MyDD Never Ceases to Amaze...

Scott over at MyDD is blaming President Bush for the tragedy in West Virginia...but in a backdoor way.  He says that Bush didn't "cause" the explosion but also didn't do anything to "prevent" it.  I guess the same way he didn't do anything to prevent Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

After being called on it by Michelle Malkin and others...Scott then back pedals and denies any blaming.  But his words speak for themselves:

"Undoubtedly, some will criticize me for placing blame on President Bush here. The defense will be that Bush didn't cause the explosion that collapsed the mine. My response will be that he didn't do anything to prevent it. In fact, if anything, the actions of his administration made the situation worse."

Here is his back pedaling that was issued in an Update...

"Welcome Cornerites and Malkin readers. If you've gotten this far, you likely know that this piece most certainly does not blame Bush for the Sago Mine disaster."

Hmmmmmm..... decide for yourself but I think his words are loud and clear.

So here we have just another example of how the left works.  They used the natural disasters of Katrina and Rita against Bush and now they are taking a horrible devastating event and spinning it into a web of blame.

Disgraceful.

Lisa

Hat tip:  Cappy

Comments

[HC]

From:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/09/politics/09coal.html?ex=1136523600&en=2410effe6fd7fde0&ei=5070

"Safety and environmental regulations often shift with control of the White House, but the Bush administration's approach to coal mining has been a particularly potent example of the blend of politics and policy.

In addition to Mr. Lauriski, who spent 30 years in the coal industry, Mr. Bush tapped a handful of other industry executives and lobbyists to help oversee safety and environmental regulations.

In all, the mine safety agency has rescinded more than a half-dozen proposals intended to make coal miners' jobs safer, including steps to limit miners' exposure to toxic chemicals. One rule pushed by the agency would make it easier for companies to use diesel generators underground, which miners say could increase the risk of fire.

In an interview, Mr. Lauriski said that the proposals that were canceled were unnecessary. He said the agency had instead concentrated on other measures "we believed were important to pursue."

He cited a revamping of evacuation procedures after an explosion killed 13 miners in Alabama in 2001, and requirements that workers be told about the presence and dangers of hazardous chemicals."
______________________________

Disgraceful.

[catastrophile]

"So here we have just another example of how the left works. They used the natural disasters of Katrina and Rita against Bush and now they are taking a horrible devastating event and spinning it into a web of blame."

So, here we have the whole bloody philosophy of the right.

Anybody who criticizes the administration's abolition of workplace safety regulations -- anybody who points out that sacrificing safety to protect corporate profits is a bad idea -- is called a doomsayer, a Bush-basher, a liberal, and told to shut up.

Then after the disaster, anybody who points out that this is why some regulation is needed, and why it's a bad idea to let the White House just do whatever the hell its sponsors want, is accused of playing politics with tragedy, and told to shut up.

If you bothered to read the damn thing, you might have noticed that this administration rescinded a regulation that would have required a second exit to be cut, to facilitate evacuations. Or is putting two and two together just too much to ask?

This is your beloved "free" market at work. Always read the fine print.

[Dimmer]

Oh, come on kids: there's no equation between genuine natural disasters (hurricanes, tsunami et al.) and disasters which are "man made" in terms of safety regulations and so forth. Yeah, you could argue that global warming = global issues, but this case is much more simple cause and effect. Jeepers...

[Lisa]

Oh my.... HC, Cat and Dimmer all together.

To what do I owe this honor?

Look...It never fails. Shit happens, and you guys jump on the "Lets Blame Bush" wagon.

Dimmer & Cat... is this what I have to do to get ya'll back over here...blast MyDD...cause I can certainly make a habit of it if you like.

[Bombtruck]

Ok, to HC, Cat, and that clearly moronic Scott at myDD, I have one thing to say to you ill-informed foaming at the mouth Bush-bashers:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aAcRjFr7_TNs&refer=top_world_news

You got it wrong AGAIN!!!!!!

[Bombtruck]

Next thing you know you bunch of geniuses will be blaming Bush for the mine explosions that happen once every 6 months in China that take out 200 miners per. Your logic(blame Bush for the mine explosion, blame Bush for hurricanes) makes about as much sense. And you nitwits have the nerve to claim Conservatives are stupid. Do you actually read what you write?

It's just not enough that there are 12 men dead from this, just like you dems kept hoping the body count from Katrina really was in the tens of thousands so you could pin it all on Bush and get better election numbers, and just like you couldn't get enough of Saint Cindy dragging her dead son's memory through her ignorant hate-filled trip through the Twilight Zone. Are you guys so freaking desperate for politcal power that your respect for the dead even goes out the window, or did you have any to begin with?

[catastrophile]

Bombtruck:

Can you do me a favor and point out anything in that Bloomberg article that differs significantly from what's posted at MyDD? I'm not sure what you think you've proven.

Lisa: "Look...It never fails. Shit happens, and you guys jump on the 'Lets Blame Bush' wagon."

