Legalectric

More on Mesaba — gotta get this posted before I hit the road:

I swear the reporter who wrote this was under the influence when he wrote back to me. The response I got when I sent some info about his false statements, like his report that the price of Mesaba is $1 billion, OH MY, his response is so bad I won’t even post it, now that’s awful — as another reporter opined, “HOLEEEE HELL…”

Here’s the report on the Hoyt Lakes meeting from Virginia’s Mesabi Daily News:

A tale of two different meetingsÂ

Yes, it was the best of times and the worst of times.

Here’s that same paper’s “editorial” with same material factual errors:

Mesaba Energy project vital for country, area: Knee-jerk opposition a narrow view

I’ve got to include the whole thing, for those of you who haven’t had your daily guffaw:

Mesaba Energy project vital for country, area
Knee-jerk opposition a narrow view
Mesabi Daily News
Saturday, August 26th, 2006 08:03:43 PM

Americans who support continued dependence on foreign oil as our main energy source we would hope are quickly becoming an endangered species â?? if they arenâ??t yet already there.

There is a strong and growing sentiment in this country â?? which we believe should have been instilled years ago â?? that we need to proclaim our energy independence.

And we believe that means embracing a diversified U.S.-first energy program, which is not beholden to any special interest group, whether big business or environmental.

So why in the name of energy dependence is there such an outcry by a vocal few in the area to a proposed new energy source that will be good for Minnesota and the entire country?

We are amazed that some people have become so worked up over the Mesaba Energy Projectâ??s coal gasification initiative, especially considering that it is not only part of a more energy-independent U.S. policy, but it will also be a source of many, many construction jobs and hundreds of permanent jobs on the Iron Range.

The project calls for three clean-coal plants, the first one to be built near Taconite in Itasca County and the other two to be constructed at yet to be determined sites on the central Range and the eastern Range. Each of the facilities will cost about $1 billion in preparation, design, permitting and construction. And each of the facilities are expected to provide 1,000 construction jobs and more than 100 permanent jobs.

The Mesaba Energy project already has Iron Range Resources, county, state and federal support. The federal loan guarantees secured in last yearâ??s energy bill are impressive indeed. They point to a national consensus across the country and in Washington that itâ??s high time we move ahead to a much more energy independent future, which most definitely includes using our own abundant coal resources made much more environmentally clean through modern technology.

That doesnâ??t sit well with some environmentalists. But if we let our national energy policy … not to mention our local economic development policy … be dictated by such narrow viewpoints then we will all lose out in many different ways.

The Mesaba Energy project will receive plenty of study and ample permitting scrutiny before it goes online. The monitoring process is in place, as is the public review process. And, as is already the case, there is plenty of opportunities for opponents to have their say and carry forth their message.

But supporters of a more energy-independent policy with multiple uses are also being heard. And, so too, are supporters of the Mesaba Energy project.

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And that’s the sorry state of “journalism” today… but hey, what’s a missing $.97 billion on a $1.97 billion dollar project after all… it’s only numbers…