West Virginia Blue
The Best Blogging Community in West Virginia Democratic politics, progressive policies, the good life and free living in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia.
As if the oil companies from Texas – and their allies in the corridors of power - hadn’t done enough harm to our country already (for more, see the late, great Gulf of Mexico), now they are at it once again. This time, it’s Valero and Tesoro, pouring money into a campaign this election season to undo California’s landmark, clean energy and climate law, AB 32. On Tuesday, the oil companies’ proposition was certified for the November ballot. The fight, as they say, is on!
The kids who lived on the Navy base literally walked through the gate onto the high school campus. They had gone to different elementary schools and a different junior high than the townie kids. In high school we mingled and we raised the flag in the morning. When we lost one of our own during the Vietnam War we lowered the flag to half mast.
Those who join do the job asked of them, whether one agrees with that mission or not. The Army wears the flag on the right shoulder patch, and the left shoulder is left for unit patches. The canton is to the viewer's right, instead of the usual left, with the union closest to their heart. The highest position of honor is the front, so when displayed on a moving object like a person or vehicle, the field of blue is displayed to the front.
In town today we are flying the nation's flag, the state flag and the POW/MIA flag. Today is one of the six national observances for which Congress has ordered display of the POW/MIA flag. It has the motto: YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN. What you can do here is let those now deployed know that we have not forgotten them.
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If Team Wild and Crazy Czech Girls meets its goal then CA Berkeley WV should dye the hair:
Again, this year, Netroots For The Troops seeks to make a tangible thank-you in our small way to the troops who are still serving, before they become veterans. Our mission is two-fold: shipment of CARE packages to U.S. soldiers and Marines serving in hostile regions of Iraq and Afghanistan for the duration of their deployment, and on-going financial assistance for veterans and their families upon their return to the States.
Our goal for 2010 is $100,000 (cash or in-kind donations). So far, we've raised $24,591, 25 percent of our goal. So there is a long way to go.
NFFT is a project of Netroots Arts and Education Initiative (NAEI), a 501(c)3 organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
If Team Wild and Crazy Czech Girls meets its goal then CA Berkeley WV should dye the hair:
Nick Baumann of Mother Jones posted an article Sunday on a report by Physicians for Human Rights indicating that the Bush administration collected data on the effects of torture on the subjects of said torture, and used that data to inform decisions about their torture policies and procedures.
Baumann is overly generous in stating that the "PHR report doesn't produce a smoking gun." In fact, the circumstances here cannot be more clear. Scientists and medical students in the US undergo explicit training in the ethical use of human subjects in research. If data collected in medical monitoring of a subject is analyzed for any purpose other than the direct treatment of the subject, that activity is unequivocally a research activity and is subject to extensive and quite restrictive regulations, some governed by international treaty.
The Tuskeeee experiment was only one in a number of appallingly unethical and immoral cases in which the suffering of an individual was considered secondary to some greater scientific good. In the case of the Bush administration, the greater good seems to have involved developing legal justifications and cover for the administration's policies regarding torture.
Considering the PHR report in light of previous reports that the Bush administration knew that some of their terror detainees were innocent one might consider the chilling possibility that the collection of data on the effectiveness of torture techniques provided a motive for holding and torturing subjects of known innocence.
I call on Senator Rockefeller to use his position on the Senate Intelligence Committee to bring this matter into the full light of day with a formal Senate inquiry.
If you think comparing Beck's dystopic rants to this low-budget Kids in the Hall skit is just silly, then compare it to another YouTube (below the jump) comprised completely of Beck clips.
All it lacks is the spontaneous laughter of a live Canadian studio audience.
It's really disappointing to see quotes like this from Luke Popovich of the National Mining Assocation.
Many coal companies didn't seem to suffer financially in Obama's first year: Massey Energy, for instance, recorded a $104 million profit despite the recession. But companies say the new guidelines threaten both companies and mining towns.
"You'd be hard pressed to find a president whose actions have been more warlike on coal. There are those who say the president has parked his tanks on our front lawn, and it's hard to dispute that," said Luke Popovich of the National Mining Association.
Someone might say:
You'd be hard pressed to find a trade association whose rhetoric is more irresponsible. There are those who say the National Mining Association promotes sedition, and it's hard to dispute that.
Some friendly advice, Luke... before you trump up the war-allusions you might want to tally up the body count of coal miners with the members of your National Mining Association.
Someone ought to ask the chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party if his organization has ever denied an expense reimbursement request for meals at a venue featuring exotic dancers.
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Via BarbinMD - RNC Denies Steele Expensed Trip to X-Rated Club
There's about a dozen or so Republican Attorney Generals around the country engaged in political posturing, wasting their taxpayers money in a frivolous lawsuit against the Federal government's enactment of the healthcare insurance reform legislation.
The thrust of their justification is that a federal mandate to purchase health insurance oversteps the constitution as envisioned by our "the founding fathers."
I never found "founding father" arguments to be all the convincing--you can look no further than slavery, limited suffrage, and the sedition acts for ways they got it wrong--and this one is definitely floating on a leaky ship. As P. J. O'Rourke points out, the founding fathers did indeed know a thing or two about health insurance mandates with fines for non-compliance:
In July, 1798, Congress passed, and President John Adams signed into law "An Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen," authorizing the creation of a marine hospital service, and mandating privately employed sailors to purchase healthcare insurance.
