Molly Ivins is asking some important questions about the recent fatal mining disaster.
Some of the press is starting to get the drill. Give us something like the West Virginia coal mine disaster, and instead of standing around emoting like Geraldo Rivera, a few reporters have enough sense to ask the obvious question: What is this mine’s safety record? And when it turns out to be abysmal, a few more reporters have enough sense to ask: Who’s in charge of doing something after a mine gets 205 safety violations in one year? Where’s the Mine Safety and Health Administration? Who runs it? What’s their background — are they professionals or mining industry stooges? Who’s the Michael “Heckuvajob” Brown in this outfit? Why are so many jobs at MSHA just left completely unfilled? How much has MSHA’s budget been cut since 2001 to pay for tax cuts for the rich?
The Sierra Club has the answers to some of those questions.
Among the earliest signs of danger, however, was when the Bush administration’s first head of MSHA, Jack Spadaro, was forced out of his job when he tried to investigate another mining disaster, this one a 300-million gallon coal slurry spill in Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia. “The Bush administration came in and the scope of our investigation was considerably shortened,” Spadaro told 60 Minutes in April 2004. “I had never seen something so corrupt and lawless in my entire career.” He was replaced by Dave Lauriski, a former mining executive. It is also worth noting here that President George W. Bush raised $376,000 in campaign contributions from coal mining interests in 2000 and 2004…
Thomas Frank at USA Today also reports that MSHA has issued $9.1 million in fines since 1999 to companies for safety violations. Less than a third of that money has been collected, a trend which is getting significantly worse with each passing year. Recouping that money would more than make up for the deep budget cuts in the safety agency, which has lost more than 170 positions over the past five years.
Team Bush set up the scenario by which the 12 miners were killed. But along with flying planes into buildings, this is likely another case where – if asked to take responsibilty – they would simply say, “Who could have ever imagined such a thing could happen?” We need a president with a little better imagination. And a lot less profit motive.
