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The Republican Gazette
"When news breaks, we fix it!"
The Republican Gazette is owned, operated, written and edited by Gary Abernathy, and does not represent the views of any other person or organization, except for guest commentary signed by other contributors.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 1, 2009
Gore admits global warming a complete hoax
In a stunning announcement, Al Gore admitted today that global warming is a complete hoax, and he's been getting filthy rich promoting an idea that had no scientific basis whatsoever.
"Can you imagine the fun I've been having?" said Gore from an undisclosed location. "People have been eating this stuff up! Good grief! I've won an Oscar! I've won the Nobel Prize! How gullible can people be?"
Gore said the idea of creating a global warming scare came to him one day in 2001 when he opened his oven to take out his fourth pizza of the day.
"I was in pitiful shape. I was overweight. My beard was so thick I looked like Grizzly Adams. I was completely depressed over losing the 2000 election, and I blamed it on big business. But I didn't know what to do about it," said Gore.
"Then that blast of hot air from the oven hit me, and it came to me -- there are millions of suckers around the world who just might buy the notion that business and industry are causing the earth to get warmer," said Gore.
Gore said he developed his pseudo-scientific global warming theories by asking a second grade class in Madison, Tennessee,
to do the research, which was completed in about a half hour.
"I almost fall out of my chair laughing every time I sit through another screening of 'An Inconvenient Truth,'" said Gore. "If I want an extra chuckle, I just sneak a peek at the faces of the audiences who attend this thing, and shake my head at the serious looks on their faces. Where do they find these people?"
Gore said he has enjoyed having the last laugh.
"Big business is crumbling, banks are failing, the auto industry is in shambles, and people are being thrown out of their homes," laughed Gore. "All because of the expensive and unnecessary changes forced on them by 'green' policies! Can you imagine -- even Wal-Mart has gone green! What a crock!"
Gore said his next venture will be to convince people that aliens from Mars are preparing an imminent attack, and the only way to stop them is for people to surrender their cars and only ride bicycles for transportation. Based on that scenario, Gore said his next film will be titled, "How Frickin' Inconvenient Will You Let Me Make Your Life Before You Finally Stop Me?" Gore said he expects it to sweep all the major film awards.
And unfortunately, today is April Fool's Day -- conveniently.
Dems kill bill to weed out drug abusers
Legislation would have kept tax dollars from supporting drug habits of chronic abusers
(Press Release) House Democrats Tuesday voted down a bill designed to make sure taxpayer dollars used for public assistance programs are not being used to feed drug habits instead of putting food on the table for children.
By a roll call vote of 70-30, with all Republicans voting for the bill and all Democrats but one voting against it, Del. Craig Blair’s motion to discharge the drug testing bill from committee was defeated.
“Today’s vote sends a clear message that the majority party in this chamber is out of touch with the average West Virginian,” said Blair. “This measure has overwhelming support from the people of West Virginia, and that’s because of one simple reason – they have seen for themselves the abuse that exists in the system, and the families and children who suffer because of drug addiction. But Democrats in the House of Delegates apparently have no interest in addressing the problem in a meaningful way.”
The bill had languished in the Judiciary Committee, chaired by Democrat Delegate Carrie Webster, so Blair took to the floor of the House today to demand an up or down vote. Every Republican member of the House supported the bill, along with Democrat Delegate Tom Louisos.
Blair said that his bill could have helped prevent the need for an unemployment compensation bill pending in the legislature that will likely raise jobless insurance rates on employers and employees both, since those who abuse the system would be weeded out under Blair’s bill.
Blair promised to keep fighting for the people of West Virginia. “I’m going to keep looking for ways to amend this bill into other legislation. But even if I can’t, the people of West Virginia can know that I’ve heard their voices loud and clear, and my fellow Republicans and I will keep fighting for issues that are important to them, whether the powers that be agree with us or not.” Read Beckley Register-Herald coverage, Charleston Gazette story.
CRAIG BLAIR
KELLI SOBONYA
Sobonya bill on bus stop moving on
A bill sponsored by Del. Kelli Sobonya to increase penalties for ignoring a stopped school bus is
moving forward after it was successfully amended into another bill on Tuesday.
As reported by The Associated Press, "A Tuesday amendment keeps alive the push to increase criminal penalties against such drivers. It would make the offense on par with drunken driving. A driver who causes injury would face up to three years in prison, or up to ten if there's a death. Both crimes would be felonies."
Sobonya was moved to sponsor the bill after the tragic 2007 death of 6-year-old Haven Brooke McCarthy, who was killed by a motorist as she stepped off a Lincoln County school bus.
