Mineral County Manufacturer ATK Involved in Atlas V Launch
Yoko Ono Adds Own Natural Gas to Fracking Discussion in New York
U.S. May Face Another Credit Downgrade
GOP: Private Enterprise a Better Steward of the Environment
Gold Standard Revisited
Oil Prices Dropping
Thursday, August 30, 2012
State Agriculture Numbers Show Long Term Growth, If the Feds Steer Clear
It is easy to know when you are in farm country. One can see plenty of "No Farms No Food" bumper stickers. There is definitely some logic to that. Apparently, the Mountain State has taken that ideal to heart. Over the past fifteen years, federal and state statistics show an increase in the number and value of farms in West Virginia. The federal government may soon put a halt to that growth, however.
Federal statistics, based on numbers published by the U.S. Census Bureau, only cover 1997 through 2007. The total number of farms increased from 21,500 to over 23,600 in that span. Since then, according to West Virginia Department of Agriculture statistics, the number has plateaued.
Much of the growth came from a spike of over 2,000 new family farms between 1997 and 2007.
Farming as a part time vocation in West Virginia seems to be catching on. The largest growth came in the number of small farms of under 50 acres. Federal statistics may not be accurate, however, as small scale vendors of eggs or corn may try to avoid reporting their income and activities to government officials.
The number of larger operations, those over 1,000 acres, remained steady while the number of mid-sized farms of between 500 and 999 acres declined.
Bad news lies ahead. According to the West Virginia Farm Bureau, the Environmental Protection Agency is threatening stiff fines against farmers who fail to regulate their dust. According to this press release:
West Virginia Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau Federation have filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit regarding EPA’s authority to regulate poultry and livestock farms under the Clean Water Act. The intervention was filed on the side of West Virginia poultry grower Lois Alt, operator of Eight is Enough Farm in Old Fields, Hardy County.
The rebound of agriculture will not be able to withstand the mindless power of federal bureaucrats who fail to understand that farms have dust.
Federal statistics, based on numbers published by the U.S. Census Bureau, only cover 1997 through 2007. The total number of farms increased from 21,500 to over 23,600 in that span. Since then, according to West Virginia Department of Agriculture statistics, the number has plateaued.
Much of the growth came from a spike of over 2,000 new family farms between 1997 and 2007.
Farming as a part time vocation in West Virginia seems to be catching on. The largest growth came in the number of small farms of under 50 acres. Federal statistics may not be accurate, however, as small scale vendors of eggs or corn may try to avoid reporting their income and activities to government officials.
The number of larger operations, those over 1,000 acres, remained steady while the number of mid-sized farms of between 500 and 999 acres declined.
Bad news lies ahead. According to the West Virginia Farm Bureau, the Environmental Protection Agency is threatening stiff fines against farmers who fail to regulate their dust. According to this press release:
West Virginia Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau Federation have filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit regarding EPA’s authority to regulate poultry and livestock farms under the Clean Water Act. The intervention was filed on the side of West Virginia poultry grower Lois Alt, operator of Eight is Enough Farm in Old Fields, Hardy County.
Alt sued EPA in June after the agency ordered her
to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System discharge
permit. EPA’s order threatens Alt with $37,500 in daily fines for storm
water that may come into contact with dust, feathers or dander
deposited on the ground outside of poultry house ventilation fans, or
small amounts of manure that may be present in the farmyard as a result
of normal poultry farming operations. EPA also seeks separate fines if
Alt fails to apply for an NPDES permit for the alleged “discharge” of
storm water from her farmyard.
WVFB and AFBF filed the intervention seeking relief
on behalf of the farming and agricultural communities they represent,
because any decision would have “wide-ranging impacts…as virtually all
poultry-broiler farmers in West Virginia and throughout the nation
engage in normal farming practices similar to those employed by Mrs.
Alt, and could become subject to such permitting requirements and
liability for penalties.”
In two prior court cases, AFBF has defeated EPA
regulations that illegally attempted to impose broad NPDES permit
requirements for thousands of livestock and poultry farmers whose
operations have no regulated discharge.
The Alt’s poultry operation has been recognized by
Pilgrim’s Pride as an Environmental Stewardship Award winner, for
commitment to environmental practices. The physical appearance of the
farm, environmentally friendly operational methods, organizational
practices, chemical voluntary environmental efforts and community
environmental service are criteria for the award.The rebound of agriculture will not be able to withstand the mindless power of federal bureaucrats who fail to understand that farms have dust.
Riotous Female Private Parts in the Russian Federation
When the music doesn't sell records, try pulling a stunt.
It worked for the Dixie Chicks, sort of, several years ago. They were a moderately successful country act trying to break into mainstream pop. What better way to do so than to abandon the generally conservative country fan base and stick a needle in the eye of George W. Bush, by belittling the president abroad?
That certainly wasn't going to play well in Dallas.
It stoked up what the English call a "row" with Toby Keith. He is still playing to tens of thousands. They are broken up and playing in small bars.
Attention getting is a short term proposition.
The most famous Russian punk band in the world is Pussy Riot. Not because they have produced appealing music. but because they broke into a landmark church and profaned its sanctuary. Think if some minor grungy band ran into the National Cathedral and started slandering Catholics and the Pope.
There is freedom of expression, but there is also property rights. Any church has private property rights. They were violated by a group of women trying to make a political statement. They could have just as easily made their point outside the church on the sidewalk. If they had then been arrested, then their supporters among American liberals and conservatives would have had a point.
Officials arrested the band. They will be spending a lot more time behind bars than their crime probably deserves. But they did violate the property rights of a church and that is not an insignificant crme.
Defending the property rights of the Russian Orthodox Church is no defense of Vladimir Putin who is gradually centralizing his control. And I understand that there is a centuries old tradition of church and state interest fusion in the East that dates back to the Byzantine Empire. That being said, like the French in the 1850s, centralization under Putin seems to be a trend that has broad support among the Russian people. Even voter fraud cannot fully account for the most recent returns. Putin is here to stay whether American liberals (who hate Putin, but love Leftist murdering thugs like Castro or Chavez) or conservatives (who have global strategic concerns and memories of the Cold War) like it or not.
The English language St. Petersburg Times argues that:
Having concerns over the fate of Russia and what that means for American interests is reasonable. How are they dealing with Poland and other westward leaning states of the old Warsaw Pact? How will they react to an Israeli strike on Iran, if that happens? What about Syria? These are important questions. But Pussy Riot is not the place to pick a battle or even a debate. They are not worth it. We should focus on the real issues at hand.
It worked for the Dixie Chicks, sort of, several years ago. They were a moderately successful country act trying to break into mainstream pop. What better way to do so than to abandon the generally conservative country fan base and stick a needle in the eye of George W. Bush, by belittling the president abroad?
That certainly wasn't going to play well in Dallas.
It stoked up what the English call a "row" with Toby Keith. He is still playing to tens of thousands. They are broken up and playing in small bars.
Attention getting is a short term proposition.
The most famous Russian punk band in the world is Pussy Riot. Not because they have produced appealing music. but because they broke into a landmark church and profaned its sanctuary. Think if some minor grungy band ran into the National Cathedral and started slandering Catholics and the Pope.
There is freedom of expression, but there is also property rights. Any church has private property rights. They were violated by a group of women trying to make a political statement. They could have just as easily made their point outside the church on the sidewalk. If they had then been arrested, then their supporters among American liberals and conservatives would have had a point.
Officials arrested the band. They will be spending a lot more time behind bars than their crime probably deserves. But they did violate the property rights of a church and that is not an insignificant crme.
Defending the property rights of the Russian Orthodox Church is no defense of Vladimir Putin who is gradually centralizing his control. And I understand that there is a centuries old tradition of church and state interest fusion in the East that dates back to the Byzantine Empire. That being said, like the French in the 1850s, centralization under Putin seems to be a trend that has broad support among the Russian people. Even voter fraud cannot fully account for the most recent returns. Putin is here to stay whether American liberals (who hate Putin, but love Leftist murdering thugs like Castro or Chavez) or conservatives (who have global strategic concerns and memories of the Cold War) like it or not.
