Time to Fix the Electoral Count Act

One of the reasons for the chaos on January 6 is the ambiguity of the Electoral Count Act. Then-President Donald Trump tried to use the law to get Vice President Mike Pence to reject votes from certain states and instead recognize separate slates of electors who supported Trump. Pence refused, but the attempt was enough

Governor Justice Takes Another Crack at Tax Cuts

Governor Jim Justice is fixated on getting rid of the state income tax. For some time now he has believed with great conviction that having West Virginia join the other seven states* that do not have a personal income tax is a key to increased prosperity for our state. Justice took a huge swing at that

Confidence in the Media Hits New Low

A new Gallup Poll finds that confidence in newspaper and television reporting has reached an all-time low. The survey conducted last month found that just 16 percent of U.S. adults say they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in newspapers and 11 percent in television news. Both are down five points

Even Conservative Republicans Know Trump Lost

This just in: Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Most have known that since November 7, 2020, four days after the election, when all the major networks declared Joe Biden the winner. However, Trump has continued to make baseless claims that the election was “stolen” from him. All the allegations of election fraud have been

Schumer Takes Aim at Manchin and Misfires

John Podesta, a former senior counselor to President Barack Obama and founder of the Center for American Progress, must have been in a particularly melodramatic mood when reacting to reports that Senator Joe Manchin had withdrawn his support for a scaled down version of the Build Back Better bill. “It seems odd that Manchin would

The High Cost of Getting Old

If you read this column regularly or listen to my radio show, you’ve heard me talk about my mother, who passed away a few weeks ago.   The experience of helping with her care during the last years of her life raised my awareness significantly about issues related to aging. I have already written about, and

Charleston Should Park E-Scooter Ordinance

The State’s Capital City is considering legalizing dockless electric scooters, or e-scooters. These two-wheeled scooters are increasingly popular modes of transportation in urban areas. Riders use a phone app to active the scooter, pay a fee depending on the amount of time they use it, then leave the scooter at their destination. Charleston City Councilman

When You’re Down, Look Up

I was taking in two distinctly different sources of information simultaneously Tuesday afternoon. The TV was tuned to the January 6 committee hearings, while on my computer I was pulling up the remarkable images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. It was a challenge to reconcile the contrast. On one hand, the destructive events of

Biden, Trump or None of the Above?

The country is in a sour mood. Polls show an increasing number of Americans believe things are getting worse. A Harris Poll of voters for the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard last month found that 70 percent believe the country is on the wrong track. Democrats, Republicans and Independents may not agree on

Countries Can’t Quit Coal

The world is having a hard time burying coal. The “get-no-respect” energy source has rapidly moved from a pariah to a courted fuel, even if countries are reconnecting with coal grudgingly. As a result, prices have surged, and that has produced a financial windfall for West Virginia. I’ll get to that later, but first… The

WV Republicans, Governor Want to Cut State Taxes. But How?

Republican Governor Jim Justice and the Republican super majorities in the Senate and House of Delegates want to cut taxes. They have been talking about it for months. However, they have yet to agree on how to do it. The latest tax cut plan comes from Justice. He proposed this week reducing the state income tax

Are Free Schools Public Schools? Voucher Law Hits Legal Snag.

The attempt to make West Virginia a national leader in school choice has hit a legal roadblock. Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Joanna Tabit on Wednesday blocked the state’s implementation of the Hope Scholarship. The state Legislature created the Hope Scholarship program in 2021 to allocate state money to help parents send their children to

Huntington, Cabell County Rolled the Dice

Huntington and Cabell County gambled. The communities that have been deeply impacted by the opioid crisis wanted to hold the drug companies responsible. Yes, they wanted money—a lot of it—to help remediate the damage done by the epidemic, but they also wanted a reckoning. They hoped a public trial would accomplish both, and they went

The New Face of College Football

It is getting harder to love college football. That has been my sport of choice for years… watching and listening to games, covering it, and riding the highs of lows of being a fan of WVU, my alma mater. I am admittedly a member of an older generation of fan, one that valued rivalries and

John Adams’ Independence Day Mistake

(Editor’s note:  This is a commentary I wrote a few years ago and post every year on Independence Day.) John Adams’s letter to his wife Abigail was filled with enthusiasm, but also carried a tone of foreboding.  It was July 1776 and revolution was in the air among the delegates at the meeting of the

Supreme Court Checks the Power of the EPA on Draconian Carbon Rule

Seven years ago, President Barack Obama tried, and failed, to get Congress to pass the Clean Power Plan. The proposal included regulations that would have shut down coal-fired power plants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Obama then took an alternate route. His administration’s EPA pushed ahead with the regulations, claiming that a little-used section of

Woody Williams: The Best of the Greatest Generation

(Hershel “Woody” Williams: 1923-2022) The battle for Iwo Jima was a seminal event of WWII.  American forces were fighting their way closer to Japan, but Japanese fighter planes taking off from the Pacific island were intercepting American bombers. According to the WWII National Museum, “The U.S. determined that Iwo Jima must be captured.”  A U.S.

The Long Road Ahead for West Virginia Democrats

New West Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Mike Pushkin has his work cut out for him, and he knows it. “It’s about work ethic and we’re going to have people who want to show up and work and get that message out that we are the real party of West Virginia values,” Pushkin said on Talkline

Abortion Confusion in West Virginia

West Virginia public policy makers need a sense of urgency on abortion. Last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade and sending the abortion question back to the states has created legal confusion in the Mountain State. The state’s only abortion clinic, Women’s Health Center of West Virginia in Charleston, announced shortly after

No More Roe, So Now What?

The U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade has triggered this question in West Virginia: Now what? The answers vary, but here are some observations and possibilities: First, and most importantly, regardless of where you stand on the issue, abortions are no longer available in West Virginia. The state’s only abortion provider, the Women’s