House Passes Laci Peterson Bill! I'll sleep SO much better tonight.

As I reported earlier, the unborn victims of violence bill (ie, Laci Peterson Bill), had serious legs in West Virginia. Because most of the Legislators are too cowardly to stand up to the pro-lifers, the House overwhelmingly passed the Laci Peterson Bill today. Papa Joe has already indicated he'd sign it. He got the backing of the pro-lifers for the election (that shows how pathetic a politician Republican Monty Warner really is), so now it's payback time. Maybe Papa Joe will double cross them and not sign it, but I'm not betting on it.

Well, at least now criminals will get a second life without mercy prison sentence, in case the first life in prison without the possibility of parole, doesn't kill them. They can now die twice in case they somehow manage to live through their first death in prison.

Our budget sucks. The State never has enough money to provide services, but has more than enough to pay political lackeys and other assorted scumbags exorbitant state salaries. Companies are moving out of West Virginia at a record pace. West Virginia is experiencing brain drain like no other State. Our median age is the 3rd highest in the nation. We have entire families in southern West Virginia receiving permanent total disability from Worker's Comp (but they can amazingly all still run their ATV's up an 80% cliff to go "four wheelin'"). We've got every little tinpot dictator in the State like Danny Jones and David Felinton zapping people who work in their cities with this illegal user fee bullshit (props to the Finance Committee of S. Charleston for telling Richie Robb to stick his user fee idea up his ass - and then Robb acts like it was a crappy idea to begin with. Richie, do us all a favor and just shut the hell up.). We've got the insurance industry getting ready to rape (yes, I said rape) the average West Virginian with the elimination of third party bad faith suits (you try and get a fast, fair settlement in a wreck if 3rd party bad faith suits get killed, and you'll be waiting a helluva long time). We've got the racetracks facing serious competition from the surrounding States, and willing to put another 2000 jobs in West Virginia for table games at the four tracks, if only the legislature will pass the table games bill. We've got an ethics bill that is a complete joke, even after the Mezzatesta and Ross shenanigans (sure, Ross got his little decision in his favor, but that thing still stinks like a whorehouse at low tide).

No, we our legisature can't fix any of those things, but by God, we have a Laci Peterson Bill that will be the envy of the entire world.

As they say on the Guinness commercials, BRILLIANT!!! (In case you missed it, that was sarcasm).

Could someone tell me how the hell these idiots got elected again? I know I sure as hell didn't vote for them.

Rick Johnson and Michael Agnello. A punishment from God.

Ok, I stated this blog would do some commenting on how the local media in West Virginia is covering topics, because some of their bias is just short of blinding. Today, I'd like to introduce you to two of the biggest idiots on the West Virginia Media stage. Rick Johnson, and Michael Agnello, of 58Live, the local afternoon talk radio show on 580 AM WCHS in Charleston. Welcome to the sweatbox, boys. It's going to get real hot, real fast in here.

To be fair, Johnson seems to be the milquetoast half of this less-than-dynamic duo. He usually just whines. No real substance behind his arguments, just whining. From a debate and/or argument perspective, he's harmless. Agnello, on the other hand, is a self-righteous obnoxious loudmouth right wing nutjob (remember, I said I'd go after nutjobs on either side with equal ferocity). As a loudmouth, Agnello is usually as wrong, as he is loud. Johnson is a native Mountaineer. Agnello, however, is a "fer'ner." He's from Chicago, and it only takes about 2 seconds of listening to his accent to figure that out.

