Coalminers shut down a mine in Blacksville, WV (the red dot on the map) last week in protest of the filming of an Anti-Obama ad at the facility. The work stoppage, which gave 440 miners the day off, was in response to a film crew, hired by the National Rifle Association to shoot interviews for an attack ad against Barack Obama, being given permission by the management at the Blacksville #2 coal mine to enter the facility and ask miners their opinions on the Illinois Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate. Workers at Blacksville #2 took notice of the production and phoned in their concerns to the headquarters of their union, the United Mine Workers of America. The union, which has endorsed Mr. Obama for President, subsequently called for a work stoppage “Memorial Day”, a part of the union’s contract, to protest the exploitation of their workers in the political advertisement which they felt was contrary to their interests.

While the response of these West Virginia coal miners to the NRA ad might have come as a surprise to the right wing, it makes perfect sense to me. While I was in West Virginia over the summer I was pleased to find a region much more diverse and open than the stereotypes leveled against it. It’s not West Virginia either, indeed both southern and rural areas across the United States are coming more and more to realize the integrated America on display in, say, a Craig Brewer movie or HBO’s True Blood than the typical racist depictions of the past. All of this is very good news for those working for true equality in this country, and bad news for those who continue to play on hate and fear politics in order to distract people from the real issues that affect their lives.

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Gun-control activists said they had no reason to suspect that their trusted colleague Mary McFate (bottom, center) was in fact a mole for the NRA.

Long-time gun-control activist Mary McFate (real name) was in fact an undercover operative working for the National Rifle Association, Mother Jones reported.

If you are outraged by the NRA’s tactics, takepart by contacting your local chapter of the Brady Campaign to prevent gun violence.

The Supreme Court opened fire on gun control laws declaring that a sweeping ban on handguns in the nation’s capital violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms. In a 5-4 ruling, this landmark decision states that the Constitution protects an individual’s right to have a gun.

Wow. Is it just me or does this seem like an awful idea? Here are 10 films that make a strong case for gun control:

1) Bowling for Columbine

Michael Moore’s controversial documentary about the roots of America’s predilection for gun violence

2) Bullets in the Hood: A Bed-Stuy Story

Terrence Fisher, a teen living in a housing project in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, had seven of his friends shot and killed by a gun. Terrence is not a gang member or a drug dealer he is just a normal teenager who likes making hip-hop with his friends. What could Terrence do to stop gun violence in Bed-Stuy before losing another friend, or his own life? Terrence and a fellow teen filmmaker, Daniel Howard, picked up a camera to tell the story about gun violence in Bed-Stuy.

3) A History of Viloence

A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core

4) Unforgiven

Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner and a young man.

5) The Outsiders

When two poor greasers, Johnny, and Ponyboy are assaulted by a vicious gang, the socs, and Johnny kills one of the attackers, tension begins to mount between the two rival gangs, setting off a turbulent chain of events.

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Charlton Heston died Saturday night in his home at the age of 84. Heston appeared in many epic and well known films including Ben Hur, Planet of the Apes, The Agony and the Ecstasy and his first big starring role, The Ten Commandments.

My favorite Heston movie was Orson Welles‘ Touch of Evil in which Heston actually played a Mexican. The infamous opening scene is below (it’s all ONE shot..!)

But of course Heston was more than one of the biggest actors to ever grace Hollywood, he spent the greater part a good deal of his later years not acting, but making a political presence.

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In case you weren’t already shaken up by the notion that one of your co-workers could at anytime “go postal” the NRA is reviving its campaign to prohibit businesses from forbidding employees from keeping firearms in their cars.

The NRA is back in the Georgia legislature, reviving its campaign to prohibit businesses from forbidding employees from keeping firearms in their cars. The bill was defeated as an obscene sequel to the Virginia Tech shootings back in April despite NRA threats to Georgia lawmakers that a vote for adjournment would be a vote against the bill and earn them an NRA”F.”

The Georgia “parking lot” bill is modeled after an Oklahoma law written after eight workers at a Weyerhaeuser plant in Valliant, Okla., were fired for having guns in their vehicles in 2002. When ConocoPhillips, which employs 3,000 in Oklahoma and feared the writing on the wall, challenged the law — since struck down by federal courts but under appeal — NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre vowed revenge.

The NRA says property owners and municipalities that ban firearms violate its members’ rights.

What about an employees right to feel safe at work?

For more on workplace violence and safety visit http://www.usda.gov/news/pubs/violence/wpv.htm