The English language St. Petersburg Times argues that:
As
Soviet-era dissident Eduard Lozansky wrote to me: “This furor over
‘female genitals run amok’ could ordinarily only have been accomplished
with a wildly expensive PR campaign. Now, even such pillars of the free
press as The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times compare Pussy Riot
to Soviet-era dissidents Andrei Sakharov and Alexander Solzhenitsyn,
while Putin has been compared to Josef Stalin.”
I would say that the democratic West is not selling out but suffering from a sort of collective dementia.
Link to original article: http://sptimes.ru/story/36119
Link to original article: http://sptimes.ru/story/36119
Having concerns over the fate of Russia and what that means for American interests is reasonable. How are they dealing with Poland and other westward leaning states of the old Warsaw Pact? How will they react to an Israeli strike on Iran, if that happens? What about Syria? These are important questions. But Pussy Riot is not the place to pick a battle or even a debate. They are not worth it. We should focus on the real issues at hand.
News!
Remember When the Democrats Were the Party of the Working Man, Not Salon Intellectuals?
Taxing Carbon?
Global Warmers Mislead Once Again
Administration Urged to Maintain Ethanol Mandate
Wind Turbine Sales Dependent Upon Tax Credits
U.S. Corporate Taxes Driving Business Abroad
Youth Unemployment Sky High
Youth Misery Index
An Examination of Charter Schools
Congressman McKinley Announces More Support For Efforts to Combat Organized Drug Trafficking
Taxing Carbon?
Global Warmers Mislead Once Again
Administration Urged to Maintain Ethanol Mandate
Wind Turbine Sales Dependent Upon Tax Credits
U.S. Corporate Taxes Driving Business Abroad
Youth Unemployment Sky High
Youth Misery Index
An Examination of Charter Schools
Congressman McKinley Announces More Support For Efforts to Combat Organized Drug Trafficking
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
West Virginia Delegation Featured in Los Angeles Times Story on RNC
West Virginia Delegation Featured in Los Angeles Times Story of RNC
In a story about Republican delegates wearing hats and costumes relevant to their regions, the Times, quotes W. Va Delegate Todd Gunter:
The West Virginia delegation sported (if that's the right word) black miners' helmets with labels reading, "Friends of coal."
"We have the most underground miners in the United States," said delegate Todd Gunter of Charleston, W.Va., "and our economy, we feel, is suffering under President Obama." He said the Environmental Protection Agency under Obama has enforced the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act in ways that have limited coal production and use. "We have the most abundant reserve of coal in the world in America. We just can't mine it and we can't burn it," he said.
And when you look at the numbers, 17 million tons less produced in West Virginia in 2011 than in 2008, you know the War on Coal is as alive as West Virginia Republicans and the United Mine Workers of America say it is.
In a story about Republican delegates wearing hats and costumes relevant to their regions, the Times, quotes W. Va Delegate Todd Gunter:
The West Virginia delegation sported (if that's the right word) black miners' helmets with labels reading, "Friends of coal."
"We have the most underground miners in the United States," said delegate Todd Gunter of Charleston, W.Va., "and our economy, we feel, is suffering under President Obama." He said the Environmental Protection Agency under Obama has enforced the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act in ways that have limited coal production and use. "We have the most abundant reserve of coal in the world in America. We just can't mine it and we can't burn it," he said.
And when you look at the numbers, 17 million tons less produced in West Virginia in 2011 than in 2008, you know the War on Coal is as alive as West Virginia Republicans and the United Mine Workers of America say it is.
The War on Coal By the Numbers
Jay Rockefeller a few months ago lashed out at Republicans, other conservatives, and United Mine Workers of America chieftain Cecil Roberts who claim that the administration has launched a war on coal. He called their claims "scare tactics."
The numbers suggest that the UMWA and Republicans may be right.
According to the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety, and Training, West Virginia's coal production dropped dramatically between 2008 and 2010, from 165 million tons to 143 million tons. By the next year, production had fallen by another four million tons.
Such declines hit the counties most reliant on coal production the worst. Statewide declines in coal production correlate with dropping employment in the retail sector in the southwestern counties, an area heavily dependent upon the health of that region's primary industry.
Between 2008 and 2010, every single county in the southwestern coal fields lost retail employment. Boone and Mingo counties each lost 1/8 of their total. Raleigh County alone hemorrhaged 300 jobs in retail alone.
Federal courts have provided some relief. They have restored EPA revoked permits and slapped boundaries around enforcement of regulations against coal mines and power plants.
But even though bureaucrats lost some battles, don't count on them to give up the war. If Obama wins in November, expect an all out onslaught on the industry.
The numbers suggest that the UMWA and Republicans may be right.
According to the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety, and Training, West Virginia's coal production dropped dramatically between 2008 and 2010, from 165 million tons to 143 million tons. By the next year, production had fallen by another four million tons.
Such declines hit the counties most reliant on coal production the worst. Statewide declines in coal production correlate with dropping employment in the retail sector in the southwestern counties, an area heavily dependent upon the health of that region's primary industry.
Between 2008 and 2010, every single county in the southwestern coal fields lost retail employment. Boone and Mingo counties each lost 1/8 of their total. Raleigh County alone hemorrhaged 300 jobs in retail alone.
Federal courts have provided some relief. They have restored EPA revoked permits and slapped boundaries around enforcement of regulations against coal mines and power plants.
But even though bureaucrats lost some battles, don't count on them to give up the war. If Obama wins in November, expect an all out onslaught on the industry.
News!
The End of Pickup Trucks Thanks to Obama?
Obama Rules Will Raise New Car Prices For Everyone
Eastern Panhandle Commuters, Be Aware
Congresswoman Capito: Tax Cuts Help Families and the Economy
Congressman McKinley Talks About EPA's Damaging Effects on Coal
Manchin Works With DuPont on Veteran Hiring Program
Manchin to Lead Roundtable on Effective Use of National Guard
Manchin Issues Condolences
John Stossell Argues Against the War on Drugs
Technology Grows, Common Sense Does Not
A Teaser From the Subscription Service, Lignet:
China Demands Foreign Companies Install Internet Spyware
In a heavy-handed move, China is now trying to force foreign companies operating in the country to install Internet monitoring software on their computer networks. The software would allow Chinese spies to waltz right through the corporate front door, providing the government with executive-level access to each firm’s intellectual property, trade secrets, and proprietary financial information.
Randy Moss Staying Away From Media
Obama Rules Will Raise New Car Prices For Everyone
Eastern Panhandle Commuters, Be Aware
Congresswoman Capito: Tax Cuts Help Families and the Economy
Congressman McKinley Talks About EPA's Damaging Effects on Coal
Manchin Works With DuPont on Veteran Hiring Program
Manchin to Lead Roundtable on Effective Use of National Guard
Manchin Issues Condolences
John Stossell Argues Against the War on Drugs
Technology Grows, Common Sense Does Not
A Teaser From the Subscription Service, Lignet:
China Demands Foreign Companies Install Internet Spyware
In a heavy-handed move, China is now trying to force foreign companies operating in the country to install Internet monitoring software on their computer networks. The software would allow Chinese spies to waltz right through the corporate front door, providing the government with executive-level access to each firm’s intellectual property, trade secrets, and proprietary financial information.
Randy Moss Staying Away From Media
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
News!
Manchin, Rockefeller, and Rahall Announce Violence Against Women Grant
MGM Invests Millions to Try and Build Competitor to Charles Town Casino
Venezuela Refinery Fire a Threat to Raise Energy Costs
Washington D.C. May Ease Gun Restrictions
Bill Gertz: Are U.S. Trained Russian Troops a Threat?
Political Meddling Drives Up Insurance Costs
"Sweet Caroline" Off Penn State Playlist
Monday, August 27, 2012
Shepherd University Among the Best in the Southeast: Princeton Review
Article linked from West Virginia Executive
Shepherd Among the Best in the Southeast: Princeton Review
Shepherd named a Best in the Southeast college by Princeton Review's website
ISSUED: 23 August 2012
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
(Shepherd named a Best in the Southeast college by Princeton Review's website)
Shepherdstown, WV--Shepherd University has been named one of the best colleges and universities in the southeast according to the Princeton Review's website. The New York City-based education services company selected Shepherd as one of 136 institutions it recommends in its "Best in the Southeast" section on its website feature 2013 Best Colleges: Region by Region.
