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Post by ntsf on Aug 5, 2022 22:05:16 GMT
even if he has the money.. and it seems he does..that should hurt
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lindas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,306 
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Post by lindas on Aug 5, 2022 22:07:12 GMT
So Sinema got the carried interest loophole removed and Manchin got a pipeline. So much for taxing the rich and eliminating dependence on fossil fuels. “ com·pro·mise/ˈkämprəˌmīz/nounan agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions.”
It’s called a compromise. That wasn’t a compromise, that was a fold to get it done before the recess. Democrats talk a good game about taxes and climate but when push comes to shove they’re willing abandon two of their biggest talking points. |
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 5, 2022 22:53:51 GMT
God these guys are delusional….
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Post by aj2hall on Aug 5, 2022 23:17:49 GMT
“ com·pro·mise/ˈkämprəˌmīz/nounan agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions.”
It’s called a compromise. That wasn’t a compromise, that was a fold to get it done before the recess. Democrats talk a good game about taxes and climate but when push comes to shove they’re willing abandon two of their biggest talking points. They didn't abandon climate change or taxing corporations. The plan is far from perfect and a lot of Democrats wanted more. But none of the Republicans were willing to sign the bill. Manchin and Sinema are problematic but not as problematic as 50 Republican senators. in a 50-50 senate, the Democrats can't be more progressive than the 49th or 50th Senator. I wish they hadn't conceded the tax loophole for hedge fund managers but the reality is the managers would probably find another loophole. That doesn't mean Democrats shouldn't try again if they gain 2 Senate seats in November. The pipeline is less than ideal, but the measures in the bill far outweigh the negative impacts of the pipeline, except to people living near the pipeline. The projection is that emissions will be reduced by 40% by 2023. I think the name of the bill is somewhat misleading but here's what is still in the bill 15% minimum tax corporations IRS tax enforcement Prescription drug price negotiation www.nytimes.com/2022/07/28/climate/biden-climate-deal-key-provisions.htmlAuto industry. Currently, taxpayers can get up to $7,500 in tax credits for purchasing an electric vehicle, but there is a cap on how many cars from each manufacturer are eligible. The new bill would eliminate this cap and extend the tax credit until 2032; used cars would also qualify for a credit of up to $4,000. Energy industry. The bill would provide billions of dollars in rebates for Americans who buy energy efficient and electric appliances and tax credits for companies that build new sources of emissions-free electricity, such as wind turbines and solar panels. It would also set aside $60 billion to encourage clean energy manufacturing in the United States. It would also require businesses to pay a financial penalty per metric ton for methane emissions that exceed federal limits starting in 2024. The bill also expands a tax credit for companies that capture and bury carbon dioxide from natural gas power plants or other industrial facilities before the gas escapes into the atmosphere and heats the planet — a technology rarely used today because of high costs. It would also provide tax breaks to keep existing nuclear plants running. More than 13 reactors have closed nationwide since 2013, and emissions often rise when they do because they tend to be replaced by fossil fuels. It would also provide grants and tax credits for states and electric utilities to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Low-income communities. The bill would invest over $60 billion to support low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately burdened by effects of climate change. This includes grants for zero-emissions technology and vehicles, as well as money to mitigate the negative effects of highways, bus depots and other transportation facilities. Help for people to lower energy costs. The bill aims to lower energy costs by investing $9 billion in rebates for Americans buying and retrofitting their homes with energy efficient and electric appliances. It also includes a decade of consumer tax credits that would lower the cost of heat pumps, rooftop solar, water heaters and electric HVAC, or electric heating, ventilation and air conditioning technologies. Investments in domestic manufacturing. The