North central West Virginia has a large Italian-American community, in large part due to early 20th century Italian immigrants moving to the region to work for the coal mines and railroads.

One of the most distinctively West Virginia foods is the pepperoni roll, essentially white yeast bread dough wrapped around pepperoni and baked. The snack developed within the Italian-American community of north central West Virginia. Giuseppe Argiro is often credited with developing the pepperoni roll in Fairmont, WV.

Clarksburg, West Virginia, is the site of the WV Italian Heritage Festival, held Labor Day weekend each year. In 2008 the festival will celebrate its 30th year.

The Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival will be held July 25-27, 2008, in Wheeling, West Virginia.

The John Peluso Italian American Scholarship is awarded to a West Virginia resident of Italian-American descent who is enrolled in or accepted to undergraduate study at West Virginia University. His daughter, Carolyn Peluso Atkins, is a professor of education at WVU and has a web page with links to information about this scholarship and about Italian-American heritage.

According to a WVU web site, “The Italian Studies Program is a new program at WVU that took effect in the fall semester 2004. The Italian studies minor was created with the help and support of the Italian-American community in West Virginia and it offers an opportunity to continue the study of the Italian language, culture and civilization beyond the elementary level. . . . WVU is now poised to move forward on this record of achievement in a way that could effectively preserve the Italian-American heritage throughout the state of West Virginia and give students more opportunities to learn Italian. Learning the language may be the most powerful means possible for preserving the Italian-American heritage in West Virginia.”

Minerva Abbott
proud to be a West Virginian
proud to be a Reagan Republican

References

Saint Joseph’s Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Joseph’s_Day

Pepperoni roll
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepperoni_Roll

29th Anniversary West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival
http://www.wvihf.com/

Italian Heritage Festival
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Heritage_Festival

Upper Ohio Valley Italian Festival in Wheeling, WV
http://www.italyfest.com/

John Peluso Italian American Scholarship
http://www.hre.wvu.edu/catkins/jpeluso/

Foreign Languages: Italian | The Need for Support
http://italian.forlang.wvu.edu/support

He is not generally well known today but was well thought of by some during his lifetime. For example, at the time of his death, Judge Morgan J. O’Brien said:

As a public man, considering the splendid record that he made, he will be put in the same class with Washington and Lincoln — one of the three great Presidents that this country has had. His greatness was justified by his exceptionally strong character and his many intellectual gifts. He was a man of great moral strength, and having the advantage of a fine intellect he thought seriously and deeply upon all subjects, and, having reached a conclusion, particularly as to a principle of morals or religion, or public weal, he was uncompromising. He agreed with David Crockett that the first thing was to determine what was right and then to do that thing.

Unfortunately, he is probably best known today for the personal attack against him in the 1884 campaign (a tactic reminiscent of the kinds of personal smears aimed at each of the three leading presidential candidates now). Cleveland’s Republican opponent James G. Blaine was suspected of financial corruption and made the mistake of writing in at least one letter, “Burn this letter.” The Democrats then used the slogan,

“James G. Blaine, the continental liar from the state of Maine. Burn this letter.”

The Republicans then responded with the campaign taunt,

“Ma, Ma, where’s my Pa?”

in reference to an illegitimate child named Oscar Folsom Cleveland whom his mother claimed Grover Cleveland had fathered. Cleveland admitted he could have been the father, but there were several other possible fathers, including Cleveland’s good friend Oscar Folsom. Cleveland paid child support to the mother, in part because he was the only single man among the possible fathers. Cleveland had the last laugh, however, when he was elected President. His supporters then adopted as a slogan,

“Ma, Ma, where’s my Pa? Gone to the White House. Ha, ha, ha!”

Cleveland is also linked with the political term “mugwump.” Republicans who supported him in 1884 were called Mugwumps. One suggested origin for the term is that they were fence-sitters remaining on the border between Republicans and Democrats with their “mugs” (faces) on one side of the fence and their “wumps” (“rumps”) on the other.

Cleveland was a bachelor at the time of becoming President, but married Frances Folsom, the daughter of his now deceased friend and former law partner Oscar Folsom, in a White House ceremony during his first term. He was the second President to marry while in office. The first was John Tyler, the 10th president.

Cleveland was the first president since the Civil War who had not served in the Union military during the war, although he had paid for a substitute to serve in his place, a practice legal at the time.

