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Limbaugh Lies About Big Branch Mine: No, Rush, It Wasn’t Union
It was Sen. Al Franken (D- Minn.) in his previous incarnation as an author and comedian who called Rush Limbaugh “A big fat liar.” Well, others can address the first part, but Limbaugh himself has again offered solid evidence about the liar part.
Last week, Limbaugh lambasted the Mine Workers (UMWA) for not protecting their members who, he claimed worked at the Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County, W.Va., where 29 coal miners were killed when the Massey Energy Co. mine exploded.
Of course as we all know, and has been widely reported in mainstream media–and even on Fox News–Upper Big Branch was non-union coal mine. While he never acknowledged his mistake, at least he piped down for a few days.
But yesterday, with a full bag of gas at the ready, Rush claimed he had irrefutable facts to back him up, that UMWA did certainly represent the miners at Upper Big Branch. He said the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had ordered Massey to hire union coal miners.
There were union workers at this mine…You people, it’s been 21 years. At some point you are going to learn: If you go up against me on a challenge of fact, you are going to be wrong. It’s just that simple.
Let UMWA President Cecil Roberts throw the challenge flag on this one.
Yesterday, Rush said on his program, “But in 2009, the [NLRB] agreed with the decision that Massey Energy rehire 85 coal miners who said they had been discriminated against because they were union members. So there were union workers there. So the United Mine Workers should have been overseeing their safety, the United Mine Workers of America.”
Wrong again, Rush. The decision you refer to was AT ANOTHER MINE! And, Massey is appealing that decision, meaning the workers who were discriminated against at the Cannelton mine (in another county from the Upper Big Branch mine) have yet to reclaim their rightful jobs as the NLRB ordered.
Those are the facts. Who’s wrong now, Rush?
While Limbaugh may have lost a few pounds, that liar part still fits quite snuggly.
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30 Comments
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This is the countries biggest and most urgent problem it is faced with today.The 24/7 non-stop misinformation,propaganda and flat out lies,that are told and repeated over and over again,from these right wing freaks that dominate our radio and television media.There are a whole lot of angry Americans who get 100% of their information from these vile and disgusting creatures.There has to be something done by this administration to stop the consistent flow of lies disguised as legitimate news before it really gets out of control.
Its moments like this That need to have this type of blog in the local newspapers Why not ? could someone explain or maybe it already is being addressed to the newspapers. ? Why dont we have an AM station with good reception to talk about these issues to the general public . I have a station here in Massachusettes on AM which is pro union but its reception sucks no matter who’s car I am driving. It’s always on AM stations and not FM ? with all our money and resources we never have a legitimately descent radio or television station to let our word out. It always seem’s like we have the shittiest of resources when we shouldn’t Please coment on this and help me out to understand.
It’s seems that Limbaugh continues to prove to the world that he is a clueless fool. It is the moral obligation, and responsibility of every employer to provide a safe work environment for each, and every employee. They are ultimitely the ones who have control of their properties, and working conditions, not the unions.
Not clueless, I’m afraid. The SOB knows exactly what he’s doing, and he knows how to do it. He’s the jurnalistic equivalent of a pro wrestler, but even kids know those matches are staged. The people who get their news from Fox aren’t that smart.
LIMBAUGH IS FULL OF HOT AIR
Good people die and the right is placing blame instead of taking responsibilty for their greed. These Bible waving right wingers need to open a Bible and read it instead of using it for a makeshift fan.
HOT AIR BAG like Limbaugh is not only a lair but anti-American and anti-union.
HE is more concerned about anti propaganda union issues then the loss of people’s lives really shows where his real priorities really lie and should be ashamed of him self.
The only way to fight this idiot and his ilk is to boycott all advertisers of their shows. Freedom of speech means they can spew this crap and unfortunately millions of people listen to them and believe every word. They really have a knack for putting forth their arguments and then blasting the supposed facts over and over and not letting any voice of reason or truth speak. They cut people off and ridicule to make them look like fools. It’s really sad that people believe this and can’t or won’t take the time/effort to find the truth, just spoon fed this trash.
