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Trump avoiding repeating history in Iran

History doesn’t always repeat itself, or even rhyme. People sometimes learn from experience, their own or others’. Example: Woodrow Wilson, a stubborn Southerner, refused to involve any Republicans, all Northerners in those days, in treaty negotiations after World War I. His treaty version, which would require the United States to go to war on a vote of the League of Nations, was rejected by the Senate. Franklin Roosevelt, who had been Wilson’s assistant secretary of the Navy, included Republicans in post-war and treaty planning while World War II was still going on. That ...

Best ways for leaders to gather feedback

Feedback. It’s something all people say they value. However, some ways of collecting it are more effective than others.  I attend many meetings and presentations in which the leader asks if there are any questions, and very few, if any, hands go up.  It is no surprise that people tend to be cautious about speaking up in this situation. After a pause or someone’s finally asking a very non-threatening question, the session comes to an end. There are some typical ways to get feedback via surveys. They can happen after a session or conference, and there are the ...

Worrying trend

So much for negotiating in good faith, despite the perniciousness of the Islamic Republic, the United States became a wild card diplomatically. As with Israel, they reserve the right to do whatever they please internationally, but their word is not worth much. This is an ongoing trend, not simply an idea of Donald Trump. Many of his Democratic critics do not question whether Iran should be changed, just the methods employed. Joe Biden tsk-tsked Benjamin Netanyahu while he placed Gaza on the rack, but did little to stop it. As with the Gulf War, America needs no “small cause” to ...

Free Tree Talks start third year

Thanks to the Elkins Tree Board and City Councilwoman Nanci Bross-Fregonara, we will offer another series of three free Tree Talks at Kump Education Center. These lectures have been sponsored by Appalachian Forest National Heritage grants, and our local, nature-loving audience is always enthusiastic.  Learning about natural science is one of the educational purposes of Kump Center. On March 4, Appalachian Biologist, Lacy Rucker presented the first 2026 Tree Talk at Kump Center.   She explained why the Appalachian Mountains are such a “Hot Spot” for biodiversity, and she ...

D&E’s ‘mom’

Being a mom to several hundred students is a tremendous responsibility, and a profound blessing. So many Davis & Elkins College staff members form deep and meaningful relationships with students, but Lisa Senic may be number one on that list. Though she does not have biological children, year after year she experiences that special parental bond. Born and raised in Glady, about an hour from Elkins, Lisa came to D&E in 1988 to pursue an associate degree in business. Fifteen years later she earned her Bachelor of Science in business. Just three years after completing her initial degree, ...

Hope (Scholarship) floats

Much as I predicted last week, the Hope Scholarship educational voucher program remains intact for the next fiscal year. Instead of recommending its first originating bill to reform the Hope program, the House Finance Committee recommended a new originating bill that only changed the payment frequency to Hope families from two times per year to four times. Some are saying the committee buckled under pressure from current home school and private school families. That’s a complete misunderstanding of what happened. The reason the first originating bill was drafted was to deal with a ...