Cleveland’s brief biography at the White House web site says of him:

Cleveland vigorously pursued a policy barring special favors to any economic group. Vetoing a bill to appropriate $10,000 to distribute seed grain among drought-stricken farmers in Texas, he wrote: “Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character. . . . ”

His message vetoing this bill also contained this statement:

I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution; and I do not believe that the power and duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit. A prevalent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty should, I think, be steadily resisted, to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the Government, the Government should not support the people. . . . [T]he friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied on to relieve their fellow citizens in misfortune

Minerva Abbott
proud to be a West Virginian
proud to be a Reagan Republican

References

Grover Cleveland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(A copy of a political cartoon illustrating the “Ma, ma” slogan appears on this page.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Cleveland

Biography of Grover Cleveland
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gc2224.html

Grover Cleveland’s Ancestry
The New York Times, November 15, 1885
http://starship.python.net/crew/manus/Presidents/sgc/sgcobit.html

Mugwump
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugwump

Grover Cleveland and the Confederate Flags
article by John M. Taylor, 1987 Old Farmer’s Almanac
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/1422/g_cleve.html

Why Grover Cleveland Vetoed the Texas Seed Bill
Robert Higgs
July 1, 2003
The Independent Institute
http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=1329
(cites Congressional Record, 49 Cong., 2d Sess., vol. XVIII, Pt. II, 1887, p. 1875 as source of quotation from veto message)

St. Patrick, born in Britain, was a fifth century Christian missionary to Ireland and is the patron saint of Ireland.

An Old Irish poem, traditionally called “St. Patrick Breast Plate,” is traditionally attributed to him. A late 19th century hymn, “I Bind unto Myself Today,” is based on this poem.

It seems especially appropriate to look at the words of the English hymn this week during Holy Week, the week when many Christians commemorate the time in the earthly life and ministry of Jesus Christ between his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his resurrection from the dead.

I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me forever,
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation,
His baptism in the Jordan River,
His cross of death for my salvation,
His bursting from the spiced tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom,
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, his might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need,
The wisdom of my god to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The Word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three,
Of whom all nature has creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation;
Salvation is of Christ the Lord!

The basics of the Christian faith are summarized in lines 5 through 12.
Christ was “incarnated,” literally “made flesh.” As an ancient creed, the Nicene creed, says, he was “true God of true God” and “was made man.” As an adult he was baptized in the Jordan River, participating in a symbol of repentance and cleansing from sin, although he had not sinned. At his baptism the voice of God the Father was heard, saying, “This is my beloved Son.” He was executed by the Roman authorities, but this death has a greater significance than that of a politically dangerous man who might have been able to lead a mob to attempt to overthrow the government. This hymn agrees with New Testament writers in saying that Christ’s death was “for my salvation.” He was dead and buried but then he did what few others have done; he came back to life and by that act showed he is the Son of God (Romans 1:4). He rode “up the heavenly way” which according to some of his final words to his apostles the week he was crucified was necessary in order that the third member of the Trinity, the Spirit, would be made available to each believer (John 14-16). And, at the end of human history, he will return.

Minerva Abbott
grateful to be a Christian, by God’s grace
proud to be a West Virginian
proud to be a Reagan Republican

References:

Campaign Seeks to Make St. Patrick’s Day Official
Jacksonville, Florida, television channel 4
March 12, 2008
http://www.news4jax.com/news/15573570/detail.html

Make St. Patrick’s Day an Official Holiday! Proposition 3-17
Guinness
http://www.proposition317.com/

Saint Patrick
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick

Saint Patrick’s Breastplate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick’s_Breastplate

I Bind unto Myself Today
http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/lyrics/lw172.htm

Nicene Creed
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed

In popular culture, he is outshone by his wife Dolley Payne Todd Madison. She assisted the 3rd president, Thomas Jefferson, as hostess at White House functions. As Madison’s wife she essentially invented the unofficial position of First Lady. She is most famous for her rescue of a Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington and government papers from the White House before it was burned by the British in the War of 1812.

Perhaps Madison’s greatest accomplishment came before his presidency. He was one of the major authors of the Constitution and so is called the Father of the Constitution. He was also one of three men, the others being Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, to write the Federalist Papers, essays urging the ratification of the new Constitution by the various states. In addition,he proposed a package of twelve amendments to the Constitution, ten of which were approved and are known as the Bill of Rights.

