Free Republic

Time may already have run out for Americans to defeat President Barack Obama in his war against the coal industry. Many utility companies already have run up the white flag. Before millions of people even knew about the war on coal, decisions were made that will send their utility bills skyrocketing. Some of those choices are irreversible. A few weeks ago it was revealed at least 32 coal-fired power plants in 12 states, including West Virginia and Ohio, would be closed so utility companies could comply with the Obama administration's air pollution regulations. On the list was the Kammer Plant...

Lincoln County, West Virginia, is a poor place whose chief export is Chuck Yeager. What it lacks in money, Lincoln County adds in entertainment. Its elections are liar’s poker among the Democratic Party factions. There are too few Republicans to matter, and so it is the Democratic Party primaries where the cheating occurs. For 14 years, Democratic County Assessor Jerry Weaver and Democratic Circuit Clerk Greg Stowers fixed elections. The feds caught them. They went to prison. Jerry Weaver got out and decided to run for sheriff. He figured since the current sheriff Democrat Jerry Bowman and his buddy, Democratic...

The trouble with situational ethics is that it leaves you with no morals and without morals it is difficult to be morally superior to anyone. This reduces liberals to whining about hypocrisy all the time by holding the other guy to his high standards and being smug about it. The irony is that in order to apply those higher standards liberals must admit that those higher standards are meaningful. If indeed adultery were nothing, they would not mention a 40-year-old affair by Henry Hyde. But cries of hypocrisy are all that is left to them. They sound a lot like...

n his New York Times bestselling book, Throw Them All Out, Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer revealed how members of Congress enrich themselves and their relatives using earmarks and insider information. Now, the Washington Post, following in Schweizer’s footsteps, has conducted a study that found 16 members of Congress have used their power of the purse to benefit companies, colleges, and community groups tied to their relatives. *snip* Among those cited in the Washington Post report were the following (below):

Reid’s floor maneuvers leave some Senate Democrats frustratedBy Alexander Bolton - 02/07/12 05:15 AM ET Some Democrats are grumbling over how Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has run the floor this year. The frustration is felt mostly among junior lawmakers, who want more of a role in decision-making and have yet to resign themselves to the traditional pace of the Senate, where seniority rules and lawmakers often have to wait years to have significant influence. They say Reid’s style leaves them feeling out of the loop. Colleagues have second-guessed Reid’s decision to greenlight a deal with Republicans on the...

West Virginia likely will land a $2 billion cracker that will convert the “wet” natural gas in the Marcellus shale into a cheap feedstock for plastics and the like. This will be cheaper than oil-based feedstock. Not only will this mean thousands of jobs in West Virginia to run the plant, the cracker could also help revive West Virginia’s chemical industry, particularly in the Kanawha Valley (Charleston — the state’s capital and suburb of Poca). When I moved here in 1984, we had 15,000 chemical jobs. Today we are lucky if we have 1,500. Naturally, liberals oppose the cracker. They...

UPDATE: 1/31/2012 6:36 PM A proud Parkersburg South Patriot mascot is ready to fight for his school spirit and the for the right to carry his musket. "Anywhere you see the symbol of the patriot, he's carrying his gun. It's painted on the walls of the school. He has his gun with him. I feel that it's part of his uniform," Alex Burdette, the mascot wearing senior says. This muzzle loading mascot is ready to go to war for a Parkersburg South tradition. "I first realized there was a problem when at certain away games the security guards would come...

Parkersburg Police tell us the homeowner fired a shot at the man. But there's much more to this story, and more than one robber. Bobby Oliver told police a white male broke into his home through a side door and went up to the third floor. On his way back down, Oliver was waiting. He fired one shot at the burglar with his pistol, but missed. As the suspect ran away Oliver saw another man on his back porch. Both ran through the back yard. There are no leads right now, but police are hoping the community will help. "I...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va — Republican Bill Maloney said Thursday he’s ready to finish what he started last year, win the Republican primary in May and then defeat incumbent Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin in the race for West Virginia governor.

AS I sat across the long table from state Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, at a meeting with the Daily Mail editorial board on Monday, one question kept rolling in my mind. Why is the answer always a new law? Foster, Delegate Don Purdue, D-Wayne, and others were pitching a bill to the editorial board. Foster, a surgeon now working as an administrator, has considered meth labs and decided the only way to reduce their number is to make West Virginians get a doctor’s prescription to buy cold medications like Sudafed that contain pseudoephedrine. He dismissed an industry plan to tighten...

