Mountain Blog

Sometimes you just want to beat your head against a vein of coal

Robert "Doc" Foglesong appeared on "Bray Carey Presents and Endorses" this morning on West Virginia Media TeeVee. He tells us that he is politically independent and will stay that way while he develops his own plan to promote leadership and stuff among West Virginia's young people with his own foundation.

The Mingo County native had an illustrious career in the Air Force. No one can deny that. Now that he is back in West Virginia, apparently to stay, he has received private and corporate donations for his foundatiion from such folks as Buck Harless and Don Blankenship.

And he is proud of the fact that he is a spokesman for Friends of Coal.

Well, we know who this "politically independent" superstar is aligned with, don't we?

Foglesong could make an imprint on West Virginia if he were to remain politically independent. But once he became a Friend of Coal, he ended that independence.

What irony! Too many people believe that, to do anything worthwhile in this state, one must get money from coal and sell out to the coal interests.

Politically independent? I don't think so.

I'd love to ask Foglesong his opinion of West Virginia's most i mportant natural resource. I'll bet he'd say "coal" in a heartbeat.

That's our problem, you see. Too many people believe that. And if you do as well, you need professional help.

posted by Dave Peyton @ 9:33 AM