This is our concern, Dude

Over 1000 very poor West Virginians are about to lose SNAP food assistance. Many of these may be homeless or living in isolated rural areas or may be dealing with diagnosed mental and physical health issues. I guess the good news is that the number of such people is probably much smaller than it would have been without public pressure and media scrutiny.

SO THIS MUST BE MY WEEK FOR RADIO. The latest Front Porch podcast from WV Public Broadcasting features my friend Pastor Matthew Watts talking about racial disparities in WV's prison system.

The Front Porch podcast/program, by the way, won 2nd place in the Associated Press broadcasting awards for Virginia and West Virginia. The category was editorial or editorial series.

And while we're at it, the multi-state public broadcasting program Inside Appalachia recycled a Front Porch segment in a program on "Appalachianism," Appalachian dialects, prejudices against hillbillies, and the politics of language. I  never said I was not a potty mouth in case you listen.

OFF TOPIC. Some big political news in WV is a planned visit by democratic socialist presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to my home county. You won't find any endorsements here, but a friend sent me this article by writer and WV native Jedidiah Purdy. To be exact, he proposes 11 theses on Sanders.

I have no knowledge of this topic whatsoever, nor would I be disposed to discuss it if in fact I did, but I'm pretty sure the 11 theses is a riff on the same number of theses written about philosopher Ludwig Feuerback by the young Marx.  That's what I heard anyway.

Racial disparities in schools

According to a new study, African American students in WV schools are disproportionately punished with suspensions and expulsions. In 2011-2012, black students made up 5 percent of K-12 students but were 11 percent of those suspended and 8 percent of those expelled.

Some county data was interesting:

*in Kanawha, black students were 12.7 percent of the total, but 23.3 percent of those suspended, at a rate of 1.8 times their percent of the population.

*in Putnam County, the percentages were 2, 6.7 and 3.3, respectively.

*Hampshire County: 1.6, 12.2, and 7.7.

*Randolph County: .8, 6.2 and 7.4

*Wayne County: 1.2, 7.5, and 6.2.

Unfortunately, these kinds of disparities are found in many areas, including incarceration rates, poverty rates, unemployment rates, etc. All of which goes to show that racism isn't just a matter of personal prejudice among a few unenlightened people but rather a matter of systems and structures that affect the life chances of millions of people.

Room for hope?

Here's a semi-optimistic Labor Day assessment of the outlook for working people, or at least of changing attitudes about it.

And here's an all too realistic assessment of racial disparities in the US today.

A win, a loss, a rant and such

I love a bill signing--especially when it's a good bill that people fought long and hard to pass. Monday was such a day. As pictured above, WV House Speaker Rick Thompson, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, and Senate President Jeff Kessler ceremonially signed a bill creating the Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs, which is charged to address issues of racial, ethnic and gender equity. It will be directed by Dr. Carolyn Stuart. The room was packed for the signing.

I spent a good chunk of the past two and a half years pushing for this and it was nice to see the day when the office was up and running. I especially liked seeing the above sign right across the hall from the Governor's Office. That was about as tangible as you can get.

A WEST VIRGINIA ORIGINAL. Many people in WV and beyond were shocked by the sudden death of Larry Gibson, a vocal and active opponent of mountaintop removal mining. He was absolutely fearless and relentless in pursuit of what he believed. Here's Ken Ward on his passing.

THE LATEST RANT. Here's an op-ed by yours truly on the state of working West Virginians.

ARPAD UPDATE. I'd like to thank those who sent messages of concern about the travails of our Great Pyrenees Arpad who is suffering from the after effects of a broken leg. The latest is that he is back at the vets for a day or two for observation.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Feeling good is optional

I have always felt that there is a lot to be learned from physical exertion. An example of that occurred to me after I started training for and running (or limping) in races again after knee surgery this summer.

Here is the life lesson I learned: there is absolutely no necessary connection between feeling good and doing OK. By that I mean that one can feel totally miserable and still meet or exceed goals. In one recent 5 mile race, my legs felt like broken dead sticks, my lungs burned and my feet hurt with every step. But I finished a few minutes ahead of my goal (though admittedly way behind most other people).

