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Friday, June 6, 2008 "When news breaks, we fix it" Serving West Virginia since 2005
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ENOUGH ALREADY -- If you are seeing the graphic above for the first time, you must not be on anyone's email list. I've received this thing so many times from so many different people, I finally decided to post it in the hope that it will stop making the rounds. It is accurate, though.
When Mike Garrison is finally gone from West Virginia University -- if there is such a thing as ever being gone from WVU, a questionable proposition based on the "punishment" leveled against others so far -- attention will turn to the WVU Board of Governors as they and others will try, as a group of Distinguished Alumni put it this week, "to determine how WVU was allowed to get to this sorry state under its stewardship."In trying to determine how this sorry state was reached, there will be committees appointed, reviews undertaken, studies commissioned. There will be recommendations from far and wide on how to improve and perfect the method for choosing the next WVU president, and promises that the politicization of the process is a thing of the past.And all the while, most of the media and about two-thirds of all other concerned parties will jump through burning hoops to avoid reaching the one, obvious, unavoidable conclusion -- WVU was allowed to get to this sorry state because of Joe Manchin III.To say as much from this seat is to bring about accusations of pure partisanship. Of course Abernathy would say Manchin is to blame. He's a Republican, and he's running Russ Weeks' campaign against Manchin. What would you expect from him?Nevertheless, just because the motives of the messenger can be assaulted should not cause the message to be summarily dismissed -- especially when the message is so incontrovertably true. To wit:* Joe Manchin and Mike Garrison are longtime family friends. * Joe Manchin and Mike Garrison (via his tenure as former Gov. Bob Wise's chief of staff) are responsible for the appointment of nearly all the members of the WVU Board of Governors. * Mylan Industries is one of Joe Manchin's biggest campaign contributers, and one of WVU's biggest benefactors. Mike Garrison was a lobbyist for Mylan Industries. Manchin's daughter is COO of Mylan Industries. * Joe Manchin's daughter is the individual for whom the Garrison administration concocted phony grades in order to create a false degree. * When questioned by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about WVU's insistence that Manchin's daughter had indeed earned her degree, Garrison's office issued a statement filled with blatant and outright lies. Is it at all conceivable that such lies from the office of the president would have been concocted for anyone or any reason, ever, other than for the sake of protecting the governor -- the governor who appoints the board members, is buddies with the president, is the father of the student in question, and has his hand in almost everything WVU does?* When the independent panel issued its report on the whole mess, no one insisted more strenuously than Manchin that the report vindicated Garrison and that Garrison should be allowed to stay the course and implement the recommendations of the panel. How can we determine how WVU was allowed to get to this sorry state?Really? Can that question be asked with a straight face?To ignore the simple and uncontested facts described above, and their clear implications, is akin to interpreting "The Emperor's New Clothes" as a story about one of the best suits ever made.Why are so many so eager to ignore what is so blatantly obvious?Some say there is no "smoking gun" connecting Manchin with the turn of events at WVU. No smoking gun? Columbo wouldn't burn half his cigar solving this one!Monk wouldn't have to wipe his hands once!Dr. House could diagnose this case on his first try! Scotland Yard would tell Sherlock Holmes to sit this one out!What study needs to be undertaken to figure out that grass is green, water is wet, birds fly, and Joe Manchin is the reason WVU got to this sorry state?It is like searching for hours for your glasses when they were perched atop your head all the time.To be fair, there are thousands of West Virginians who have figured this one out. They call into the talk shows and write letters to the editor and leave messages on internet blogs and in newspaper sound-off columns. They are proficient at adding one plus one, and even two plus two. They are not twisting themselves into pretzels trying to ignore the obvious. And they are routinely dismissed as partisan Manchin-haters or knee-jerk reactionaries.But then there are others, and unfortunately most of the others are the ones buying the ink by the barrel and delivering news and commentary on the airwaves, on the one hand demanding Mike Garrison's resignation, and on the other hand denying any evidence of the governor's responsibility.Garrison is merely the symptom of the underlying disease. And until the state and its opinion leaders decide to cure the disease, symptoms will re-occur faster than dandelions in spring. Never have so many intelligent, educated individuals who appear behaviorally normal in every other way seemed so susceptible to a psychosis of denial that borders on mass hypnosis. It is truly a phenomenon worthy of examination by future social historians, who, when studying the unnecessary lengths to which so many went to find an answer that was right in front of their noses, will undoubtedly wonder what kind of malady of avoidance gripped such a large portion of the population at one sad moment in history.Going to great lengths to avoid the truth about WVU
WVU got to this 'sorry state' for one simple reason, but a psychosis of denial is gripping the populace
GOP lawmakers want amendment to protect marriage
