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You are in control — change the way you think

On Thanksgiving Day my daughter, Dannielle and I did 11 miles together. This was our last long training run in preparation for the Kiawah half-marathon in a couple of weeks. I’m struggling with some injuries, so this run was a little painful. I struggled but finished the 11 miles. After running over 40 half-marathons since 2008, I’ve learned this last long training run is critical. It’s not as important for stamina as it is for the belief it builds. I have to believe I can run a half-marathon. If I can run 11 miles, my mind and body know they can do 13.1 miles. In 1903 James ...

Courage is an important quality for leaders

The senior captains of our high school soccer team had a dream this year to win a third consecutive State Championship. When teaching leadership, we don’t tell our leaders what to dream. We do challenge them to dream high. The captains’ dream wasn’t unexpected. It was courageous and extremely difficult. In WVSSCA Boys soccer history only 3 teams have ever accomplished this feat; Buckhannon-Upshur HS 1993, 1994, 1995, Charleston Catholic HS 2009,2010, 2011, 2012, George Washington HS 2018, 2019, 2020 In addition, we graduated 12 seniors in 2023. Most of them starters. We had a ...

Could a winter storm topple America’s electric grid?

Here’s some unwelcome deja vu. According to the organization that oversees the reliability of America’s power grid, much of the country could face blackouts again this winter. Warnings of winter blackouts are becoming a seasonal fixture. Texas experienced a devastating power outage in February 2021. And a bitter cold snap last Christmas forced utilities to implement rolling blackouts across multiple states. Now, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) fears that a prolonged cold snap could threaten the nation’s natural gas infrastructure and the power plants ...

Will Stars Align for Haley in Bizarre GOP Contest?

The political world spends a lot of time discussing former President Donald Trump’s lead over the Republican field in national polls -- currently at 45.4%, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls. But, of course, the race will unfold as a series of state contests, beginning in Iowa on Jan. 15, New Hampshire on Jan. 23, Nevada on Feb. 8 and South Carolina on Feb. 24. By then, Republicans should have a pretty good idea who their 2024 presidential nominee will be. Of course, Trump is leading in the early-voting state polls, too -- a 29.7-point lead in Iowa, a 27-point lead ...

Michigan’s Lack of Action Violated Columnist’s Freedom of Speech

I arrived at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Thursday, Nov. 16 to deliver a speech on Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. The talk’s blunt title, selected by the local Young Americans for Freedom chapter, reflected my own unambiguous approach to the conflict: “Israel’s Righteous Fight Against Jihadism.” I anticipated possible fireworks and worked with YAF on event security measures. Those security measures, unfortunately, turned out to be necessary. Within minutes of starting my speech, 20 to 25 protestors stood up in unison. They held their arms high in the air to ...

Time to lift each other out of life’s trash can

Did you see the story? A man in his 80s stops for gas on his way back home from Bible class in Detroit, Michigan and got mugged. It was not in the dark, but in a lighted area. He was not at a lonely stop, but there were a number of people who were pumping their gas watching it happen. They even have it on tape and played it on the news. The man crawled into the station, others walked by, some even stepped over his bloody body, but none of them reached out to help him. Even the clerk at the station did not quickly call the police. I don’t want to put Detroit in a bad light, my father ...