repubgazette7-30-07hillaryvisitthompsonouttrackjobs

Having Fun

With Mojo

Hillary wasn't the one I was avoiding

Hey kids! Mojo here! Guess you heard I only hung out with Hillary for about five minutes on Friday! That's true! But that wasn't the plan!

Fact is, I was planning on staying through her whole fundraising event, and I was going to go to her big public event after that! But no sooner did I get comfortable than guess who walked through the door -- John Unger! Suddenly, I had somewhere else I needed to be!

I called Hillary later and apologized, and she understood perfectly! She said she got stuck talking to him for five minutes, during which he mentioned Mother Teresa sixteen times! I told her she got off easy!

Governor Joe Manchin, facing a neverending string of awkward moments when it comes to campaign visits by Hillary Clinton, handled the first one by hanging around for about five minutes and delegating introductory remarks to his wife, Gayle.

According to Charleston Gazette columnist Phil Kabler, Manchin "stayed only about five minutes, citing other commitments, and offered what were described as somewhat noncommittal comments about how fortunate West Virginia is to have presidential candidates visit."

Manchin completely avoided Hillary's public event later in the day.

For her part, Hillary demonstrated to Patriots for Peace that with friends like her, you don't need enemies. The Charleston anti-war group set up a demonstration outside the Marriott, where Hillary was collecting several thousand dollars, and hoped for some kind of acknowledgment, given they share similar views on the war in Iraq.

The Rev. Jim Lewis, chief peacemaker among the peace patriots, said the day before that he hoped Senator Clinton would acknowledge his group's presence and stand with them in a show of solidarity. He said he had been working with her staff on just such a spectacle.

But when the big day came, Hillary avoided Patriots for Peace like it was a White House intern in a short skirt, demonstrating that even she recognizes a bad photo op when she sees one.

Rev. Lewis was extremely saddened, and told The Associated Press, "We asked her to join us for one minute of silence. We've been talking with her staff for a week. She didn't do it. It's a great disappointment."

The reverend shouldn't feel too bad; organizers of a Hardy County visit had been working with Clinton's staff for a lot longer than a week, and actually had the visit approved, with official invitations and$50,000 already raised. But she stiffed them, too.

Aside from all the avoidance issues, Hillary's visit was pretty predictable. She pretended like she's running against President Bush, and she said that if the president doesn't get us out of Iraq before she takes office, the first thing she'll do is come up with a plan to do so. No reason to start planning until then.

'Good pay' at track at $6.67/hour

Proponents of approving table games at Tri-State track keeping talking about the great new jobs that will be created there.

Like this one? Here's an ad running on Tri-State's own website: "SECURITY GUARDS Provide a safe and secure environment for both employees and patrons. Enforce laws and rules governing the operation of Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center. Must be available to work evenings and midnights. Part-time positions available-$6.67/hr."

To be fair, there are other jobs listed for as much as $7.50 to $8 an hour -- cooks, maids, etc.

Isn't the minimum wage going up to $7.25 an hour by 2009? Yes, it is.

I'd like to see someone else come up with a plan to create a thousand minimum wage jobs -- but most employers won't pay so little.

The kind of mental health problems from which Ron Thompson reportedly suffers deserved all along to be the full focus of his attention, and his resignation last week finally removes one unnecessary worry from his plate of serious issues.

Mental illness can be devastating, and his full recovery is the hope and prayer of every individual.

But when Thompson first started missing legislative sessions, the talk of the state was that he was involved in some sort of legal issue. Just last month, he told the Beckley Register-Herald he was still working his way back to a return to his duties. Then suddenly last week he resigns.

The puzzle somehow doesn't seem complete. For example, in December of 2006, well into his string of absences, Thompson was nailed by Beckley police for speeding, so he was capable of being out and about. But just two months later he had to be escorted by two Raleigh County sheriff's deputies for a mental health hearing. Maybe that's standard procedure.

Thompson's prolonged absence caused enough outrage that the legislature voted to remove him -- until Thompson came up with a note from his doctor.

The Charleston Gazette reflected the general feelings in an editorial when it said of the legislature's plan to vacate his seat, "Vote him out. The quicker, the better. This travesty should have been dealt with long ago." (Charleston Gazette 2-7-07)

Ron Thompson is no longer a member of the House of Delegates. If his mental health issues are the sole reason for this bizarre episode in political history, it's a personal issue that everyone hopes goes well for him. Only time will tell if there is more to the story.