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Editorial

History doesn’t repeat — it rhymes

As the idiom goes, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat. But history never really repeats — it rhymes. The players change, as do the locations. Situations may be similar — enough to feel like déjà vu — but never exactly alike. Not a replay, but an echo; not a repeat, but a rhyme. Last Friday marked the two-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, when rioters fueled by former President Donald Trump’s election conspiracies stormed the seat of government, threatening Congress and the certification of the 2020 election. On Sunday, an ...

It’s not as simple as ‘get a job’

When frigid temperatures struck Morgantown over the Christmas weekend, organizations and volunteer groups struggled to find accommodations for 110 people who are homeless. Sixty people hunkered down in the emergency warming shelter; another 20 had been placed in hotel rooms; and 30 waited out the cold in Bartlett’s year-round shelter. Becky Rodd, coordinator of the emergency warming shelter, said the holiday deep freeze revealed a “crisis of homelessness in Morgantown.” It’s no secret that homelessness is a problem here in the city, but many of us may not have realized just ...

Editorial Encore: More money, same problems: Where to use the surplus

EDITOR'S NOTE: We took a look into our editorial archive to see what was on our minds this time last year — and found that it was many of the same things as this year. We published an editorial Jan. 9, 2022, with a list of suggestions for how to use the $394 million surplus — now closer to $2 billion. There’s more money, but the same problems persist, so we’ve adapted last year’s list with this year’s numbers. Gov. Jim Justice’s administration has been good about bringing in surpluses at the end of the fiscal year. But it’s also been notorious for squirrelling the ...

We’ve made it to 2023

It’s one of those rare internet memes that’s all text and no image. It reads: “Nobody claim 2023 as ‘your year.’ We’re all going to walk in real slow. Be good. Be quiet. Be cautious and respectful. Don’t touch anything.” A similar meme went around before the last couple New Years, with “2021” and “2022,” respectively. After three years of sickness, political vitriol and global and economic tumult, no one can be blamed for approaching the new year with wariness. Some of us are still processing 2020, and the last two years feel like little more than an ...

W.Va. senator to sponsor eugenics bill

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. Unless, of course, they don’t think history’s “mistakes” are actually mistakes. At a meeting with Mineral County residents in early December, Sen. Randy Smith (R-Tucker) announced that he will be the lead sponsor for a bill that proposes anyone convicted of a drug-related crime can “volunteer” to be sterilized in exchange for a lesser sentence. “If you get caught with drugs ... but if you want to lessen your prison sentence, if you’re a man, you can get a vasectomy so you can’t produce ...

From our homes to yours: Christmas traditions

Merry Christmas! Happy seventh day of Hanukkah! And an early happy Kwanzaa (which will be celebrated tomorrow)!  In honor of the holiday season, we’ve asked The Dominion Post staff to share some of their favorite holiday traditions. Here’s what they said: Dave Raese, publisher: I used to go to a movie on Christmas because the afternoon was boring because we didn’t have extended family for the holidays. Then, I would volunteer to work Christmas Day so others in the newsroom could travel home. Now we, the family or those who can join us, try to go to a movie on Christmas ...