

The group proclaimed that Ms. Capito's retention in office would help to protect small business within her district and free enterprise across the nation.

The NFIB has 350,000 small business members across the nation and 1,500 in West Virginia.

Is Obama Destroying the Democratic Party?

Interesting question. I highly doubt it, but you have to wonder what is going on in the White House some days.

Obama gets involved in a lot of issues that do not require his direct attention. Case in point, the Ground Zero mosque. I am torn on this. On one hand it is about as appropriate to build that there as it would have been to build a Shinto Temple near Pearl Harbor in 1950. Then again, I am a firm believer in property rights. Build it, but don't complain if a gay bar or a pork restaurant show up next door. And don't violate noise ordinances by blaring a call to prayer at 5 AM.

Obama didn't have to say anything except that it was a New York City issue and none of the business of the President, which it certainly is not. Then again, Obama thinks your kids' waistline is his business too. 70% of Americans are against the construction of this mosque. So Obama holds a Moslem dinner at the White House and voices his support.

Really? Do you honestly think that this will help your party win elections this fall? This is not the only time that Obama has undercut the diminishing support of his party with elections coming up.

So let's speculate. Why would Obama want to destroy the Democratic Party? Where would he gain? Will Rodgers once said "I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat." That holds true in every era. Democrats have grown like an onion since the 1790s, with fully functioning and distinct layers from a Jeffersonian core to the New Left. These prevent any kind of real ideological unity such as you see in a European political party. Obama would love to have that kind of control and has exhibited a Messiah complex at times. He would love to have an obedient, compliant, and efficient party at his command. Instead, he has the Democrats.

If the Democrats lose in large numbers this fall, they could conceivably evict Obama in the primary season in 2012. If he foresees that, he might try to split his supporters off, a la Theodore Roosevelt to the GOP in 1912. Obama could create his own organization, own party, and try to campaign on personal appeal again against the GOP and a weakened Democratic organization.

It wouldn't work and this is all speculation. That being said, Obama seems rather uninterested in his own party's chances of success this year.

Harry Reid Does Not Believe that "Hispanic-Americans" Can Think For Themselves

Harry Reid once again tried to haul out race as an issue and once again it backfired.

Reid found himself under fire in the 2008 election by referring to Obama's light skin and "lack of . . . dialect." Now he has come out and said that he can't see why any Hispanic-American would be conservative.

Is this not racism? They expect blacks and Hispanics to all follow the same party, same leaders, and same principles. Does anyone suggest that all whites need to follow the same party? How about Asians? Are they expected to all mindlessly follow one leader? Nope, just blacks and Hispanics are expected to stay on the left wing plantation.

Were I a member of these groups, I would take serious offense even if I was already liberal. It echoes the old pre Civil War assertions that blacks have to be guided like children by their betters because they cannot decide for themselves. Republicans preached differently then and differently now.

People of all races, religions, sexual orientations, and anything else you might think of choose the Republican Party because they usually believe in less government, less taxes, and more freedom. When Republicans concentrate on core economic, national security, and freedom issues, they attract supporters from all groups. Republicans increasingly tend to look at individuals more than groups. That leads to less offensive stereotyping than you see from the other side.

Reid publicly stuck his foot in his mouth, but he only said what a lot of liberal/leftists believe.

You Won't Have Alan Mollohan to Kick Around Anymore

Alan Mollohan, twenty-eight year congressman from West Virginia's First Dictrict, has decided to not go quietly into that electoral good night.

In a season littered with the carcasses of Democratic politicians done in by ethics issues, Congressman Mollohan has decided to go onto the offensive with a letter. He states that he is trying to explain, but ends up describing that old "vast right wing conspiracy" that Hillary Clinton loved to cite. Of course this vast right wing conspiracy includes the New York Times. He lashes out at Chris Wakim and Mike Oliverio merely for doing what aspiring politicians always do, use their opponents' weaknesses. Mollohan certainly did not hesitate to go on the attack against them. According to Hoppy Kercheval, he only left out "the Trilateral Commission" and " the Easter Bunny."

Guilty or not guilty, this is not how a gazillion term congressman wants to end his career. Were I a Mollohan supporter, I would tell him to look at the story of George Washington and his Farewell Address. Washington initially wrote a frustrated essay on his enemies and their conspiracies against him. Old friend Alexander Hamilton encouraged him to lose the anger and write a statesmanlike piece that dwelt on themes of hope and constructive criticism. Mollohan could have gone this route and sealed his legacy. Instead he wrote a piece that Republicans and Oliverio supporters could shrug off as daft and defensive.

Think You're a Liberal? Not So Fast. You Might Be a Libertarian!