Crap, I have to say something nice about the West Virginia Legislature. It ain’t easy being a curmudgeon when public officials do the right thing. But last night the state Senate passed a big tax break for construction of a cracker — a billion-dollar machine that takes natural gas and converts it into a cheap feedstock for plastic. This will mean thousands of jobs, including more than 1,000 six-figure jobs in one of the nation’s poorest states. Plus, the feedstock produced is cheaper than oil-based feedstocks, which will reduce the nation’s dependency on Middle East oil. people overlook the fact...

TEAYS VALLEY - Neighbors who saw a Husson's Pizza delivery driver shoot a would be assailant are praising him as a hero. Delivery driver Morgan Vandergriff pulled a concealed handgun and shot DeSean Saunders in the arm and chest after an alleged robbery attempt. "I may order from this place more often," said Sable Point Apartment resident Vinny Masi. "I like this guy. I like what he did. Vandergriff reportedly has had his conceal and carry permit for nearly 10 years, but this is the first time he's ever had to use it. That weapon is the first Husson Pizza...

5 Unusual Sales Taxes You Need To Avoid With the economy still struggling, states are getting fairly crafty with how they charge consumers via sales taxes. It's no secret that dubious, yet all-too enforceable government laws have been with us since the dawn of the civilized world. In ancient Egypt, the pharaohs taxed cooking oil – of course, the main seller of cooking oil was the pharaoh. During the first century AD, the Roman empire taxed urine – a popular source of ammonia for common tasks like tanning hides and cleaning clothes. Then at the height of the Dark Ages...

I have no objection to the word hillbilly. Man High School in southern West Virginia calls its teams the Hillbillies. The word is colorful and accurate. But when you use the word in a derogatory way to slam someone who is not a hillbilly, then I take offense. The editorial board of the Los Angeles Times did just that on Martin Luther King Day. In an editorial taking a swipe at the governor of Texas, the editorial board took a swipe at hillbillies. He is a cowboy, not a hillbilly. The editorial itself was peculiar: Rick Perry is not the...

After rumbling 99 yards for a touchdown on a fumble recovery in the second quarter, West Virginia safety Darwin Cook banged into Obie, the Orange Bowl mascot, sending them both tumbling to the ground. That was more resistance than any Clemson tacklers offered Wednesday night. In a scintillating display of offense while at the same time humiliating showing on defense, the No. 23 Mountaineers crushed the No. 15 Tigers 70-33 in the Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. There's not enough room here to list all the records West Virginia set. The most amazing was breaking the mark for most...

RAND, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Neighbors in one community are being extra cautious after an alarming wake-up call early Friday morning. It was the sound of gun shots. The man who pulled the trigger damaged someone else’s property, but told deputies it happened while he was protecting his own. Click here to find out more! “I just thought it was firecrackers, but it was pretty loud for firecrackers,” Ronald Richardson, a neighbor, said. It wasn't until a deputy showed up at Richardson's door that he realized what that noise actually was. “Then I knew what had happened. Someone shot something back...

PARKERSBURG - A temporary extension of the Social Security payroll tax has infuriated a West Virginia senator. Sen. Joe Manchin said the two-month extension is a failure for the American people. "I am furious and disgusted that anyone could imagine this stopgap measure is the best that Congress could offer hard-working Americans, seniors and the unemployed," Manchin, a Democrat, said. "Delaying a decision for another two months makes no sense, especially when Congress will not be working for one of those months. Only in Washington would you get a month off for failing to do your job. West Virginians and...

Dem Keystone support creates tougher fight for Reid, ObamaBy Alexander Bolton - 12/16/11 04:08 PM ET Republicans want to jam Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on the Keystone oil sands pipeline and the Democratic leader will have a tough time resisting, given support within his caucus for the project. GOP leaders have made clear to Reid that they will not approve an extension of the payroll tax holiday unless it includes language to speed up construction of the pipeline. Senate Republicans estimate as many as 14 Senate Democrats support the project. Labor unions have also voiced strong backing, complicating...

Jessica Lynch was just 19 when the world first saw her — a broken, blond soldier caught on combat video in Iraq, her face wearing something between a grimace and a grin. The Army supply clerk was being carried on a stretcher after nine days as a prisoner of war. She had been captured along with five others after the 507th Maintenance Company took a wrong turn and came under attack in Nasiriyah on March 23, 2003. Eleven of her fellow soldiers died. Lynch had joined the Army at 18 to earn money for college and become a school teacher....

The prospect of widespread long-term availability of wet natural gas rich in ethane, propane and other heavier hydrocarbons produced from shale plays is spurring a dramatic rise in the long-term global competitiveness of U.S. petrochemical manufacturing. Motivated by the favorable economics of using natural gas liquids (NGL) feedstocks rather than naphtha, major players in the domestic chemicals sector are busy modifying their production facilities to take advantage of cheap and abundant ethane. In Shell Chemicals' case, the company is considering building a multibillion-dollar complex from scratch in one of the country's hottest shale gas plays: the Marcellus. "A key strand...

