Opinions
Someone must have left the faucet running
The arrogant justices on the West Virginia Supreme Court felt they had the right to augment their ample salaries with taxpayer-funded perks of their own choosing.
Preserving the Second Amendment
CHARLESTON – Americans who choose to lawfully exercise their right to keep and bear arms should be at liberty to do so.
Speculation rampant over Supreme Court investigation
CHARLESTON – The State Capitol was buzzing with speculation and rumors last week about the West Virginia Supreme Court and a federal grand jury investigation. Reporters were busy trying to separate fact from fiction, and that was a challenge.
If you must go to court, be prepared
You have to wonder why some people bother going to court. It’s not just a matter of luck like the lottery, where all you have to do is buy a ticket and wait for the results to be announced. The process isn’t automated, self-propelled. You can’t file suit and expect the case to win itself.
Why would West Virginians want an independent senator?
Democrat Joe Manchin told voters he would protect our Second Amendment rights if we elected him to the Senate. Once he got in, he proposed more gun control. Manchin also said he would vote to repeal Obamacare. In eight years in Washington, he has declined several opportunities to do so. But my favorite lie from Manchin came last August in an interview with the Charleston Gazette-Mail.
Manufacturers should not be liable for harm caused by competitors' products
Three out of five State Supreme Court justices last week declined to expand West Virginia's products liability law and refused to hold a brand-name drug manufacturer responsible for harm allegedly caused by a generic drug made and sold by another company.
West Virginia has lost a great one in Chris Stadelman
CHARLESTON – Our state is rich in natural resources such as coal, gas and timber. But, some people say our best natural resource is our people. If that’s the case (and I happen to think it is), West Virginia lost one of its greatest resources last week.
You may be eligible to help further enrich some wealthy lawyers
Which would you rather be paid – 38 dollars or $9 million? How about getting paid $38 to help someone else make $9 million?
Encouraging entrepreneurship for military spouses
CHARLESTON – Each May we memorialize the men and women who sacrifice their lives defending our freedom. Often forgotten are the military spouses who give their all to maintain households and raise children.
The War on Coal is winding down slowly
The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, two weeks after the signing of the peace treaty ending the War of 1812. If British General Edward Pakenham had had a cell phone, or even a beeper, he might have received notice of the treaty-signing before the battle began and been able to avoid his embarrassing defeat to Andrew Jackson.
Democrats should not help Don Blankenship
WHEELING – “You can’t shake hands with the devil, and say you’re only kidding.” That’s the line that came to mind when I read about an effort by West Virginia Democrats to help Don Blankenship become the Republican nominee for US Senate by running ads attacking his competition. The scheme has awful risks, and a huge downside even if it “succeeds.”
Whoa! Slow down! The climate-change lawsuits are getting out of control!
It's one thing for state and local governments to sue oil, gas, and coal companies, alleging that their fossil fuels contribute to some nebulous hazard called “global warming” or “climate change” (or “weird weather”) that creates some supposed damage that governments must expend public funds to rectify.
The only issue in November
POCA – As West Virginia Republicans grumble over our choices for the Senate this year, we have to look at the big picture. Judges.
Judges without judgment
“We were kind of busy being judges and not paying attention to administrative things,” said West Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Margaret Workman in response to the latest uproar over the most recent exposure of two justices' abuse of public funds to accommodate themselves in the extravagant style to which they wanted to become accustomed.
Standing up for West Virginia's seniors
CHARLESTON – Every West Virginian has basic human rights, regardless of age, to be protected from unlawful harm and suffering.
West Virginians have stopped singing the blues
The song "Happy Days," written at the outset of the Great Depression, became the campaign song for Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first presidential bid in 1932, but it could have been applied to Donald Trump's campaign 84 years later.
Confidence and optimism for small businesses in tax season
Tax season tends to bring out a sense of dread. Whether you’re a business owner gathering a year’s worth of receipts in a file box for your accountant or a family scratching out formulas at the kitchen table, the paperwork and the ever-nagging fear that you’ve forgotten something makes mid-April our least favorite time of year.
Solution: revise HB 4009 and pass it again
House Bill 4009, capping the amount of settlement funds that the state Attorney General’s office can keep in its consumer protection fund, passed both houses of the Legislature by overwhelming margins, but was vetoed by Gov. Jim Justice.
With the foundation in place, state's future is limitless
CHARLESTON – Now that the dust has settled, and the static has quieted a little, I think there’s an opportunity to reflect a little bit about the past couple of months in terms of wins and losses for our state’s taxpayers.
Wins for all: W.Va. royalty owners, counties will benefit from this session
CHARLESTON – The second session of the 83rd Legislature of West Virginia concluded on March 10, and while the session was dominated by the teachers strike, there were several important pieces of legislation passed to benefit the citizens of West Virginia.