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Two-party system is important

When it comes to contesting statewide and legislative races, the West Virginia Democratic Party should be commended for its candidate recruitment efforts heading into the 2026 elections. I don’t say that because I have a specific bias one way or another. But I do believe that a healthy two-party system is important to making our democratic republic work, because the political parties hold each other accountable. According to the state Democratic Party, there are 22 Democratic candidates seeking nomination to 17 of 19 state Senate seats on the ballot for the May primary, some of ...

Will falling birth rates lead to conservatism?

George Orwell was on to it almost 80 years ago — the problem of below-replacement level birth rates. In a short book written for the Britain in Pictures series in 1947, written just as Britain was emerging from wartime rigors into an uncharted postwar future, Orwell noted that despite an upward blip in birth rates during the war, “the general curve is downward. The position is not quite so dangerous as it is sometimes said to be, but can only be put right if the curve not only rises sharply but does so within ten or at most twenty years.” “Otherwise,” he went on, ...

Losing the country

Speaking at The New York Times, their actually conservative columnist Ross Douthat said, “I want to tell you a secret. One that most conservatives on the internet don’t want you to know. A year into his second presidency, Donald Trump has lost the country.” You might not want to hear this, but Douthat is right. Perhaps he is not right on the specific issues, but generally, he is right. Ignore the polls. The polling average is a better indication of where things are and the president is deeply unpopular. The generic ballot continues to show Democrats gaining. In 2018, the generic ...

Discover the power of proving them right

“Prove them right.” This was how Greg Hughes, Executive Vice President, Communications, NBC Sports responded when I asked him about his career success. Greg is currently immersed in Olympic and Super Bowl coverage and the NBA season and is ready for MLB Sunday night baseball. During dinner with Greg and his wife Lisa, he shared that he had spent the day with Bob Costas regarding the upcoming baseball season for NBC.  People ask me how I know Greg. The answer is through a mutual friend in Janesville, Wisconsin named Sam Loizzo. Sam passed a few years back. I knew Sam because we ...

Will computers revolutionize education?

Last week The Economist carried an article under the title “Failing the screen test.” It describes examples of school systems that are not satisfied with their test results after using expensive digital learning devices. Many educators believe that increased screen time may actually impair learning by reducing the students’ attention spans and social interaction skills. “Fifty years after Apple began marketing computers to schools, classroom are awash with technology. Some 90% of high school students and 84% of primary school pupils have school-issued devices; four-fifths of ...

Incidents of disorder

Not content to allow the pot to simmer, Donald Trump’s FBI raided the Fulton County Board of Elections. This was after an attempt to cool off the situation in Minneapolis by simply changing the messenger without adjusting the message. To attempt to rewrite history by stubbornly claiming he won the 2020 election, he further imperils his Presidency. For one thing, states control their elections, and these results were certified in Georgia with a Republican Governor and Secretary of State. To top it off, he uses Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of Intelligence, who tried to outdo Kristi Noem ...