I HATE zombies.

(Shamelessly stolen from Eric)

As it’s political season, we’re seeing all kinds of BS about who believes what and why those beliefs are important to the country.

Just as an exercise in clarifying my own beliefs, I went to a website that listed the candidates positions and platforms, copied their list of important issues, and then filled in what I believe.

It was an interesting exercise, and I highly recommend it. Reading it you’ll learn something about me. Doing it on your own, you might learn something about yourself. (I, for instances, learned I have absolutely no opinion about “Infrastructure.”)

And if you want more of a why than I provided, feel free to ask.
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Everyone else has been saying it, so I wasn’t going to say anything, but then I realized that it’s important to say something, because silences can be taken as tacit approval or disapproval.

So here it is:

I am thrilled and delighted that California is allowing same sex couples to get married. I think this is one of the best things that has happened in years.

I’ve been married now for 9 1/2 years, and I think there is something awesome about standing up and saying, “I love this person! I want to spend the rest of my life with this person!”

Marriage is an amazing thing. It’s a way of saying before the world that this is the person I love. No matter what, I am going to stick with this person and they are going to stick with me, because we complete each other.

I think that the more people that can say this and mean it and stick with it, the better the world will be.

Because really, how can the world have too much love?

Took him long enough. I was beginning to think he was as tone deaf as Bush.

WVU’s president to resign Sept. 1

West Virginia University President Mike Garrison says he’ll resign Sept. 1 to end the controversy surround the awarding of a master’s degree to the governor’s daughter.
By The Associated Press

West Virginia University President Mike Garrison says he’ll resign Sept. 1 to end the controversy surround the awarding of a master’s degree to the governor’s daughter.

Garrison told the Board of Governors on today that only he can stop debate and it’s the most difficult decision he’s ever made.

Garrison’s nine-month administration has been dogged from the start by the degree scandal and the sudden departure and lawsuit involving a former football coach. His presidency started last Sept. 1.

Garrison says no one member of the board asked him to leave and each has been a counselor and a friend.

The board called his decision an unselfish action that should begin a period of healing and recovery.

See also here.

Also? This:

Here are a couple suggestions for the next Presidential search:

First, don’t use anyone from the last search committee. Second, consider offering a salary that’s at least as much as the offensive coordinator of the football team. And third, understand that running WVU or any major university of its size requires a unique skill set.

My take on this, under the cut.
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Obama is the (presumed) Democratic Presidential Nominee!

As much as Manchin isn’t my favorite state politician, I appreciate his statement regarding the scandal and the resolution.

I am not in a position to make a recommendation to them in this instance even if I wanted to because, regardless of what it might be, it would not be viewed as being made objectively - and I absolutely understand and accept that.

I don’t think he was involved in the scandal, although I do believe that the fact he is governor strongly influenced Garrison’s decision making.

The WV Board of Governors met today in a closed session to discuss Garrison.

No decision was made in the three hour meeting.

The reporters asked several of the BOB members questions after the meeting, and I was amused by one response.

When asked if the discussion involved Garrison, (Steve Goodwin) said, “I don’t think it takes too much imagination.”

I also heard that when Garrison made several unannounced appearances at graduation ceremonies across campus, there were graduates who refused to shake hands with him, as well as a rumor that some faculty members who spoke out against Garrison have had their offices moved, however, that is just a rumor.

It astounds me that in the face of all of this, including two votes of no confidence, Garrison can continue to act as if nothing is wrong, and as if his continued presence was not only a hindrance to the functioning of the university, but an embarrassment to the state.

California’s top court has ruled that a state law banning marriage between same-sex couples is unconstitutional.

The follow-up to the Faculty Senate vote happened today. The Faculty Assembly gathered for a vote of no confidence and demand for Garrison to resign.

First off, this was not the best time to have a Faculty Assembly. The semester ended this week, and summer session doesn’t start until this week, so nine month faculty members may be gone, and if you work full time, this is a good time for a vacation. So getting all the faculty members to attend was not going to happen. So there were not enough members for a quorum, however, they agreed to take an unofficial vote (not that if there was an official vote it would make the slightest bit of difference).

91% of the faculty voted that Garrison should resign in the wake of this scandal.