Boycotting Limbaugh’s sponsors is an excellent idea. Or better yet, send letters to the sponsors informing them of the boycott because of Limbaugh’s blatent lies about union’s. Someone is going to have to let us know who the sponsors are since many of us do not listen to the idiot.
Hank
What is the difference between Rush Limbaugh, and the Hindenburg? Answer, one is a fat Nazi gas bag, and the other is an airship. The problem is that no matter how many times he is proven to be a liar, his fatihful listeners will never hear it, of if they do they won’t believe it.
A slight refinement on that joke: I heard it as “flaming Nazi gasbag”
http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/
Sunday, April 11, 2010
When Does an “Accident” Become a Crime?
“…waiting at the gate, we are waiting at the gate…while the miners’ kids and wives wait at the gate…” Woody Guthrie
From 1900 until 1950, over 95,000 US workers were killed in coal mines, nearly as many as died in World War I and exceeded only by military deaths in the Civil War and World War II. Millions more were injured in this period. While records were not required, a conservative claim by the Bureau of Mines estimates that 140,000 miners were injured in 1914 alone, roughly 18% of all miners employed. Millions more went undiagnosed with black lung disease and severe arthritis. As recently as the 1990’s, over 21,000 injuries occurred annually in coal mining, despite far fewer employed at that time in the industry.
Outside of the war-time military, no occupation has suffered nearly the rate of fatalities and injuries as has coal mining, including law enforcement. Yet there are no national memorials to mourn those losses.
Throughout this period, annual coal mining deaths averaged between two and eight a day. Yet there are no national days of remembrance.
During the early decades of the twentieth century, coal mine employment drew thousands of newly arrived immigrants speaking little or no English – mainly from Eastern Europe and Italy – who were drawn to rural coal mining towns throughout the US. They account for more than their share of those killed and maimed in the mines. Often the native-born were promoted to working above ground, replaced underground by newly arrived immigrants. This brutal story is lost in the current debates over immigration, a debate smothered by the same crude bigotry suffered by the immigrant miners of the twentieth century. Sadly, too many of the descendents of these immigrant miners have joined the chorus of vulgar nationalism that pollutes the discussion.
US coal operators were notorious for their callous disregard for safety and abuse of workers. Despite employing 40% more miners, the British coal industry experienced half as many fatalities in 1914 – a fairly typical year for fatalities in the first three decades of the twentieth century. The rate of deaths per thousand workers in the US was higher that year than that in the Union of South Africa, where workers were virtual slaves.
While the industry has changed dramatically, underground mining remains the most dangerous occupation, made especially dangerous by the relentless drive for production and profits by the coal operators and their corporate masters. The recent death of 29 miners at Upper Big Branch mine in southern West Virginia reminds us again of how little regard owners and managers have for the lives of coal miners. The Upper Big Branch mine is a non-union facility owned by Massey Energy whose CEO is an out-spoken supporter of right-wing causes, an opponent of environmental protection, and notorious for “buying” the Supreme Court of West Virginia. He ranks with the most profit-crazed and corrupted coal baron of the past century.
The mine was cited 458 times last year for safety violations, 50 of them severe. The US Mine Safety and Health Administration closed the mine 61 times since the beginning of 2009. Workers were required to work in four feet of water and suffer other “aggravated conduct” on the part of the operator. Clearly, the Massey Energy subsidiary had no regard for safety, only production and profits.
The media speaks of an accident, a tragedy where they should be condemning a crime. But the crime rests not only with the operator, but with politicians, regulatory agencies, and opinion-makers who take little interest in the conditions and safety of working people. When the curtain of neglect is occasionally pulled back by some dramatic loss of life, our leaders wring their hands in remorse. At all other times, they are blind to the tens of thousands of injuries suffered by those working everywhere from Wal-Mart to auto production.
While discussing the deaths at Upper Big Branch, my sister reminded me of the fear for her father’s safety that entered her mind every night at bed time, dreading the mine whistle or a phone call; he worked twenty-seven years in the mines and left with black lung and crippling arthritis. She reminded me of our grandfather’s death in the mine and his daughter’s hearing from a passerby: “Your dad was killed today in the mine.” He had to work until he was 67 – past retirement age – because of his activism.