I have noticed that people will often say they are Republicans or conservative Democrats, but that they are liberal in some areas. Fair enough. But when you ask them what they mean by "liberal," you often see that they are not that at all.

Liberal in today's political parlance comes very close to what it meant in the 1500s when it was used as a political term by Nicolo Machiavelli. To him, "liberal" meant first and foremost that you doled out a lot of the public treasury to a lot of the people. The leader did that to look generous and to gain the support of the multitudes. Of course, Machiavelli warned that you have to tax others to get that money and you risk alienating them from your system.

When I ask self-identified "liberal Republicans" what they mean, they usually respond with similar issues. They generally want to legalize some drugs, some are uncomfortable over outlawing abortion, and most have no problem with gay marriage. This does not necessarily mean that you are liberal, but probably libertarian.

Libertarians believe in maximum freedom of choice for each individual. They adhere most closely to the Jeffersonian maxim "the government that governs best, governs least." Here is how you can tell if you are a libertarian instead of a liberal.

Drugs:

Libertarians want to legalize drugs, at least the ones that grow out of the ground and need no manufacturing. They believe that the drugs should be used or sold with a minimum of government interference. One of their arguments is that marijuana sales would boost the legitimate economy of states like West Virginia.

Liberals believe that if drugs are legalized, they ought to be taxed to the point that the producers receive little or no profit. They pretty much feel the same about pharmaceuticals.

Gay Marriage:

Libertarians tend to want to government to get away from marriage period. Many want marriage to be a sacrament or social institution separated from government control, authority, and definition. Civil unions for all couples make more sense.

Many liberals would love to see controls exerted to force clerics to perform marriages that go against their belief system.

Polygamy:

A libertarian says if they are consenting aduts, leave them alone. Why should the government dictate to anyone what their living arrangements are? As long as they are not committing fraud or expecting extra welfare benefits because of their arrangement, who cares?

A liberal wants to outlaw polygamy if their is a Mormon basis for it and they call it "marriage." They have no problem with it if it is a group of people in San Francisco doing the same thing with no religious overtones.

As far as abortion is concerned, many libertarians are uncomfortable with the issue. They see it as a personal rights issue. I consider myself somewhat libertarian, but see it this way. When you choose to engage in sex, you have to live with whatever consequences come from that. Also, what are the individual rights of the child? The right of the innocent to live is one of the primary natural rights; their defense is the main job of the government.

Basically you can see that the main difference between the two lies in the fact that libertarians want to government to butt out because it screws up almost any situation. Liberals believe that the answer to any issue is more government. Where do your principles lead you?

How Can Republican Victories This Fall Help Kill Obamacare?

This question came up in a Facebook discussion yesterday. I made a casual comment that Republican victories could help kill Obamacare and got a fair question. How?

First of all we have the court cases challenging the notion that the federal government can force you to purchase a commodity because you are alive. This runs counter to any principles or ideals Americans generally hold, as well as the Constitution, but without this part, Obamacare does not work. The Virginia case has gone farthest. This case will end up in the United States Supreme Court. Only five justices have consistently shown a dedication to restrained government and the Constitution. If one gets sick or dies, a Republican Senate can ensure that we keep socialists off the bench. It can also prevent any attempt by Obama to enlarge the court to get what he wants.

Second comes the matter of funding. All money bills start in the House of Representatives. The best way to kill a bad policy is to either vote it out or simply defund it until it dies of its own accord.

Finally there is the matter of states' rights. Missouri voters by an overwhelming margin (71% of the vote, more than Manchin got in West Virginia in 2008!) put into law a proposition that nullifies the federal government's power to compel anyone to purchase health insurance. This high percentage shows that mainstream Democrats do not even support this mandate. Other state legislatures have voted to opt out of and resist other facets of Obamacare. A leftist Congress can punish states by witholding highways funds. A Republican Congress will sympathize and work with them to get rid of this bad law.

Republican gains will help destroy Obamacare. Even if they cannot overturn it in one fell swoop, they can kill it with the death of a thousand cuts. Since 60% of the people still hate Obamacare and only 40% approve of Obama at all, this looks increasingly likely.

Oh and we hope everyone enjoys the fact that the First Lady is vacationing in Spain with seventy-seven secret service and forty of her best friends on your dime. And no, she is not in the Holiday Inn, either.

An Open Letter to Doug and Sue McKinney

Dear Doug and Sue,

As a West Virginia Republican I want to thank you for your leadership in difficult times. Around the nation, our party saw declining influence, electoral defeats, and falling contributions. Despite those obstacles you cleaned up party finances, put us in a new headquarters, and brought in professional help to build an organization. It may be easy for some to forget those dark days, but I remember the discouragement of 2006 and 2008. We lost Congress and the presidency because many of the Republicans elected around the country tended to do what was expedient and not what was right. Hopefully we have found our way again as a national party. Our recent victories seem to indicate that. We may be seeing sunny days right now, but the storm clouds just passed for us. Your leadership kept us viable, active, and moving forward during those trying times.

