 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
The unseasonably warm weather continues with flooding in some areas, high winds, etc. Local residents were able to observe the full moon that coincided with Christmas Eve.
"Gene" Bock, age 82 of Burning Springs, passed away after a long illness. Burial was in the Beatty cemetery.
Euell Russell has been on the sick list but is now improved.
One West Virginia court house made sure that the PC police didn't stick their long bony fingers into their business. The folks there, who are noted for standing tall and not being intimidated by the "do gooders," had the building guarded by Fleaze Navidawg.
Axiall, formerly known as PPG [Pittsburgh Plate Glass] announced that they would be building a new ethane cracker in Louisiana, making 6 new ones there. It would seem that the politicians in Ohio & West Virginia can blow lots of smoke but are found lacking when push comes to shove. Apparently, they are too embarrased to ask Gov. Jindal why his state gets all the business when the ethane must be shipped all the way there. Along those lines it has been announced that next census W. Va. is going to lose yet another congresscritter. This writer remembers when W. Va. had 6 and now we are to have only 2 which has to be the worst percentage loss of any state in the history of the republic. The state's ruling oligarchy "can be proud" of their new record.
Speaking of the oligarchy, it is reported that little Booth Goodwin, who is the Big Eared One's U. S. Attorney for southern W. Va., is considering running for governor. The Goodwin family has been the advisors to the rulers for decades for the state & the little school up at Morgantown & Judge Joe Bob Goodwin rescued EQT & Mother Hope from class action suits brought to rectify decades long wrongs.
A few years back the Big Eared One bragged that he had saved G M and that the terrorists were on the run. Now the Islamic terrorists have cells in all 50 states and GM, now known as government motors, has a new plant that the taxpayers built. It is in China and they are now importing automobiles from there. And some wonder why the Donald's talk about bad deals and China resonate broadly with voters.
Local folks are now having serious problems with Obamacare and some are considering just paying the fine. Some years back Madame Hillary said firms that couldn't afford to pay health insurance for their employees were "obviously under capitalized and shouldn't be in business". The Republican eunuchs in the congress gave no relief and now they are held, by the citizens, to be in contempt as being just part of the ruling cartel. That is why the "outsider" candidates for president enjoy wide support and outsider primary folks will retire those who chose not to "rock the boat".
A glaring example of of the gap between the ruling class & the peasants was on national display when Madame Hillary refused to go into the bathroom until a female staffer for another candidate left.
Local folks have been advised that their electric bills area going up again. The excuse is "higher cost for fuel" but in real dollars, natural gas has never been so low and the coal price is way down. The real reason is as dear leader said some time back, "electric prices will obviously have to go up" and this is just part of the "fundamental transformation".
Alvin & Nancy Engelke were visiting Adam & Anna Yates in Silver Spring Maryland. They all visited Mr. & Mrs. Ed Yates in Martinsburg and toured Mt. Vernon. As is obvious to the casual traveler, the DC area is still a boomtown with lots of new construction as the wealth is transferred from the farms, mines & mills [flyover country] to fund the federal government where they can fight poverty & injustice by purchasing more Maseratis and Lamborghinis. Of course mines, oil & gas wells and mills/factories continue to be shut down.
Education or, more correctly, so called educators, continue to be the news down at the Mouth of the Elk. Jorea Marple, better known as Mrs. Darrrell McGraw [the former AG with all the trinkets and his lawyer cronies], is still lawyering with the state board of education after the little wife Gayle and her hubby decided she should be "retired".
Discussion continues about the Magnum Hunter bankruptcy and the head of the Triad division said they planned to operate as usual. A Texas source noted that not since Roosevelt's great depression has there been so many oilfield bankruptcies.
The price of local Pennsylvania grade crude rose to $36.50/bl with condensate fetching $17.50, Marcellus & Utica light $30.50 & medium $36.50/bbl. Some had hoped that the price of crude would stabilize but Iran quickly brought on a half million bbl/day of production and OPEC continues full bore in an attempt to put the American oil shale producers out of business. Meantimes Warren Buffett, one of the Big Eared One's sugar daddies, got his stoolies in the congress to legalize his export of oil that is being hauled by divers routes to the east coast, but the Keystone pipeline cannot be built for then the Tecas refineries would not need the Arab heavy crude they now refine.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Hur Herald. | 
