Howard Monroe And The Morning Show

If torture is against the law, should American officials who condoned it be prosecuted as criminals?

Civil right attorney Michael Ratner thinks so and has written a book:The Prosecution of Donald Rumsfeld". He was on our show Wednesday.

 

If the interview interests you, remember you can buy the book direct from our on-line store by clicking the icon in the sidebar.

The Obama campaign is doing some Mountain State damage control tonight.

A press release headlined "Obama-Biden campaign announces clean coal jobs task force" hit my e-mail box in the early evening. This comes hours after The Politico presented a story and video with an off-the cuff comment by Joe Biden where he clearly says "No coal plants in America".

The follow-up Obama campaign release reaffirms the Illinois Senator's official position on clean coal technology as part of a comprehensive energy strategy.

"Senator Obama has represented a coal-producing state and understands its importance in powering our economy and increasing our energy independence.  Ohio's future in coal production is bright under an Obama/Biden Administration, which will support the creation and deployment of clean coal technology and create new jobs," said Ohio Governor Ted Strickland. 

"Sen. Barack Obama is from a coal state and clearly understands the long-term role coal can play in our nation's energy future. He has pledged to fund development of CCS technology so that it can be deployed as soon as possible. He has said that America is the "Saudi Arabia of coal" and that we ought to be working as hard as we can to figure out how to use it for decades to come," said United Mine Workers President, Cecil Roberts.

Obama's not likely to win West Virginia, and even as a supporter I can't encourage him to divert too much money and manpower to the State--I want to see him in the Oval Office, not Oglebay Park. But he needs Ohio and that's coal country, too.

 

Let's watch our words, team. And keep Biden under better control.

 

 

Efforts to get a citizen vote on repealing Wheeling's 2-man-per-cruiser law got a boost this week when the Wheeling Chamber of Commerce supported putting the issue on the ballot. Local candidate Bill Heffner has been working on getting the 2,000+ citizen signatures needed to put it on the ballot, but the Chamber now has a copy  for you to sign in their Market Street office and more Chamber member-businesses will likely have copies in their stores as well.

Remember you can only sign ONCE, so if you've already put your name on the line, don't do it again. But you can encourage your friends and neighbors to.

Personally, I support repealing the rule, but at the very least the citizens should have their say.

(Chief Gessler has been on my show a couple of times to discuss this and Chamber President Terry Sterling was on earlier this week. We'll be spending more time on the issue)

SPEAKING OF THE WHEELING CHAMBER......WOW IS ALL I CAN SAY ABOUT THE BUSINESS AFTER HOURS THIS PAST WEEK AT YE OLDE ALPHA. As always, Charlie and Mark went above and   beyond....they hit the high mark Charlie set of being "The best BAH ever". I found a Bud Light and a spot near the shrimp table where I sampled every variety they offered.....many times over. The place was packed and the crew hung around for a long time after the freebies ended. I had a great time chatting with Charlie's wife the Lovely Paula for a while....and with so many of YOU who stopped me to say hello.

THANKS CHARLIE!

UPDATE: The Allen Raymond book contains part of a chapter devoted to his involvement in the WV Gubernatorial race between Cecil Underwood and Charlotte Pritt....with some comments thrown in about the importance of The Mountain State to "W" in 2000

Couple of good books I've just read. You can buy them right here on our web site from the WVLY Amazon.com store.

Political satirist Christopher Buckley gives us a story of an unpopular President bedeviled by a politcally-motivated Congress as he tries to fill a Supreme Court vacancy. He ends up nominating a "hut" TV Judge--a'la Judge Judy. And the craziness REALLY starts. Buckley gave us Thank you for Smoking and Boomsday.

Meanwhile, former GOP politico Allan Raymond has an easy read that is almost as   bizzare as Buckley's book--but this one is true. Raymond takes us inside the grassroots work of GOP campaigning in the early 2000's. And it's not pretty. Very easy and enjoybale read. But it may scare you about how campaigns are really run.

