Swept from hollar by flood as infant. Rescued, raised in deepest darkest Appalachia by black bear. Migrated East to Panhandle of West "By God" Virginia.
May lack formal schoolin' yet know the difference between a hillbilly, hick and redneck.
WV-02: Anne Barth shows why she is the only viable candidate
WV-02, a DCCC Red to Blue seat, is definitely in play this cycle -- it's our best chance yet to unseat ineffective Bush-McCain Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito. We've got a great candidate in Anne Barth -- a 20 year veteran of Sen. Byrd's office.
First, Anne Barth needs to win the West Virginia Democratic primary on May 13. Read further for an overview of the candidates and learn why Anne Barth is the only viable candidate for West Virignia's second congressional seat.
What you probably didn't know is, one of his key staff members -- an aide of 21 years -- recently resigned. Because of this resignation, Sen. Byrd is asking for our help.
Distressing news from Carnacki. Today was the filing deadline for candidates in West Virginia. Netroots-recruited, DCCC-supported, State Sen. John Unger has decided not to challenge Republican Shelley Moore Capito.
This week's roundup is made possible thanks to the major efforts of boadicea. Residing in one of those "W" states, I'm turning the tyranny of the alphabet on its head this week. Here's the 50 State Blog Network Roundup--this week running from Wisconsin to Alabama!
Sure, kos has his own full agenda of candidates to promote for an end-of-quarter push, but what about my district?? Yesterday, Carnacki reached the recommended list with a personal appeal. Today, it's my turn to convince you to adopt our district.
The first Beatle to die tragically young once said, "life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." Life is also what happens when we're not blogging. In the better late than never category, life has finally gotten out of the way to allow this week's 50 State Blog Roundup to emerge.
If your favorite 50 State Blog member is missing from this week's roundup, I promise no slight is intended. It just means no one had a chance to nominate a post for the week.
You can help make sure that doesn't happen again in the future. You can submit a nomination for any blog listed at the BlogPAC state blog roll via the nifty automated nomination system prepared by Ralph Brodie. Give it a try next week.
Do you live in a safely Democratic Congressional district? Are you eager to add to the Democratic Congressional majority? Are you looking for an exciting Red to Blue campaign to watch?
I know we often make fun of lawyers in this country ("What do you call a smiling, sober, courteous person at a bar association convention? The caterer."). On the other hand, there's a lot to be said for the value of training in law for political leadership.
The Clintons (Bill, Yale; Hillary, Yale), Barack Obama (Harvard), John Edwards (UNC), Harry Reid (George Washington U.), and Alan Mollohan (WVU) all have law degrees.
Then we have our Republican mis-leadership. There's George Bush with an Master's in Business Administration. That's the same degree that Duke Cunningham and Jeff Skilling have. There's Rep. Shelley Moore Capito with a Master's in Career Counseling. That's the same degree as... well, actually, no one comes to mind.
Bush and Capito share a mis-understanding of the law, too. Whereas Bush missed the week in high school civics class about constitutional checks and balances, after six years in Congress Rep. Capito still hasn't figured out the basic mechanics of when a law is needed.
Are you frustrated by the lack of accountability that remains in Washington, DC? Do you want to help bolster the Democratic House majority? It's not too early to help turn Red to Blue in 2008.
There has been a flurry of developments in WV-02 during the last two weeks. All of them point to one conclusion: State Sen. John Unger's challenge of vulnerable incumbent Rep. Shelley Moore Capito is a top-tier pick-up opportunity for the Democratic Party in 2008.
Unger--recruited by both netroots and the DCCC--has emerged as an early, well-positioned challenger to Capito. The major recent developments include:
Ninety-nine years ago, on July 5, 1908, the first Father's Day ceremony in the United States was held in Fairmont, West Virginia. Let us remember today the original intent of this holiday: honoring the sacrifices of those providing for others.
Last Friday evening, West Virginia State Sen. John Unger held an Eastern Panhandle campaign kick-off event in Martinsburg, W.Va. (lots of pictures here). After reading so much about Unger--both good and bad--from fellow Democratic activists and Republican concern trolls, I really didn't know what to expect. Maybe all that ink-spilling had lowered my expectations... whatever the reason, I was pleasently surprised. It was an impressive start for his campaign for WV-02.
Coal mining operation near Rawl, West Virginia; credit Kent Kessinger
This is the week where the rubber meets the road. The Senate is taking up consideration of an Energy Bill. Millions of lobbyists dollars are pressuring Congress on this Bill. Take 5 minutes to make your voice heard. Read on for 3 quick actions.
The prologue
There are at least six years of active neglect--and untold years of benign neglect--of our planet to start rolling back. (For a distressing, yet riveting, tale of both aspects see Michael Shnayerson - "The Rape of Appalachia".)
Is your Senator one of the 12 cosponsors? Is your representative one of the 30 cosponsors in the house? The list is so long I had to put it below the break!
The War Between the States left deep wounds in Appalachia. I wrote a few weeks ago, in Mother's Day for Peace: Ann and Anna Jarvis of Grafton, West Virginia, how the work of one family to heal those wounds led directly to the creation the holiday we now celebrate as Mother's Day.
Perhaps even less known is the role a West Virginian woman, Julia Pierpont. I'll let the good Gov. Joe Manchin (D-WV) tell the story:
When you voted against the Feingold amendment last week, I was very disappointed. Still, I did not rush to judgement. I trusted you had a good justification.
When you let us know why you voted against the Feingold amendment, I remained disappointed. Still, I did not rush to judgement. I trusted that you and your colleagues in Washington--other honorable, dedicated elected officials including Sen. Webb--had legislative tactics planned to start ending the US occupation of Iraq.
Now that Sen. Reid has announced an agreement with Pres. Bush for another blank check for future war funding, I am severely disappointed. You let us down. The Democratic Party votes against the Feingold amendment directly led to this totally unacceptable funding bill for the continued occupation of Iraq. We are no closer to bringing our soldiers home today than we were a year ago.
May 10 was the 99th anniversary of the beginning of Mother's Day celebrations as we now know it. What better time to reflect on its origins of a day of peace and reconciliation--origins in the mountains of West Virginia.
Happy Earth Day from your friends at West Virginia Blue! It's pretty bad when you find out your so-called "moderate" Congresswoman sits far right of Bush and Cheney on the global climate crisis. I wonder where she scores on the Inhofe Scale...
As you know, there is much debate about the existence, causes, and future extent of climate change, and what steps, if any, society should take in response.
With growing evidence that we've already reached Peak Oil, we need to start looking to any alternative energy source available. Wind, solar, waves, hydro, even nuclear--and, yes, of course aggressive steps towards conservation (like CFL bulbs)--are all necessary. The Inconvenient Truth is other carbon-based energy sources, most esp. coal (and even ethanol) have global warming issues.
I think in the back of our mind, we're holding out hope that a major technology breakthrough saves our hide. Well, sometimes developments come from surprising places.
Here in West Virginia, Sen. Byrd has delivered for us. We have several science and technology centers thinking about our post-coal economy.
As covered at West Virginia Blue this week, a Huntington, West Virginia think tank announced an exciting development in the harvesting one of the world's original renewal energy sources.