This legislation also created America's first payroll tax, as a ship's owner was required to deduct 20 cents from each sailor's monthly pay and forward those receipts to the service, which in turn provided injured sailors hospital care. Failure to pay or account properly was discouraged by requiring a law violating owner or ship's captain to pay a 100 dollar fine.
This historical fact demolishes claims of "unprecedented" and "The Constitution nowhere authorizes the United States to mandate, either directly or under threat of penalty..."
Perhaps these somewhat incompetent attorneys general might wish to amend their lawsuits to conform to the 1798 precedent, and demand that the mandate and fines be linked to implementing a federal single payer healthcare insurance plan.
The other option is to name Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison et al. in the lawsuits. However, it might be difficult to convince a judge, or the public, that those men didn't know the limits of the Constitution.
Of course, neither history nor logic are the Republican party's strong point these days. I'm just thankful we have a Democratic Attorney General here in West Virginia who can be counted on to not only ignore the wasteful lawsuits of his Republican counterparts, but also to vigorously enforce the new health insurance reforms.
Good afternoon, West Virginia Blue readers. This is your afternoon open thread to discuss all things Hill-related. Use this thread to praise or bash Congresscritters, share a juicy tip, ask questions, offer critiques and suggestions, or post manifestos.
This is an open source project, so feel free to add your own insights.
No trolls on the highway. Here's the news I found lurking around the Internets...
In a surprising turn of events, four employees of British-Australian mining firm Rio Tinto pleaded guilty Monday to taking bribes during annual negotiations over iron ore prices in China, according to lawyers and an Australian diplomat.
I have described where I lived in California as halfway between Death Valley and Buck Owens. Bakersfield is the county seat of Kern County, California. The Pacific Gas and Electric litigation that Erin Brockovich brought due to contaminated water was in Hinkley, also in the Mojave Desert..
Terri Judd's labor owns part of this eerie landscape--or rather its void. She's a third-generation borax miner, as deeply rooted in the high desert as one of the native Joshua trees. Every working morning for the past thirteen years, she has bundled her long red hair under a hard hat, climbed up the ladder of a giant Le Tourneau wheel loader and turned on its 1,600-horsepower Detroit Diesel engine.
It is the largest open pit mine in California. The workers have been locked out since January 31. These are the people who got on the bus for Burros - Bobcats meets.
Generally, the population falls within the lower to middle socioeconomic group. Boron is a rural mining community and got its name from the boron compound known as borax, which is found in the area.
We were the burros, the pack animal of the old prospectors. They were the bobcat, masters of desert survival. We both had to watch out for coyotes.
On June 25th, 2009, Health Care for America Now put on a huge rally in Washington, DC, Health Care '09-Health Care Can't Wait. Over 10,000 people from all across America attended to show support for the public health insurance plan known as the Public Option. Sorry folks, Oprah was a no show.
Over 200 people from West Virginia attended, including folks from the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, WV Citizen Action Group,WV National Association of Social Workers, WV Nurses Association, religious organizations, social activists, and even Del. Dale Martin joined in on the fun.
Actress Edie Falco of "The Sopranos" and "Nurse Jackie" fame and former Vermont governor Dr. Howard Dean addressed the crowd. People lacking health care or being victimized by the health insurance industry spoke as well, giving people a glimpse into their real life health care nightmares.
The whole point of the rally was to raise public sentiment towards the Public Option in health care reform through the media. However, on that day, two horrific things happened: the King of Pop and one of Charlie's Angels died. Needless to write, the health care rally didn't get as much attention as the two pop icons' deaths did. Not that we're mad or anything.
After the rally, folks met with their Congressional reps. West Virginians met with reps from Rahall and Mollohan's offices (both were busy), plus were given an audience with Sen. Rockefeller.
The Public Option was pushed big time by unions and organizations all across the state. Rallies and town halls (with some booing from our FOX News loving Tea Party friends)were held with great success, despite what negative stories some media outlets ran. WV-CAG, along with its State HCAN coalition partners, petitioned for the Public Option as well, collecting thousands of signatures.
Right now America has the chance to pass serious reforms in health care. The Public Option might be dead at the moment, but it may very well pop back up after this legislation passes, or even better, Single Payer (Medicare for All) might become the new IT-word in health care reform. Who knows?
It is important West Virginians contact their House reps ASAP and tell them to support the current health care legislation before them.
Sen. Rockefeller Addresses West Virginia Constituents
I listened to a Congressman from Alabama give the Republican's weekly statement (after the President's weekly statement) on NBC this morning and was told that despite what Pelosi and Reid want, despite the threat of using reconciliation to push the Health Care bill through, the American People don't want the Health Care bill as it has been debated and argued over the past year. He said the American People want Congress and The President to "start over on a new page."
Here in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, about as American a location as you can find, I sit watching this knowing that I WANT a Health Care bill to be passed NOW. I know that if the government starts on a NEW PAGE it will be in the face of a rate-raising, highly profitable private insurance system and a 10-to-1 ratio of lobbyists who are NOT starting on a new page, who will work day and night to weaken any progress.
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As if the oil companies from Texas – and their allies in the corridors of power - hadn’t done enough harm to our country already (for more, see the late, great Gulf of Mexico), now they are at it once again. This time, it’s Valero and Tesoro, pouring money into a campaign this election season to undo California’s landmark, clean energy and climate law, AB 32. On Tuesday, the oil companies’ proposition 
