Three generations ago people in the Appalachian mountains were effectively slaves that dug coal so Edison and Westinghouse could grow rich keeping the East Coast in electricity. My grandfather ran away when he was 16, lied about his age and joined the Navy during WWII. His father had forced him to quit school in eighth grade to work in the mines. His words were, "after working in the mines for 2 years, being a 50 cal gunner during war was a small price to pay to escape."
The Harlan County War, or Bloody Harlan, was a series of coal mining-related skirmishes, executions, bombings, and strikes (both attempted and realized) that took place in Harlan County, Kentucky, during the 1930s. The incidents involved coal miners and union organizers on one side and coal firms and law enforcement officials on the other.
3. The Battle of Athens (sometimes called the McMinn County War)
...a rebellion led by citizens in Athens and Etowah, Tennessee, United States, against the local government in August 1946. The citizens, including some World War II veterans, accused the local officials of predatory policing, police brutality, political corruption and voter intimidation.
The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor uprising in United States history and one of the largest, best-organized, and most well-armed uprisings since the American Civil War. For five days in late August and early September 1921, in Logan County, West Virginia, some 10,000 armed coal miners confronted 3,000 lawmen and strikebreakers...
Here's a few more stories you may not have ever heard of from around my neck of the woods...
1. The Battle of Matewan (also known as the Matewan massacre) was a shootout in the town of Matewan in Mingo County and the Pocahontas Coalfield mining district, in southern West Virginia. It occurred on May 19, 1920 between local coal miners and the Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency.
Assange releases embarrassing pics of Mark Cuban... since Cuban has promoted himself as yet another Progressive Moral Conscience of Society and all that, I suppose.
Smokin' hot Russian Spy Anna Chapman had Hillary in her sights...
"Russian intelligence targeted Hillary Clinton before she became secretary of state in 2009, FBI documents show.
New FBI information about corruption in a Clinton-approved uranium deal with Russia raises questions about Clinton’s actions after the FBI broke up a deep-cover Russian spy ring in 2010."