And being fucked by Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell. Why? Because Union.
- The plan, called the Miners Protection Act, was sent for floor action by a bipartisan 18-to-8 vote of the Senate Finance Committee in September. But it has run into trouble with the Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. He questions why the bill would protect only members of the United Mine Workers of America, which has an estimated 89,000 pensioned miners and family members and 22,000 workers vested for the future.
- Patriot is the second largest coal miner east of the Mississippi River. The company's operations are made up of 16 mining complexes. Thirteen of these complexes are located in West Virginia and three are located in Kentucky. In 2007, Patriot sold 22.1 million tons of coal. The company controls 1.9 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves. Patriot is the largest producer of thermal coal in the Eastern United States. It is also a leading producer of metallurgical coal. Approximately 80% of its coal is sold to domestic utilities and 20% is sold to domestic and international steel producers.
I'm sure coastal liberals can be blamed somehow. Oh, here we go!
- As of November 15, 2012, the company has signed an agreement with the Sierra Club to end the practice of mountaintop removal, which is often considered one of the most destructive forms of mining.
I blame Jane Fonda.
Naw, man, this one is all on the Kentucky state Democrats. They are a leaderless bunch of fucking pussies who cannot argue their way out of a plastic grocery bag. Put up no fight against McConnell four years ago, put up a half-assed campaign against Rand Paul this year. One Democrat in congress out of 5 seats (and that one only due to gerrymandering to keep the D's all in one district), two elections for which the D's did not even bother to field a candidate. Nobody to blame for this sack of shit but us rednecks and yokels.
You're trying too hard with the Sierra Club lawsuit. An easier response is a picture of a wind turbine in Kansas and rooftop solar in Arizona (though really it's fracked gas, again from red states, that's killing coal). Why aren't the unions doing more to bring this to the attention of their members?I'm sure coastal liberals can be blamed somehow. Oh, here we go!
It was a flippant remark. I remain salty about the fact that I must somehow comport myself in a fashion that makes the Dolly Parton Set happy if I want Democrats to win elections. The "unions" aren't doing more of this because they're completely fucking incompetent. I say that as an 8-year union member, grandson of a former president of the AFL.
The bums are going to keep asking for handouts. You give it to them, they find a way forward themselves, or they come to the gates with torches and pitchforks. I don't see other options for the future, unless suicide/overdose rates for these areas climb dramatically.