TIM ARMSTEAD
Armstead doing web Live Chat
After some GOP commentators (yours truly included) made fun of Natalie Tennant for being the first guest on a
new Charleston Gazette online feature called "Live Chat," Gazette columnist Phil Kabler wrote on a "Squawk Box" feature, "Sorry guys, there’s no black helicopters here. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few Republicans show up on future live chats." Sure enough, GOP House leader Tim Armstead is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday. OK, we get one.
Quote machine Mojo on roll in Daily Mail
Gov. Joe Manchin is often a quote machine gone wild, which is why he is rarely unscripted. But in a rambling editorial board session with the Charleston Daily Mail that produced two stories (here and here), the gov exceeded even his own usual high standards. Here are the choicest of the choice.

On Del. Craig Blair's drug testing bill: "If that's public policy, then why not test everyone who gets a public paycheck? I wouldn't have a problem with it." Can Blair re-introduce the bill?

On his superhuman powers: "I know that if I can liquefy coal until we get to fusion, then I'm saying I'm fine." Will you feel OK if you can turn water into wine? Nuclear-ize rocks? Leap tall buildings in a single bound?
On how smart his aunt is: "I say if you're going to give my aunt a $400 tax rebate but you're going to charge her $100 a month more for electricity, she'll figure that out. I don't think that's going to go over very well." Maybe you could exampt her, like she's Oshel Craigo or someone.
On other countries: "India won't slow down. China doesn't play by the rules." Does France take steroids? Does Germany cheat at golf?

And, best of all, his biggest worry as Governor:"My number one concern is the security of the nation." Apparently, typical governor-type worries like jobs must wait until the gov secures the country. Godspeed, Mojo. Please keep giving interviews.
THURSDAY APRIL 2, 2009
Like WV, Hitler wanted everyone to be perfect, slim, and non-smokers
When Sen. Frank Deem explained why he now believes the legislature should pass a bill requiring (some) eateries to post calorie information, he told the Beckley Register-Herald, “I see people going into some of these fast-food places and they can hardly, they’re so big, get in the door.”
Senator Deem, a Republican who is the longest current serving member of the state Senate, sees this as cause for the government to spring into action and curtail obesity. Others (like me) see it as a reason for restaurants to build bigger doors.
That Senator Deem only supported the bill after it was changed to exempt restaurants owned by former Democrat Senator Oshel Craigo  is another issue that speaks for itself, after WSAZ aired a story Tuesday featuring Deem very bluntly explaining that the bill was changed to make Craigo happy. The whole thing prompted GOP Chairman Doug McKinney to issue this press release.
Deem was the only Republican senator to support the bill. Three Democrats also switched their votes in favor of the new Craigo-friendly bill -- John Unger, Truman Chafin and Bob Plymale.
Everybody knows that Adolph Hitler had a goal of creating a "perfect race." And most people know that his perfect race was intended to be blond haired and blue eyed. But Hitler's idea of the perfect race also consisted of people who were "slim and tall," didn't smoke, didn't drink much, and weren't substance abusers. And he used the power of government to force these ideals on the German people, no doubt arguing for his own version of "healthy lifestyles."
Now, I don't think that anyone in West Virginia who supports calorie postings, smoking bans, or abstinence is an "Adolph Hitler." But Hitler may not have considered himself "Hitler" until his influence grew so great that he inexorably became a megalomaniac with unfettered power.
When a population willingly, or unwittingly, begins allowing or even encouraging its government to influence its daily choices in food, drink, smokes or beverage through subtle and not-so-subtle social engineering methods like calorie postings, banning certain foods from vending machines, taxing some foods more than others, banning smoking everywhere while over-taxing cigarettes, etc., etc., the slope gets very slippery indeed.
Pretty soon, we find that we have allowed laws to be created that are designed to result in a society of people who all look about the same, weigh about the same, and behave about the same. That may seem like heaven to some. To me, it seems a lot like Germany, circa 1940.
Blair, which project?
Media requests came so fast & furious that the Berkeley delegate lost track; voters now know Blair is no wallflower
From the moment Del. Craig Blair announced his intention to introduce a bill that would require random drug testing of people on public assistance, the measure received considerable attention around the state.
A good marketer by nature, Blair quickly set up a website, held press conferences and issued press releases, all with the encouragement and support of his fellow Republicans in the House. The reluctance by the governor and the Democrats to address anything of importance during this session opened the door for Blair to steal the show with his provocative legislation.
