-By Warner Todd Huston
Back in 2008 Barack Obama was given little notice when he told the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle that if he became president he’d work to destroy the coal industry, both for miners and power providers. Now, as his presidency comes to an end we see he has kept that promise.
This month, despite that coal is still one of the world’s leading sources of energy, America’s biggest coal company, Peabody Energy, filed for bankruptcy. Peabody joins a growing list of bankruptcies of other American coal concerns including Alpha Natural Resources, Arch Coal, and Patriot Coal.
Granted the industry had problems before Obama came along, but those problems became but a small part of the insurmountable obstacles put in their way by Obama’s policy to “bankrupt” the coal industry.
And before you think we here at Publius Forum are just being hyperbolic, no, “bankrupt” is exactly the term Obama used in his interview in 2008.
Here it is in Obama’s own voice…
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Obama’s Promise to Destroy the Coal Industry Has Been Kept”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a perfect example of an agency that needs to be cut back, defunded, and dis-empowered. A recent examination of its budget shows that it has spent tens of millions on assembling its own private army replete with aircraft, machine guns, body armor, and tanks not to mention money wasted helping foreigners push “global warming” and unnecessary “grants” given to partisan, left-wing groups to push so-called “environmental justice.”
Five Republican Governors are cooperating in a 10th Amendment-styled, states rights bid to defeat Obama’s un-Constitutional global warming power grab. The five are saying that they may simply ignore his edicts and refuse to implement his rules. Is your governor joining them? If not, why not?
We’ve talked about the police state that is being built right under our very noses many times. But a recent raid on Alaska mines by the EPA is proof once again that far too many government agencies have para-military, heavily armed divisions. And they need to be curtailed.
Senator Jim Inhofe (R, OK) is looking into what he thinks my be the illegal collusion on a climate change campaign possibly involving Obama’s White House, his former campaign organization now dubbed Organizing for Action (OFA), and the left-wing cable network MSNBC.
The “Green Energy” sector has been hit with a series of setbacks over the last few years. From a wind farm being cited for killing an endangered eagle, to solar energy’s tumble from investor favor over dismal performance, to a growing list of companies gone bankrupt even after President Obama pumped millions of our tax dollars into them, the so-called Green Energy sector has certainly seen better, more hopeful days.
The State Department has released its much-anticipated report on the environmental impact of the Keystone Pipeline and, to the alarm of the green lobby, it seems to leave President Obama with little reason to continue delaying construction.
President Obama had an opponent in the West Virginia Democrat Primary and the fella did pretty well, too. Democrat Keith Judd was Obama’s primary opponent for the Democrat nomination for President on Tuesday and he garnered 40% of the cote, too. I’d say that’s pretty good for a convicted felon that is still serving time in a Texas jail, wouldn’t you?
Earlier in the week a video surfaced on Youtube of Al Armendariz, head of the EPA office in Dallas, saying that he and his agency planned to “crucify” any business that crosses them. The video caused a lot of consternation on Capitol Hill as well as recriminations for the EPA. But by Friday the video had been pulled by Youtube because of complaints from the man that originally made the video. Turns out he’s an extreme environut connected with the gay community.
The price of gasoline getting you down, bunkie? I don’t blame you because it is hitting us all hard in the wallet. Oh, there’s lots of finger pointing, to be sure. The left wants to blame the Republicans sold out to the oil industry, the right blames Obama for refusing to allow us to explore for and go after our own sources of energy because he is sold out to the disastrously failed “green energy” sector.
Barack Obama’s avalanche of needless regulations on coal-fueled power plants are going into effect and the net result will be the closing of hundreds of power plants all across the country just when our need for power is increasing. This will absolutely necessitate the cost of our power to skyrocket. But, this is exactly what he wants. He wants to rape us for our power. He said so from the beginning.
On Friday I attended an informative business roundtable meeting of Chicago-area small businessmen who came together to discuss how government intervention and its avalanche of regulations are killing jobs and businesses not only in Illinois, but nation wide. Some of the stories were chilling, to say the least. These trials go to show how anti-business the most famously capitalist country in the world has become. No wonder we can’t get out of this second great depression!
The event was held at the headquarters of The Rabine Group in Schaumburg, Illinois. The Rabine Group is a group of nationwide companies that specializes in driveway paving, roofing, and other contracting work. The company is headed by owner and CEO Gary Rabine.
Phil Kerpen has a warning for you, America. He wants to alert you to the fact that Barack Obama is using his powers to create regulations to undermine Congress, ignore voters, and “radically transform America.” But Kerpen also has some good news. There’s a way to stop this left-wing assault on our country. You can find out what that something is in his new book, 
Recently Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D, Illinois 9th District), whose husband has been convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion, was interviewed by the far left website 
I spent most of the day on Aug 30 sort of embeded with Congressman Peter Roskam, Republican of the Illinois 6th District and Chief Deputy Whip in Washington, as he toured his district talking to local businesses. The whirlwind tour of businesses in Roskam’s district — topped with a presser in downtown Chicago — was the precursor of Roskam’s next focus. Roskam wants to begin an assessment of the regulatory edifice in Washington D.C. with any eye toward making Washington more business friendly in this moribund, recessionary economy.
Our first stop was