Let The Games Begin!!!!!

Is there really any better time of the year?  Let me answer that for you….NO!!  August is winding down and that means this is the first week of High School Football games across the state!  And, what a privilege it is to be back for another season of High School Sportsline on Wednesday nights and

How ‘Quiet Quitting’ is Discouraging Work

The hot new trend in work is to, uh, not work, or at least not work very hard. It is called “quiet quitting,” and advocates, who are mostly from Generation Z, say it means just doing the minimum at work to avoid the stress of “hustle” that often exists in the workplace. TikTok has plenty

I’m Off!

I’m taking a few days off.  Dave Wilson is filling in.  Meanwhile, how about giving me a grade for the job I’m doing?  A, B, C, D, F, and please explain your evaluation. Thanks, Hop

GOP Candidates Find Success in The Big Lie

The Wyoming Primary Election is today and, if the polls are correct, incumbent Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney will lose. Attorney Harriet Hageman, who has the backing of former President Donald Trump, is leading Cheney by as much as 29 points. Cheney’s political downfall is directly attributable to her bulldogged determination to hold Trump accountable for

The WV Democratic Pitch on Abortion is Strong, But Wrong.

Democratic leaders of the West Virginia Legislature want a statewide vote on abortion. They have called on Governor Justice and Republican lawmakers to “reconvene and place upon the agenda a resolution to let people vote on a constitutional amendment for reproductive freedom.” “The Legislature had its chance to clarify the laws and failed,” said Senate

West Virginia’s ‘Not Proficient’ Public School Students

The latest standardized test results show that the vast majority of West Virginia high school students who are about to graduate are considered not proficient in math or science. Just 21 percent of 11th graders are proficient in math and only 27 percent are proficient in science. Those are just two of the data points

New School Superintendent Faces Big Challenges

The state Board of Education wasted no time hiring a new state Superintendent of Schools. Clayton Burch’s transfer from the job of superintendent to take over at the state School for the Deaf and Blind in Romney came at the same meeting Wednesday as the hiring of his replacement. The Board, after an executive session,

House Speaker Hanshaw Faces Challenge From His Right

The in-house races for leadership positions in the two chambers of the West Virginia Legislature are typically affairs kept behind closed doors. The lobbying for votes within the party is usually in hushed tones that produce promises of support that may or may not materialize. However, this year’s race for Speaker of the West Virginia

Mooney Throws Down the Gauntlet at Manchin’s Feet

West Virginia 2nd District Republican Congressman Alex Mooney is leapfrogging his campaign for re-election in November and going right after Senator Joe Manchin in 2024. As Josh Kraushaar of Axios first reported, Mooney is running a television ad on cable in the 2nd District that specifically targets the Democratic Senator over the Manchin-Schumer climate, energy

Speech is Free, But Lies You Pay For

The truth matters. As the late businessman and philanthropist W. Clement Stone said, “Truth will always be truth, regardless of lack of understanding, disbelief or ignorance.” That may sound like a quaint concept in these times of wild conspiracy theories spread by profiteering provocateurs and opportunistic politicians who prefer “alternative facts,” but occasionally we are

Why West Virginia is Not Like Kansas on Abortion

The surprising outcome of the abortion vote in the Kansas Primary Election earlier this week has pro-choice advocates everywhere wondering the same thing: Do the results provide a “yellow-brick-road” pathway to wins for choice in other states, including West Virginia? There are some notable parallels between Kansas and West Virginia. Kansas, like West Virginia, is

West Virginia’s Severance Tax Boom

Coal and natural gas are on fire, and the state of West Virginia is a major beneficiary. Prices for the commodities have skyrocketed, in some instances to record levels, generating previously unimaginable severance tax collections for the Capitol treasury. For example, the price for Central Appalachian thermal coal is close to $180 a ton, three

Manchin’s Deal Clears a Path to Finish the MVP

Senator Joe Manchin, ever the deal maker, managed to cut a side arrangement with Democratic leaders when crafting a compromise on the climate, energy and Medicare prescription drug bill. The agreed-to separate deal includes multiple provisions aimed at streamlining energy project permitting processes. This adjacent understanding also has a specific provision for “the relevant agencies

West Virginia: Wild, Wonderful and White

Over the years, I have occasionally mocked the phrase “diversity is our strength.”  It always sounded like something people, especially White people, are supposed to say when they want to sound inclusive. But, as with many things at this stage in my life, I am re-evaluating. West Virginia is one of the whitest places in

WV Legislature’s Special Session: Heat, But No Light

Question: When is a special session of the West Virginia Legislature not so special? Answer: When nothing happens. So, here is what happened… I mean didn’t happen last week in Charleston. Governor Justice called lawmakers into special session last Monday to consider his tax plan, which he had revealed just 19 days earlier.  Justice invoked

Joe Manchin’s Politically Perilous Middle Way

Joe Manchin has a political conundrum. He faces consistent headwinds as the only statewide elected Democrat in a deeply red state.  He had to campaign his tail off in 2018 to retain his Senate seat against Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey to squeak out a win—49.6 percent to 46 percent. Notably, Manchin’s numbers have risen

Rape and Incest Exceptions Highlighted in Abortion Debate

The West Virginia House of Delegates has passed and sent to the state Senate a bill that outlaws abortion in the state, except where necessary to save the mother’s life, and limited instances of rape and incest. The Republican majority in the House initially showed no interest in the exceptions for rape and incest. The

Justice v. Blair on Taxes

  Governor Jim Justice and Senate President Craig Blair are headed for a showdown—or maybe a compromise—this special session on tax relief. Justice’s plan is straight forward—a roughly ten percent reduction in personal income tax that would save taxpayers about $250 million. Justice sees the reduction as a start toward the eventual elimination of the

Now it’s Taxes AND Abortion

Real-time legislating makes for unpredictable politics. Governor Justice called lawmakers into special session Monday with the specific purpose of passing his proposed ten percent reduction in state income taxes. Justice crafted the agenda narrowly to try to prevent distractions. However, the Legislature is a co-equal branch of government, and it gets a say in what

The Power of ‘I Was Wrong’

The New York Times last week took a remarkable risk. Eight opinion writers published pieces explaining how they were wrong about something they had written previously and why they had changed their minds. Paul Krugman wrote about how he had been wrong when he dismissed concerns about the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan causing inflation.