My wife’s grandfather Lyle Harlow was a prisoner of war in World War II and survived the Bataan Death March. He had an attitude about the Japanese soldiers and people. My father-n-law also fought in WW II and was hurt in the Battle of the Bulge. He had negative comments to make about the Japanese. 

When I bought a Toyota Celica back in 1978 my father-n-law was not impressed since he had worked many years for General Motors and always drove a Chevrolet. However, never in either of the two men’s wildest imagination did they ever express any desire or interest in burning my Toyota or anyone else’s Toyota. 

My $7,000 Celica was a great car but it was hard for me to make the payments back in 1978. My wife and I were in school struggling to just get by from one small check to the next. 

Read more: How would you feel if someone burned your car?

Something interesting happened as Republican U.S. House members who represent conservative districts returned to Washington after their recent break. 

As you may have seen or read, several of them confronted “town hall” crowds at home that were upset about the turmoil facing federal employees, angry about Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and on edge about the extent and depth of the GOP’s budget-cutting plans, especially involving Medicaid.

The result: Georgia’s Rick McCormick told reporters, “I’m concerned that maybe we’re moving a little bit too fast.” Another member, Wisconsin Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, told NBC that he and his colleagues need to know more specifics about what’s being done by Musk and Trump Administration officials. 

“We don’t know what they’re looking at, and we don’t know what the numbers are,” he said. “I’m learning about this when I see a broadcast as much as anyone else right now, because we haven’t been briefed on it.”

Neither of those is a statement of congressional strength and resolve. They’re a recognition of what ordinary Americans—the concerned Republicans showing up at those town halls, the Democrats besieging their legislators to be more forceful in confronting the actions taken by the Trump Administration—know full well: In our representative democracy, it’s our members of Congress who carry our voice to Washington.

And they do more than that. It’s their responsibility to fund the government—and by this I mean not “the government” as a vague entity, but each and every agency and department and nook and cranny, which means knowing what those offices do, why they do it, and how they go about it. 

It’s their responsibility to oversee those agencies and departments, and make sure they’re acting both according to the law and in the best interests of the American people. In short, it’s their responsibility—and certainly not an unelected billionaire’s—to keep an eye on the details of how agencies are being run and how taxpayers’ money is being spent.

Who gave Congress this responsibility? It’s in the Constitution, our nation’s founding document. In fact, Congress’s roles come first in the Constitution, and there’s a reason for this: If, like the founders, you believe that a country is at its strongest and most vigorous when its citizens have a direct say through elections in who governs them, and a direct line to the halls of power through their representatives, then you make it clear that’s where your priorities lie by putting Congress first. 

And you make it the equal of the President, because you also believe that a balance of power keeps any single branch from running amok.

For some time, Congress has struggled to fulfill its role as a co-equal branch. Presidents are always happy to chip away at congressional power. The issues our country faces are complex and politically charged, and members of Congress over the years have been all too willing to let the White House take the heat. 

The result is that it’s gotten into bad habits that have eroded its ability to act with the vigor it needs: like omnibus bills that bypass the committee hearings and input by rank-and-file members that would make it a truly representative body; oversight that’s concerned with scoring political points, not with the efficiency and effectiveness of executive branch agencies; a work schedule that lets members raise money and boost their national profiles, but doesn’t require much in the way of actual legislating.

But you can lament a Congress that’s too often gotten off track without believing that when it comes to steering this country it should be bypassed. The Trump Administration has embarked on a wholesale reordering of our country. 

At a minimum, Congress should be hauling DOGE staff in front of committees to press them on precisely what they’re doing, why they’re dismantling crucial government functions—including those that lie at the heart of our national security—and precisely what they intend. 

Many Americans believe that we’re already weaker as a nation than we were. It’s up to Congress to pay attention and do something about it.

Lee Hamilton is a senior adviser for the Indiana University Center on Representative Government and was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years.