It would be nice to feel good when you're up against a challenge. It may even have happened to me at some point in the distant past, although I can't recall it. But it's not required. What is required is to keep going.

OPTIMISM, ANYONE? Paul Krugman seems to see sun shining through the economic clouds.

FEEDING THE TROLLS. Here's an op-ed by yours truly on why WV needs an office of minority affairs to address racial disparities.

AN UNFORTUNATE MEME: the welfare queen.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

The ones that get away

Any time you try to work for social justice, you're bound to win some and lose some. And, given the forces you're up against, the odds, statistically speaking are not in your favor.

I usually tell myself not to take things personally, to focus on conditions and act in accordance with them, and if something doesn't work out, to flow into the next technique. And not to be encumbered by hope.

I'm usually pretty good about taking my advice but this week...not so much. I had been marginally hopeful that some things might make it through the WV legislature. One measure, that would have helped people who need unemployment insurance but can't get it now, made it farther than before but died due to "the rich man's frown," to quote an old labor song. I guess that's to be expected, given that the forces of organized wealth have something like an absolute veto power over anything they don't like, whether it makes sense or not.

But another one, which might have taken a step or two towards addressing the major racial disparities in the state, managed to die on the last night despite having made it through both chambers (in different forms that were not reconciled). That one was in the bag until things fell apart for reasons that had nothing to do with public policy. I won't go into the whys, although it had to do with politics in the sense of the saying that in West Virginia everything is political except politics and that's personal.

For a lot of this week, I've felt like the lyric of a John Hiatt song that refers to "throwing up ashes on the floor." Not an attractive image, but it seems to fit. And I kept thinking about those birds in the movie March of the Penguins who went through a winter of hell for an egg that didn't hatch.

Given the fact that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, it probably isn't such a big deal that one decent bill in a small state died, but this one got to me. It seemed like one little thing that could be done in a universe sliding toward entropy or Ragnarok.

I'm starting to get over it, using my preferred medicine of hard physical training. There will be plenty more struggles to come--and, no doubt, plenty of similar outcomes.

AN AGE OF ACTIVISM? Maybe.

FIDDLING AROUND with a fragile recovery could be dangerous.

WASHINGTON SEEMS TO HAVE FORGOTTEN the unemployed.

COAL KABUKI, CONTINUED. This ought to be good for another ruling class hissy fit.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Fashion

El Cabrero has been wandering through Thoreau's Walden again lately and this time around particularly enjoyed his comments on clothing, a topic towards which I have been pretty oblivious.

The main things I look for in an outfit is that it not be too formal or dressy as such forms of raiment generally suck my will to live. Beyond that, I'm pretty content if what I have to wear is something I can run, kick or generally move around in. Old clothes work particularly well for these purposes.

For that reason, I've always loved this saying of his:

I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes. If there is not a new man, how can the new clothes be made to fit? If you have any enterprise before you, try it in your old clothes. All men want, not something to do with, but something to do, or rather something to be. Perhaps we should never procure a new suit, however ragged or dirty the old, until we have so conducted, so enterprised or sailed in some way, that we feel like new men in the old, and that to retain it would be like keeping new wine in old bottles.

(I did buy new karate gis for the Okinawa trip, but I think that would meet his criteria.)

Historically speaking, clothing has often been more about displaying social status than protection from the elements, comfort or even aesthetics. Some societies even had sumptuary laws, which specified exactly who could wear what. Thoreau once again had a great zinger on this point:

It is an interesting question how far men would retain their relative rank if they were divested of their clothes. Could you, in such a case, tell surely of any company of civilized men, which belonged to the most respected class?

(That reminds me of an old joke which suggests that such a practice at weddings might lead to a re-evaluation of the term "best man.")

Here's one last jab at the world of high fashion, which may or may not have changed all that much since his time (not that I would know):

The head monkey at Paris puts on a traveler's cap, and all the monkeys in America do the same.

