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Hoppy’s Commentary Archives


TodayMarch 28, 2024

Third party and independent presidential candidates rarely get traction in West Virginia

Now that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has picked Nicole Shanahan as his running mate, the independent presidential candidate is turning his attention to getting on the ballot. So far, he is only on in Utah, with a court fight underway in Nevada. The Kennedy campaign has announced it will begin gathering petition signatures to try

YesterdayMarch 27, 2024

Let’s talk about the officiating in the WVU-Iowa game

The West Virginia University women’s basketball team came very close on Monday night to beating top seed Iowa and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.  It was a dogged performance by the Mountaineers on a prominent national stage and the conclusion of a remarkable season by first year head coach Mark Kellogg.

TuesdayMarch 26, 2024

WVU basketball looks to the future

The last 11 months have been difficult for the WVU basketball program and its fans. It began with Coach Bob Huggins’ homophobic, anti-Catholic slur on a Cincinnati radio station, followed by his DUI arrest and all things related to his unceremonious departure. Interim Coach Josh Eilert and his staff did an admirable job trying to

MondayMarch 25, 2024

The things government should not do

Our increasing government dependency means we now rely more than ever on elected representatives to fix all problems—large, small and even non-existent.  Once upon a time, the Republican philosophy was for less government, but the populist overtake of the GOP means the trend is now toward activism. We saw this during the recently completed session

FridayMarch 22, 2024

Tax Department Liens on Justice

The news that the Greenbrier Hotel Corporation failed to pay five months of sales taxes due the state last year is not surprising.  Hardly a week goes by that there is not a revelation or legal action involving debts, non-payment of bills or loan repayment issues involving one of the many businesses owned by the

ThursdayMarch 21, 2024

It’s all in the numbers

The U.S. Census Bureau has released population figures for individual counties in this country for 2023.  About 60 percent of the 3,144*  counties gained population from 2022 to 2023. The biggest gainers were generally in the South and the West—with a couple notable exceptions—while the largest population declines were in the Midwest and Northeast. Polk

WednesdayMarch 20, 2024

Justice should veto the vaccine exemption bill

The Justice administration is now deciding whether to sign or veto controversial legislation that would expand the vaccine exemptions for some school students. HB 5105 would remove the vaccine requirement for students in virtual public schools and allow private and parochial schools to set their own vaccination standards. Currently, the only exemption is for medical

TuesdayMarch 19, 2024

Manchin v. Blankenship? Possible, but not probable

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin is leaving open the possibility—albeit remote—that he could run for the Senate as an independent. The veteran Democratic Senator announced earlier that he is not running for re-election, and he has ruled out a third-party run for President. Manchin says he wants to get away from Washington politics and devote

MondayMarch 18, 2024

West Virginia and the Irish

This year’s convergence of the national political issue of immigration and St. Patrick’s Day got me thinking about West Virginia and the Irish. I am not a historian, but even just a little amateur research reveals the significance of Irish immigrants in the Mountain State. An estimated 1.5 million Irish left their home country for

ThursdayMarch 14, 2024

Coach Josh Eilert–A True Mountaineer

  Years from now, a young Mountaineer fan will be thumbing through the WVU basketball media guide and notice the nine wins and 23 losses in the 2023-2024 season. That youngster will wonder what went wrong. Hopefully, a long-time fan will be around to tell the full story, and it will take a while. No

WednesdayMarch 13, 2024

No-show Jefferson County Commissioners face the consequences

Jefferson County Commissioners Tricia Jackson and Jennifer Krouse are in trouble, and they should be. For several months late last year the Republican commissioners refused to attend meetings. They said their absences were a disagreement with two other commissioners over who should fill a vacancy on the five-member board. Krouse posted on social media that

TuesdayMarch 12, 2024

The real fake news

Fake news is real. I’m not talking about how the term is casually thrown around about any story that a news consumer happens to disagree with or believes is slanted. Former President Donald Trump has codified that as a convenient way to try to discredit the media. No, this is about actual fake news. The

MondayMarch 11, 2024

Confessions of a former legislature fanboy

Back in January, I wrote a commentary in praise of the West Virginia Legislature. Here is what I said: “Let me confess now that I am a fan” of the Legislature. I went on to write about the importance of real people—not professional politicians—collectively making decisions they believe are in the best interests of their

ThursdayMarch 7, 2024

Legislature faces big decision on state unemployment program

Here is a question West Virginia legislators always need to ask themselves, especially in the closing days of a session: Is it better to something or do nothing? That applies to the current debate under the Capitol dome over SB 841 which makes significant changes in the benefits paid to laid off workers and the

TuesdayMarch 5, 2024

Joe Manchin and the ‘sick f–k’ protester

Last Friday, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin was delivering a talk to a small group at the Harvard Institute of Politics.  His presentation was interrupted by a handful of radical climate activists. They got in his face, chanted and yelled at him for his support, among other things, of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. One protester

MondayMarch 4, 2024

I know “In God We Trust” but…

The West Virginia House of Delegates is considering a bill that requires the display of our national motto, “In God We Trust,” in public schools. The bill passed the Senate 31-1 with two absent and I will make the bold prediction that it will pass the House if it comes up for a final vote!

ThursdayFebruary 29, 2024

The inconsistent Republicans

In politics, it is often difficult to be consistent.   Holding true to a particular ideology may require an individual to be for or against something that they personally object to or that they know will anger their constituents.  I’m thinking of many of the Republicans who hold super majorities in the West Virginia Legislature

TuesdayFebruary 27, 2024

House of Delegates rolls back the clock on life-saving vaccinations

In West Virginia, we often find ourselves trailing the rest of the nation in many categories. We are frequently at or near the bottom in health outcomes. When we find ourselves at the bottom it is dispiriting, but here is a stat West Virginia can be proud of:  West Virginia’s school-aged children have one of

MondayFebruary 26, 2024

Huggins has zero chance of returning as WVU’s coach

WVU Athletic Director Wren Baker will conduct a nationwide search for a permanent head basketball coach. Baker indicated when he hired Josh Eilert on an interim basis last year that he would wait until the end of the season.  However, if Baker is doing his job, he is already exploring the possibilities. Eilert should be

ThursdayFebruary 22, 2024

Lawmakers want to block the release of mugshots

A bill moving through the West Virginia Legislature would prevent state corrections officials from releasing to the public mugshots of individuals who have been arrested.  The House Judiciary committee has approved and sent the full House HB 4621 which says, “photographs of a person for identification purposes taken by the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation