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"With Blankenship skyrocketing in the West Virginia Republican Senate primary "

Blankenship intentionally cut safety corners and it resulted in lost lives. He represents everything that is wrong in our society. EPA exists because of people like him.

Yes he is a real slime ball......what's even worse are the Democrat West Virginia government officials that allowed him to operate, they should all be in jail. But...that's no surprise to me since I've not been blind as to what was going on in our state for years and years.

"Upper Big Branch was the biggest catastrophe during Blankenship’s tenure, but it wasn’t the first. In the decade after Massey went public in 2000 with Blankenship at the helm, there were 54 fatalities at its mines, a dismal safety record that set the company apart from its competitors. Of those accidents, the one that offered the clearest warning of what was to come occurred in 2006 at a southern West Virginia site called the Aracoma Alma Mine No. 1. The facility bore several similarities to Upper Big Branch. Workers sometimes operated in flooded conditions and amid excessive amounts of combustible dust. They were under enormous pressure to produce. And they had no UMWA presence to press for safety improvements.

That January, a fire broke out in an underground storage unit. This was a common risk (it had happened before at Aracoma), which is why federal regulations require mines to adhere to strict fire safety codes. But the sprinklers didn’t work. Neither did one of the fire alarms. A carbon monoxide alarm hadn’t been installed. The emergency exits weren’t marked. And structures that would have contained the smoke within a confined area had been removed. After miners evacuated the chamber, 28 minutes passed before the rest of the mine was alerted. Meanwhile, the smoke spread to the designated escape passage. Two miners died when they were unable to flee fast enough. An Aracoma Coal Co. employee later testified that in his entire time at Alma Mine No. 1, the company never conducted a single fire drill.

In its official report on the fire, the MSHA detailed how Massey’s disregard for safety violations resulted in the tragedy: “In each case, no effective management system, policy or procedure was in place to assure compliance with the underlying regulations and safe mining practices,” the report declared. Included was a memo from Blankenship himself, directing all deep-mine superintendents to put aside safety projects and focus on moving product. “If any of you have been asked by your group presidents, your supervisors, engineers or anyone else to do anything other than run coal (i.e.—build [ventilation] overcasts, do construction jobs, or whatever), you need to ignore them and run coal,” he wrote. “This memo is necessary only because we seem not to understand that coal pays the bills.” (Soon thereafter, Blankenship circulated a memo emphasizing Massey’s commitment to safety.) Aracoma pleaded guilty to 10 criminal charges of mine safety violations in federal court and paid a $2.5 million fine. It also paid $1.7 million in civil penalties to the MSHA for “reckless disregard” of mine safety. Four Aracoma foremen pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges, but a plea agreement prevented the Department of Justice from seeking charges against anyone at Massey. Blankenship, for his part, told a conservative talk show host that the miners probably died because they “panicked.” " - New Media

Which Democrats should we blame this on?
 
lmao. You are literally too stupid to converse with or one helluva troll....13/10 either way.

So @bamaEER says Blankenship represents "everything that is wrong in Capitalism"...I ask him (or even you) to elaborate or name a system that runs better...neither of you has an answer...yet I'm stupid?

So what's that make you 2 Coop?
 
So @bamaEER says Blankenship represents "everything that is wrong in Capitalism"...I ask him (or even you) to elaborate or name a system that runs better...neither of you answer...yet I'm stupid.

So what's that make you 2 Coop since you have no answer to my stupidity?
Right...that makes you stupid because no one has said, claimed, argued that any system is better than capitalism. You are inventing arguments in your mind with things that aren't there.

I'll agree that I too am stupid. Stupid for ever engaging with you on this.
 
Right...that makes you stupid because no one has said, claimed, argued that any system is better than capitalism. You are inventing arguments in your mind with things that aren't there.

I'll agree that I too am stupid. Stupid for ever engaging with you on this.

I simply asked for clarification from the OP on "everything that was wrong in Capitalism" or what works better? I'm still waiting for that answer. The crap you are whinning about is all of your own creation Coop. Who said "everything that is wrong in Capitalism?

Just what would that be? I didn't say that, I'm defending it.
 
Right...that makes you stupid because no one has said, claimed, argued that any system is better than capitalism. You are inventing arguments in your mind with things that aren't there.

I'll agree that I too am stupid. Stupid for ever engaging with you on this.

