Opinions
Another pipeline to prosperity and national security
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is leading a 16-state group urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that halted construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. This project offers enormous economic and national security benefits.
Morrisey sold us out with drug settlements
CHARLESTON – There has never been any doubt that the opioid epidemic has ravaged the state of West Virginia. Now newly uncovered evidence proves what we already know.
Accurate voter registration lists are first step in election integrity
CHARLESTON – There is much concern over election integrity as we approach the 2020 election. However, West Virginians can rest assured that as our state's top election official, I have been working diligently with county clerks and other officials throughout the state to secure our elections, and to ensure an accurate vote count on election night.
State Attorneys General should oversee opioid litigation
Do we want justice or a quick jackpot for trial attorneys? The negotiation class leads to the latter. And, more important, it’s unconstitutional and unfair. The states and their attorneys general are the parties empowered to protect the rights and welfare of their citizens.
Free speech ... unless you upset someone in power
PARKERSBURG – You don’t really think a lot about your right to free speech until you lose it. Or until someone tries to take it from you by force. And that’s the very crux of why I’ve spent so much of the last month entrenched in our state’s political news. It’s a complicated story. It’s about stuff I’ve said, stuff other folks have said on tape and the hurt feelings of politicians who think they should be able to shut you up if they so desire.
What teachers unions really care about
Every profession has good and bad practitioners. The majority will be somewhere in the middle, but the best will be superb and the worst, very bad. This is true of doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc.
Russians didn't change a single vote in any American election
W.Va. Secretary of State encourages county, city governments to remain vigilant
Rebecca Chapman really stepped in it
People who file slip-and-fall lawsuits seem to operate on the assumption that they’re in no way responsible for the accident that led to their alleged injuries and that someone else – usually someone with enviable assets – is entirely to blame, but surely some of the plaintiffs must have contributed to their unfortunate falls.
Helping lawyers get help
CHARLESTON – Last year we launched the West Virginia Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being and joined a national movement gaining momentum in response to the irrefutable evidence of mental illness and substance abuse in our profession.
Another slip-and-fall story that doesn’t add up
Critical thinking seems to have gone out of style. Nowadays, facts and logic are considered irrelevant, even obscene. It’s all about feelings now: presumed entitlement and alleged victimhood.
West Virginia must STEAM ahead in agriculture's shifting landscape
CHARLESTON – Progression is defined as “the process of developing or moving gradually towards a more advanced state.” As time barrels forward, each institution, industrial sector or culture must adapt to societal needs. Agriculture is no different.
As usual, the MDL club negotiates in its own behalf
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster conceded that the issues being adjudicated in the multidistrict litigation he’s overseeing in Cleveland against opioid manufacturers and distributors “should be handled by the legislative and executive branches, our federal government, and our state governments.”
God ordains strength out of the mouths of babes
Telling a story through Biblical and media quotes
‘Eighty percent of success is showing up’
Woody Allen wasn’t joking when he said that line we used as a headline. It was the essence of his advice to aspiring writers, many of whom never finish, or even begin, their first oeuvre. Having a completed manuscript is no guarantee of success, but not having one is a guarantee of failure.
Fighting the opioid epidemic for all West Virginians
CHARLESTON – Is there anyone in West Virginia who hasn’t experienced the effects of our state’s opioid epidemic? The lives ruined and deaths from addiction have devastated every community in every county. Even so, when many understandably may feel a sense of hopelessness, I believe there is reason for increasing hope.
No more rubber stamps for class certification?
A recent ruling from our state high court suggests that it may have overcome its reluctance and decided to get with the program, stiffening the standards for class certification.
Jim Justice is neither Democrat nor Republican – He’s a narcissistic opportunist
For months, everyone has been talking about it, but now I am clearly and loudly saying it: Jim Justice is an embarrassment to our state and should resign and try to attend to his family business obligations.
Makerspaces: An investment in our nation’s workforce
WASHINGTON – There are makerspaces located in every corner of the world, creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to capitalize on their own innovative ideas. Each brings opportunities for training today’s and tomorrow’s skilled workers needed for our thriving economy. The U.S. Small Business Administration is launching a new competition that will invest in their continued success.
It turns out that chicken nuggets may not be fool-proof
Believe it or not, fried chicken once had bones in it. There are people alive today who remember that – and how they used to eat it carefully so as not to swallow and choke on the smaller bones, having a piece of white bread nearby if they did choke, so they could wad it up and swallow it to make the bone go down. More daring old-timers still eat chicken that way.
We need a full-time governor in Charleston
CHARLESTON – There is an old saying in agriculture: “The best fertilizer is the footprint of the farmer.” In other words, you must show up for the job to do the job.