Don Blankenship, the CEO of Massey Coal, the largest corporate rapist...er...coal company in West Virginia, is suing the governor, Joe Manchin (who, ironically, is a major coal whore in his own right), in retailiation for a measely 56-cent severance tax on mined coal in the state. What gall.
To quote Blankenship, “[Legislators should] show some frugality, so that when times are tough, 10 or 15 years down the road, they don’t have to encumber coal and the coal industry so much as they have in the past.”
Boo hoo. I feel really, really sorry for the poor coal industry. They've been so mistreated and "encumbered" as they have received permit after blood-drenched permit to chop the tops off the WV mountains, break unions, and endanger thousands of communities with unstable earthen dams that contain millions of gallons of coal sludge, sometimes within yards of elementary schools (see photo above).
And let's not forget how hard things have been on Mr. Blankenship personally.... After all, as recently as 2002, he only made a $1 million base salary and a $350,000 bonus, plus stock options. Poor fellow.
So please take a moment out of your busy day to pray for the poor, poor coal industry. They are so mistreated, it makes you want to vomit. Well, something does, at least.
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