The EnviroNazi hypocrites need to leave the grid

If coal is so bad, the EnviroNazis need to take their own advice and lead the way off the grid.

In 2000, 90% of Ohio's electricity (I've heard it's 87.5% now) was generated by coal burning power plants.

If they truly feel that this is a huge hazard, they need to turn their electric breaker off 90% of the time.

They could spend the extra time blowing weed or something else productive....like the women shaving their legs.

What hypocrisy to use electricity generated by coal to tell us how bad coal is for us! If they really cared about the people around the power plants (if you believe their faked health concerns for us) they'd quit using electricity from the grid.

Again the same argument (all the EnviroNazi groups (a couple of days ago it was the Sierra Club) must get the same talking points faxed to them) about jobs being given to folks outside of Meigs County.

"However, Belz believes that it is no guarantee that the jobs would go to people in Meigs County, and that people from out of town would be the ones most likely to take charge.

"When the Mountaineer Power Plant in West Virginia was being put up, they came in from out of town," she said. "Those weren't local jobs that were being given out.""

Rest of OU Post's story here

And again, there are only so many trained pipe fitters, steel workers, boiler makers, etc in Meigs County. Just because Meigs County won't be able to supply all the manpower needs does not mean this is not a great economic boost for the county.

They're really getting desperate to stop this plant. It would not surprise anyone if they resorted to more drastic / direct action. That would be a mistake.

One more thing. It's nice to finally see our State Representative Debbie Phillips start weighing in on this. I guess late is better than never. It must be awful being an EnviroNazi at heart and having to support coal. You've come a long way baby, er Debbie from your Walmart protesting days.

Space Failed East Ohioans (The Intelligencer)

The Intelligencer

Editorial

June 29, 2009

We don't know what favors, if any, U.S. Rep. Zack Space, D-Ohio, was promised by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and possibly President Barack Obama. We do know that Obama and Pelosi lobbied intensively to convince members of Congress to vote in favor of the Waxman-Markey Bill - otherwise known as "cap and trade" - on Friday.

By the thin margin of 219-212, the House of Representatives approved "cap and trade." All three members of the House from West Virginia - Democrats Alan Mollohan and Nick Rahall and Republican Shelley Moore Capito - voted against the bill. So did U.S. Rep. Charles Wilson, D-Ohio. Wilson, an early opponent of the measure, defied party discipline to vote in the best interests of his East Ohio constituents. We believe they will remember that when he comes up for re-election.

We hope East Ohioans will remember how Space voted, too. With knowledge of how badly thousands of families in his district will be hurt by the bill, if it becomes law, Space turned his back on his constituents. He chose to vote with Pelosi, D-Calif., and with Obama, who had made "cap and trade" one of his top priorities.

The dishonesty and politics used to pass "cap and trade" were truly astounding - to those of us in America's heartland, at least. In Washington, such tactics are accepted, even encouraged and rewarded.

One example of the frantic rush to "spin" the issue during the last few days before the vote on Friday is illustrative. On Wednesday, liberals released part of a Congressional Budget Office study claiming "cap and trade," if enacted, will cost American families an average of only $175 a year. That simply is not true. It will cost families in our area much, much more. It will cost some their jobs.

But the $175 figure was not low enough. So, on Thursday, "cap and trade" supporters claimed the Environmental Protection Agency had set the cost at an average of $140 a year.

Still not good enough. So, on Friday, the very same liberals who previously had used the $175 and $140 figures claimed that, well, the cost would only be $80 to $110 - according to the EPA.

It was that process of lying to the American people - and that is exactly what happened - that Space rewarded with his "aye" vote on the Waxman-Markey bill.

Zach Space votes for largest tax increase in US history

What is he thinking? He votes for this EnviroNazi, job killing, rate hiking bill....

He really must not want to be re-elected.

His district is in the heart of Ohio coal country and he votes to kill coal mining and the jobs that go with it. Is the UMW listening?

Not only did he vote to kill coal jobs, he also voted to raise your electric bill, your gas bill.

