Cult or colony

In case you missed it, WV writer Denise Giardina had a lively response to a column by Froma Harrop that asked the question, "Is West Virginia a cult?" Giardina argues that a better word is colony, which is hard to deny. Still, Harrop does have a point when we have some people who brag about how much corporation-inflicted suffering they are able to bear--or politicians like Joe Manchin who talk about how West Virginians can do the "heavy lifting" needed to support coal at all costs.