Trust only sparingly in government science

( ) — Fri, 10 May 2013 23:45:00 -0400

BRITISH journalist George Monbiot of the Guardian recently lamented the rise of government science advisers who seem to be co-opted by politicians. "Among the official duties of the chief scientist is to ensure that the scientific method, risk and unc...

What if Feed To Achieve fails.

( ) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 23:45:00 -0400

THIS years session of the West Virginia Legislature was the most productive in at least 20 years. Legislators can say they moved toward solving the problem of being eighth in support of the public schools but only 47th in academic achievement.Legislators p...

The state has a chance in 2014

( ) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 23:45:00 -0400

THIS legislative session seems more focused on keeping the Democratic Party in power for another 80 years than it does on serving the needs of the second-poorest people in the nation. Poverty is a multibillion-dollar industry in this state that Democrats w...

Why Wallys son pledges allegiance

( ) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:44:40 -0500

JOE Ptak made a splash in 2010 by daring to ask why people were not saying the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of a political debate in Illinois sponsored by the League of Women Voters. The stuffy moderators answer was because she said so. Patriotism is ...

West Virginia might need another prison

donsurber@dailymail.com (Don Surber) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:45:00 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- GRANDMA Wenzel was born in Wheeling, which explains her selection of a house at the top of the steep hill on Hulda Avenue as her familys residence in Cleveland.

Gun control isnt really the answer

( ) — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 15:46:45 -0500

IF gun control worked, I would be its biggest proponent. But the history of gun control shows that the government seizes on an emotionally troubling time to expand its power, while doing little to protect the citizenry.Consider the Gun Control Act of 1968....

Fight for the right to be left alone

( ) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:02:55 -0500

WE have a few Constitution-challenged individuals who want to secede from the union. They are as entertaining as they are benighted. The whole point of the Civil War is lost on these lost souls.Let us clarify matters by amending the Constitution to read: &...

In praise of West Virginia voters

( ) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 23:48:09 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- I owe Republican Patrick Morrisey a public apology. In a column earlier this year, I gave him no chance of defeating Democrat Darrell McGraw for attorney general. Voters proved me wrong. McGraw went into this race with a 6-0 winning ...

Obamanomics failed the nation

( ) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 15:32:06 -0400

FORGET the now cliched question: "Are you better off now than you were four years ago." You are not even better off than you were three years ago, when the recession ended in June 2009.President Obamas massive incompetence - who hires a tax cheat...

Were to trust in government now

( ) — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 19:39:43 -0400

THE most amazing moment at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., came when delegates booed God. The Democrats had excised God (as well as support for Israels claim to Jerusalem) from the partys quadrennial platform.Matt Drudge saw this and...

State taxpayers are tapped out

( ) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 15:34:11 -0400

THE construction industry is lobbying for tax increases so West Virginia can expand its highway maintenance and building program. State Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox has estimated that over the next 25 years, the state will have $15 billion in feder...

Banned in Boston, 2012 style

( ) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:27:07 -0400

IN the late 19th century and early 20th century, the phrase "banned in Boston" was applied to books, plays and movies that were considered too risque by the civic leaders of the capital of Massachusetts. Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, traced...

Now people report to government

( ) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 15:00:56 -0400

WE no longer are a free nation. From now on, Americans must either pay thousands to an insurance company or an annual tribute to the federal government of a percentage of their earnings. Chief Justice John Roberts sealed Americans fate Thursday when he wro...

Lets start repealing federal laws

( ) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:53:41 -0400

TACITUS was the Roman historian whose "Annals," published in 117 AD, covered the years 14 AD to 68 AD - the time from Tiberius to Nero, which included Caligula. What a juicy assignment. Lust. Greed. Orgies. It was like writing about a never-endin...

The TSA harasses senselessly

( ) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:35:55 -0400

DINA Frank of Long Island experienced a medical miracle when for the first time in her seven years, she was able, thanks to Botox, to take a few steps unaided. She has cerebral palsy and is developmentally disabled.A few days later, her federal government ...

Bringing back the 50s sounds OK

( ) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:56:30 -0400

POLITICO reported that Democrats want to portray Mitt Romney as Don Draper, a character on "Mad Men," a TV show about an advertising firm in the 1960s. Unlike "Bewitched," this is a drama that wins tons of awards. Unlike "Bewitch...

Finally, a debate on Obamacare

( ) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:00:49 -0400

FIRE. Aim. Ready. Two years after passage of the Obamacare law that requires everyone to buy health insurance, Americans finally have their debate on the merits and constitutionality of the law. In the Supreme Court.I do not know about everyone else, but ...

Cooling off on global warming

( ) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:53:51 -0500

PERHAPS it is my contrarian nature, or maybe it is a Sunday School belief that man cannot destroy what man has not created. But for whatever reason, I reject the whole concept of man-made global warming. The same modern scholars who would mock the ancients...

Legislate less, accomplish more

( ) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:45:00 -0500

DO not count me among those who look down their noses at legislators. Most of them have gainful employment elsewhere. They are following an American tradition begun centuries ago by men like Benjamin Franklin who left their workbenches, offices and farms t...

Why is it always a new law.

( ) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:22:03 -0500

AS I sat across the long table from state Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, at a meeting with the Daily Mail editorial board on Monday, one question kept rolling in my mind. Why is the answer always a new law.Foster, Delegate Don Purdue, D-Wayne, and others were...

A look at the years various bests

( ) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:07:59 -0500

WITH the end of the year, various news organizations and others are compiling their lists of "things of the year." Some of them promote ideals. Some of them are silly. And some of them are controversial.For some reason, the wire services made Fre...

