El Rushbo

While running errands for the queen yesterday, I turned to my copilot in such situations, El Rushbo. He was rampaging over the mainstream media’s (MSM) efforts to undermine Bush as a result of the mine disaster in West Virginia. He was lobbing grenades in all directions and asserting that the MSM has lost all credibility and that all they think about any issue was how it might be brought to bear in ruining the president.

In trying to fashion some sort of reaction to Limbaugh’s diatribe, my only conclusion was that he was simply full of baloney.

The Federal Government has a responsibility for assuring good practices and for enforcing rules and regulations assuring compliance with safety standards. The old Bureau of Mines was responsible for this activity until it was abolished in 1996 and the safety functions were transferred from the Bureau in the U.S. Department of the Interior to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH.

The institute’s web site is full of self promotion on how great it is in promoting mine safety. “We have a long and rich history of advancing mine worker safety and health.” On and on it goes in this vein. Hey, bozos, take it down at least till this blows over!

Published reports indicate that the mine involved in the tragedy has a long history of safety violations and of rejecting the findings of the feds. And of course mine safety laws and regs have been watered down to the absolute minimum. After all, what’s K Street for?

But all of the facts and findings will come out in the media and in civil and criminal court proceedings. The purpose of this posting is just to Take Rush to task for his vein popping outburst against the media and nothing more.

This terrible event is not one that I’d drop at the president’s doorstep were I a member of the MSM media, but, to pursue Rush’s point, why isn’t this Bush’s responsibility? He’s the president and by extension is charged with enforcing federal laws. Mine safety comes directly under the Secretary of Health and Human Services a Bush political appointee. The NIOSH chief, in turn, is an employee of the Executive Branch and, therefore, any dereliction or misfeasance by NIOSH runs directly to where the buck stops.

I’m not after Mr. Bush on this issue. Rather I’m just pointing out that Rush was simply blowing smoke. He does it all the time on a hundred issues. I listen to him for entertainment while I’m running errands for the wife. I make a point of listening to who is sponsoring the program to be sure to withhold my custom from them – unless, of course, it’s a pharmaceutical company keeping me going. But the ranter has a daily audience in the millions who froth along with him. My question is why does he have a following? He warps everything. He attacks the mainstream media who are leagues ahead of him in truth and honor. Nobody’s perfect, but Rush is not only not close to being accurate, he doesn’t even try.

Of course Rush is not the worst; he’s mean spirited but at least he’s funny. The rest of the right wing bomb throwers are far worse; they have no humor. My excuse for listening is that it’s ten minutes every other day while driving and I want to hear what the yahoos are being fed. If you’re getting more than that, isn’t it time for a review? Are you really that angry?

Blog on!

Wild Bill