Coal Mine Explosions and the Tea Party

[dbackjon]

Turns out Massey Energy not only has a long history of safety violations, but is a major sponsor of Tea Parteis (Over a Million Dollars)...

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/massey ... lion-dolla" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Meet Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy Company. Blankenship is also on the Board of Directors of the US Chamber of Commerce. In this speech above, he denies climate change, derisively refers to Speaker Pelosi, Senator Reid, and others as "greeniacs", and calls them all crazy. Watch the speech, you'll see. In his mind, "the greeniacs are taking over the world."

Massey Energy Company, Blankenship's highly successful strip-mining and mountaintop removal operation is the parent company of Performance Coal Co, where a tragic explosion occurred on April 5th. As of this writing, 25 miners have died and 4 more are still missing. Twenty-five families are without a loved one. Four more may discover they have lost someone they love too. 29 families in all, forever changed by one single, violent event in a coal mine. One single violent event in a coal mine run by a company so obsessed with profit it runs roughshod over employees' and neighbors' health and safety.

Here's something else about Don Blankenship and Massey Energy Company: Blankenship spent over $1 million dollars along with other US Chamber buddies like Verizon to sponsor last year's Labor Day Tea Party, also known as the "Friends of America Rally." Here's Massey's pitch. Note how he makes it sound like he isn't one of the corporate enemies of America.

The Friends of America Rally featured such notables as Sean Hannity, Ted Nugent, and Hank Williams, Jr., and was graced by Blankenship himself going off on a diatribe that seemed strange at the time, but has come to be commonplace these days. It concerned President Obama, Democrats, and any one who doesn't salute God, coal, and apple pie. Oh, and we're also going to 'steal their jobs,' if Hannity is to be believed.

Blankenship and Massey Energy spend millions to defend unsafe workplaces

[Wedgebuster]

It's a sign from God.

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

I heard there were some democrats that worked at that mine too...........they all got what they deserved...right Jon?

[JohnStOnge]

What's amazing is that those twits at "Crooks and Liars" put up a video of a speech that sounds pretty darned good. The guy is right. Even though they cut it up in what I would think was intended to make him sound bad he sounds spot on.

When the mine explosion happened and the stories about numerous violations came out I kind of shook my head. In my opinion, it is virtually impossible for a company like that to operate in today's environment without getting cited for a bunch of violations. It's kind of like if you're a food producer and there is an outbreak. No doubt that, no matter who you are, somebody's going to be able to go back and find violations. It's the nature of the smothering government beast.

But I must admit that I didn't see trying to use a mine explosion to smear the Tea Party coming. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though. Smearing the Tea Party is pretty important to the left right now.

[ASUG8]

There are no shortages of Democrat douchebag CEO's lest we forget our recent history - this could be it's own thread. Fannie Mae under Franklin Raines has done irreparable damage to millions of people, and it will take generations to pay back the bailout funds needed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Raines" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In accordance with the mission of Fannie Mae to enable home ownership by a greater proportion of the population, Franklin Raines, while Chairman and CEO, began a pilot program in 1999 to issue bank loans to individuals with low to moderate income, and to ease credit requirements on loans that Fannie Mae purchased from banks. Raines promoted the program saying that it would allow consumers who were "a notch below what our current underwriting has required" to get home loans. The move was intended in part to increase the number of minority and low income home owners.[15] The Investor's Business Daily editorial staff has noted that the expansion of easy credit to home buyers with a lesser ability to pay them back was one of the major contributing factors to the subprime mortgage crisis.[16] Although under Raines, Fannie Mae invested in some securities backed by subprime loans, it didn't start buying subprime and Alt-A loans directly (and bundling them into securities) until late 2004 after the accounting scandal. Purchasing of subprime and alt-A mortgages expanded under the guidance of Raines's successor Daniel H. Mudd.[17][18] (See also Subprime lending.)

In the New York Times John Steele Gordon wrote an opinion criticizing Raines' contribution to the 2008 financial crisis caused by the failure of Fannie Mae. "He cooked the books at Fannie to increase his compensation (more than $90 million)."[19]

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[mainejeff]

What's amazing is that those twits at "Crooks and Liars" put up a video of a speech that sounds pretty darned good. The guy is right. Even though they cut it up in what I would think was intended to make him sound bad he sounds spot on.