By Charles Young

WV News

Following two hours of debate, the West Virginia House of Delegates rejected a bill Monday that would have allowed exemptions to current school vaccination policies.

Senate Bill 460 failed by a vote of 42-56, with two members absent or not voting. 

The legislation would have allowed parents to seek out an exemption to a “specific compulsory immunization” from their licensed physician, physicians assistant or nurse practitioner if the health care provider determines the immunization “is or may be detrimental” to a child’s heath, said Del. Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, chair of the House Health and Human Resources Committee.

Health care providers providing these exemptions would have been required to submit the number of exemptions they have approved and the home county of the person seeking the exemption to the State Health Officer, who would submit the information to the West Virginia Legislature annually.

Schools and state-funded child care centers would be prevented from prohibiting children who received vaccine exemptions from participating in extracurricular activities or school-based events. 

The bill allowed the state’s private schools to set their own policies on vaccinations.

Del. Keith Marple, R-Harrison, who is 81, urged his colleagues to vote against the bill. He cited numerous people he has known who dealt with lifelong complications from polio. 

”We’re here today voting not just on one child, not just on 100 children, not on 1,000 children, but on the thousands of children in West Virginia coming into school age,” he said. “Are we going to protect them? Or are we going to let them take their chances.”

Read more: West Virginia House rejects vaccine exemption bill after lengthy debate

The Parkersburg News & Sentinel

One is tempted to wonder who in the motorcycle insurance industry got hold of state lawmakers this year, after discussion of a couple of motorcycle-related ideas in the House of Delegates. House Bill 2752 has actually been dubbed a “freedom from leg cramps bill” by state Del. Chris Philipps, R-Barbour, who was a co-sponsor. It would let riders operate motorcycles or mopeds while standing as long as the rider faces forward and their feet are on the pedals.

That passed the House 80-17.

Meanwhile, Del. David Foggin, R-Wood, offered an amendment that would have let motorcyclists ride without a helmet in the state. The idea there was “freedom” driven, but also to somehow attract tourists.

An argument was made that Ohio and Kentucky do not have helmet requirements.

If Ohio and Kentucky jumped off a cliff, would West Virginia?

Between 2019 and 2023, the Ohio State Highway Patrol says there were 1,045 motorcyclists killed in motorcycle-related crashes. During those same four years, there were 180 motorcyclist fatalities in West Virginia, according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Program.

Read more: Stunts: West Virginia lawmakers must address real needs

Officer in-service training exchange, hiring of SROs, in-state credit transfer, school cell phone ban

By Ann Ali

Deputy Chief of Staff and Communications Director 

Week ending March 21

Members of the House of Delegates voted this week to pass several education-related bills to the Senate for debate as the legislative deadline for bills to pass from one Chamber to the other approaches.

House Bill 2802, which passed the House by a vote of 98-0 Tuesday, was inspired by a successful local partnership between law enforcement and schools. It would allow law enforcement officers to substitute as many as eight of their required 16 hours of annual in-service training for hours served on-site in a school safety program.

“The thought is that officers would spend time in schools within their jurisdiction or immediately surrounding their jurisdiction, knowing that in the event of a school shooting every officer from anywhere close to that area is going to be responding to the school,” said HB2802 Lead Sponsor Delegate Jonathan Pinson, R-Mason. 

“If officers have had the opportunity to take eight of their 16 hours of in-service training inside a local school somewhere, they know where the cafeteria is, so if they get a call that a school shooter is in the cafeteria, that institutional knowledge will already be present; they’re not trying to figure out where the classrooms are, they’re not trying to figure out where certain facilities are.”

Pinson said he began working nearly four months ago with the state’s Law Enforcement Professional Standards (LEPS) Subcommittee of the Governor’s Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Corrections, which is responsible for law enforcement officers’ training and certification. The program is being modeled after the Shield Program in Jackson County, which is in Pinson’s district.