"I am always pleased to see Shepherd recognized by outside organizations," said Kimberly Scranage, vice president for enrollment management. "From community service to critical learning skills to the liberal arts, Shepherd continues to be recognized nationally as outstanding in many diverse ways, including small classes, innovations in teaching, personal interactions with faculty, opportunities for faculty-supervised research, and a supportive atmosphere."
The 136 colleges the Princeton Review chose for its Best in the Southeast designation are located in 12 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Princeton Review also designates colleges in the Northeast, West, and Midwest as best in their locales. A total of 623 colleges nationwide were named regional bests representing about 25 percent of the nation's four-year colleges.
The Princeton Review does not rank the colleges in its 2013 Best Colleges: Region by Region Web site. The Princeton Review survey asks students to rate their own schools on several issues, from accessibility of their professors to the quality of the campus food, and answer questions about themselves, their fellow students, and their campus life.
Shepherd Among the Best in the Southeast: Princeton Review
Shepherd named a Best in the Southeast college by Princeton Review's website
ISSUED: 23 August 2012
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
(Shepherd named a Best in the Southeast college by Princeton Review's website)
Shepherdstown, WV--Shepherd University has been named one of the best colleges and universities in the southeast according to the Princeton Review's website. The New York City-based education services company selected Shepherd as one of 136 institutions it recommends in its "Best in the Southeast" section on its website feature 2013 Best Colleges: Region by Region.
"I am always pleased to see Shepherd recognized by outside organizations," said Kimberly Scranage, vice president for enrollment management. "From community service to critical learning skills to the liberal arts, Shepherd continues to be recognized nationally as outstanding in many diverse ways, including small classes, innovations in teaching, personal interactions with faculty, opportunities for faculty-supervised research, and a supportive atmosphere."
The 136 colleges the Princeton Review chose for its Best in the Southeast designation are located in 12 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Princeton Review also designates colleges in the Northeast, West, and Midwest as best in their locales. A total of 623 colleges nationwide were named regional bests representing about 25 percent of the nation's four-year colleges.
The Princeton Review does not rank the colleges in its 2013 Best Colleges: Region by Region Web site. The Princeton Review survey asks students to rate their own schools on several issues, from accessibility of their professors to the quality of the campus food, and answer questions about themselves, their fellow students, and their campus life.
-30-
Revisionism: China's Danger to the Far Eastern Powers
China Rising
Human Events today released a short summary of a larger report on China. America and the world's other Great Powers face serious implications if it continues to follow the Western European path to global irrelevance as China constructs a neo-fascist system.
Small nations on China's periphery have the most to fear. South Korea only exists as long as the United States retains the will to defend it. The same goes for the Nationalist Chinese government on Taiwan. The war in the 1960s and 70s not withstanding, Communist Vietnam is revisiting its much older historical fear of Chinese hegemony. All of these states at one time lived under Chinese overlordship and likely remain parts of the Middle Kingdom's long term plans. Outside of this realm sits the former American colony of the Republic of the Philippines.
China has carefully fomented border squabbles with its smaller neighbors and Japan over islands off its coast.
Japan, India, and Russia are the three major powers in the region. China and Japan perpetuate a mutual hatred that includes atrocities committed by the Japanese during World War II. No possibility of accommodation exists between the two nations, other than complete Japanese subservience. Japan currently is constitutionally limited to small defensive forces and claims to have no nuclear weapons. It is difficult to believe that a nation who has suffered two atomic attacks and has a hostile relationship with nearby nuclear neighbors lacks a few secret weapons of its own. India's relationship with China has also been historically problematic.
Russia currently has good relations with Beijing and strong economic ties. Potential trouble between the two nations comes in the form of Russia's Maritime Province. This territory is home to 2 million people and one of Russia's major ports, Vladivostok. Russia seized this land from China in the 1800s and the latter has long term plans to reacquire it. Revanchism drove an aggressive French nationalism leading up to World War I. China has not closed out its nationalist plans to get back its old territories.
For decades, the United States has played regional referee. China has been balanced by Japan, South Korea, and sometimes Russia. As nations perceive that U. S. power is declining, there is motivation for some to step into the void. The question is, will there continue to be a balance, or will the regional nations acquiesce in Chinese hegemony? That is likely an impossibility.
China itself is less stable than it appears. Historically a rising middle class that has no political voice in the national direction is an extremely destabilizing element. The American colonies in 1775, the 1787 French Revolution, the European revolutions of 1848, the Russian rebellions of 1905, all came at least partly from a middle class that perceived that it was under the thumb of national government. China has rage beneath its stoic surface that can be dangerous in several ways.
1.) It can push China into more expressions of nationalism to unify the people to the government. Austria Hungary and the Russian Empire followed this path before World War I, and ended up playing a strong role in bringing about the wider war.
2.) It can cause a revolution that can lead to . . . what? The best case scenario is that the mainland simply transplants the Nationalist government from Taipei. A new Republic of China with a free market system could be a huge boost to efforts for global peace and stability. Worst case scenario is a Chinese Napoleon determined to get back Chinese irredenta (lost lands)
One should never forget that the Chinese have a political philosophy much like the Declaration of Independence. Their "Mandate of Heaven" calls for rejection of a regime when "heaven" dictates that it is no longer a good government for the people.
Any Chinese war of aggression, even against Vietnam, will bring in the United States. We are still too close to the memory of Hitler's nudges towards hegemony in the 1930s to have forgotten the lessons. Even Obama cannot afford to be a Chamberlain. Steps taken to boost U. S. forces in the region are a positive sign. The nations that cannot afford to forget include Russia and India.
Human Events today released a short summary of a larger report on China. America and the world's other Great Powers face serious implications if it continues to follow the Western European path to global irrelevance as China constructs a neo-fascist system.
Small nations on China's periphery have the most to fear. South Korea only exists as long as the United States retains the will to defend it. The same goes for the Nationalist Chinese government on Taiwan. The war in the 1960s and 70s not withstanding, Communist Vietnam is revisiting its much older historical fear of Chinese hegemony. All of these states at one time lived under Chinese overlordship and likely remain parts of the Middle Kingdom's long term plans. Outside of this realm sits the former American colony of the Republic of the Philippines.
China has carefully fomented border squabbles with its smaller neighbors and Japan over islands off its coast.
Japan, India, and Russia are the three major powers in the region. China and Japan perpetuate a mutual hatred that includes atrocities committed by the Japanese during World War II. No possibility of accommodation exists between the two nations, other than complete Japanese subservience. Japan currently is constitutionally limited to small defensive forces and claims to have no nuclear weapons. It is difficult to believe that a nation who has suffered two atomic attacks and has a hostile relationship with nearby nuclear neighbors lacks a few secret weapons of its own. India's relationship with China has also been historically problematic.
Russia currently has good relations with Beijing and strong economic ties. Potential trouble between the two nations comes in the form of Russia's Maritime Province. This territory is home to 2 million people and one of Russia's major ports, Vladivostok. Russia seized this land from China in the 1800s and the latter has long term plans to reacquire it. Revanchism drove an aggressive French nationalism leading up to World War I. China has not closed out its nationalist plans to get back its old territories.
For decades, the United States has played regional referee. China has been balanced by Japan, South Korea, and sometimes Russia. As nations perceive that U. S. power is declining, there is motivation for some to step into the void. The question is, will there continue to be a balance, or will the regional nations acquiesce in Chinese hegemony? That is likely an impossibility.
China itself is less stable than it appears. Historically a rising middle class that has no political voice in the national direction is an extremely destabilizing element. The American colonies in 1775, the 1787 French Revolution, the European revolutions of 1848, the Russian rebellions of 1905, all came at least partly from a middle class that perceived that it was under the thumb of national government. China has rage beneath its stoic surface that can be dangerous in several ways.
