Speaking of breaking with one's party

OMG

The Senior Senator is backing Alito.

Some are speculating that this may be because a well-known WV Republican challenger announced his candidacy yesterday for Byrd's Senate seat.

Maybe. But I doubt it.

I've told the Brooklyn Hillbilly that I think the only person who could beat RCB in an election would be some other soul with exactly the same name. If hometown were the only distiguishing factor between the candidates, then the newcomer might have a 50/50 chance.

Furthermore, I say if RCB dies after the ballots are printed for the next election, he might just win anyway.

Everybody loves Joe

Or so it seems. The Governor has the highest approval rating of all the state governors, according to this month's SurveyUSA poll. He was number 6 in December and number 8 in November.

I wasn't polled, of course, but if I had been, I probably would have rated him pretty highly. While I don't agree with many of his political views, I appreciate his push for change and also his willingness to openly hold views that don't always go along with those of the national Democratic party.

One Day

That's apparently how long it takes the legislature to do something when they really want to. Let's all remember that when debate over other issues drag on for years and years.

Open For (Illegal) Business

A "makeshift studio" for pirating movies and music has been discovered in the State Capitol.

Good grief...

So, my question is, was it beside or down the hall from the lab for reprogramming satellite TV cards?

WV history according to Heath Ledger

The Brooklyn Hillbilly sent me this dandy link. It seems that, according to Mr. Ledger, the state of WV was "lynching people" as recently as 25 years ago.

Hmmmm, I would've been eight or so years old--funny I don't remember hearing ANYTHING about those late 1970s/1980s WV lynchings.

According to state archives officials, quoted in The Daily Mail, there hasn't been a lynching in WV "within nearly 75 years."

Glory Road: The WV Connection

During my holiday movie-viewing, I saw previews for Glory Road and thought it sounded like one I'd like to see, which is saying a lot since I rarely watch movies and after being dragged to see King Kong I'd almost vowed to never enter a theater again.

Tonight I was listening to Sportsline and heard an interview with Mark Downey, a former Monongalia Countian and University of Charleston basketball player who has a role in the movie as a University of Kentucky basketball player.

I can't find his picture on the movie Web site (graphic-intensive movie sites are a royal pain on my dial-up connection), but here's his picture so you'll know who to look for. He plays a guy nicknamed "Crash."

UPDATE - Heard on the radio this morning that Downey's number in the movie is 30.

UPDATE II (Jan. 16) - I didn't get to see Glory Road over the weekend, and after hearing the review of it on Sportsline tonight, I'm not too sad.

Urgent Message to All Heifers

DO NOT GIVE BIRTH NEAR A GROUNDHOG HOLE!

See this story for details and a bizarre photo of a Tyler County calf stuck, well, stuck in the mud.

Hardscrabble Jab

I was pleased that an opinion piece in the Saturday Gazette-Mail took a jab at those chronic users of "hardscrabble" to describe our state, at least that's how I interpreted it.

"Gathered around our 'hardscrabble,' wide-screen, high definition televisions, we shared that pain."

Perfectly said. It's so good to see someone else "enjoying" the frequent use of hardscrabble (aka "acme of barrenness").

It must have been quite disheartening to the national media that Sago was within range of a cell phone tower*, thereby eliminating the opportunity to complain at length (as they did during the JL media saga) about being marooned in such an isolated locale and being unable to use their blessed cell phones to reach the outside, civilized world.

*at least that's what I gather from the reports of cell phones being used to reach family members at the church

Disaster brings out the best and worst

Tragedies in West Virginia tend to bring out the best in some people, especially those in our small communities who rally around their fellow citizens during time of hardship. Candlelight vigils have been held, donations are being collected, organizations are offering free grief counseling, etc.

Even from outside the state, people have sent an outpouring of sympathy. According to this Saturday Gazette-Mail article, floral arrangements have been sent from as far away as California and Alberta, Canada, and some out-of-town visitors stopped by the Sago church to offer condolences and make a contribution to the fund for the miners' families.

And then there are the vile, disgusting beings that rear their ugly heads during times of disaster.

Now, it takes a lot to shock me, but when I made the mistake of clicking on a "Discuss" link at the bottom of one of the Yahoo!News stories about the miners, I was absolutely floored.

Yes, the usual comment spam, but many awful jokes about the miners surely being illiterate because they were from WV and therefore being unable to leave notes, and others cracking jokes about incest, such as saying their notes were addressed to "My sister/wife".

One anonymous user, going by the name of "yoursisterispurdy", wrote an entire satirical note that touched on all the usual WV stereotypes. It starts off like this (the rest is just too awful for me to post, but I feel I must actually offer proof that people are this small-minded):

That's the tip of the iceberg. My advice is to never, ever click on the Discuss link. Just save yourself the lost sleep and elevated blood pressure.

Meanwhile, a Kansas-based "hate group, which operates as Westboro Baptist Church", is planning to picket the community memorial service planned for Jan. 15 at Wesley Chapel in Buckhannon. The Buckhannon Record-Delta reports that they were informed that 10 to 15 picketers would be in attendance from 1:30-2 p.m. Jan. 15.

If you have the stomach for it, Jerry has the group's fax celebrating the death of the miners posted on his site. Keep in mind that this is the same group known for picketing soldiers' funerals.

It baffles and deeply disturbs me that there's more than one person in this country who believes that picketing funerals is an appropriate means of advancing their cause.

Disgusting.

Awful

11 of 12 Miners Reported Alive Are Dead

Grim

News from Upshur County certainly sounds grim (1, 2, 3, 4). It's definitely not a good sign when the company president says they need a miracle.

As I watch the TV reporters, I can see in the background those familiar blue tubes that fascinated me so much when I was a naive youngster (forgive me, I don't know what those tubes are really called, but I assume they're what carry the coal out of the mine).

There was a section of the road that we traveled to my grandparents' house that went under those giant blue tubes, or very similar-looking blue tubes at another Sago mine. As a kid from a small town with almost no industry, I was greatly interested in the mine. It was enormous, I thought, and a bit mysterious, too, because it didn't seem like there were any people around -- just a big blue building and pipes disappearing into the side of the hills.

On the way back from my grandparents' house, reaching the mine meant we were almost back to the "big" (i.e. paved) road -- another reason the mine sticks out in my memory.

At night, there were lights on the tubes and the buildings. You could see the glow from far away. Driving under the lighted tubes was a real treat, I thought (I hadn't yet seen the Wheeling Festival of Lights). I remember thinking -- and perhaps saying -- "It's like New York City!"

Sago Mine Explosion

Let us all remember those involved in the Sago mine disaster (also here), including the families of those missing.

Sago is a small community just outside of Buckhannon in Upshur County. It's a nice area where the rocky Buckhannon River is beautiful -- or at least it still was the last time I was there, about 8-9 years ago.