Overlooked American Tragedies

The barrage of paper violations received by the Sago mine since February of 2004 totaled 271. Despite the fact that two dozen workers were injured in the mine during that period, leading up to the disaster that claimed the lives of 12 miners on January 2^nd, no changes took place to improve the safety of the mine. The citations issued by the Mining Safety and Health Administration presented, at worst, nominal fines, the largest of which for $440 to the International Coal Group, Inc which boasted net profits of $110 million last year alone.

The MSHA almost never uses the more serious and substantial sanctions in its power, such as issuing large fines or closing down operations. When inspectors do seek to issue substantial fines they often see the numbers gutted by judges and agency negotiators. The initial fine to a Brookwood, Ala where 12 miners were killed in 2001 was $435,000. The final number was reduced to $3,000.

This is a tendency symptomatic of the Bush administration which pledged to bolster new ties between the Mining industry and regulatory agencies (a promise almost identical to the administrations rhetoric on environmental regulation). In the last five years the number of mines referred to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution has decreased alarmingly – from 36 in 2001 to merely 12 in 2005. As a result of this trend, continuing to operate mines with literally hundreds of violations on the books has become a commonplace practice.

The lax enforcement of the mining industry would lead one to believe that fatal accidents in that industry were extremely, perhaps exceptionally, rare. In fact miners are killed in the United States with disturbing frequency. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a chilling 152 workers were killed in the Mining industry in 2004. In 2003 that number was 141. Mining also presents the second highest rate of workplace fatalities of any industry (behind Hunting and Agriculture) at 28 of every 100,000 employed.

Mine disasters like Sago have drawn sporadic public attention across the country for years: in Utah in 1984; Kentucky in 1989; Virginia in 1992; Arizona in 1993; and Alabama in 2001. Indeed, on January 10^th, scarcely one week after the Sago incident, Cornelius Yates was crushed by a falling bolder and killed in another West Virginia mine.

The problem is a classic case of “industry capture.” The outcries that follow the isolated and scattered – though frequent – mining deaths has failed to translate into an increase in public awareness of the problem. The presence of active pressure encouraging mining safety has been only sporadic. The industry, however, is always there - pressuring the government to look the other way. Indeed legislatures have cut or relaxed the responsibilities of employers to their workforce across the United States.

The only real solution lies in a greater public awareness of the dangerous lot of American workers today – dangers not limited to those working in the mines. A sense of urgency needs to be built around the overlooked fact that over five thousand workers are killed on the job in America every single year (a number that shows no signs of consistent decline). Calling the Sago incident a “disaster” is misleading. Fatal events in mines are not the exception. They are the rule. Only when this reality is acknowledged in the rhetoric of our politicians and the content of our media will it be possible to work towards a solution.

Senate Hearings Begin Tomorrow on Alito Nomination

The controversy currently raging around the Bush administration’s use of domestic spying is just one of many symptoms of the growing risk to Americans’ civil liberties posed by the war on terror. A recent debate over the use of torture which a few years ago would have been considered politically and morally untenable, has prevented the passage of legislation to ban “cruel” and “inhuman” treatment of detainees. The administration is also working this month to secure reauthorization of the Patriot Act, a piece of legislation that greatly weakens the importance of warrants in police proceedings and gives the government unprecedented access to the private records of individuals. In short, it is a dangerous time in America for personal freedom.

Next week the Senate will begin confirmation hearings on Samuel Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court. At this crucial juncture for the future of civil liberties in America, the President has selected a nominee who’s approach to constitutional interpretation is informed not by evenhanded legal scholarship, but rather by a conservative political ideology. A careful examination of Mr. Alito’s 15 year judicial record yields one undeniable common thread: on every significant issue, when a conclusion was not obviously mandated by Supreme Court precedent, the result has been conservative. When given the chance, Mr. Alito has consistently voted to push the law to the right. In several cases these opinions, had they not been overruled by his judicial peers, would have resulted in extreme and unacceptable results.

Mr. Alito’s record on workers’ rights is deplorable; time and time again his decisions to protect corporations and employers have been outvoted or overruled. Alito has consistently ruled to limit the rights of American workers who feel they have been victims of discrimination. In Bray v. Marriott Hotels, Judge Alito unsuccessfully tried to keep a worker’s claim of race discrimination from being heard by the jury. The overruling majority’s opinion asserted that, under Alito’s interpretation, anti-discrimination statues “would be eviscerated.” In a similar decision on sexual harassment, Sheraton v. E.I. Dupont, Alito was outvoted 10 to 1.

In 1997 Alito also attempted to limit the rights of individuals to sue corporations for producing toxic emissions, established by congress in the Clean Water Act. In that decision he argued that Congress lacked the authority to protect the environment through such lawsuits. His reasoning was later overturned by the Supreme Court.

