Breaking News

Opinion

Speech to the military

Columnists

President Donald Trump’s speech to military leaders at Quantico once again made him appear unserious. US generals are loyal to the Constitution, not the president. Trump treated them to a campaign speech. They responded with silence, and after the speech, some hinted that his address was disjointed and disturbing. For openers, Trump made references to an “enemy within,” which suggests that his opponents are adversaries of the United States because they are critical of his government. He also meandered, stating that the army could be politically beneficial as if the military were ...

Consequences

Editorials

It was not only state officials who noticed a difference in the way the Federal Emergency Management Agency treated West Virginia in June, as opposed to previous interactions. Mountain State residents didn’t just notice it, they felt the consequences. Doug Buffington, acting secretary of the state Department of Homeland Security and a senior advisor to Gov. Patrick Morrisey, covered his bases when he declared “I have nothing bad to say about FEMA,” while he spoke to lawmakers earlier this week. But with that out of the way, he talked to them about his interaction with the FEMA ...

Sad Process

Editorials

Today marks the beginning of a sad process for the Randolph County Schools system, as the county Board of Education will vote this month on whether to close two K-12 schools and three elementary schools. A public hearing on the closing of Harman K-12 School and North Elementary School is scheduled for today at the Elkins High School theatre, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Those wishing to speak during the hearing must sign in between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. The Randolph County Board of Education will cast a final vote on closing the two schools at 8:30 p.m. tonight. If the proposal is ...

Keeping government open

Columnists

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, one of my primary responsibilities is ensuring that our government is responsibly funded so it remains open and working for the people we represent, including the hardworking West Virginians. That’s why I’m deeply disappointed to see Washington once again stumble into a completely avoidable government shutdown—this time because Senate Democrats have refused to join Republicans in supporting a commonsense, short-term measure that would keep the government open. Let’s be clear about what this measure—known as a ...

Festival Weather

Editorials

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, and you certainly couldn’t judge the 87th Mountain State Forest Festival by the weather of its opening weekend. The small army of volunteers it took to bring us this year’s Forest Festival, under the supervision of Director General Lisa A. Shaffer, are to be commended for all the hard work they put in last week, especially in light of the rapidly changing weather conditions. The 87th MSFF got off to a rainy start during the official opening ceremony at the Jennings Randolph Federal Center in Elkins on Saturday, Oct. 27. A number ...

Not a passive president

Columnists

Whatever else you want to say about him, President Donald Trump has what Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 70 called “energy in the executive.” Announcing a peace plan for Israel and Hamas, ordering the dispatch of federal troops to protect immigration enforcement personnel in “sanctuary” states, authorizing his budget director to use reorganization powers available after Senate Democrats shut down the government, and announcing a pediatric cancer initiative. No one can seriously argue that this is a passive presidency, though some may say that Trump is not promoting “the ...