No Christmas bonus
Editor,
I am a widow of a 30 year UMWA coalminer and on a small income. Now the union says that for the next two years we won’t get our needed Christmas bonus.
I’m 58, pay my co-op associate dues and live on or exist on $787 month.
They don’t pay dentists and needed the bonus for this because I have real teeth and need the rest for what they don’t pay on glasses.
Thanks,
Gail Evans-Muncy
Silver Springs, Fla.
Town of Man
Editor,
I have been making the five hour trip from Springfield, Ohio, to Man for the last few weeks to work on my house in Man, to get it ready for sale. Last week after a long day, I went by the Man Town Hall and saw the town was having a council meeting so I decided to stop by for a minute and tell all my friends hey! I hardly could contain myself seeing all the wonderful people that make Man a special little town.
Getting a chance to visit with all the wonderful people who have been so good to Karen and I over the 30 plus years of pastoring in Man is so overwhelming! When I was coming down old Rt.10 and getting a chance to drive on the new highway I couldn’t help but beam with pride in seeing what a few good citizens can do when they get on the same age for a common purpose.
The improvements to the town and seeing all the visitors to the Hatfield/McCoy trail was great as well, but nothing surpasses the ‘Soul” of this little town, its wonderful people. It has been a labor of love that kept me there for all of those years!
I brought one of my pastors with me and he was overwhelmed with the friendliness of the people, and the natural beauty of the land! Karen and I may have been called to Ohio and certainly are grateful to the wonderful folks here, but Man will always have my heart, and I will always be a Mountaineer!
May God bless each and every one of you! Montani Semper Liberi! (Mountaineers are always free!)
Bernard Cook
Springfield, Ohio
Life after the mines
Editor,
As Logan County native I can say there is life after coal mines. I was relocated to Meigs County Ohio at age 13. I became a Union Coal Miner and worked 27 years underground. When the mines closed in 2001 I enrolled in a local college.
I worked at my studies with the same enthusiasm that I had as a miner. I finished my AA there and went on to another school and earned a BA. I have been steadily employed ever since.
I laugh and tell people that I make the same money now as I did 20 years ago! I do miss the wage but I get by. I will be looking forward to a second retirement in the near future.
Ronnie Vance
Albany, Ohio
Obama supporters
Editor,
I can hardly express how disappointed I am in Governor Tomblin and Senator Manchin. They continue to be full supporters of Barak Obama, even though Mr. Obama has vowed to destroy coal mining as an industry in our country. How can two men who claim to have such great pride in our state and its coal mining heritage support someone as evil as Barak Obama? I don’t know. You’ll have to ask them.
I’ve called both their offices for an answer about who they are supporting for President and neither one will give an answer. Real men? Real leaders? Real cowards if you ask me! In similar fashion, I’ve heard former Obama supporters say, “I don’t like Romney, but I’m not going to vote for Obama again. So, I’m just not going to vote”. Really? Don’t you former Obama supporters understand that not voting is equal to a vote for Obama? You see, he needs to be defeated; and the only thing that defeats him is when Romney gets more votes than Obama. Not voting is not tabulated. Just as not supporting Obama is NOT the equivalent of standing against him.
In times of real testing, men who want to be leaders must take a stand for what is right and they also must take a stand against that which is wrong. These are two sides of the same coin. However, when we look at Tomblin and Manchin they keep showing us the same side of the coin, hoping we will forget to ask about the other. You see, weak men desire their own advancement and prestige above everything else. To them, winning, advancing their own name and notoriety is what matters most. It is called blind ambition. Worse yet, these kinds of men can be counted on to turn tale and run when a real fight shows up. Are you hearing me Earl Ray? How about you Joe?
In private, both of these West Virginia elected officials will openly admit that Obama is a terrible President who is incapable and unfit for the job. But, they both lack the backbone to say it publicly. That is because to a politician there is only one thing worse than losing and that is going against their political party. The Democrat party must be bowed down to. If they dare take a stand against Obama, then they subject themselves to being cast out of the party or at least being sent to the back of the bus. For my part, I’d rather be known as a man who stood up for my people regardless of what my political party feels about it. To be such, is to truly be a leader.
Don’t believe the sleight of hand these slick politicians pull when they say, “Well I really don’t like either candidate”. OK. But you don’t have any other choice except those two. Pick one and name him openly. Or you can continue to hide behind your skirts. Is it any wonder our country is in the mess it is?
When our country and state need men, we get this instead … powder puff, mamby pamby, politicians dressing up as men of honor. No thanks. Give me a man who will take a stand for what he believes in and who isn’t afraid to stand against his enemies, even if they are within his own political party. That man I can respect.
Bottom line, if you don’t have the guts to lead, then please retire.
Gary Lee Corns
Logan
It is not cruel to transport an animal in an enclosed environment in or on a car. Romney’s dog was not hurt in the transport. Can you say the same about the dog that Obama ate?
Romney and the Republicans have not lied about Obama’s record. The man is a complete and utter failure! If anything, Romney is too kind to him, and Obama does not deserve any accolades. They are going to talk about foreign policy tonight. Obama’s foreign is to give away our freedom and leave us defenseless. He told Putin to wait until after the election and he would give him whatever he wanted http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/294390/obama-putin-wait-until-after-my-reelection .