AN OXYMORON? In the wake of the BP Gulf disaster, Presidenet Obama has vowed to push for a clean energy bill.

DISPARITIES. A new report highlights a huge wealth gap along gender and racial lines.

EDUCATION REFORM is all the rage these days. Here are some things to think about during the "race to the top." Meanwhile,it looks like the rush to reform has slowed down in West Virginia.

WONK TALL. West Virginia policy wonks have a new blog to follow. It's brought to you by the WV Center on Budget and Policy.

A GRAND ILLUSION. One study suggests that the morning coffee boost may be an illusion. Fine. I need at least three cups of illusion each morning.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

A reality check

The Upper Big Branch mine disaster and related issues have weighed heavily on my mind for the last few weeks and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

In the wake of the disaster, many people, rightly, have wondered why agencies like MSHA aren't more aggressive about shutting down production at dangerous mines.

The reality, at least until this disaster, was that the coal industry and its supporters have pretty much perfected the art of the hissy fit and they have been really good at getting political leaders to fall in line.

My guess is that the reaction to a preventive shutdown by MSHA would have been about the same as what happens when a mining permit is delayed or denied: an all-hands-on-deck order would be sent out to denounce the Obama administration's "war on coal." Everybody who was anybody (or who wanted to be anybody) would have joined in.

WHILE WE'RE AT IT, here's an interesting take on the history of the Upper Big Branch mine from Vanity Fair.

YOU DON'T NEED A WEATHERIZATION MAN to know which way the wind blows. You can just read this op-ed by Paul Miller and yours truly instead.

UNEMPLOYMENT for African-American men is at 20.2 percent, more than double that for whites.

MONKEY LOVE. In the event you've ever wondered whether male chimps use tools to attract females, click here.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Like thieves of mercy (and an action alert)

There are some unlikely plot devices in Hamlet, but I guess you'll have that in a play that opens with a ghost.

One of these occurs when the prince is sent to England in the company of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who are carrying a letter to the king of England ordering Hamlet's death. Hamlet opens and reads the letters and changes it to order the death of his former friends. He was just lucky enough to be carrying with him the official seal of Denmark.

OK, I can buy that part, but then the ship is attacked by pirates (!) who wind up taking Hamlet with them and eventually dropping him off in Denmark. As he wrote in a letter to Horatio,

Ere we were two days old
at sea, a pirate of very warlike appointment gave us
chase. Finding ourselves too slow of sail, we put on
a compelled valour, and in the grapple I boarded
them: on the instant they got clear of our ship; so
I alone became their prisoner. They have dealt with
me like thieves of mercy: but they knew what they
did; I am to do a good turn for them.

(I think I'm gonna use the captured-by-pirates story next time I'm caught playing hookie. )

Another unlikely device is the plan Claudius and Laertes come up with to deal with Hamlet when they find out he's alive after all. They will contrive a fencing match at which Laertes will use poisoned blades and Claudius a poisoned drink. They could have used "more matter with less art" themselves.

It occurs to me that several characters in this play could have used some lessons in The Art of Whack from Tony Soprano...

ACTION ITEM. If you live in West Virginia, please click here to support a bill that would create an office of minority affairs to address racial disparities. The bill passed the House but is in danger of dying in the Senate Finance Committee, which such things often happen.

TWO WEEKS? The White House is pushing for quick votes on its health care reform bill.

ON A RELATED NOTE, Senator Byrd has indicated he might support reconciliation as a way to pass health care reform.

WORLDS APART. Schisms in the US Senate reflect different political and moral universes.

SURVIVAL OF THE NICEST? Some researchers suggest that kindness and generosity may convey some evolutionary advances.

ON THE OTHER HAND, hate groups seem to be doing pretty good these days.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Short rations, with an unemployment action alert

Random animal picture.

I don't know about y'all but I've been running around a bit too much lately and am getting kind of sick of the weather. Today's post will be short but there is an action item I'd like to ask WV readers to respond to (sorry about ending that with a preposition).