Madison died in 1836, the last surviving Founding Father.

Minerva Abbott
proud to be a West Virginian
proud to be a Reagan Republican

References

Dolley Madison
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolley_Madison

James Madison
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Madison

White House
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House

Articles of Confederation
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articles_of_Confederation

US Constitution
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Constitution

Andrew Jackson is well-known for his leadership in the War of 1812, especially the Battle of New Orleans. Nearly 150 years later his exploits were popularized in the country western song “The Battle of New Orleans” written by school principal Jimmie Driftwood. A recording by Johnny Horton won a 1960 Grammy Award.

However, Jackson also served in the American Revolution and was both the last U.S. president to serve in the Revolution and the only one to serve in both the Revolution and the War of 1812.. At age 13 he enlisted in a local militia unit. He and his brother wee captured by the British and held as prisoners of war. Some writers say he was therefore the only U.S. president to have been a prisoner of war, but some say that George Washington was held briefly by the French during the French and Indian War, making Jackson the second U.S. president to have been a prisoner of war.

Minerva Abbott
proud to be a West Virginian
proud to be a Reagan Republican

References

Biography of Andrew Jackson
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/aj7.html

Jimmy Driftwood
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Driftwood

Jimmy Horton – Battle of New Orleans lyrics
http://www.lyricsdownload.com/horton-jimmy-battle-of-new-orleans-lyrics.html

The Battle of New Orleans
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_New_Orleans_%28song%29

Andrew Jackson
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson

Foglesong announces he will leave MSU
University RelationsNews Bureau
(662) 325-3442
Contact: Maridith Geuder
March 07, 2008

Mississippi State University’s 18th president, Robert H. “Doc” Foglesong, today [March 7] announced his plans to leave his position no later than June 30.

He was named president in 2006, following more than 30 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, where he retired as a four-star general.

In announcing his decision, Foglesong issued the following statement:

“With the express purpose of helping the university move forward, I have asked the Commissioner of Higher Education that I be relieved as President not later than June 30, 2008. Mary and I are incredibly proud of the past two years and of the new records in enrollment and research, the economic development opportunities that have evolved across the state, the leadership performance of individuals and teams across the campus, the energy and enthusiasm of the Dawg Pack, and, of course, proud of our friends. Godspeed Bulldogs. Doc Foglesong.”

A blog writer on the Chronicle of Higher Education web site observed:

Mr. Foglesong is the latest nontraditional college president to step down after run-ins with academic bureaucracy. Sean O’Keefe, a former NASA administrator, resigned as president of Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge in January.

According to an article in the Clarion Ledger newspaper, MSU foreign languages professor and faculty senate president Robert Wolverton said Fogleson is “a perfectly good person” but also said:

I do think that anyone who understands universities know there are two types of people you don’t bring in to lead [a university]. One is a military person. The other is a corporate business person.

General Foglesong is a native of Mingo County, West Virginia, and earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering at West Virginia University in 1971.

Minerva Abbott
proud to be a West Virginian
proud to be a Reagan Republican

References

Foglesong announces he will leave MSU
Mississippi State University news release
March 7, 2008
http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/detail.php?id=4170

Karin Rischer
The Chronicle of Higher Education
News Blog: Higher-education news from around the Web
http://chronicle.com/news/article/4110/president-of-mississippi-state-u-resigns#comment

Laraye Brown
MSU president resigns: Foglesong decision abrupt, unexpected
[Jackson, Mississippi] Clarion Ledger
March 8, 2008
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008803080356

George Hohmann
‘Doc’ Foglesong quits university post
Charleston Daily Mail, March 10, 2008
http://dailymail.com/News/200803100214

http://dailymail.com/News/200803100214?page=2&build=cache

Robert H. Foglesong
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_H._%22Doc%22_Foglesong

County Caucus Problems

Two counties, Mineral and Monongalia, were late in reporting the results of county caucus voting. Mineral County actually held a second county caucus.

An early public hint of problems came in Lawrence Messina’s blog on January 18, 2008, when he wrote:

Mineral and Monongalia counties ran into voting problems, leaving the fate of 35 at-large seats up in the air;

Gary Howell posted to the West Virginia Republican Club’s blog:

A Mineral County Republican Presidential Replacement Convention to be held Saturday January 26th at the Mineral County Courthouse from 12 to 3. This will be a new election that will replace the election held January 12th, 2008 where problems occurred.