For most of the twentieth century the most militant, class-conscious miners called for nationalization of the mining industry. Without the brutal, life-crushing drive for profits, tens of thousands of miners might have lived to enjoy their grandchildren.
Zoltan Zigedy
zoltanzigedy@gmail.com
Thanks for the statistics. I need them for ammunition.
Thank you for this post. I had not read anything like this since high school. I know that I have never read it in a newspaper.
Many of Massy’s executives would look good in orange or striped outfits. When the top executive is earning $17 million per year [includes bonuses] and the people who toil in the mines make little or nothing, it’s time for change.
As for the rumor monger and uninformed gasbag Limbaugh, I guess your mind can be a little fuzzy on viocodin.
Limbaugh is not a fool. He does manipulate people very well. He is a very opinionated, fat, ugly old man. Many people believe every word he says. Thanks to the AFL-CIO for getting the truth out.
Rush only knows how to do one thing LIE. It wasn’t that long ago he said if the health care reform passed he’d leave the country ……That alone was enough for me to want it to pass …If we could be so lucky for him to be gone …..boycott his advertisers and let them know your doing it
I have boycotted all the sponsors of Limbaugh and Hanity, or as I call them: LIMP-BALLS AND NANI-TY. Between the OXYCONTIN and the TEAR TISSUES they both keep PURDUE PHARMA LAB and KLEENEX TISSUES stock prices soaring!
Please use my names for them and PASS THE NAMES ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS, but most important:
BOYCOTT ALL THEIR SPONSORS!
Money is the only reason both are in this businees of lies and deception, because they are both getting RICH doing what they do best: decieve people, lie to people, and go to the bank with it!
He’s trying to turn workers against Unions.
We have to make sure people know that Unions are the only way working class people can lead a decent life
MASSEY MINES by Jim glover
My name is Donald Blankenship I run the Massey Mines for safety regulations I haven’t got the time.
So run miners run, Get down and dig the coal, don’t listen to anyone who cares about your soul.
Communists and Atheists who write for the Gazette criticize my methods, well they ain’t seen nothin yet.
If bin Laden criticized me I would just be proud, so if you don’t like me, you can join his crowd
My name is Donald Blankenhip, I run the Massey mines, regulations are a drag, I appeal every fine.
Run miners run no matter who it kills You got to understand that coal pays the bills.
With my 19 million salary, I can buy the judge, Its the cost of doing business like dumping mining sludge.
In the Chamber of Commerce, I also run the board, silly global warming is a cause we can’t afford.
My name is Donald Blankenship, I run the Massey mines, regulations are a drag, I appeal every fine.
We don’t allow no unions in our coal mines, they just attack our business and our bottom line.
Coal pays the bills, provides all the thrills, this job is for real men without those Safety Frills.
My name is Donald Blankenship, I run the Massey Mines, I can just buy justice when widows and children whine.
My name is Donald Blankenship, so what’s the big crime?
Hoppy Kerchival is the Rush Limbaugh of West Virginia talk radio. I say this not because he’s big and fat or that he’s such a huge liar. No, Hoppy is one of those working for the company store ( aka Friends of Coal). He’d never call out Rush or anyone else if it meant defending his keepers. The guy was a sports announcer and now he thinks he’s an authority on politics.
Rush Limbaugh is the source of information for millions of Americans, and he never gets his facts right. But does anybody challenge him? Even the “mainstream” media can’t be relied on either.
When you’re Rush Limbaugh, the facts don’t really matter. You have three hours every day to spew whatever you want, with no one to challenge you.
I’m always amazed at how liberals are all for freedom of speech and religion until the person speaking is a conservative and the message goes against their views. For those asking why there isn’t a liberal radio host or station to listen to liberal lies you need to look at Air America which failed. YOU are the minority and most Americans don’t agree with your views so they don’t listen to the garbage and lies your leaders put out. Whether Rush is right or wrong on the union workers at the mine I’d still question why the workers continued to work in an unsafe condition. Where were the state and federal inspectors and why don’t you question them?
