Anthony's 18th

OK, it was only the 18 MONTH birthday for Anthony on Friday, but I thought it merited a “Front Page” photo.

A life full of walking around the neighborhood, a dinner at Cracker Barrel and Imagination Movers rung in number 18.

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OK, beyond this point, we now have to start talking about it in years.  I remember asking one set of parents how old their child was and they said — 29 months.

Huh?  Once you PASS 18 months, its no longer months, only years.  So, “going on 2 years” is the new answer to “how old is he?”

Pro-Life Rally at the Legislature

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Thursday, March 19 at noon at the Capitol.

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Those pro-lifers out there who want to make an impression on the Legislature should attend.  I’ve spoken to it in the past and it’s always a great rally.

Of course, most of the Democrats in the Legislature are “pro-life.”  Their constituents wouldn’t elect them otherwise, so most give lip service to it, go back home and campaign on it and never have any plans of passing any pro-life legislation.

Go up there and show your support.

WVGOP announces Underwood Intern Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                            

Contact: Gary Abernathy

Monday, February 23, 2009                                                  

304-768-0493

CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Republican Party today announced a new program paying tribute to former West Virginia Gov. Cecil H. Underwood, who passed away in November.

The Cecil H. Underwood Intern Program will utilize the talents of young Republicans across West Virginia as they work with the State Party each summer to carry out the party’s efforts in a variety of activities.

“Gov. Underwood had a special connection with young people, and this program will be one way for his legacy to live on in our party for years to come,” said state GOP Chairman Doug McKinney.

Cecilia Baker, the governor’s daughter, said, “Our family is honored by this gesture. Our father deeply appreciated the talents and contributions of young people, and this program will help develop and encourage their participation in the political process.”

McKinney said the intern program will provide logistical and ground support for the party, grow new ideas and talent with potential future leaders and party staff, and publicly demonstrate an active, growing, and community-oriented party. Interns will develop conservative values and leadership skills, and gain valuable work experience and interaction with party and community leaders. 

Cecil H. Underwood first ventured into politics in 1944 at age twenty-two with his election to the House of Delegates. He retained this seat until 1956, serving as House minority floor leader in 1949, 1951, 1953, and 1955. In 1957, he became the youngest governor in the history of the state and the first Republican governor in twenty-four years. In 1996, Underwood became the state’s oldest governor, forty years after his first election to the office.

For more information or to contribute to the program, contact the WVGOP at 304-768-0493, or email wvgop@wvgop.org.

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Paid for by the West Virginia Republican Party

McGraw’s claims against Eli Lilly dwindling

Sign the petition on behalf of Logan

If you read this blog, you know that it is very rare that I advocate to go and sign a petition, but I felt compelled in this case.

Attached is the wording of the petition and I would encourage you to go to the WV Against Abuse website by clicking HERE to sign the petition.

Its crazy to me that Pepper Eren (the mother of Logan Goddall) is being considered for parole.  Petitions rarely work, but if WVAA is able to take the Parole Board a petition showing the public outrage over her possible release, then maybe it will help sway them to keep her in jail.

See the petition below, and if you feel compelled, please go there and sign up, I did.

Thanks!

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Keep Logan’s mother in prison!

Pepper Eren did nothing to protect her 2-year-old son, Logan, from the abuse inflicted on him during his short life.  In fact, she visited him 1/2 hour before his death and even though he was unable to stand or hold himself up, even though his eyes were rolling back in his head and his teeth were clenched shut, even though he could not speak or cry for help, she walked away from his bruised and burned body, leaving him in the hands of Michael Merrifield who then murdered him.

We believe that Pepper Eren is just as responsible for Logan’s death as Michael Merrifield. We believe she should have cared for her son, protected her son, sought help for her son, and saved her son’s life.  Instead, she walked away. 

Pepper Eren should not be eligible for parole, she should be serving a life sentence.  Instead, she was given only a 1-10 year sentence and is again (after only three years) eligible for parole. 

