West Virginia has given much of itself to benefit the rest of the country, but the rest of the country hasn’t been entirely appreciative. Our state is seen too often as just a mine and now, when the mines are running out, as a lost cause. Jim Bauman argues that the centuries of outsiders taking have left West Virginians thinking that giving away our resources is the only thing we can do to survive. Or is it?
The “worst of the worst” is a phrase thrown around by the Trump administration to justify the huge expense of detaining and deporting hundreds of thousands of undocumented people in the United States. It’s an enormous undertaking that’s not possible with ICE personnel along. So the Department of Homeland Security is enlisting local and state law enforcement in the effort. Jim Bauman describes an ACLU study showing that the worst of the worst are a miniscule number of those caught in ICE operations.
The Republican head of the Jefferson County Commission came out with an attack on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. He argued that DEI programs embody racism. What he neglected to mention was the reality of racism in the country, the effect of which is to put rocks in the road for many people targeted by racism. Jim Bauman argues that DEI programs are absolutely needed to create equal representation in all aspects of society and finally get closer to the promise in the Constitution of a more perfect union.