A new start

WV Governor Joe Manchin announced Friday that Carte Goodwin would fill the US Senate seat vacant since the death of Robert Byrd. Goodwin is a Charleston attorney and former legal council to Manchin, comes from a family with very good political connections and a tradition of public service. I'm guessing that this could be the beginning of a long career in public office, although the next stop from here will be somewhere other than the Senate.

Whatever the future holds, it is likely that Goodwin's appointment will be good news for the more than 2 million Americans who have exhausted unemployment benefits. If all goes according to plan, a vote on unemployment insurance will happen shortly after he is sworn in on Tuesday. Goodwin's vote is likely to put the vote to 60 and overcome a Republican filibuster. It is likely that he will also support key measures also needed to prevent a double dip recession, such as extending key provisions of the Recovery Act such as FMAP, the federal Medicaid match to states.

I hope it goes according to plan. That would indeed be an auspicious beginning. And I like the thought of WV tipping the balance in the direction of sanity.

ON THE DOWNSIDE, it doesn't look like he'll follow the lead of Senator Byrd on coal and climate issues, as Ken Ward points out at Coal Tattoo.

WORTH CHECKING OUT. Here's a site devoted to deal both with worker justice and with sustainability issues.

A NEW TWIST. Here's an item from the NY Times about conscientious objectors and changing times.

SOUNDS FAMILIAR. Here's how the resource curse works in Louisiana. Golly, it's a good thing nothing like that happens in WV, huh?

DARWINIAN MORALITY is discussed here.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED