West Virginia Blue
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Yes, you read it correctly. Currently, this story is the most recommended diary on dailykos.
Today, the Times-Observer of Warren, PA published a classified ad which read:
May Obama follow in the footsteps of Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy!
Now what do Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy have in common? Ah yes; they were all assassinated. You can see the ad for yourself in this PDF version of the applicable page.
Who owns the Warren Times-Observer? None other than Wheeling's own Ogden Nutting and his company Ogden Newspapers Inc. (ONI)
Lots going on today, too much for me to cover on an otherwise busy day. Head over to Coal Tattoo where Ken Ward, Jr. has the multiple stories covered. For more on the (as expected) PATH application filing, see the ever-helpful The Power Line blog, too.
The story I find most intriguing today is Rep. Rahall crowing about Obama's EPA approving the majority of MTR approvals submitted recently. Can't tell if that is final approvals or if he has his numbers straight, as there is no permit by permit list out yet to back up the numbers.
Either way, the news is causing great disappointment to those who thought candidate Obama promised a dramatic change in MTR policy (I never interpreted his comments as such).
Well I guess I am the only one with a boring enough life to be sitting at home with a cold on a Saturday night reading the news.......... Okay I get it I have a boring life at the moment. can I blame it on my cold?
Anyhoo!
Local boy makes it into the Obama administration. I thought that might be worth a mention.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Even as a boy, Alec Ross had lofty aspirations. Take it from his mother.
"In the sixth grade at Sacred Heart, they were doing the yearbook and they asked the kids what they wanted to be," Becky Ross said. "Alec said he wanted to be president. He got real offended because they said, 'President of what?' He said, 'THE president.'"
"He's a Type A personality, a goal driver," said his father, Alex. "He was always rather intense, constantly striving. He's going to go higher and higher. No telling where he will end up."
The White House?
Well, maybe not that high. But he's not far away.
Earlier this month, the Charleston-reared technology sage started a new job as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's senior adviser on innovation. A key player in tech policy planning during the Obama campaign and transition, he's in charge of finding ways to use technology as a tool for improving poverty, health care, human rights and other social ills around the globe.
Described in one Internet bio as "a nationally respected social entrepreneur," Ross earned a reputation for promoting universal access to technology, the conviction that computers are a necessity of everyday living and should be available to people from all walks of life, not just those who can afford them.
Co-author of a book called "A Laptop in Every Backpack," he once described his work to his mother as "connecting the lower-income segment of the population with the e-economy."
"He sees the big picture on how to best put these things to use for the most good.
Courtesy photo
Before Charleston native Alec Ross joined the U.S. State Department as senior adviser on innovation to Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, he appeared often as a speaker promoting technology as a tool to improve the lives of people in low-income communities. A 1990 graduate of George Washington High School, he co-founded a nonprofit corporation called One Economy to develop technology programs in digitally deprived areas.
snip
But the well-traveled tech visionary remains true to his West Virginia roots. Even the name of his first child reflects his West Virginia background. He named his son Colton, a derivative of "coal town," an obvious salute to his home state.
Awesome......... a West Virginian helping to shape policy in Washington. Very cool.
So does anybody know him?
Lets keep adding some common sense West Virginia progressives to Washington. .......... We'll have that place straightened out before you know it!
Awesome ............. Charles barkley the NBA star plans to run for Governor of the red state of Alabama in 2014........... Take that right right. ...........tee hee hee hee.
Even better Barkley is speaking out about how unpatriotic it is for right wingers like Rush Limbaugh to be hoping that president Obama fails.
See Barkley slam Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity , and Glenn Beck for their lack of patriotism here at the Huffington Post.
NBA great Charles Barkley dipped into some political punditry during a Tonight Show appearance on Friday, tearing into conservative talking heads who have rooted for President Obama to fail.
"I mean, you look at this country now, we've got all these foreclosures, we've got all these people laid off. We should be behind him 110 percent, hoping he's successful," Barkley said. "And I just thought it was unpatriotic and basically B.S. for Rush Limbaugh and that idiot Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck and all those idiots to not root for this guy."
Barkley is no stranger to the national political debate, and he said last year that he's planning a run for Alabama governor in 2014. But it's pretty clear at this point that he won't be on the GOP ticket.
"Neither party is anything to write home about," Barkley told Jay Leno. "But the Republican Party just went right-wing whack nut job on America and screwed up the country."
Barkley did note that he's a huge fan of Obama (he's read his book multiple times), but that he can't get the president to return his calls anymore. "He's been big-timing me," he said to laughter. "When he was getting elected, you know, I was out there with him on the trail, beating the path, you know. He called me all the time then. You see what happens? You get a job, you forget about your friends."
Watch:
I love it Governor Charles Barkley of Alabama................ Tee hee hee hee hee. LOL
"But the Republican Party just went right-wing whack nut job on America and screwed up the country." .............. Tell Charles!