But while Blair was rolling merrily down the West Virginia media highway (here's a new Daily Mail story), the real fun only arrived after an Associated Press article by Tom Breen was distributed nationally and linked by the Drudge Report, grabbing the attention of the cable news outlets and local media entities in far-off locales like San Francisco and New York. Blair's website made him easy for the media to find and contact.
Fox and CNN got into the act, arranging for satellite feeds from local TV stations and video uplink providers so Blair could talk live and direct with everyone from Neil Cavuto to "Fox & Friends" to CNN's "American Morning" to Alan Combs' national radio show. There were similar bills in other states, but Blair became the national spokesman for them all.
After a while, the interview requests from radio stations around the country began coming so fast and furious that Blair lost track of who he was talking to -- he knew what time they were calling him, but had no idea where they were calling from.
The questions were always the same, the arguments all alike. The Berkeley County delegate knew his own argument by heart -- the only challenge was to make sure he kept up his enthusiasm and his edge, remembering that every audience was a new audience likely hearing it all for the first time.
For their part, Democrats in the House seemed at first content to treat Blair's bill as an irrelevant piece of trivia, so comfortable they are in their own dominance.
But when the bill began to pick up so much public support and attention, they eventually decided to respond, with Carrie Webster, queen of Judiciary, making the expected arguments, i.e., "cost and constitutionality," with a dab of "picking on the poor" thrown in for good measure. She complained that questions about the bill were not answered, while at the same time making sure no serious effort would be made in committee to answer them.
The Democrats have made a major blunder by dismissively ignoring an issue that so obviously strikes a chord with so many taxpayers. Good for us.
For his part, Blair's initiative has propelled him suddenly into both the statewide and national limelight. He is already being requested as a Lincoln Day Dinner speaker far beyond the borders of his own Eastern Panhandle district. His presence at such a dinner in Taylor County last weekend was greeted with rousing applause.
Such personal attention is not what he was seeking; he sincerely believes in the merits of his bill. But the result of standing up and fighting for what you believe is that people usually sit up and take notice.
The Eastern Panhandle has long known Blair is no shrinking violet. The rest of the state is quickly catching on.
Supreme Court: 28 decisions, 28 unanimous
The West Virginia Supreme Court continues churning out one unanimous opinion after the other, and so far all 28 decisions announced by the court this term have been decided by unanimous 5-0 tallies. The Benjamin court continues to exhibit a dedication to the rule of law over political theatrics, and is quietly but effectively accomplishing internally the kind of reform others on the outside are only talking about.
FRIDAY APRIL 3, 2009
Thoughts & Observations
Seriously? The House of Delegates passed yet another bill aimed at requiring election spending disclosure from people Democrats really want to have to disclose, but the law says don't have to disclose? After already being shot down twice in a row in federal court? And the Dems accuse Republicans of wasting time on trivial bills...
...If the media was any more infatuated with Barack Obama than it already is, he'd have to get a restraining order...
...So let's get this straight -- Democrats think it's just fine that tax dollars are used to support the drug habits of those who abuse the welfare system (and unconstitutional to do anything to stop it), but we must act now to demand that some -- only some -- restaurants post calorie contents on menu boards so people will be healthier. So, it's ok to be unhealthy as long as it's caused by drug abuse, but it's a crisis if it's caused by eating fattening foods. Got it. Just want to be clear on that....
...I love this line from the Charleston Daily Mail's profile of former beauty queen and current Democrat delegate Tiffany Lawrence: "Spotting the beauty queen among the 100 members of the House of Delegates isn't exactly as hard as finding Waldo." Hey, we got plenty of beauty queens among the GOP House delegation -- Linda, Kelli, Carol, Patti, Ruth, you're all beautiful -- and better on the issues, too.
House committee crafts new version of calorie legislation to advance it
A calorie posting bill that was resurrected in the Senate after senators found a way to make former Sen. Oshel Craigo exempt from it has now been advanced out of a House committee after members there figured out a new way to violate the constitutional rights of national chains.
According to a late Thursday report from The Associated Press, "...the health committee in the House of Delegates endorsed a version of the bill that would apply to all restaurants with 15 or more locations nationally. That's a change from the bill sent over by the Senate, which would have applied to restaurants with locations in 10 or more states besides West Virginia.The Senate version was crafted to exempt local and regional chains."
So, let's get this straight -- it's important for people to know how many calories are in food bought at McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Subway, etc., but not at locally-owned eateries serving food just as fattening? And they try to claim this is about "healthy lifestyles?" Sounds like it's more about healthy campaign contributions, or healthy reelections.
The bill is hysterically unconstitutional, of course, since you just can't arbitrarily apply laws to some establishments and not others based on how many of them exist.