I am always amazed that there are people like our friend Mr. ” UseCommonsense” who has displayed hostility toward working people by defending the feculent blather which right-wing extremists like Limbaugh and Beck spew on a daily basis. I also find it interesting that Mr. “UseCommonsense”, believes that the number of listeners the right-wing lying machine has on the radio is ANY indication of a rejection of “our” views. Democratic President, Democratic House, Democratic Senate and likely to be that way for a long, long time. THERE is the true measure of what the American people have rejected and what we have embraced. And as for Limbaugh’s comments on union miners…come on…we all know what happened here. We’ve seen it before. The Bush/Cheney regime saw egulations ignored or dropped, fewer inspectors on the ground, and a Republican-controlled Congress who looked the other way. And companys like Massey…Never do they take responsibility. Ever! And, God forbid, if you sue them they’ll bury you! They demonize union workers, they employee an array insidious corporate tactics to avoid the plain fact that they kill their employees with impunity. And even if you’re heartless enough to think, “Well, the workers signed on for this risk,” the truth is, they didn’t. They thought laws and regulations protected them. And if you still have no compassion for them, what about their children, parents, spouses? They didn’t sign up for this. They never agreed, “Sure! I’ll look the other way if my father, son, daughter, husband, wife die underground!” There is so much pain in the lives of so many people who never signed up for it. But Mr “UseCommonsense” wants you to forget about that. Instead of lamenting the human loss, he has chosen to defend a man who criticizes workers who have the temerity to demand a voice on the job. Some people might find that rather inhuman Mr. “UseCommonsense.”
I see that you must be an everyday listener to LimpBalls.Ya know how I know that?When you said;”Whether or not the miners were Union or not.The fact is,ya know fact,that the miners were not Union.
Sense is not common is all over these threads with the same delusional nonsense.
Ignore him and he will go the fuck away.
“common senseless”
The first amendment does NOT specifically offer the right to pass off LIES as fact.
Go ahead and factcheck Rush and the Democrats. You’ll find the reality based DEMOCRATS ALWAYS closer to absolute truth .
And your telling us about how YOU are in the majority,,,,,,um, do you know your “numbers” ? Check out the 08 vote totals, YOU ARE the MINORITY!!! Smaller numbers, ideas rejected, last 8 years a DISASTER ! But, keep smokin that crack pipe and drinking that kool aid.
Rush Limbaugh is about the most worthless person on talk radio, he loves everything to do with the corruption in America he should move in with George the Retard Bush hahahaha piece of CRAP!!!! I HATE REPUBLICAN RETARDS!!!!
I’m surprzed that many people still listen to the “blubber headed” bigot. Clueless, careless, tasteless and dangerously incompetent at relaying the simplest message correctly,ogre of a man like creature. The first 5 minutes I listened to this waste of air time I realized any uninformed zealot could get a job on the radio. What does scare the daylights out of me is that there are people that swallow that feces and like it! Gloifying a lie to get a few points with his misguided audiance should be a crime!
The problem that I have always had with rush ___________ (fill in the blank for your own description) is that he is drug addict, and I’ve only listened to him twice.
I don’t remember how long ago it was that I accidentally stumbled across him on the car radio, but the car was old enough to still have the original AM-only. I dont’ think I listened to him for more than a few minutes because of what someone said about fact manipulation. The big clincher, though, was that he sounded so very self-righteous and sanctimonious while spouting whoppers. Some years later I ran across him on TV. He was still the same, but the interesting thing here was the live audience. They all shared the same open-mouth, glazed-eye look. I have never forgotten it. It would have to be categorized as nothing short of ‘adulation.’ It was amazing that a group of people could be so mesmerized by someone, but than Hitler managed to mesmerize almost all of the German people.
The guy is drug addict. Drug addicts are liars and manipulaters.
And this is why I find it so incredible that people actually believe what is really some of the worst entertainment within the entertainment business.
I have heard that we should pay attention just like the blog author did, but frankly I just don’t have that kind of intestinal fortitude.