The West Virginia Film Office has denied tax credits to a company planning an MTV reality series, citing concerns that the show "Buck Wild" will negatively portray the state's young male residents. Director Pam Haynes tells The Charleston Gazette (http://bit.ly/s6lwly) that New Remote Productions Inc. applied twice, in May and July. It was denied both times. The Film Industry Investment Act offers tax credits of up to 31 percent for companies that film in West Virginia, but Haynes said the law is clear: Participation is prohibited for derogatory productions. The executive producer of "Buck Wild," J.P. Williams of Parallel Entertainment,...

MARTINSBURG, W.Va.— About a dozen gun enthusiasts picketed Friday afternoon in front of Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, but their real target was Berkeley County Prosecutor Pamela Games-Neely. Friday's picketers, all of whom wore guns, openly and concealed, belong to the West Virginia Citizens Defense League, a legislative lobbying group. They contend that the Second Amendment and West Virginia law gives them the right to carry guns on college and university campuses. The issue stemmed from the October arrest of Joshua Lee Beck, 26, a Blue Ridge Community and Technical College student and former Martinsburg correctional officer, who allegedly...

States of mind On its own, where you live isn't enough to make you depressed. Personal circumstances and genes also play an important role in mental health, so an area that feels like a downer to one person may be home sweet home to another. That said, mental distress is unusually and persistently common in some states, whether due to economic troubles, lack of access to health care, or other factors. Using data from federal health agencies, Health.com has identified the 10 states with the highest rates of depression, psychological distress, and other indicators of poor mental health. Here they...

Sen. Joe Lieberman was treated like an outcast back in 2008 when he broke from the Senate Democratic Caucus and openly opposed Barack Obama’s bid for the White House. Asked last week if he’d back Obama in 2012, the Connecticut independent said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.” This time around, there may be more Liebermans. A number of moderate Democrats like Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar and liberals like Sen. Bernie Sanders are declining to give their unqualified support for the president, saying they’re either too focused on their own races or are calling on the White House...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Democrat-controlled Senate on Thursday rejected a Republican attempt to block a regulation intended to curb power plant pollution that blows downwind into other states. By a 56-41 vote, senators defeated a resolution by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who said the step was needed to rein in what he called the Obama administration's overzealous job-killing approach to environmental protection. "We are simply asking that the clean air regulations already on the books stay in place and we do not make the regulations so onerous that they put utility plants out of business and we have an...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Charleston landlord held a suspect at gunpoint until police arrived Sunday after being surprised at a West Side rental unit. Kevin Comer, 35, of Charleston, was checking on an apartment he owns on West Washington Street at about 6:30 p.m. when he was surprised by a man coming in behind him, said Sgt. Eric Hodges of the Charleston Police Department. Hodges said the suspect, later identified as Gary Wayne Mullins, 50, of Charleston, was acting strangely and appeared to be reaching for a gun. At that point Comer, who has a license to carry a concealed...

West Virginia --(Ammoland.com)- As some of you are likely aware, Berkeley County Prosecutor Pamela Games-Neely sent a letter to the legislature ranting in true Sarah Brady fashion about the lack of a law preventing lawful carry of firearms on college and university campuses. Her rant requested a ban of carry on all such institutions. Thanks to Delegate Larry Kump (a true believer in your Second Amendment rights) for bringing this to our attention. Gun owners in the Panhandle had better be paying attention to this one. This truly matters to you. Law enforcement and prosecutors have, and constantly utilize a...

A proposed anti-bullying policy for West Virginia schools acknowledges that sexual orientation and gender identity are common reasons for harassment. The state Department of Education is taking public comments until 4 p.m. Tuesday about the 75-page student conduct and disciplinary policy that the Board of Education will consider Dec. 14. If approved, changes that specifically acknowledge the targeting of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students would go into effect July 1, 2012.

ORIGINAL STORY 11/2/11 @ 10:53 a.m. ST.ALBANS, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Police are on the scene of a shooting on Custer Street in St. Albans. Dispatchers say a man was breaking into a house, when the homeowner shot him twice in the leg. This all happened about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday. No other details are being released. We have a crew headed to the scene. Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information. UPDATE 11/2/2011 @ 11:30 a.m. ST. ALBANS, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Police are on the scene of a shooting on Custer Street in St. Albans. It happened about 10:45 a.m....