Delegates John Overington, Kelli Sobonya, Craig Blair, Linda Sumner, Jonathan Miller and Tim Armstead this week called on Gov. Joe Manchin and the Legislative leadership to immediately act to protect the traditional definition of marriage by placing on the ballot a proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriage in West Virginia.Overington, Minority Chair of the Constitutional Revision Committee, said, "As we have seen in the news from California and New York, the Defense of Marriage Act can be overturned by the courts. Due to the new circumstances surrounding this issue, we must act now. We are asking the governor to place on the call for any special session this year a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage."Noting that other states have acted, Sobonya said, "The voters should have a say on this important issue."Sumner noted that an amendment "will ensure our courts cannot change a law which the citizens have already decided."Miller said, "This is a very important issue for our state and we need to let voters decide for themselves what the best policy is to pursue."Blair added, "West Virginia's government historically operates from one crisis to the next. The sanctity of marriage issue appears now to have reached crisis proportion in light of the California Supreme Court decision... The values of the people of West Virginia demand we take action on this immediately."Armstead, who has previously co-sponsored the marriage protection amendment in the House, said, "In the past, some who have opposed efforts to immediately place the marriage amendment on the ballot have argued that such action was unnecessary... However, events in recent weeks have demonstrated that the threat to traditional marriage is, in fact, quite real and immediate..." Already, 27 states have approved such amendments defining and protecting the traditional definition of marriage.Armstead calls for gas tax relief
House Minority Leader Tim Armstead this week called on the governor and the Legislature to take immediate steps in the upcoming proposed Special Session to prevent any increase in the wholesale gas tax that would become effective Jan. 1, 2009, and to decrease the current gas tax West Virginians pay at the pump.MANCHIN'S RESPONSE
"Why don't [Republicans] call their buddies in the oil companies and ask them to lower some of their profits?"
--Gov. Manchin, in a particularly partisan and anti-business response in today's Charleston Gazette.Is it something Chesapeake did?
Lawmakers want WVU probe
Group seeks bipartisan effort to find truth of what happened
A coalition of nine Delegates and one Senator are asking their colleagues in the Legislature to join them in calling for a Judiciary Committee probe into the West Virginia University degree scandal.Delegates Jonathan Miller, Troy Andes, Craig Blair, Daryl Cowles, Walter Duke, Woody Ireland, John Overington, Linda Sumner, Ron Walters and Sen. John Yoder are asking both Democrat and Republican colleagues to sign onto a letter asking Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin and House Speaker Rick Thompson to commission an investigation by a joint committee to get to the bottom of the scandal"The West Virginia University Degree Scandal is the worst scandal ever experienced by our state’s higher education system," the letter to Tomblin and Thompson says. "Not only is WVU’s reputation being tarnished by this scandal, our entire state is losing respect across the country."Although all ten lawmakers who have originally signed onto the letter are Republicans, they are asking Democrats and Republican alike to join them in signing their names to the letter."The negative effects of this scandal transcend party lines. It is imperative that this Legislature correct the problems that have occurred at our flagship university," the letter states."The great people of this great state demand our leadership during this time," the letter says. Weeks issues statement on resignation
“Mr. Garrison’s decision to step aside is an important step in correcting the flaws in our government and our typical process of filling important positions within our state. But it is only the first step. Mr. Garrison’s presidency and the resulting scandal involving an unearned diploma being awarded to the daughter of the Governor of West Virginia are only symptoms of a much larger issue. “We must not pretend that Mr. Garrison’s resignation is the conclusion of this chapter in our history. Instead, this episode has afforded us a unique opportunity to focus the public’s attention on the cronyism and corruption prevalent in far too many institutions and organizations that affect West Virginians every day. I challenge all members of the State Legislature to join with those colleagues who have called for an investigation into this scandal. Only by demanding accountability and honesty from the highest levels of state government can we begin the process of restoring integrity to government, and regaining the trust of our citizens.” -- Russ WeeksGarrison out: What happens next?
Mike Garrison's inevitable resignation as president of West Virginia University is not a joyous occasion, even for those of us who fervently believed it was an absolutely necessary step. In the wake of his resignation, there will be an understandable period of sympathy and sadness for Mr. Garrison on a personal level. No one takes any satisfaction from knowing an individual's life and career have been altered in a negative manner.However, it must always be remembered that the resignation that was announced today was the result of decisions and actions that should not have occurred from the very beginning. Hopefully, public attention will soon turn to demanding a change in the whole culture of West Virginia politics and insider influence, which, if that happens, will make the events at WVU an ultimately positive experience.