We urge the Parole Board, when making the determination of whether or not to approve parole, to consider Logan’s brutalized body, the pain and suffering that he endured, and the indifference that his mother displayed.  We urge the parole board to consider Pepper Eren’s concern for her relationship rather than her concern for her son.  We urge the parole board to consider the fact that Pepper Eren was the only person who could have saved Logan from Michael Merrifield and yet she WALKED AWAY and left him to die. 

We urge the Parole Board to once again DENY parole for Pepper Eren.

Thank you.

Plants swearing in today, Monday, December 29

Mark Plants will be sworn in as Kanawha County Prosecutor today at 4pm at the old County Courthouse. 

It was an honor to help Mark win election, he will make an excellent, excellent prosecutor.  Everyone is welcome to see him be sworn in to his new position.

MEMO to WCHS Radio: Bring back the Nancy Guthrie commercials

I never thought I’d say this.

But, having just heard the single worst commercial in the history of WCHS radio (possibly the world), I actually long for the days of the inane, incomprehensible Nancy Guthrie commercials.

At least with Nancy, you knew it was going to end.  You knew that her penchant for stringing together sentences — which by themselves made sense, but when put together with a series of other sentences, you were left scratching your head trying to figure out exactly WHAT she was talking about — would eventually end on election day.

But, there is a commercial SO bad running now that you see people within their cars shoving bamboo shoots up their fingernails.  I see road rage incidents within passing cars — but, the difference is the road rage is being committed ON THEIR RADIOS. 

When I hear it, I have the nearly uncontrollable desire to drive my car off a cliff.

If you listen to CHS radio (or at least Hoppy’s show), you have heard it.

It is the woman singing a tune for Smith Company Motorcars to the melody of “Santa Baby.”

Holy crap. 

Trust me, if you have heard it, you know what I am talking about.  And, if you don’t know what I’m talking about then you could not have possible heard it.

I want to find the person who sings it, and tear out her vocal cords.

Seriously, CHS should fire anyone remotely associated with the production of that commercial. 

I mean, I feel bad for the poor sound engineer who has to be fired, but he should have quit before actually putting that commercial in the system.  You know, it’s like when a soldier gets an order from an insane commander and knows it is morally wrong, but still carries out the order.  They still send those folks to Fort Leavenworth.

Trust me, Levenworth is too good for anyone associated with the production of this commercial.

I mean, the commercial is THAT bad.  Is it the first five minute commercial?  It feels literally like it lasts at least 4:45.

Until this commercial, I thought the Carbonocks commercial with the little girl at the end crying “Is Daddy coming home?” was bad.  That one only made me want to jam a fork in my eye.

This Smith Company Motorcars commercial makes me long for a Vietnamese prison camp.  They should take it and use it for terrorist interrogation and about half way in to the 5 minute long commercial, the terrorists will be begging to be waterboarded.

And here, I thought that I was growing weary of the never ending parade of “testimonial” commercials on CHS.

Look, I understand it has to be tough to have so many advertisers and having to come up with unique sounding commercials for each client.

But, whoever produced, recorded, and approved that Santa Baby commercial should cast out to the wilderness.  Heck, anyone who WALKED by the room while it was being recorded and didn’t immediately call John Raese to get it stopped should be fired.  Maybe anyone in the building near the production studio should be fired.  Anyone even tangentially associated with it should at least be publicly flogged.

Yes, as you might surmise, I wasn’t too crazy about the Santa Baby commercial for Smith Company motorcars. 

I’m sorry, but that commercial drives me to near insanity by its sheer horror.

Plants fundraiser and victory celebration set for TONIGHT

The Mark Plants for Prosecutor committee is holding a fundraiser to retire the debt from his successful campaign for Kanawha County Prosecutor.

Mark has really hit the ground running with a strong transition team and a couple great hires to date.  He is holding some debt from the campaign and this is an opportunity for those who didn’t contribute to him (and those who did, but did not contribute the maximum during the general) to help Mark out and contribute to his effort.

The fundraiser information:

Tuesday, December 9th
5:30-7:30pm
The home of Larry and Lisa Pack
2146 Presidential Drive, Charleston (the turn right before you get to John Adams Middle School)

Below is the text of his fundraising letter, in case you didn’t receive a copy.