In as far as lies are concerned; a recent ad running for Obama said that Romney killed a man’s wife because of Bain. The real story was the company the man worked for went belly up years after Romney quit Bain (Romney had NOTHING to do with Bain at that point). The man’s wife was working and had insurance at the time he lost his job. The man ended up finding other work. The story goes that after a few years the wife quit her job, but the man’s new insurance did not cover her. In the period after the lady QUIT her job, she developed cancer and died. HOW is Romney responsible for that?
Romney gives and pays up to about 40% of all revenue he earns in taxes, charity and tithing. Obama’s brother George lives in dire poverty in Kenya. When George’s daughter was sick and needed immediate care, George did not ask Obama. Obama would not throw his brother George a chicken bone that had all the meat eaten off! Obama is a loser…he is a heartless jerk. Obama is a multi-millionaire and can’t spare his brother a copper penny. He does not love people because of his own arrogance. The way he tilts his nose in the air seems like he is trying to sniff his own rear end! The way he bows to foreign dictators is embarrassing for all Americans. I surely hope that after November we can put an end to his madness and put a real "AMERICAN" leader in charge!
I understand times are hard for you Mrs. Evans-Muncy. Times are hard for everyone! Mrs. Evans-Muncy the Obama Administration has been anti-coal from the beginning of his administration. If it were up to the Obama Administration, he would end the world of coal. In order to help prosperity come back to the mountain state (and insure the coal mining industry survives), I would consider a vote for Mitt Romney who is a strong supporter of coal and coal miners. People like you can make a difference in Florida!
Mr. Bernard Cook, I understand you are a minister in the city of Springfield, Ohio. Springfield is a great American city; so is your neighboring city of Dayton. Times have hit Dayton pretty hard! I was in Dayton a year or two back and noticed that many of the houses in North Dayton were in disrepair, burned, or boarded up; that is sad because Dayton used to be a vibrant city. I see Dayton going the way of other sizable cities in that the administration is ran by Democrats. Once the Democrats get in charge, you can say good-bye to any prosperity. You might ask why the Democrats do such a poor job. Personally, I believe that the party has sold its soul to the devil. What is on the Democrat platform? Gay marriage. Where in the bible does it condone homosexual marriage? As long as men have been on the earth, the only type of marriage has been between a man and a woman; anything else is against the laws of nature and of God. I also have trouble with Obama’s stand on abortion. Did you know he is against saving the life of a fetus (baby at that point) after it is ALREADY born? Oh yes…he would have the baby die on a cold slab! That is heartless! In the Democrat Convention, when the mayor of LA suggested adding God to their platform, he was booed. The Democrat Party has turned it back on God, and now God has turned his back on them because of their wickedness. How can any person who believes in God condone that party? I hope you and those in your church can look to Mitt Romney as an alternative; who supports traditional marriage, and is Pro-life.
Gary Corns…you are a great American. The words you write are very careful and well thought out! You can rest assured sir that I will vote for Mitt Romney for President. I notice that most of the opposition to you has died out. I think most Democrats now realize how bad their party has left America. I know you will do the right thing in West Virginia, and I will do the right thing in Virginia. The reason Manchin and Tomblin (a local boy) can’t say anything to you is because they are ashamed of what the Obama Administration has done to coal and to the United States. Surely they realize what is going on! I would not be surprised if they changed parties. It would be hypocritical to defend coal and be a part of Obama’s Administration. Keep up the good fight!
Mr. Vance, I tip my hat to you. You was given lemons and you made lemonade; good show! What you have shown is that people can work to improve themselves, or they can wallow in self pity. It sounds like you was a success.
This is Gary Lee Corns. I'm afraid you may misunderstand some of my logic and reasoning behind my stance against the President. My primary reason for taking the position I do is because I judge him by his actions NOT his rhetoric. He would have us all believe that he is only trying to fix Pres. Bush's failings, and while campaigning the first time he assured America he could. Sadly he hasn't. There isn't a single major problem that he can point to and claim success. The economy is worse. Unemployment is worse. Food stamps useage has nearly doubled. Gas prices are almost double. Inflation is beginning to creep back up. The only thing he can point to as a real success is killing Osama; and truthfully, I don't believe he wanted to do that.
You see maam; conservatives like myself live in a real world where facts, numbers, percentages, dollars and cents matter. We don't believe that lifes problems are solved simply by saying we care. Caring has a cost and is precisely the cost of socialist ideals that Democrats routinely forget to consider.
You claim we Republicans have lied about your president. How so? What I see most often is we point to his promise, "5.3% unemployment by the end of my first term" and compare that to the facts today which are "8% unemployment" and we thus conclude, THE MAN IS INCOMPETANT. So where are we wrong in doing that? Shouldn't leaders be held accountable to thier words and deeds?
May I encourage you to please attempt to run your own household in the same manner as your president has atttempted to run our country. Borrow two times more than your bring home pay. Pay only the interest on your credit cards. Spend one and one-half times more than your annual income and then tell me how that works for you.
The cheif problem with liberalism is that it makes folks "feel good" about themselves because they can talk about how much they care. But at the end of the day, liberals can't pay for thier programs, only taxpayers can. And frankly I'm tired of paying nearly 50% of my income to fund liberal projects so you people can feel good.
Life is simple. Get a job. Pay your own way. Help those you can and keep your hands out of other people's pockets!
God Bless You