When the mine explosion happened and the stories about numerous violations came out I kind of shook my head. In my opinion, it is virtually impossible for a company like that to operate in today's environment without getting cited for a bunch of violations. It's kind of like if you're a food producer and there is an outbreak. No doubt that, no matter who you are, somebody's going to be able to go back and find violations. It's the nature of the smothering government beast.

But I must admit that I didn't see trying to use a mine explosion to smear the Tea Party coming. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though. Smearing the Tea Party is pretty important to the left right now.

Why not.......you smear all Democrats to promote your Pro-Fetus agenda! Too bad that you don't value ALL human life St. Wronge! It ain't all about stem cells, fetuses and deaf people you know........

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

As well he should.

Murderer and supporter of murder.

[Gil Dobie]

Too bad the Donk Congress or Obama didn't do anything to close a mine with so many safety violations.

Hey, but they got healthcare.

[AZGrizFan]

Too bad the Donk Congress or Obama didn't do anything to close a mine with so many safety violations.

Hey, but they got healthcare.

[Appaholic]

Too bad the Donk Congress or Obama didn't do anything to close a mine with so many safety violations.

Hey, but they got healthcare.

I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that WV's two senators are dems. It's amazing how much bad press the failed coal slurry pond in TN (2 Rep Senators, 4/9 Rep Representatives) continues to get in the press, yet the media tends to ignore the manufacturer of the coal, primarily from WV (2 Dem senators, 2/3 Dem Representatives), in that pit & their horrid safety record & flaunting of EPA & OSHA violations.

[AZGrizFan]

Too bad the Donk Congress or Obama didn't do anything to close a mine with so many safety violations.

Hey, but they got healthcare.

I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that WV's two senators are dems. It's amazing how much bad press the failed coal slurry pond in TN (2 Rep Senators, 4/9 Rep Representatives) continues to get in the press, yet the media tends to ignore the manufacturer of the coal, primarily from WV (2 Dem senators, 2/3 Dem Representatives), in that pit & their horrid safety record & flaunting of EPA & OSHA violations.

Not to those of us with a brainstem.

[Appaholic]

I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that WV's two senators are dems. It's amazing how much bad press the failed coal slurry pond in TN (2 Rep Senators, 4/9 Rep Representatives) continues to get in the press, yet the media tends to ignore the manufacturer of the coal, primarily from WV (2 Dem senators, 2/3 Dem Representatives), in that pit & their horrid safety record & flaunting of EPA & OSHA violations.

Not to those of us with a brainstem.

I should have italicized myself to imply my sarcasm...

[AZGrizFan]

Not to those of us with a brainstem.

I should have italicized myself to imply my sarcasm...

I include you in that group. Dems....not so much.

[houndawg]

As well he should.

Murderer and supporter of murder.

Great for the crime stats, though, (see Freakonomics).

[Skjellyfetti]

As well he should.

Murderer and supporter of murder.

Great for the crime stats, though, (see Freakonomics).

Co-authored by an App State grad.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/03/sport ... nd&emc=rss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[houndawg]

Great for the crime stats, though, (see Freakonomics).

Co-authored by an App State grad.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/03/sport ... nd&emc=rss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

An interesting read for sure, I like books like that and the ones by Malcom Gladewell.

[JohnStOnge]

Why not.......you smear all Democrats to promote your Pro-Fetus agenda! Too bad that you don't value ALL human life St. Wronge! It ain't all about stem cells, fetuses and deaf people you know........

I do not attempt to cast Democrats or anybody else who are not "pro choice" as "pro choice" because somebody who is associated with some other movement they are involved in is. That's the idea here. Because this guy is alleged to be awful and is involved in the Tea Party, that means the Tea Party is suspect. That's the implied inference of the author.

Not that I accept the premise that his guy is a bad guy to begin with. Just saying the mine had a bunch of violations doesn't mean anything. I think that if you go into just about any arena of Federal regulation there are all sorts of rule that have little or no bearing on risk. Violating them does not represent any real irresonsibility. And they are often very difficult to meet.

As far as the comparison to abortion: People who work in coal mines voluntarily choose to do a dangerous job. Everybody knows it's a dangerous job. I wish nobody ever dies in a mining accident. But as long as people choose to work in coal mines, it's going to happen. It's going to happen no matter how hard mine owners try to keep it from happening.

There is no comparison whatsoever between running a coal mine and that mine having an accident in which some people get killed and a woman intentionally hiring someone to kill her own progeny. Not even in the same universe. You're talking about an accident vs. a direct, intentional, fatal attack.