West Virginia Blue
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Mark Twain once said, "If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed." Today's Clarksburg Exponent Telegram headline is a glaring example of Twain's observation
LAWMAKERS: COAL INDUSTRY UNDER SIEGE - Federal regulation cited for drop in jobs, state revenue.
The article goes on to cite the fearmongering of two state senators and one state delegate whose claims sound more like coal industry talking points than fact-based reasoning.
According to restauranteur and Senate President Pro Tem Joe Minard (Harrison)
"I don't know how we're going to deal with the EPA and the issues coming down from Washington, D.C., but I do know it's becoming a serious problem."
Senator Doug Facemire (Braxton) apparently thinks the coal companies need help with their advertising.
Facemire said West Virginia needs to conduct a public relations campaign in other states to show the importance of coal production. He believes that would help educate people about the process.
Harrison Co. delegate Sam Cann (Dominion Energy) adding the corporate perspective:
. . . would like to see a national policy that encourages car companies to build automobiles that run off natural gas instead of gasoline. He added that this natural gas could come from the Mountain State. "I wish state and federal governments would look at things like this instead of trying to shut down industries that are not politically correct," he said
With only passing references to investment in "clean coal" technology, delegates Ron Fragale and Richard Iaquinta seemed to be more concerned with creating new jobs. Likewise Delegate Tim Miley (D. Harrison), highlighted several pending projects in the north central area.
Miley, the newly appointed House Judiciary Chair, said the government's true role is not to create jobs, but to create an environment where jobs and entrepreneurship can flourish.
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