The Governor speaks

STATEMENT FROM THE GOVERNOR REGARDING CONTINUING DISCUSSION OF WVU E-MBA DEGREE REPORT

Joe Manchin continues spin control with phrases like:

“this controversy all started because our daughter sincerely believed that she had her degree, because of a meeting that everyone admits took place with the program’s director in 1998, and when she contacted the university last year, she was simply asking them to find the records that she believed would confirm that. Had they told her that after looking through their records they didn’t have the proper documentation on file, we honestly believe that while she may not have liked that answer, she would have accepted it and moved on with her life.”

and

“Gayle and I are both angry, in particular, at the fabrication of grades that took place, because it unfairly damages our daughter’s reputation as much as it does the University’s.”

and

“the WVU Board of Governors members are not under my control and remain free, as they always have been, to make their own individual and collective decisions on this or any other situation.”

Sure they’re free to decide, but they all know the Governor and know which way the wind blows. As for Heather, I’m pretty sure her calls to the University didn’t sound like she was happy they couldn’t back up her “graduation.”

Tickets to a campaign?

Hillary has appeared twice in the Charleston area in the last few days, and Bill has appeared a couple of times, and they’ve both appeared in several other places around that state, and the events were always wide open.

Obama comes to Charleston one time, appears in a larger venue (the Civic Center) than the others, and they require tickets for admission.

What’s up with that?

WVU students speak out

and they don’t sound pretty.

…Jeremy Zeiders, a junior from central Pennsylvania studying history, said one of his professors added a “Heather Bresch question” to an exam. “[It] didn’t matter if you got it right or wrong,” he said, “because you’ll still get credit.”

…When asked about Bresch, some students admit they don’t know who she is and haven’t been following the dispute. A few even admit that they don’t know who Garrison is.

Pretty sad.

Thank you, citizens of Man

…for making West Virginians look like idiots once again.

WV Public Radio reported this morning that Hillary Clinton has a 28% lead over Barack Obama heading into the primary, and they went to Man to get the “man on the street” opinion on the candidates. Some excerpts:

One fellow said he couldn’t vote for Hillary because that would put a woman over him, and “women cannot usurp authority over men.” Welcome to the 19th Century!

A woman said she couldn’t vote for Obama because of his middle name, “Barack Hussein Obama.” She said it just like she’d heard it repeated on talk radio.

One fellow reported that he was voting for Obama because he really wanted McCain to win, and he thought that Obama can’t beat McCain but Hillary can. Why does he want McCain to win? Because he’ll keep the troops in Iraq and that’s “good for coal. The price of coal went up after we invaded Iraq.” IOW, he’s all for killing more Americans if it keeps the price of coal up.

Only one person said on tape that he couldn’t vote for a black man, but the reporter said that several said off-tape that race was a big issue. They’d take a white woman over a black man. Unless you’re a religious fundamentalist, and then you have to vote Republican.

The Selling of the judiciary

Great editorial in today’s NY Times which uses West Virginia as the Poster Child for special interests in courtrooms.

In West Virginia, meanwhile, the State Supreme Court’s handling of a case involving a large coal company, Massey Energy, took on a decidedly farcical flavor. For the second time, the appellate court threw out a $50 million verdict against Massey.

The court decided to rehear the case after photographs publicly surfaced of its chief justice, Elliott Maynard, vacationing in Monte Carlo with Massey’s chief executive, Don Blankenship, in 2006, while the matter was pending in the Supreme Court. The chief justice disqualified himself from the rehearing. So did another justice, Larry Starcher, because he had publicly criticized Blankenship and his company. The 3-to-2 outcome in favor of Massey was unchanged from the first round, which might not have been noteworthy except that the deciding vote was cast once again by Justice Brent Benjamin, who declined to recuse himself despite owing his election to the court to more than $3 million spent by Mr. Blankenship.

It’s great to see that more are calling for reform in judicial elections, it’s just sad that West Virginia has to be such a shining example of the need.

Paying bonuses to show up for work

I’m kicking myself for agreeing with Pete Thaw, but the report from Kanawha County Schools about how much additional money teachers are making this year just for showing up for work is amazing. But it gets worse.

I thought it was bad enough to give teachers extra pay not to take days off, but it turns out that the policy applies also to administrators and office workers. As Thaw said

“You’re going to tell me a child’s education is disrupted when someone in accounting is gone? That’s crazy,” he said. “Children don’t care who’s working here all day or not working here all day.”

Judge without a cause

In today’s Gazette, Spike Maynard flounders around justifying his charade with Don Blankenship.

But the real issue is the closing statement in the article:

“my record of fighting to keep the economy strong, keep insurance rates low, keep doctors in the state, and keep our families and communities safe.”

That’s not his job. His job is to rule on cases objectively and without promoting any causes. He’s supposed to uphold the State Constitution, not his personal beliefs.

And that’s the problem with the WV Supreme Court of Appeals. Benjamin was elected thanks to Blankenship’s promoting him as a solution to a “cause.” People dislike McGraw because he has a “cause.” When are we gonna get some judges on the court?

The truth is on the tape, Dave

Don Blankenship manages to make West Virginia look stupid on national TV, but our own Daily Mail writers make me really cringe.

Dave Peyton implies that no matter what the truth is about the scuffle between Blankenship and an ABC News reporter, ABC will fix it so that Blankenship looks bad. Fortunately, anybody who watches the video can see what a dick Don was. The reporter simply walked up with the camera on, and Don reached out and grabbed the lens and, apparently, the reporter as well. You can see and hear it all right there.

Maybe you should’ve watched the video first, Dave. Or maybe you’re just an apologist for Don Blankenship.

A meeting to attend?

I see the Capitol Building Commission is meeting Wednesday at the Cultural Center. The agenda includes the Gov’s Conference Room renovation, “the Capitol Campus master plan; and the addition of security gates.” Folks have been wondering about those gates that appeared on the campus a few months ago (you know, the ones that if you close them you could drive around). Maybe they’ll explain what’s going on at the meeting.

The meeting is open to the public.

Per diem BS

Not only did the WV Legislature vote itself a pay raise, it also increased it’s per diem allowance (travel and meal expenses) retroactively. While the pay raise kicks in next session, they’ll be getting back pay on the per diem to the start of the session.

I wonder how many take the full amount per day, because that’s not the way it’s supposed to work.

According to the travel regs:

5.1.1 Allowable reimbursement for lodging shall include the actual expenses for overnight accommodations and all applicable taxes and surcharges.

6.1 Meal expense reimbursement is limited to actual expenses for food, service and gratuities, not to exceed the Authorized Daily Rates as established by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). Specifically excluded are alcoholic beverages and entertainment expenses.

There’s a lot more to the regs, but it’s often assumed that travelers just get the full amount each day. That’s not the way it’s supposed to work; that’s only the maximum you’re allowed to spend. When folks take the max, they’re just pocketing any profit.

Also note that booze is not an allowable expense.