All registered Republicans are requested to vote for delegates to send to the West Virginia Republican Presidential Convention.

Why was this?

According to a January 18, 2008, article in the Cumberland Times-News, several people filed complaints to the West Virginia State Republican Executive Committee about the way a problem with the ballot was handled. Two names of candidates were crossed off of the ballot because they were believed not to be registered Republicans. After eight people had voted the names were restored to the ballot and those who had voted were contacted to ask whether the change would have changed their vote.

Meanwhile a January 18 article in the [Morgantown] Dominion Post listed delegates elected in Marion and Preston counties, but said:

Results for Monongalia County were incomplete Thursday.

Monongalia County’s results were reported around January 28.

View of Leadership

Monongalia County Republican Executive Committee member Jennie Powell closed an opinion piece on the state convention with these words:

Of course, with the nation’s attention on our convention, we got a glimpse of the shadier side of politics. But the days of the smoke-filled back rooms are gone–and good riddance! It was fascinating for this West Virginian Republican to watch our political system in action, and I hope you found it as interesting as I did.

State Senator Vic Sprouse, initially a skeptic about the state convention, changed his mind after participating. The night of the convention he wrote:

Look, there were big problems with the convention. The online voting was embarrassing. The number of votes to elect at-large delegates, even in the big counties, was way, way, way too small. Looking back now, EVERY county should have been required to have it’s own convention, a portion of the proceeds from the candidates fee should have been dedicated to direct mail to Republicans to inform them, and inform them, and inform them again of the county conventions.

But, that being said, those who DID participate were excited. They were boisterous. They were believers in their candidate.

. . .

From a West Virginia perspective, it played out as well as anyone could hope. The candidates were here, they all gave good speeches.

. . .

But, what I can’t get over was the level of excitement this brought to the Republican party. Whoever you supported, whether you were happy or sad with the result, you saw an absolute outpouring of energy and dedication at the activist level that should help carry us into the November election.

Congrats to the WVGOP for not only having an event that paid off the debt, but one that absolutely energized the Republican party.

In that same post, he included comments he had written the day before the convention.

By requiring the candidates to pay $5,000 to enter and then making all the potential delegates pay $25 to file, the state party will go a long way toward paying off the debt. Hallelujah! That’s a huge, huge positive.

(It’s not clear whether some potential delegates had their $25 filing fee paid by a presidential campaign. According to Ron Gregory, writing for The Lincoln Journal, “It was rumored that Romney paid the $25 fee for his delegates to file, something that was not illegal.”)

State Chairman Doug McKinney used these words to describe those who still were dubious, after the fact, about the state convention:

West Virginians are largely inexperienced convention-goers and looked at this move as “dirty tricks politics.”

. . .

We have had many complaints from Republicans who have made “disenfranchised” the latest buzz word in WV.

. . .

In fact, every WV Republican had a chance to participate.

As with any new concept, there are those who oppose anything new, those who oppose it because they do not understand it or do not make the effort to understand, those who simply like to complain, or those who see and hear but do not heed or believe the news.

Then too, there are those who as my sainted Father would say, ”would complain if you hung them with a new rope.”

. . .

Finally, consider that the definition of insanity, or some say ignorance, is to continue doing the same thing while expecting a different result.

West Virginia Wesleyan political professor Robert Rupp was quoted in an AP article in the Dominion Post on February 11.

“The concern about conventions is leaving divisive. There’s kind of a risk involved,” said Robert Rupp, a West Virginia Wesleyan College professor, who attended the convention with his students.

The results “stopped and embarrassed Romney,” Rupp does not believe the bad blood will last. Nor does McKinney, who like Rupp predicts a united GOP front come the fall.

Opposing Views

Various news outlets and blogs commented on the low level of participation in the convention. For example a February 2 column in the Wheeling Intelligencer observed:

Fewer than 1 percent of West Virginia’s Republicans cast votes to nominate delegates to Tuesday’s state GOP convention, according to figures released this week. The numbers from the state GOP show that 0.6 percent of the 348,231 registered Republicans statewide — about 2,100 total — cast a vote in the delegate election. A total of 1,200 delegates will take part in the primary process, meaning there is roughly one delegate for each 1.7 voters. The low voter turnout is being attributed, in large part, to the fact that voting in all but a few counties was done through the Internet. Brent Bush, who received the most votes among those seeking to be an Ohio County delegate, said the online voting process may have interfered with some people’s voting.

