[Hoot Gibson]

^I'm indifferent about coal. As long as they mine it clean, and burn it clean, I say go for it. The reason I'm indifferent about it, is that I know most miners are for doing away with my way of making a living, and wouldn't go to bat for my union way of making money, one iota. Coal miners sit around here and whine about no jobs, while there is hiring all over the midwest for coal miners. I travel anywhere in the US to make money for my family, and just don't have it in me to feel sorry for out of work miners laying here in EKY, and WV bitching about not having a job. Get off their ass, pack a suitcase, and go find work where it is, to feed their family, like I do. For the last year and a half, I have spent the week away from my family, working 6 days a week , making money to pay our bills. For most of my 24 years in my trade, I have lived in a motel, or an RV, away from my family. If an out of work miner is looking for sympathy from me, after me going where I have to to find work, they are crying under the wrong tree.

Obama's war on coal is national in scope. Where do you suggest that an out of work coal miner go to find a job in his industry? Unlike most jobs, coal miners are only employable in areas where minable coal is present. They can't just start driving north on U.S. 23 and apply for jobs from Ashland to Detroit. There are very few coal mining jobs in the Midwest because there is very little coal in the Midwest and most of it is of poor quality - high sulfur, high ash, low BTU content.

I agree with you that unemployed coal miners should be willing to hit the road to find jobs instead of sitting at home and drawing government checks, but the jobs are being destroyed by the many for whom you voted twice. The liberal policies that you support have undermined the strong work ethic that was once so common in areas like eastern Kentucky. There are increasingly few incentives for unemployed people to move to areas where work is available, even if it requires new skills.

If only all unemployed workers would unite and form unions - because we all know that unions and not businesses create jobs. Right, RV?