Yes you are because you claim you did something that never happened.
 
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Right...that makes you stupid because no one has said, claimed, argued that any system is better than capitalism. You are inventing arguments in your mind with things that aren't there.

I'll agree that I too am stupid. Stupid for ever engaging with you on this.

If you really want to know what's stupid Coop is you and folks on the Left attacking an economic system that affords you the greatest level of comfort and wealth available on the planet today and in fact the greatest level ever achieved in human history how stupid is that?
There is no answer because your argument IS the straw man,

There is no answer because you refuse to admit that you hate Capitalism.
 
If you really want to know what's stupid Coop is you and folks on the Left attacking an economic system that affords you the greatest level of comfort and wealth available on the planet today and in fact the greatest level ever achieved in human history how stupid is that?
lmao
 
No, it's not. You accused MSHA inspectors of taking bribes but you're full of shit and can't prove your baseless accusations. It's not complicated at all. Blankenship certainly went to prison for his role in the disaster though.
You are a fukin idiot. I NEVER accused MSHA inspectors of taking bribes.....show me that quote. Dealing with you is like dealing with a two year old. You probably would vote for Dirty Don if he was a Democrat.....Gawd......you are stupid.
 
You are a fukin idiot. I NEVER accused MSHA inspectors of taking bribes.....show me that quote. Dealing with you is like dealing with a two year old. You probably would vote for Dirty Don if he was a Democrat.....Gawd......you are stupid.
Here is your quote...They were the ones that were getting their pockets stuffed while they were also charged with enforcing mining regulations. Do you know who is responsible for enforcing mining (safety) regulations? That's right, MSHA, specifically mine inspectors in the field. As far as enforcing environmental regulations go that would be the WVDEP but the discussion was regarding mine safety. If you're not talking about MSHA then get your terminology straight. Legislators legislate, agencies enforce.
 
Here is your quote...They were the ones that were getting their pockets stuffed while they were also charged with enforcing mining regulations. Do you know who is responsible for enforcing mining (safety) regulations? That's right, MSHA, specifically mine inspectors in the field. As far as enforcing environmental regulations go that would be the WVDEP but the discussion was regarding mine safety. If you're not talking about MSHA then get your terminology straight. Legislators legislate, agencies enforce.
OK....if it's that important to you that no one in the WV gov was at fault and everything was on the up and up with Blankenship.....you can have your win......enjoy.
 
OK....if it's that important to you that no one in the WV gov was at fault and everything was on the up and up with Blankenship.....you can have your win......enjoy.
Not seeking anything but you were wondering why you were being accused of calling out the MSHA, now you know. If you're wondering where to lay blame for UBB try looking to see who went to prison over it....seems like an obvious place to start.
 
Not seeking anything but you were wondering why you were being accused of calling out the MSHA, now you know. If you're wondering where to lay blame for UBB try looking to see who went to prison over it....seems like an obvious place to start.
I never wondered whose fault it was......The ultimate blame is with Blankenship....it was his mine. In the end......MSHA failed in catching violations at his mine.....end of story.
 
MSHA failed in catching violations at his mine
Really?

In 2009, the company, Massey Energy, was fined a total of $382,000 for "serious" unrepentant violations for lacking ventilation and proper equipment plans as well as failing to utilize its safety plan properly.[32] In the previous month, the authorities cited the mine for 57 safety infractions.[33] The mine received two safety citations the day before the explosion, 600 in the preceding 18 months, and 1,342 in the preceding five years. The CEO of Massey Energy, Don Blankenship, has received criticism for his apparent disregard of safety.[25][34] The Upper Big Branch Mine-South, where the explosion occurred, has been in operation since October 1994.[35] Between 2000 and 2009, two fatalities occurred at this mine.[36] Between 1995 and 2010, the Mine Safety and Health Administration levied over $2.2 million in fines against Massey for more than 3,000 safety violations.[37][38] In the previous year, 50 of the safety violations, more than 10%, were categorized as "unwarrantable failures to comply," which indicates willful or gross negligence; this was higher than the 2% national average.[39]


According to miners at Massey, many employees knew the Big Branch mine was hazardous; to protect themselves some experienced miners had left in months prior to the explosion.[24] One miner said mine officials "buy off judges and have political connections. They disregard safety rules; they get away with it. And most of all they work you to the bone."[24] Another miner said “When you work for Massey, you give your life to Massey.[24] According to the World Socialist Web Site, many of the mine's infractions prior to the explosion entailed a sharp increase in coal production.[24]

