Fogbow

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has acknowledged that he owes $700 million in loans that have yet to be paid by one of his coal companies.

The governor fielded questions about the outstanding loans Tuesday during his COVID-19 briefing, following a report that indicated his responsibility for the debt.

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that Justice’s Bluestone Coal Corp. had taken out loans from Greensill Capital in 2018. The lending company recently went bankrupt, leaving a Swiss bank that bought the debt trying to recoup the funds.

Bluestone and Credit Suisse are reportedly now in talks about repayment, according to The Wall Street Journal. Bluestone has also sued Greensill for fraud in federal court.

Noem sued the U.S. Department of Interior in an effort to reverse the decision to deny the state's permit for the pyrotechnic display. The Republican governor successfully pushed last year for a return of the event after a decadelong hiatus. But the National Park Service denied it this year, citing safety concerns and objections from local Native American tribes.

The opinion and order from Chief Judge Roberto Lange of the federal district court of South Dakota meant that the night sky over Mount Rushmore will be devoid of the state's fireworks on Independence Day this year.

Noem has decried the decision to deny the fireworks permit as “political" and made a patriotic argument for holding fireworks at the massive monument. The event last year gave former President Donald Trump an opportunity to make a fiery speech at the monument. The state had signed an agreement with the federal government under Trump to work towards having the fireworks display this year.

However, Noem's lawsuit also reignited legal skirmishing between her and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, which opposed the event on the grounds that the Black Hills, which contain Mount Rushmore, are sacred to the Lakota people.

Oregon Republicans call on lawmaker to resign after he taught protesters to slip into Capitol

Hannah Knowles and Nick Parker
June 7, 2021 at 10:55 p.m. GMT+2

Republican members of the Oregon House of Representatives are calling on one of their own to resign after he coached protesters on how to breach the state Capitol as lawmakers discussed coronavirus legislation.

“All House Republicans have called on Representative [Mike] Nearman to resign,” said a statement that House Minority Leader Christine Drazan (R) gave to The Washington Post on Monday afternoon. “We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard in elected life and his actions do not meet that standard.“

Earlier Monday, Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek (D) introduced a resolution to expel Nearman from the House because he “engaged in disorderly behavior.” The measure says Nearman could be booted from the legislature if two-thirds of members approve. A committee will review the resolution this week, according to the Statesman Journal. Kotek did not immediately respond to The Washington Post’s requests for comment.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2 ... tol-video/

Idaho’s rightward political lurch has immersed the state’s Republicans in a political civil war that now extends all the way from the grassroots to the executive mansion.

In late May, the state’s Republican governor, Brad Little, angrily revoked an executive order banning mask mandates in the state, which had been put in place by his own militia-supporting lieutenant governor during a period when she was deputizing for him.

Janice McGeachin had ordered that Idaho cities and counties revoke mask orders, playing into a widespread fear among the far right that basic health measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic are a sign of an over-reaching government. Little then called McGeachin’s action “tyranny” and a “stunt” and scuppered it after it had been in place for just a day.

But observers say the bizarre fight is symptomatic of a much wider problem in Idaho and the rest of America.

They fear that the political dynamics in Idaho – where far-right actors have won recruits and political momentum through uncompromising refusal to comply with public health measures – may presage a worrying direction of conservative politics in the country as a whole.

“Political moderates around the country need to pay more attention to what is happening here,” said Mike Satz, executive director of the Idaho97 project, which was founded last year to combat misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic

Uninformed wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 10:09 am

► Show Spoiler

ORBITS: Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) asks whether the Forest Service or the BLM can alter the orbit of the moon or the Earth in order to fight climate change during a House Natural Resources hearing

Frater I*I wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 12:29 pm I said Tinfoil-Greene was making a play for dumbest congresscritter ever...

Well, Goobert just set the bar in orbit...

Uninformed wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 10:09 am

Jim wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 12:48 pm

Frater I*I wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 12:29 pm I said Tinfoil-Greene was making a play for dumbest congresscritter ever...

Well, Goobert just set the bar in orbit...

Oh come on, it's the perfect solution. Change the orbit of the moon, crash it into the Earth, no more climate change...or climate for that matter.

noblepa wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 12:54 pm

Uninformed wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 10:09 am

► Show Spoiler

In the entire human history of stupid questions, that has to be the stupidest.

Uninformed wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 10:09 am ...gohmert video...

Atticus Finch wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 12:57 pm What about using Jewish space lasers to alter the moon's orbit?

AndyinPA wrote: ↑Wed Jun 09, 2021 10:11 am

And for a brief split second I read that as obit.

Greatgrey wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 5:44 pm Ummm... doesn’t seem right.
https://www.blackhillsfox.com/2021/04/0 ... ntent=kevn

Drive drunk, kill a pedestrian, get a promotion.

South Dakota AG's military promotion on hold as he faces criminal charges in fatal crash
The state's top attorney allegedly killed a man with his car.

The U.S. Army Reserve halted South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s promotion to full colonel pending the outcome of a criminal case in which Ravnsborg is accused of fatally striking a man with his car, authorities said.

Ravnsborg said last month on social media that he was up for promotion in the U.S. Army Reserve from lieutenant colonel to colonel. But an official with the Army Reserve confirmed to NBC News on Tuesday that Ravnsborg’s potential promotion is delayed until his criminal case concludes.

A promotion to colonel in the Army Reserve is usually presented to the U.S. Senate for confirmation.

“Army Reserve leadership is aware of the tragic incident allegedly involving LTC Jason Ravnsborg and is following applicable Army regulations and policies,” said Lt. Col. Simon B. Flake, a spokesman with the U.S. Army Reserve. “Soldiers pending investigation by civilian law enforcement authorities and/or civilian criminal proceedings may still be eligible for selection for promotion, but the Army Reserve retains discretion regarding actual promotion. In this case, relevant Army Reserve leaders will monitor the ongoing civilian proceedings and make further decisions at the appropriate time.”

The military can place holds on promotions if a criminal case in a federal or state court is pending against the officer, federal law states.