[Hoot Gibson]

Many Young and even older people here stick to there checks and drug habits.

If you really believe that, then how can you possibly be a liberal who supports Obama? You must have friends or family who can tell you how it was before the entitlement mentality took hold in eastern Kentucky. I have family all over Ohio and Michigan who migrated north in search of work and so do most people who have deep roots in eastern Kentucky.

The Great Society programs began to change the culture and now many people see drawing a government check in eastern Kentucky to be a better option than moving to take a job elsewhere. So, I know that there is some truth in what you are saying about young people in eastern Kentucky and it is sad. When my father and other relatives walked into factories up north, they quickly found jobs because the work ethic of young people from our area was prized by manufacturers.

Now, when people from other areas think of eastern Kentucky, they think welfare and meth labs. The stereotype of Kentuckians when I was a boy among northerners was bare footed hillbillies who needed northerners to donate them used shoes and books - but our young men were always respected for their strong work ethic. Losing that reputation has hurt eastern Kentucky far more than the poverty that existed prior to the 1960s did - and it is not unlike what has happened to young people living in America's inner cities.