Lets Start with Ashley Judd. Now I not going to get into what Ashley or Stella has done, I am not into Celeb. news and trivia, its not my "thang"

Here is the WYMT news story about Ashley Judd, Titled "Local Leaders are upset at Ashley Judd's comments."

Ashley Judd says in a 1 hour long speech, mountaintop removal is environmental genocide and should stop.

Local leaders and people whose livelihood depend on coal are upset she made these comments on a national stage.

"I am very proud to be a Kentuckian. and, of the many things my creator has seen fit to allow me to accomplish, being an eastern Kentuckian is the simple fact that brings me the most honor, the greatest sense of self. I love and am proud of being a hillbilly," Judd said.

Ashley Judd tells the White House Press Club mountaintop removal is destroying the Appalachian Mountains she loves.

"And it gets bigger with every Appalachian mountaintop that is blown up, every holler that is filled, every stream that is buried, every wild thing that is wantonly and recklessly killed, every ecosystem that is diminished, every job that is lost to mechanization, every family that is pitted one against the other by the state-sanctioned, federal government-supported coal industry-operated rape of Appalachia: mountaintop removal coal mining," Judd said.

"Ashley Judd is an egotistical brat from California who doesn't understand the culture, the heritage of what she calls hillbillies, and we're proud to be hillbillies," Pike County Judge Executive Wayne T. Rutherford said.

Judd calls mountain top removal environmental genocide and accuses coal companies of spreading "propaganda" to show reclaimed mine sites are good for the area and mentions development on some sites like the Federal Penitentiary in Martin County and the Stonecrest Golf Course in Floyd County.

"On another site they built a golf course. I'm not to keen on reinforcing stereotypes about my people, but I don't know a lot of hillbillies who golf," Judd said.

"I'm a hillbilly and I love to play golf," State Senator Johnny Ray Turner said....(MORE)

FYI, Johnny Ray Turner is a democrat. Just let me throw this little extra hypothesis out there. If our Democrats in the state didn't talk like republicans, perhaps the less politically savvy here would be less inclined to vote for a republican due to confusion of what the two parties do (or should) stand for.

Now some quick truths, overall nationally, 90% of MTR land has NOT been converted into an economic entity. In Kentucky and West Virgina, that number is only 4%. And the damage continues after reclamation, so just because there is a "sportsplex" on that flat mountain, doesn't mean the damage has stopped. So that myth is crap. Second, they are poisoning our waterways, studies have shown, and local groups are wanting water regulation taken out of state hands (state officials are very cozy with coal, as I mentioned in my last diary).

If you want to see something amazing, read the comments on the Ashley Judd story. Read the responses by the pro-coal crew. It's as vile and hate-filled as the Freepers are!

Now, enter Stella Parton for her 5 minutes of fame...

Stella Parton recently finished an album called "American Coal," which she says is a tribute to miners and families. She says she is tired of all the talking in political and social circles. She says people need to step up and do something to help Appalachia.

Parton visited several reclaimed mine sites while she was in eastern Kentucky, including the Knott County Sportsplex, ATV trails, and Stonecrest Golf Course.

"Yesterday I saw proof that the reclamation of that land is an incredible thing, and it's a scientific wonder to me," Parton said.

Stonecrest is the same course that Ashley Judd criticized in a recent speech on mountain top removal. Parton knows and likes Judd and her family, but she had some strong words for her friend.

"I think with her Kentucky education that she's quite uninformed," Parton said....

Oh that Kentucky education you see, made her an idiot I suppose. That same Kentucky education that I got that makes me wonder what could make someone call 4% reclamation a "scientific wonder".

Before things change here, reality of what coal is MUST be injected into the region. Both political parties need to stop pandering to the same industry. What do you guys/gals think?