package sets aside $60 billion for clean energy manufacturing in the U.S., including $30 billion in production tax credits for solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and critical minerals processing and $10 billion in investment tax credits to build manufacturing facilities that make electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies. These provisions are intended to halt and reverse the migration of clean-energy manufacturing overseas to countries like China. The bill would also invest $500 million through the Defense Production Act for heat pumps and critical minerals processing. The bill would also set aside $27 billion toward a “green bank” aimed at deploying clean energy projects, particularly in disadvantaged communities.nited States. It would also require businesses to pay a financial penalty per metric ton for methane emissions that exceed federal limits starting in 2024. Cracking down on methane. The bill would also impose a fee on excess methane leaking from oil and gas wells, pipelines and other infrastructure. Methane is a particularly powerful greenhouse gas: While it dissipates more quickly than carbon dioxide, it is many times more potent when it comes to heating the atmosphere. Polluters would pay a penalty of $900 per metric ton of methane emissions that exceed federal limits in 2024, increasing to $1,500 per metric ton in 2026. Agriculture and forests. An additional $20 billion would be set aside for programs to cut emissions that come from cows and other livestock, as well as from agricultural soil and rice production. Agriculture generates about 11 percent of the greenhouse gases emitted by the United States, according to the government. The bill would also fund grants to support forest conservation, the development of fire-resilient forests and increased urban tree planting, along with the conservation and restoration of coastal habitats. www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2022/08/02/the-inflation-reduction-act-is-the-most-important-climate-action-in-us-history/?sh=61e8ea27434dwww.npr.org/transcripts/1114627168www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/inflation_reduction_act_one_page_summary.pdf |
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 6, 2022 2:56:07 GMT
Another truly awful person who walks among us.
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 6, 2022 3:04:35 GMT
I couldn’t figure out what this was all about…
So I asked Google..
“Capitol attack convict Brandon Straka weeps in a cage as he brings his January 6 'silent disco' performance art to CPAC - and Marjorie Taylor Greene climbs in to pray with him
Brandon Straka was convicted on misdemeanour charges after the Jan 6 attack
He admitted shouting, ' Go, go, go,' as the mob stormed the U.S. Capitol
He appeared at CPAC Texas in a one-man show sitting in a cage and weeping
Viewers were given headsets to hear testimony of other people arrested
He said he wanted to highlight the disproportionate suffering of people convicted of minor crimes during the Capitol riot
'I think I have a lot of pent up pain and anxiety and fear,' he told DailyMail.com “
These people are just plain nuts.
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 6, 2022 3:19:49 GMT
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Post by dizzycheermom on Aug 6, 2022 3:21:28 GMT
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Post by aj2hall on Aug 6, 2022 4:24:44 GMT
I thought this was a really moving opinion about Kentucky and climate change from someone who lives there. I think it shows how complex people are and how it's never as simple as just voting smarter or better. Gift article - no paywall wapo.st/3vLo6UR |
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Post by aj2hall on Aug 6, 2022 4:46:23 GMT
It seems to me the two Senators from Kentucky instead of being assholes should work to find ways to solve the problems the people of the state they supposedly represent face. This is disgraceful. These folks should not have to live like this. The reason you elect people and send them off to Congress is to bring home the “bacon”. And one of the jobs of governors is to bring new industry/jobs to their state. What in heaven’s name do you think Gavin Newsom is doing? He is targeting states where CA has lost jobs to and pointing out why they come on home to CA. From the New York Times…. link” How Coal Mining and Years of Neglect Left Kentucky Towns at the Mercy of Flooding”Actually, McConnell has brought money to the state. In Dec 2019, he secured nearly $1 billion for Kentucky. In Paducah, Kentucky, he secured federal money for a uranium mine. When it was discovered that it was