Potpourri: Feb. 18, 2013
Oliver Gallagher, dubbed "Ol Gallahue," was a flamboyant legislator from Wetzel County more than a century ago. He's remembered for bombastic speeches saying Wetzel "produces gas enough to light the world, oil enough to lubricate it, and brains enough to rule it."
Oliver Gallagher, dubbed "Ol Gallahue," was a flamboyant legislator from Wetzel County more than a century ago. He's remembered for bombastic speeches saying Wetzel "produces gas enough to light the world, oil enough to lubricate it, and brains enough to rule it." Lawyer George Daugherty recounts a tale that when Gallagher checked into a Charleston hotel for a legislative session, a clerk asked whether he wanted a room with bath or without. "Why, without, of course - we're only here for 60 days," he supposedly replied.
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More proof of the GOP "war against women": When the U.S. Senate voted last week to renew the Violence Against Women Act, all 22 "no" votes came from Republicans.
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Bearing arms in West Virginia: Police say Patrick Price stormed into the West Side home of Michael Cassell and shot him to death, then killed himself - reportedly because Cassell helped report child abuse by Price.
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During his State of the State address, Gov. Tomblin requested more action against rampant drug abuse, which is over-cramming state cells. "The number of people in our prisons is increasing at three times the national average," he said. That's horrifying. Can lawmakers revise sentencing laws to reverse West Virginia's excess jailing?
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Apple announced that its iTunes branch has sold 25 billion songs - more than three each for every person on the planet. Some new video games hit $500 million sales in their first day on the market. Clearly, the cyber revolution is transforming daily life. Cisco Systems, headed by Charleston native John Chambers, predicted last week that more than 5 billion people will be using mobile devices four years hence, and digitized traffic will be 134 times greater than all Internet usage was in 2000. How can anyone keep track of the online stampede?
Oliver Gallagher, dubbed "Ol Gallahue," was a flamboyant legislator from Wetzel County more than a century ago. He's remembered for bombastic speeches saying Wetzel "produces gas enough to light the world, oil enough to lubricate it, and brains enough to rule it." Lawyer George Daugherty recounts a tale that when Gallagher checked into a Charleston hotel for a legislative session, a clerk asked whether he wanted a room with bath or without. "Why, without, of course - we're only here for 60 days," he supposedly replied.
***
More proof of the GOP "war against women": When the U.S. Senate voted last week to renew the Violence Against Women Act, all 22 "no" votes came from Republicans.
***
Bearing arms in West Virginia: Police say Patrick Price stormed into the West Side home of Michael Cassell and shot him to death, then killed himself - reportedly because Cassell helped report child abuse by Price.
***
During his State of the State address, Gov. Tomblin requested more action against rampant drug abuse, which is over-cramming state cells. "The number of people in our prisons is increasing at three times the national average," he said. That's horrifying. Can lawmakers revise sentencing laws to reverse West Virginia's excess jailing?
***
Apple announced that its iTunes branch has sold 25 billion songs - more than three each for every person on the planet. Some new video games hit $500 million sales in their first day on the market. Clearly, the cyber revolution is transforming daily life. Cisco Systems, headed by Charleston native John Chambers, predicted last week that more than 5 billion people will be using mobile devices four years hence, and digitized traffic will be 134 times greater than all Internet usage was in 2000. How can anyone keep track of the online stampede?
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