Tony Light
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« on: November 16, 2016, 01:26:31 pm » |
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Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia says his party lost the presidential election because "there was no plan" to help people in his state and other rural states who are struggling to survive economically.
Manchin said Democrats not only didn't have a plan, but also "people think you didn't care."
Manchin, who has joined Senate Democrat's leadership team, said people in his state "feel like a returning Vietnam veteran. My little state of West Virginia has done everything this country's asked of us and then they turn their back on us."
He said West Virginians were so they were willing to overlook "offensive rhetoric" from Donald Trump, adding: "If that's not a wake-up call I really don't know what is."——
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Don Zeigler
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« Reply #1 on: November 19, 2016, 07:25:40 pm » |
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Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia says his party lost the presidential election because "there was no plan" to help people in his state and other rural states who are struggling to survive economically.
Manchin said Democrats not only didn't have a plan, but also "people think you didn't care."
Manchin, who has joined Senate Democrat's leadership team, said people in his state "feel like a returning Vietnam veteran. My little state of West Virginia has done everything this country's asked of us and then they turn their back on us."
He said West Virginians were so they were willing to overlook "offensive rhetoric" from Donald Trump, adding: "If that's not a wake-up call I really don't know what is."—— Republicans don't have a plan, either, other than vague promises to bring coal back. Even you know that's not going to happen. Not even with a coal baron/fake Republican in the governor's office.
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If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.
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Tony Light
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« Reply #2 on: November 21, 2016, 06:56:03 am » |
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I agree Don, coal will never be what it once was. Right now coal is providing about 30 percent of our energy needs. It would be nice if we could hold on to that production. China and India could be major markets for our coal. They are still building plants all over their countries. So much for that climate accord.
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Don Zeigler
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« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2018, 02:06:30 pm » |
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I agree Don, coal will never be what it once was. Right now coal is providing about 30 percent of our energy needs. It would be nice if we could hold on to that production. China and India could be major markets for our coal. They are still building plants all over their countries. So much for that climate accord.
China's new 5 year plan actually focuses more on quality of life than construction, which is why the bottom fell out of the met coal market to start with. They are actually opening more domestic mining operations to cut back on coal imports. When you look at net job gains in coal since Trump took office, there have actually been just a thousand or so new jobs added in the industry nationwide. There has been a slight uptick in demand, but mechanization precludes the need for more actual people.
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If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.
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hoosier88
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« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2018, 08:44:01 am » |
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... When you look at net job gains in coal since Trump took office, there have actually been just a thousand or so new jobs added in the industry nationwide. There has been a slight uptick in demand, but mechanization precludes the need for more actual people. Yah, but of course mechanization isn't a problem for the longing-to-be coal barons again. Worse comes to worse, they'll simply slap UMW memberships on the equipment, negotiate some cut-rate dues for them, & then proceed to vote on behalf of the equipment. So that's what - half of the crew? If you count rotary cutters, conveyers, the crew movers, gang drills, pumps (water & air), elevators ... & best of all, equipment never calls in sick, has family emergencies, gets drunk & goes over a cliff ...
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countryguy
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« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2018, 10:28:20 am » |
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About the only thing going in the miners' favor, is that the mine owners aren't stupid enuf to think anything is going to bring back coal's dominance in the energy market. For that reason, they may be hesitant to make the major investments that mass mechanization would require.
The only thing that could save the coal industry, now, would be the total collapse of the natural gas industry. And that would have to happen before wind, solar, and other renewable energy systems get ramped up enough to carry the bulk of the load.
It would seem that the best strategy for the West Virginia area, would be to make a major move into the development of alternative energy systems. It's the direction the whole world is going, and the U.S. would be far better off getting in the fray as a leader, than waiting until the industry is filled up. The worst thing we could do, is to keep fighting the inevitable march of modernization and innovation. The success of America's industry has always been being the leader in developing new and innovative products. The cause of our current dilemma, is simply that we no longer lead in that endeavor.
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In this world, a person can DEMAND respect ........ or COMMAND it.
The former will seldom - if ever - achieve the latter.
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A159
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« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2018, 02:41:35 pm » |
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We'll see what shakes out after (R)Trump's tariffs and bad ass trade war with China by 2020 emboldened with the Republican's huge tax cuts for the rich. At this point, beaucoup REGULAR folks in the US already have been left behind. Our wallets and wars drags us around by our nuts by the end of the day.
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As assistant Admin, I serve to improve this board's existence to the best of my ability. Keep in mind that, at my age, my abilities are slightly fuzzy.
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Plato Potato
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« Reply #7 on: March 25, 2018, 04:40:38 pm » |
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While it's true that China and India have built a lot of coal-fired power plants to feed their burgeoning industrial base, both nations are scrambling to build solar and wind farms as fast as they can. China now has more solar power than the US, and it is building them twice as fast as we are. Construction of new coal-fired plants is falling off.
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countryguy
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« Reply #8 on: March 25, 2018, 06:33:05 pm » |
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And instead of seizing the opportunity, and becoming a leader in what is going to be an explosively fast-growing industry, we're going to just sit on our thumbs, in our state of stupid denial, while other countries develop the wind and solar technology, and the equipment to supply the rest of the world.
Oh, yeah -- and while we complain that the rest of the world won't support our oil- and coal-based economy.
We're going to support the fossil fuel industry, no matter what it costs.
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In this world, a person can DEMAND respect ........ or COMMAND it.
The former will seldom - if ever - achieve the latter.
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