On Trump and LGBTQ rights: Your worst nightmares unlikely to come true
I fully expect Kentucky’s all-new Republican government to pass its so called religious freedom bill, destroying the Fairness Ordinance in quite a few Kentucky towns and cities. An effort that took decades. We’ve also been quietly lobbying Congress for federal protection from discrimination in housing, jobs and service. Expect this to come to a dead end with Donald Trump empowering the religious right yet again. I’m amazed how many people think we have this protection — how many think it’s all about Christian resistance to baking wedding cakes, because that’s all the media covers, dismissing our issues as petty.
— Dave Schroeder
On Shane Peabody Powell: Your yacht is not in the mail
I don’t think anyone thinks they get their yacht in the mail by putting anyone in office. I do think that most people would rather be a wall builder than live off the government teat. It’s in our nature to be productive, and when you just don’t see that opportunity coming anytime soon, it may be time for a drastic change. — Neil Patrick
On editor’s note: We will not wait
Inspiring! Voice of reason. We all need to take more responsibility for getting involved in our government locally and in Washington. — Paula Tetzloff
on U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth: Fingers crossed, but still safer to be very afraid
I wish I could be as optimistic. It was always assumed a Trump presidency would be defined by the regime he surrounded himself with. I don’t think it’s possible to assemble a more backward and anti-humanity bunch of bigots . The angry white man is going to have his 15 minutes. Very scary. Hold on — it’s going to get worse before better. — Raven Corvus
on Fire on the Mountain: Arson and other threats
Thank you so much for your informed, insightful article on Pine Mountain and the precious treasures therein. I am from Letcher County ... My grandfather, an underground coal miner who could neither read nor write, taught me the basic concepts of ecology and preservation long before those concepts became well known. He took me to Bad Branch on Pine Mountain long before it was a nature preserve and showed me Bad Branch Falls, and then we walked (no real trail then) to the top of the mountain. We stood in silence on a sandstone outcropping and gazed out over the valley below (before strip mining had taken hold) into the distance from which the winds blowing from the western plains hit their first mountain range, and then we turned and headed home. —Willie Johnson
On The Taste Bud: Breakfast sausage of the sea
Being raised in a devout Catholic household, we always ate fish on Fridays. My mom was very creative finding different fish products. I remember her bringing home tuna hot dogs ... I hated them. I wanted a real hot dog! — Melissa Stokes Mahlstede
