{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Letter to the Editor: The Absentee Landlord &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Gf5Q0GSiTc\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/letter-to-the-editor-the-absentee-landlord\/\">Letter to the Editor: The Absentee Landlord<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/letter-to-the-editor-the-absentee-landlord\/embed\/#?secret=Gf5Q0GSiTc\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Letter to the Editor: The Absentee Landlord&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"Gf5Q0GSiTc\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Letter-to-the-Editor-4.jpg","thumbnail_width":308,"thumbnail_height":162,"description":"(Letter to the Editor by David O. Smith) Mitch McConnell has been Kentucky\u2019s U.S. Senator since 1984, 36 years. Clearly, he is the most politically powerful senator in the last 100 years.\u00a0 He is so powerful he had Trump acquitted, he stalled bi-partisan legislation for years, and he has spearheaded the appointment of two Supreme Court Justices under Trump and blocked the nomination of a Supreme Court Justice under Obama.\u00a0 Impressive, you say. Yet, Kentucky and each of us are rated 1st nationwide in child abuse, 38th\u00a0 in education,\u00a0 44th in health care,\u00a0 39th in economy, 3rd in highest poverty rate,\u00a0 45th\u00a0 for number of high school graduates, 47th\u00a0 for number of college graduates, and 36th\u00a0 for graduate or professional degrees.\u00a0 Kentucky ranks 8th in the nation for states with the biggest drug problem and 50th (last) in the nation for health and rehabilitation. He does a lot for his party in Washington and the nation, but what has he done for Kentucky and you?\u00a0 You\u2019re not going to get the time of day from McConnell unless you are ultra wealthy. What has he done for Eastern and Southeastern Kentucky after the\u00a0 collapse of the coal industry?\u00a0 Nothing is the answer. The Abandoned Mine Lands Fund, which coal companies paid into, has approximately $2.4 billion unspent.\u00a0 Wyoming has used their share for schools and highways.\u00a0 McConnell could have appropriated multimillions of this fund for water and sewer systems, water treatment plants, roads, reclamation of un-reclaimed or pre-law coal mines and stream restoration.\u00a0 This would have put skilled labor and heavy equipment operators back to work all over our former coal counties.\u00a0 He hasn\u2019t done it. Mitch McConnell has to be replaced with someone who cares about Kentuckians and wants to help our schools, healthcare, roads, water quality, and our quality of life. Mitch McConnell is not Senator John Sherman Cooper.\u00a0 He is not Senator Henry Clay.\u00a0 He is not President Abraham Lincoln.\u00a0 He has destroyed the Republican Party of Lincoln."}