Lowly West Virginia acts to halt perpetual war.

The Mountain State of West Virginia gets no respect. It’s oft mentioned as the poorest, least educated and backward of the US Fifty. Jokes about West Virginia are legend. No more for me. The West Virginia legislature is first in the nation trying to legislative prevention of state National Guard troops being sent to one of America’s perpetual war zones. State Delegate Pat McGeehan sponsored HB 2732 to do just that, saying “It’s been clear to me that over the last two decades we’ve had this status quo where it is somehow acceptable for unilateral action to be taken not by just the executive, but also the Pentagon to send our men and women in the Armed Forces overseas into undeclared wars and unending wars.” McGeehan is getting close, losing by a single vote to get HR 2732 out of committee. West Virginia citizens support the bill 2 to 1 which may prompt legislators to bring the bill up and pass it.

My progressive, highly educated, wealthy state of Illinois, unlike West Virginia, used its largest deployment of National Guard soldiers to Afghanistan in ten years last July to pitch a commercial for a war party. Gov. Pritzker, who serves as commander of the Illinois National Guard, cheered on the 400 saying, "The service you and your families give every day to the people of Illinois, that service to defend this nation, will always be a source of inspiration and respect." Nonsense. Instead of enabling future deployments that perpetuate endless war, Gov. Pritzker should have his legislative leaders visit the pro peace state of West Virginia to learn how to craft a similar law preventing the next senseless deployment of Illinois’ best to harm's way on fool’s errand.