Free Republic

For years, three House Democrats — West Virginia’s Nick Rahall, Georgia’s John Barrow and Minnesota’s Collin Peterson — have been survivors, defying political calculus to win term after term in solidly red Republican districts. They paddled through the 2010 GOP wave. They even overcame the flood of Mitt Romney’s double-digit margins of victory in each district in 2012. But 2014 could be their ultimate survival test. In an era of increasing polarization, Rahall, Peterson and Barrow are the three Democrats running for reelection who represent the most Republican districts in Congress. They’ve managed to hang on to their seats, even...

West Virginia natural resources police say they have made 11 arrests and seized 190 pounds of dry ginseng that was illegally harvested according to the Associated Press. The arrests followed a year-long investigation in southern West Virginia. The defendants violated a ginseng digging law because it was harvested out of season. Ginseng digging season begins September 1st in West Virginia.

Chevron has become the first energy company to meet a new set of voluntary shale gas drilling standards that aim to go beyond existing state laws in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, the Pittsburgh-based Center for Sustainable Shale announced Thursday... Chevron’s pledges to recycle drilling fluids, not use open waste pits and to reduce methane leaks address “very big” concerns for many people, said Davitt Woodwell, president of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. Chevron also says it now discloses all of the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, process in the region. Woodwell said his group hopes other drilling...

In addition to being a Field Organizer for the West Virginia Democratic Party, Collin Peterson is also a staffer for Rep. Nick Rahall, D-West Virginia. No problem with him holding a rifle or what looks like an AK47 imitation airsoft gun. Lot of issue with him appearing to “play terrorist” and post other pro-terrorist imagery:

Jim Geragthy, acclaimed author and National Review’s chief campaign analyst, has been grousing about the lack of quality polling in key Senate races this year. His frustration is well-founded. So yesterday must have felt like Christmas in September for Jim and political junkies everywhere, as two pollsters released a deluge of surveys covering the most contested races in the country. In light of the results, I’d expect that national Republicans are kicking off the week with an extra spring in their step, as well. We were leaked an advance copy of last week’s much-anticipated Politico/GWU Battleground poll, which was packed...

Between 1989 and 2010, Congress rejected nearly 700 cap-tax-and-trade and similar bills that their proponents claimed would control Earth’s perpetually fickle climate and weather. So even as real world crises erupt, President Obama is using executive fiats and regulations to impose his anti-hydrocarbon agenda, slash America’s fossil fuel use, bankrupt coal and utility companies, make electricity prices skyrocket, and “fundamentally transform” our economic, social, legal and constitutional system. Citing climate concerns, he has refused to permit construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, and blocked or delayed Alaskan, western state and offshore oil and gas leasing and drilling. He’s proud that...

For the pro-coal senator, the "war on coal" begins at home. ... while McConnell presents himself as a defender of Kentucky coal mining, a member of his own family who serves as a key campaign surrogate is taking a role in an organization that funds one of the most aggressive anti-coal campaigns in the country. McConnell’s wife, former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, sits on the board of directors of Bloomberg Philanthropies, which has plunged $50 million into the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal initiative, an advocacy effort with the expressed goal of killing the coal industry. In 2011, Bloomberg Philanthropies...

Democrats from red states are feeling the heat. Their constituents don’t like Obama, or his polices, and they have to somehow convince them that they’ll be somewhat independent when it comes to fighting for their interests. Natalie Tennant, the Democratic candidate in West Virginia’s Senate race, is trying to disseminate that message of independene with this ad rebuking Obama’s energy policy. It was released at the end of July. She says that she’ll protect coal jobs in West Virginia and “stand up to leaders of both parties who threaten our way of life.” She then proceeds to turn off...

Coming into the midterm elections, Democrats across the country are attempting to distance themselves from President Obama and his many failed policies, and who could blame them? With historically low approval numbers and the majority of Americans thinking our nation is worse off than when he took office, supporting him now would be the kiss of death in certain states where his agenda has had the worst effects. West Virginia is one of them. A video posted to YouTube Monday shows a concerned West Virginia voter questioning Democratic Senate candidate Natalie Tennant on her support for Obama, specifically his anti-coal...

