Bernie’s energy pipe dream

  Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has unveiled his version of the Green New Deal.  The Democratic Socialist characterizes it this way: “A ten-year nationwide mobilization centered on equity and our humanity during which climate change will be factored into virtually every area of policy, from immigration to trade to foreign policy and beyond.” That’s another

ICE enforcement triggers hyperventilated response in Morgantown

Last week, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted an operation in Morgantown.  The agency has been extremely vague, saying only in a statement “ICE is not currently conducting any large-scale operations in Morgantown, however, ICE does conduct targeted enforcement operations in compliance with federal law and agency policy every day

Voters will decide if it matters where Governor Justice sleeps

We have an ongoing legal battle in West Virginia over where Governor Jim Justice should live. There was another hearing yesterday in Kanawha County Circuit Court on the question of whether to send to the state Supreme Court a series of questions about the residency issue, which has been brought by Democratic Delegate Isaac Sponaugle.

Teachers need help (looking at you, parents)

Across West Virginia, parents are sending their children back to school.  Summer with the kids at home can seem like a tiresome ordeal.  No doubt some parents are happy to dump the kids off at school with an unspoken, “Now, YOU deal with them.” It is the job of teachers and the school system to

Outcome of Manchin-Toomey gun bill depends on Trump

Getting consensus in Washington on gun control is more difficult than fans of WVU and Pitt finding common ground.  However, there is one point everyone involved in the gun debate can agree on. President Trump is the key. West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and Pennsylvania Republican Senator Pat Toomey are again pushing legislation that

West Virginia’s homeowner property taxes are among the lowest in the country

West Virginians pay some of the lowest home-owner property taxes in the country. Figures compiled by the Tax Foundation show that median property taxes in nearly every county are below $1,000 a year and, in some cases, they are a fraction of what homeowners in many other states pay. Earlier this month, the Tax Foundation

House of Delegates Republicans raise red flag over “red flag” law

Several Republican members of the West Virginia House of Delegates are raising a red flag over “red flag” laws. The debate started nationally following the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton when President Trump got behind the idea. “We must make sure that those judged to pose a grave risk to public safety do

‘Red Flag’ laws are a reasonable step to reduce gun violence

One of the proposals to reduce gun violence following last weekends two mass shootings is for the expansion of “red flag” laws in states.  These laws empower the court to issue orders temporarily confiscating firearms from persons determined to be a threat to themselves or others. South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is pushing the

Trump’s ‘Nixon goes to China’ moment

President Trump is scheduled to visit El Paso and Dayton today in the aftermath of mass shootings that left 31 people dead and many more injured.  White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said the President “has wanted to go there since he learned of these tragedies.” Several Democrats have said Trump should not go to El

‘Do Something!’

When Ohio Governor Mike DeWine spoke during a vigil for the victims of the deadly mass shooting in Dayton, the crowd began to chant “Do something!” Professional soccer player Alejandro Bedoya of the Philadelphia Union followed up his score of a goal Sunday by grabbing the on-field TV microphone and declaring, “Hey, Congress, do something

Is Medicare for All, all that?

Last week’s Democratic debates got all the candidates and much of the country talking about health care, and that’s a positive regardless of your politics. A Pew Research Poll earlier this year found that while the economy was the top priority for Americans, health care was a close second. A Gallup Poll determined that 45

A bad debt deal by Congress

Members of Congress have left Washington for the August recess, and their trail out of town is covered in red ink. The final actions of the Senate and House of Representatives was passage of a two-year budget and debt ceiling deal that creates a spending framework and avoids a government shutdown until beyond the 2020

Why Sanders or Warren could win

Watching Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in the debate the other night, I kept thinking, “one of them can’t possibly win, can they?” Medicare for all, free college, student loan forgiveness, higher taxes (implied, but not said), open borders, the Green New Deal. Their positions on these issues are about as far left as political

Minimum wage myopia

Here’s a loaded question: How much do you think you should be paid for your labor? If you’ve been in the workforce, then you probably have a pretty good idea of what your skills are worth, and if you operate a business then you know the value of particular jobs. Of course, many politicians think

Merger could breathe new life into Mylan

The planned merger of Mylan and Pfizer’s off-patent drug business represents the end of an era. Army buddies Milan “Mike” Puskar and Don Panoz started Mylan in 1961 selling pharmaceuticals in White Sulphur Springs. As the generic drug business took hold, Mylan became one of the biggest players in the industry, but it was an

World Scout Jamboree is amazing and inspiring

I hosted Talkline from the World Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve at Glen Jean Friday and, as is often said, you have to see it to believe it. The first thing that strikes you is the vastness of the camp—over 10,000 acres on top of a mountain where an old surface and underground

Bishop Brennan’s big job ahead

The newly appointed Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston steps in at a most challenging time. The Diocese and its 78,000 Catholics in West Virginia have been upended by the scandal involving disgraced former Bishop Michael Bransfield. When new Bishop Mark Brennan was introduced in Wheeling this week, he said he knew what he

West Virginia lends helping hand to FirstEnergy Solutions

The West Virginia Legislature voted overwhelmingly this week to allow FirstEnergy Solutions to avoid paying an annual $12.5 million business and occupation tax to the state for operation of the Pleasants Power Station in Pleasants County. The company, which is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy and is going through bankruptcy, argued it needed the tax break

A costly compromise

President Trump, Republican and Democratic leaders in Washington, who never seem to agree on anything, have finally found some common ground.  Unfortunately, what they see eye to eye on is yet another dramatic increase in federal spending that will drive the debt higher and further burden future generations. The agreement announced this week raises spending

UMWA wants Democratic presidential candidates to look miners in the eye

One of the most memorable moments of the 2016 presidential campaign came right here in West Virginia when out-of-work coal miner Bo Copley confronted Hillary Clinton over her comments about putting “a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.” Copley asked Clinton, face-to-face at a small roundtable meeting in Williamson, how she