Sir, I think you may have stepped a bit out of line with your statement about Klan membership being a “resume enhancement” in West Virginia.  You, sir, obviously have little to no knowledge of the state itself.

At the formation of the state during the Civil War, West Virginia’s newly formed state legislature enacted legislation on Feb 5, 1865, legally freeing any slave having attained the age of 21 years and further freeing any who attained age 21 thereafter.  It took the 13th Amendment and the rest of the country until Dec 5, 1865, to do the same.

We are a state, sir, who is both proud of our heritage and proud to be a part of these United States.  We are American and not one ounce afraid to wave our Stars and Stripes even though it may be tinged a bit black from the ever-present coal dust.

One has but to look around this country to see that the election of certain members of either of our governing Houses can only leave one scratching their head.  Nancy Pilosi?  Robert Kennedy?  Trent Lott?  Ours is no different with Robert Byrd.  And personally I would not assist in electing him if he were the last person eligible to run for the Senate seat.  But if you look nationally ones of this ilk are being elected from every state–and exempting themselves like new American Nomenclatura they are not; yet “we” Americans turn a blind eye and re-elect them again and again.

Do not blame West Virginia, sir.  We fought in the Civil War and kept this country together even when it divided itself–and in the process won our independence from Virginia’s Commonwealth.  And then we fought again to better ourselves in our own Coal Mine Wars.  And doubt you not, sir, that should we West Virginians be asked to fight for America and the freedom we have already earned, West Virginia will be willing to wipe away the coal dust from our faces, take up our arms, and fight for ourselves and our America.

I for one love my West Virginia.  And I proudly proclaim “Montani Semper Liberi!”