General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIs anybody looking for the asshole whose plant blew up a WHOLE TOWN in TX?
Just wondering.
Leslie Valley
(310 posts)I'm pretty sure that they know the family name though. Shouldn't be too hard to find.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)Most likely the business owner(s) will be looking to the government for some financial help while supporting politicians that will vote against helping those in the 99% that were adversely affected. Pure capitalism. The bottomline is the bottomline.
Warpy
(110,913 posts)As long as he made money, it's all OK, move along folks, nothing to see here.
monmouth3
(3,871 posts)elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)very liberal of you
monmouth3
(3,871 posts)elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)I am a bigfatliberal from Chicago, now living near Houston, and I know people who have loved ones & family who are still missing in West. And they're not all Republican, either. This texas bashing is bullshit. Sorry I popped off. Horrible week. Horrible. Found out yesterday a friend form Chicago's wife had her kneecap blown off in Boston. So yeah, I hate everybody at this moment.
monmouth3
(3,871 posts)to be self-inflicted. I am so sorry for your friends and I do mean that.
Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)The ones that paid for the greed (with their lives homes and family members that were also killed/injured), as usual, were workers. Working stiffs that only received wages for selling hour long sections of their lives (punched neatly on time cards) so they could afford to feed and house themselves and any family relying on them. Those people never get rich off of this shit, they just get shit on by the rich. They die for their meager wages whenever there is a cave-in at a mine or an explosion at a factory because the pigs at the top think safety costs too much. They need the aid, as do the people of the town where these workers live with their families. I hope the money comes promptly.
I agree with the OP, why isn't the persons or person responsible being rounded up and charged like the criminals they are? I have a good idea that it's because, as has become clear for some time now, the upper financial and political classes are above the law. Our laws apparently only apply to the masses below that do all the work that creates the wealth being syphoned almost entirely towards the idle rich and purchased politicians.
truedelphi
(32,324 posts)socialist_n_TN
(11,481 posts)capitalism. Sometimes it's better hidden, but it's always there.
Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)Strongly regulated capitalism that doesn't allow the privatization of essential services and resources is the only way to tame the ugly beast, the beast can be chained and used to serve.
Some countries have tried this route with mixed economies using the conditions I described above. Those countries do well and have had happy citizens well cared for by socialized services.
We are nowhere near chaining the beast in this country, we are letting it devour everything as Marx predicted it always will because that is simply the nature of this beast.
The New Deal and Great Society were a step in the right direction, but we never did get around to protecting the commons from privatization, nor have we done much in the way of regulation.
I think that's why we can't have nice things like other countries do, all we are getting is ever increasing wealth disparity and a fascist corporate culture that does nothing but eat away at the few regulations we do have.
Fascism is winning here and we are allowing Capitalism to destroy us.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)always been exempt from the law that applies to the little people. Twas ever thus in this country. The poor man who steals $1000 is jailed as a menace to society. The "businessman" who steals a billion gets a civil fine of 10% of what he stole, "does not admit to any lawbreaking" and goes free to steal again.
That's Equal Justice For All, 'murkan style.
somethingshiny
(31 posts)Really sorry for your pain. It has been a horrible week. And who really cares about the political affiliations of any of the victims? WHY does this country go nuts (seemingly) every April?
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)I agree... bozo is apt. Were I less civil, "sub-literate, trout-brained, idiot who allows political dogma more priority than human suffering" may or may not have been said too.
Casey McDonald, a resident of West and close friend of mine is still missing. She could give a flying fuck about your hope and desire she waits a long, long time to receive assistance should she still be alive.
But yeah... you're a tolerant progressive.
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)SleeplessinSoCal
(8,998 posts)"Country star Willie Nelson will play a concert on April 28 to benefit the West Volunteer Fire Department in the wake of the fertilizer plant explosions in West, Texas, near his hometown, which killed at least 13 people, including five volunteer firefighters, and injured 200 earlier this week.
"West is just a few miles from my hometown of Abbott, Nelson said in a statement. I was born and raised here and it was my backyard growing up. This is my community. These friends and neighbors have always been and are still a part of my life. My heart is praying for the community that we call home."
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-willie-nelson-benefit-texas-explosion-20130419,0,1143324.story
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)Bravo!!
efhmc
(14,709 posts)are suffering, not those horrible excuse for humans, perry and cruz
Gore1FL
(21,034 posts)I thought the GOP were wrong in trying to do so for NJ and NY.
There are innocent people involved here. It's not about tit for tat.
valerief
(53,235 posts)It wasn't an accident."
I call bullshit. Negligence is NO ACCIDENT. Whoever owns that plant is responsible and should be imprisoned for life.