This comes on top of the news yesterday, from Rich Rod’s deposition. I’ll quote from the Metro News article:

Rodriguez says he was told months before Garrison was hired that he was going to be the new President. Rodriguez said he talked to Board of Governors members Steve Farmer and Drew Payne about Garrison. Rodriguez said of Farmer, “I felt he had great influence, in particular, because he told me months before President Garrison was elected that he was going to be the next President of West Virginia.”

Also:

Rodriguez admitted that when he signed a contract amendment just prior to the 2007 season that he did not ask that the $4 million buyout be reduced or eliminated. He reiterated his contention that he had been told by new WVU president Mike Garrison that the buyout would be reduced or eliminated should he choose to leave.

Why is this important? Because Garrison wasn’t yet President before the 2007 football season.

Unsurprisingly, Clinton is projected to win big in WV. So it’s simply a mater of how big the win is.

Of course there are still plenty of local races that are important.

If anyone is interested in keeping track of the state elections, live results are available on the Metro News site.

First and foremost, my concern is for the race for the State Supreme Court of Appeals. I am really hoping that Spike Maynard loses–and loses big in the primary. His associations with Blankenship are beyond disturbing, and I’d really like to see him out. Then we just have to wait until Brent Benjamin–the Republican Justice whose election was bought and paid for by Blankenship–comes up for reelection.

So I’ll be up for awhile this evening paying attention to the local results, and wondering how big of a blow-out Clinton’s win will be.

Oh, I was still unable to vote for a write in candidate with the stupid electronic voting. Time to write another letter.

ADDENDUM the First:
It looks that for a variety of reasons Joe Manchin is getting a run for his money for governor. The Garrison-Bresch scandal seems to have taken a toll, with many voters supposedly giving a protest vote to Kessler.

ADDENDUM the Second:
I decided to make a batch of cookies while listening to the results. Heard Hillary’s speech, and it wasn’t too bad. She’s nowhere near as good as Obama, but she held her own, and made many nice references to WV.

Manchin took the Democratic primary for Governor as expected, however, as of now, Kessler has 26% of the vote. Additionally, WV Public Radio asked him about today’s news that Rich Rodriguez has claimed that 1) Garrison–who was not even University president at the time–promised him that the $4 million buyout clause would not be enforced and 2) Manchin pushed Rodriguez to sign the 2007 contract.

Manchin pretty much said that Rich Rod has gotten to big for his britches and just needs to suck it up, pay the $4 million, and quit crying.

For the local House of Delegates race, Charlene Marshall is leading with Barbara Evans Fleischauer a close second. All four candidates look good to go up against Cindy Frich in the fall.

And most importantly, Spike Maynard is still in LAST place for the State Supreme court of Appeals race. Let’s hope he stays in last place and is soundly thumped.

ADDENDUM the Third:
Spike Maynard is now in third place, but he’s still eight points behind Menis Ketchum with 88% of precincts reporting in.

Natalie Tennant has taken the race for Secretary of State.

It’s very strange. As much as race and gender were supposed to be factors in the presidential primary, we’ve got a lot of women who won primary elections this year, and the top winners for the 4th district House of delegates are women.

So I wonder how much is gender and race, and how much boils down to “knowing” one candidate versus feeling that another candidate is a stranger come to call. Because if there is one state that Bill Clinton helped Hillary, it has been in WV. Because West Virginians feel like they know Bill Clinton. They’re comfortable with him and understand him. And they were willing to let those feelings roll over onto his wife.

Hillary said tonight that she would campaign hard for whoever the Democratic nominee is. Let’s hope she keeps her word and spends time in WV this summer and fall.

ADDENDUM the Fourth:
With 90% of precincts reporting in, Spike Maynard is still down 9 points.

Good.

I’m going to bed; I have to work and teach in the morning.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

It’s Primary Election Day in WV!

Remember to do your civic duty and head out to the polls.

This year I’m going to ASK about the ability to write-in-candidates, and if it’s not an option, ask if there is a paper ballot, and if not, I’m going to write cranky letters again.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

Remember! Elliot “Spike” Maynard is buddy buddy with Don Blankenship.

Keep that in mind when voting for State Supreme Court of Appeals.

Got an e-mail “Statement from WVU President Mike Garrison” in response to the faculty senate vote last night.

He doesn’t address the vote or issues of the faculty senate at all, and if you read between the lines, he pretty much says, no way am I stepping down, I don’t care what you all say.

If he loves this university, then he should be considering what is best for the university, not what is best for him. And I didn’t get that from his e-mail.