I blame the whole idiotic philosophy that rejects the notion of workplace safety regulation as too much government interference. And yeah, right now your Reep messiah is the embodiment of that disorder.

You've got no problem with allowing the military to detain citizens indefinitely without evidence or charges, but God forbid the government try to protect people from the disasters that really kill people every day.

God forbid we expect FEMA to do its job. God forbid we should tell a mine company to dig an emergency exit. God forbid that the government should lift a finger, other than to shovel our money into the pockets of its political sponsors. And if we object, you accuse us of hating America. We're not the ones you need to worry about.

I want to know: How many indictments does it take before you lose faith in these criminals? How long before you acknowledge that they're out to screw America over?

[Bombtruck]

So you didn't read it, that's fairly obvious:

"Federal authorities issued 21 citations last year for a build-up of combustible materials at the West Virginia mine where 12 men died, according to U.S. Labor Department statistics."

Scott's dumb-ass assertion was Bush did nothing, as if he's the one that's supposed to do hands-on mine inspection. They were cited 12 f'ing times. Short of shutting down the entire mining industry(which would put thousands of people who rely on mining to feed their families out of work, not that liberals like yourself consider that fact in their anti-business rants), what exactly would you like done?

Here's what you and HC and Scott are only concerned about Cat: "What's that? Another dead body? Another opportunity to BLAME BUSH! WHOO HOO! 2006 Elections, here we come!" Thank GOD you are the extreme minority.

I may draw Chris' wrath for this, but I really don't care. You people twisting this tragedy as a political issue are vile.

[Lisa]

Cat... that mine was two miles into that mountain. Where did you propose they put an emergency exit? Oh... let me guess, right where the accident happened, right?

Mining is a dangerous business.. everyone knows that... and the people who work in the mines and their families know that. And before you jump on me, I came from a line of coal miners way back when in southwest Virginia. And that was when there were no safety regulations. My grandmother was very aware that my grandfather may not come home from work one day...and in fact died of black lung. But I digress.

My point is that accidents occur. This is obviously a horrible tragedy and my heart goes out to the families... but everyone knows in the back of their minds, including the families that this can happen and tragically did. President Bush could not have prevented it.

[catastrophile]

Bombtruck:

It's apparent that you're the one who didn't bother to read what you're commenting on. You're jumping to conclusions, and they're wrong. You'll grab at any straw that allows you to stick your head in the sand and pretend everything's okay.

"Scott's dumb-ass assertion was Bush did nothing . . ."

False statement. Scott's assertion is that the administration rolled back regulations that would have forced the mine to cut an emergency exit. And that, in spite of 208 violations last year, the mine was allowed to keep operating by an underfunded MSHA being run by a mining company exec.

The assertion is that this is what you get when you start removing any regulation just to preserve corporate profits.

This is more political payoff and cronyism, and you can't deny it, so you have to make shit up instead. Well, you're only fooling yourself.

Good luck with that.

[Chris]

Seems to me this whole debate boils down to what you think the Federal Government should do...Bombtruck and those guys are big proponents of individual responsibility and the business governing themselves...more than once you guys have argued that business will suffer if it doesn't pay well and if it doesn't provide safe working conditions--so while the government did do something--issue citations--to you guys the fact that there is little or no penalty for those citations or the fact that The Bush Administration put people in charge of the industry that were less concerned with the safety of the workers than they were with other aspects of the industry is just fine and dandy with you guys--the other side says that government has a duty to protect workers and enforce safety codes and such--

Either way--somebody failed--either industry didn't govern itself and make it safe for the workers or the government didn't do its job and follow up on the safety citations--

Either way 12 guys are dead...

[Lisa]

Tell me something my liberal brothers..

If a police officer is shot and killed in the line of duty by someone with an illegal gun, is that Bush's fault as well because we dont have any federal gun control laws?

Police officers know their jobs are dangerous just as miners do.

[catastrophile]

Lisa: "I came from a line of coal miners way back when in southwest Virginia. And that was when there were no safety regulations."

So you'd like to return to that state of affairs?

I have a question. When will be an appropriate time to start talking about the erosion of regulation? As usual, people are only interested in these issues when they're in the news -- like the problems with FEMA exposed by Katrina, like this now -- but you'd have us keep quiet about it now.

So we can only talk about this stuff when nobody cares, right? We're only allowed to talk about the role of the government when it's politically convenient for you to call us a bunch of nagging nanny-staters, right? When the need for government involvement is painfully clear, we're not allowed to speak, isn't that it?

I can understand why a partisan Reep would want that to be the case, but I can't imagine why anybody would expect us to listen to you.

That really is what this is about. When total deregulation is the goal, this kind of thing is dangerous to the demagogues. We're supposed to believe that the "free" market will fix everything, and this kind of event puts the lie to that mythology.

