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by heath_harrison
- Governor Manchin loves empty slogans and disappoints as usual.
- Manchin also gave a shout-out this week to crooked Logan County Boss Art Kirkendoll.
- An appeal is being filed by the West Virginia Labor History Association over the removal of Blair Mountain from the National Register of Historic Places.
- The Times Herald-Record, of New York's Hudson River Valley, profiled Mat Louis-Rosenberg of Coal River Mountain Watch.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr and Don Blankenship spoke with the Herald-Dispatch in advance of their Thursday debate.
Kennedy:
"Mountaintop removal is the worst manmade catastrophe in the nation's history," he said. "It's also an economic catastrophe for West Virginia. The coal industry, while promising prosperity to the state, has devastated communities across the state."
Blankenship was feeling shy:
Blankenship declined comment on the "Rolling Stone" article and on accusations of violating the Clean Water Act. He also declined comment on accusations that mountaintop mining affects the health of the Appalachian people.
- When Don's feeling more talkative, he often says mountaintop removal is necessary to ward off competition from overseas. He might want to look into these guys at Massey Energy, who just signed a deal with Delhi, India-based Jindal Steel & Power for coal projects in India, Mongolia, Australia and the United States.
-The rightwing Charleston Daily Mail tells us that changes for the black lung benefits program that Senator Byrd put in the Senate health care bill are a "job killer."
How do we know?
"Experts" say, according to the Daily Mail - Experts like Steve Roberts of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, who, coincidentally, wanted Byrd to hold the health care bill hostage unless the coal owners' demands were met.
Some fine stenography by the Daily Mail's business editor, George Hohmann.
- And speaking of Daily Mail hacks, just wanted to point out that we're two weeks out and Don Surber has yet to offer even a remotely substantive rebuttal to Ken Ward's post that obliterated the crap Don was inserting into DM editorials.
- Republican Senator James Inhofe has a distinguished career as a total shill for corporate America. Whether its pushing for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or comparing the world's scientific community to the Third Reich, he's worked hard to be the go-to guy for polluters... and He's quite proud of it.
...so it was only a matter of time until he came out solidly in favor of the destruction of the Appalachian Mountains. |