BERKELEY COUNTY, W. VA - On the same day felony charges against a student who allegedly carried a gun onto campus were dropped, new misdemeanor charges were filed. On Tuesday, Joshua Beck, who holds a permit to carry a concealed weapon, faced two felony charges and a maximum sentence of 20 years for allegedly carrying his handgun on the campus of Blue Ridge Community and Technical College. On Wednesday, prosecutors dropped those charges, but then filed two misdemeanor charges. "These new charges are just simply a stretch, and now the Prosecutor's office has resorted to dredging the bottom of the...

I am pleased to be able to report that yesterday, the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney's office dismissed both charges of carrying a firearm on school property that were filed over the last couple of weeks against Joshua Beck. Mr. Beck, as you will recall, is a 26-year-old student at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College in Martinsburg who was arrested on October 13 and again on October 17 on two separate felony charges under W.Va. Code § 61-7-11a(b). Subsequent to Mr. Beck's arrest and WVCDL's initial report about his case, Mr. Beck contacted me and I agreed to represent him...

Blue Ridge Community and Technical College student disputes illegally taking gun onto campus MARTINSBURG - Individuals at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College have an anti-gun agenda, says a man arrested last week for toting a gun on campus. Joshua Lee Beck says BRCTC is trying to paint him as a bad guy. "They're only pressing this after they found out what I did for a living," Beck told The Journal Tuesday. "Their treatment of me is outrageous and unlawful. I find the allegations slanderous, outrageous and insulting." Beck, 26, of Martinsburg, has been arrested and charged twice for allegedly...

MARTINSBURG - A Martinsburg man arrested last week for allegedly carrying a concealed firearm onto the campus of Blue Ridge Community and Technical College was arrested again Monday without incident at the school on a second felony warrant in connection with a separate, firearm-related incident. The warrant issued Monday charges 26-year-old Joshua L. Beck, of Teal Road, with possession of a deadly weapon on the premises of an educational facility. Beck's arrest Monday stems from an incident on Oct. 10 when he allegedly brought a firearm into the college. According to school officials, Beck had been warned several times not...

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Blue Ridge Community and Technical College canceled classes Thursday afternoon and remained closed Friday after a 26-year-old student was arrested for allegedly bringing a concealed firearm into the school's technical center, officials said. Joshua Lee Beck of 674 Teal Road, Martinsburg, was charged with one felony count of carrying a deadly weapon onto the grounds of a college campus, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court documents. Blue Ridge CTC announced it would reopen Monday, attributing the closure on its website to "a safety concern." "At no time was there any active threat," the college said Friday evening...

MORGANTOWN, W.VA. - The No.3-ranked West Virginia rifle team defeated No. 12 Nebraska, 4667-4610, today at the NU Rifle Range, in Lincoln, Neb. The Mountaineers (2-0, 1-0 GARC) topped the Huskers (0-2, 0-1 GARC) in both guns, winning air rifle, 2354-2325, and smallbore, 2313-2285. Petra Zublasing Seniors Justin Pentz and Michael Kulbacki, junior Petra Zublasing, redshirt-freshman Thomas Kyanko and freshman Taylor Ciotola combined for the team’s scores. “Petra was the highlight, but there were a lot of good performances in there,” says coach Jon Hammond. “Overall it was a good, steady start to the season. Hopefully we will shoot higher...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Prosecutors have agreed to drop the murder charges against a St. Albans man accused of gunning down two people in August, and will not seek any more charges in the case. Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Plants said Wednesday that the evidence in Charlie Booker's case indicates that he shot and killed Joseph E. Miller and Billy Dodd in self-defense after the two men, carrying deadly weapons, confronted him in front of his wife and son. "He had a reasonable belief that his life was in danger," Plants said during a news conference. "Based on that, there's...

Obama's approval rating in West Virginia fell from 32% in September to 28% on our October poll conducted right before last week's election. He barely even has plurality approval from Democrats at 45/44 and support from independents (16/69) and Republicans (5/91) is virtually nonexistent. Obama's deficits against his potential Republican opponents are worse than they were a month ago as well. He trails Mitt Romney by 21 points at 54-33, Rick Perry by 16 at 52-36, Newt Gingrich by 15 at 51-36

So if somebody wants to build a coal-fired plant they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them… – Barack Obama speaking to San Francisco Chronicle, January 2008 The United States has the world’s largest coal resources. In fact we have 50 percent more coal than Russia, the country with the next largest reserves. But coal use in the United States is under assault. Before becoming President, Barak Obama promised to bankrupt coal companies. As President, he has tried various strategies to force Americans to use less coal. After failing to pass a national energy tax (cap-and-trade), the President vowed...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Milan "Mike" Puskar, co-founder of the third-largest generic pharmaceuticals company in the world and longtime donor to West Virginia University, died Friday at age 77. Puskar died at 8:30 p.m. in Morgantown after a battle with cancer, said Steve Lorenze, his business partner. In 1961, Puskar co-founded Mylan Laboratories Inc. in Morgantown. The company began as a distributor, buying finished goods and reselling them to pharmacies and physicians. In 1966, it received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to manufacture its first medicine, Penicillin G. Mylan now is a Fortune 500 company with headquarters in...

