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From Wheeling, West Virginia
I just wanted to thank you for the movie. I was one of
the students that had the honor of watching your movie in Kermit, WV. Rise
Up! WV is such a powerful movie and it really hit home with me. I live
in WV, but I was unaware of the damage that mountain top removal is causing
to this state and other states, for that matter. Thank you so much for
enlightening me. It is absolutely shocking how companies can keep
disregarding people's lives. When will it be ever enough for the companies?
When will they value other's lives instead of money, instead of their own
comfort? Thank you for lighting a fire of questions within me.
I also want to thank you for bringing the "Dust
Busters" along. It is so much more impactful when there is someone who
is living in the thick of the problems to talk to. I really enjoyed
listening to them and was appalled that the coal companies and the
government would let that continue. Thank you and I thank them for
sharing their story.
I would love to learn more about mountain top removal so
if there are any websites, literature, etc. you could direct me to
that would be really great. If there is anything that I could do to help
please don't hesitate to contact me.
Keep Fighting!!
Student
at Wheeling Jesuit University
From Washington State
I watched the film Rise Up, West Virginia yesterday as
soon as it came in the mail. This film is very powerful and nobody with an
ounce of reason will walk away from it undisturbed. Of the many excellent
points made in the film, to me the most profound was a statement made by
Robert Kennedy Jr when he visited WV, and I improvise: If another country
did this to us we would call it an act of war. Staggering. Just when I
think things could not get worse, they do. Each day and everyday since I
first learned about MTR six weeks ago, the pictures I find get far worse. The
film really makes it very clear that WV cannot survive another decade like
the last one. Ken Ward wrote an article in the Gazette in 1998 showing the
first mountain in West Virginia to lose it's top, Bullpush Mountain in
Fayette County; it is a lightyear away from the devastation staring back at
us today. Washington state is where I live - West Virginia is my home.
From Lexington, Kentucky
I really enjoyed the Rise Up film. It did make me cry a few times. Jim Foster was terrific and great to
hear some other new voices and new stories. Thanks for doing this and I hope it gets widely screened.
Dave Cooper, Mountaintop Removal Road
Show
From Brooklyn, New York
James and I watched the film this evening and were
both mesmerized. The voices of
those West Virginians, yourself included, spoke so forcefully and
clearly. What a powerful film!
Thank you, again, for allowing us to be a part of it. You wove the music into the film
wonderfully!
Tina Aridas, James
Reams and the Barnstormers
From Denver, Colorado
I heard about your film "Rise Up!" on Bob
Kincaid's show, and wanted to let you know what a good job you did on
that. I think I became aware of the film when you called in and
talked about it. If you get a chance, you and your allies may want to
call into some other programs and do the same, including right-wing
shows.
Good luck with your efforts.
I'll be ordering another copy to donate to the Denver
Public Library in the near future.
From White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
Terrific, so glad you finally “got it done.’ Just want to do what I can for more
awareness. I think it really does
make all the difference.
From Lewisburg, West Virginia
Last night I watched the video Rise Up West
Virginia by BJ Gudmundsson, local filmmaker and resident
of Lewisburg. It is an impressive film on
mountaintop removal.After
watching the video it is clear to me that to residents of the areas
affected and to other thoughtful people that there is no such thing as
‘responsible’ mountaintop removal.
From Rock Creek, West Virginia
I just finished watching “Rise Up, West Virginia.” I really enjoyed it. This being 2 days before MLK day I was
struck by Nicky Joe Rahall’s “I have a dream” speech. You can certainly tell where his heart
is. “I have a dream that someday
all the cars in NASCAR will say coal to liquid.”
Thanks for all that you do.
From Brooklyn, New York
We are thrilled and honored that our music is a part of
your film “Rise Up! West Virginia.”
I am hopeful for the first time in so very long that changes, in so
many aspects of American life are possible. People seem eager for change. We need folks like you to organize the scattered voices into
one strong voice. Your film can do
that. Thank you.
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