A quick perusal of the bio's listed above, shows that Agnello's claim to fame is he worked with Team Thrust for Nations. A quick internet search for Team Thrust shows what it is: an evangelical outreach group. There you have it. Agnello is a certified bible banger. And as such, he'll be treated with the respect that group deserves, which is slightly less than zero. Agnello also likes to also tell everyone how he's a "Certified Senior Advisor," and how he served on Manchin's transition team for "senior issues." In short, Agnello never passes up a chance to tell everyone how great he is. When in fact, being a "certified senior advisor" really means, "I attended (and paid for) a seminar," (see this link). It doesn't take much beyond a check for the right amount to be a "certified senior advisor." And it didn't take much to be on Papa Joe's transition team, either. You simply signed yourself up. So Mikey, don't strain your arm patting yourself on the back. It's also quite evident by listening to Mikey that he's either a) still in the insurance industry, or b) was at one time. So you figure where he's going to stand on issues like tort reform. It's not hard, if you give it about 1.2 seconds of thought.

One of the big issues these two guys really harp on is gambling. They are opposed to it. They don't even TRY and be objective. Agnello will quickly launch into how bad gambling is, and how it destroys lives and quickly bring up John Kindt, a paid number cruncher by the bible banging anti-gambling lobby who's done "studies" about how bad gambling is (studies funded by anti-gambling groups). Let's face it. West Virginia needs all the help it can get. When the biggest coup of economic development in the last 5 years, is the opening of a sporting goods store (Cabela's) ANYTHING that can get a few more jobs here (like table games at the race tracks) should get OVERWHELMING support. Yet, self-righteous bible bangers like Agnello, oppose it. There's gambling on TV several nights a week. The World Poker Tour, the World Series of Poker on ESPN, Celebrity Poker, etc., are all getting TV coverage. There are multiple shows about gambling and Las Vegas on the Discover, Travel, and History Channels. It's evidently something people like to watch; otherwise, there'd not be so many TV shows about it.

Yet, people like Agnello continue to use their media pulpit to continually knock the gambling industry. Remember, Agnello worked (or maybe still does) for an insurance company. Isn't insurance just another form of gambling? You pay a premium, hedging your bet you'll have a wreck. The insurance company takes your premium, and bets that you won't have a wreck. But Agnello is against gambling. Except for that kind of gambling that the Catholic Church does in the form of bingo. In all his anti-gambling rants, he has, to my knowledge, NEVER cracked on the Catholic Church for bingo. I guess Jesus has no problem going "all-in" for bingo. In short, Agnello is a hypocrite. He’s a loudmouth, self-righteous, bombastic hypocrite.

Another thing Agnello likes to do is, basically kiss Danny Jones' ass. It should say that in Agnello's bio. Certified Senior Advisor, on Manchin's transition team, and Danny Jones' personal ass kisser. See, Agnello likes to come off as this enlightened neocon. He's anti-gambling, he's pro-tort reform, he's a bible banger, etc. And he’s always complaining about taxes being too high, and how state employees are paid too much. Yet, today on the air, when presented with the issue of the user fees that cities are starting to impose (First Huntington, then Charleston, and now S. Charleston), he sees no problem with that. WTF? As a conservative, he should be AGAINST tax increases. And let's not bullshit anyone here with semantics, ok? These aren't "user fees." They are taxes. They are taxes on those who happen to work in those cities. Just because you "call" them user fees, doesn't make it so. But Agnello has no problem supporting this nonsense, because he needs Danny Jones to come on his show. Remember my first blog entry about how the media (like Agnello and company) are a bit too cozy with the politicians, because they need access? Here's a prime example. Agnello and Johnson have no problem using public money to build the new ballpark. A new ballpark that Danny Jones and Toast Boy Rod Blackstone now admit is over budget, and is being built to accommodate the 300 people a night (on a good night) who'll go to the games (once the newness wears off). Burn those tax dollars on this kind of crap, but pitch a holy fit when someone brings up the potential for 2000 new jobs at the racetracks, including a new revenue stream. [Note: I will give Danny Jones this, he's supportive to this point of the table games at the tracks.]

Could someone tell me just what great injustice Charleston did in a past life, to be saddled with the punishment from God that is Mike Agnello? I swear, I never thought I'd say this. I actually miss Steven Reed.