On a personal note, I want to thank you for all your help, advice, and support. I cannot remember one major event that we planned where we invited you to come and you declined. Any questions I had got your response quickly. I appreciate that because I am not on the state committee, I am just a regular voting Republican who likes to help out when he can. You were accessible to people and that is important.

To close, I want to express my respect and my appreciation for all the hard work you put in during very difficult times. You kept us going despite all odds.

Thank you,

Stephen Smoot

Environmental Protection Agency Continues Its March to Irrelevance By Cracking Down on Farm Dust

Farm dust. Yup. Dirt stirred up by men and women working in the ground. The EPA is considering calling dust a pollutant and enacting stringent new regulations to harm our nation's farmers. As usual, this is something that will drive the little man out of business and benefit the big conglomerates.

I live right beside the Potomac State College farm. Yes there is a little bit more dust there than you would normally see. But is it really a pollutant? It is no more a pollutant than pollen that comes from certain flowers or crops. Will the EPA go after that next? I'm not joking. If they are going to regulate dust, the sky is the limit on stupid laws eminating from this agency. Will they next require states to pave every little country road in existence? What is the point of this and where will it stop? Seems to me that those who live by a farm simply have to buy a little bit more Pledge or move. Farmers have a right to use their property to make a living without so much government interference that they cannot operate.

At some point, the EPA will regulate itself into complete irrelevance. Bureaucrats who have never seen a farm are trying to force insane regulations onto teh backbone of this nation. It is constitutionally questionable whether or not the EPA actually has the authority to regulate anything. Just because we have allowed it to does not mean that it has the constitutional authority to do so.

We need to make our state legislators aware of this movement. It would not be hard to get a bipartisan group of West Virginia legislators together to petition our senators and representatives to halt this insanity.

Story below

http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=12899662

Stopping the Slow Death of Mexico

What is the biggest national security problem that America will face in the next ten years?

Islamic fundamentalist and other forms of terror certainly have the capacity to hit our country hard. However they took their best shot at our institutions on 9/11 and we bounced back domestically while aggressively demolishing much of their organization. Outside of blowing up several atomic bombs or crashing the internet, terrorists have the capacity to injure, but not undermine.

Americans need to start looking south of the border. Mexico's slow collapse should raise alarm bells for everyone. It was not that long ago that parents had no qualms in sending their eighteen year olds to Mexican resorts to celebrate graduating high school. Now full grown and seasoned adults risk a great deal to party on those beaches.

Always corrupt, Mexico has seen its institutions further degraded by the growing power of drug cartels in its northern states. Drug bandits control huge parts of the desert and mountain regions and until recently owned Ciudad Juarez, a large city across the river from El Paso, Texas. They have grown increasingly assertive against American law enforcement as well, threatening police officers and also allegedly putting prices on the heads of some Arizona sheriffs. Murder, theft, and rape have skyrocketed in Arizona cities in the past few years, fueled by illegals with cartel connections.

The common denominator in this entire issue is the existence of these cartels and the power they wield in Mexico. They destroy the effectiveness of government, hinder economic development, and are destroying the fabric of that nation. Mexico has proved itself unable to deal with this threat on its own. The cartels have even staked out federal land in southern Arizona for observation posts. Clearly they seek to spread their reign of chaos to the border states of this nation. The wreckage they have caused drives illegals into this country. Many of them work for the cartels, others seek security. Regardless, we cannot afford to relax our laws to accomodate anyone.

The solution lies in a long term and sustained covert operation to destroy the cartels in Mexico run by the Central Intelligence Agency. They need the latitude to assassinate drug kingpins, blow up facilities, and disrupt in every way possible these organizations. On our side of the border, the FBI needs to infiltrate and destroy street gangs in the same manner as it knocked out the power of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1960s. We also need an armed National Guard presense on the border with orders to act as a military force against these people.

Think of it this way. The drug cartels have slowly invaded the United States. They occupy our sovereign territory, threaten our elected law enforcement officials. Like Middle Eastern terrorists, they are a non governmental threat to our national security. The threat comes not just in the form of what they do here, but also the effect they have on Mexico. We cannot afford to see Mexico turn into a Somalia. It is time to come up with a plan and act, regardless of th eposition of the Mexican government.