Niceguy1
(2,467 posts)Been proven yet??????
valerief
(53,235 posts)Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)They quite clearly neglected any sane attempt at maintaining a safe work environment, a neglect that led directly to what happened.
Niceguy1
(2,467 posts)Govt and we didnt have safety inspections for decades. And once osha came they had to get fresh citation books out.
You would be suprised hoe many govt agencies are fined for safely even in a blue state like California.
But you must prove neglect.
Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)those whose job it is to prove neglect. (just a guess because the governor is a dick that gets donations from companies that don't want pesky regulations or inspections).
I also think the agencies that do the inspections need enough staff and funding so that neglect is proven and corrected before large scale destruction and death result from an owner's lack of concern for the safety for his workers.
It is not all about fines, it is also about safety and prevention, the owner should bear responsibility for his unsafe plant, not just the inspectors that are charged with keeping him honest that appeared not to bother to stop by. (lack of funding or corruption, whatever the cause, they were not there before this happened when it may have prevented it)
snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)In 2001 Toulouse France which didn't ban it suffered a massive loss when their plant which produced the same fertilizer as Texas exploded. A French expert who was interviewed was surprised that Texas had not changed any regulations after the French diasater. He was stunned learning of the layout of the plant in Texas, namely highly combustible material kept so close to highly toxic material.
So yes there is clearly wilful neglience.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)of Texas' "bring your business here, we won't bug you with regulations" bullshit.
valerief
(53,235 posts)LisaL
(44,962 posts)elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)LisaL
(44,962 posts)elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)*******************************
This business only has 10 employees and revenue of $5-10 million per year.
I kinda doubt he carried enough insurance to cover a disaster like this.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)Unsafe mining practices need more advocates as well as unsafe factories
...The disaster at Crandall Canyon Mine preceded the disaster at West Virginia's Upper Big Branch Mine by nearly three years and yet Upper Big Branch still occurred. The investigation into Upper Big Branch reaffirmed the continuing corporate culture of the coal industry is profits over people. The coal industry provides jobs and access to valuable energy resources. However, society should not allow these benefits to outweigh the value of a human life. Murray Energy's failure to acknowledge responsibility for its actions demonstrates that the current MSHA fine system is seen simply as a cost of doing business in the coal industry. Until the coal industry understands that it will be held accountable for unsafe mining practices regardless of whether injury or death results, coal mining companies will not take responsibility for their actions...
I mean they even have to pay a small fee for safety violations that can/have/will cause death. They should be relieved of this burden, just like this Factory owner that we can proudly say, didn't even have to pay a single fine for creating what became a large bomb due to his lack of safety concerns.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)We can feel empathy for Mass. and Texas. We can also want justice for both, justice for acts of terrorism caused explosions, and greed caused explosions.
The people that suffer bleed and die in both cases, it is not a competition and no one wins by excluding other human tragedies due to an irrational belief that empathy MUST be selective or it is less valid.
Rex
(65,616 posts)Or is anyone asking Governor Goodhair WHY the plant hasn't been inspected recently?
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)telling them we have no regs and rules. He's such a dick. I sincerely believe our voting system was compromised. NOBODY here admits to voting for him.
Rex
(65,616 posts)I've asked staunch GOPers around here locally and dammed if I can find even ONE that admits to voting for him! They all voted for Kay! I smell a large RAT!
I saw that article and nearly puked...he is such a worthless piece of hair...shilling in Cali, while Rome burns.
mythology
(9,527 posts)I mean it's a bit embarrassing to vote for somebody that bloody stupid.
mzmolly
(50,957 posts)was just because kids died in Iraq, again?
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)except you, just now
mzmolly
(50,957 posts)as much.
mzmolly
(50,957 posts)for the Boston bomber because someone else was irresponsible.
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)mzmolly
(50,957 posts)needs work. I read between the lines.
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)So cool in fact, that even the posters lips didn't move when you placed the words in her mouth from across the room. I bet you even drank a glass of water while doing it! I must say tho that the water drinking bit is less impressive when you type the voice you throw.
mzmolly
(50,957 posts)missing? Or, was she drawing a comparison to searching for a terrorist with a man who is not on the run for some other, unknown reason?
Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)A delusional inference based on your strange and flawed logic s no excuse for lying about what she said.
The only sane inference would be the simple and honest one, "he should be arrested as well"
He did turn a factory into a giant IED that caused a large explosion and death.
The motive for doing so may have been to make money by risking others lives, rather than whatever those murderers motives were in Boston but the fucker is still responsible for lots of death and destruction.
mzmolly
(50,957 posts)Implies what, to you?
Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)The rest is a bizarre inference created entirely from within your mind.