poisoning people, he secured $1 Billion to help workers and the local community. That's part of the reason why he keeps getting re-elected. He supports the coal industry and his position in the Senate is more favorable than a first term Senator. He climbed up the ladder in Kentucky, building personal and political connections at the local level. Even though he's been in DC for 36 years, people in Kentucky still see him as one of their own. Don't get me wrong, I hate the guy with a passion, but there are legitimate reasons why he keeps getting re-elected. I think it's easy from the perspective of a coastal elite (myself included) to look down our noses at people in Kentucky and label them as poor, uneducated, redneck etc. and criticize how they vote. The opinion I posted above is kind of related. It's not a coincidence that Appalachia is rich in resources but one of the poorest areas of the country and will be greatly impacted by climate change. thehill.com/homenews/senate/475831-mcconnell-flexes-reelection-muscle-with-1b-gift-for-kentucky/www.vox.com/21527998/mitch-mcconnell-amy-mcgrath-kentucky-senatewww.brown.edu/research/projects/electing-the-senate/news/2014-11/kentucky-2014-are-you-one-us-kentucky-constituent-partisan-roots-firmly-planted-across-And Gavin Newsom, despite what he says, is strategically targeting potential Republican challengers for the 2024 presidential election in their home states. |
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 6, 2022 5:52:24 GMT
It seems to me the two Senators from Kentucky instead of being assholes should work to find ways to solve the problems the people of the state they supposedly represent face. This is disgraceful. These folks should not have to live like this. The reason you elect people and send them off to Congress is to bring home the “bacon”. And one of the jobs of governors is to bring new industry/jobs to their state. What in heaven’s name do you think Gavin Newsom is doing? He is targeting states where CA has lost jobs to and pointing out why they come on home to CA. From the New York Times…. link” How Coal Mining and Years of Neglect Left Kentucky Towns at the Mercy of Flooding”From the article… FLEMING-NEON, Ky. — This sliver of land wedged between the thick woods and Wright Fork creek has been the home of Gary Moore’s family for as long as there has been a United States. The burial plot for an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War, he said, is a mile away. Mr. Moore himself lives in a mobile home across from his father’s house; the house where his grandmother lived is next door. All of that was wrecked in last week’s flooding. “This is kind of like the final straw,” Mr. Moore, 50, said as he looked out at a new terrain of shredded homes, crushed cars and endless debris. “We’re gradually losing it — that bond we had. It’s slipping away. People are getting out of here, trying to get better jobs and live better lives. I’m leaning in that direction myself.” For much of the last century, the country was powered by the labor of coal miners underneath the hills and mountains of southeastern Kentucky. But the landscape that was built to serve this work was fragile, leaving the people here extraordinarily vulnerable, especially after the coal industry shuttered so many of the mines and moved on. What remained were modest, unprotected homes and decaying infrastructure, and a land that itself, in many places, had been shorn of its natural defenses.Last week, when a deluge of rain poured into the hollows, turning creeks into roaring rivers, overwhelming old flood records, killing at least 37 people and destroying countless homes, that vulnerability was made brutally manifest. “When you have a century of billions of dollars and resources leaving, very little of it staying to create the infrastructure necessary for people to live lives, and it’s neglected as long as it has been,” said Wes Addington, a lawyer with the Appalachian Citizens Law Center in nearby Whitesburg, whose law office is now a flooded wreck, “when that’s combined with a really insane flood, it’s a catastrophe.” Southeastern Kentucky, which includes some of the poorest counties in the country, is different from many other rural areas, which have populated county seats surrounded by mostly empty countryside. Here, tiny communities are scattered all over the mountains, little clusters of shotgun houses and mobile homes lining creeks and hollows for miles. Many of these were once coal company camps, said Mr. Addington, who grew up in one. They were built for miners a hundred years ago, and often named — like the Fleming in Fleming-Neon — for coal company executives. Work in the mines was