Sound interesting to you? You can purchase either of these right from our Morning Show On-Line Store (just click).

Is the Wild Escapes theme park getting closer to reality?

Steve Minard, the project honcho, was on The Morning Show today and said with the Army Corps draft permit ok'd, there are some additional regulatory huddles to overcome, but it's possible construction could start next year with completion in 18-24 months. He stresses that's just one scenario and is NOT an announced timetable. Minard also says the financing $200 million dollar project is still in place. You can listen for yourself in this podcast.

Palin's World: Culture of Cronyism

In Sara Palin's administration friends are in and enemies are out. How well you know Sara seems to be the key--not how well you do your job.

Ms. Palin walks the national stage as a small-town foe of “good old boy” politics and a champion of ethics reform. The charismatic 44-year-old governor draws enthusiastic audiences and high approval ratings. And as the Republican vice-presidential nominee, she points to her management experience while deriding her Democratic rivals, Senators Barack Obama and Joseph R. Biden Jr., as speechmakers who never have run anything.

But an examination of her swift rise and record as mayor of Wasilla and then governor finds that her visceral style and penchant for attacking critics — she sometimes calls local opponents “haters” — contrasts with her carefully crafted public image.

Throughout her political career, she has pursued vendettas, fired officials who crossed her and sometimes blurred the line between government and personal grievance, according to a review of public records and interviews with 60 Republican and Democratic legislators and local officials.

Take some time to review this whole article from The New York Times to get a real feel for just how the young Governor manages.

And then take a minute to review this report from the Washington Post which will give you a sense of the depth of her "experience" as an administrator in Wasila. Here are a few highlights:

The universe of the mayor of Wasilla is sharply circumscribed even by the standards of small towns, which limited Palin's exposure to issues such as health care, social services, the environment and education......

When Palin was mayor, the population was just 5,500......

Palin took office as mayor in October 1996 with a show of force. She fired the museum director and demanded that the other department heads submit resignation letters, saying she would decide whether to accept them based on their loyalty.....

Further buttressing the budget were the earmarks Palin sought for the town after hiring a Washington lobbyist for $38,000 a year. The town secured $27 million in all.....

The more I learn, the more frightened I am about her lack of qualifications.....

AGENT OF CHANGE INDEED

Make no mistake: Mr. "Maverick", no-more-politics-as-usual, Time for a Change, John McCain has officially decided TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN.

Jonathan Martin in The Politico this weekend details it.

McCain’s tactics are drawing the scorn of many in the media and organizations tasked with fact-checking the truthfulness of campaigns. In recent weeks, Team McCain has been described as dishonorable, disingenuous and downright cynical....

McCain seems to have made a choice that many politicians succumb to but which he had always promised to avoid - he appears ready to do whatever it takes to win, even it if soils his reputation....

It adds up to a campaign that is now unapologetically aggressive and aimed almost entirely at keeping Obama off-message, even if it means hitting him below the belt in the process.

Agent of change my ass!

 

The ladies of The View had a lot of questions for John McCain. And they weren't polite about it.

BREAKING NEWS ON CARTOONLAND--my little pet nickname for the proposed Wild Escapes theme park at the Highlands. Ohio County administrator Greg Stewart gave the info to At Issue Friday on WLTV. The Intell had the story Saturday: draft Army Corps permits have been approved for the project. Still a lot of work to be done, though. 

Remember you can check out At Issue on-air (Comcast channel 14) or on-line(click the logo in the sidebar at left). The show repeats often.

Have the driver look in the mirror.

Surely the reporter didn't get the info right. In today's Intell we learn that the transit authority is reviewing its options for determining how many people ride the bus.They are thinking about HIRING an outside consultant, or maybe looking at video tapes. It was suggested maybe some of the transit staff could do it. I guess it was too tough a problem to decide right away so the board asked the director to provide cost estimates and come back with more info next month.

FOR GOD'S SAKE---HAVE THE DRIVER LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND COUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!