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This week my second cousin, Logan Smith, called me to alert the Kump side of our family that our Logan Clan will be featured in the noonday parade Saturday for the Scottish Celtic Festival at Randolph County 4-H Camp near Beverly. The Celtic activities will begin at 9:00 with local highland dancers at 10:00 and 1:30. Many Celtic values are shared by all Americans. In our telephone conversation, Logan and I agreed that James Harvey Logan is our early ancestor that we both admired most because he was a seeker of the truth. He was the first person in Randolph County to complete a ...

Restless tiger

Given the enthusiasm that demonstrators displayed at the “no kings” rallies, you would think that Democratic leaders were encouraged by the turnout. But this is not the case. As usual, the party at the national level largely ignored the grassroots parties’ efforts, only giving them the usual weak pat on the back. They should be careful; the rallies prove there is a restless tiger within the Democratic party who is eager to get out. Instead, the DNC, led by Ken Martin, seems to have as its slogan “when in doubt murmur”. Generally, the DNC blithely ignores the rank and file as ...

Evaluating Trump

Given that it has been ten years since Donald Trump came down the escalator in the Tower that bears his name, it is appropriate to measure his impact on American society, culture, and politics. There is some peril in measuring a presidency that has not ended, but perhaps it is worth a shot. So far, Trump has won only one battle, which has been his complete conquest of the Republican Party. Despite every device being used to prevent “the Donald” from actually doing what he prefers, he has managed to unite most Republicans under his banner. However, he had some difficulty persuading ...

A requiem for Doug Skaff

I really wasn’t expecting to have to write, in essence, an obituary for former lawmaker and politician Doug Skaff last Tuesday. The accident that killed him remains under investigation, but by all reports it was a freak accident on I-79 near Weston. Skaff’s SUV went into the back of a semi-truck and despite trying to brake in time, it was too late. Skaff was only five years older than me at 48. I had known him since his first stint in the House of Delegates in what was once the largest of the multi-member districts covering Kanawha County. He was a rising star in Democratic ...

Endangered NPR Never Stops Ripping Conservatives

So the House Republicans voted to end taxpayer funding for PBS and NPR. NPR CEO Katherine Maher has repeatedly claimed, in the face of avalanches of evidence, that she has never witnessed any bias at NPR. That’s beyond ridiculous. You can find it, day after day, hour on the hour. This week’s Los Angeles rioting provided plenty of exhibits. On the June 11 “Morning Edition,” Los Angeles-based co-host A Martinez told listeners, “We want to get a sense of how the community around Los Angeles is feeling about the decision to mobilize the military against civilians.” Notice how ...

Reality and idealism

One of my very first legal clients was an illegal alien named Alejandro. He migrated from Central America and lived in Macon, GA. He and his wife worked multiple jobs. They had children born in the United States. They sent much of their money back to Central America to provide for their families there. Alejandro saved his money to buy a double-wide trailer with new appliances with cash. He hired me because he claimed that, when his trailer was delivered, it was single wide with used appliances and cracks in the countertops and cabinets. He claimed he went to the company from which he ...