Why do I call it a tax? Because it is government (idiocy) induced rate increases. Just when the economy needs a boost, Obama and Space slap it back down by increasing costs on businesses...which mean higher prices and less jobs for you.

Here's what the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation said about this bill:

"When the Heritage Foundation did its analysis of Waxman-Markey, it broadly compared the economy with and without the carbon tax. Under this more comprehensive scenario, it found Waxman-Markey would cost the economy $161 billion in 2020, which is $1,870 for a family of four. As the bill's restrictions kick in, that number rises to $6,800 for a family of four by 2035.

Note also that the CBO analysis is an average for the country as a whole. It doesn't take into account the fact that certain regions and populations will be more severely hit than others -- manufacturing states more than service states; coal producing states more than states that rely on hydro or natural gas. Low-income Americans, who devote more of their disposable income to energy, have more to lose than high-income families."

Link to rest of this story here.

This is what Congressman Zach Space voted for!

Here's the alternative to anti-American Zach Space: Jeanette Moll

What is Congressman Zack Space thinking?

He actually voted for the job killing / tax increasing "cap and trade" bill in committee?

He represents the heart of Ohio coal country and he supports a bill like this?

Even our socialist Congressman Charlie Wilson (6th district) says he's against it....though he's so short sighted that one would think all Obama would have to do to change his mind would be to donate a couple of cans of sardines to a "food" bank in his district.

Jeanette Moll would be a much better Representative for the 18th district.

George Orwell, alive and well

How can you have it both ways?

State that you are going to "create OR save jobs". How can you measure "saved" jobs? You can't.

But here you have Reuters bleating Obama's talking points instead of asking, just how do you measure "saved" jobs?

I guess I'm going to start stating that I "saved" 1,000,000 jobs. This would have just as much credibility as Obama's false promise and funny accounting of "saving" jobs.

Again, media silence.

Can someone make sense of these two sentences from this "story"?

• "Biden said on May 13 over 150,000 jobs had been saved or created in the act's first 77 days."
• "The U.S. economy has lost 6.0 million jobs, including 2.9 million this year, since the recession began in December 2007."

So which is it?

The truth is the unemployment rate is up to 9.4%, the highest in 25 years. All under the democrat party's watch. The unemployment rate continues to rise, no matter how many jobs Obama claims to have saved. If he's actually saving jobs, wouldn't the rate go down?

All Reuters can do is a puff piece on Obama supposedly "saving" jobs. George Orwell is alive and well!

This reminds me of the EnviroNazis' change in terminology from "global warming" to "climate change".... you know, so they can always guess right. Their "global warming" bologna quit working when the earth actually started cooling.

Ohio's jobless rate tops 10 percent for first time in quarter-century

Dispatch story here

Does it surprise you that the media refuses to lay this mess at Strickland's feet, where it belongs?

We need to cut taxes and spur economic development in Ohio.....of course it's difficult for the dems to play the class warfare card if all their voters have jobs.

Previous post on Ohio's high taxes.

The EnviroNazis never stop

Green groups fight proposed Meigs power plant

"Three environmental groups are challenging air- and water-pollution permits issued last year by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to American Municipal Power (AMP) for a proposed coal-burning power plant near Letart Falls in Meigs County.
The National Resource Defense Fund (NRDC), the Sierra Club and the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) exchanged oral arguments with Ohio EPA Director Chris Korleski before a state appeals commission Feb. 4. A final hearing is scheduled for early August."

These people, mostly outsiders, don't care that we have few jobs. They don't care that Century Aluminum just shut down, costing 679 jobs. Century employed many from Southeastern Ohio.

"Century Announces the Curtailment of Ravenswood, WV Smelter
MONTEREY, CA, Feb 04, 2009 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX News Network) -- Century Aluminum of West Virginia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ: CENX), today announced its intention to conclude the orderly curtailment of the remaining plant operations at its Ravenswood, WV aluminum smelter by February 20. On December 17, pursuant to the Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), the company informed employees of the possibility of curtailment of the entire plant at the end of a 60 day period; it also began the immediate, orderly curtailment of one of the plant's four potlines.
The WARN notice specified that plant operations would be curtailed unless the selling price for aluminum stabilized and the company was able to reduce costs materially and thus reduce the monthly cash losses it has been experiencing.
The Ravenswood smelter, which was constructed in 1957, employs 679 men and women and produces 170,000 tonnes annually at full capacity. The orderly curtailment of the plant's remaining three potlines will begin immediately and will be completed by February 20. The plant will be carefully maintained to allow for the possibility of reopening, if justified by market
conditions. Layoffs for the majority of the plant's remaining 651 employees are expected to be completed by February 20."