As mentioned previously, everyone around here has been in at tizzy over the Heather Bresch scandal, and the actions or inactions of WVU President Mike Garrison.

Michael and I are in disagreement over what should happen. He says that there’s no proof that Garrison did anything wrong, so he should resign or be censured. I say, of course there’s no evidence. He’s a lawyer; He would have first and foremost covered his tracks.

And I think that’s where much of the university–and even the state–stands as well. Split over whether Garrison did wrong or not, and what those actions or inactions mean for WVU.

Well, today is the faculty senate special meeting to vote on whether Garrison should be forced to resign or be censured.

Mind you , this time last year the faculty senate was debating a vote of no confidence, in response to what was seen as a rigged selection process, as well as Garrison’s ties with various politicians throughout the state.

There may be no evidence as to Garrison’s wrongdoing, but I’d like to point out two things. First, this was the kind of problem many faculty members were worried about when Garrison was selected. Second, whether Garrison took action action that was unethical or not, he is perceived as acting in an unethical manner, and is thus tarnishing the reputation of the University (WVU has lost at least $1 million in donations due to the scandal.)

Even if Garrison did not directly influence the committee that gave Bresch her unearned degree, he also did nothing to distance himself from the decision and to reduce the appearance of impropriety. And when you are president of the state flagship university, appearances are just as important as actions.

ADDENDUM the First:
Faculty Senate made a vote of no confidence, and recommended that Garrison resign.

It doesn’t matter in the slightest, since the faculty senate has no power, but apparently the faculty senate overwhelmingly disapproved of Garrison’s actions (77 to 19).

Just checked my bank account.

I have not yet been stimulated.

Just what I expect from this president.

A year ago when the university selected a new President, a lot of people–including a number of faculty and staff–voiced concern about Mike Garrison.

They worried about cronyism and his links to state politicians and his links to the Board of Governors who selected him.

Unfortunately, a year after his selection, he has placed WVU in the national news for cronyism and links to state politicians as an independent panel decided that Heather Bresch was erroneously given her MBA.

Why is this a big deal? Because Heather Bresch is the daughter of WV Governor Joe Manchin. Because when reports first surfaced that she had not in fact earned her degree, her first call was directly to Mike Garrison. Because when a committee was rushed together to look into whether she had earned her degree or not (they were given a single weekend to collect evidence) several Garrison staffers were on the committee. Because despite almost no evidence that she had in fact completed her course work, the committee ruled that she should be granted the credits retroactively and given her degree.

I held my tongue on Garrison’s selection last year, despite my concerns, hoping that he would show that his detractors were wrong. But now, a year after his selection, it seems that my concerns may well have been justified.

Mike Garrison, when you are in the public eye, when you represent WVU, you must act in a way that is above suspicion when it comes to the University. If there is any doubt as to the ethics or morality of an action, you must err on the side of caution, keeping the reputation on the University in mind. You failed to do that in this situation, and have instead tarnished the reputation of WVU.

This is not a good way to celebrate the anniversary of your selection.

For the first time since I’ve been voting in the primaries, WV is going to have a say in the presidential primaries.

This means that for the first time in years, lots people are going to actually be voting in the state and local primaries.

Which is why I would like to point out that Chief Justice Elliot “Spike” Maynard is up for reelection this year. (Yes, WV elects supreme court justices. That’s another subject entirely.) Previously, I had no problems with Spike Maynard. But that was before his ties to Don Blankenship became public knowledge.

Who is Don Blankenship?

He is an out of state coal baron who spent millions of his own money in an attempt to put his own people in WV politics. Luckily, last election this backfired. Unfortunately, he’d already bought a seat on the Supreme Court.

Before you think he’s just some guy who is interested in WV politics because he works in the state, this is a man who assaulted an ABC reporter. “If you’re going to start taking pictures of me, you’re liable to get shot“. He helps to run non-union mines that have had a high number of fatal accidents in recent years. And ran a nasty campaign under the aegis of for the sake of the kids when he had in fact no interest in helping WV children. “You talk about the silo near the Marsh Fork School as if it were a negative. You should know that the silo, if anything, is an improvement for the school.”

So yeah, I think local politics are pretty important. And although we haven’t heard anything from Blankenship so far, we need to keep in mind who his friends are, and make sure they don’t end up helping to run the state.

