FIVE SMOOTH STONES

Matt Bevin's decision to pardon several child molesters as he turned out the lights on his administration will be remembered as an unforgivable act which will silence hundreds of child victims.

After years of dissension in Frankfort, it is time to begin a new era of civility which will benefit all Kentuckians, not simply a handful of political insiders. Let the healing begin.

The recently announced Red River Gorge destination resort should remind all of us of those words for Joni Mitchell's song, Big Yellow Taxi when she wrote, "They paved paradise, And put up a parking lot..."

One is left to wonder how someone can proclaim to be pro-life and at the same time be anti-healthcare. The answer might just be in the motives of the carpetbaggers that are funding the Medicaid work requirements, carpetbaggers who have never been to Kentucky, let alone understand what it is like to be poor, unemployed and in need of basic healthcare.

Over the past years, months, weeks, and even days, the political discourse has charted a course which will eventually result in the destruction of our great nation.

The time has come to stop wringing our hands, roll up our sleeves and look to jobs of the future which will transition a coal economy to an economy fueled by small businesses created by the skilled men and women of the mountains.

Their is life after coal and the future prosperity of the mountains will be fueled by the thousand of hard working, talented and skilled coal miners who will fill the thousand of new jobs in aerospace, automotive and other industries....

All Kentuckians owe a debt of gratitude to a man of vision, a man who has spent more than four decades caring for the people of Kentucky and the people of the mountains....

The future of Kentucky depends on the public school education which our children receive today, tomorrow and in the future. It is time for an administration which supports public schools, not leadership intent on destroying Kentucky public schools....

It is time to return to the days when neighbors helped neighbors with a hand up, not a handout. It is the spirit of neighbors helping neighbors which has made this country great...

Blackjewel's excuses for bankruptcy is nothing more than a smoke screen to literally steal the wages of 1,800 hard working miners. It is time for Kentuckians to join hands and support our friends and neighbors...

The time has come to find solutions to the public sector pension crisis, not a time to simply eliminate public pensions by creating another crisis....