the big guy dons his tin-foil hat

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022765829

Oh my.

I had no idea my fellow Nebraskan's a conspiracy theorist.

Omaha Steve (35,565 posts)    Sat Apr 27, 2013, 08:26 PM

GOP, Chamber of Commerce and Fox News: Did They Play a Role in the Fertilizer Plant Deaths?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine/culprits-in-fertilizer-pl_b_3151991.html
 
In his oration Thursday remembering the 15 people killed by the explosion of the fertilizer plant in West, Texas last week, President Obama said, "We give thanks for the courage, and the compassion, and the incredible grace of the people of West." But there was a complete absence of such courage and compassion exhibited by the multitude of state and federal oversight agencies that failed to take common-sense steps to prevent this and other recent industrial disasters. In fact, they have been hobbled by a successful 35-year war of deregulation led by the Chamber of Commerce, the GOP, conservative think tanks, and in recent decades by Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, all aided by their allies in Congress, a leading regulatory expert contends.
 
"Because of their consistent opposition to anything that OSHA or the EPA does, they bear much of the responsibility for this and other tragedies," says University of Texas Law Professor Thomas McGarity, a Member Scholar with the Center for Progressive Reform and author of a comprehensive new book, Freedom to Harm: The Lasting Legacy of the Laissez Faire Revival. The combination of an overwhelming anti-regulation, anti-tax conservative media, think-tank and business lobbying assault has essentially "debilitated" the nation's regulatory system designed to protect consumers, workers, investors and the environment --including what McGarity calls the "hollowed out" regulatory agencies run by the Obama administration. (A spokesman for the Chamber of Commerce declined to respond to McGarity's critique.)
 
The evidence is now overwhelming that lax enforcement -- the facility was only inspected once by OSHA in the plant's 51-year-history, in 1985 -- was abetted by the seven state and Federal agencies that looked the other way or failed to see its 270 tons of potentially explosive ammonium nitrate. That's the same chemical used by Timothy McVeigh to blow up the federal building in Oklahoma City. Thanks to strong reporting by The Huffington Post, The New York Times, Bloomberg News, Mother Jones, and In These Times labor reporter Mike Elk, among others, we've learned a lot in the last week about the dysfunctional, pseudo-regulation by uncoordinated state and federal agencies. That, in turn, created the regulatory climate that made last week's plant explosion almost inevitable.
 
Of course, it's disturbing now to learn of OSHA's failures, that the EPA was blocked by Congress and the Bush administration from regulating chemical plants and that plant officials didn't tell federal agencies that their facility had flammable or explosive materials. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was apparently unaware that the plant even existed or that it was stockpiling 270 tons of ammonium nitrate -- more than 1,350 times the threshold mandated for reporting such chemicals. The GAO has been asked by Democratic lawmakers to look into these "oversight gaps" at the West Fertilizer Company and other similar facilities.
 
Chris Hayes video: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/all-in-/51669040

FULL story at link.

<<<still wondering what role Democrats played in all those murders in that abortion sweat-shop in Philadelphia.

Thinkingabout (1,603 posts)   Sat Apr 27, 2013, 08:43 PM

1. Contrary to the advise of Phil Gramm, "if you would just deregulate them everything will be fine".

Industries does not want to regulate themselves and in cases of regulations on industries they push to the limits what they can get away with. What troubles me also, now Perry, Crazy Cruz and Cronyn are pushing to get FEMA funds, why is the tax payers always picking up the tab when companies screw up. This is an example of corporate welfare.

Wednesdays (9,164 posts)    Sun Apr 28, 2013, 12:35 AM

2. The headline sounds like tinfoil hat stuff

But since it's from Huffington Post, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

[GOBUCKS]

state and federal oversight agencies that failed to take common-sense steps 

There it is again, "common sense".

Let's pray our representatives can prevent the government from doing anything described by a democrat as "common sense".

[Airwolf]

He should stick to working in the sewer. It's the best he can do.

[jukin]

Do they make an XXXXXXL tinfoil hat?

[FiddyBeowulf]

OS would have had more replies if he had only blamed the right people...Bush, Cheney, Rove and Palin.

[JohnnyReb]

Do they make an XXXXXXL tinfoil hat?

Yes, you have to buy the giant economy size rolls of tinfoil.