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Dear Friends,

Election night was truly an honor for me and my family.  It is humbling to know the people of Kanawha County entrusted me with their vote and are counting on me to insure the safety of our citizens serving as Kanawha County Prosecutor.

With your help, we shocked the political establishment in Kanawha County by defeating their anointed candidate.  We are proud to have won such a close, hard-fought victory.

                Unfortunately, our campaign went into debt to insure election victory.  We had no choice.  To get our message out to the voters about my experience as an Assistant Kanawha County Prosecutor, we had to purchase radio and TV ads.  But, it’s good to know those ads helped us win on election night.

 We have hit the ground running setting up a transition team and beginning the tough work ahead.  I plan to be an aggressive Kanawha County Prosecutor and will make you proud of your support.

Our friends and supporters, Larry and Lisa Pack, have offered to help us retire the debt by hosting a fundraiser at their home.  We need your help to make this event a success and we want you there to help us celebrate our victory! 

                This campaign was long and trying – and expensive – but, we came out on top!  Our campaign is counting on your financial contribution. 

The fundraiser and celebration will be held at the Pack residence:

Campaign Fundraiser and Victory Celebration
Tuesday, December 9^th, 5:30-7:30pm
2146 Presidential Drive, Charleston, WV

Can you contribute today?  All checks should be made payable to the “Plants for Prosecutor Committee.”  A contribution of $1,000, $500, $250, $100 or any amount will help erase our debt.  Thank you in advance for your financial support and I look forward to seeing you at our Victory Celebration!

                                                                                    Sincerely,

Mark Plants                                       
Kanawha County Prosecutor-elect

* Public employees please disregard

Redistricting will be bad for Democrats, Southern West Virginia

The freight train is coming.

Yet, no one on the Democratic side can hear it yet.

What is it?

The 2010 Census.

Well, not the people coming to knock on your door, but the redistricting that will have to occur because of it.

And, no matter what way you slice it, even the crafty and wily leader of redistricting on the Democratic side, Senator Walt Helmick, won’t be able to juggle the jigsaw puzzle without losing major ground for the Democrats in the 2012 election.

So, why in the world am I talking about 2012? Well, because every Senator running today will have to look ahead to see what changes will come to their district soon after they take office.

Imagine this…

As many Senators from Monongalia County as Kanawha? The first time in the history of West Virginia where the once powerful and heavily populated McDowell County has no Senator?

McDowell County without a Senator, but Roane County with one? And, Berkeley County with two?

Or how about Senator Charles Trump from Morgan County? Or Senator Jerry Mezzatesta from Hampshire? OK, no, that’s not going to happen.

But, the craziness I describe above is very much possible and almost probable.

I’m an engineer and love numbers, so I couldn’t resist extrapolating the 2006 Census information to 2010 and redrawing the Senate districts based upon it.

And, WOW.

Even I was surprised at what happened.

Most people forget in the 2000 redistricting, with Southern Democrats in control of the Senate, they were able to keep two more Southern Senators who were in borderline population districts, because, well, they were Democrats.

But, the numbers during the 2010 Census will be too great for even the master Democratic planners to pull off.

OK, without delving too much into the minutia of districts, let’s look at the big picture and the major problem areas for the Democrats (there really is only ONE problem area for Republicans that I will outline below).

Problem #1 for the Dems - Kanawha County.

I solidly place Kanawha County in Democratic territory. With the exception of a few of us lucky Republicans who have found success here, Kanawha County is normally the Democrats to lose.

Kanawha County loses ONE Senator. And, most likely you have to combine Kanawha (projected 188,000 in population in 2010) with Roane County (15,000) to make up the difference.

Depending on how you split it, the two districts that will cover a Kanawha-Roane District is a split where two seats are predominately Democrat (rural Kanawha and Roane) and two are predominately Republican (a metro district that includes the I-64 Corridor from Cross Lanes to Charleston).

Let’s face, Senate Dems in Kanawha County win because they do so well in Eastern Kanawha County. Take away Eastern Kanawha and add in Cross Lanes and ouch… not a good scenario for most Democrats. And, at the minimum, those seats are a battleground every two years.