I'm not having any luck tracking back here, so:

http://catastrophile.blogspot.com/2006/01/discussion-reeps-are-afraid-to-have.html

[Bombtruck]

Make up shit? Gee, didn't realize I wrote that article for Bloomberg. Maybe I was the one that cited the mine 21 times last year. Thanks for clearing that up, moron.

Fact is people like you HC and Scott have very little if any knowledge of what causes mining accidents, and that's very clear in the fact that you've sought to play it out as a politcal issue. It's just like with Iraq: there was never, EVER anything wrong with Iraq, no weapons, no terrorism, no mass graves, no torture, NOTHING until 5 years ago when Bush took office, and then it all went to hell. Blaming everything on Bush indicates you have your head far deeper in the sand than I ever will, not to mention you and your friends clearly can't muster enough respect for the dead to not allow yourselves to turn this into another opportunity to score political points.

Here, you think you're so smart, why don't you read up on the history of mining accidents in this county. If your rage and glee at this mining tragedy will let you, you might learn something useful, like the fact that mining deaths are dropping(which won't help your political chances, I guess):

http://www.msha.gov/MSHAINFO/FactSheets/MSHAFCT2.HTM

[Lisa]

Cat....talk about regulations all you want... but I ask you again... where was that emergency exit supposed to be drilled?

[catastrophile]

"If a police officer is shot and killed in the line of duty by someone with an illegal gun, is that Bush's fault as well because we dont have any federal gun control laws?"

If an administration repeals regulations on the sale of assault weapons, and a little while later a dozen cops are killed by a single lunatic with an assault rifle he shoplifted from a sporting goods store, is it unreasonable to discuss the administration's policy in the context of current events?

What you're doing is ducking the discussion. Rather than examining the issues, you're gnashing your teeth about how horrible liberals are. This is not about how horrible liberals are. This is about whether the Reep deregulation fetish is appropriate, and that's a discussion that needs having.

So get over your phony outrage, and make your case. I'm sure there's a case in there somewhere. I'll start you out:

"We believe that regulation is bad because ________________."

[Lisa]

I'm not ducking shit. I gave you an anology that is equal to the mine incident....and you refuse to answer.

[catastrophile]

Bombtruck: "Make up shit? Gee, didn't realize I wrote that article for Bloomberg."

There you go, jumping to bad conclusions again. I asked you to explain what was in that article that was significantly different from what Scott put in his post. You cited a paragraph about the mine being cited multiple times last year.

Guess what, retard, that's in Scott's post, too.

So, yeah, you're making shit up. Now go play in your room, the grown-ups are talking.

[catastrophile]

Lisa:

I did answer. You're attacking a strawman by accusing anybody of "blaming Bush for the blast." This is a straight dodge.

We're talking about the administration putting an industry exec in charge of the MSHA, about a mine that was allowed to keep operating in spite of 208 citations last year, about chintzy fines that made violations not worth correcting, about the lifting of safety regulations that could have made a difference. You seem to think that any suggestion that any of that contributed to this tragedy is outrageous. I think you're fooling yourself.

Where should a second shaft have been dug? Lacking a map of the mine, I couldn't begin to answer the question. Where would you have put it?

[Pappy]

How does one shoplift an assault rifle? And while I'm at it, Cat, define assault rifle.

[HC]

This from

http://thinkprogress.org/

Speaks for itself
_____________________________

"And there’s a reason for that. The Washington Post reported that West Virginia coal firms raised $275,000 for Bush.

Last September, Bush rewarded the coal industry by placing coal industry veteran Richard Stickler in charge of MSHA. Stickler spent about 30 years as a coal company manager with Beth Energy. Mines managed by Stickler were marked by worker injury rates that were double the national average, according to government data cited by the United Mine Workers union."

[catastrophile]

Pappy: "How does one shoplift an assault rifle?"

One walks into a sporting goods store like one near where I live, where the gun rack has no lock and is about 20' from the front door. (Speaking hypothetically, of course, since it's a hypothetical analogy. The rack only contained hunting rifles and shotguns the last time I was in there.)

"And while I'm at it, Cat, define assault rifle."

Something along these lines:

http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/models/ka50.html

30-round clip, so a nutcase (or a video game enthusiast) in a good sniping position could do a lot of damage with one.

[Pappy]

Your local sporting goods store has a serious problem. Close on the definition. An assault rifle is selective fire (auto to semi-auto). I just wanted to make certain you were not taking the usual anti gun any weapon other than a muzzle loader is an assault weapon stance. I'd also point out that somewhere around 1/5 of one percent of violent crime is committed with "assault weapons". True assault weapons are heavily regulated and have been since the 1930's. You can't buy one much less shop lift it.

And didn't the "assault weapons ban" expire? Not the same as repealed.

Also, someone bent on killing can do so with the above muzzle loader just as easily.

Sorry for getting off topic but I couldn't resist.

[Chris]

Pappy--off topic is fine--just glad to see your back on the board

[catastrophile]

Okay Pappy, but how does any of that relate to Lisa's analogy?