There's A Lot Wrong With West Virginia

But there's a lot right too.

Fred Phelps, the nutcase "preacher" of hate from Kansas, was scheduled to bring his inbred church to the funeral of Don Bragg, one of the miners killed in Logan county last week. According to Phelps, Bragg and the other WV miners died because the US allows gays to live and God is angry at us.

So he travels with his brood to funerals and memorials and celebrates because people have died.

He was scheduled to be in Logan today for Bragg's funeral.

Along the path of the funeral procession, miles and miles of people stood with signs of support and comfort for the family and miners in general. When the procession hit the four lane roads of 119 a line of coal trucks, adorned with black ribbons, waited on them. It was a simple show of solidarity and respect for miners, in particular, Don Bragg.

Odd how a big ole ugly coal truck can bring a tear to your eyes but these did. The people in Logan County were prepared for Phelps. They were prepared with a simple dignity and respect for life that Phelps will never grasp, much less receive.

There's a lot wrong in WV. We have more than our share of good ole boy politics. Our infrastructure is laughable. Often the narrow minded attitudes still held towards the arts, education, women and minorities drives me to spew words not acceptable in public, but there's a lot right too. We got the heart thing. The rest we can work on...

Oh...and Phelps?
When he was told the state police was no longer going to provide escorts for him to insure his safety, he chickened out. Evidently he doesn't feel strongly enough in his faith to be a martyr.

A Special Kind Of Idiot

I work in the county where two men just lost their lives in a mine explosion. It is true that anytime a coal miner dies the state mourns with the family. I'm not sure whether that's because we're a rural area, whether it's because mining creates a close knit community or whether it's because the industry is so prevalent in the state that almost everyone has someone in their family, or someone they're close to, who is involved in mining. However, WVians do feel the loss of those souls lost in mining disasters.

We felt it three weeks ago when the Sago mine exploded and we felt it last week when the 2 miners in Logan Co lost their lives. The tears that have been shed on our mountains and hollows were not born only from the grief of the families but from the hearts of West Virginians who feel the loss of our sons.

Which makes Fred Phelps even more of an abomination.
http://www.godhatesfags.com/fliers/jan2006/20060123_two-more-dead-miners.pdf

Phelps is the head of an inbred, mentally impaired, distorted Baptist church who celebrates the death of each miner in WV, along with the deaths of our military in Iraq, because he feels it's a message from God condemning the US for allow gays to live.

The putrid ass erected a monument to Matthew Sheppard, who was beaten to death by homophobic locals in his hometown, and chiseled Sheppard's date of death as the day Sheppard entered hell.

So Phelps will bring his message of hate - and let's be certain of this: it is not God's message he brings but his own homophobic drivvel - to Logan during the funeral of these miners, just as he did in Buckhannon a week ago at the memorial service for the Sago miners. Only this time the state police won't be affording him security.

Unfortunately the freedom of speech also applies to morons.

An Argument On It's Own Merits

A ramble:

A Conservative website in California is attempting to coerce students into taping their professor's lectures and provide them to the organization for $100.00 a pop. Why? Because this organization has a hit list of the top "liberal activists" who teach at the university. On this website is not only the content of professor's lectures but notations of their political activities as well as other assorted information.

Why is this alarming?

Those who find no fault with this practice have asked what the professors have to hide? Why are they afraid to have their words face public scrutiny?

Sounds like a familiar argument.

Such as: Why worry about the NSA spying on you? Only the terrorists have something to hide. Or: Why worry about Yahoo and msn turning over your search information? If you're not a "bad guy" you have nothing to worry about.

This is a deceptive and false argument.

Privacy was not guaranteed to us only after we pass a test of worth. It is inherent and a part of the security of our home.

When the patriot act was first passed there were a few voices that called out warnings that abuses would come and that rights would be infringed. Those voices were shouted down with cries of patriotism and Godliness. But the first step across the boundary of constitutional infringement and civil rights makes the next step easier. Where does it end?

The loss of freedom rarely comes with rapid movement. It is insidious. It comes in small steps that push the boundaries slowly outwards so that what we accept is more easily altered with each infringement.

Our voices need to be raised. We need to remind the politicians that would warp our government into a new regime that the loss of any rights is an aberration.

The attempts to silence and intimidate need to end. If a position is worthwhile, if it has merit, then allow it to stand or fall on it's own substance. If it can not stand up the scrutiny of honorable men and women then it does not need to be placed as public policy. Any decision made by the government that can not be brought into the light and looked at thoroughly should not be maintained.

The pressure from political factions that label dissention as Un-American or Un-Godly should end before the very fabric of our republic is ripped apart.

Terror Alerts - S'Plain This To Me

Bring an election near and invariably our terrorist alert levels go sky high. Press releases are made that unnamed sources of information indicate the US is in danger of another attack. Yet, Osama Bin Laden makes a tape and SAYS PLANS have been made for another attack on the US and WILL be carried out and nothing, absolutely nothing comes in the way of raised terror alerts or of concern from this administration.

Quagmires

Question of the day:

Does a man who called black women living in housing complexes "brood mares" have a chance of being elected to public office in Cabell County?

Tune in for more.

WV MOUNTAINEERS - 2006 SUGAR BOWL CHAMPS!!!!!

Nuff said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Year

First let me say:



Secondly, let me completely go off topic for this blog and say:

GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!!!!!!!!

Jan 2, 7:30 p.m. EST
WV Mountaineers vs Georgia Bulldogs.

http://www.nokiasugarbowl.com/georgiameetswestvirginia.html



Time for political angst after the holidays.