So, for the DEMS - minus TWO.

Problem area #2 - Mingo/McDowell

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Could anyone have imagined 60 years ago when McDowell County had 100,000 people that Mingo and McDowell would be fighting for ONE Senator? Geez. But, that’s exactly what will happen.

Basically, the current 6th District that includes a part of Wayne, McDowell, Mingo and a part of Mercer drops so significantly in population that they now must come over and take all of Mercer. In other words, Mercer becomes the 800 lb gorilla of District 6.

This actually puts a Republican like Don Caruth in a tough seat to hold (and maybe a perfect chance for Don to look closely at one of the two Supreme Courts seats on the ballot in 2012), but if he wins big in Mercer, he can still overcome the major Democratic advantage of Mingo/McDowell. Or, even worse for the Dems, if we can actually find a Republican in Mingo county… can you imagine a Republican out of Mingo County who is strong in Mercer?

What’s even more problematic for the Dems? Unless Truman Chafin moves out of Kanawha County, err… Mingo… and gets a third house in Mercer County, either he or the-free-state-of-MacDowell County Senator John Pat Fanning is most likely a goner to either a Democrat or Republican from Mercer in the 2012/14 elections.

Let’s put it this way, whatever way you slice it, Mercer will keep their Senator and either Mingo or McDowell will lose one of theirs. Phewww… whatever scenario plays out, it’s not good for the Democrats to know they will have to battle to hold a district that was once theirs and theirs alone.

So, for the Dems - MINUS ONE.

Problem area #3, 4 and 5… The Eastern Panhandle.

Why so many problem areas for the Dems? Well, because this area is growing so rapidly, there really is no way to cut it, without putting the Democrats in bad, bad shape.

Currently, the Democrats run two nearly insane districts, the 14th and 15th, from Preston to Mineral county (the 14th) and from Marlinton to Martinsburg (the 15th).

With the growth in the Eastern Panhandle, there is no way the 14th and 15th can continue. The 16th will shrink to Jefferson (50,000+) and now take only 55,000+ from Berkeley. And, most likely, even though the more Democratic parts will likely be included in the district at the behest of the current Senator Unger from there… this will continue to be the toss-up district that it is now with an influx of more and more Independents.

So, the 16th? NO CHANGE.

But, the 15th. Ahhh, the 15th. It will warm the hearts of Republicans.

Most likely you’ll have the heavily Republican parts of Berkeley with 55,000 people, heavily Republican Morgan (17,000), Hampshire County (24,000) and 10,000 souls from either Hardy or Mineral.

My guess here is that the Democrats will do their best to cut their losses and include a portion of Mineral in the 15th and go ahead and cede the district to a Republican from Berkeley and another Republican from either Hampshire or Morgan.

So, for the Dems - MINUS TWO.

The 14th is also a big, big problem for the Democrats, especially if current Senator-elect Bob Williams is not in the race. You most likely have to include the current 14th of Mineral, Preston, Grant, Taylor, Barbour and Tucker (98,000 total) in this district, along with getting another 8-10,000 people from somewhere else, possibly Hardy. So, it pretty much stays the same toss-up district that it currently is.

The 14th? NO CHANGE.

Wait, so why in the world does a district that stays the same (with one Dem and one Repub) hurt the Democrats so badly?

Well, because the remnants of the old Helmick-Barnes distict 15 that ran from Marlinton to Martinsburg must now go over and gobble up all of Upshur (Republican) and maybe even take a swath of Greenbrier County (also Republican leaning).

So, the old 15th’s core of Randolph/Pocahontas/Pendleton/Hardy (~50,000 people left in 2010), must now pick up heavily Republican Upshur (24,000) and possibly Greenbrier (maybe as much as 25 of the 35,000 people) making a district that was already beginning to trend Republican, maybe go all Republican.

In addition, this mashes togther several districts in the central part of the state that run from Fayette to Marion (what’s left of the 10th, the 11th, the 12th, and 13th) in a way that will be nearly impossible for the Democrats to cut without cutting even MORE Republican districts.