1.) It can push China into more expressions of nationalism to unify the people to the government. Austria Hungary and the Russian Empire followed this path before World War I, and ended up playing a strong role in bringing about the wider war.
2.) It can cause a revolution that can lead to . . . what? The best case scenario is that the mainland simply transplants the Nationalist government from Taipei. A new Republic of China with a free market system could be a huge boost to efforts for global peace and stability. Worst case scenario is a Chinese Napoleon determined to get back Chinese irredenta (lost lands)
One should never forget that the Chinese have a political philosophy much like the Declaration of Independence. Their "Mandate of Heaven" calls for rejection of a regime when "heaven" dictates that it is no longer a good government for the people.
Any Chinese war of aggression, even against Vietnam, will bring in the United States. We are still too close to the memory of Hitler's nudges towards hegemony in the 1930s to have forgotten the lessons. Even Obama cannot afford to be a Chamberlain. Steps taken to boost U. S. forces in the region are a positive sign. The nations that cannot afford to forget include Russia and India.
News!
T. Boone Pickens Pushes Natural Gas For Automobiles in National Review
Al Gore Is Once Again Upset That It Gets Hot in Summer and Cold in Winter
Bloomberg Flip Flops For Fracking
The Case For Nuclear Power
Sorry, You Can't Have a V-8
IBM Employees Struggle to Deal With Change in Corporate Culture
China Rising
Rule of Law and Tort Reform
Remembering a Real American Hero: Neil Armstrong
GEICO Channels Its Inner Private Pyle
Al Gore Is Once Again Upset That It Gets Hot in Summer and Cold in Winter
Bloomberg Flip Flops For Fracking
The Case For Nuclear Power
Sorry, You Can't Have a V-8
IBM Employees Struggle to Deal With Change in Corporate Culture
China Rising
Rule of Law and Tort Reform
Remembering a Real American Hero: Neil Armstrong
GEICO Channels Its Inner Private Pyle
Friday, August 24, 2012
West Virginia Officials Should Look At Eastern Eruope and Russia For Opportunities
Russia Joins World Trade Organization
From the Los Angeles Times
Russia's formal entry into the WTO on Wednesday also made it the biggest economy to become a member of the Geneva-based trade body since China joined in late 2001.
China's entry paved the way for a rapid acceleration of exports of manufactured goods to the U.S., contributing to a sharp increase in America's trade deficit. But Russia's entry to the WTO isn't likely to have such a dramatic effect as far as U.S. economic relations are concerned.
For one thing, U.S. lawmakers have yet to grant Russia permanent normal trade relations, partly because of concerns about the country's questionable human rights and foreign relations records.
Analysts expect Congress to change Russia's trade status, possibly next month, which is needed for the U.S. to benefit fully from the lowered barriers that come with the WTO membership.
U.S. exports of industrial equipment and other goods and services to Russia totaled about $11 billion last year, a figure that could double in five or six years, said Anders Aslund, a Russia economy expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
U.S. imports from Russia consist primarily of oil and uranium — resources that won't be affected by the WTO status. As such, unlike the situation with China, the U.S. stands to narrow its current trade deficit with Russia, Aslund said, and the bilateral trade relations are more compatible.
"It has a big positive effect on U.S. trade," he said.
It is impossible to predict the total impact that the addition of Russia will have on world and American trade. One can easily, however, consider the potential.
The Russian Federation has almost 140 million people. Although its population is not growing quickly naturally, it does have an immigrant friendly policy since it needs to populate its resource producing areas.
Some experts fear that joining the WTO will not help Russia's economy continue to expand, since it is strongly tied to the quickly weakening Chinese economy. It could potentially, however, compete strongly with European industry, which has stronger regulatory and tax burdens to face.
Inevitably, the long term economic axis of influence in Europe will continue to shift eastward, away from the bloated welfare states of Western Europe towards the free markets of the eastern states and resource rich Russia. Currently West Virginia's state government is looking at new locations for the European development and trade office now in Munich. State officials would be wise to note the changes in Europe's economic balance of power and do a reverse of Horace Greeley's advice. Go East, maybe not all the way to Russia, but certainly out of Old Europe. Opening an office in Warsaw would likely be cheaper and help to connect West Virginia's economy with emerging, youthful markets in addition to the already well-developed and well-traveled ones of Western Europe.
From the Los Angeles Times
Russia's formal entry into the WTO on Wednesday also made it the biggest economy to become a member of the Geneva-based trade body since China joined in late 2001.
China's entry paved the way for a rapid acceleration of exports of manufactured goods to the U.S., contributing to a sharp increase in America's trade deficit. But Russia's entry to the WTO isn't likely to have such a dramatic effect as far as U.S. economic relations are concerned.
For one thing, U.S. lawmakers have yet to grant Russia permanent normal trade relations, partly because of concerns about the country's questionable human rights and foreign relations records.
Analysts expect Congress to change Russia's trade status, possibly next month, which is needed for the U.S. to benefit fully from the lowered barriers that come with the WTO membership.
U.S. exports of industrial equipment and other goods and services to Russia totaled about $11 billion last year, a figure that could double in five or six years, said Anders Aslund, a Russia economy expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
U.S. imports from Russia consist primarily of oil and uranium — resources that won't be affected by the WTO status. As such, unlike the situation with China, the U.S. stands to narrow its current trade deficit with Russia, Aslund said, and the bilateral trade relations are more compatible.
"It has a big positive effect on U.S. trade," he said.
It is impossible to predict the total impact that the addition of Russia will have on world and American trade. One can easily, however, consider the potential.
The Russian Federation has almost 140 million people. Although its population is not growing quickly naturally, it does have an immigrant friendly policy since it needs to populate its resource producing areas.
Some experts fear that joining the WTO will not help Russia's economy continue to expand, since it is strongly tied to the quickly weakening Chinese economy. It could potentially, however, compete strongly with European industry, which has stronger regulatory and tax burdens to face.
Inevitably, the long term economic axis of influence in Europe will continue to shift eastward, away from the bloated welfare states of Western Europe towards the free markets of the eastern states and resource rich Russia. Currently West Virginia's state government is looking at new locations for the European development and trade office now in Munich. State officials would be wise to note the changes in Europe's economic balance of power and do a reverse of Horace Greeley's advice. Go East, maybe not all the way to Russia, but certainly out of Old Europe. Opening an office in Warsaw would likely be cheaper and help to connect West Virginia's economy with emerging, youthful markets in addition to the already well-developed and well-traveled ones of Western Europe.
To Shrink Government, Elected Officials Need to Start Thinking Private
Senators Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin today announced $2.5 million in
federal funding for West Virginia University (WVU) Research Corporation
to manage and operate the Office of Disability Employment Policy’s
(ODEP) Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a national technical assistance
center that facilitates the employment and retention of workers with
disabilities.
In Washingtonspeak, $2.5 million is almost nothing. It is the spare change that the rest of us often lose in the course of a week in the cushions of our couch. But a few pennies here, a few pennies there add up. A concerted effort to keep and save those pennies over time can make a real difference.
Getting the disabled back to work is actually a pretty worth endeavor. If we are going to spend taxpayer money, this is an investment that, at least on paper, should save the government money in the long run. Save, that is, if the money is spent properly and judiciously with an eye on benefiting the disabled and not employing bureaucrats.
Sadly, government repeatedly proves that good intentions do not last long in bureaucracy. Since they are spending other people's money, suddenly lavish conferences, nepotism, and big salaries are the order of the day. The point of the spending, whether it is extension of a subway line or trying to help underprivileged youth, often gets lost. This is not to say that this will happen at WVU, but the public sector has proven time and time again to not be a good steward of money.
So it is good that our senators scored some funding that should have some benefit, but could their efforts and position have produced better results? Successful and long standing non-profit organizations that have a track record of service are much more likely to use the funds wisely. Even better, the clout of the two senators could be put to use in promoting the private fundraising of an effective organization, preventing the dispersion of federal funds entirely.