Oh yeah, don’t forget it’s Tax Day if you’re in the US.

We mailed our checks last week. Wasn’t too bad. And like John Scalzi says, we do get benefits. I’m particularly fond of the Interstate highway system, public education, and the Center for Disease Control myself.

So pay your taxes if you owe ‘em. Then we’ll wait patiently for our stimulus check (which will be coming quite late for us, since we’re towards the end as far as SSNs go. Ah well.)

My only wish is the WV would fix it’s tax code, because even though Michael and I are both getting the max taken out of our paychecks (and then some in his case) we still owe the state.

And closing out the season of actually leaving the house and doing things, tonight we saw the Capitol Steps.

All I have to say is it’s really nice to spend an hour and a half laughing.

I See the Promised Land

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Sleep
Sleep tonight
And may your dreams
Be realized
If the thunder cloud
Passes rain
So let it rain
Rain down on me
Mmm…mmm…mmm…
So let it be
Mmm…mmm…mmm…
So let it be
Sleep
Sleep tonight
And may your dreams
Be realized
If the thundercloud
Passes rain
So let it rain
Let it rain
Rain on me

Even when it isn’t.

Jim at Wabi-Sabi made it to the Obama speech in Charleston last week, and has some thoughts on the matter and some pictures.

It’s nice to see the candidates paying attention to WV, and I can’t wait until the candidates head up this way.

I have to admit, however, that I was amused by the news of Hillary’s visit to Charleston. Obama went to the University of Charleston. Clinton went to Capital High, and was pleased that the gymnasium was filled with lots of teens. What the Gazette article doesn’t say, and what was reported by WV Public Radio is that her question and answer period was cut short when at 3:00 PM all the students left, since it was the end of the school day.

Makes me wonder how many of those students would have been there if they weren’t getting out of class.

This is the kind of stuff that fascinates me and made me want to study public health: Hepatitis outbreak leads to discovery of dangerous practices at medical clinic.

People want to know why I don’t like large corporations and businesses? This is a prime example. Administrators who don’t know squat about medicine make rules that put the lives and health of patients at risk.

(via my brother)

Yesterday we had an inch of snow and the temperature didn’t get about 35 (however, this was limited to this area, as it was in the upper 40s at Parkersburg). Today the temperature got up to the low 60s and was sunny.

Hurrah for layers!

We all went out to lunch today, which is a good thing, because my grandmother doesn’t really like to go out that much, but my house is so small, she doesn’t get enough walking around here, even when she walks back and forth through the house. Of course since she’s out at least once a week for doctor appointments, I suppose she’s getting her exercise there.

But back to lunch. We went her new favorite restaurant, Cheddar’s, which she likes because the food is very good and very inexpensive. (Three of us ate lunch and shared a dessert for $25.) But as it is Sunday, it was incredibly busy (And there’s something I don’t get either. How come all these “Christians” who think that homosexuality is EVIL because the bible says so, have no problem ignoring the command to keep the sabbath holy by forcing minimum wage workers to work long shifts on Sunday and be away from their families? There’s a long rant for another time.) so we had to wait half an hour for a table, which I was expecting (having worked food service for years myself. [Are you still with me here? Not to many parenthetical asides for you? Good.]) What was interesting to notice which customers paid attention to others in the waiting area.

By the time I had parked the car, my grandmother was seated on one of the benches and Michael was standing in front of her chatting. After a brief moment, the mother and daughter who were sitting beside her got up so Michael and I could have their seats. I protested, but they left, so we sat. As we waited, I paid attention to who sat and who stood, and who offered their seats to others.

After one white haired couple put their name on the list, they turned around and there were no seats, so they stood in the middle of the lobby, right in front of us and two college students (a young couple). After a minute, when the college students didn’t get up to offer their seats, I got up and offered them my seat (and Michael’s seat).

It just leads me to wonder, what people are thinking (or not) as they wait. When we’ve got (without my grandmother) to restaurants where there is a long wait, I inevitably give up my seat for older customers or pregnant women (especially the ones who like they’re about 10 months pregnant and about to fall over). Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely don’t mind doing this, but as there are other able bodied men and women in the lobby, I wonder why no one else ever offers their seat to someone else? Is this common elsewhere or just here? Or do I spent more time people watching and am just more likely to notice older couples and pregnant women who need to get off their feet?

Which Science Fiction Writer are you?
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