Blogger Theresa Moss wrote:

of the approximate 14,000 Monongalia County residents, only about 111 (or 1%) signed up to vote online, and less than half that amount voted at the county convention. Perhaps past inactivity in the early stages of the election process explains why the county convention got such a short announcement paragraph on the seventh page in the local newspaper and why [Monongalia County Republican Executive Committee chairman] Pamela Krushansky was only “hoping for ten.”

A February 14 editorial in the Inter Mountain began:

West Virginia Republican Party leaders may have had a good idea in attempting to energize the state’s GOP faithful — but they did a disservice to many stalwart members of the party, as well as the party itself, in executing the plan.

and continued

. . . the convention may have been a good idea — but the method of selecting delegates to it was not.

As we have reported, the system of choosing delegates to the event shut many West Virginia Republicans out of the process. . . . based almost entirely on voting via the Internet

The editorial concluded:

We urge GOP leaders, then, to begin planning for the 2012 presidential election now. That planning should include methods to ensure that all of the state’s Republicans are involved.

Kirk Samuels of Vienna, West Virginia, posted on the Human Events site:

The West Virginia Convention has raised the ire of many West Virginians. The State party leadership made almost zero effort to inform the Republican voters in the state how the process was going to work . . . . The GOP leadership in WV made deliberate desicion to disenfranchise every WV Republican voter in the primary. . . . The West Virginia convention is evidence of the political incompetence that has taken over the entire GOP leadership

Samuels made a similar complaint in a letter published in the Parkersburg News and Sentinel on February 10.

Robin Capehart stated publicly that while some big wheels in the state party were upset by the events that transpired on Tuesday, the attention that West Virginia garnered was worth it. The price for this attention was very high indeed. This price was that the vast majority of the Republican Presidential nominee votes cast in May will have no meaning at all. . . .

I have been in contact with both the Secretary of State, and the State Attorney General’s office to urge them to pursue vote fraud charges against the state GOP party. While no state agency has jurisdiction over elections, the secretary of state, through the state attorney general, can pursue charges of vote fraud, and there may indeed be evidence of such fraud in this case.

For the sake of the state, and the country, I hope the state Republican Party rescinds the fraud that took place on Tuesday, and let the voters of West Virginia decide which candidates receive our delegates.

Phillip Wiliamson posted on his blog an open letter to the WV GOP Presidential Convention leadership in which he suggested improvements.

1. . . . only give the [County Executive Committees] 3-6 appointments, and increase the number of “at-large” delegates . . .

2. Require all counties to hold a county convention, caucus, or other form of election to vote for their county delegates. . . .

3. Advertise in all counties. . . . Virtually no one in Logan County knew of the registration process back in October and November. Only the select few “power republicans” and those that they wanted to know. . . .

I think if improved in 4 years, it will be a viable way of selecting delegates . . . However, . . . [I] believe that most of the people there were people who the party wanted to be there, not who the people wanted to be there. I am also led to believe that this was just an extension of the “Good ‘ol boy” system . . .

State GOP Meeting March 15

Meanwhile the West Virginia Republican State Executive Committee has on the agenda for their meeting Saturday, March 15, “Presidential Convention Report” by Lynn Staton, associate state party chairman.

A Closing Thought

Often overlooked in the discussion about the state presidential convention is the fact that rank-and-file Republicans were denied the opportunity to run as candidates for delegates to the national convention because slates of candidates for delegates were chosen by a private process by the presidential campaigns.

Minerva Abbott
proud to be a West Virginian
proud to be a Reagan Republican

References

Minerva Abbott
West Virginia Republican Presidential Convention
Westsylvania blog
February 8, 2008
http://minervaabbott.wordpress.com/2008/02/08/west-virginia-republican-presidential-convention/

Lawrence Messina
GOP Convention: The At-Large Factor (Updated)
Lincoln Walks at Midnight blog

http://mywvhome.blogspot.com/2008/01/gop-convention-update-at-large-factor.html

Gary Howell
Mineral County Republican Presidential Replacement Convention
West Virginia Republican Club blog
January 22, 2008
http://wvrepublicanclub.blogspot.com/2008/01/mineral-county-republican-presidential.html

Liz Beavers
Republican committee accused of ballot tampering
Cumberland [Maryland] Times News
January 18, 2008
http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_018095008.html