The 1000 page MSHA report dismissed Massey Energy's theory of a sudden surge of natural gas. It said 12 of its citations were related to the disaster, including 9 in the most severe "flagrant" category. Most important was failure to check for methane and failure to clean up coal dust. It recounted examples of a corporate culture more devoted to production than safety, and recounted examples of employees sanctioned for delaying production in order to resolve safety issues.[40]

While the investigation found the physical conditions that led to the coal dust explosion were the result of a series of basic safety violations at UBB, which PCC and Massey disregarded, the report cites unlawful policies and practices implemented by PCC and Massey as the root cause of the explosion --- including the intimidation of miners, advance notice of inspections, and two sets of books with hazards recorded in UBB's internal production and maintenance book but not in the official examination book. The investigation found that the operator promoted and enforced a workplace culture that valued production over safety, including practices calculated to allow it to conduct mining operations in violation of the law.

— MSHA News Release 11-1703-NAT[7]
 
Really?

In 2009, the company, Massey Energy, was fined a total of $382,000 for "serious" unrepentant violations for lacking ventilation and proper equipment plans as well as failing to utilize its safety plan properly.[32] In the previous month, the authorities cited the mine for 57 safety infractions.[33] The mine received two safety citations the day before the explosion, 600 in the preceding 18 months, and 1,342 in the preceding five years. The CEO of Massey Energy, Don Blankenship, has received criticism for his apparent disregard of safety.[25][34] The Upper Big Branch Mine-South, where the explosion occurred, has been in operation since October 1994.[35] Between 2000 and 2009, two fatalities occurred at this mine.[36] Between 1995 and 2010, the Mine Safety and Health Administration levied over $2.2 million in fines against Massey for more than 3,000 safety violations.[37][38] In the previous year, 50 of the safety violations, more than 10%, were categorized as "unwarrantable failures to comply," which indicates willful or gross negligence; this was higher than the 2% national average.[39]


According to miners at Massey, many employees knew the Big Branch mine was hazardous; to protect themselves some experienced miners had left in months prior to the explosion.[24] One miner said mine officials "buy off judges and have political connections. They disregard safety rules; they get away with it. And most of all they work you to the bone."[24] Another miner said “When you work for Massey, you give your life to Massey.[24] According to the World Socialist Web Site, many of the mine's infractions prior to the explosion entailed a sharp increase in coal production.[24]

The 1000 page MSHA report dismissed Massey Energy's theory of a sudden surge of natural gas. It said 12 of its citations were related to the disaster, including 9 in the most severe "flagrant" category. Most important was failure to check for methane and failure to clean up coal dust. It recounted examples of a corporate culture more devoted to production than safety, and recounted examples of employees sanctioned for delaying production in order to resolve safety issues.[40]

While the investigation found the physical conditions that led to the coal dust explosion were the result of a series of basic safety violations at UBB, which PCC and Massey disregarded, the report cites unlawful policies and practices implemented by PCC and Massey as the root cause of the explosion --- including the intimidation of miners, advance notice of inspections, and two sets of books with hazards recorded in UBB's internal production and maintenance book but not in the official examination book. The investigation found that the operator promoted and enforced a workplace culture that valued production over safety, including practices calculated to allow it to conduct mining operations in violation of the law.

— MSHA News Release 11-1703-NAT[7]
Yes.. Really......You are a real gullible chap. This report was authored BY MSHA....for crying out loud. MSHA said these nuggets in this report:

"One miner said mine officials "buy off judges and have political connections. They disregard safety rules; they get away with it." "It said 12 of its citations were related to the disaster, including 9 in the most severe "flagrant" category."

Simple question.....Why did MSHA allow this Blankenship deathtrap to stay operating?
 
Yes.. Really......You are a real gullible chap. This report was authored BY MSHA....for crying out loud. MSHA said these nuggets in this report:

"One miner said mine officials "buy off judges and have political connections. They disregard safety rules; they get away with it." "It said 12 of its citations were related to the disaster, including 9 in the most severe "flagrant" category."

Simple question.....Why did MSHA allow this Blankenship deathtrap to stay operating?
Contact MSHA and ask them yourself, it's your conspiracy theory.
 
