Robert Byrd

September Surprise?

Henry J. Stern | Posted 10.25.2011

Henry J. Stern

The possibility of an upset in the special election September 13 to fill Anthony Weiner's congressional seat should cause Democratic leaders some anxiety. The Republican nominee, Bob Turner, is running hard.

Graceful Exits: Knowing When to Move On

Vivian Diller, Ph.D. | Posted 08.21.2011

Vivian Diller, Ph.D.

With great fanfare, we recently said goodbye to two female media icons, Oprah Winfrey and Meredith Vieira. As they retired from their current roles on television, I wondered if others admired their farewells as much as I did.

Labor Deal made For Thousands Of Miners

AP | TIM HUBER | Posted 08.13.2011

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The United Mine Workers said Monday it has reached a tentative labor agreement with coal producers that employ thousands of ...

Blair Mountain Emergency: Obama Is Obliged by Deathtoll to Order Mountaintop Removal Moratorium

Jeff Biggers | Posted 08.08.2011

Jeff Biggers

With nearly 1.5 million acres of American geography erased from our maps by mountaintop removal operations, Appalachia is dealing with an emergency situation of historic proportions.

Dave Jamieson

House Dems: Coal Industry Rep Gave 'Questionable' Testimony On Whistleblower Retaliation

HuffingtonPost.com | Dave Jamieson | Posted 07.16.2011

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats have accused a coal industry representative of giving "questionable" testimony during a hearing on mine safety reform ea...

Next Steps for Anti-Mountaintop Removal Movement: Interview With Appalachian Leader Bo Webb

Jeff Biggers | Posted 05.29.2011

Jeff Biggers

Living underneath a mountaintop removal mining operation in the Coal River Valley in West Virginia, Bo Webb has emerged as one of the most important frontline voices in the coalfield justice movement.

Jeff Biggers | Posted 05.25.2011

Jeff Biggers

Eric Mathis, a scrappy young economist in the Appalachian coalfields, is putting together one of the most dynamic green jobs consortiums in the country.

Roadmaps to New Power: Interview With Rory McIlmoil, 'Tesla of the Coalfields' on Green Jobs

Jeff Biggers | Posted 05.25.2011

Jeff Biggers

While there is a lot of well-meaning discussion about a just transition to a sustainable clean energy economy in the coalfields, McIlmoil is one of the few who has begun the process of laying out a roadmap.

The States of Dis-Union: Will Arizona and West Virginia Join the President or Secede?

Jeff Biggers | Posted 05.25.2011

Jeff Biggers

As President Obama calls on the nation to "come together as a people, Republicans, Democrats, Independents," and "find common ground, even as we're ha...

Big Coal's Rally of Denial: Coalfield Citizens Bring Message of Growing Health Care Crisis to State Capitol

Jeff Biggers | Posted 05.25.2011

Jeff Biggers

Besieged citizens from the central Appalachian coalfields faced down Acting West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and a large crowd of Big Coal lobbyist...

Coal Money And Violent Rhetoric Hold Appalachia Captive to Dirty Energy

Brendan DeMelle | Posted 05.25.2011

Brendan DeMelle

When will the coal industry stop using guns and violent rhetoric to intimidate those who seek to protect the mountains and hollers that Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone once roamed, a rich part of American heritage?

Breaking: EPA Vetoes Largest Mountaintop Removal Permit: New Era of Civility in the Coalfields?

Jeff Biggers | Posted 05.25.2011

Jeff Biggers

Invoking the rule of law and science, the EPA just announced their veto of the 2,300-acre mountaintop removal mining permit at the Spruce No. 1 Mine in West Virginia.

Reason to Believe in Environmental Justice: Coalfields Hero Judy Bonds

Jeff Biggers | Posted 05.25.2011

Jeff Biggers

As we head into another winter of discontent in the coalfields, Judy Bonds always gives me a reason to believe in the still small possibility of environmental justice in America.

Bush At War

Nigel Hamilton | Posted 05.25.2011

Nigel Hamilton

What happens when a great nation -- and this is a great nation -- elects a ruler who is not up to the task of being president? The answer is to be found in George W. Bush's memoirs, Decision Points.

GOP Ad Uses 'Hicky Blue Collar' Actors Sought In Casting Call

AP / The Huffington Post | Posted 05.25.2011

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The GOP candidate in West Virginia's Senate race is distancing himself from an ad paid for by national Republicans that portrays ...

Joe Manchin WINS West Virginia Primary For Byrd's Senate Seat

AP | LAWRENCE MESSINA and KEVIN MCGILL | Posted 05.25.2011

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Popular Gov. Joe Manchin won the Democratic nomination Saturday and will face GOP primary winner and wealthy businessman Joh...

Senator Robert Byrd: Unorthodox Yom Kippur Role Model

Louis E. Newman | Posted 05.25.2011

Louis E. Newman

Repentance, even when it falls short, is still a mark of moral resolve and personal courage. This is the moral lesson that I take from the life of Robert Byrd in the weeks leading up to this Yom Kippur.

National Bellwether for Clean Energy and Climate Change: Why Ken Hechler's Senate Campaign Matters

Jeff Biggers | Posted 05.25.2011

Jeff Biggers

On Aug. 28, voters in West VIrginia will not only go to the Democratic primary polls to elect a new US senator, they will determine whether Congress will be chained to Big Coal lobbyists for the next generation.

Story Time with Robert C. Byrd

David Helfenbein | Posted 05.25.2011

David Helfenbein

I know well that Robert Byrd's past was not perfect, and I cannot account for this. What I can say is as follows: he seemed to be a good man when I knew him.

Senators Grill Massey CEO Don Blankenship On Safety At Upper Big Branch Mine

AOL News | Andrea Stone | Posted 05.25.2011

WASHINGTON (May 20) -- The coal baron who runs the West Virginia mine that last month saw the deadliest U.S. mine accident in 40 years came unbowed to...

Carte Goodwin Appointed To Fill Robert Byrd's West Virginia Senate Seat (VIDEO)

AP | LAWRENCE MESSINA | Posted 05.25.2011

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Gov. Joe Manchin has chosen former chief counsel Carte Goodwin, a member of a prominent West Virginia family, to succeed the late ...

Scott Brown Will Split With GOP, Vote For Financial Reform Bill

AP | JIM KUHNHENN | Posted 05.25.2011

WASHINGTON — Sens. Olympia Snowe and Scott Brown pushed sweeping financial legislation to the edge of final passage Monday, both announcing they...

Joe Manchin 'Highly Likely' To Run To Fill Robert Byrd's Senate Seat (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post | Elyse Siegel | Posted 05.25.2011

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin says he is "highly likely" to run for Senate to fill the seat held by the late Sen. Robert Byrd for fifty-one years...

Robert Byrd's Legacy Gets Revisited As Staff Clear Out His Office

The Washington Post | Ed O'Keefe | Posted 05.25.2011

By law, aides have just two months to close the office of a senator who resigns or dies in office. This week Byrd's aides received instructions from t...

Was Robert Byrd Dyslexic? Family Member Offers Hints In Late Senator's Eulogy

AP | LAURIE KELLMAN | Posted 05.25.2011

WASHINGTON — As Sen. Robert C. Byrd was being laid to rest after a week of memorials, a niece eulogized him Tuesday as a person who suffered fro...