State GOP names convention delegates: Official results of online voting
Dominion Post, January 18, 2008
Local section, page 23

Tony Rutherford
WV GOP Convention Changes Out of State Vendor
Huntington News
December 12, 2007
http://www.huntingtonnews.net/state/071212-rutherford-statewvstateconvention.html

Jennie Powell
GOP caucus process an eye-opener
[Morgantown, West Virginia] Dominion-Post
February 25, 2008, Opinion section, page 8

Vic Sprouse
Never again. Well, wait, not so fast . . .
Change West Virginia blog
February 5, 2008
http://www.changewv.com/2008/never-again

Ron Gregory
GOP convention was in “poor taste,” says Lincoln delegate
The Lincoln Journal
February 20, 2008
http://www.lincolnjournalinc.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=No&sdetail=1188&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=2186&hn=lincolnjournalinc&he=.com

Convention paid off for W.A. GOP, but some question price
Associated Press
Dominion Post, February 11, 2008
Nation section, page 5

Joselyn King
Less Than 1 Percent To Decide: W.Va. voters inactive during Super Tuesday
Wheeling Intelligencer
February 2, 2008
http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/505266.html

Theresa Moss
Early-Bird Politics
Civilized Revolt blog
Political Commentary, Volume 3, Issue 1
January 15, 2008
http://civilizedrevolt.com/?p=141

W. Va. Convention Shut Out Some of the GOP Faithful
editorial
The Inter Mountain, Elkins, West Virginia
February 14, 2008
http://theintermountain.com/page/content.detail/id/504326.html?nav=5009

Kirk Samuels
response to John Gizzi’s West Virginia Convention Makes a Splash
Human Events.com Leading the Conservative Movement Since 1944
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24884&page=1

Kirk Samuels
State GOP OKs vote fraud
Parkersburg News and Sentinel
http://www.newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/502044.html?nav=5059

Phillip Williamson II
They asked for ideas for improvement . . .
Phil’s Blog and News Commentary
February 10, 2008
http://imwithphil.org/philsblog/?cat=3

The official FEC story reads:

John Reeves Raese, a Senate candidate from West Virginia in 2006, and his campaign committee, Raese for Senate Committee, have agreed to pay a $74,500 civil penalty for failing to file timely and accurate disclosure reports required for candidates who spend significant personal funds in their campaigns under the provisions of the “Millionaires’ Amendment.”

Under the Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act) and FEC regulations, a 2006 Senate candidate in West Virginia who spent personal funds in excess of $414,720 was required to file certain notifications within 24 hours with the Commis-sion, the Secretary of the Senate and each candidate in the same election. Thereafter, the candidate and committee were required to file an additional report each time the candidate spent more than $10,000 in additional personal funds. The Act requires that candidates ensure that their principal campaign committees file all reports required by these provisions in a timely manner.

Between January 31, 2006, and April 11, 2006, Mr. Raese expended $355,000 in personal funds for his campaign. On April 19, 2006, Mr. Raese made a $70,000 loan to the Committee, increasing his total personal expenditures to $425,000. Hav-ing exceeded the $414,720 threshold, the Committee and candidate were required to file FEC Form 10 within 24 hours with the Commission and with Mr. Raese’s opponents. On April 27, 2006, Mr. Raese made an addi-tional $100,000 loan to the Commit-tee and failed to file a Form 10 within 24 hours. On May 3, 2006, Mr. Raese made an $80,000 loan to the Committee and filed his first FEC Form 10 disclosing the April 19, April 27 and May 3 loans. The notification was thirteen days late with respect to the April 19 loan and five days late with respect to the April 27 loan.

In the conciliation agreement, Mr. Raese and Raese for Senate admit to the violations discussed above and agree to pay a $74,500 civil penalty within 30 days and to cease and de-sist from committing any such future violations.

The “Millionaires’ Amendment Brochure” at the FEC site explains that “Millionaires’ Amendment” is part of the “Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA).” According to the Wikipedia “Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act” article, the BCRA is also known as the McCain-Feingold Act.

The March 11, 2008, Charleston Gazette article indicated that the investigation was due to a complaint filed by Matthew Miller, treasure of Morgantown attorney Hiram Lewis’s 2006 primary campaign for the US Senate seat held by Sen. Byrd (and therefore John Raese’s opponent in the primary election).

The article in the Charleston Gazette ended with:

Raese came close to defeating Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., in the 1984 U.S. Senate race and close to beating incumbent Attorney General Darrell McGraw in his 2004 re-election race.