Previous posts: here, here, here, here and here.

Meigs county jobs: Good news

Ohio EPA approves water quality certification for AMP-Ohio

"POMEROY — Ohio EPA has approved a water quality certification for AMP-Ohio’s planned power plant and associated structures located in Letart Falls (Meigs County)."

Gatling investing $75 million in mine facility

"Hatcher gave Chamber members an update on the project which may see coal on the ground by the end of this week or end of January. Hatcher added there are already around 100 people working at the site and he expected around 200 total would be on the job by the first of July. There are currently 30 coal miners on site. "

AMP-Ohio plant faces another hearing

COLUMBUS — The Sunday Times-Sentinel has confirmed an additional public hearing on American Municipal Power Generating Station power plant’s final air permit may be held in the spring by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Raising income taxes in Ohio

Thomas Suddes continues to push for higher income taxes for Ohio. Or, as he says, just delay the planned last phase of the income tax cut from the 2005 tax bill. Either way you look at it, his idea would mean higher taxes for Ohioans.

I've got an idea for Mr. Suddes. He can continue to pay the higher rate after the tax reduction is implemented. That way, he can sleep better at night.

He mentions the "21%" income tax cut in the 2005 tax bill. What he does not mention is the sales tax increase. Remember that? That's when we had our sales taxes raised because we were in an "emergency" and it was only "temporary". Then, about a year later, the sales tax hike was cut in half. In other words, after this we were left with a tax increase, though just not as much. (This is when the GOP got in trouble with their base....and I believe this is what cost them the 2006 elections......) We were told that having our sales tax hike reduced 50% was a tax cut!!! I know we've all gotten dumber since the 60s, but anytime we have a tax hike of .5 cents. Then awhile later the sales tax is reduced .25 cents, that is a tax hike of .25 cents from where we started. This was not a tax cut as the GOP tried to sell it.

Then, during this same time period, we increase the sale tax on fuel (incrementally) by 6 cents. This was to help the counties and townships (which should be abolished, townships that is) with their road maintenance.

As a matter of fact, the Tax Foundation has Ohio ranked number 47th (with 1 being good!) tax friendly state for business. This is a 2006 study. The CAT tax was implemented in 2005 and should be accounted for in this.

I'm convince that we are losing businesses (and the jobs that go with them) due to high tax rates. See previous examples here and here.

As far as personal (state and local taxes), Ohio is number 7 (with 1 being the highest). As a side note; in 1977 Ohio was number 45!

Ohio is taxing itself out of existence. It looks like Ohio will lose two more congressional seats. This is determined by state's population vs. other states. We all know folks that have moved to Texas and Alaska looking for and finding work. We all probably know retirees that have moved to Florida to shield their income from Ohio's income tax.

I'd say we need to lower taxes, not raise them. And we need to do it fast before the last one out forgets to turn the lights off.

A depression? Hardly.

You can tell the economy is not as bad as the media and pandering politicians say. If it were, those protesting new jobs would be shouted down. A new plant creating new jobs with almost no emissions, what else do they want?

If the economy were really that bad, there would be folks there asking for jobs.

Marietta Times story

"Members of the Waterford community expressed their concerns Tuesday over a proposed high-purity silicon processing plant planned by Solsil Inc., a sister company of Globe Metallurgical Inc.
"The amount of pollution being put into the air, how do you know how that will affect the quality of life for the people in this area?" asked Linda See, who lives near the site being considered by the company."

High taxes = job losses

When Ohio is taxed like this, you get job losses like this!

When are we going to cut spending and taxes??? Or is everyone going to have to leave Ohio before we take some extreme measures?