Government is too big and too expensive. We have to get away from the knee-jerk thought of turning first to the public sector to support worthy ideas. Getting outside of convention and considering private and non-profit alternatives will help to slowly shrink the size of, and our dependence on, government.
In Washingtonspeak, $2.5 million is almost nothing. It is the spare change that the rest of us often lose in the course of a week in the cushions of our couch. But a few pennies here, a few pennies there add up. A concerted effort to keep and save those pennies over time can make a real difference.
Getting the disabled back to work is actually a pretty worth endeavor. If we are going to spend taxpayer money, this is an investment that, at least on paper, should save the government money in the long run. Save, that is, if the money is spent properly and judiciously with an eye on benefiting the disabled and not employing bureaucrats.
Sadly, government repeatedly proves that good intentions do not last long in bureaucracy. Since they are spending other people's money, suddenly lavish conferences, nepotism, and big salaries are the order of the day. The point of the spending, whether it is extension of a subway line or trying to help underprivileged youth, often gets lost. This is not to say that this will happen at WVU, but the public sector has proven time and time again to not be a good steward of money.
So it is good that our senators scored some funding that should have some benefit, but could their efforts and position have produced better results? Successful and long standing non-profit organizations that have a track record of service are much more likely to use the funds wisely. Even better, the clout of the two senators could be put to use in promoting the private fundraising of an effective organization, preventing the dispersion of federal funds entirely.
Government is too big and too expensive. We have to get away from the knee-jerk thought of turning first to the public sector to support worthy ideas. Getting outside of convention and considering private and non-profit alternatives will help to slowly shrink the size of, and our dependence on, government.
News!
Damage Caused By War on Coal May Not Be Repaired
The Case Against Ethanol
The Road to Small Business Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions For the Congo
Chicago Residents: Guns Don't Kill People, Gangs Do
Government Waste at Veterans Affairs Is No Joke
Increasing Education Spending Does Not Necessarily Lead to Better Education
David McKinley Secures Law Enforcement Grant For Northern Panhandle
Rahall and Rockefeller Argue: Why Build $400 Million Radio Telescope in Chile and Close Green Bank?
Senators Manchin and "Rocefeller" Announce Initiative to Help Get Disabled Back to Work
Americans With Disabilities Act May Be USed to Force Business to Accept Telecommuting
West Virginia Defense Contractor ATK Featured In Conspiracy Theory Debate
The Failure of Bailouts: the Case of General Motors
Big Government Saves the World From the Horrors of Buckeyballs
Lance Armstrong Gives Up Fight, Will Likely Be Stripped of Titles
The Case Against Ethanol
The Road to Small Business Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions For the Congo
Chicago Residents: Guns Don't Kill People, Gangs Do
Government Waste at Veterans Affairs Is No Joke
Increasing Education Spending Does Not Necessarily Lead to Better Education
David McKinley Secures Law Enforcement Grant For Northern Panhandle
Rahall and Rockefeller Argue: Why Build $400 Million Radio Telescope in Chile and Close Green Bank?
Senators Manchin and "Rocefeller" Announce Initiative to Help Get Disabled Back to Work
Americans With Disabilities Act May Be USed to Force Business to Accept Telecommuting
West Virginia Defense Contractor ATK Featured In Conspiracy Theory Debate
The Failure of Bailouts: the Case of General Motors
Big Government Saves the World From the Horrors of Buckeyballs
Lance Armstrong Gives Up Fight, Will Likely Be Stripped of Titles
Thursday, August 23, 2012
News!
And now, a crucial public service announcement from Michelle Obama
Commentary on Mrs. Obama's announcement by Jim Treacher
And now, a crucial public service announcement from Joe Biden
(We don't normally cover elections or campaigns, but this was too important to neglect.)
Mitt Romney Unveils Energy Independence Plan
Putting American Energy At a Competitive Disadvantage
The Pitfalls of Energy Subsidies
New Environmental Regulations Are Strangling American Manufacturing
West Nile Virus Hitting Closer to Home
How Federal Policy Is Hampering Our Future
Government Waste, Simpsons Style
Amazing London Daily Mail Cloud Photoessay
Commentary on Mrs. Obama's announcement by Jim Treacher
And now, a crucial public service announcement from Joe Biden
(We don't normally cover elections or campaigns, but this was too important to neglect.)
Mitt Romney Unveils Energy Independence Plan
Putting American Energy At a Competitive Disadvantage
The Pitfalls of Energy Subsidies
New Environmental Regulations Are Strangling American Manufacturing
West Nile Virus Hitting Closer to Home
How Federal Policy Is Hampering Our Future
Government Waste, Simpsons Style
Amazing London Daily Mail Cloud Photoessay
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
When Can We Say Fare Thee Well to the ARC?
At what point can we chuck the Appalachian Regional Commission into the dustbin of history?
The ARC was created under the Kennedy Administration. It was meant to address issues of Appalachian poverty and underdevelopment that popped up repeatedly in the news media during the 1960s, most famously and unnervingly on Charles Kuraults' "Christmas in Appalachia" documentary.
Questions about the agency's effectiveness have dogged it since its inception, especially since its boundaries include many counties outside of any cultural or geographic definition of "Appalachia."
As the link below indicates, unemployment in counties covered by the Appalachian Regional Commission seems to, in most cases, be equal to, or even less than counties close by, but outside of the ARC's purview.
Unemployment by county, May 2012, from Washington Post
The ARC has a few problems. First, the very foundation of the idea that there is an Appalachia is suspect. Studies done in the 1950s and more recently indicate that there are other cultural frameworks that supersede the general notions of a linked region running along the ridges. For example, the Ohio River basin has strong cultural, economic, and social patterns extending from east to west. People in Parkersburg, West Virginia are more similar to those in Louisville than Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Second, its most effective work is nearly complete. The main tangible benefit that it brought to the region was the construction of highways to spur, or in some areas, even out, development. This met with uneven success. U.S. 119 from Charleston to Williamson has brought tremendous development. U.S. 50 from Parkersburg to Clarksburg is convenient, but substantial development has not yet taken hold.
The ARC's other concerns, health care, higher education, and job development, are better left to the states. The federal government could provide block grants for skills training. States, however, can do their part by creating a competitive market that can help to not only sell the area for outside investment, but, more importantly, develop home grown enterprises. Economic development can provide revenue for higher education and health care initiatives that are more effectively done by state government, not federal bureaucracy. And, of course, the various federal departments can handle some of these tasks as well.
Finally, one can make the argument that many areas are in far more desperate shape right now than the Appalachian region. Most of California is suffering from severe unemployment. It is hard to rationalize one region getting its very own bureaucratic commission.
It is time to cut government. The ARC is a great place to start.
The ARC was created under the Kennedy Administration. It was meant to address issues of Appalachian poverty and underdevelopment that popped up repeatedly in the news media during the 1960s, most famously and unnervingly on Charles Kuraults' "Christmas in Appalachia" documentary.
Questions about the agency's effectiveness have dogged it since its inception, especially since its boundaries include many counties outside of any cultural or geographic definition of "Appalachia."
As the link below indicates, unemployment in counties covered by the Appalachian Regional Commission seems to, in most cases, be equal to, or even less than counties close by, but outside of the ARC's purview.
Unemployment by county, May 2012, from Washington Post
The ARC has a few problems. First, the very foundation of the idea that there is an Appalachia is suspect. Studies done in the 1950s and more recently indicate that there are other cultural frameworks that supersede the general notions of a linked region running along the ridges. For example, the Ohio River basin has strong cultural, economic, and social patterns extending from east to west. People in Parkersburg, West Virginia are more similar to those in Louisville than Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Second, its most effective work is nearly complete. The main tangible benefit that it brought to the region was the construction of highways to spur, or in some areas, even out, development. This met with uneven success. U.S. 119 from Charleston to Williamson has brought tremendous development. U.S. 50 from Parkersburg to Clarksburg is convenient, but substantial development has not yet taken hold.
The ARC's other concerns, health care, higher education, and job development, are better left to the states. The federal government could provide block grants for skills training. States, however, can do their part by creating a competitive market that can help to not only sell the area for outside investment, but, more importantly, develop home grown enterprises. Economic development can provide revenue for higher education and health care initiatives that are more effectively done by state government, not federal bureaucracy. And, of course, the various federal departments can handle some of these tasks as well.
