Arkansas Blog

What is sad is that in today's society those in power don't even see the need in avoiding the appearance of impropriety. You hit this one on the head Max - it is not a good idea and it accomplishes nothing other than creating more doubts about the neutrality of this commission. According to the article, the presumption behind this publicity stunt is that coal is here to stay. I guess we know where Honorable stands on that issue now.

"SWEPCO's recent purchase of the UA community college branch at Hope for $1 million."

I am completely at a loss about this as to how a private entity can purchase a public education facility that is owned and operated and paid for by taxes from property - (real and personal) - sales taxes and the like. Just who got the one million, where did it go, what does this do to the designated taxes (were they abolished ?), etc.

What say thee, Louie?

ARK. BLOG: A little satire, Cato. Let's say they merely leased it for the $1 million referenced in the article about "clean" coal.

Here is the scheme I see hatched.

Let us go ahead and build the plant and as soon as "clean coal" is develpoed we will add it right away no matter what the cost. You can believe us because we and our families live near this power plant and we want only the best for our families.

Then after attempting to derail "clean coal" technology for years, when the technology is finally developed the power company will then say "WE CAAAAAN"T IT"S TOO EXXXXPENSIVE!"

"It's too late we have spent these billions out of the kindness of our hearts to bring affordable power and jobs to Arkansas!"

Then we are stuck with dirty power polluting the air and SWEPCO selling power to Texas.

NOTICE THE OZONE ACTION WARNINGS FLASHING ON AREA INTERSTATES TODAY!
Those Homeland Security Pork Barrel signs put up a couple months ago.

Different Panel my ass. They just changed the name. Spin baby, spin.

Natural gas for the East Coast. Coal burning for Texas. Chicken for Sonic and Wendy's. Wal-Mart to ensure China doesn't run short of making plastic crap made from petroleum. I travel across this state and I see land more beautiful than I've seen anywhere. The fate of this land resides with men and women who think the good life is driving an expensive car, living in a house the size of a shopping mall and seeing how many golf balls they can lose in an afternoon. What do the rest of us get?

Unreasonably high utilities. Prison. Thyroid disease. Cancer. Dirty water. A bad reputation. Corporate "public" schools. Sprawled out infrastructure. Endangered water supply. (Please feel free to add to this list as I'm getting depressed.)

Sounds to me like all this state needs is someone to say "no" to bad and "yes" to good or perhaps someone that knows the difference- Anarchy is sounding really good too. At least we could stop them without fear of the "justus" system.

Congratulations Arkansas! You can rest easy knowing that you've got Mike Beebe to save the day.

I wonder if the best thing for the endangered species in Arkansas, aka, the 'environmentalists" would be better off boycotting this love fest for fat cat polluters. It's not a clean coal conference if the environmentalists are shut out anyway. Why not make this as clear as possible instead of playing along and sucking up to the abusers? The only possible answer I can think of is that the "environmentalists" are paid off as well.

I think the University should return the money... clean coal is a GOP Orwelian talking point phrase, nothing more.. a million bucks doesn't make clean coal reality, except in creating a false perception.. Are we all going to keep up this level of stupidity? I have never seen any hard data which suggests clean coal is remotely possible. Coal IS carbon, with stuff like mercury mixed in. One would have to change coal into something else entirely in order to make it a clean energy source.

I think Mike Ross should have to answer to every one of his constituents as to why he is celebrating the toxification of them all for fat cats who want to lower Texas fats cats wholesale electric costs. Mike Ross is selling out your, your children, and your grandchildren's health.

Considering Beebe and Ross's role in all of this.. we need to understand Democrats in Arkansas would be considered a right wing extremist Republican in most of the rest of the country... and treat them accordingly... before they kill us all or just celebrate the fact we are only sick.

The moment this plant begins operation everyone should be on the same page. All the stupid people in Hope who have had no control over any of this to begin with will be counting on noisy global warming scaremongers, sierra clubs, silver spoon hunting club owners and liberals with offended sensibilities to keep SWEPCO/AEP honest.

Colette is indeed Honorable. And if you had been an "honorable" journalist, you would have contacted her first to make sure you had your facts straight before you smeared her.

ARK. BLOG: The information was drawn, accurately, from the Hope Star, which printed the entire program of the conference. It apparently got this part wrong. She's still part of a program that is totally pro-coal.

I think they are all counting on us getting air conditioners and buying even MORE electricity, so we can actually breathe.

Of course, the poor people that can't buy AC may as well just die and get it over with, in their view. And their children having physical problems from the particulates, mercury, and other thing, well that's just tough.

Oh, and global climate change, well that's just a rumor! No one needs to worry about that!

PSC stands for In the Public Service of Coal

More windmills. Isn't there some kind of breeze around Hope instead of the usual corporate lying blow-hards? After all, Hope is not that far from Texas.

T.Boone Pickem dawg says windmills are the key to our survival and nuking out some more electricity. I say nukes now and nukes forever!

The last thing they need to know is if massive transmission lines will run from Hope to Texas like they will in Hempstead County?

Where's Bill Clinton from again? What does he think of his hometown darkening skies and lungs for the benefit of Texans? Would he say something if this was in New York?

Saw on tonight's NBC national news where Texas approved new electric transmission lines costing something like $5 billion to get windmill generated electricity to the rest of the state's power grid. And I came across the web site for the State Energy Conservation Office in Texas. Wow! Conservation. Now that's a radical idea.

And all we get from our leadership here in Arkansas is black lung from breathing the air filled with ever more coal dust.