Wednesday, January 20, 2010
After a Crushing Loss in Massachusetts, Will Mollohan Fold on Healthcare?
"’Even in liberal Massachusetts, most voters are opposed to it,’ said Tom Jensen, director of Public Policy Polling, a Democratic pollster in Raleigh, N.C., who has conducted polls in that state and others on health care. "If it's not popular in Massachusetts, it's really not popular anywhere." (Janet Adamy & Naftali Bendavid, “Massachusetts Race Now Key to Health Bill,” Wall Street Journal, 1/18/2010)
“He said Democrats have learned a crucial lesson: that even in very blue states, Democrats should expect a ‘volatile’ environment with a ‘tough’ electorate — and ‘you can’t afford not to be aggressive.’” (Manu Raju, Jonathan Martin and John Bresnahan, “Finger-pointing begins for Democratic insiders,” Politico, 1/19/2010)
“’My message to my clients? Jump ship now,’ said one Democratic operative who advises a number of targeted Members of Congress. ‘Obama can't help you.’” (Chris Cillizza, “Scott Brown wins Massachusetts Senate special election race,” Washington Post, 1/20/2010)
Over the past few months, polling has consistently shown that support for Democrats and their healthcare overhaul is sagging.
“The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 38% of voters nationwide favor the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That matches the lowest level of support yet. Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters oppose the plan.” (“Health Care Reform” Rasmussen Reports, 1/18/2010)
The polling so far for red district Democrats has been uniformly atrocious… If you look at the RCP average, you see a sea of red markings showing Republicans leading the generic ballot test. It isn’t just Rasmussen Reports: CNN, Battleground, Bloomberg, and Gallup have all measured the GOP ahead in the generic ballot in the past few months.” (Sean Trende, “The House Is Very Much In Play,” Real Clear Politics, 1/19/2010)
Despite the writing on the wall, Pelosi remains adamant on pushing her reckless healthcare bill through Congress.
‘’Let’s remove all doubt,’ she added. ‘We will have health care one way or another.’” (Domenico Montanaro, “Congress: A speedy vote?,” MSNBC, 1/19/2009)
“With the cards stacked against him, Alan Mollohan's re-election campaign is going to make the Massachusetts special election look like a walk in the park,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “After serving as a consummate lap dog for Nancy Pelosi and her reckless healthcare bill, Mollohan has put himself in political jeopardy. The Democrats’ big-government, big-spending policies cost them a Senate seat in Massachusetts, now the question is: Will it cost Mollohan his own?”
With his job on the line, will Alan Mollohan fold on healthcare or will he continue to push himself out of office by being the lap dog West Virginia families know him to be?
Did Scott Brown's Election Save Highland Arts Unlimited's Funding?
Okay, Scott Brown winning in Massachusetts being the savior of our local Highland Arts Unlimited's state funding might be a stretch of logic. However, health care deform as currently proposed by Congress could eliminate state funding for these kinds of programs.The West Virginia State Constitution, unlike its federal counterpart, requires that the budget be balanced every year. We cannot go into debt. That is a pretty good idea that Congress may want to consider someday.
Health care deform, Obama and Pelosi style, will require that the State of West Virginia pick up the tab on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of medical care coverage for the elderly. It is yet another unfunded mandate where Congress tells a state they must do this or that, then declines to send money. In this case they cannot send money because thei idea is extremely expensive and they have already given much of the cash to ACORN anyway.
West Virginia, one of a very few states meeting all its obligations with a surplus to boot, would have to take on this massive new cost. Since we are overtaxed already, funding cuts to non essential programs would be necessary. Bye bye to other things such as state employee raises, including teachers. Health care deform as advocated by the left wing powers that be not only bankrupts the federal government and raises our taxes, it hurts everything.
Scott Brown's election proves that even many liberals hate health care deform and are suspicious of Obama and Reid. Hopefully it forces a complete reconsideration of this issue. Few people recall that Medicare took many years to create. The left wants to put a more massive program together in the space of one year, rushing it out the door after secret meetings, leaving states, companies, and individuals paying the bill for decades to come. Brown's election, hopefully, sends a message by conservatives and liberals that this monstrosity cannot pass as is.
