Case in point

The Charleston Gazette gave nice editorial support to an upcoming conference on race in Appalachia that I've been working on with quite a few other people. One example of why such a topic might be relevant is the recent controversial  personal blog post by Charleston Daily Mail editorialist Don Surber in which he referred to Michael Brown as an animal who had to be put down. The blog post has since been taken down, but that's a bell that will be hard to unring.

"Fear of the black body"

First word today goes to New York Times columnist Charles Blow for his op-ed titled "Michael Brown and Black Men." The recent police killing in Missouri is just one example of something that happens all too frequently.

CAN YOU SAY "DIVERSIFICATION? At least one WV politician used the D word.

HIGH HOPES, LOW MEANS. Here's economist Dean Baker on some of the whacky ways opponents of the Affordable Care Act want to kill it.