Right wingers will be really shaking in their boots over this. Oh me oh my what can we do the right wing is being over ran.
From December 2007 to March 2008, I wrote various drafts of a proposal on how our political parties -- starting in 2012 -- might adopt primary election procedures that would better serve our country in selecting presidential candidates. I originally drafted a hypothetical calendar for 2008, based on general election results from 2004. Now that we have the results for 2008, I can now propose a calendar specific to 2012.
The system by which our parties choose their presidential candidates has proven itself to be, at best, highly questionable -- at worst, severely flawed.
The primary calendar we need most is one that is built on an orderly and rational plan -- one that is based on mathematics and on recent historical outcomes -- and not on an arbitrary, publicity-driven, system of one-upsmanship. The change I propose would provide for a more effective, equitable process than the one we have now.
The following factors are the key ones to consider:
Margin of Victory
- The state primaries would be placed in order according to the leading candidates' margins of victory in the preceding general election -- with the states registering the closest margins of victory going first.
For example, John McCain won Missouri by 0.1% and Barack Obama won North Carolina by 0.4%; conversely, McCain won Wyoming by 33%, and Obama won Hawaii by 45%. Therefore, the primary calendar I propose would commence with primaries being held in states such as Missouri and North Carolina -- and would close with such states as Wyoming and Hawaii.
- The purpose of ordering the states according to the margin of victory is to help the parties determine which candidates can appeal to those states that have found themselves most recently on the Electoral Divide. A narrow margin in the general election is reflective of an evenly divided electorate. In this scenario, a candidate who appeals to, say, Florida and Montana is more likely to appeal to a greater number of Americans on the whole.
Iowa, New Hampshire, and Fairness
- Iowa and New Hampshire might object to this new system, given their longstanding tradition of being the first states to cast their ballots. However, so long as Iowa and New Hampshire retain their record of being fairly bipartisan states, they'll maintain their position towards the front of the primary schedule.
- Just because a state should have its primary later in the season does not mean that that state will prove invaluable to the process. Indiana and North Carolina weren't held until May 6th, but those two states might have very well decided the fate of the 2008 Democratic nomination.
- This new system allows other states to play a greater role in how the parties select their candidates. For example, Missouri and North Carolina would be two of the states to get the limelight in 2012. Likewise, based on the results to come in November of 2012, a still-different slate of states could have a more significant role come 2016. A rotating system will be healthier and fairer.
Groupings of Five, and Timing & Spacing
- By placing states into groupings of five, no one state will be overly emphasized on any given date.
- Candidates will still need to address the concerns of individual states, whilst having to maintain an overall national platform. For example, a candidate will be less able to campaign against NAFTA in Ohio whilst campaigning for it in Florida.
- Given that each state has its own system for electing its delegates, these groupings of five states will act as an overall balancer. Ideally, caucuses will be done away with altogether by 2012. However -- should that not happen -- states with caucuses, states with open primaries, and states with closed primaries can all coexist within a grouping, therefore no one system will hold too much influence on any given date.
- Racial and geographic diversity in this process has been a great concern for many. The narrowest margins of victory in 2008 were in a wide variety of regions -- the Midwest, the Great Lakes, the Mid-Atlantic, the South, and the West.
- All parties would have an interest in addressing these narrow-margined states early on. The incumbent will want to win over those states that were most in doubt of him in the previous election, and opposing parties will want to put forth candidates who have the best chance of winning over those very same states.
- Primaries will be held biweekly, giving candidates and the media enough time to process and respond to the outcomes of each wave of primaries.
- Washington DC will be placed in the same grouping as whichever state -- Virginia or Maryland -- is closer to its own margin of victory.
- American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Americans Abroad -- not having Electoral votes of their own -- will determine their own primary dates, so long as they occur between the first grouping and the last grouping.
Under these guidelines, the proposed calendar for the 2012 primary season is:
January 2012
Tue, 1/10
Missouri
North Carolina
Indiana
Florida
Montana
Tue, 1/24
Ohio
Georgia
Virginia
Colorado
South Dakota
Tue, 2/7
North Dakota
Arizona
South Carolina
Iowa
New Hampshire
Tue, 2/21
Minnesota
Pennsylvania
Texas
Nevada
West Virginia
Tue, 2/26
Mississippi
Wisconsin
New Jersey
New Mexico
Tennessee
Tue, 3/6
Kansas
Nebraska
Oregon
Kentucky
Michigan
Tue, 3/20
Washington
Maine
Louisiana
Arkansas
Alabama
Tue, 4/3
Connecticut
California
Illinois
Delaware
Maryland
Washington DC
He reviews each congressional district where Obama did worse than either Kerry or Gore. There's only one in W.Va.
