Scattergun return.

Well, as you can see, I haven't updated in almost two months. For some reason, I just didn't have the outrage I normally do. Maybe it was the weather. However, now that the weather is heating up, I've noticed a change in my outrage level. So, with that, I give you a scattergun approach to several little items over the last couple months that have pissed me off, but not enough to warrant a full entry.

Let's start with Betty Ireland. How many more damn times do I have to hear about her having the voting machines on display for people to use and get used to. I mean, for Christ's sake, it's a bubble-in sheet, or a touch screen. They act like it's some sort of space shuttle launch. I don't care if some 80 year old is scared they can't understand it. If they have enough brain cells to read and punch a stylus on the punch card systems, they can figure out the bubble-in sheets. And if they can't, well, they shouldn't be voting.

Ireland was at the WV Power game Thursday, all over the radio again, with her demo voting machines, blah blah blah. I just hope, that after the election, we don't have to constantly hear about what great work she's doing educating the public on how to fill in a scantron sheet, or touch a computer screen. If she spent one-tenth the time she does crowing about how she's educating the people on these new machines, on actually cleaning up the elections in WV, we'd all be better off. Give it a rest, Betty. You'll strain your arm patting yourself on the back every day.

Moving right along, let's take a look at what Papa Joe Cheerleader was doing last week. Oh, that's right, while he was up in Morgantown, celebrating Randall McCloy's release from the hospital, the state complex's elevators were all shutting down. I haven't commented much on the mine disasters, but the absolute, total, grandstanding by Papa Joe during the Sago thing, was absolutely disgusting. And to then go up there with a specially made West Virginia road sign, called "Miracle Road" to give to Mr. McCloy? Are you kidding me? Could this BE any cheesier? Methinks not. He has absolutely no shame whatsoever. Get a TV camera there, and Papa Joe will be front and center.

While Papa Joe was "signing," the capitol complex workers were climbing. Papa Joe gets an F for effort there. Yeah, I know. Big surprise.

Hmmmmm. Let's see. Oh, the elections are coming up. Dave Higgins running for State Senate wants to build a NASCAR track in eastern Kanawha County? I wonder if he can't get any money for it, will he look to create legislation to impose some new sort of worker tax to fund it? In case you didn't know, Higgins, on Charleston's City Council, was a staunch supporter of Dannyboy's Worker Tax. Yeah, he needs more access to statewide taxpayer money. Like I need a hole in my head.

Logan's Law. You have got to be kidding me. To all you clamoring for Logan's law to be passed "to protect the children," let me just say, that even if Logan's Law was in place, little Logan would not have been protected. It would have not prevented what happened to him. So, if you want to just jack up the sentences on people who hurt kids, just say so. I don't have any problem with that. Don't give it some cutesy little name, that implies that to not pass it, would not protect children. That's cheapass, election-year rhetoric. You hear that, Sprouse? If you truly are concerned about protecting kids, maybe you should clean up your own mess before grandstanding on Logan's law.

And the other big issue that gobbled up a huge chunk of the legislator's time was the parental notification bill. For crying out loud. It's never enough with the pro-life crowd. They got their Lacy Peterson bill passed last year (another example of stupid cutesy naming of legislation, because the proponents think the masses are too dumb to understand the law). And this year, they spent seemingly weeks debating the parental notification bill. We should just change our motto to "West Virginia: We’ve taken re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, to a whole new level."

However, one good thing comes from the legislature on an election year. They typically have a do-nothing session. That means they generally can't screw up as many things as they do during a non-election year session. They should just cancel the sessions in election years, and save the taxpayers the cost of them spending 2 months doing nothing.

Oh, and Shelly Moore Capito took money from Jack Abramoff? No way!!! A West Virginia politician named Moore engaged in receiving money from questionable sources and a felony conviction somewhere in the mix? I think Yogi said it best. It's deja vu all over again. The apple does not fall far from the tree.

And the latest shenanigans from the Mingo County DOH office? Supposedly (according to the Gazette) Truman Chafin didn't like the way some bridges and roads weren't getting done, so he orchestrated the re-assignment of the DOH supervisor over to Logan county, supposedly until after the election. I'm sure that's the first time that's ever happened in Mingo County.

Truman also got a case of the ass over the cheesy lawyer ads? Hell, those are some of the funniest damn commercials on TV. Truman needs to back the hell off. The State Bar doesn't need to be wasting time, and its seemingly infinite resources worrying about whether some lawyer's radio jingle is "in good taste." I wonder what kind of "taste" it takes to orchestrate the removal of a DOH supervisor, because he won't pave your buddy's road, or build a bridge to his house, ahead of previously scheduled projects. Truman complaining about lawyer jingles is like a serial killer complaining about cartoon violence on TV.