always grueling, but in the heyday of coal, it made for a glittering strand of little mountain boom towns. Fleming-Neon was once one, full of restaurants and stores, a movie theater and an Oldsmobile dealership. “When I was in high school, we had businesses up and down through here,” Mr. Moore recalled, gesturing at storefronts that had been sitting gloomily empty well before the waters came through. In Letcher County, where Fleming-Neon is, the number of people working in the mines is down about 95 percent from what it was in 1990; the county itself, now with 21,000 people, has shrunk by about a fifth since then. The departure of coal companies left a population dispersed in small communities throughout the mountains, stretching water lines, roads and other vital infrastructure delicately thin. With the gradual disappearance of coal came a dramatic reduction in tax revenue, leaving much of this infrastructure crumbling long before the flood. For a population that is older, poorer and in worse health than much of the country, and thus heavily reliant on social and health services, this had already been a crisis.Many former miners, their bodies and lungs broken and poisoned from years of arduous work underground, were never able to find another dependable line of work; fewer than half of the adults in Letcher County are in the labor force, and more than a quarter of people under 65 report having a disability. The median household income is about half of the national. The median home value is just $54,700. It’s hard, it’s really hard,” said Kathy Arnett, 40, who was raised in a hollow not far from Fleming-Neon. “They just don’t make no effort to put nothing in here to help our families.” Ms. Arnett spoke about the difficulty finding much of anything around here, most of all a good job. It was poisonous to the young, she said, the sense of futility that can set in. “I hold our presidents — not one, all of them — responsible,” she said. “They should have been trying sooner.” Government oversight meant to ensure the safety of homes is weaker here than in other parts of the country. In much of Kentucky, there is no enforcement mechanism for building codes for single-family homes, said Corey Roblee, vice president for government relations at the International Code Council, a group that oversees the development of building standards. Those codes are meant to protect structures against threats like flooding. Letcher County, as well as some of the other counties hit hardest by the flooding, has no local building inspector at all, according to state records.Still, building codes apply primarily to new construction, and there is not much of that these days. In 2021, not a single building permit was issued in the county, census data show. Of the 10,500 homes that were in Letcher County on the eve of the flood, fewer than 120 had flood insurance, according to FEMA records. In the city of Fleming-Neon, only one property did. When last week’s storms arrived, they rolled into a mountainous topography “exceptionally susceptible to heavy rain events,” said Matthew Eby, chief executive officer of the First Street Foundation, a New York-based group that maps flood risks. According to First Street’s data, two-thirds of the homes in Letcher County face a high risk of flooding, as does most of the county’s critical infrastructure, such as fire stations and schools. And as temperatures rise over time, a consequence of the burning of coal dug out of these very mountains, warmer air is able to hold more moisture, making it possible for more rain to fall more quickly. The land itself has changed over the decades, too, as coal companies stripped away hillsides or blew the tops off mountains to get at the riches underneath. Researchers have found that the treeless land that is left behind, if not carefully restored, can increase the speed and volume of rain runoff, worsening floods in the mountains.“Ten, twelve years ago most of my practice was representing flood victims below unreclaimed strip mines,” said Ned Pillersdorf, a lawyer in nearby Floyd County, which was also hard hit in the floods. It was hard to say at this point precisely how much that played a part in last week’s flooding, he said. But he added: “Fly over here and see how many unreclaimed strip-mines are still out there.” This week, the people in the region were working long, exhausting days, clearing debris with backhoes, cooking meals for one another, handing out jugs of water, building makeshift bridges and offering shelter to newly homeless neighbors. But the work ahead was almost unfathomably daunting. Across the region, little communities remained isolated on the other side of