Video & Pics from the Rally/Protest at Marsh Fork Elementary School

It's been a while...

I haven't used this blog for a few months now and that is a little sad. I plan to remedy that. I've spent a lot of time focusing on my creative endeavors an other blogs.

I am going to change the format a bit too... make it more personal. Stay tuned, I'll have it back in action soon ...

Young Republicans Approve Resolution In Support Of Mountaintop Removal

http://wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=52914

This is sad and pathetic.

My comments:

"Of all the loony behavior from Republicans, this is among the most disgusting.This is completely reactionary. No thought or just cause is offered in their decision. Of course not, there is no just reason that has ever been offered in the history of mountaintop removal!

Are the republicans in WV just a bunch of bickering children awaiting their chance to pinch back at their rivals?

This is the kind of spiteful back and forth that has been corroding this state for decades. Shame on them for pulling such a stunt. West Virginia could be achieving a better future if it weren't for this sort of no insight and no foresight rationale.

Am I wrong, but aren't their other ways to get coal than Mountaintop Removal? Aren't there ways that do not involve annihilating everything in site!? We all know that there is. Mountaintop Removal is unnecessary. Bottom line.

I don't know what I loathe more the plain spite or the blind loyalty."

Support Your Local Wind Farm!!!

Wind Power for WV!

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Click here to sign the petition.

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Relative Torture

I had to catch a ride with my brother-in-law today. He's a good guy, but his taste in music is a bit dated, centralized, and stereotypical. Here is a list of the musicians whose songs played during our travel time:

Bon Jovi
Charlie Daniels
Hank Williams Jr.
Kid Rock
Lynrd Skynrd

Don't get me wrong. I like some of the songs by these artists, but back to back is a bit a trip down the ol' dirt road, barefoot, with a bottle of Jack. I'm not that much of a country boy.

Well, maybe sometimes I am ... lol!

LOST DOG IN HUNTINGTON, WV!!!

A friend of mine is looking for his dog... lost in Huntington, WV. Check the web page for details...

http://dogdetective.com/pet-details.cfm/id/991728

WV Artist: Joe Gardner

WV is home to many talented people in music, art, etc...

Here is some of the work of Huntington, WV artist... Joe Gardener:




















visit Joe's website ... click here.

Pursuits of the other side...

I ran into a girl that I used to know. I had seen her in passing a few times over the years, but that was in another town. I had forgotten that we were both from near the same area. So, we exchange some small talk and somehow end up on the subject of Mountaintop Removal. I tell her I am highly against the practice. She says ….

- “Oh, against MTR… you and my friend would not get along.”
- “Why is that?”
- “She is very Pro-MTR.”
- “Pro-MYR huh?”
- “Yeah, she is studying environmental law in Vermont.”
- “Environmental law and she is Pro-MTR? How does that work?”
- "I don’t know."
- "Do they do MTR in Vermont?"
- "No, not that I know of."
- "Yeah, I didn’t think so. I don’t think it is done too much outside of Appalachia."
- “Yeah.”
- "Interesting..."
- "...."


At this point, she seemed a bit awkward. I couldn't get a good feel for how she felt about it personally. I wasn't sure where she stood. It was not my intention to even bring up the issue. It just sort of happened. I decided to pick my battles and move on. I wanted to engage in a full blown conversation at this point, but there was nothing to gain by jumping head first into the issue when we just happen to cross each others paths for those few minutes.

- "Well, she is entitled to her opinion. We all have our reasons, I guess.

So, we exchange some more small talk about work and life then said our goodbyes. Still, I couldn't help but stew over this small interaction.

I knew "how it worked," but what she said had surprised me. It disturbed me, really. It seems logical that someone would pursue a degree in environmental law because they want to help defend the environment not help defend the law in the interests of businesses. I should have considered the other side of the legal equation. It just wasn't in my mind at the time. The thought of someone being Pro-MTR and going to school for environmental law is ugly to me. Thinking that someone would dedicate their life to defending those that pollute, erode, and destroy this earth.; those whose work happens to be poisoning people; those who knowingly commit crimes against nature and humanity... It's something I find so criminal that it is hard for me to fathom that someone would want to spend their life in defense of it.

The world is a crazy place full of mixed up people.

Kayford Mountain May 2008

Myself and a few others took a trip to Kayford Mountain recently. It was quite an experience. If you are not familiar with the history of Kayford, I recommend that you do little research.

I spent a good bit of my teenage youth in the surrounding communities. One of my closest friends in high school used to live within walking distance of the road that leads up the mountain. I have been to the top of the mountain and seen the destruction that is mountaintop removal quite a few times in my younger days, but more than a decade has past since then.

Back then, I was not capable of understanding the true impact or the size of the problem that was before my eyes. During the 90's, I, like many others, were under the impression that this was a normal or acceptable practice. Business as usual was the attitude. Many people still feel that way today or say they do because they profit from it in one way or another. At the time, so many people worked for the mining industry that voice of dissent seemed almost nonexistent. It could be that the issue was just not in my scope of life. I never planned or wanted to work in the mines. So, maybe it was just easier to think it was someone else's problem. Maybe none of that is true. The truth is... this was just the way things were. It was everyday life... and it still is for many people who live in West Virgina and throughout the Appalachian regions.

I realize now, after years of ignorance due to daily exposure to the attitudes and the atmosphere of a community whose livelihood was predominantly provided for by the coal industry, that I was a victim of it's culture. Like so many that I have known for so long I was clueless to the reality that was all around me. A coma like existence, waking to the truth and devastation that is plain to see, if you simply try.

I am reminded of this line... "Once in a while you get shown in the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right." It's a lyric from the song "Scarlet Begonias" by The Grateful Dead. That line always stayed with me. I feel it has helped me see things for how they are instead of how I want them to be. It has helped me to seek out the truth, to try and see things with different eyes. In other words, consider all sides and angles to try and understand the issue fully, from all perspectives.