When will the media hold Gov. Strickland accountable?

Not one mention of Strickland in this story. If we had a Republican Governor, his name would have been in the headline.

Jobless rate highest in 14 years
Saturday, November 8, 2008 3:25 AM
By Dan Gearino
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
President-elect Obama's first news conference grabs the attention of a trader at the New York Stock Exchange. The market briefly dipped in response." src="http://www.dispatch.com/wwwexportcontent/sites/dispatch/images/nov/1108_WALL_STREET_OBAMA_a1_11-08-08_A1_1MBR1A0.jpg" border=0>
Richard Drew Associated Press
President-elect Obama's first news conference grabs the attention of a trader at the New York Stock Exchange. The market briefly dipped in response.

U.S. employers cut 240,000 jobs last month, continuing a free fall for an economy that has yet to hit bottom.
The job market has sunk further and faster than many economists were expecting. A staggering 1.2 million jobs have disappeared this year, with more to come, experts say.
"We really got clobbered," said George Vredeveld, director of the Economics Center for Education & Research at the University of Cincinnati.
The news from the U.S. Labor Department showed that the national jobless rate zoomed from 6.1 percent in September to 6.5 percent in October, matching the rate in March 1994.
Unemployment has now surpassed the high reached after the 2001 recession. The jobless rate peaked at 6.3 percent in June 2003.
October's decline marked the 10th straight month of payroll reductions, and government revisions showed that job losses in August and September turned out to be much deeper. Employers cut 127,000 positions in August, compared with the 73,000 previously reported. A whopping 284,000 jobs were axed in September, compared with the initial report of 159,000.
More than half of the 1.2 million jobs lost this year occurred in the past three months.
And the figures don't include the auto workers who will be losing their jobs during the next couple of months. Yesterday, GM said it will eliminate 5,500 more white-collar and factory workers and Ford will shed more than 2,000 white-collar workers, as both reported quarterly losses.
That's on top of the 1,166 jobs GM is cutting at the Moraine plant, and the 819 Chrysler is laying off in Toledo. The cuts, part of the closing of both plants, are expected to be completed by December.
News from the automakers and the national employment numbers are an uneasy prelude to the state jobless figures, which will be issued in two weeks. In September, the state's jobless rate was about a percentage point higher than the nation's. Ohio's job losses have been proportionally greater than the country's, so state officials are preparing for more bad news.
Columbus has dodged the brunt of job losses, but the city is headed for a rough fourth quarter, said Bill
LaFayette, vice president for economic analysis at the Columbus Chamber.
"As of now, we're doing OK, but don't expect that to continue," he said.
The job losses nationwide are occurring alongside a rapid increase in the number of unemployed, which grew by 603,000 in October to reach 10.1 million. In a separate report this week, the Labor Department said that 3.8 million Americans are drawing unemployment benefits, the highest level since 1983. Not all unemployed people draw benefits.
"In the broadest terms, we're in recession, and it remains to be seen how severe it will be in the end," said Richard J. DeKaser, senior vice president and chief economist at National City Corp. in Cleveland.
Ohio posted a jobless rate of 7.2 percent in September. The state has lost 80,400 nonfarm jobs through the first nine months of the year. The number would be much higher except for a gain of 17,200 jobs in September, which officials said was likely a fluke.
Amid the turmoil that has gripped the rest of the state, Columbus employment has remained stable. The metro area gained 1,300 jobs through the first nine months of the year.
LaFayette said the gains have come largely from sectors that might be hit hard by a weak holiday shopping season, such as retail, transportation and warehousing.
"I'm expecting the fourth quarter to be much, much weaker for us," he said.
The recent job cuts by the Big Three automakers likely won't show up in state unemployment reports until early next year, said Brian Harter, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
"That would be a realistic statement to say that the end of this year or the first quarter of next year is when we should 'hit rock bottom,' " he said.
Vredeveld is less certain, and more pessimistic.
"I don't know where the bottom is," he said. "But I wouldn't be surprised if nine to 12 months from today, we're not back to our normal state."
Information from the Associated Press was included in this story.
dgearino@dispatch.com