washed-out bridges, thousands were enduring a boiling summer heat without electricity and thousands more were cut off from water. Emergency responders were still searching the wreckage in the remote valleys, as officials warned that an already grim death toll was likely to rise. Zach Weinberg lives a few hundred yards from a family who lost four children to the floodwaters. In recent days, he has been traveling from home to home in Knott County to replace flood-damaged gas meters for his family-run business. Some customers have told him not to bother, he said. They are not coming back. More people will probably be making this decision when they realize how long and arduous the recovery will be, Mr. Weinberg said. And when they go, they will take tax revenue with them, leaving cash-strapped local governments with even less. “It’ll be a partial government that does what they can, which won’t be much,” Mr. Weinberg said. There are people and groups throughout the mountains — like Appalshop, the arts and cultural organization in Whitesburg that was badly damaged in the floods — that have been working for years to remake eastern Kentucky into a flourishing region that is no longer dependent on coal mines. The Kentucky governor, Andy Beshear, is already talking with lawmakers about a substantial flood relief package, and the FEMA administrator has pledged to assist in the recovery “as long as you need us.” But unless Congress provides additional money for people to rebuild or replace their homes — a process that can take years, if it happens at all — many flood victims will have to rely on savings, charity or whatever other help they can find. And many are asking how much there is left to preserve.On Tuesday, Bill Rose, 64, was slowly shoveling away the mounds of mud outside the mechanic shop in Fleming-Neon where he and his brother like to tinker on old cars. Like so many others, he talked about the resilience people must have to live here. He said he was committed to staying. “You build back,” he said. But he made clear he was talking about himself. Not his children. He was grateful when his daughter left for work as a nurse closer to Louisville, Ky. She loved it here but there was nothing for her — no jobs, no opportunities, nothing to do. After the cataclysm of last week, there was even less. “My generation,” Mr. Rose said, “will probably be the last generation.” Actually, McConnell has brought money to the state. In Dec 2019, he secured nearly $1 billion for Kentucky. That's part of the reason why he keeps getting re-elected. And his position in the Senate is more favorable than a first term Senator. Don't get me wrong, I hate the guy with a passion, but there are legitimate reasons why he keeps getting re-elected. I think it's easy from the perspective of a coastal elite (myself included) to look down our noses at people in Kentucky and label them as poor, uneducated, redneck etc. thehill.com/homenews/senate/475831-mcconnell-flexes-reelection-muscle-with-1b-gift-for-kentucky/www.vox.com/21527998/mitch-mcconnell-amy-mcgrath-kentucky-senateAnd Gavin Newsom, despite what he says, is strategically targeting potential Republican challengers for the 2024 presidential election in their home states. Just exactly who is looking down their noses at these folks? You? One of the things that Hillary Clinton talked about that when the coal industry leaves a community its finding ways to rebuild the community bringing in new industry, retrain the people. And she was right.. Yet apparently that wasn’t done here. If nothing else the coal company that left should have been made to restore the landscape it ripped apart and what played a large part in the flooding that happened in this area. That is why you have elected officials to address these issues, on the local level, the state level and on the federal level. And they failed these folks. It obvious that none of that billion dollars McConnell snagged went where it was needed the most. There are three words I believe should apply to all Americans, education - skills - opportunity. And if these things are not readily available to all folks in their state or district then it’s up to the elected officials to “bring home the bacon” and make sure as much as they can these items are available to all who live in their district/state. As to Gavin Newsom running for President in 2024, which I think your implying, one name comes to mind. Kamala Harris. So we are going to agree to disagree on all this. |
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Post by sabrinae on Aug 6, 2022 11:35:27 GMT
“ com·pro·mise/ˈkämprəˌmīz/nounan agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions.”