West Virginia
WV-03 Rahall (D): Kerry 46%, Obama 42%
West Virginia generally sees pretty good Democratic performance, at the federal and statewide levels, but not this year. That shouldn't change too much, and the state should still favor Democrats at most levels (if not the top level).
Here's a weird quirk: the West Virginia district which most strongly supported Obama is held by a Republican, Shelley Moore Capito. Obama got 44% in WV-02, Capito's district.
The entire diary is worth a read. Here is his summary:
So, every district in the country in which Kerry outperformed Gore Obama is in either McCain's home state, Kerry's home state, Appalachia, the South, or NY-09.
[snip]
As for the South and Appalachia, not all Democrats are doomed in these areas (though some are trending away from the party) and not all parts of these states were hostile to Obama (who won Florida, and surged in Texas).
Two of the reasons most often cited for Obama slippage are racism and general demographic shifts away from the Democratic Party. Four years of a reasonably successful Obama administration should do quite a bit to counter some of the former, so hopefully the numbers in 2012 should give us an indicator of where, and to what extent, the latter was a factor.
Familiarity is another strong factor in Appalachia--an inherent fear of change and discomfort with anything new. Some district visits by a successful Pres. Obama will go a long way toward boosting his re-election numbers.
Because Obama's administration started on election day (not inaguaration day like every other President) it's not too early to assess his legacy. In that spirit, here's 10 important facts I've learned paying close attention to the Villagers.
#1 Because the Republicans are a powerful opposition party, they need to be on TV as much as possible.
More than $1.6 billion of [stimulus bill] money will come to West Virginia, according to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. That includes $351 million in job investments, $551 million for education and technical training and $664 million in health care for low-income families.
[snip]
Rockefeller said the infrastructure funding alone should save or create as many as 20,000 jobs in West Virginia. The Obama administration estimated the package would create or save 3.5 million jobs across the nation during the next two years and lift more than 2 million people out of poverty.
[snip]
Included in the stimulus package for West Virginia is a temporary $450 million increase in Medicaid funding, $163 million in additional food stamp support, more than $20 million for community block grants to help the unemployed make rental and utility payments, $585,000 for the school lunch program and $289,000 for Meals on Wheels.
Also in the bill is more than $19 billion in bonus Medicaid and Medicare payments nationwide for physicians and doctors who adopt electronic health care technologies in their offices. West Virginia lawmakers hope to use the state's share of the money to implement an electronic health care system, which was one of the major recommendations of a task force that spent last year exploring health care reforms.
[snip]
Education is the next largest recipient after health care. Public schools, colleges and universities will receive $219 million to help stabilize budget shortfalls. The state will receive another $156 million in school construction bonds over two years to build and renovate schools in such a way that they will be energy efficient and promote technology.
The state will get $210 million for road, bridge and highway construction and repair, $62 million to provide clean drinking water to communities and nearly $20 million for water and sewer infrastructure.
Other details of the plan include:
• a "making work pay" tax cut of up to $400 for individuals earning below $75,000 per year and up to $800 for couples earning below $150,000;
• expanding the earned-income tax credit to families with three or more children, helping an estimated 50,000 West Virginia families;
• giving tax relief to 86,000 West Virginians by preventing them from paying the Alternative Minimum Tax;
• $3.4 billion for clean coal research and development nationwide;
• $70 million to make West Virginia buildings more energy efficient;
• lowering COBRA health care premiums by 65 percent for unemployed West Virginians for up to nine months; COBRA recipients will be responsible for only 35 percent of COBRA premium costs;
• $3.2 million in State Employment Service Grants to match unemployed individuals to job openings through state employment service agencies and provide customized reemployment services;
• $3.6 million in Dislocated Workers State Grants to meet the needs of skilled workers;
• raising the weekly unemployment compensation benefit by $25 and temporarily suspending federal income taxes on the first $2,400 of unemployment assistance.
Who knows, one of those 20,000 jobs saved or created may just be yours!
The Washington Post is reporting the Obama "EPA May Reverse Bush, Limit Carbon Emissions From Coal-Fired Plants":
The Environmental Protection Agency will reopen the possibility of regulating carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, tossing aside a December Bush administration memorandum that declared that the agency would not limit the emissions.
The decision could mark the first step toward placing limits on greenhouse gases emitted by coal plants, an issue that has been hotly contested by the coal industry and environmentalists since April 2007, when the Supreme Court ruled that carbon dioxide should be considered a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.
[snip]
In response to a Sierra Club petition involving a permit for a coal plant in Bonanza, Utah, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said yesterday that the agency would take a new look at the issue and solicit public comment. Jackson added that the memorandum issued by her predecessor, Stephen A. Johnson, two months ago should not restrict states weighing air pollution permits for new coal plants.