And if that happens, West Virginia's budget will not be busted. And we can keep funding these programs that help brighten our community.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Scott Brown Wins Substantial Victory in Massachusetts Special Senatorial Election
With Over 60% of Precincts Reporting Scott Brown Leads
Scott Brown: the Latest Name to Keep Democrats Awake A Nights
Monday, January 18, 2010
Contact Your Republican Committee Members
The Dream
Two years ago I was getting to know West Virginia's Republican nominee for Secretary of State, Charles Minimah. Minimah, an immigrant from Nigeria, operated a home health care business in Charleston and ran the the request of the West Virginia Republican Party.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Gary Howell files his candidacy papers
Gary Howell files with the West Virginia Secretary of State's office making his candidacy for the 49th Delegate seat official.The Candidate stated "West Virginia is a great state but we also have some challenges that we need to solve. The most important of our challenges is getting the states economy moving again. People are hurting as they struggle to make ends meet. They're worried about their future, and that of their children and grandchildren. I want to ensure that we leave them a West Virginia that is economically stronger and independent with a superb educational system. "
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WVGOP Senate Caucus response to Gov. Manchin State of State Address
Republicans are worried that the democratic leadership is just covering up the problems until they become unfixable. Senator Barnes is urging state law makers to return back to basic conservative values that can save the state from a fiscal, energy, and taxation crisis.
Idiots?
A long time ago, a music enthusiast told me that the last place anyone should look for a reasonable opinion on music would be Rolling Stone. According to this source, the magazine specialized in slamming most good to decent new acts when they surfaced, only to love them after they were past their prime. Led Zeppelin was only one band that got this treatment. The magazine occupied a position hopelessly reactionary and establishment vis-a-vis the music and entertainment field.So if they fail so completely at music, why on earth should anyone listen to them when it comes to politics or science? Luckily most people don't, which is why right thinking individuals need not feel concern over their dramatic cover this week. It has the big red word "idiots" on the cover, and announces that it is listing the most dangerous people to the planet. Of course the topic is global warming.
An idiot would be someone who takes political and science advice from a music magazine, in my opinion. The dramatic, attention getting cover looks like a desperate act to beg people to convert to their anti-capitalist environmentalism that functions more like a religion than a science. They know they have just about lost this war. Luckily, Rolling Stone only preaches to the choir. Not many folks pay attention to their views on these issues.
I do not want to leave out the fact that this issue happened to appear only a week after Miami saw its temperatures plummet to thirty degrees. Augusta, Georgia saw ten degrees and snow falling (to the utter delight of my brother.) Around here we still have a snow blanket that was a week old at Christmas. God always seems to have His own answer for global warming advocates when they appear to issue dramatic warnings. Most Al Gore speeches come with unseasonably cold temperatures regardless of the season. The Copenhagen conference nearly had people freeze to death waiting to get in. And now this. Not to mention the fact that the top global warming scientists and institutions have engaged in full scale fraud to undermine any opposing points of view.
We are probably close to seeing this movement shift gears. Soon they will urge us that we have to act to prevent an ice age, not a global rise in temperatures. It's happened before, that's what these same people were saying in the 1970s.
We have to ignore these fools and
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Capito Floored by W.Va. Report on Health Bill’s Cost to State
WASHINGTON – West Virginia taxpayers could face hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs under federal health care legislation according to new tallies from officials at the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR). The new figures were included in a response to a request from Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., for an official estimate on how federal health care legislation’s expansion of Medicaid would impact the state budget.
The results are in and they’re not pretty. DHHR officials suggest that West Virginians could face at least $147 million or as much as $725 million in new costs under legislation approved by the Senate and House respectively.
“I’m completely floored by these numbers,” said Capito. “For a program that’s already bending under the prospect of huge deficits, this legislation will break it in half. I simply don’t know how our state can absorb such a massive new liability. State budgets are busting across the nation, and now Congress – under the guise of health reform – is asking them to add hundreds of millions of dollars in new costs. It’s irresponsible and it’s not sustainable.”