It’s called a compromise. That wasn’t a compromise, that was a fold to get it done before the recess. Democrats talk a good game about taxes and climate but when push comes to shove they’re willing abandon two of their biggest talking points. I don’t like the changes, but it’s still the biggest climate change bill ever and it still more than we have now. Democrats can only work with what they have. Manchin and Sinema greatly limit what can be done. If voters are unhappy about that they have to give Democrats a bigger margin in the Senate. |
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 6, 2022 14:06:23 GMT
8-6-2022… NBC News. link“ Abandoned mines and poor oversight worsened Kentucky flooding, attorneys say”“No one is denying the amount of rain we had — it truly was a 1,000 year event — but did the strip mines contribute? Absolutely," a Kentucky lawyer said. As eastern Kentuckians continue to search for missing loved ones, muck out their homes and prepare for more rain, they are beginning to ask who could be at fault for this past week's deadly flooding and whether it was a natural disaster or one caused by the coal mines that have drastically reshaped and scarred the landscape.Compacted dirt, destroyed mountaintops and deforestation in eastern Kentucky have often been left ignored by the coal companies that mined there, despite legal requirements that they attempt to return the land to its natural state when mining concludes. In recent decades, that spurned responsibility has, at times, turned heavy rains into floods and caused local residents who once counted on mining for jobs and prosperity to bring litigation against their former employers in Appalachian courtrooms. Lawyers who have pursued these cases in the past said it is still too early to pursue a case in the most recent flooding, as studies need to be conducted and claimants contacted, but interest in holding someone to account for the lost homes and at least 37 dead is growing. "It may be too early to tell, but I've received a couple phone calls already," said Ned Pillersdorf, a Kentucky lawyer in Prestonburg who has successfully sued coal companies for flood damage in the past. "No one is denying the amount of rain we had — it truly was a 1,000 year event — but did the strip mines contribute? Absolutely." Kentucky, particularly the eastern mountains, are littered with abandoned coal mines. Many are a result of strip mining or mountaintop removal mining, the latter a method in which mining companies use explosives to blast off a mountain's summit to get to the coal inside. Pillersdorf, whose home was flooded, noted that the areas worst hit in his county are the ones closest to the strip mines. It is obviously just a clear slam dunk in terms of corporate irresponsibility," said Alex Gibson, the executive director of Appalshop, the culture and education center in Whitesburg that was hit by more than 6 feet of water. "And of how we can predict an outcome and ignore all the signs along the way until the tragedy happens and then act like, 'Yeah, but we didn't see it coming. It was God's work.'" The Kentucky Coal Association, which represents the state's mining operations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The loss of the natural ridge lines, vegetation and trees, and the cracks in the mountains that are largely owned by companies often funnels rainwater into the thin valleys, or low-lying hollows, where most eastern Kentuckians make their homes. Without these natural protections, regional flooding has grown as climate change brings new levels of precipitation up from the Gulf Coast to Appalachia. “They’re saying it’s a natural disaster, but I’m sorry. This is a disaster that was made by a whole bunch of mining that’s been going on for the past 40 years," said Jack Spadero, the former director of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy who has testified as an expert witness in numerous coal mine lawsuits in recent years. “It has changed the landscape of eastern Kentucky dramatically.” ' Like pulling teeth'The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, or SMCRA, was a federal regulation that was supposed to prevent coal companies from leaving abandoned mines behind. The law required mine owners to reclaim the land and return it to its natural form as much as possible. In the ensuing 45 years, many companies have avoided that work and many states in the region, like Kentucky, turned a blind eye to it.Now, there are more than 2,800 entries for Kentucky in the national inventory of known-abandoned mine land, according to a Department of Interior database, and much of it is located in the state's eastern hill country. Experts also said that the number in the inventory is likely a conservative figure and that recent coal company bankruptcies have made it more difficult to pursue accountability. SMCRA required every state to enforce the financial responsibility and reclamation obligation of the coal mine operators in their state. While some states required mining companies to pay reclamation costs upfront, others — like Kentucky — allowed them to put up a bond for the potential costs. In the past, small companies in Kentucky were allowed to create a pooled fund, while larger ones were able to self-bond, but the majority were done through a third party. "There are surety companies that are holding these bonds, which are woefully inadequate to do the real reclamation work, but many are even fighting to turn over those bonds, so it's like pulling teeth," said Joe Childers, who has litigated cases for vulnerable Kentuckians