Gary, I'm not going to try to convince you of ANYTHING. At your age that's not possible. You may want the best for YOUR children but I'm not convinced you want the same thing for MINE. I don't think anyone in their right mind wants to see the coal industry come back, including the miners themselves. Why would anyone want to literally kill themselves working in an industry that produces a product KNOWN to pollute everything it comes in contact with; air, water, sunlight. No one is willing to admit the TRUE reasons we hold the beliefs we do, which are 5% economic and 95% cultural, racial, and religious. Hate, fueled by tribalism and nationalism, is at an all-time high and will likely stay that way (or even escalate) for as long as we have leaders that aim to garner and maintain power by dividing us rather than bringing us together (aided and abetted by a legislature too cowardly to stand up to this gross abuse of power and total lack of morality and decency).

So yes, we ARE on opposite ends of the political spectrum, and that will always be a deterrent to TRUE friendship. Very sad. You should start a new thread over at The Bar if you'd like to discuss this further.

chas