Contact MSHA and ask them yourself, it's your conspiracy theory.
You contact them since you think they did their jobs.....I think the families of the dead miners think otherwise Never said it was a conspiracy....but it was a massive failure on the agency that is/was supposed to enforce mine safety regulations.
 
You contact them since you think they did their jobs.....I think the families of the dead miners think otherwise Never said it was a conspiracy....but it was a massive failure on the agency that is/was supposed to enforce mine safety regulations.
smh If a company keeps ignoring safety rules/laws in pursuit of higher production eventually it's not going to end well. It didn't. You do understand that there's not a MSHA inspector underground in every mine 24/7, right?
 
I never wondered whose fault it was......The ultimate blame is with Blankenship....it was his mine. In the end......MSHA failed in catching violations at his mine.....end of story.

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smh If a company keeps ignoring safety rules/laws in pursuit of higher production eventually it's not going to end well. It didn't. You do understand that there's not a MSHA inspector underground in every mine 24/7, right?
Never said there was. But according to you twisted sense of logic......It's ok to allow a mine to stay open when the mine operator paid fines but basically IGNORED the safety violations and were guilty of more violations. In other words....MSHA hands are clean because Blankenship paid the fines but was allowed to keep operating. MSHA SHOULD HAVE SHUT Blankenship's mine DOWN. Looks to me like MSHA is as guilty as Blankenship....epic failure on their part.
 
Yes..... I did say that. You having a hard time understanding what happened? You must be protecting your friends that work for MSHA. MSHA caught violations at Bankenships mine and for me to say "MSHA failed in catching violations" is incorrect on my part.....I admit that error. Bottom line.....MSHA failed by not closing Blankenship down.
 
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Yes..... I did say that. You having a hard time understanding what happened? You must be protecting you friends that work for MSHA.

MSHA INSPECTORS do not shut down mines. They inspect. They report violations. People above them levy fines. People above them ultimately make the decision to shut a mine down if violations repeat and depend on the severity of those repeated violations.
 
Never said there was. But according to you twisted sense of logic......It's ok to allow a mine to stay open when the mine operator paid fines but basically IGNORED the safety violations and were guilty of more violations. In other words....MSHA hands are clean because Blankenship paid the fines but was allowed to keep operating. MSHA SHOULD HAVE SHUT Blankenship's mine DOWN. Looks to me like MSHA is as guilty as Blankenship....epic failure on their part.
Don't let a lack of knowledge keep you from having all the answers.
 
MSHA INSPECTORS do not shut down mines. They inspect. They report violations. People above them levy fines. People above them ultimately make the decision to shut a mine down if violations repeat and depend on the severity of those repeated violations.
Who is responsible for shutting the mine down? I'll retract every one of my charges against MSHA if they do not have the power to shut mines down. All I know is that mine had NO business being allowed to stay open.
 
Since you know the mining laws.....Who should have shut the mine down?
Hindsight is 20/20. You seem to act like you're some kind of expert because you know now that the mine exploded. Any idiot can come on here and say that (insert industrial accident at a facility that had problems) a facility should have been shut down prior to its big accident. Obviously the mine should have been shut down the day before it blew up. smh Reality is not as simple as you'd like to make it. Shutting down Massey Energy's most profitable mine indefinitely would not have been a small undertaking as much as you'd like to think that it would have been. People like you are so tiresome.
 
Hindsight is 20/20. You seem to act like you're some kind of expert because you know now that the mine exploded. Any idiot can come on here and say that (insert industrial accident at a facility that had problems) a facility should have been shut down prior to its big accident. Obviously the mine should have been shut down the day before it blew up. smh Reality is not as simple as you'd like to make it. Shutting down Massey Energy's most profitable mine indefinitely would not have been a small undertaking as much as you'd like to think that it would have been. People like you are so tiresome.
I never claimed to be a mine regulation expert. However..... I was certain that MSHA had the authority to request that a mine be shut down. I'm not aware of MSHA ever requesting that UBB be shut down. If they never had that authority......I stand corrected on that part of the issue.
 
Answer the question....that is IF you can.

Whenever someone on the Left refuses to answer a direct question the reason usually is because an honest answer easily refutes whatever illogical argument they are making or they refuse to admit their argument is horribly wrong, demonstrably flawed, or a flat out lie that an honest answer easily exposes.
 
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