After the Wheeling Intelligencer published four articles of questionable front-page news value in three days from West Virginia University's Academic Media Days, an editorial (or Myer column) was the predictable next step. Today's editorial focused on the first of those four stories in which WVU's President E. Gordon Gee discussed the West Virginia Forward initiative. This morning’s editorial not only praises Gee’s proposal, it also reaffirms his choice of scapegoat for why the plan did not go forward.

According to the editorial, there were high hopes for the project back in January:

When lawmakers went into session, there were big plans, many of them centered on the West Virginia Forward strategy developed by WVU, Marshall University and the state Department of Commerce. Proposals linked to West Virginia Forward included better methods of attracting tourists and providing tax relief to job creators.

(I have my doubts that this was the case. But for argument’s sake, let’s continue.)

Why didn’t the plan go forward? The editorial’s answer is the same as Gee’s -- West Virginia’s public-school personnel and teachers:

Much of state officials’ time and energy during the closing days of the 60-day legislative session was taken up by dealing with a work stoppage by educators and school service personnel. . . .

That “took all the oxygen out of any conversations,” as Gee noted last Monday.

I guess when Gee, West Virginia Forward, and this editorial stress the importance of a quality education, they're only concern is higher education. What crap. Yes, blame it on the teachers.

Two thoughts: Maybe we could solve this by electing representatives who could multi-task – you know, work on more than one piece of legislation at a time. That’s probably not fair to the legislators; much more likely is the possibility that the legislators ignored West Virginia Forward because they recognized the proposal for what it was: more pompous bullshit from E. Gordon Gee.