I once thought that a good paying job was something to be proud of. Something to cherish. In the case of Mountaintop Removal, I do not agree.

I now see the bigger picture. I now know that it is more noble, and probably better for the whole world, if people would spend more time and invest more of themselves in something they truly enjoy.

Doing the right thing is the only honorable thing you can do.

King Coal's strangle hold is firmly wrapped around the throats of many. Still, making money should not be the sole purpose of a man.

I'd say that most the people who work on these sites have had second thoughts about it. How could they not? I don't know how anyone who claims to be a West Virginian could feel proud about destroying the mountain legacy that is "The Mountain State."

I'm sure at first the big machines and thunderous booms are a bit of a rush, but after so long the reality of what is happening has to creep in. It has to cross their minds. The thought of destroying their homelands for a paycheck has to be a struggle that only some can truly know. The knowledge of the affects of this practice has to be a heavy burden at times, if not all the time. The knowledge of what has happened and what is currently happening to innocent people as a direct result of what they do for a living must resonate within their conscious. At least, one hopes.

Seeing a Mountaintop removal site is a sickening experience. Disgust, shock, horror are just a few of the words that come to my mind when recalling my recent visit to what it now mostly the remains of what used to be a mighty mountain in Kayford, WV. The scale of devastation is immeasurable. Sadly, it is a scale that gets larger with every passing day.

Looking upon what was quickly becoming something other than a mountain, something other than a forest, something other than an environment suitable for anything ever again, I felt ill. Though I had been to this place many years before, it was as if seeing it for the first time. I must say, I was shaken by what I saw.


All I could think was... "We are Americans. This is America! This is outrageous! This is the type of thing that has been happening in the Amazon Rain Forest. Everyone knows that environmental devastation of this magnitude has consequences that are disastrous and virtually immeasurable. This is America! We are in America right now! This is American soil. WHAT THE FU*K! We are better than this. How did this happen? Why is this happening? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? WHO IS ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN?"

The the song "America, the Beautiful" kept floating around in my head. I could feel the melody echo all through me, but it now felt more like a death march. A funeral song. Gloom instead of glory. A prayer instead of praise. Especially the lyrics about "purple mountain majesty." Now, I could be wrong, but I am quite certain that "purple mountain majesty" is a reference to the mountain ranges of in the western part of our nation. If you have ever been to the desert areas of the South West, then you know that those mountain ranges look purple in the fading light or at distance.

Still, mountains are a majestic feature of nature anywhere. Especially the Appalachian Mountain Range. These mountains are home to the most bio-diverse temperate forest in the world. A highly concentrated number of species of plant and animal exist in these hills. It is truly a testament to the pure beauty of natural creation.

The Appalachian Mountains are truly a majesty. An American Majesty. A natural treasure that is being demolished day after day in the name of greed and money lust.

I highly recommend that you familiarize yourself with what is being done to the Appalachian Mountains.

The environmental devastation is not the only issue at hand. Do a little research you will find that this is not just an environmental issue; It is also a social justice issue. People are suffering because of many the ramifications of this destructive process. It's reach is far and wide.

If you have the chance to visit a mountaintop removal site, go. Decide for yourself.

It is shocking to know and witness what America is willing to do to itself.

Morgan Spurlock's 30 Days: Mountaintop Removal

Morgan Spurlock, a West Virginia native and the filmmaker behind the documentary Supersize Me, talks about the issues surrounding the coal industry in West Virginia on his television series 30 Days. This video shows Morgan speaking with Bo Webb and Chuck Nelson about mountaintop removal.

The new season premiers Tuesday, June 3rd at 10pm on FX.



I am pleased to see this clip from the show. I had heard a few things about the upcoming episode that I was concerned about. I had heard that he might have thrown the detonation switch on a site. I found that disturbing. I am 100% against Strip mining and/or Mountaintop Removal. I have seen, lived with, been connected to, and known people affected by the destruction it causes for most of my life.

When Spurlock came out with Supersize me I was really proud of him. He was a person from WV who had made a great documentary and got worldwide recognition without perpetuating the stereotypes that have plagued West Virginia since before I was alive. I was in his corner. I was proud of him. So, when I had heard that he was shooting this episode about coal mining and that he was supposed to have set off a detonation on a site I was more than upset. Still, the verdict is not in on whether or not the episode will be worthy of my praise. This clip is pleasing, but I am anxious to see the whole episode before giving it my full approval. We'll just have to wait and see if it is, at least, fair in it's coverage.

I was raised in WV, "The Mountain State," in a hollow, among the mountains. Living in the mountains is an experience I will cherish all of my life. The pure, blooming, natural beauty that exists here is unequaled. It is a fact, the Appalachian Mountains are the most biodiverse temperate forest in the entire world. There is no other place like it on this planet.

It is unique and it is very much a part of who I am.

It is my belief that mankind's true place in this world has everything to do with his relationship to nature. It is our original state. Before any industrialization, man lived off this land. His place was among the other living things in this world. Destroying a mountain for a coal seam is something I find to be way beyond any reason. Once the mountain has been blown up it is gone forever. No matter what you do, it is forever changed.

I have seen, first hand, what they like to call "reclamation." These areas are not fit to host the environment they claim to be capable of. They are camouflaged with hydro seed and shrubs to give the appearance of fertility. Hydro Seed is a sort of super grass that will grow on anything. Just like on a commercial I saw recently, it will grow on a cinder block and just about any other surface for that matter. Not to mention the streams that are poisoned and/or destroyed. Its all too much.

It is a complete falsehood. Don't believe the hype. You can not "put it back."