Woody Guthrie wrote a moving song about a dying miner using his last bits of breath and strength to write a farewell note to his family. I couldn't find a link to the original song performed by Woody Guthrie so this version will have to do. I encourage you to listen to the song. Guthrie wrote it about an infamous mine disaster in 1947 in Centralia, Illinois. In that fire, 111 miners were killed after inspectors had warned Illinois officials numerous times about safety violations in the mine.
The mine disaster in West Virginia has a very similar back story. This mine in West Virginia was busted for hundreds of safety violations - a huge jump in violations, by the way, after the Obama administration came to power (suggesting that the Bush administration let a lot of things slide). Now, Republicans would likely say that the Democrats over enforce. But given the disaster in this mine, it sure looks like over enforcement is NOT the problem.
There is a line towards the end of Guthrie's song
Please name our new baby Joe
So he'll grow up like Big Joe
He'll work and he'll fight
And fix up the mines
So fire can't kill daddy no more
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
The Dying Miner
Posted by Raised By Republicans at 3:37 PM
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2 comments:
Why are you a socialist? Don't you realize that the free market is much better at making safe mines than government inspectors?
That's me. Shameless communist through and through.
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