Charleston Gazette-Mail. April XX, 2022.

Editorial: Darkish cash has no place in scholar elections

Some time again, these on the far proper — not the candidates or politicians, however the true kingmakers, those that held the purse strings — developed a method on how you can additional their beliefs once they struggled to win presidential elections or preserve management of Congress.

It was easy. Go after state legislatures and gubernatorial races. To some extent, it’s labored. West Virginia is a major instance. When Republican management took management of the Legislature for the primary time in additional than 80 years again in 2015, the agenda was primarily to interrupt unions and ensuring heavy trade wouldn’t get taken to the cleaners in court docket each time somebody was significantly damage or died due to firm negligence. As time went on, social points mirroring nationwide politics — proscribing entry to abortion, squelching LGBTQ rights, and so forth. — began getting a number of consideration.

Not way back, the right-wing machine took its technique and began to look past even state authorities, seeing faculty campuses as the following battleground for management. A lot of the argument facilities on repeatedly screeching the false concept that increased training radicalizes America’s youth into neoliberals and is one thing to be feared. But it surely goes even additional than that.

Turning Level USA, a political motion committee led by uber right-winger Charlie Kirk, began placing cash into faculty elections, by way of a subgroup known as the Campus Management Challenge, making an attempt to get children to decide to bringing far-right ideology to a college’s scholar authorities affiliation. That is going down at faculties throughout the nation.

In reality, it’s occurred at West Virginia College. A narrative final month printed in WVU’s scholar newspaper, The Day by day Athenaeum, confirmed that scholar authorities candidates had agreed to reimbursements from the Campus Management Challenge to cowl the prices of marketing campaign supplies for the 2022 election. Some say they weren’t made conscious of the group’s intentions and declined the cash, as soon as they discovered what the Campus Management Challenge was and discovered of its ties to Turning Level.

The nationwide group has been making an attempt to affect scholar authorities elections since a minimum of 2018. A brochure obtained by The Chronicle For Greater Training confirmed plans to create a talking circuit for far-right conservatives at giant universities and to defund progressive efforts at these colleges. The purpose is nothing in need of taking management of each scholar authorities affiliation at each main public college.

So, who is absolutely doing the supposed brainwashing right here?

School campuses must be havens at no cost thought and free speech, so long as it neither harms anybody nor encroaches on the rights of others. It’s a spot the place college students develop their studying and develop a way of who they’re. Horizons are, in lots of instances, broadened. Whereas this would possibly shock Turning Level, not everybody goes by way of a college training and comes out a liberal. Some discover they’re conservatives. Many college students couldn’t care much less about nationwide politics and have little if any curiosity within the subject as soon as they’ve obtained their diploma.

Attempting to warp scholar authorities associations into fiery pits of id politics is a despicable technique. One can solely assume the following goal might be scholar councils at excessive colleges.

Parkersburg Information and Sentinel. April 19, 2022.

Editorial: Financial system: Lawmakers ought to support entrepreneurial spirit

Through the pandemic, entrepreneurs throughout the nation addressed monetary challenges by beginning their very own companies. In reality, 10% of U.S. employees are self-employed entrepreneurs now. However right here in West Virginia, that quantity is significantly decrease. In keeping with a report by Commodity.com, solely 6.8% of Mountain State employees are self-employed — the fewest of any state.

As in so many different classes, we’re falling behind the remainder of the nation on this depend, however we’re not alone. Different states left behind throughout our decades-long financial transition — Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Indiana, for instance — are close to the underside within the self-employment class, too.

Right here’s the place we stand: In 2020 there have been 11,090 new enterprise purposes in West Virginia. That compares with a median of 85,428 all through the remainder of the nation. Median annual revenue for full-time enterprise homeowners right here is $45,000. It’s $52,000 for the nation as an entire. In reality, the median annual revenue for all full-time employees in West Virginia can also be $45,000. For the entire nation, it’s $53,000.

A lot of the new companies being began within the U.S. are in both retail commerce or skilled, scientific and technical companies. Officers in West Virginia have steadfastly resisted transitioning our previous economic system in these instructions for years. Now, solely the bravest of entrepreneurs really feel assured sufficient to strive one thing new within the Mountain State, and bravo to them.

However they aren’t sufficient. Public officers have a duty to institute regulatory reform and laws that can foster the entrepreneurial spirit, not frighten it away.

We’re used to wanting up from the underside right here, and it’s a disgrace. However regardless of the data there’s a LONG approach to go, Mountaineers are courageous, clever, inventive and hard-working sufficient to get there — if politicians and the paperwork will get out of their means.

The Intelligencer. April 20, 2022.

Editorial: Funding Will Assist W.Va. Communities

West Virginians ought to proceed to elect federal lawmakers that serve the state’s wants first, not particular curiosity teams in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., together with Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., are three such lawmakers, and so they proceed to indicate true management in placing West Virginia first with their votes in Congress.

The newest instance comes with the announcement of $1.6 million from the bipartisan infrastructure invoice to fund roads, colleges and important county companies in rural communities that host U.S. Forest Service lands.

McKinley, Capito and Manchin supported the bipartisan infrastructure invoice, as it is going to deliver greater than $6 billion to West Virginia for roads, bridges, expanded broadband entry and different enhancements — work that wants executed for the good thing about those that reside right here and in addition these visiting. This funding for rural communities is one vital piece of that bigger puzzle.

“West Virginia’s nationwide forests and parks are a spot the place many West Virginians and guests take pleasure in our state’s pure magnificence and leisure alternatives,” McKinley stated. “However the surrounding communities typically battle with funding primary companies and training. This funding announcement will proceed… to supply assist to rural counties by bolstering the Safe Rural Colleges Program and enhance the standard of life throughout West Virginia.”

McKinley, Manchin and Capito proceed to place West Virginia first of their efforts in Washington. They go to with constituents within the state, they discuss with metropolis and county leaders to study the problems, after which the assistance.

Mountain State residents ought to thank them for his or her efforts.

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