SOS Warner rebuffs Trump’s voter registration fishing expedition

Donald Trump obsesses over his defeat in the 2020 election and is paranoid about possible congressional losses in the upcoming midterm elections. As a result, he has weaponized the United States Justice Department to try to prove his unfounded allegations and discredit potential midterm defeats. Meanwhile, he continues to drop hints about nationalizing elections while

Trump hits a new low in his rant against the Supreme Court

Our President of the United States has the emotional capacity of a fourth-grade bully and a knowledge of the Constitution to match. That has been evident for years for anyone paying attention, but it becomes ever more apparent when Donald Trump does not get his way.  Take for example last week’s 6-3 U.S. Supreme Court

WV federal judges stop ICE overreach

One of the primary motivations for the American Revolution was the hated “writs of assistance.”  These were open-ended powers for British customs agents to search homes, shops, and properties. Founding Father James Madison wrote that when colonists began to challenge the warrantless searches and seizures, “American Independence was then and there born.”  Madison’s passion for

Trump loses support on immigration

President Trump is finding out that there is a significant difference between policy and practice when it comes to immigration. A Pew Research Poll two months before the 2024 election found that six in ten voters said immigration was a very important issue to them.  That was a winning issue for Trump who promised tightened

2026 Republican Primary Election may lead to Senate shake-up

The 2026 West Virginia Republican Primary is shaping up to be a battle for the control and direction of the State Senate. Nineteen of the 34 seats are up for grabs, and at least 10 races feature candidates who may be willing to challenge the existing power structure. The outcomes could have a significant impact

Morrisey’s tax cut bait-and-switch

Governor Morrisey started the 2026 legislative session with a bait-and-switch. During his State of the State address last Wednesday night, he proposed cutting income taxes by ten percent. His language to lawmakers and the public was specific: “I am asking the legislature to pass a ten percent income tax cut. I see a lot of

WV GOP gives the Democratic Party a lifeline

The West Virginia Republican Party has surged from irrelevance to dominance over the course of a generation. The shift took wing with the 2000 General Election when George W. Bush won the presidency and carried West Virginia while Shelley Moore Capito was elected to Congress for the first time. In 2021, Republican voter registration overtook

Trump takes out Maduro. Now what?

The successful mission to snatch Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro and his wife reminded me of the phrase coined by long-time New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman when the U.S. was considering invading Iraq.  He called it the pottery store rule: “If you break it, you own it.” Colin Powell used that

Reflections on year one of (semi) retirement

As we wrap up the year, a lot of people have asked, “How’s retirement?” My standard response is, “Well, I was really good at work, but I’m really bad at retirement.” I’m mostly joking, but there is an element of truth to it. The fact is, I’ve been really busy since I stepped away from

The Christmas when the fighting stopped

(Editor’s note: This a reprint of a commentary I post every Christmas.)  Has there ever been a Christmas when there was no war, no fighting in any corner of our planet?   It’s difficult to imagine since the world’s history has been a series of conquests and defenses. But there was once a Christmas when

Now it is up to the state Supreme Court to do the right thing on immunizations

By mid-2000, the number of measles cases in the country had slowed to a handful.  Years of vaccinations were so successful that the Centers for Disease Control declared in June of that year that measles had been eliminated.  The declaration meant there had been no continuous transmission of the disease for 12 months. It was

TikTok replaces legacy news outlets for young adults.

Research shows that the way young adults (ages 18 to 29) consume the news is changing rapidly. First, begin with this finding.  Pew Research shows that just 15 percent of young adults follow the news “all or most of the time,” compared with 62 percent of those who are 65 and older.  Additionally, these young

Governor Morrisey and the National Guard Mission in DC

The attack in Washington, D.C. on two West Virginia National Guard soldiers that left one dead and another critically injured is a personal tragedy for the victims and their families, as well as a broader calamity for our state. Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom was just 20 years old with her whole life ahead of her. 

The CDC needs an updated warning on its website

The Centers for Disease Control recently changed bullet points on its vaccine safety web page. Under “key points,” the CDC states, “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.” The second bullet point states that “Studies supporting a

How Kyneddi Miller’s tragic death can spark change

On April 17, 2024, authorities were called to a home in Boone County where they found Kyneddi Miller dead. The 14-year-old girl was emaciated and in what authorities would describe as a “skeletal” state.  Kyneddi’s mother and grandparents were charged with neglect resulting in death and are awaiting trial. (Charges against the grandfather were dropped

When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers

On a Spring Day in 1961, Mr. and Mrs. Alderson Muncy of Paynesville in McDowell County walked into Henderson’s Supermarket where they used food stamps to buy groceries.  Their first purchase was a can of pork and beans which, when added to the rest of their supplies, helped the Muncys feed their 15-person household. The

Justice should live like Toby and Edith

Leading up to the 2024 election, and in the subsequent months after the election, Jim Justice was able to sustain the illusion that his family business finances were in good shape. That period was a significant shift from previous years when story after story appeared around Justice’s non-payment or slow payment of bills, delinquent debts

Morrisey’s meddling risks children’s health

West Virginia is at a legal and moral crossroads on childhood immunization, and Governor Patrick Morrisey put us here. Morrisey’s executive order upon taking office earlier this year said the state’s Equal Protection for Religion Act, passed in 2023, gives parents the power to opt out of vaccinations due to reasons of faith. However, the

Are we a free or fear society?

Former Soviet political prisoner Natan Sharansky wrote that there were two kinds of societies—fear and free. He wrote in his book “The Case for Democracy” that “a society is free if people have a right to express their views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or physical harm.” A society where dissent is blocked or punished

The Mountaineers are testing fan patience

Patience is a virtue often lost in sports. The fact that athletic events are decided by wins and losses frequently produces either/or thinking; A team is great or terrible. A coach is a genius or a dunce. Sports are not given to nuance. Consider what has happened so far this season for the WVU football