The political impact of Tim Tebow

( ) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:59:54 -0500

THIS is the political section of the newspaper, not the sports department. But the success of Tim Tebow has blurred the line between sports and politics. The unorthodox quarterback has led his Denver Broncos to victories in seven of the last eight games, t...

How to get $10 billion for roads

donsurber@dailymail.com (Don Surber) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 01:18:07 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- I have figured out how to finance completion of U.S. 35 from the Buffalo Bridge northwest to the Ohio River, which remains one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the state.My plan does not involve slapping a toll of $2 e...

Obama clarified what liberalism is

( ) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- As president, Barack Obama has shown liberalisms true colors. I thank him for that.Let us begin with campaign finance reform. Oh, this happened before he was president, or to be more exact, while he was running for president.Obama acce...

Wrong way to attack the death penalty

( ) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:57:35 -0400

HEATHER was quite young, but 17 years after her death, she remembers Angela Cagle with great fondness. "Aunt Angie was one of the few rare people who are beautiful inside and out," Heather wrote Reuters."We miss her sweet smile and beautiful...

Thank God Hurricane Irene fizzled

( ) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:21:24 -0400

I tip my cap to weather forecaster Joe Bastardi for accurately predicting Hurricane Irenes path a full five days before it hit New York City. He even got the time right: Saturday night. He was not sure just how big it would be, but on Sean Hannitys radio s...

Charleston Daily Mail: Limo liberals could ease their guilt

( ) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:18:38 -0400

GARY Trudeaus quaint "Doonesbury" comic strip in recent months has lionized Warren Buffett as a benevolent billionaire. My take is that Buffett and Bill Gates set up a tax-exempt foundation to keep tens of billions of bucks from the hands of the ...

Conservatives should thank Obama

( ) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:24:45 -0400

AS a conservative, I want to thank Barack Obama for what he has accomplished as a man, and what he has inadvertently done as a president. First the personal. His mothers nomadic lifestyle meant that he was often the only black kid in school - I have been ...

Let's beat up smokers and feel good

( ) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:00:35 -0400

THE big push to get Americans to live healthier continues. We biggie-size the verbiage just like the drive-throughs biggie-size the drinks.Fat gave way to overweight, which gave way to obese, which was upgraded to morbidly obese; our language expands with ...

Trust government with health care.

( ) — Fri, 27 May 2011 23:45:00 -0400

Obamacare is a mess that embarrasses the Democratic Party, which ran roughshod over the will of the people to pass this bill through the back door.

On its first anniversary in March, there was no celebrati...

Whats the matter with kids today.

donsurber@dailymail.com (Don Surber) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 23:45:00 -0400

Ah, the musical "Bye Bye Birdie." I finally have an answer to its musical question, "Whats the matter with kids today."The answer is, grown-ups.We outnumber them.The 1950s were a great time to be a kid. We outnumbered the adults. Th...

The United States is not leading

donsurber@dailymail.com (Don Surber) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:57:19 -0400

ABC News and the Washington Post split the costs of a national poll that runs on an occasional basis. The latest version took a snapshot of public opinion from March 10-13. Question No. 10 was particularly interesting:"As far as the future is concerne...

Too bad Obama isnt Jack Kennedy

( ) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:56:02 -0500

THE death of Ted Sorensen at age 80 coincided with the 50th anniversary of the election to the presidency of Jack Kennedy, his friend and his mentor.The two collaborated on "Profiles in Courage" and on what I consider to be the best inaugural add...

Hillary would have done better

( ) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:36:29 -0400

AS America prepares to kick its president in the rear end on Election Day - bookies put the odds of a Republican takeover of the House at 78 percent - the secretary of state is missing in action.Hillary Clinton is probably unable to wipe that big fat smile...

Senate race offers a lesson: Perhaps primaries should be closer to Election Day

( ) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The race to complete the term of the late Robert Byrd in the Senate is putting a little excitement into an otherwise dull political summer in West Virginia.The primary election next Saturday comes exactly two months after his death.The...

Obamacare could sink Obama

( ) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:52:14 -0400

NIKKI Phelps struggled against kidney cancer for 10 years, depleting the life savings of her family and eventually causing them to sell their home in order to supply her with Sutent, a common treatment for cancer. Her insurance company refused to buy the d...

Change you wanted to believe in

( ) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:15:52 -0400

DAYS before passage of the signature bill of the Democratic Party, Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco assured her supporters that the health care measure was a good bill."But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out...

The Founding Fathers were heroes

( ) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:41:29 -0400

WHEN I was in school, they were giants - great men, gallant men - heroes who were willing to sacrifice their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor so that their beloved country could be freed from the chains of old Europe.Thomas Jefferson, John Adam...

If only Obama would break more promises

( ) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:19:50 -0400

IN presidential campaigns, candidates often warn the voters that if they vote for the other guy, something bad will happen.But a strange transformation takes place on Inauguration Day. The presidential candidate becomes the president and finds he must do e...

Conservatives dont riot like liberals

( ) — Sat, 08 May 2010 21:24:53 -0400

MAY Day protests did a great service to the country this year by showing the nation that its politics are upside down. It is the liberals who should be the outsiders screaming in and the Tea Party crowd that should be well, attending tea parties.The Tea Pa...

New lamps for old...

( ) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:48:56 -0400

THURSDAY is Lenins Birthday. It will be celebrated around the world as Earth Day, a holiday begun by Democratic Sen. Gaylord Nelson in 1970 to keep anti-capitalist sentiment going after the Vietnam War ended.Ten years ago, on the 30th anniversary of Earth...

The Charleston Gazette - Don Surber