The case of Doe v. Groody is a particularly troubling example of Mr. Alito’s disregard for individual liberties. In that case, Alito opined that police officers did not violate the Fourth Amendment when they strip searched a mother and her ten year old daughter – who were not criminal suspects – while executing a warrant that only authorized the search of targeted suspects. Even the Bush Administration’s Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has asserted that Alito’s theory regarding warrants would turn the process into “little more than the cliché ‘rubber stamp.’”

Judge Alito’s conservative agenda does not represent the will of a majority of the American people. His nomination was a divisive and irresponsible act by a President with a history of division and irresponsibility, and it comes at a critical time in this nation’s history. Alito’s nomination hearings this week will test our Senators’ resolve to protect our civil liberties. It will be a great day for the United States if he is unequivocally rejected, and if the Bush administration puts in his place a moderate, responsible judge who can be trusted to protect the rights of Americans during a time in which our protections seem exceptionally fragile.

Lehigh Professor Testifies for Intelligent Design in Kitzmiller Case

Michael Behe, A biochemistry professor and leading advocates of intelligent design testified in a Pennsylvania federal court that the theory does not advance any religious belief, qualifies as science, and has a place in biology classes. In his testimony earlier this week, Behe said that intelligent design is a scientific theory that argues that some aspects of nature are so complex that the evidence points to an intelligent agent that designed them. He said the theory is based on physical, empirical, observable evidence from nature, as well as logical inferences, and not necessarily on religious belief.

The Kitzmiller case has continued to make national and international news.

New Workers' Compensation Office of Adjudication Site

The Workers' Compensation Office of Adjudication has created its own web page containing links to materials for adjudication. There is material including directions to hearing locations, and the relatively new policy wherein the Bureau will provide an interpreter without cost.

Thanks to the online Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Journal for a heads up on the new site. Check out the PWCJ site for up to date Workers' Compensation information as well, an excellent source in itself.

Meeting Tonight on Contaminated Wells

Tonight residents of Scott, Abington and North and South Abington Townships will have the opportunity to voice their concerns over the contaminated well water that has been discovered in residential areas over one mile from the Ivy Industrial Park.

The meeting will be held tonight at Lakeland High School from 5-8 and will be broken into hourly blocks. State environmental officials are expected to present a map detailing the exact areas in which water was found to be contaminated. Residents will also have the opportunity to meet privately with health experts about any medical concerns related to the contaminated drinking water.

Bob Casey bypasses Santorum in Fundraising

Democratic PA Senate Candidate Bob Casey bypassed Republican incumbent Rick Santorum in fundraising during a three month quarter that ended today. Casey raised over $2 million dollars to Santorum's $1.7 million. While Santorum still has an overall funding advantage in the race, Casey's victory in late quarter fundraising is symbolic of his campaign's momentum. According to a Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University poll completed yesterday, Santorum is lagging a substantial 18 points behind Casey. The race, which threatens to unseat the Senate's #3 Republican is already becoming one of the most carefully watched in the country.

To learn more about Scranton native Bob Casey visit his homepage here.

Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District Receives International Media Attention

Journalists across the US, and even the globe, have given an enormous amount of attention to the Dover, PA lawsuit Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District. The lawsuit, which pits 11 parents against the Dover school board which introduced the theory of "Intelligent Design" into its curriculum last year, is being portrayed as the sequel to the famous Scopes "Monkey" Trial of 1925. Indeed a Chicago Tribune headline proclaimed "Intelligent Design Duels Darwin In 'Scopes II.'"

In fact, the Dover case probably bears more resemblance to the 1981 trial of McLean v. Arkansas in which the Federal Government first struck down the practice of teaching Creationism not solely, but alongside scientific evolution (as noted by The New Republic here). Like in McLean the debate in Kitzmiller rests on weather or not it is fair to call Intelligent Design a scientific theory. If it is decided that ID does not meet the rigor and objectivity required by that criteria, and that the school board has acted under "clearly religious motivations" then ID will be found to be "theology in disguise" and ruled unconstitutional as a violation of the separation between church and state.

The plaintiffs attorneys, including representation hailing from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the law firm Pepper Hamilton, have assembled an impressive collection of experts from academia to make the case that ID does not make the cut as a scientific theory. They have also pointed to other actions of the Dover School Board to try to show religious intent (such as previously attempting to introduce the teaching of traditional Creation Science, struck down by McLean).

The Defendants, represented by Richard Thompson from the Thomas More Law Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan, have based their strategy on the argument that the school board was acting with a legitimate secular purpose: introducing pupils to alternative points of view, of which evolution is only one.

The Kitzmiller case has been called the most important evolution case is more than two decades, and will be decided by Judge John E. Jones III. You can read more about the Kitzmiller case online at any of these sites:

"Trial and Error" at The New Republic

"Evolution Trial Delves into Topics of Faith" at NEPA News

"Life is Like a Cup of Tea" at the London based Economist

"Debate Over Statement Perplexes Students" at the York Daily Record