Finally, one can make the argument that many areas are in far more desperate shape right now than the Appalachian region. Most of California is suffering from severe unemployment. It is hard to rationalize one region getting its very own bureaucratic commission.
It is time to cut government. The ARC is a great place to start.
News!
EPA Overreach Continues to Face Strong Judicial Opposition
More on Victory For Miners and Energy Consumers
Capito Statement
Congressman McKinley Warns That the EPA Still Is Ready to Fight Coal
Manchin Applauds Court Decision to Stymie EPA
Rockefeller Issues Short, Tepid Statement on EPA Ruling
Congressman Rahall had no statement to make as of yet.
Rahall Opponent RRick Snuffer to Speak at GOP Convention About War on Coal
West Virginia University Once Again Top Party School
Two opponents also on the list. Scroll halfway down the page
Iran Targeted Israeli Embassy in Washington
Gun Control a Non-Starter
More on Victory For Miners and Energy Consumers
Capito Statement
Congressman McKinley Warns That the EPA Still Is Ready to Fight Coal
Manchin Applauds Court Decision to Stymie EPA
Rockefeller Issues Short, Tepid Statement on EPA Ruling
Congressman Rahall had no statement to make as of yet.
Rahall Opponent RRick Snuffer to Speak at GOP Convention About War on Coal
West Virginia University Once Again Top Party School
Two opponents also on the list. Scroll halfway down the page
Iran Targeted Israeli Embassy in Washington
Gun Control a Non-Starter
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Skip Bayless is a Douchebag . . . and a Self-Promoting Idiot
There are some days when a high moral tone works. Other times, it is more appropriate to get down and dirty. Sometimes William F. Buckley should be your model, other times George Orwell. The aim is to be precise in your writing. Use the term that best fits whatever subject it is that you are talking about.
Terrell Suggs was spot on when he told Skip Bayless in January to "Stop that. I know what you're doing. Be an analyst. Don't be a douchebag."
Bayless managed to insult the Washington D.C. metropolitan areas, all Redskins fans everywhere, Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins, everyone associated with the Washington Redskins, and common sense at large with the following statements:
"Some foolish Redskins fans — fans, foolish, doesn't that go together, right? — they're gonna sit back and say, 'God, RGIII was struggling. He fumbled, he threw a couple of bad passes. Maybe Kirk Cousins is better right now. Maybe we should go with Kirk.' NO! I don't want to see that. I don't want to set up that dynamic.
"I'm going to throw it out there," Bayless continued. "You also have the black/white dynamic and the majority of Redskins fans are white and it's just human nature if you're white to root for the white guy. It just happens in sports. Just like the black community will root for the black quarterback.
"I'm for the black guy. I'm just saying I don't like the dynamic for RGIII. It could stunt his growth in the NFL."
He also insinuated that subtle racism existed in the original selections of a black and a white quarterback in the same draft.
Full disclosure. I am not a Redskins fan. I follow the Steelers first and anyone with a prominent former West Virginia Mountaineer second. I do keep track of the Redskins because I like what I hear about Griffin III and want him to succeed (I refuse to call him RGIII because, sensibly, he finds the nickname annoying.) Kirk Cousins seems like he has great potential to follow the model of Frank Reich, Jason Garrett, and Gary Kubiak, great second string quarterbacks who do well when they get in and pick up conference and Super Bowl championship rings for their faithful service. And that is not small potatoes. Reich and Garrett had some very memorable moments playing for great teams. But they were never starter potential, their magic coming in short bursts, not long stretches.
But the main point of this rant is that fans love winners. Period. If the Redskins drafted one of Kentucky's blue people and he won at quarterback, they'd love him, To say that racial considerations override that is preposterous.
I remember when West Virginia University had two quarterbacks, one a white senior named Mike Timko, the other a freshman named Major Harris. Fans appreciated and loved Harris from the beginning and have never stopped. When Pat White showed himself to have a stronger skill set than Adam Bednarik, fans had no problem supporting White getting more and more snaps. Conversely, fans also preferred Jake Kelchner to Darren Studstill because Kelchner gave the team a better chance to win football games. Color never mattered to the WVU fan base. Marshall fans, same story. They loved Chad Pennington; they loved Byron Leftwich. The only quasi-racial statement I ever heard concerning Leftwich came from Mel Kiper, who projected that the molasses footed quarterback was like the fast and strong Daunte Culpepper. Leftwich's style and career actually tracked more like Bernie Kosar, who is still good company, but I digress.
The NFL and its fans have moved beyond the racist mindset that black guys can't play quarterback and white guys cannot play receiver or defensive back. In fact, the only people still mining the old prejudices and stereotypes are the media figures themselves (let us NOT call them journalists) who stir the pot for self-promotion.
Terrell Suggs was spot on when he told Skip Bayless in January to "Stop that. I know what you're doing. Be an analyst. Don't be a douchebag."
Bayless managed to insult the Washington D.C. metropolitan areas, all Redskins fans everywhere, Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins, everyone associated with the Washington Redskins, and common sense at large with the following statements:
"Some foolish Redskins fans — fans, foolish, doesn't that go together, right? — they're gonna sit back and say, 'God, RGIII was struggling. He fumbled, he threw a couple of bad passes. Maybe Kirk Cousins is better right now. Maybe we should go with Kirk.' NO! I don't want to see that. I don't want to set up that dynamic.
"I'm going to throw it out there," Bayless continued. "You also have the black/white dynamic and the majority of Redskins fans are white and it's just human nature if you're white to root for the white guy. It just happens in sports. Just like the black community will root for the black quarterback.
"I'm for the black guy. I'm just saying I don't like the dynamic for RGIII. It could stunt his growth in the NFL."
He also insinuated that subtle racism existed in the original selections of a black and a white quarterback in the same draft.
Full disclosure. I am not a Redskins fan. I follow the Steelers first and anyone with a prominent former West Virginia Mountaineer second. I do keep track of the Redskins because I like what I hear about Griffin III and want him to succeed (I refuse to call him RGIII because, sensibly, he finds the nickname annoying.) Kirk Cousins seems like he has great potential to follow the model of Frank Reich, Jason Garrett, and Gary Kubiak, great second string quarterbacks who do well when they get in and pick up conference and Super Bowl championship rings for their faithful service. And that is not small potatoes. Reich and Garrett had some very memorable moments playing for great teams. But they were never starter potential, their magic coming in short bursts, not long stretches.
But the main point of this rant is that fans love winners. Period. If the Redskins drafted one of Kentucky's blue people and he won at quarterback, they'd love him, To say that racial considerations override that is preposterous.
I remember when West Virginia University had two quarterbacks, one a white senior named Mike Timko, the other a freshman named Major Harris. Fans appreciated and loved Harris from the beginning and have never stopped. When Pat White showed himself to have a stronger skill set than Adam Bednarik, fans had no problem supporting White getting more and more snaps. Conversely, fans also preferred Jake Kelchner to Darren Studstill because Kelchner gave the team a better chance to win football games. Color never mattered to the WVU fan base. Marshall fans, same story. They loved Chad Pennington; they loved Byron Leftwich. The only quasi-racial statement I ever heard concerning Leftwich came from Mel Kiper, who projected that the molasses footed quarterback was like the fast and strong Daunte Culpepper. Leftwich's style and career actually tracked more like Bernie Kosar, who is still good company, but I digress.
The NFL and its fans have moved beyond the racist mindset that black guys can't play quarterback and white guys cannot play receiver or defensive back. In fact, the only people still mining the old prejudices and stereotypes are the media figures themselves (let us NOT call them journalists) who stir the pot for self-promotion.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Dr. Keynes Does Not Have the Right Prescription For West Virginia
Last week, Congressman Nick Joe Rahall claimed in a statement about federal money being spent on a new project at the Marshall University Medical School that:
“This is the perfect prescription any doctor of economics, worth his pie charts, would write for the economic health of our region, all of southern West Virginia, and for our nation,” said Rahall. “From a federal perspective, this school makes sense, not only to forge a needed link in our supply chain of pharmacists to keep the nation healthy, but as an economic engine, this school joins a host of Marshall vehicles to drive jobs in our local economy.”
