The Last Friends of Coal Bowl

This may be the last Friends of Coal Bowl.

It's not that West Virginia and Marshall will stop their series this year. The contract still runs for a couple of more games. However the game will have to locate another sponsor. West Virginia's coal producers and related industries have seen discouraging drops in revenue. This did not happen because energy prices dropped that much. Their efforts to expand production and jobs have hit a federal brick wall.

Perhaps the Environmental Protection Agency will step forward to pony up some money. After all, some of the proceeds and financial; support go to both of these great universities. The EPA has embarked on a mission to assassinate King Coal. They denied seventy-nine surface mining permits this year, killing off uncounted thousands of jobs and millions in revenue for state government, local authorities, and West Virginia schools.

This does not reflect real issues, but a determination by an increasingly dictatorial presidency to control the economy and livelihoods of individuals. It is unfortunate that Senator Byrd, a long time supporter of miners, has chosen this instance to muddy the waters by attacking Massey Energy's refusal to build with its money in these tough times a brand new school in a county where they pay a heavy percentage of property taxes.

Anyone who fights this outrage against our state, Democrat, Republican, independent, union or company, must join together. Believe me this attack, let's call it what it is, against a state that voted for John McCain must be met with action.

Have the coal companies always been saints? No. Shouldn't West Virginia continue to work on creating a truly diversified economy that does not rely so heavily upon one industry? Absolutely! However this is a bald faced assault on an industry and a state that dared to vote against The Won almost two to one.

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Another conservative blog has argued that state Republicans have not appreciated the urgency of this issue. I can speak for no one else, but the Potomac Highlands Conservative has addressed this issue repeatedly in the past. We support Congresswoman Capito's "all of the above" energy plan and oppose attacks on coal. We have not done so on as regular a basis as other pundits because the left wing in this country seems to present us with a new, different, and occasionally bizarre outrage every day of the week and twice on Sunday.