From Metro News: “With more than half of the state’s precincts reporting results, acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is holding a steady five to seven-point lead over Republican Bill Maloney in the special election for governor.” It was closer than I thought. What can I say? It is a Democratic state. The Associated Press report: CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin has won a special election for governor in West Virginia, overcoming Republican attempts to tie him to President Barack Obama and the health care plan. Tomblin has served as acting governor since Joe Manchin stepped down in...

Live TV broadcast with results and comments Bad guy is leading, but they expect a long night

114 of 1,883 precincts - 6 percent Earl Ray Tomblin, Dem 18,730 - 50 percent Bill Maloney, GOP 17,521 - 46 percent Bob Henry Baber, Mnt 962 - 3 percent Marla Ingels, Ind 342 - 1 percent Harry Bertram, Oth 167 - 0 percent

PPP (D) Nebraska 2012 GOP Primary Survey Herman Cain 30% Newt Gingrich 16% (18%) Mitt Romney 13% (15%) Michele Bachmann 10% Rick Perry 10% Ron Paul 5% (8%) Rick Santorum 4% Jon Huntsman 2% Someone else/Undecided 10% (12%) Favorable / Unfavorable {Net} Newt Gingrich 49% (50%) / 32% (24%) {+17%} Michele Bachmann 44% / 31% {+13%} Mitt Romney 45% (51%) / 34% (23%) {+11%} Rick Perry 35% / 35% {0%} Ron Paul 25% / 46% {-21%} Survey of 400 usual Nebraska Republican primary voters was conducted September 30 – October 2, 2011. The margin of error is +/- 4.9 percentage...

Got to admit, I didn't even know it was happening until this weekend. And I'm seeing tons of tweets from RockTheVote, CollegeDemocrats, etc., all the usual Dem suspects about it, but none from our side...

WHEELING, W.Va. -- Even the experts find the outcome of Tuesday's gubernatorial election in this state hard to predict. They're watching it, in part, to gauge the mood of the electorate. This unsettled race matches acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, 59, against Republican Bill Maloney, 52, of Morgantown. Tomblin is a teacher and businessman from Chapmanville who spent 36 years in the legislature. Maloney, an industrial engineer and drilling company owner, is making his first run for political office. The national parties invested time and money in this race -- the Democratic Governors Association and Republican Governors Association each spent...

Tomorrow, West Virginia voters go to the polls to choose their next governor in a special election necessitated by Joe Manchin’s election to the Senate last year. Manchin won that seat as a popular Democrat in a conservative, which his lieutenant governor, Earl Ray Tomblin, hoped would suffice to keep the seat away from Republicans. He entered the race with a 33-point lead in polling over his GOP challenger Billy Maloney, but Democratic pollster PPP now says it’s a dead heat: The race for Governor of West Virginia is looking more and more like a toss up, with Democrat Earl...

West Virginia too close to call The race for Governor of West Virginia is looking more and more like a toss up, with Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin now leading Republican Bill Maloney only 47-46. Tomblin's lead was 46-40 on a poll conducted at the beginning of September and he had led by as large a margin as 33 points earlier in the year.

Chesapeake Energy and other oil and gas companies are setting their sights on the untapped potential of eastern Ohio's Utica shale play, which could significantly bolster the state's economy through the creation of oil and gas jobs, said industry officials on Wednesday at the 21st Century Energy & Economic Summit at Ohio State University in Columbus. Ohio was home to some of the nation's earliest oil and gas activity, with over 8.5 Tcf of gas and 1.14 billion barrels of oil produced since 1860. Until recently, oil and gas exploration and production has been primarily focused on sandstone and limestone...

Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has a 10-point lead over Republican businessman Bill Maloney in the upcoming special gubernatorial election, according to a poll released Thursday by Mellman Group, Inc. The Democratic Governors Association paid for the poll that surveyed 500 likely voters in telephone interviews from Sept. 16 - 19. According to the poll, 46 percent of voters are behind Tomblin, while only 36 support Maloney. Another 18 percent of likely voters are still undecided, the poll says. Tomblin also holds a 32 percent to 21 percent lead over Maloney in the number of voters who "strongly support" his...