That didn't take long. Yesterday I wrote (see next post down) about West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner's firing of 16 workers, many of whom had been on the job for a long time, replacing them with 22 new workers. As a result, the fired workers filed a wrongful termination suit against the secretary. Since Warner has recently become an Ogden favorite, I wondered how they would spin this. I didn't have to wait long -- today's afternoon editorial tells us

Warner Program Improves Service

The editorial completely ignores the law suit and praises Warner for doing more with less. Let's see, his office has added six new workers to his staff and created eight brand-new field offices throughout the state. And he'll be doing all of this without any additional funding. Warner must be a magician! Add to this total the legal costs of defending his firings and the possible cost of back pay if the defendants win. A magician? More likely he's a con artist and the News-Register is his accomplice.

For a different editorial take on Warner's actions, see this morning's Charleston Gazette-Mail:

Shrinking government? Warner fires 16, hires 22

Note -- sorry, no link to the News-Register editorial -- once again the editorial is not posted online.

Update 2/24

Yesterday's Intelligencer finally covered Warner's actions with a short AP report on page 5.

Additionally, today's Charleston Gazette-Mail carries an op-ed piece by attorney Jim Lees on the subject. After recalling the use of state monies by A. James Manchin and Darrell McGraw to promote themselves, he writes:

Putting yet another fleet of taxpayer funded mobile billboards out onto the highways of West Virginia with yet another bunch of tax-funded employees (new employees by the way) who we know are out there to promote Mac Warner and only Mac Warner is ludicrous in our modern 21st century. Can someone please stop this same-old fiefdom-building nonsense before it becomes another 19th-century entrenched political machine?