Sigh
As I was driving Friday night, I heard talk radio show host Michael Savage referring to a discussion he'd had the night before about the "Appa-leash girl." I think you know to whom that little nickname referred.

And tonight Geraldo and Arianna Huffington are comparing and contrasting the JL and LE situations, noting the great irony that these "bookends" of the war came from the same geographic area and economic circumstances.

Sure, he's big on education, but who does he like in next year's PHS/South football game?
The President was in WV (again) yesterday (see here, here, here, and here - Note to Brooklyn Hillbilly: be sure to read that last one). This is the closest I recall a president being to my hometown. He was in Ripley for Independence Day a couple of summers ago, but I think Parkersburg is just a hair closer.

I heard a few seconds of his speech on the news last night, just long enough to hear him say "You've got a lot of coal here" and go on to talk about the country's energy needs and the importance of coal. Welllll, yes, WV certainly has plenty of coal, but the Mid-Ohio Valley is known for its oil (erl) and gas, NOT coal. Just a minor point, and I admit I'm being overly cranky today.

Hmmm, I wonder if the President at any time said Kanawha or Little Kanawha. That I would have liked to hear ;).

New death euphemism
I've been horribly remiss in reporting this new death euphemism -- "went to play cards with her husband." So, that's all it said. She went to play cards with her husband on a particular date, and the memorial service is at such & such a time at the church. It's not clear that the husband preceded her in death, but I'm assuming he did, or it must have been one hell of a card game.

The Brooklyn Hillbilly suggests, since he's not much of a card player, that I should slightly alter that language for his obit, to read something like, "The Brooklyn Hillbilly went to see a woman...".

Completely un-WV-related rambling
Let me get this straight. An American's head was cut off by terrorists, who filmed the entire act and narrated, explaining why they said they were doing it. And now we, America in general, are quibbling over whether or not the American was detained by US forces at any time preceding his beheading by the terrorists. Furthermore, blame for the man's death seems to be going to the US government, NOT THE TERRORISTS WHO BEHEADED HIM AND FILMED IT!! ARGHHHH. So now, not only are Americans not responsible for their own actions (e.g. eating fast food 7 days a week, three meals a day or knowing that the coffee you buy from McDonald's is going to be VERY HOT and should not be spilled on one's groin), but neither is the rest of the world, including various terrorist organizations.

WV Decision 2004: Vote Early, Vote Often
I voted today, but only in one county, and only in one precinct. I know, I know. Why bother, right?

As usual, my vote went to those whose campaign ads annoyed me the least. It is a safe bet that I didn't vote for MW for governor, nor would Mr. Osteoporosis/Breast Exam have gotten my vote, even if I could have voted in the Democratic primary (did you know 7 out of 10 West Virginians over age 50 have osteoporosis? GASP! Clearly this is a matter worthy of state government attention!). Instead I voted for someone I heard on a radio talkshow months ago and thought to myself, "Hmmm, now that sounds like an intelligent man." I was not inundated by every manner of advertisement begging me to vote for this person, and I confess that I don't know precisely where my candidate stands on various issues, but he sounded bright and didn't make any sort of outrageous claims (that I heard). So, a man who is most likely destined to lose got my vote.

While I was driving to the polling place (which I circled twice because the signage was severely lacking), I heard a radio ad for a local house of delegates candidate who proclaimed that he was "pro-gun, pro-family" and would "fight the outsourcing of jobs overseas." Um, if it takes the West Virginia legislature nearly a decade to pass ATV legislation, I'm going to go out on a limb and bet that they won't be stopping the outsourcing of jobs any time soon. Since the state has almost no jobs to outsource, what in the heck are they going to do??

Tale of two hillbillies
It was the best of times, and now it is the worst of times. Here's an AP story comparing JL and LE, the WV faces of the Iraq war.

This story from Friday describes the media invasion of Fort Ashby. One resident is quoted as saying, "They want the alternative Jessica Lynch. They don't need any more heroes. So they came here for villains."

Yearning for the good old days of JL coverage
Unless you've been living under a rock -- and that might be a good idea, BTW -- you've no doubt heard that one of the female soldiers in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison photos hails from the eastern panhandle. Oh yes, a proud day for Mineral County. As Jerry wrote to me yesterday, it's one step forward and two steps back in terms of media coverage about the state.

When I saw this story Tuesday, I got a sick feeling when I read the description of the home where the soldier grew up ("a trailer down a dirt road behind a saloon and a sheep farm" -- a saloon??? are you sure it's not a "cafe"???). And, of course, it's noted that the woman's mother is seated on a cooler on "the small stoop of her trailer" during her interview with the Baltimore Sun. Shockingly, the area was not deemed hardscrabble, but instead the hills were called "rolling" - apparently the closer you are to DC, the more rolling and hospitable the landscape becomes. But, anyway, with the trailer description, you could just see where this all was going.

Sure enough, today in the Daily Mail there's an editorial that quotes a story in The Sunday Herald (of England) referring to the soldier's upbringing in "a West Virginia trailer park." AS IF THIS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT!!! For the love of Pete, there are countless people who LIVE IN TRAILERS and grow up and do perfectly normal things, including SERVING THEIR COUNTRY! And some of them continue living in trailers! GET OVER IT.

Oh yeah, in the original story to which I referred (by the AP), there was the typical undercurrent of "Oh, look at this poor hillbilly woman who WAS FORCED to join the military." You'll remember it well from the early JL coverage. You know, when it was practically like the Army recruiter had kidnapped the young girl and whisked her away against her will. You'd think no West Virginian joins the military simply because they WANT to serve the country.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Oh yeah, here's the first story I've found so far that compares the current scandal to JL.

Don't know much about history
So, if you can't figure out who to vote for, perhaps you'll want to take into account the results of this WV history test given to the gubernatorial candidates. How in the hell was Joe Manchin the only one to know the BROOK TROUT is the state fish?? Gasp. Isn't that common knowledge?