The problem is that Congressman Rahall is dead wrong on the economic aspect. Maybe there is a demonstrated need for investment in health care in Southern West Virginia, maybe not. But that is where the congressman makes his strongest case.
Rahall's comments are flawed when it comes to economics. As Stephen Moore, economics editor of the Wall Street Journal points out at every opportunity, government spending is not a stimulus for overall economic growth. All it does is take from one and give to another. There is no measurable benefit.
Washington D.C. officials love to trumpet how their economy has stayed ahead of national indicators and use it as an example of how deficit spending spurs economic activity. What they do not acknowledge, however, is that they had to take money from elsewhere, Alaska, Nevada, West Virginia, Texas, etc. to fund the Leviathan that is our federal bureaucracy. Keynesian economics is only robbing Peter to subsidize Paul.
“This is the perfect prescription any doctor of economics, worth his pie charts, would write for the economic health of our region, all of southern West Virginia, and for our nation,” said Rahall. “From a federal perspective, this school makes sense, not only to forge a needed link in our supply chain of pharmacists to keep the nation healthy, but as an economic engine, this school joins a host of Marshall vehicles to drive jobs in our local economy.”
The problem is that Congressman Rahall is dead wrong on the economic aspect. Maybe there is a demonstrated need for investment in health care in Southern West Virginia, maybe not. But that is where the congressman makes his strongest case.
Rahall's comments are flawed when it comes to economics. As Stephen Moore, economics editor of the Wall Street Journal points out at every opportunity, government spending is not a stimulus for overall economic growth. All it does is take from one and give to another. There is no measurable benefit.
Washington D.C. officials love to trumpet how their economy has stayed ahead of national indicators and use it as an example of how deficit spending spurs economic activity. What they do not acknowledge, however, is that they had to take money from elsewhere, Alaska, Nevada, West Virginia, Texas, etc. to fund the Leviathan that is our federal bureaucracy. Keynesian economics is only robbing Peter to subsidize Paul.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Environmental Protection Agency Fights Coal and Even Liberal Local Governments
http://www.rockefeller.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=3f7b4e8f-b5a3-4a11-b455-06c1ba0c32e4
The above link goes to a press release this week from Senator Jay Rockefeller. In it , he cites a GAO report that claims that the EPA is not hurting the coal industry and won't kill it.
Just tell that to Patriot Coal, who declared bankruptcy last month. Or coal fired power plants shutting down.
An interesting tidbit claims that there is nothing new in these regulations, a statement true in itself.
These Clean Air Act rulemaking actions were put in motion over two decades ago. Former President George H.W. Bush signed the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 which determined that these EPA standards would come about. Whether President Obama is president, or if someone else was, these standards would still be going into effect now based on the timeline provided in the Clean Air Act Amendments and as a result of lawsuits stemming from former President George W. Bush’s tenure.
The problem is, however, that the enforcement has changed. I have spoken to coal company CEOs that have no issue whatsoever with environmental regulations, especially those up to 1991. Under Obama, enforcement has been uneven, prejudicial, and focused more on shutting down operations than finding ways to help keep workers on the job.
Federal courts have repeatedly slammed Obama's EPA as being out of control and reaching well beyond the statutory latitude allowed by Congress.
And it's not only coal. The liberal county government of Fairfax, Virginia is fighting the EPA. Federal regulators want them to spend tens of millions to lower the water levels of creeks to protect some species of worm.
This is bureaucracy out of control.
The above link goes to a press release this week from Senator Jay Rockefeller. In it , he cites a GAO report that claims that the EPA is not hurting the coal industry and won't kill it.
Just tell that to Patriot Coal, who declared bankruptcy last month. Or coal fired power plants shutting down.
An interesting tidbit claims that there is nothing new in these regulations, a statement true in itself.
These Clean Air Act rulemaking actions were put in motion over two decades ago. Former President George H.W. Bush signed the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 which determined that these EPA standards would come about. Whether President Obama is president, or if someone else was, these standards would still be going into effect now based on the timeline provided in the Clean Air Act Amendments and as a result of lawsuits stemming from former President George W. Bush’s tenure.
The problem is, however, that the enforcement has changed. I have spoken to coal company CEOs that have no issue whatsoever with environmental regulations, especially those up to 1991. Under Obama, enforcement has been uneven, prejudicial, and focused more on shutting down operations than finding ways to help keep workers on the job.
Federal courts have repeatedly slammed Obama's EPA as being out of control and reaching well beyond the statutory latitude allowed by Congress.
And it's not only coal. The liberal county government of Fairfax, Virginia is fighting the EPA. Federal regulators want them to spend tens of millions to lower the water levels of creeks to protect some species of worm.
This is bureaucracy out of control.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Former Marshall Coach Jim Donnan Named in Probe of Ponzi Scheme
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2012/2012-157.htm?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
SEC press release...that's Securities and Exchange Commission, not Southeastern Conference
2012-157
Washington, D.C., Aug. 16, 2012 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against a former college football coach who teamed with an Ohio man to conduct an $80 million Ponzi scheme that included other college coaches and former players among its victims.
The SEC alleges that Jim Donnan, a College Football Hall of Fame inductee who guided teams at Marshall University and the University of Georgia and later became a television commentator, conducted the fraud with his business partner Gregory Crabtree through a West Virginia-based company called GLC Limited. Donnan and Crabtree told investors that GLC was in the wholesale liquidation business and earning substantial profits by buying leftover merchandise from major retailers and reselling those discontinued, damaged, or returned products to discount retailers. They promised investors exorbitant rates of return ranging from 50 to 380 percent. However, only about $12 million of the $80 million raised from nearly 100 investors was actually used to purchase leftover merchandise, and the remaining funds were used to pay fake returns to earlier investors or stolen for other uses by Donnan and Crabtree.
“Donnan and Crabtree convinced investors to pour millions of dollars into a purportedly unique and profitable business with huge potential and little risk,” said William P. Hicks, Associate Director of the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office. “But they were merely pulling an old page out of the Ponzi scheme playbook, and the clock eventually ran out.”
According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in Atlanta, the scheme began in August 2007 and collapsed in October 2010. Donnan recruited the majority of investors by approaching contacts he made as a sports commentator and as a coach. For instance, he capitalized on his influence over one former player by telling him, “Your Daddy is going to take care of you” … “if you weren’t my son, I wouldn’t be doing this for you.” The player later invested $800,000.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Donnan touted GLC’s success and profitability and told investors that the company could enter into even more merchandise deals with more capital. Donnan and Crabtree offered and sold investments that were short-term (2 to 12 months) and purportedly high-yield, with returns paid to investors in monthly or quarterly installments or in a one-time payment. Donnan told investors their money was being used to purchase specific items of merchandise that was often presold, so there was little to no risk to investing in any deal. However, much of the merchandise that GLC actually purchased was merely left unsold and abandoned in warehouses in West Virginia and Ohio.
The SEC alleges that Donnan typically assured investors that he was investing along with them in any merchandise deal that he offered. He touted that he and other prominent college football coaches had successfully and profitably invested in GLC. But by the time the scheme collapsed, Donnan had actually siphoned more than $7 million away from GLC, and Crabtree misappropriated approximately $1.08 million in investor funds.
The SEC’s complaint charges Donnan, who lives in Athens, Ga., and Crabtree, who resides in Proctorville, Ohio, with violations of the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint also names two of Donnan’s children and his son-in-law as relief defendants for the purpose of recovering illicit funds that Donnan steered to them.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted in the Atlanta Regional Office by staff attorney Micheal D. Watson and Assistant Regional Director Stephen E. Donahue. The SEC’s litigation will be led by W. Shawn Murnahan.
SEC press release...that's Securities and Exchange Commission, not Southeastern Conference
SEC Charges College Football Hall of Fame Coach in $80 Million Ponzi Scheme
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE2012-157
Washington, D.C., Aug. 16, 2012 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against a former college football coach who teamed with an Ohio man to conduct an $80 million Ponzi scheme that included other college coaches and former players among its victims.
