Vent: No Mailers!

Listen to “Vent: No Mailers!” on Spreaker. Please indulge more of a vent today than a typical commentary… If you stop and think about it, the intrusion isn’t much different from a perfect stranger walking through your front door completely uninvited. First to the refrigerator, emptying it of your preferred provisions. Then to the living

Who will save The Greenbrier this time?

In 2009, the historic Greenbrier Resort was bankrupt and days away from shuttering.  Jim Justice stepped in to save the hotel by purchasing it and promptly investing in its development. He saved the Greenbrier. Now 17 years later, Justice is in the legal and financial fight of his life to maintain ownership of the resort.

Outside Money Dominates Sugar Maple PAC

Listen to “Outside Money Dominates Sugar Maple PAC” on Spreaker. Thomas Klingenstein of New York — his address is on Broadway — works in finance. Jeff Yass was born in Queens. He became a professional gambler, then founded a Wall Street trading firm. That firm even uses poker tournaments to sharpen decision-making — and its

Dunmore’s War: precursor to the American Revolution

A skirmish between Colonists and the Shawnee in West Virginia could be considered what lit the fuse for the American Revolution

Has Trump Crossed a Line, Especially in WV?

Donald Trump is not Jesus. He cannot heal people by laying on hands. And doctors don’t wear robes; they wear white coats and scrubs. They use stethoscopes, modern medicine, and advanced technology in their effort to heal the sick. Obvious to most — but apparently not to Mr. Trump. After a back-and-forth with Pope Leo

What’s Next for Justice and The Greenbrier?

Listen to “What’s Next for Justice and The Greenbrier?” on Spreaker. Debt is a great tool — until it’s not. Get on the wrong side of leverage, and you may not find your way back… at least not without losing a piece of your financial identity. You have to wonder if that thought has crossed

Space Race 2.0

Listen to “Space Race 2” on Spreaker. NASA’s Artemis II is an inspiration… a catalyst for unity in a country that thirsts for it. It should also awaken Americans to our space race with China — one we must win. Have we forgotten? The Soviets beat us before we beat them — first to place

The message from Artemis vs the message from Trump

The last few days, we witnessed the extreme opposites in messages to people everywhere. The encouraging and inspiring one came from space; the terrifying one originated from the leader of the free world. On Artemis II’s mission around the moon, we heard from pilot Victor Glover. As we settled in for Easter and Passover, Glover

Data Centers: Same Fear, New Technology

Listen to “Same Fear, New Technology” on Spreaker. Information has become scalable in a way never before imagined. Knowledge — once scarce, expensive to share, and tightly controlled — is now abundant, cheaper to distribute, and accessible to more people than at any point in history. A new technology emerges. It introduces mobility in how

The data center development dilemma

How much input and control should county and municipal governments have over the development of massive new facilities?

Sports Best Left to SSAC

Listen to “Sports Best Left to SSAC” on Spreaker. Average. Not a star. Not one to ride the pine either. That’s not a knock – just an honest description of my time as a high school student-athlete. Never the fastest. Never the guy you called on in the clutch. But also, never one to quit

Good Friday – April 14, 1865

Listen to “Good Friday-April 14 1865_Final” on Spreaker. Today is Good Friday. For Christians around the world, it is among the holiest days of the year — the day Jesus Christ was crucified and three days later, rose again as prophecy foretold. A reckoning for man’s sin now finished. And if you celebrate, as I

Using Deadly Force

Listen to “Forced to Use Deadly Force” on Spreaker. Tuesday night was extraordinary. A call for help came. A man had just been fired. He was angry… then despondent. He refused to leave. His boss dialed 911. Dispatch said the man had gotten into a dark blue truck, but still wouldn’t go. His supervisor stood

West Virginia’s first-of-her-kind House of Delegates candidate

Artificial intelligence is rapidly integrating itself into many aspects of our lives—personal assistants and everyday help, health and medical decisions, shopping and product recommendations, news and information, and now politics. Meet Jenny, an AI-generated politician who, if elected to the West Virginia Legislature this year, will be the first non-human to serve in political office

Spring is finally here and baseball is back

There's a formidable baseball team which can be made from Mountain State natives

A Transmission Line Brought Google Here

News broke early Friday morning: Google has acquired land in Putnam County for a possible data center. While some — a minority, in my view — are less than enthusiastic, many in Putnam County see the announcement as a clear win… at least that’s the read from the cacophony of social media. That’s not surprising.

The Truth Behind the Takubo Attack

Listen to “The Truth Behind the Takubo Attack” on Spreaker. This week brought the first real glimpse of dirty politics as we move toward the May primary. An ad from the Mountaineer Conservative Coalition — a leadership PAC tied to West Virginia Senate President Randy Smith — tries to paint Kanawha County Senator Tom Takubo

What are we fighting for?

The United States has joined Israel in opening a war with Iran. For the last half century, Iran has fomented destabilizing terror in the Middle East while violently suppressing voices of opposition by its own people. The world would be a safer place without the theocratic regime of Iran. But is that the goal? It

Did Hanshaw Violate Ethics in Representing Developer?

Listen to “Did Hanshaw Violate Ethics in Representing Developer?” on Spreaker. In a word, no. News surfaced late last week that West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw is representing the developer of a controversial data center project in Tucker County. It’s a fair story, and it was well reported both in print and during the

Morrisey takes the tax cut win but needs growth for future wins

Among Governor Morrisey’s top priorities entering the 60-day legislative session was another reduction of the personal income tax. In his State of the State address in January, he proposed a ten percent cut. His proposed budget included a five percent reduction and challenged lawmakers to find a way to deliver the other half. The request