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Opinion

Political parties on perilous ground

Columnists

As Donald Trump’s Republicans look askance as he launches what looks to some like another long-term war in the Middle East, and as the anti-Trump Democrats hold up Homeland Security funding in what looks to some like prioritizing illegal immigrants over U.S. citizens, one is tempted to ask, what’s going on with America’s political parties? Something close to self-harm, you might answer. And yet it is apparent that the U.S. parties, the oldest and third-oldest in the world, are not in as much trouble as many old parties abroad. In Britain, both Conservatives and Labour are ...

What is victory in Operation Epic Fury?

Columnists

Six days after the commencement of Operation Epic Fury, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce, in the context of the ongoing joint American-Israeli military campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran: “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” In the same post, the president seemed to equate such “unconditional surrender” with “the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader” to lead Iran, which would enable the country to come back from the “brink of destruction” and emerge “stronger than ever.” Just three days after ...

Seat Belts

Editorials

Most sensible West Virginians have made it such a habit to buckle their seat belts when they get into a vehicle that they don’t even think about leaving it off. Still, there are some who fail to understand what the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration calls “the potentially fatal consequences of not wearing a seat belt.” Those will be the targets of a statewide seat belt enforcement campaign that begins today, according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. The Click It or Ticket initiative runs through March 23. Sure, those who continue to ignore common ...

Siding with the Mullahs

Columnists

“Hegseth spent $93 billion in one month — roughly the cost of extending the ACA tax credits for THREE YEARS. But instead of lowering Americans’ healthcare costs, Hegseth used millions of taxpayer dollars on fruit baskets, Herman Miller recliners, ice cream machines, Alaskan King Crabs and a Steinway & Sons grand piano. A true grifter in every sense of the word,” tweeted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. He is outraged the Secretary of Defense fed soldiers in combat zones steak and lobster. Sen. Schumer based his tweet off a left-wing outlet tweeting, “New Pentagon budget ...

Clean-Up

Editorials

Did warmer weather have you flinging open your windows and getting a jump-start on spring cleaning recently? If you’ve already started planning for that annual home reset, it’s time to start planning for how to help West Virginia’s highways get a clean start to the spring/summer travel season, too. Registration is open for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s annual Adopt-A-Highway Spring Statewide Cleanup, which will be April 25. No, you don’t have to tackle a stretch of highway by yourself. This is an opportunity for individuals, yes, but also ...

Reader supports river designation

Letters to the Editor

I am a landowner next to the lower Glady Fork River in eastern Randolph County.  I’ve had an association with this stream and its tributaries for sixty-five years.   Hiking, biking, skiing, camping, fishing, or hunting along Glady Fork has brought immense joy to me and my family and friends over the years.  My father was an avid outdoorsman and he brought me into the mystique of the Glady Fork region at a very early age. Elkins was my dad’s hometown and I still consider it my hometown despite having lived in numerous places around the country. The U.S. Forest Service ...