The Republican Gazette welcomes Emails to the Editor and press releases. All submitted items must include the name and contact information for the author of the article, and all articles will only be published with the author's name included. Thank you for reading and participating in The Republican Gazette, another of West Virginia's most biased publications.
< NEW! Search the Republican Gazette archives!
All opinions are those of The Republican Gazette and its editor, Gary Abernathy, except letters or commentary signed by others, and do not reflect the views of anyone else, including clients of Abernathy Strategies.
Don Imus was wrong, but firing is too harsh
Don Imus' reference to the Rutgers women's basketball team as being comprised of "nappy-haired ho's" was stupid, insulting and wrong. But it's also a wake-up call in regard to the kind of public discourse we have come to accept.
The use of the word "ho" -- basically slang for "whore" -- has become as common on television (not to mention radio and music) as car commercials. It's one word among many that we, the viewing public, have come to accept, or at least tolerate.
When family media watchdog groups complain about such things, they are labled as right-wing nuts who want to censor free speech, or impose their values on everybody else. But the result is, we end up with no values at all.
Our whole society needs to take a step back and realize that words do have meaning, and they do hurt. It's unclear whether Imus would have gotten into trouble by just using the
phrase "nappy-haired" or the word "ho's" without conjoining them. At any rate, in his specific case, his apology seems sincere, and his long record of helping sick children of all races and backgrounds speaks louder than his words.
The problem is, once again Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have injected themselves into the debate as the arbiters of moral authority. Someone should tell them that no one cares what they think, outside of the liberal news media. (NBC Nightly News actually led with the story on Tuesday and devoted a full 10 minutes to it. Are you kidding me?)
Again, as in the case of recent similar situations (like the Grey's Anatomy actor who called his gay co-star a "faggot") it should be enough to say, hey, I'm sorry, and I won't do it again. But of course, in today's world of anxious victims in waiting, it's not.
Only two more days until Garrison named WVU president
Bernstine takes another job offer
Only two days remain until former Gov. Bob Wise's chief of staff, Mike Garrison, is named the new president of West Virginia University.
On Tuesday, it was reported by The Associated Press that a so-called finalist who dropped out, Daniel Bernstine, has been named president of the Law School Admission Council, which owns the LSAT college tests.
Anyone who speculated that Bernstine had simply decided to stick around at Portland State was proven wrong. Bernstine was clearly looking to leave, but for some reason, after an on-campus visit, decided WVU wasn't going to work out -- maybe because he realized Garrison is such a shoo-in.
The Oregonian on Tuesday reported that Bernstine said about his new job, "It's a good opportunity. It's time to do something different."
Thank GOP for privilege tax end
Gov. Joe Manchin on Tuesday was busy touting the coming end of the state's privilege tax, but the fact is the end of the double-tax on motor vehicles is happening because of Republicans.
For years, the GOP has clamored for the end of the tax. When it was finally being seriously considered during the regular session, it was about to stall until Republicans, led by Del. Craig Blair, came up with a workable plan.
Under the new law, double taxation will be a thing of the past. Out-of-state residents who move into West Virginia will not have to pay another sales (or privilege) tax if they have already paid the sales tax when they purchased their vehicle. However, they will be required to register their vehicles with their county assessor so that the county can collect the local personal property tax. (Many people have often confused the privilege tax and the personal property tax on vehicles, but they are two different taxes.)
Some Republicans were prepared to tout the importance of this issue a couple of weeks ago, but for some reason their media plans fell through.
As Blair said recently, the most important change, taking place July 1, 2008, "abolishes the vehicle privilege tax and institutes a one-time vehicle sales tax on each vehicle. This change will offer many state residents and businesses the opportunity to claim this tax payment as a deduction on their federal income tax, just as in most other states. This portion of the bill was the direct result of amending in Republican sponsored HB 2982, which provided for this beneficial change."
WVU faculty overwhelmingly backs Nellis
(Breaking News) West Virginia University's Faculty Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to support Kansas State Provost Duane Nellis as the next WVU president.
Choosing between Nellis and Morgantown lawyer Mike Garrison, members of the Faculty Senate voted for Nellis by a margin of 47-5, with two abstentions.
MetroNews reported late Wednesday that Talkline host Hoppy Kercheval was on the scene and said, "The Faculty Senate has raised questions about Garrison's qualifications and,
also, openly expressed support for Duane Nellis. Wednesday they debated a motion and, finally, decided to pass a motion....to recommend, as representatives of the faculty, to recommend the Board of Governors hire Nellis."
The Senate Faculty is comprised of the elected reps of the various colleges at WVU, and the vote on Wednesday reflects an overwhelming rejection of Garrison in favor of Nellis on the part of faculty members across the campus. Its vote carries no legal weight, but it might impact the final decision.