against major energy companies for more than 40 years. "In the meantime, nothing gets done. The hillsides are scarred, they're not reclaimed and you get a rain event like last week and you have terrible flooding. And it was totally exacerbated by the lack of proper regulation." Since 2013, Kentucky requires companies to pay into a single bond pool through what essentially serves as a tax on a certain amount of acreage or coal tonnage. But the difference between the liabilities that were left behind and the trust fund the state created in 2013 has grown significantly. John Mura, a spokesperson for The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, said by email that the state agency was “engaged right now organizing cabinet aid” to the affected areas and declined to comment further. About 408,000 Kentuckians live within one mile of abandoned mine land, the regional think tank Ohio River Valley institute estimated last year, and it will cost nearly $1.2 billion to remediate it. As of 2020, the Kentucky fund had about $52 million in it, according to a state report. Kentucky spent a little more than $1.5 million from its reclamation fund, according to the 2022 executive budget. The state is expected to receive an additional $75 million this year as part of President Joe Biden's infrastructure law, which dedicated $11.3 billion toward abandoned mine reclamation over the next 15 years. Last year, the state received $9 million from the federal government. The new sum is huge, but "it's just a drop in the bucket" to address the need for communities across Appalachia, said Sarah Surber, a public health professor at Wayne State University who has studied environmental justice issues in the region and practiced law there for more than a decade. "How do you prioritize [the funding]?" she said. "You have so many that have been left abandoned or sitting in limbo, you have more coal mine company bankruptcies anticipated, so how do you decide what mines get reclaimed and what does that mean for communities and their protection in terms of pollution and flooding issues?" Lawsuit challengesKevin Thompson, an attorney whose work earned national attention for challenging powerful coal CEO Don Blankenship, said the images he saw out of Kentucky this past week gave him flashbacks to the 2009 King Coal case he worked on in West Virginia and the photographs he took of the days after the flooding that happened there. That case brought 20 low-income families against four powerful companies that Thompson argued were responsible for two flooding incidents that washed away people's homes. Thompson said, however, that it would be much more difficult to bring a challenge more than a decade later. While the issues are the same, he said that partisanship and the politicization of science have created new challenges in the courtroom. " There's always been politics, but what has changed is people's unwillingness to accept science and engineering principles," he said. "It has jaded their political views to the point that plaintiffs can't get fair compensation for damage done to them by mountaintop removal."
Not all views are skewed by politics, Thompson clarified, but it can make it difficult to get all 12 members of a jury to side with the plaintiff. “Almost all of the law firms that I know that represent coal mining families have stopped litigating these kinds of cases,” Thompson added. “It’s become really difficult.” A further issue, highlighted by multiple attorneys who have practiced in the state, is how closely tied so many people are to the coal industry. The industry has contracted massively since the 1980s, accounting for a fraction of the jobs it once boasted in Kentucky, and it is clear that work isn't coming back. What remains of the industry, however, many remain protective of — especially as the number of coal company bankruptcies and mine closures grow. In 2008 the country boasted more than 1,500 mines, according to Energy Information Administration. In 2020, that number had declined to 410. The loss of the mines take a toll, but so does the lack of a replacement economy and the loss of population because of it. "These are costs that are hidden and have been hidden for however long mining has gone on in central Appalachia," said Surber, who admitted she left the region because of similar frustrations. "We don't think about the environmental costs, the emergency funds that are dispatched by the federal and state governments or the people who will leave the area forever because of it." |
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Post by aj2hall on Aug 6, 2022 14:37:30 GMT
Actually, McConnell has brought money to the state. In Dec 2019, he secured nearly $1 billion for Kentucky. That's part of the reason why he keeps getting re-elected. And his position in the Senate is more favorable than a first term Senator. Don't get me wrong, I hate the guy with a passion, but there are legitimate reasons why he keeps getting re-elected. I think it's easy from the perspective of a coastal elite (myself included) to look down our noses at people in Kentucky and label them as poor, uneducated, redneck etc. thehill.com/homenews/senate/475831-mcconnell-flexes-reelection-muscle-with-1b-gift-for-kentucky/www.vox.com/21527998/mitch-mcconnell-amy-mcgrath-kentucky-senateAnd Gavin Newsom, despite what he says, is strategically targeting potential Republican challengers for the 2024 presidential election in their home states. Just exactly who is looking down their noses at these folks? You? One of the things that Hillary Clinton talked about