The first half of the statement is correct.

According to the Wikipedia article on John Raese:

[John Raese] has been the Republican candidate for the United States Senate in 1984 and 2006. Both Raese’s bids for the Senate were unsuccessful, losing to then-Governor Jay Rockefeller in 1984, and incumbent Robert Byrd in 2006. Raese also sought the GOP nomination for governor in 1988, but lost to incumbent Governor Arch Moore. . . . On May 9, 2006, Raese won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate with 58 percent of the vote in a field of six candidates.

The second half of the statement is wrong.

Speculating in January on who would file to run in 2008 as a Republican for state attorney general, Hoppy Kercheval wrote:

Morgantown attorney Hiram Lewis is expected to run.

Lewis came within 5,000 votes of beating McGraw in 2004. Lewis was helped by a massive campaign against McGraw’s brother, Warren, in the state Supreme Court race that fueled an anti-McGraw sentiment.

Lewis then lost badly to John Raese in the U.S. Senate Republican primary in 2006.

Lewis is running in the 2008 primary election for attorney general. He is opposed by Charleston attorney Dan Greear.

Minerva Abbott
proud to be a West Virginian
proud to be a Reagan Republican

References

Raese hit with $74,500 fine over 2006 election complaint
Associated Press
Charleston Daily Mail
March 11, 2008
http://www.dailymail.com/News/200803110325

Amy Kort
MUR 5888: Failure to File Timely Under Millionaires’ Amendment
Record, Federal Election Commission
February 2008, volume 34, number 2, pages 1-2
http://www.fec.gov/pdf/record/2008/feb08.pdf

Millionaires’ Amendment: Published in March 2004 (updated January 2007)
http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/millionaire.shtml

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipartisan_Campaign_Reform_Act

Paul J. Nyden
Raese pays $84,500 campaign fine
Charleston Gazette, March 11, 2008
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200803100584
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200803100584?page=2&build=cache

John Raese
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Raese

Hoppy Kercheval
GOP has eyes for the top of the ballot
Charleston Daily Mail
January 25, 2008
http://dailymail.com/Opinion/HoppyKercheval/200801250176

Vic Sprouse
Greear files to run for Attorney General
January 25, 2008
Vic Sprouse’s Change West Virginia blog
http://www.changewv.com/2008/greear-files-to-run-for-attorney-general

It’s interesting to observe how the guiding principles have changed over time.

In the 1950s the Girl Scout Promise was:

On my honor I will try
To do my duty to God and my country,
To help other people at all times,
To obey the Girl Scout Law.

The Girl Scout Law was:

A Girl Scout’s honor is to be trusted.
A Girl Scout is loyal.
A Girl Scout’s duty is to be useful and to help others.
A Girl Scout is a friend to all and a sister to every other Girl Scout.
A Girl Scout is courteous.
A Girl Scout is kind to animals.
A Girl Scout obeys orders.
A Girl Scout is cheerful.
A Girl Scout is thrifty.
A Girl Scout is clean in thought word and deed.

Currently the Girl Scout Promise is:

On my honor, I will try:
To serve God* and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

* The word “God” can be interpreted in a number of ways, depending on one’s spiritual beliefs. When reciting the Girl Scout Promise, it is okay to replace the word “God” with whatever word your spiritual beliefs dictate.

Currently the Girl Scout Law is:

I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,
and to
respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.

Minerva Abbot
proud to be a West Virginian
proud to be a Reagan Republican

References

Girl Scouts of the USA
From Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_Scouts_of_the_USA

Girl Scout Promise and Law
Official Web Site of Girl Scouts of the USA
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/promise_law/

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency explains why they advocate the use of CFLs.

Switching from traditional light bulbs to CFLs is an effective, accessible change every American can make right now to reduce energy use at home and prevent greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change. Lighting accounts for close to 20 percent of the average home’s electric bill. ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs use up to 75 percent less energy than incandescent light bulbs, last up to 10 times longer, cost little up front, and provide a quick return on investment.

If every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified CFL, in one year it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of more than 800,000 cars.

On October 1, 2007, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin and West Virginia University President Mike Garrison announced “a year-long, state-wide program to raise awareness about environmental conservation.” One activity that day was a light bulb exchange which allowed WVU students to exchange an incandescent light bulb for a new CFL bulb.

