My Senator's Response

[Haywire Haywood]

I wrote my Senators and Representatives again concerning Lowes and Home Depot importing lumber while our own forest industry and sawmills are struggling.

Senator McConnell took the time to reply via Snail Mail:

Dear Mr Haywood,
Thank you for contacting me to share your concerns about the economy and the logging industry. I appreciate you taking the time to make me aware of your interests.

Like many Kentuckians, I have grown concerned about the challenges facing our economy in recent months. As I have traveled across the Commonwealth, I have had the opportunity to talk with families who are uncertain about our economic future. While unemployment has remained low in recent years, it has begun to rise, and there are growing concerns about the economic challenges that families are facing.

In your correspondence, you expressed concerns about the effect of the economy on the forest industry. As you know, the forest industry has an enormous impact on our national and local economies. Each year, America's forests produce wood and paper products values at more than $230 billion. In Kentucky, the forest industry directly employs over 30,000 people, which ranks it third in manufacturing employment in the state. Additionally, Kentucky has 11.7 million acres of forest land -- 47 percent of the state's land base. Clearly, the forest industry is important to American and to Kentucky. As the U.S. Senate considers legislation aimed at improving the economy, I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind.

Again, thank you for contacting me. If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to let me know.

sincerely,

Mitch McConnell
United States Senator

 

[ShoerFast]

Sounds like a little smoke and mirrors?

Are there are any directly employs of Kentucky forest industry reading this thread?

 

[Metals406]

This is the standard BS crap they send you every time... They never directly address the topic of your letter, and they never take a stance on anything.

Hang'em all... They ain't worth the powder it'd take to blow'em all to hell.


If voting made any difference they wouldn't let us do it. ~MARK TWAIN

 

[hammerlogging]

hey senator, those are some incredibly useful statistics. now I feel great.

No mention of free trade, tariffs, global economy, or the ramifications thereof. But, it turns out KY knows just how many trees it has. So thats good news.

Next????

 

[hazard]

Was anything said at all in that letter besides throwing a few local facts??? I am surprised he did not make a few references to all the great things has done for the local economy. Whether true or not.

I really like the Mark Twain quote. That is getting printed out tomorrow and put up on my wall at work.

 

[TreePointer]

That's the kind of noncommittal reply letter I expect. Well, actually, that letter showed a little more interest that some of the boilerplate letters I've gotten on various issues over the years. The interesting thing, IMO, is that particular senator is probably more likely than the majority of others to get involved with your issue, especially if he receives other letters concerned about the logging industry.

 

[audible fart]

Mitch mcconnell. Barney frank. Al gore. Harry reid. B.H.O. The list goes on. These are the type of people that got beat up in high school. It's baffling to me that so many weak feminine men get elected as "leaders" of anything beyond baton twirler in a pride parade. Not one of them could operate a firearm or a chainsaw. Most of them are one sudden loud noise away from hiding under a damn desk. Trembling. Love the mark twain quote, though.

 

[Mike Van]

Hey, Haywire - We'll trade you one Chris Dodd for............. a road killed raccoon? :monkey: - this symbol should mean politician.

 

[slowp]

Mitch mcconnell. Barney frank. Al gore. Harry reid. B.H.O. The list goes on. These are the type of people that got beat up in high school. It's baffling to me that so many weak feminine men get elected as "leaders" of anything beyond baton twirler in a pride parade. Not one of them could operate a firearm or a chainsaw. Most of them are one sudden loud noise away from hiding under a damn desk. Trembling. Love the mark twain quote, though.

What's wrong with being feminine?

My sister was a baton twirler, and a good one. She could twirl fire and knives. I was a cull with a baton so stayed in band.

At least he got an answer. My senators don't even bother. The state ones start sending me solicitations for money for their reelection. They live in another world.

 

[371groundie]

thats alot of ink to say nothing. i bet you could have looked up the stats on your state website if you really wanted them.

feminine? both my senators and one of my reps are women!

 

[BuddhaKat]

Actually, I was rather impressed with the response. It clearly shows that someone did take the time to research the key metrics of the logging industry in the USA and Kentucky. Clearly, an incredible amount of time has been spent compiling this information, no doubt at considerable taxpayer expense, to say absolutely nothing.

 

[Backwoods]

Then again he could have just gone awal and taken a hike in the woods to ponder his losses.

That is a much better response then what I got when they closed our post office a week before Christmas leaving our elderly no choice but to go over the mountain pass during a bad stretch of snowstorms to get there mail. That ruffled a few feathers.

Even when wood is sold at the box stores, it keeps the timber industry moving. I don’t compete with them as they sell wood with round edges and I make wood with square edges.