Bluefield Daily Tele-Lie?

In my most recent post I detailed how the Bluefield Daily Telegraph described Masey Energy CEO Don Blankenship as "non-political" despite his reputation and extensive evidence to the contrary. Even the New York Times got it right in a recent article about the West Virginia Supreme Court:

"Justice Benjamin, a Republican lawyer with no judicial experience, unseated a West Virginia Supreme Court justice in 2004 with the help of about $3 million in advertisements and other support from Don L. Blankenship, the chief executive officer of Massey Energy, a coal-mining company. Massey has its headquarters in Virginia, but the company says Mr. Blankenship has spent most of his life in West Virginia.

As far as Justice Starcher is concerned, “Now we have one justice who was bought by Don Blankenship.” "

I guess the Bluefield Daily Telegraph can claim that it was a typo, or maybe you have to report from New York to see how much the deep pockets of Big Coal still dictate the political culture of our state.

Full Article

Massey Coal: No Friend to West Virginia

The annual Coal Show in Bluefield, WV played host this year to the Bluefield Coal Symposium sponsored by the Greater Bluefield Chamber of Commerce. The “main event” was an opening address by that paragon of virtue Don Blankenship, president and CEO of Massey Energy, a division of the 9th Circle of Hell.

He apparently made a series of weird, widely inappropriate statements that the local paper quoted, but refused to comment upon. The paper in question, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, actually called him “the man who is arguably one of the state’s most non-political figures,” apparently forgetting that he is in fact just the opposite. From his Wikipedia entry:

“He is known for his participation in politics, particularly in West Virginia and Kentucky, where Massey has substantial holdings.

In 2004, he spent millions of his own dollars campaigning against the re-election of West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals justice Warren McGraw. One ad he sponsored criticized McGraw for joining in a decision that allowed a convicted sex offender to remain on probation and also keep employment as a school custodian. That ad and the unprecedented intensity of the campaign virtually ensured Brent Benjamin's win."

(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Blankenship )


Commenting on measuring dust in coal mines, high levels of which lead to mine explosions, Blankenship said, “Dust measurement doesn’t solve problems, U.S. Technology is too busy taking dust samples and pushing wars to keep the oil flowing.”

Responding to a question about coal reserve estimates, Blankenship went way off the tracks saying it was “sad” that the nation is “willing to send children to Iraq to fight a war, but not willing to issue a (permit for) a valley fill.” (WTF?)

The article continued, "He then went on to give his opinion of the state’s political developments during the past 76 years and finished that off with his observation that West Virginia has “the lowest average income and the highest incidence of child abuse.” He said that with the state’s “gift” of abundant coal reserves, it ought to take advantage of that gift. “I don’t know how anyone can argue that we don’t need the change,” he said. "

Blankenship said the focus needs to be on “the people’s whole environment,” and not a single aspect of the environment. He said that the state government doesn’t realize that the customers of big coal companies are “the state’s customers too.”

Blankenship’s use of the Iraq war dead to further his selfish industrial goals is just mind-numbingly offensive. His compliant about the state of West Virginia’s government is ridiculous, as said government has been in the thrall of his industry; largely doing their bidding. Finally, the implication that it is “OK” to destroy the environment because the monetary benefits of the mining operation will make child abuse go away is so intellectually dishonest, that it would not pass muster in an introductory course in a junior college.

To read the full article see http://www.bdtonline.com/local/local_story_270222048.html

At Least We have Football

Football is the sport that most of America looks forward to. In a time of niche marketing and narrowcasting, football has become the real national pastime. It is certainly a good time to be a football fan in West Virginia:

• The WVU football team: Top Ten, and a legitimate proto-superstar in Steve Slaton.


• Marshall, while having an appointment with destruction in their opener with WVU, does have a major movie coming out in "We Are Marshall", based on the 1970 Marshall Football Team plane crash. If the admissions office has any brains, they will send a free ticket to every high school senior on their recruiting lists.


• The All-American Football League, which will feature graduates of major university programs playing together in their old stadiums, is considering a Morgantown team (go here to vote for WVU)


• And the Bluefield Barons, a second year team in the very semi-pro Alliance Football League, (AFL) coming off an undefeated, league championship rookie season, have started to play again. (currently 2-0)

The AFL was overwhelmed by Bluefield its first year. But then again Buefield is a football town with multiple state championships and a large local following. The Barons have a number of former players from WVU, Marshall, East Tennessee, as well as a large contingent from the local Division II team at Concord University who were living and working in the area before the formation of the team. Their success says a lot about the people who built the organization.

It also says a lot about the leadership of the Bluefield, WV community. It is a shame that in just one year year the people of Bluefield can build a football team to dominate (actually humiliate) an entire football league, but for nearly 40 years haven't been able to revive an economy since the end of labor-intensive coal mining. Many missed oppoutunities inculde barring mall and shopping center developments from the city limits as threats to the good old boy power structure and watching them set up just outside of town, operating as permanent tax base destroyers.

At least we have good football teams.

BTW, here's a music video of a song about the 1970 plane crash:



Now, to cleanse the palette for we WVU fans...