that when the coal industry leaves a community its finding ways to rebuild the community bringing in new industry, retrain the people. And she was right.. Yet apparently that wasn’t done here. If nothing else the coal company that left should have been made to restore the landscape it ripped apart and what played a large part in the flooding that happened in this area. That is why you have elected officials to address these issues, on the local level, the state level and on the federal level. And they failed these folks. It obvious that none of that billion dollars McConnell snagged went where it was needed the most. There are three words I believe should apply to all Americans, education - skills - opportunity. And if these things are not readily available to all folks in their state or district then it’s up to the elected officials to “bring home the bacon” and make sure as much as they can these items are available to all who live in their district/state. As to Gavin Newsom running for President in 2024, which I think your implying, one name comes to mind. Kamala Harris. So we are going to agree to disagree on all this. Your posts come across as elitist. You scold voters for their poor or bad choices and fail to see the nuances at the local level. Just after the Democrats for endorsed an independent in Utah, you criticized the Democrats and thought they should have put up their own candidate, despite the very long odds against winning. In Maine, you lectured the voters for re-electing Susan Collins. And your posts about Kentucky come across as critical of the voters. I’m not defending McConnell or Paul, I hate both of them with a passion. And they are part of the problem, especially their efforts to de-regulate mining. But the problems in Kentucky are much more complex than terrible senators. Voting smarter or better or simply different senators alone is not going to solve the problems. |
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 6, 2022 15:16:51 GMT
Not surprised.
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 6, 2022 15:52:12 GMT
“One of the worst parts of the trump era is the inescapable realization of just how many truly awful people walk among us”
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Aug 6, 2022 16:19:54 GMT
Fined, but the rest is the honor system.. wonder how that will go?! The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the owner has agreed to pay a $211,335 fine to the FTC. And as part of the legal settlement, Lions Not Sheep has agreed to stop committing label fraud and will stop promoting foreign-made products as U.S.-made and will also contact everyone who has purchased clothing from the company since May 2021 to let them know about the company’s little fib.*** Um, ok.... |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Aug 6, 2022 16:25:42 GMT
MTG best be careful, supposedly she has had fidelity issues, the good christian she is..!
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purplebee
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,801
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Post by purplebee on Aug 6, 2022 17:42:30 GMT
Oh but isn’t empty Greene a very vocally self-professed “Christian?” And therefore should think WWJD before making such hate-filled, deplorable statements? She and people like her are what is causing so many people to rethink Christianity. If this is what being a Christian means in today’s screwed up world, please remove me from the mailing list…. Ugh.
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Post by mollycoddle on Aug 6, 2022 17:49:33 GMT
“One of the worst parts of the trump era is the inescapable realization of just how many truly awful people walk among us” They won’t be laughing if they get it. Neither will she. |
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 6, 2022 17:59:20 GMT
Well thanks to two senators in sheep’s clothing it didn’t meet all our goals if one is being honest…. But it is something,
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 6, 2022 19:29:41 GMT
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 6, 2022 19:35:55 GMT
I really do wish there was someway to shut him up.
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 6, 2022 19:43:30 GMT
Here’s another one who needs to shut up…
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Aug 6, 2022 19:44:38 GMT
I really do wish there was someway to shut him up. What happened to his hair?!? |
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 6, 2022 20:27:17 GMT
They are flashing “We are all domestic terrorist “. Well at least they are being honest.
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 6, 2022 20:43:08 GMT
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Gem Girl
Pearl Clutcher
......
Posts: 2,686
Jun 29, 2014 19:29:52 GMT
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Post by Gem Girl on Aug 6, 2022 21:09:59 GMT
I really do wish there was someway to shut him up. He finally got that long-coveted appointment with Hitler's hairdresser. |
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Post by onelasttime on Aug 6, 2022 21:12:17 GMT
Imagine a trump/DeSantis Presidential ticket for 2024…
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Post by Scrapper100 on Aug 6, 2022 21:17:42 GMT
Imagine a trump/DeSantis Presidential ticket for 2024… Now that’s a really scary thought. The two of them together. Not sure their egos could handle it but that is scary if they teamed up. I don’t think we would recognize the country after. |
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