Candidates and Community

It takes a lot of time, commitment, money, and effort to run for office and I respect anyone who takes the plunge and follows through with fundraising, door to door walking, attendance at fairs and festivals, and anything else necessary.

That being said, some candidates tend to earn more respect than others from their communities. Those are the ones that didn't just start caring about community because they ran, but ran for office because they cared about their communities.

One great example is Harley Staggers Sr. Almost everyone has a story about his commitment to this region before and after his election as congressman. He taught kids to play ball, helped the sick find doctors in the middle of the night, and commuted to and from work in Washington most days. Remember, that was prior to four lane highways, too. His son keeps that family tradition alive by coaching middle school basketball in Keyser.

You see other candidates around the state with that same mentality. Charles Minimah and his wife are both running for the Legislature from districts in Charleston on the Republican ticket. They run a small business and have been active for many years in promoting black heritage in the Kanawha Valley. Locally you see Gary Howell active in Rotary, Rose Ann Maine in Kiwanis, and all our legislators, Dave Sypolt, Ruth Rowan, and Allen Evans, contributing by sponsoring livestock at the fair. You see them at the community dinners and gun bashes in and out of the political season. School Board candidate and recent addition to the county Republican executive committee, Butch Wahl has helped raise thousands of dollars for the Keyser High School athletic complex. They show their support for local fundraising by purchasing tickets and attending events whenever possible.

Clip from California Representative Pete Stark, Hat Tip to Hot Air.com

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/08/02/stark-explains-that-the-constitution-has-no-meaning-at-all/

Clearly in the minds of Democrats, power trumps the law of the land.

Legislation By Lawsuit Must Stop

A long time ago, judges and justices held a belief that their purview had fairly narrow limits. Issues that the legislative branch could handle were generally left to Congress or the states. They understood that in a republic such as ours, the judicial branch had to remain restrained and that the elected officials must make the decisions. Only in egregious situations, such as the severe and unwarranted violation of civil rights, should courts intervene.

That was generations ago. Elena Kagan represents only the latest of an army of activist judges and justices. They believe that they shape the law as opposed to an earlier time when courts saw themselves as restrained by it. A court decision can affect the lives of millions and never reach the desk of someone elected by the people.

This encourages "legislation by lawsuit." If legislatures will not act on an issue, find a court that is friendly to the issue and file suit. You can get products banned from the market, tourists banned from beaches, and beneficial state laws blocked. A federal court last week issued an injunction against Arizona's law which merely asks individuals involved in traffic stops or arrests to prove their identity. Last I checked, we all had to do that anyway. Down in North Carolina, local communities fear that special interest group lawsuits will close beaches that bring millions in revenue to the eastern part of that state. It only takes one environmental kook judge to ruin it for everyone.

We need restrained government and we need restrained judges.

Stretch Run

It will be here before we know it. Not the Christmas rush, but the November elections. I've been hibernating for a week at the Outer Banks myself and most folks have taken the whole summer off from politics. However, now that August is here, it is time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

In all the hubbub over the replacement of Senator Byrd and the special election bill, West Virginia's fine nominees for Congress have gotten less attention. David McKinley and Spike Maynard need our help to overthrow the Pelosi machine and return Congress to sanity. Shelley Moore Capito's re-election will put her in a prime position to assume House leadership roles if the GOP regains control. Those working for Warner and Raese hopefully will put their efforts behind the nominee this fall.

Don't forget state legislative and county level races. These candidates need help as well. They inluence our daily lives more directly than anyone so these candidates races are crucial.

Mike Stuart Selected As State Party Chairman

At the state Republican Party summer meeting yesterday, Mike Stuart won election as party chair.

Regular readers of this blog know that I personally supported Doug McKinney's re-election. I felt that he had accomplished a great deal as party chair in retiring the debt, hiring an experienced executive director, and finding a good headquarters location. I would say that the party owes Dr. McKinney its thanks in leading it through a difficult time for Republicans across the nation.

That all being said, this is one of the most important election cycles we have seen in recent years. West Virginia has an opportunity to help overturn the left wingers currently running Congress. We need Maynard, McKinley, and one of the Republicans running for Senate representing this state. We need to end the assault on our rights and the ideals of this nation. Mike Stuart is now our party chair, so we need to get behind him and his efforts to get Republicans elected in West Virginia. Party unity is essential at this point, especially since the Democrats in West Virginia seem as divided as ever.

We also call upon Chairman Stuart to reach out to McKinney supporters and make this party whole. One party working together will get Republicans elected this fall and that is why we are here. Doug McKinney counted many devoted and principled Republicans among his supporters, as did Stuart. We hope that Stuart will personally reach out and invite these men and women to help him build his team and keep the West Virginia Republican Party momentum moving forward.