James Shott

Columnist.

James Shott is a 4th generation member of a media family dating back to 1893, when his great grandfather established the Bluefield Daily Telegraph that serves southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia. He has worked in broadcast news as a weather and news reporter, and as a news anchor, and was editor and publisher of a community newspaper for 14 years.

Since 2008 James has written an op-ed for the local daily his family owned and operated until 1985, and several online sites. He classifies himself as a “conservatarian,” a blend of conservative and libertarian principles.

Latest

To Democrat Candidates, America Really Is the Land of the Free!

July 2, 2019

Most Americans understand that America’s reputation for freedom comes from its providing opportunities for all to do mostly as they please, with certain sensible restrictions, to pursue happiness and success at their own pace.

‘Oh, How Do I Hate Thee, Donald Trump? Let Me Count the Ways...’

Donald Trump is a different thing to different people. And exactly what he is depends entirely upon one’s general liking or disliking of him.

Vote Buying Is Alive and Well in Democrat Campaign Positions

If a campaign worker slips you a 10 or a 50 as you head into a polling place or promises you a week at the beach, that is a crime — election fraud. Another way, a legal way, of encouraging folks to vote the right way is through campaign promises to deliver free stuff to people through government programs if that candidate wins the election.

Supreme Court Stability Essential and Term Limits for Congress

Columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. brought forth a truly important topic recently. “Permit me a question to every truly fair-minded person in our country,” the piece began.

At Long Last, This Investigative Exercise Is Over. Or Is It?

Now that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation, submitted his report to Attorney General William Barr, and spoken publicly about the report, that more than two-year, $35 million investigation is over and done.

Congress Must Quit Wasting Time and Get to Work Fixing Our Problems

The only people who seem not to notice the crisis we have in America with people who sneak across our borders, who falsely claim asylum, or who fake family status with a rented, borrowed, or kidnapped child are the people who are responsible for addressing the problem: congressional Democrats.

Colleges Are Taking It on the Chin Lately

The bad news for higher education keeps piling up. Recent scandals involving parents bribing people to help get their otherwise unqualified kids into elite schools and the new story of sexual impropriety at Ohio State University add to the list.

A Constitutional Crisis? Another Democrat Talking Point Gets Life

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, thinks we have entered into a constitutional crisis because Attorney General William Barr has refused to turn over a completely unredacted copy of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

Activities in ‘The Swamp’ Reach Disgusting and Treasonous Levels

“The Swamp.” That is how Donald Trump identifies the Washington bureaucratic morass. The Swamp, or however one identifies it, is the stuff of legend.

Biden Is Correct: We Are in a Battle for the Soul of America

Former Vice President Joe Biden, in his video declaring his candidacy for the Democrat nomination for president, actually identified a very real problem. In his breathy, half-whispering plea for support, he noted that the soul of America is up for grabs.

Celebrate the Good That’s Happening and Fix the Country’s Problems

That President Donald Trump has many critics is no surprise. That he has created much of the negative feelings people have for him is also no surprise. One interesting question is, “How much of the anti-Trump fervor is legitimate opposition to his agenda or a true belief that he is unsuited for the job, and how much is just an emotional reaction to his personal behavior?”

Robert Barr Joins Robert Mueller on the Democrats’ Wall of Shame

Attorney General William Barr testified recently before the House Appropriations Committee’s Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the Department of Justice budgetary request, but he was asked question after question after question about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russian-collusion investigation and the conclusions from that report Barr released.

Jobs Combat Poverty; Overregulation Discourages Businesses and Jobs

Magatte Wade was born in the West African nation of Senegal, was educated in Germany and France, and then came to the U.S. She is a frequent speaker at business conferences and college campuses, including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, and Wharton. She has started businesses and is working with her husband to create schools in Senegal.