Is Patriot Coal's willingness to abandon new surface mines just a tactic to ensure that the company will not be able to pay retirement and health benefits and at the same time transfer the blame to mountaintop removal opponents?

It seems that MoveOn.org had it right. General Petraeus did betray us.

Why are the Republicans so concerned about the Benghazi attack, which resulted in the death of four Americans? They weren't this concerned when George W. Bush failed in his duty and over 3,000 Americans were killed September 11, 2001.

I don't understand it. The Palestinians fire rockets at Israel and nobody says a word. The Israelis fire back and everybody gets upset.

At least the Manchins have attained some social skills while in Washington. They didn't have Jorea Marple escorted from her office like they did Fred Armstrong and Scott Speedy when they were fired.

Gayle Manchin should be removed from the state school board.

Just watch and see -- the state will be involved in a lawsuit over the state superintendent's firing. Manchin seconded the motion to fire the superintendent ... Would she care if the state is out a lot of money -- and disgraced? Don't think so.

No more Papa John's pizza for me. I will not support a CEO who lives like a Saudi prince, but doesn't care if his employees have health insurance. Domino's pizza is better anyway.

AT&T says it is going to invest in West Virginia some millions of dollars. They need to provide Wi-Fi outside their stores for customers parked outside and in that area first of all.

The leaders of our state Legislature need to take some action to protect the integrity of our state Board of Education. It is so obvious an elected official of our state has put their influence into the matter and harmed this body where they should have no jurisdiction.

Republicans are saying that the reason they lost the election is because fewer white males, who usually vote Republican, went to the polls. Since blacks overwhelmingly came out to vote, doesn't this mean that white Republican males are lazy instead of the blacks they have always accused of being so?

In my lifetime I have seen each of the political parties written off as dead at least twice. After a while our broken system claims the party in power and we swing back to the other one, hoping they can fix everything. It never works out but we keep trying. Enjoy your day in the sun, Democrats. If history is any indication, it will not last long.

Just when we thought we were getting out of the Middle East -- Hamas and Al Qaida drag us back in!

The firing of Dr. Jorea Marple is reminiscent of the Fred Armstrong firing. The only thing lacking was the police escort.

The GOP didn't get "their clock cleaned" in the election. Obama won by little over 50 percent. Far from a landslide when you figure in how many voted for him without any clue why. With half the country still opposing his politics added to his lack of leadership experience it's going to be a long four years.

When running for re-election in 1984, Ronald Reagan attended four fundraisers. Obama attended 221 in running for his second term. That should tell you all you need to know about how presidents now actually spend their time. Our political system has become totally corrupted by the relentless pursuit of more and more money.

In industrial businesses, by law, aisles have to be clearly marked and kept clear in case of fire or emergency. Why isn't this the case in retail stores? Shopping season crowds and store aisles are crammed with displays of merchandise. Guess public safety takes a back seat when it comes to making money.

Be careful in the woods the next couple of weeks. There are people there with high-powered rifles whom you normally wouldn't trust with fingernail trimmers.

Vietnam POWs & KIAs need to be the subject in the news. It has been over 40 years. Don't you think it's time?

The new American Dream. Spend your time and money building a business and then being told how to run it by people too lazy to work and want a piece of the pie you've earned.

Let me get this straight: They're saying it wasn't a pre-arranged deal, yet the Randolph County schools superintendent has submitted his resignation and told the Gazette-Mail he's coming to Charleston on Wednesday, ready to go to work for the board. And they haven't even interviewed anyone for the job yet? This, my friends, does not pass the smell test.

Now that the election is over and we know that "Obamacare" won't be repealed, senior citizens should check what AARP says about our new benefits under the health-care law. It's all good -- that's why the AARP, the American Rural Health Association, and the American Public Health Association all support it.

To the person who wants candied citron: It can be found in most grocery stores near the nuts and fruits and raisons for seasonal baking. Candied citron is candied orange and lemon peel.