Here's the deal: WV can draw down $22 million in Recovery Act money if it extends unemployment benefits to people seeking only part time work and to people dealing with domestic violence, sexual assault, or compelling family reasons. Bills have been introduced in the state legislature to do just this (HB 4332 and SB 569). The clock is ticking.

If you live in WV, please click here to send an email to the appropriate officials. Feel free to pick up the phone as well. If you're really feeling froggy, hop on down to the capitol.

RACIAL DISPARITIES. Here's a link to a new report about racial disparities in WV, which includes chapters on history, statistical data, an analysis of racial issues and policy recommendations. The report was a collaboration between the Partnership of African American Churches, the WV Center on Budget and Policy and the American Friends Service Committee.

Regular posts should resume tomorrow. I hope.

Stars

Image courtesy of wikipedia.

(Editorial note: Apparently I got up so early yesterday morning that I thought I posted the following but didn't. My bad. On the bright side, this fact relieves me from having to think of something new for today. Just to be safe, I'm scheduling this in advance lest I sleepwalk again through the morning. If anything really bad happens between now and then please accept my condolences.)

A while back a friend visited Goat Rope Farm at night and commented on how bright the stars were. I guess one thing about living out is that you get kind of spoiled about certain things--like having bright starts. My friend, however, lived in a major city where light pollution makes the nightly light show dimmer if not invisible.

It reminds me of something Emerson said in his essay Nature:

If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown!

I guess we take things for granted.

IT CAN BE DONE. Student activists have just won a major fight against sweatshops.

HUNGER hit a 14 year high in the US.

JOBS. Here's a call to action for serious action on un- and under-employment.

IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT. Here's a look at 2012 hysteria.

RACIAL DISPARITIES. A new report found some major ones between whites and African Americans in Kanawha County, WV.

THOSE DARWIN FINCHES are at it again on the Galapagos Islands.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

FEEL THE NOISE

The theme at Goat Rope lately has been writing about social change. If this is your first visit, please click on earlier posts. You'll also find news and links about current events.

Some of the most effective writing to make good things happen or keep bad things from happening--or, failing both, to make bad behavior hurt some--isn't the writing you and I might do, Gentle Reader, as important as that might be...It's the writing we try to get other people to do.

In my experience, alerting the public or raising the noise level is hugely important in campaigns for social justice. On several occasions in El Cabrero's beloved state of West Virginia, I've seen change happen when the Bad Noise gets too loud.

Often, this may involve knowing what would make a legitimate news story and alerting reporters about it, especially if you stumble upon a juicy tidbit of reliable information. Surfacing an issue can send ripples out all over as the story gets picked up by more and more media outlets. It's kind of fun to line up a string of dominoes and watch them fall down. I've seen it happen several times at the state level and on more than one occasion I've pitched stories to national publications to draw outside attention to events here.

At other times, meeting with the editorial boards of newspapers or contacting columnists can help--provided that you offer reliable information. Encouraging people to write letters to the editor or op-eds on a given topic at the right time can help.

Bloggers also have a role to play in raising awareness among their readers. There have also been many occasions where an issue that wasn't being covered in the regular media finally got covered after bloggers raised the noise level. My advice to bloggers would be 1. encourage others to do the same when the time is right and 2. don't just blog. There's all kind of other media out there. Don't assume that all other doors are locked if there's an important issue to raise.

Bottom line: If you're really interesting in making a difference, don't think of writing as something a solitary individual does...think of it as a group effort. One dog may start the barking, but you can really raise the roof when they all chime in.

Just try not to bark unless there's something really there.


A DREAM DEFERRED. Forty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., racial disparities in wealth and income persist.

BEFORE THE BUBBLE BURST. A new study by the Economic Policy Institute argues that the economic recovery of 2001-2007 wasn't anything to write home about.

GOAT RESCUE STORY here.

CULT CLASSICS. We've all heard of cult film classics. From the UK Telegraph, here's a list of cult book classics. Are any of your favorites there?

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED