I was doing my usual morning Google Reader check and I noticed that HuntingtonNews.net had posted Sen. Robert C. Byrd’s weekly column.

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I am certain you are tired of hearing opinions on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor. I am going to add one more to the chorus of political opinionators voicing their thoughts.

Sonia Sotomayor is going to be seated on the United States Supreme Court. Republicans in the United States Senate do not have the numbers to block or barely even slow down her ascension to the highest court in our country. This is another lesson for Republicans that losing elections have very big consequences. Read the rest of this entry »

I could not believe what I was reading. Yesterday, the Charleston Daily Mail reported that one state employee has been involved in as many as three different automobile accidents while driving a state vehicle and has cost the State of West Virginia around $462,000. Read the rest of this entry »

Chris Stirewalt, a fellow conservative West Virginian and political editor of the Washington Examiner, has a great column in the Examiner today. We support West Virginians, so his columns will be linked from this site.

Click here to READ.

OK everybody, just calm down.

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A decision on a proposed turnpike toll increase on the West Virginia Turnpike will be made on June 25, according to members of the West Virginia Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority.

“Right now, as Sen. [Truman] Chafin has said, and I agree, it’s not an issue we are going to give up on. We are going to try to go to the next phase and see what alternatives there are to a proposed turnpike toll increase.” – Senate Minority Leader Don Caruth

  

 

 

Sheriff Danny Wills

A search warrant was released on Thursday from the West Virginia U.S. Attorney’s Office, Drug Enforsement Administration showing that officers were authorized to search Sheriff Danny Wills’ offices in the Mercer County Courthouse for controlled substances inventories, dispensing records, ordering invoices and theft/loss forms.

Wills, a Democrat, who was elected to his second term as Mercer County sheriff, had previously worked as both a West Virginia State Police Trooper and a medical doctor. 

Unofficial reports circulated Thursday that Wills intended to resign soon, possibly by the end of the day, but Mercer County Commissioners Joe Coburn, Karen Disibbio and Jay Mills said they had received no such word.

The Princeton Times has a full report on the issue. 

The Associated Press is reporting that several of the environmental extremists that were arrested Saturday at Massey Energy’s Marfork Coal operation in Pettus, West Virginia remain in prison, unable to post the $2,000 bail for each of the participants arrested on trespassing charges. 

The people that were arrested on Saturday are members of a group called Climate Ground Zero. I did some research on the group and found a blog that the organization uses to communicate with fellow extremists. Please watch the video below to see how extreme these people are in their tactics. Read the rest of this entry »

I made it back from Washington D.C. safe and sound Friday evening. Sorry for not writing since then, but it always takes me a day or two to recover for traveling.

I got to do and see a lot of neat things in our nation’s Capitol, but one of the most memorable and awe-inspiring was visiting the World War II Memorial, which sits between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

It’s the first time I’ve seen this monument, since the last time I was in D.C. was for an Eighth Grade field trip in 1996. It was every bit as amazing as I had heard it was, but there was one part of it I was never told about.

There is one wall there with 4,048 gold stars; one star for every 100 Americans killed and that great conflict. According to my calculator, that’s 407,800 soldiers who gave their lives for a cause larger than themselves. Read the rest of this entry »

The West Virginia House and Senate will convene Tuesday, and their main goal is to pass a state budget. Legislators will be required to reduce what Gov. Joe Manchin proposed back in February by around $197 million. The final budget will approach $4.2 billion in spending backed by general tax and lottery revenues. Read the rest of this entry »

 

 

Speaker Richard Thompson (D-Wayne County)

Richard Thompson, speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates, has been traveling around West Virginia making friends and meeting political allies that might help in 2012.  It is widely speculated that Speaker Rick Thompson will run for statewide office in 2012.

Among those in tune with the West Virginia political echo chamber it’s been rumored that Thompson is considering a run for governor or attorney general in 2012. 

Last week, Thompson found himself touring the Mercer County Health Department with Democrat Delegate John Frazier from Mercer County.

The Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports.

Chairman Michael Steele

Chairman Michael Steele was in Charleston on Friday to raise money for the West Virginia Republican Party. 

The Charleston Gazette has a full report. 

This is an open thread for anyone who wants to voice their opinion on the event.

The State Journal featured a story yesterday about how Congressman Nick Rahall is in a tough spot when it comes to voting for the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which aims to tackle a myriad of challenges, including the establishment of a U.S. plan to cap and trade greenhouse-gas emissions. Read the rest of this entry »

Where is Secretary of State Natalie Tennant? Not at her office in the State Capitol. It’s clear that Natalie Tennant is running for something and like many politicians before her she is using her office as much as possible to advance her effort. 

Tennant has spent much of this week outside of Charleston. Is she traveling in a state vehicle or being reimbursed for mileage when she goes to speak at things like the West Virginia American Water Works Association Annual Conference? What exactly does the West Virginia Secretary of State have to do with water works anyway? Read the rest of this entry »