According to the December 19, 2007, issue of U.S. News & World Report, “The incandescent light bulb, one of the most venerable inventions of its era but deemed too inefficient for our own, will be phased off the U.S. market beginning in 2012 under the new energy law just approved by Congress.”

Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-California) is quoted in the December 19, 2007, Los Angeles Times, saying “In this bill, we ban by 2012 the famously inefficient 100-watt incandescent bulb.”

It may not be just the 100 watt incandescent bulb that will go away. According to the Business and Media Institute (as quoted by Michelle Malkin), ” The light bulb provision phases out traditional bulbs by gradually increasing efficiency requirements through 2020.”

Disposal of CFL bulbs may be more difficult than disposal of incandescent bulbs.

The EPA provides links to information on local collection and recycling programs for CFLs and warns:

Some household hazardous waste collection programs only collect these items once or twice a year, so residents will have to hold on to their light bulbs until the collection takes place.

One company sells a “Compact Fluorescent Bulb – Recycling Kit” at a cost of $120.95. “One pail will recycle up to thirty compact fluorescent bulbs.” They also caution, “Do not store spent bulbs for more than one year.”

Since, according to Wikipedia, ” Modern CFLs typically have a lifespan of between 6,000 and 15,000 hours, whereas incandescent lamps are usually manufactured to have a lifespan of 750 hours or 1,000 hours,” I wonder whether a typical household will generate thirty burned out CFLs in a year.

What should you do if you break a CFL bulb?

The EPA’s instructions for cleaning up a broken bulb on carpeting have several steps.

1. Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
2. Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.
3. Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such
as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
4. Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments
and powder.
5. If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
6. Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.
7. Immediately place all cleanup materials outside the building in a trash container or outdoor protected area for the next normal trash.
8. Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
9. Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states prohibit such trash disposal and require that broken and unbroken lamps be taken to a local recycling center.
10. For at least the next few times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window prior to vacuuming.
11. Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

The Boston Globe, in a February 26, 2008 article, cites recent studies in Maine and Vermont that warn of the mercury hazard of broken CFLs but recommends their use because of their energy efficiency. One cited study

recommended that if a compact fluorescent breaks, get children and pets out of the room. Ventilate the room. Never use a vacuum, even on a rug, to clean up a broken compact fluorescent lamps. Instead, use stiff paper such as index cards and tape to pick up pieces, and then wipe the area with a wet wipe or damp paper towel. If there are young children or pregnant woman in the house, consider cutting out the piece of carpet where the lamp broke as a precaution. Place the shards and cleanup debris in a glass jar with a screw top and remove the jar from the house.

“Consider cutting out the piece of carpet where the lamp broke”?

Minerva Abbott
Proud to be a West Virginian
Proud to be a Reagan Republican

References:

Frequently Asked Questions
Information on Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) and Mercury
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
February 2008
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf

Colin Booth – Manchin, Garrison launch “WE CAN”
Daily Atheneum, October 2, 2007
http://www.da.wvu.edu/show_article.php?story_id=30296&archive_date=2007-10-02

Marianne Lavelle – FAQ: The End of the Light Bulb as We Know It
U.S. News & World Report, December 19, 2007
http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/economy/2007/12/19/faq-the-end-of-the-light-bulb-as-we-know-it.html
http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/economy/2007/12/19/faq-the-end-of-the-light-bulb-as-we-know-it.html?PageNr=2

Richard Simon – Energy bill boosts fuel-economy standards
Los Angeles Times, December 19, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/la-na-energy19dec19,0,1969731.story

Michelle Malkin – Incandescent stupidity: Washington outlaws 100 watt lightbulbs
December 19, 2007
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/12/19/incandescent-stupidity-washington-outlaws-100-watt-lightbulbs/

Mercury-Containing Light Bulb (Lamp) Recycling
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
January 30, 2008
http://www.epa.gov/bulbrecycling/

Mercury-Containing Light Bulb (Lamp) Collection and Recycling Programs Where You Live
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
February 20, 2008
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/id/univwast/lamps/live.htm

Lamp Recycling
http://www.lightbulbrecycling.com/cf_bulb.html

Compact fluorescent lamp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp

Beth Daley – Mercury leaks found as new bulbs break: Energy benefits of fluorescents may outweigh risk
The Boston Globe, February 26, 2008
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/12/19/incandescent-stupidity-washington-outlaws-100-watt-lightbulbs/