HOUSTON — Natural gas production in the Marcellus Region exceeded 15 billion cubic feet per day in July, the most productive period ever recorded there, according to a government analysis. The Marcellus Region, located largely in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, now accounts for almost 40 percent of U.S. shale gas production. The field’s rapid growth has had a major effect on the surrounding markets for gas and isn’t expected to ebb soon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Marcellus Region’s natural gas productivity has surged since 2010, when production totaled 2 billion cubic feet per day. New wells...

Natural gas production in the Marcellus Region exceeded 15 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) through July, the first time ever recorded, according to EIA's latest Drilling Productivity Report. The Marcellus Region, mostly located in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, is the largest producing shale gas basin in the United States, accounting for almost 40% of U.S. shale gas production. Marcellus Region production has increased dramatically over the past four years, increasing from 2 Bcf/d in 2010 to its current level. The rig count in the Marcellus Region has remained steady at around 100 rigs over the past 10 months. Given...

Twelve states filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration on Friday seeking to block an Environmental Protection Agency proposal to regulate coal-fired power plants in an effort to stem climate change. The plaintiffs are led by West Virginia and include states that are home to some of the largest producers of coal and consumers of coal-fired electricity. The suit was filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The other plaintiffs are Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming. The E.P.A. rule, announced by President Obama on June...

A Methodist church in West Virginia was stymied in its efforts to help the needy last week when the county health department told them their plan violated state health codes. The parishioners at First United Methodist Church had decided to install a large refrigerator outside their building that those in need could access at any time. Anticipating concerns about food safety, they planned to stock it with only prepackaged food, and built a cage around it to prevent small children from climbing inside. “We just wanted a way for more people to have access to food, along with some privacy...

The main branch of the Raleigh County Public Library has surveillance video of a person vandalizing the flagpole and cutting down the American flag. The incident happened at midnight between Sunday, July 27 and Monday, July 28. Officials with the library said that a person stood outside the library and made sure that no one was inside at the time. The person then cut the rope in three places and watched as the flag hit the ground, before the person walked away.

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (D) has some explaining to do. Although the senator has proclaimed to be pro-life, his recent support of a Democratic bill to overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling on Hobby Lobby v. Burwell, suggests otherwise. This failed legislation would have reversed a decision that protects the Christian company’s religious freedom and avoid providing employees abortion-inducing drugs. Click here to sign up for daily pro-life news alerts from LifeNews.com joemanchin2Manchin explained his support for the bill as such: “Today, I voted in support of overturning the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision that ruled for-profit companies can opt...

In lieu of a public hearing, a comment period has been established during which any interested person may send comments concerning these proposed rules. This comment period will end on August 1, 2014 at 12:00 p.m. Only written comments will be accepted and are to be mailed to the following address: WV Department of Agriculture 1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East Charleston, WV 25305

History will be made in West Virginia this year when Mountain State voters elect their first female U.S. senator. They will choose between Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito and Secretary of State Natalie Tennant for the seat being vacated by Democratic incumbent Sen. Jay Rockefeller. The GOP has targeted West Virginia as one of six Senate seats it needs to win to gain control of the Senate. The others include: Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina and South Carolina. In this increasingly Red State, Tennant brought out a firebrand liberal, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Capito shot back with...

State Sen. Evan Jenkins, a Republican, debuted a new positive television advertisement Friday that emphasizes the coal industry in his bid to unseat Rep. Nick J. Rahall II, D-W.Va., in the 3rd District. “If Barack Obama had his way, none of this would exist,” Jenkins said in front of a mining operation. “Coal would be out of business, and so would West Virginia.” The ad makes no mention of the incumbent. The rest of the spot plays up Mountain State imagery and industry.

The Mount Vernon Assembly – Indianapolis FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Skip Brown skip.brown@iga.in.gov 317-232-9521 The Mount Vernon Assembly to Meet at Indiana Statehouse June 12 and 13 INDIANAPOLIS (June 9, 2014) – More than 100 state legislators representing 33 states will meet at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis on June 12 and 13 to continue establishing the rules and procedures needed for a future state-led convention for proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as authorized by Article V of the Constitution. The meeting is a continuation of efforts that began in December 2013 at George Washington’s historic Mount Vernon estate...

Or.. Democratrina. Far more destructive than any bomb or hurricane, Democrat locusts destroy lay waste to Detroit. This is the 'progress' they want for the rest of America.