The SEC alleges that Jim Donnan, a College Football Hall of Fame inductee who guided teams at Marshall University and the University of Georgia and later became a television commentator, conducted the fraud with his business partner Gregory Crabtree through a West Virginia-based company called GLC Limited. Donnan and Crabtree told investors that GLC was in the wholesale liquidation business and earning substantial profits by buying leftover merchandise from major retailers and reselling those discontinued, damaged, or returned products to discount retailers. They promised investors exorbitant rates of return ranging from 50 to 380 percent. However, only about $12 million of the $80 million raised from nearly 100 investors was actually used to purchase leftover merchandise, and the remaining funds were used to pay fake returns to earlier investors or stolen for other uses by Donnan and Crabtree.
“Donnan and Crabtree convinced investors to pour millions of dollars into a purportedly unique and profitable business with huge potential and little risk,” said William P. Hicks, Associate Director of the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office. “But they were merely pulling an old page out of the Ponzi scheme playbook, and the clock eventually ran out.”
According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in Atlanta, the scheme began in August 2007 and collapsed in October 2010. Donnan recruited the majority of investors by approaching contacts he made as a sports commentator and as a coach. For instance, he capitalized on his influence over one former player by telling him, “Your Daddy is going to take care of you” … “if you weren’t my son, I wouldn’t be doing this for you.” The player later invested $800,000.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Donnan touted GLC’s success and profitability and told investors that the company could enter into even more merchandise deals with more capital. Donnan and Crabtree offered and sold investments that were short-term (2 to 12 months) and purportedly high-yield, with returns paid to investors in monthly or quarterly installments or in a one-time payment. Donnan told investors their money was being used to purchase specific items of merchandise that was often presold, so there was little to no risk to investing in any deal. However, much of the merchandise that GLC actually purchased was merely left unsold and abandoned in warehouses in West Virginia and Ohio.
The SEC alleges that Donnan typically assured investors that he was investing along with them in any merchandise deal that he offered. He touted that he and other prominent college football coaches had successfully and profitably invested in GLC. But by the time the scheme collapsed, Donnan had actually siphoned more than $7 million away from GLC, and Crabtree misappropriated approximately $1.08 million in investor funds.
The SEC’s complaint charges Donnan, who lives in Athens, Ga., and Crabtree, who resides in Proctorville, Ohio, with violations of the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint also names two of Donnan’s children and his son-in-law as relief defendants for the purpose of recovering illicit funds that Donnan steered to them.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted in the Atlanta Regional Office by staff attorney Micheal D. Watson and Assistant Regional Director Stephen E. Donahue. The SEC’s litigation will be led by W. Shawn Murnahan.
# # #
News!!!
http://mckinley.house.gov/press-releases/rep-mckinley-praises-positive-ruling-on-surface-mine-permitting-case/
Congressman McKinley offers praise for surface mining ruling
http://capito.house.gov/press-releases/capito-sends-letter-to-fema-asking-agency-to-reconsider-decision-to-deny-individual-disaster-assistance-to-residents-of-west-virginia/
Congresswoman Capito urges FEMA to grant disaster assistance to West Virginians
http://www.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=5346ea03-7afc-435e-952d-fe3a0f49a9b9
Senator Joe Manchin and Congressman Nick Joe Rahall applaud more federal spending to promote job growth, even though it has not worked in the past three years.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/16/catfish-regulations-whats-the-catch/
Daily Caller: Silly government program to protect us from catfish
http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/16/epa-actions-at-mine-could-hurt-220-billion-in-investments/
Daily Caller: EPA threatens to revoke permit on Alaska mining operation (didn't they already get slapped down for this?)
http://www.humanevents.com/2012/08/15/there-ought-not-to-be-a-law/
Human Events: John Stossel opines on the foolishness of reactive lawmaking
http://www.washingtonguardian.com/warrantless-cell-surveillance
Appeals court: No warrant needed to track GPS in cell phones
http://washingtonexaminer.com/feds-investigating-metro-over-stimulus-funded-contract/article/2505051#.UC0ep6DCSyE
Washington Examiner: D.C. Metro investigated for possible misuse of funds
Congressman McKinley offers praise for surface mining ruling
http://capito.house.gov/press-releases/capito-sends-letter-to-fema-asking-agency-to-reconsider-decision-to-deny-individual-disaster-assistance-to-residents-of-west-virginia/
Congresswoman Capito urges FEMA to grant disaster assistance to West Virginians
http://www.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=5346ea03-7afc-435e-952d-fe3a0f49a9b9
Senator Joe Manchin and Congressman Nick Joe Rahall applaud more federal spending to promote job growth, even though it has not worked in the past three years.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/16/catfish-regulations-whats-the-catch/
Daily Caller: Silly government program to protect us from catfish
http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/16/epa-actions-at-mine-could-hurt-220-billion-in-investments/
Daily Caller: EPA threatens to revoke permit on Alaska mining operation (didn't they already get slapped down for this?)
http://www.humanevents.com/2012/08/15/there-ought-not-to-be-a-law/
Human Events: John Stossel opines on the foolishness of reactive lawmaking
http://www.washingtonguardian.com/warrantless-cell-surveillance
Appeals court: No warrant needed to track GPS in cell phones
http://washingtonexaminer.com/feds-investigating-metro-over-stimulus-funded-contract/article/2505051#.UC0ep6DCSyE
Washington Examiner: D.C. Metro investigated for possible misuse of funds
Statement of Purpose (Why Is This Here?)
Welcome to the District of Columbia Mountaineer!
I ran a blog for about four years until last fall. It had serious aspirations at times of being a news-opinion blog about issues and politics from the local to the national level but it ran into a few problems.
First, it replicated what a lot of other people had been doing for a lot longer than I had. May I add that they also did it better!
The spread of topics was way too broad. It never occurred to me that at any given point, 2/3 of my audience didn't care about the topic of the day. Also I often used my blog for choir preaching. This always feels good, but it does very little to break new ground.
So I stopped. After several months of thinking about whether or not I even wanted to do a blog mixed with wondering how I could make it better, I figured some things out. The result is the District of Columbia Mountaineer.
This new blog is for those who are interested in government and policy based articles and issues that affect West Virginia either directly or indirectly. In part, this will be an aggregate site that will post articles, press releases, and other items from the nation's capitol that West Virginians might find interesting or useful.
I will also add my two cents when necessary or when I feel like it! I will try to hold to the standard of offering something new in each commentary, but I make no ironclad guarantees.
Warning. This site is free market in nature, meaning that its content will be most liked by folks who are most comfortable with the thinking at either Heritage Foundation or CATO. Basically anywhere between William F. Buckley and Ron Paul. But civil debate from anyone within the comment field is welcome and encouraged.
I ran a blog for about four years until last fall. It had serious aspirations at times of being a news-opinion blog about issues and politics from the local to the national level but it ran into a few problems.
First, it replicated what a lot of other people had been doing for a lot longer than I had. May I add that they also did it better!
The spread of topics was way too broad. It never occurred to me that at any given point, 2/3 of my audience didn't care about the topic of the day. Also I often used my blog for choir preaching. This always feels good, but it does very little to break new ground.
So I stopped. After several months of thinking about whether or not I even wanted to do a blog mixed with wondering how I could make it better, I figured some things out. The result is the District of Columbia Mountaineer.
This new blog is for those who are interested in government and policy based articles and issues that affect West Virginia either directly or indirectly. In part, this will be an aggregate site that will post articles, press releases, and other items from the nation's capitol that West Virginians might find interesting or useful.
I will also add my two cents when necessary or when I feel like it! I will try to hold to the standard of offering something new in each commentary, but I make no ironclad guarantees.
Warning. This site is free market in nature, meaning that its content will be most liked by folks who are most comfortable with the thinking at either Heritage Foundation or CATO. Basically anywhere between William F. Buckley and Ron Paul. But civil debate from anyone within the comment field is welcome and encouraged.
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