West Virginia House race becomes a proxy war between mine workers and executives - Polidicks

https://theintercept.com/2018/10/24/west-virginia-coal-third-congressional-district/ In the coal fields of southern West Virginia, one of the biggest campaign issues is — unsurprisingly — the future of coal. That’s the backdrop for one of the most contentious congressional races of the year, with Democrat and fierce organized labor advocate Richard Ojeda pitted against Republican Carol Miller, a champion of President Donald Trump’s agenda, for the open 3rd Congressional District seat in the House of Representatives. Both candidates say they are strong supporters of the coal industry. But recent campaign disclosures show that the race has become a proxy for the longstanding struggle between mine owners and the workers who have risked their lives and health to extract billions of tons of the fossil fuel. Ojeda, for his part, raised an unprecedented $1.4 million over the last fundraising quarter, bringing the cash in mostly through small-dollar donations. He rejects corporate money and receives support from the United Mine Workers of America, among other mine labor organizations. Miller, in contrast, loaned her campaign $290,000 and relies on large donations from coal and natural gas executives, lobbyists, and attorneys, according to public disclosures. Her recent campaign finance statement reveals a laundry list of corporate-controlled PACs from the energy industry, particularly coal. Among the PAC donors are Coal PAC, Contura Energy PAC, and Alliance Coal PAC, which are funded largely by coal executives. Among the individual donors to Miller’s campaign that can be found rubbing elbows in the executive suites of coal companies is Roger Nicholson, a longtime coal attorney. According to campaign finance disclosures, Nicholson gave Miller two contributions for a total of $1,250. Among coal mine workers, Nicholson is infamous for suing to block mine safety regulations that require companies to alert state inspectors of an accident and working to shield his previous employer, the International Coal Group, when it faced lawsuits from survivors of the Sago Mine explosion that trapped and killed a dozen miners in 2006. The 2018 race is unique in the recent history of West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District. Over the last few years, the seat has flipped between Democrats and Republicans. Amid the back and forth, coal executives tried to maintain influence by lavishing candidates from both parties with campaign dollars. Ojeda’s tack — siding unambiguously with coal industry workers — disrupted this bipartisan distribution of cash. In recent years, as Republicans seized control of state government, West Virginia has weakened organized labor through so-called right-to-work rules, repealed prevailing wage laws, and chipped away at safety regulations. Miller, for her part, has served as a state representative in leadership, helping pass much of the coal association’s agenda in the legislature. She has declined interviews, refused to debate Ojeda, and has used her campaign and outside GOP groups to instead pummel Ojeda as a misfit and a liberal.

new Wolfenstein is looking pretty good

Fallout 76 DLC maybe?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK0_6a_zF-Y

The governor of West Virginia is a billionaire coal mogul and another one lost the GOP primary for the senate elections this year, he was fresh out of prison for violating safety regulations.