From Brian Patton's Twitter feed:
About 4 hours ago: "At the UMWA Annual Fish Fry. Tons of people already here." (Lowell's note: the event is in Castlewood, Russell County)
About 1 hour ago: "Gov. Tim Kaine just introduced. Kaine says this year we will not have to wait up on returns out west. He said if we win Virginia, Obama will be our President!"
About 1 hour ago: "Biden just arrived."
About 1 hour ago: "Congressman Rick Boucher on stage...says, 'without such strong union support, the Republicans would have been lined up to run against' him."
About 1 hour ago: "Sen. Phil Puckett, Del. Bud Phillips, Del. Dan Bowling, and LG candidate Jon Bowerbank are here."
About 44 minutes ago: "Cecil Roberts now on stage." (Lowell's note: Robert is president of the UMWA and Vice President of the AFL-CIO)
About 38 minutes ago: " We all just joined in singing Happy Birthday to Sam Church (72 years old)." (Lowell's note: Church was president of the UMWA from 1979 to 1982 and is now coordinator of the Virginia Coal Miners' Political Action Committee)
About 32 minutes ago: "Cecil just introduced Joe Biden."
more on the "flip"
About 29 minutes ago: Biden says "faith and family is all that's important and people from coal country understand this."
About 26 minutes ago: Biden says "Rick Boucher is relentless in his fight for his district."
About 23 minutes ago: "Biden thanks Virginia for sending Jim Webb to the U.S. Senate."
About 23 minutes ago: "Biden says that John McCain thought Webb's GI bill was too generous."
About 19 minutes ago: Biden says, "Virginia is a battleground state. And we're going to win Virginia!!!"
About 18 minutes ago: Biden says, "The middle class is the backbone of this country. It exists because of organized labor."
About 17 minutes ago: Biden says, "Since Bush got elected, there has been a war on labor."
About 13 minutes ago: Biden says, "McCain just announced that he wants less regulation on the healthcare industry."
About 11 minutes ago: Biden says "Obama or no one else is going to take his guns! Don't believe that line the Republicans are tring to sell."
About 7 minutes ago: Biden says "it is time to take some of that $30 billion in tax cuts for the oil industry and take about $4 billion to invest in coal research."