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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.
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Having Fun
With Mojo
Pardon me while I quote myself
Hey kids! Mojo here! Hey, there's a website called Brainy Quote that has quotes from lots of famous people, including me! One of the quotes from me on that website is, "The people of West Virginia have made it clear that they will no longer tolerate a government that is out of step with the economy of this state." Know what that means? Me neither! And I said it! That happens to me a lot! Things sound good coming out of my mouth until you think about it a little more! Does that quote mean that since our economy is so bad, the people of West Virginia want bad government, too? That's how it sounds!
Pro-gambling ad lies about GOP support
A full page ad that appeared Monday in both Charleston newspapers claimed support from Republican "organizations" for the table games referendum, a clearly inaccurate statement not backed up by anything else in the ad.
The ad, titled, "On August 11 - Opposites Attract," featured several vague references to a variety of groups it claims support passage of the table games issue.
Included among those groups were "Republicans - Democrats." But the ad did not simply claim support from some Republicans, which would be true. Instead, it said, "The August 11 referendum is supported by a number of organizations, many who don't typically agree on issues...but they all agree on this YES vote."
Following that statement was a list of things like "Businesss - Labor" and "Republicans - Democrats."
In another part of the ad, a list of specific organizations are named, but no Republican organizations are included.
In fact, there are no Republican organizations known to be supporting the table games referendum. And many members of the
The West Virginia Republican Party supports "Establishing a freeze on the further expansion of gambling, with education on its addictive and detrimental family effects, with strong vigorous enforcement of all existing laws dealing with gambling."
--WVGOP Platform, Article 1, Section U, adopted June 5, 2004
Kanawha County Republican Party have been leading the fight against the issue.
Further, the official platform of the West Virginia Republican Party states that the party supports "establishing a freeze on the further expansion of gambling, with education on its addictive and detrimental family effects, with strong vigorous enforcement of all existing laws dealing with gambling."
The blatantly dishonest ad is another in a long series of statements and claims made by gambling supporters that are not backed up by documentation or other evidence, and further indicates how desperate the gambling coalition has become in the face of what appears more and more likely to be a defeat on August 11.
Elvis' 1975 Charleston shows a big event
Gazette devoted 5 pages to Presley's first WV concerts
I made a trip to the public library one day in Charleston to look up newspaper coverage of Elvis Presley's visit on July 12, 1975 for two sold-out concerts at the Charleston Civic Center.
Coverage of Elvis' foray into the Mountain State was included in no less than five pages of a single edition of the Charleston Gazette. (This
was before the famous Elvis-Nixon photos ever surfaced, so it's possible the Gazette was convinced Elvis was a Democrat, hence the enhanced coverage.)
There was a front page photo of Elvis deplaning the "Lisa Marie," his personal airliner, at Yeager Airport. More photos inside of fans at the Daniel Boone Hotel, where Elvis was staying. Yet more photos from the concert itself. Sidebar stories with fan anticipation.
Elvis had by this time been criss-crossing America for about five years, touring to sold out arenas from Madison Square Garden (four sold-out shows in three days in 1972) to the Forum in Los Angeles and everywhere in between. His 1973 satellite concert from Hawaii was beamed live to more than one billion people.
Elvis was unique in that his 1970s shows drew a diverse audience ranging from teenagers to grandmothers.
But by 1975, a growing dependency on drugs and other temptations had led to erratic behavior and unpredictable performances, and while the fans packed every venue regardless of size, Presley's manager, Col. Tom Parker, was perfecting a strategy of exhibiting his attraction in locales which would draw less media scrutiny on a national level.
This particular tour, for example, included Terra Haute, Indiana, Uniondale, New York, Norfolk, Virginia, and Asheville, North Carolina. Not exactly the entertainment capitals of the world, but cities with big sports arenas and customers adding up to the same numbers and revenue as New York, L.A. or Chicago.
The Gazette's review of the show by writer James Carnes reflected more the excitement of the fans than the quality of the show itself.
"The reaction should have been anticipated," wrote Carnes. "There were screams; there were gasps; there were sighs. There was a long, strong round of applause."
As for Elvis' performance? Carnes summed it up in one final paragraph.
"How did he sing? Did anyone care? He came, that was enough. For the record, he was good."
Elvis actually returned to Charleston the following summer for another sold out Civic Center show, but the Gazette devoted only a review on one inside page, with writer Ann Hughes focusing as much on Elvis' weight gain as on the show itself.
"Wearing blue pants, a white shirt and a jeweled vest the King of Rock'n'Roll looked a lot more portly than he did on television Friday night in the 1966 film 'Spinout,'" she wrote, adding, "But he was in full voice, and the extra pounds did not diminish his appeal to the screamers who shrieked and wailed every time he executed a sedate bump, grind or deep-knee bend."
I saw Elvis in concert four times during the 1970s. The best show I saw was a 1976 performance at Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum. Elvis was in a good mood, sang a lot of songs, even took requests from the audience, something he rarely did. The Cincinnati Enquirer gave his appearance almost as much attention as did the Charleston Gazette in '75.
Elvis Presley coming to town was indeed a big event in those days, and it's hard to think of a contemporary performer who could generate his kind of broad-based appeal.
When Elvis died, writer Lester Bangs summed up the general feelings of the public at large by noting, "We will never agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis."
Even Republicans and Democrats might agree on that.
(Partially reprinted from an earlier column on July 15, 2005)
WHO IS THAT MAN? As Elvis and his girlfriend, Linda Thompson, exit the Daniel Boone Hotel on July 12, 2005, the door is being held by someone (arrow) likely local to Charleston. His face is mostly obscured, but he was likely an employee of the hotel or an off-duty Charleston police officer. It was common for Elvis to augment his own security with local off-duty lawmen. Today's tough trivia question, with no known answer: Anyone know who he is? No winners from yesterday, although there were a couple of good guesses. The question was, name one of two songs in Elvis' 1976 Charleston program that were actually solos by members of his band, with Elvis just singing along on a couple of lines? The answers, "Love Letters," a solo by pianist David Briggs (His Honor almost got it, but not quite), and "Hail, Hail Rock and Roll," a showcase for the "Hot Hilton Horns" of the Joe Guercio Orchestra.
Did you know there were more military deaths under Clinton than under Bush?
Facts are a disturbing thing sometimes, but they do help to separate reality from fiction. While the media breathlessly reports every death in Iraq, statistics from the Department of Defense help put things in perspective.
As we all know, more than 3,600 soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq. But the total number of active duty deaths during the Clinton years, from 1993 through 2000, totaled 7,514, an average of 939 per year, even without a major extended war. Even adding up all active military deaths under President Bush, the total so far is just over 7,000.
Another item often misreported is the notion that minorities are serving or dying in Iraq more than whites. But the stats reveal this tidbit: the latest census numbers show the white population in America to be 69.12%, Hispanice 12.5%, African American 12.3%. American fatalities in the Iraq war so far break down as white, 74.31%, Hispanic 10.74%, and African American, 9.67%. http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf
Anti-table games porchlight vigil set
Kanawha County residents who oppose the table games issue are being encouraged to keep a 24-hour porch light vigil by turning on their porch lights starting today at 5 p.m. through Wednesday, at 5 p.m.
"Our goal is to light up the night with hope for real economic development," said Fred Joseph, an organizer.
