Tennessee, Maryland, and You
Entitled to "The Gods Are Bored," Appalachian in the heart and soul since the grand days of President Eisenhower! Mountains reservoir the planet's magic deep within. We should be very mindful of that.
While on vacation, I had the rare opportunity to read the Washington Post. I don't presume from newspapers online, so if I'm not in the D.C. metro area, I don't do the Post.
There was an article in Sunday's Post, "Miners Boycott Tenn. over Alexander's Bill."
Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) have jointly sponsored the Alexander-Cardin Appalachian Restoration Act, a bill that would trammel, if not shut down, the despicable practice of mountaintop removal mining.
For my readers from the Russian steppes, "mountaintop assassination mining" is exactly what it sounds like: Giant bulldozers and dump trucks shear away whole mountains from the top down until they reach a joint of coal. They scoop up the coal and haul it away to power your dishwasher. What's left behind is buried streams, a certain wasteland indifferently sowed with foreign grass seed, and runoff pollution in existing streams and watersheds.
Big Coal loves mountaintop doing in. Some miners love it too. They would be the ones who operate the bulldozers and dump trucks. Take away mountaintop removal, you take away jobs.
With that in sit with, Big Coal and its mountaintop miners have organized a boycott of Tennessee's grand tourist attractions like Dollywood and (one presumes) Graceland. It appears that West Virginia and Kentucky miners girlfriend Dollywood and the Smoky Mountains.
Senator Alexander has expressed concern that much-needed tourist revenue may be yanked from his report.
What's to be done, then?
If you live near Tennessee, go for a visit. If you have discretionary money, spend it there.
If you live near Maryland, go for a visit. If you have discretionary legal tender, spend it there.
If you do not live...