The Remnants of the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 15th? MINUS THREE.

So, let’s count them up here…

Potential losses of two in Kanawha, one in McDowell/Mingo, two in the Eastern Panhandle, and another three in the mismash of the central part of the state?

Count ‘em… EIGHT potential losses for the Democrats in the 2012 Redistricting. And, that’s with the Democrats controlling the Senate going in…

That’s how bad the 2010 Census is looking for the Democrats.

Of course, no one is saying the Republicans will win everyone one of those seats.

But, what I am saying is that EIGHT seats currently either not in play or heavy Democrat leans will now be toss-ups or lean Republican. Of those, two are solid Republican pickups, three are heavy Republican leans, two are toss-ups and one is a Democrat lean.

The Republican’s problem areas? The ONLY potential loss would be in the 10th District the Mercer County seat held by Don Caruth. But, Caruth would be formidable, even racing across McDowell and Mingo because Mercer County is going to want a Mercer County rep. So, if it’s Don against John Pat in 2012, I think Don wins that seat.

Can you imagine the earthquake ripping the temple’s tapestry down the middle if a Republican actually represents Mingo and McDowell county for the first time since 1930? Oh, the humanity!

This is simple math. Because the areas of growth are areas that lean Republican and the areas of tremendous loss are Democratic strongholds, the census will do more for the Republican cause than same-sex marriage, abortions, guns, the economy or just about any other issues.

The Republicans must stand ready to capitalize on this by winning seats 2010 so they can be ready to challenge for control of the Senate in 2012.

Dems in the Senate have to wake up with night sweats considering just how bad redistricting would be should the Republicans pull off a stunner and multiple Senate seats in 2010.  Holy mackerel.

If this did occur, the redistricting could be done in a way the Republicans would hold the majority in the Legislature for the next 50-75 years.

But, even if that doesn’t happen, population will put the Republicans in a position to challenge for control in 2014, if not earlier.

Wheeling Intelligencer: Voters won’t be fooled again

Awesome editorial from Wheeling yesterday…

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Voters won’t be fooled agin

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. It’s an old piece of homespun advice, used sometimes as a warning against being gullible.

But West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw has fooled Mountain State voters many times. Now, he’s attempting to do it again, by pulling out the oldest trick in his political book.

It won’t work. Not this time. West Virginians aren’t falling for it.

A young reformer, Dan Greear, is challenging McGraw for the attorney general’s job. Voters will decide the issue on Tuesday - and we believe they will select Greear. It has not escaped their notice that among his top priorities is to act as a vigorous advocate for consumers.

Several times in the past, McGraw has fooled voters by claiming that he is the defender of the “little guy” against big business. Now, desperate to mislead us once again, he is using the same strategy.

McGraw and officials in many other states have filed a variety of consumer protection lawsuits against various companies during the past several years. McGraw rests his claim of being a consumer advocate on such lawsuits.

But as voters have learned, he has abused the process severely. He hires private attorneys - many of whom have made big contributions to his campaigns - to represent his office. They reap millions of dollars in fees.

And when McGraw’s office wins one of those lawsuits, he keeps millions of dollars in proceeds in his own office. The money should go to the state treasury - but McGraw doles it out himself in an attempt to win good will and votes.

Greear wants to stop all that. He wants to use in-house lawyers to handle most of the attorney general’s work. When private attorneys are needed, they should be hired according to merit, he believes. And money collected by the attorney general should go to the state treasury, Greear thinks.

There should not be a let-up on filing of consumer protection lawsuits - only in how they are handled, Greear is convinced.

But McGraw wants voters to think he is defending us against big business. His deputy, Fran Hughes, said last week that, “When you go up against the biggest companies in America and you make them pay, they’re going to get their pound of flesh, and that’s what’s happened.”

No, it won’t work this time. West Virginians have seen too much of McGraw’s misbehavior while in office. They are coming to realize that priority isn’t “the little guy” - but is, instead, Darrell McGraw.

We’ve been fooled before. Shame on McGraw for that. But we won’t be fooled again.