“We’ve already seen Nebraska exempted from this new burden, and now we know why,” she added. “How can we ask West Virginians to stand by and accept such an unfunded mandate?”
Capito made her request to the administration of Governor Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., in November, raising concerns about how expanding Medicaid – a program jointly funded by federal and state dollars – could force the state to raise new taxes or make cuts in services to come up with the funding.
Supporters of the Democratic health care bills often argue that expanding Medicaid will lead to cost savings from uncompensated care, but DHHR officials took such savings into account in their estimates and still project enormous new costs for West Virginia. If those savings aren’t realized, new taxpayer costs could balloon to more than $857 million.
“I know Secretary Hardy and her team have worked hard to come up with these estimates, and I applaud their hard work,” said Capito. “Yet these numbers must serve as a wake-up call to Democratic leaders in Congress. West Virginia taxpayers simply can’t afford to foot the bill for the Democrat plan.”
No More Mr. Tough Guy. No More Mr. Mean

In a ruling this week, U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan also said the government failed to establish that 23 statements the detainee made to interrogators at Guantanamo Bay were untainted by the earlier coerced statements made while he was held under harsh conditions in Afghanistan. (Hat tip to Redstate.com)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Looking Ahead to the State Legislative Session

Monday, January 11, 2010
Public Service Commission of West Virginia Grants Siting Certificate for Pinnacle Wind Farm at NewPage
"Pinnacle is delighted that the public service commission has granted the permit. While we have not yet had the opportunity to review the entire order, we are ready to put skilled West Virginians to work building this clean, renewable energy project. We anticipate that construction will likely begin once the terms of a power purchase agreement are finalized", said Dave Friend, vice president of US Wind Force.
The 23 turbine Pinnacle Wind Farm at NewPage will be located on Green Mountain, near Keyser WV, in Mineral County. The turbines will generate approximately 55 megawatts of power, which is enough electricity for over 14,000 households. The cost to construct the project is estimated at $130 million. County property taxes are projected to average more than $433,000 annually, placing it among the county's largest taxpayers. Additionally, Pinnacle has voluntarily committed to establish a community benefit fund that will provide locally controlled financial resources for community projects throughout the life of the project.NewPage Corporation, the largest coated paper manufacturer in North America, is partnering with the project by placing six of the turbines on NewPage property near the company's Luke, Maryland facility. “NewPage is proud to partner strategically with US Wind Force, especially during a time when our country is facing significant energy challenges. This partnership is an example of our commitment to support the growth of sustainable energy and is consistent with our goal to continuously explore renewable energy opportunities for our facilities," said David Bonistall, vice president, environmental, health and safety for NewPage.
As part of the project planning process, a Community Advisory Panel (CAP) was established to create an ongoing dialogue with community members from the Keyser, New Creek, Piedmont, and Elk Garden areas. Members continue to meet to discuss the project and its progress. In addition to meeting with CAP members, US Wind Force has met with local civic and service organizations in Mineral County and conducted open house events. Friend added, "[W]e appreciate the tremendous amount of support the project has received from stakeholders in the local community and their willingness to provide valuable input throughout this phase of the process."
To learn more about the Pinnacle Project, please visit the US Wind Force website at www.uswindforce.com. Project area residents may stop by one of the community information repositories located at the Keyser Public Library, the Elk Garden Community School, and the Piedmont Public Library to see a copy of the application. A toll-free project line, 1-866-929-4429, is also available to anyone with questions about the project.
US Wind Force, LLC, based in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, is a privately held developer of utility-scale wind energy projects.
EMG companies rank as the seventh largest developer of wind energy projects in the United States with a current portfolio of 27 wind projects capable of producing more than 1,500 MW of electricity in operation or under construction in 10 states, including two projects in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. EMG also operates a power generating facility in Grant Town, West Virginia, which uses waste coal to generate electricity. EMG is headquartered in Irvine, California and is a subsidiary of Edison International.
Double Standard