“Ultimately, they agreed this is an excellent idea,” he said, noting the bill was needed to allow the LEPS Subcommittee to set the parameters of a program and the subcommittee had already voted to create this one-to-one exchange for training hours. 

Read more: This week in the West Virginia House of Delegates

DEAR PAW’S CORNER: My Golden Retriever, “Jasmine,” was recently diagnosed with lymphoma. I’m devastated. She seemed to tire easily, so I took her to the vet for a checkup, where they said her lymph nodes were enlarged. They did a biopsy to confirm that it was cancer. My question is, what now? The vet said she needs more tests, but I’m not sure what happens after. — Grace T. 

Hartford, Connecticut

DEAR GRACE: I’m glad you took Jasmine right to the vet, because even though the diagnosis is a serious one, she can start getting treatment that much sooner.

According to the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, lymphoma is sadly common in Golden Retrievers and other dog breeds. However, it can be treated, with chemotherapy as the primary therapy. Surgery might be recommended depending on the type of cancer.

Now that lymphoma has been confirmed through the biopsy, the next step is to determine how far the cancer has spread through Jasmine’s body. Several tests are done: blood tests, urinalysis, a bone marrow test, X-rays and sonograms. Some veterinary offices are equipped for these tests, but you may be referred to specialist care for more advanced testing. These tests are essential for developing an appropriate treatment plan for your dog.

If the vet has not yet followed up with next steps since the diagnosis was made, call and ask for more details and their recommendation. Most vets provide this information along with the diagnosis, so it’s worrisome that you don’t have a path forward. You can always select a different vet if you aren’t confident in the current one.

Has your pet been treated for cancer? Tell me about the experience at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

(c) 2025 King Features Synd., Inc.

By Ann Ali

Deputy Chief of Staff and Communications Director 

Week ending March 14

Members of the House of Delegates voted on many pieces of legislation this week, sending some to the Senate for debate and several others completed the legislative process this week.

“We knew by consciously deciding this year to spend more time learning about issues and talking about potential solutions the natural result would be fewer bills brought to the House floor for a vote and I believe that’s a good thing,” said House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay. 

“I’ve been excited to shift the mindset and the narrative away from assuming the goal here is to pass as many bills as possible because often what is necessary to fix a problem in this state is not a new line of Code.”

Hanshaw gave as an example the issue of dilapidated buildings and structures, something every town throughout West Virginia struggles to manage. He said that with roughly 50 different proposals on how the state could or should address it, each looking only from a narrow perspective in a specific portion of the state, it would be a disservice to look with blinders at each individual bill one at a time.

“We have probably 50 different proposals on that, and it’s incumbent upon us as the Legislature to really examine how we want to deal with that issue as a state,” he said. 

Read more: This week in the West Virginia House of Delegates: Criminal penalties and codes, foster care...

J.B. McCuskey  

W.Va. Attorney General Charleston, WV

Mr. McCuskey,

For 38 years I worked as a school psychologist including eight years in Taylor County, West Virginia. In my role, I identified and evaluated students with a wide range of disabilities and worked with their teachers and parents to develop educational programs, including IEPs and 504 Accommodation plans to allow them to benefit from the educational opportunities available in the public schools they attended. Disabilities included over a dozen conditions such as Autism, Emotionally Disturbed, Learning Disabled, Hearing Impaired, Deaf, Visually Impaired, Orthopedically Impaired and others.  

Although most disabilities identified and protected under IDEA  (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are strictly educational in nature, others represent both physical and psychological issues. Some are identified in the DSM-5, the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fifth Edition. More recently “Gender Dysphoria,” a rare but significant disorder was included, and diagnostic criteria outlined for identification, diagnosis and treatment. Gender Dysphoria is not a “fad” or figment of some “Woke Liberals” vivid imagination, it is a genuine disorder that affects individuals including children, adolescents, and adults.

Read more: Intercepted Letter