[snip]
John Stowell, vice president for environmental policy for Duke Energy, one of the nation's largest utilities, said he "wasn't surprised" by the announcement. Industry officials expect the federal government to impose a cap on greenhouse gas emissions, he said, and are hoping that Congress will adopt an economy-wide plan rather than relying on the executive branch to target specific sectors.
"It serves as a reminder that it's coming, but we still expect it to be done through the legislature and not the regulatory process," he said, noting that Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and others have signaled that the committees they chair will pass climate legislation by the end of the year. "They're all saying it's urgent. The president's saying it's urgent -- 'We're going to get it done this Congress.' And I believe them."
Does this move have any immediate effect? Yes, at least one plant proposal--a 1,590-megawatt plant in Nevada--will likely be put on hold now.
This announcement effectively stops the building of any new coal-fired plants until new regulations are determined.
Josh Marshall over at Talking Points Memo has been posting an interesting series of reader responses this week. Each one is a personal reflection on the meaning of the inauguration of Obama as President.
Calling climate change "the most important matter of our times," Dr. Hansen encourages the President-elect to undertake three policy directives to address climatic change. First, Dr. Hansen calls for a moratorium and phasing out of coal-fired power stations that do not incorporate carbon capture adding that this step is "the sine qua non for solving the climate problem." Continuing to build coal-fired power plants, which he calls "factories of death," would "raise atmospheric carbon dioxide to a level at least approaching 500 ppm (parts per million)" and lead to "the extinction of perhaps a million species." Current carbon dioxide levels are 385 ppm up from 280 ppm in the pre-industrial period. Dr. Hansen concludes that an urgent geophysical fact has become clear: "burning all the fossil fuels will destroy the planet we know."
Second, he proposes a "carbon tax and 100% dividend" scheme. The idea is to tax carbon at the source, then redistribute the revenue equally among taxpayers, so that high carbon users are penalized while low carbon users are rewarded with a rebate. However, the carbon tax is revenue neutral apart from administrative costs for the Federal government. According to Dr. Hansen, high fossil fuel taxes are essential to "decarbonize" the economy but they are also required to "spur innovation as entrepreneurs compete to develop and market low-carbon and no-carbon energies and products." He adds that "the carbon tax has social benefits. It is progressive. It is useful to those most in need in hard times, providing them an opportunity for larger dividend than tax."
Finally, Dr. Hansen urges a renewed research effort into fourth generation nuclear plants (4th GNP), which can "burn" nuclear waste, leaving a small volume of waste with a half-life of decades rather than thousands of years as with current nuclear plants. Noting that extensive R&D is still required (the plants are unlikely to come on-stream before 2030) but Dr. Hansen argues that only a substantial effort to develop 4th GNP will wean China and India off coal-fired power plants.
Quietly, the professionals at the Department of Justice have been working this massive scandal-that is complex by design-to build cases that move from the outer edges to the heart of political corruption in Washington DC. Abramoff is just a doorway in-not an endpoint-and prosecutors are zeroing in on some big fish in a corrupt stream.
The investigation was very active in 2008 and expanded its scope. More shoes are dropping. More details are being exposed. This is why the GOP fears the future, Obama and Eric Holder.
Tragically, in 2009, I fear we're going to usher in an era when obtaining healthcare will hinge on your ability to pay, and on your credit worthiness. 2009 could become known as the Year of Pay or Die.
[snip]
There is only one way to fix this terminally diseased system, and that's with a single payer healthcare. And for anyone who still doesn't know what single-payer is, I'll tell you, privately delivered healthcare (you choose your doctor, hospital, etc.), paid for by one entity, the government. All of our precious healthcare dollars go for healthcare and we eliminate the parasitic middlemen, you've just read about.
Now that Obama has been picking his team to run his White House, we get to hear the carping about how Obama never meant to "change" Washington afterall. They act like it was a cynical duping of the American people.
Obama talked about change- so fair enough. But really, what are they expecting? Handing the keys to power to people who don't know how to run the country? Obama is making slections that will facilitate a major rush of legislation. He's got advisers from the executive and Capitol Hill. the biggest problem faced under the past 40 years is the horrid relationship the two branches had.
If your going to get things done, so that we can actually see "change", then you better know what you're doing. Obama has a team that can do that.
Of course if you're a Republican, what else do you have to complain about? You got beat badly by the argument, so sniping is whatcha got.
"I think several individuals are very frustrated to think that President-elect Obama may just cut and paste from some of the Democratic operatives from the Clinton administration and put them into his White House," said Leslie Sanchez, a Republican strategist and CNN contributor.
We'll let 'em go at it for awhile. They need something to make themselves feel better.
We will have a new president soon. This is an amazing moment for the country. It is also one for progressives, liberals and populists everywhere. We are going to move into an era where government will make a huge pushes to stabilize a top-heavy economically and is now crashing down on the rest of us. The Right is in shambles and too weak and conservative impulses will be too weak to hold back needed reforms.
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