It was reported last week that an unidentified “UMWA spokesman” said about my prior essay, “There’s not a word of truth to anything Blankenship said.”
During my debate with Robert Kennedy, Jr., even he said that “Don will tell you the truth.” So, I went back and looked over what I had written to see if anything I said was true. The essay says the following dozen things which I believe to be true and I would appreciate the UMWA marking any specific one as false if it is not true.
- Cecil Roberts said Blankenship should be behind bars where he belongs – True or False
- Cecil heads a union well known for its violence – True or False
- Cecil complains about unfunded pensions, black lung incidences, etc. – True or False
- The “Act of Vengeance” is a movie about UMWA President Tony Boyle having Jock Yablonski, his wife and his daughter assassinated – True or False
- UMWA union dues have been used to fund political donations which gain political influence for Cecil, and Cecil played a role in the selection of McAteer & Main to be heads of MSHA – True or False
- The UMWA also supported Al Gore, John Kerry, and Barrack Obama – True or False
- McAteer is under investigation for defrauding MSHA and NASA – True or False
- McAteer’s UBB report is an example of bias, ignorance and untruths – True or False
- Arnold Heightland and UMWA members were convicted of being involved in the shooting of Hayes West – True or False
- The president of the local union was involved in the shooting death of Hayes West – True or False
- UMWA members were involved in the shooting death of Eddie York – True or False
- MSHA is forcing the idling of dust scrubbers at coal mines – True or False
In summary, I believe everything the essay said is true. Two other related things are also true:
- Cecil Roberts and the UMWA, through their surrogates have told untruths about me before, and once they were literally required to pay for a newspaper ad, stating that what they said was untrue.
- I asked Cecil once why he thought he had a right to threaten people, beat them up, shoot them, and shoot into their homes. His response was that sometimes that is the only way he can get what he wants.
The question really is “What does Cecil want?” Barrack Obama as President? People shot? Miners working without dust scrubbers? Bankrupt coal companies? Unemployed coal miners? Untruthful reports on mine accidents?
The UMWA spokesman also says they are checking to see if my comments are “actionable.” You have to wonder what actionable means to the UMWA. Does actionable mean they are going to shoot into my home, or my office as was done in 1985; or shoot into my car as was also done; or maybe hire Arnold Heightland to kill me?
Who knows what they’ll do, or what they have done? I don’t know, but I do know that the only way to deal with people like them is to keep telling the truth. People like Cecil “torture the truth” and feed upon the fear that their untruths, threats and actions create.
Dwight Eisenhower said in his 1952 inaugural address that “The men who mine coal… all serve us proudly.” Today coal mining men and women are being abused by their government and the union. Coal miners don’t deserve the abuse and are instead owed a great debt for what they do and have done for this country for more than 100 years. Union or non-union, I believe it to be true that coal miners shouldn’t have their money used to support politicians that want to stop coal mining; be denied use of dust scrubbers; be intentionally put out of work so that politicians can `”brand” themselves “green;” be shot; or have their families shot. They deserve the truth from their employers, the union, the media and their government. They are not getting it from any of them.
Read the article from The Huffington Post.