West virginia mine explosion

doc111

Well-Known Member
this is something that is conveniently left out of every argument for increased regulation, the expansion of government's responsibilities and the mob rule of true democracy. we want to be protected. we want poverty erased. we want the guilty punished and their victims' suffering eased. we want so many things and consider the strength of the state to be the best way to go about getting them. we forget that we are all guilty of something in someone else's eyes and that each bit of power we relinquish to others can be turned against us. how many times have we heard that the innocent have no need to fear the law or that it is the wealthy that should bear the lion's share of the cost of running the country? we forget that we all do things that someone else disagrees with and that they may very well decide should be illegal. we forget that there will always be someone with less than us and that they may decide to confiscate what little we have - for "the good of society".

government is the only entity that we consider trustworthy enough to use force to attain its ends, but we all admit it is flawed and corrupt. government is the only entity with the capacity to quell any insurrection through the use of violence, but we allow it to continue to "build the case" for the use of that violence. government is the only entity that can determine for itself how much of what you have can be confiscated and used for its own purposes, but we continue to demand that it be allowed an ever growing piece of the financial pie.
I can't figure this one out either UTI. We won't always have the leaders we have today. By giving the govt. more and more power we are setting the stage for a nefarious character like Hitler or Staling to walk in and take control. The inability of the left to understand this is baffling to me. Every action causes unintended consequences. Some of these are not so alarming but some are. :confused:

Abe, your comment about fox news is getting pretty tired as well. Not necessarily saying you use that all the time but the lefties on here like to use it. I don't watch fox news. The same could be said about your source for the article: npr is about the most liberal news outlet around. :o
 

medicineman

New Member
I have no idea what you are talking about so yes, perhaps I am stupid (or maybe just really baked:eyesmoke:).
Come on Doc, congress passes legislation (Law). 41 republican senators can filibuster any democratic legislation right out of existence, therefore, if Obama proposed any new mine regulations, it would languish in congress untill the dems got 61 votes, not too likely to happen any time soon. The new sheriff has been castrated by the party of NO. Without reconcilliation, Obama is a lame duck. I certainly hope the American people wake up to whom is really responsible for this lack of regulations, the republican party.
 

doc111

Well-Known Member
Come on Doc, congress passes legislation (Law). 41 republican senators can filibuster any democratic legislation right out of existence, therefore, if Obama proposed any new mine regulations, it would languish in congress untill the dems got 61 votes, not too likely to happen any time soon. The new sheriff has been castrated by the party of NO. Without reconcilliation, Obama is a lame duck. I certainly hope the American people wake up to whom is really responsible for this lack of regulations, the republican party.
Thank you for explaining.

They shoved obamacare through. Why can't they use reconciliation for other "vitally important" things? Are you suggesting that Obama has exhausted his political capital? I don't even think new mining regulations are being talked about in Washington. I could be wrong (I haven't watched C-Span in a while). Part of the point I was trying to make is we shouldn't be jumping the gun. The smoke hasn't even cleared and the finger pointing has already begun. Perhaps this owner is a shitbag, I have no idea since I have only read a few paragraphs about the guy. That fact may turn out to be irrelevant to this incident. We have no idea what caused it and until we do I think we will just have to be patient. Underground mining is inherently dangerous and no amount of regulation is going to mitigate all of the danger. If this is Bush's fault as suggested, then Obama needs to grab MSHA by the sack and tell them to do their job. Bush is gone and like Harry Truman once said "The buck stops here." More meaningless regulation is probably not going to be the answer. :blsmoke:
 

DubsFan

Well-Known Member
In the same manner that a pure Democracy has flaws, pure Capitalism does as well. A pure Democracy can vote to do anything...anything with a simple majority. Pure Capitalism anything goes, buyer beware.

Capitalism has rules. I see people stuff BS into contracts all the time. Just because you sign the dotted line on a bad deal doesn't mean that the contract is "enforcable." These rules in our system are what keep it going.

There are very few that want pure capitalism. Those are usually pretty interesting folks. But I also think it's odd that there are some that think that this is how all Capitalists are.

With all tha being said, the UK has and still has much heavier regulation. Especially with regard to financial markets. Yet they still bought the same bad loan paper that triggered a melt down and their economy has suffered worse and is recovering slower. Yet we are to think that imposing these same regs here in the US will prevent something from happening?

Senseless rambling on my part here...
How about we find out what the current regs are first. The mine owner is clearly a dirt bag but my guess is that there were plenty of ways to shut this place down but somebody didn't want to ruffle feathers.

Regarding more regs, please see my last paragraph in my previous post.
 

TheDemocrat

Active Member
it takes the failure of the mine operator, state regulators and the representatives of the union mine workers for such a tragedy to happen. the union will merely point a finger at the owners, denying their duty to see to the safety of their dues paying members. the regulators will point to the violations and claim that their half-hearted attempts were all that was required of them. the mine's owners and operators will be vilified by a public that needs only one scapegoat to slake their thirst for vengeance. all three should be pilloried, but it is only the evil bosses that will always bear the blame. i have little sympathy for them in this, i only think that there are more villains here than will eventually be called to account.
this is a non union mine.
 

londonfog

Well-Known Member
yes, this is the third time that post has been corrected. if you'd bothered to read any of the intervening posts, you'd realize this and that i am already aware of my mistake.
I'm just glad to see someone can actually admit to error ( which we all sometimes will make ) ....had it been that other guy he would have just tried to spin it another way...won't say any names but it rhymes with SlackerLacks
 
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