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The Power of Possessives May Be the Path Forward

When I was a young junior officer in the Navy, I was once admonished (that’s a polite word for “chewed out”) for referring to San Clemente Island as “my island” in front of a group of visiting senior civil servants. As the Island Operations Officer, I took enormous pride in the work my team and I were doing to revitalize a weathered old outpost that had been battered by use since the 1940s. Calling it my island just felt right. My boss didn’t agree. He reminded me that the island was under the jurisdiction of the Commanding Officer of Naval Air Station North Island. ...

A Business Case for Quality of Life in the Mountain State

There’s something about West Virginia that draws you in — a sense of belonging that makes you feel at home, even if you’re not originally from here. I’ll be the first to admit that when I arrived from Upstate New York, I didn’t know what to expect. What I found, though, was a state brimming with opportunity, community and willing to welcome newcomers like me with open arms — and a healthy dose of Appalachian hospitality. My journey in West Virginia brought me to earning a bachelor’s degree, something that I hadn’t dreamed of at the time. It’s where I met my ...

‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Delivers for West Virginia

West Virginians demanded generational change in November after years of mass migration, inflation, and progressive insanity. They demanded a secure border, lower costs, and a return to commonsense. Today, on our nation’s 249th Independence Day, President Trump is set to deliver on that ...

An Independence Day Reflection on the Price of Freedom

The following poem was written and submitted by the Rev. Patrick E. Davis, a Vietnam-era Marine and Army veteran who also is a retired ordained minister and certified Christian counselor. The poem is part of his book “Awakenings: A Journey.” Dedicated We took our oath. They dressed us in green. Cold, tired, hungry, wet, In that time we didn’t complain. Not only were we on cold, windy mountains, We were in the rice paddies, traversing the Maginot Line. We were shelled and shot at. We were brothers! We were wounded and saved. We were indebted to our brothers — ...

Some Odds and Ends

Last week, I wrote about the tendency of Gov. Patrick Morrisey to continue on as if he is still trying to win a GOP primary by taking certain actions and making certain statements aimed at keeping his base in his corner. But I still don’t know who the base is that he keeps playing to on this issue of religious exemptions to West Virginia’s school-age immunization program required by State Code. I just went back to Morrisey’s website for his campaign for governor and I can’t find anything showing me he campaigned specifically on this issue. While a bill to allow for religious ...

Making a True Difference in Our Ohio Valley Community

Flood Reflections After Two Weeks: Losing, Building, People and Ending ... 1) Oh my goodness how much can be wiped away, in one night ... Whether we saw the pictures, or saw the cars in the creek, or saw the roads, or the fences, or the houses and basements — we all saw in our own way how ...