You on the other hand are IMPLYING that the OP was "suggesting that we shouldn't look for the Boston bomber because someone else was irresponsible".
More of a lie than an implication, because you made up the entire thing and placed it in her mouth, stop being silly, if someone cares about someone else they can STILL care about you , caring about someone else is not evidence that no one should care about you.
What drives such insecurity and such venom directed towards someone that can care about more than one tragedy at the same time and want justice in each case? It is not the weird zero sum game that appears to exist only in someone's insecure and addled brain.
mzmolly
(50,957 posts)That said, I prefer an investigation, first.
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)mzmolly
(50,957 posts)eom
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)mzmolly
(50,957 posts)would be a more appropriate username for you.
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)Hissyspit
(45,788 posts)Owner of West fertilizer plant says 'heart is broken'
By Houston Chronicle | April 19, 2013 | Updated: April 19, 2013 4:36pm
The owner of the fertilizer plant in West that suffered an explosion leading to the deaths of at least a dozen people this week has spoken for the first time about the tragedy.
Donald Adair, lifelong resident of West and owner of Adair Grain Inc., issued a statement Friday afternoon expressing sympathy for those affected.
"My heart is broken with grief for the tragic losses to so many families in our community," Adair said. "I know that everyone has been deeply affected by this incident. Loved ones have been injured or killed. Homes have been damaged or destroyed. Our hearts go out to everyone who has suffered."
Adair said he would never forget the "selfless sacrifice of first responders who died" in the fire.
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)should have hired a safety guy, maybe.
Wednesdays
(17,249 posts)SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)to relocate people, rebuild a school/nursing home somewhere safe?
Will he be paying the patients' share of medical bills & physical therapy/continued care for the injured?
Will he be contributing the lost wages of the people killed? (to their families)
Will he pay any price for running a slipshod company?
Or will he slink off to a new location and build a new one?
Dark n Stormy Knight
(9,760 posts)no. He won't be doing any of those things. Nor will he lose his claim on high moral ground and admired status as a "job creator."
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)Last edited Sat Apr 20, 2013, 12:47 AM - Edit history (1)
after the new Pope is found getting brickfaced in a Roman strip joint. I am as sure as eggs is eggs that he will have plenty of nice, cheap "prayers" for all the suffering people killed or maimed by his greedy disregard for workplace safety.
Membership in the ownership/capitalist class, even on a relatively small scale, is a guarantee you will never see the inside of a prison cell unless you kill your wife or mistress. Dead workers and proletarians don't count for shit.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)only because his profits are going to take a hit for a while.
NoPasaran
(17,291 posts)The kolache district still stands, thank God!
Cleita
(75,480 posts)My high school BFF's grandmother used to make it to take to school and share with her friends. She was Czech. She never learned how to make it because grandma mixed stuff up together without a recipe or measuring the ingredients. My friend needed something on a 3X5 card.
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)Authentic ones don't have an open top or icing on top.
Prune and poppy seed MMMMM!!!!
Cleita
(75,480 posts)elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)they're like pigs in a blanket. Dough with meat inside.
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)Most of the ones they sell in the stores are open topped with icing in a sweet rich dough.
texanwitch
(18,705 posts)Pigs in a blanket and kolaches are two different things.
Lex
(34,108 posts)Hissyspit
(45,788 posts)glowing
(12,233 posts)If we started holding these asshole, corporate shitbags accountable and sent them to prison like we are doing to the Marathon Bombers, then perhaps corporations would stop fucking shit up so damned much. No one from BP went to jail when the Deep Water Horizon platform blew, killed several workers, and ended up fucking up the Gulf Coast for who knows how long?
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)Upper management? not so much.
glowing
(12,233 posts)They went to trial and served time. Bush Crime et al, free as birds, still talking on tv and making money off of their evil, illegal endeavors.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)<snip>
Adair praised the first responders who died trying to protect all of us and said the incident will be something he will never get over.
<snip>
ZRT2209
(1,357 posts)elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)Hissyspit
(45,788 posts)valerief
(53,235 posts)The negligent bastard!
Pirate Smile
(27,617 posts)TBF
(31,922 posts)rich folks can blow up things to collect insurance all they want. That's the American way!
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)Before the entire plant went inferno, and then exploded. The rub here is that it started as a reasonably minor industrial accident. One of ten thousand each year. Then it spread, and Ammonium Nitrate enhances fires of other materials, and becomes very shock sensitive when mixed with organic chemicals.
Now, the Fire Department fighting the fire was spraying water, which is about all you can do, hoping to get ahead of it. Then the plant went up, and in the fire, things mixed that shouldn't.
Are we suddenly going to decide that we don't want Fertilizer in our lives any more? No, we aren't. Are we going to pass new safety rules? We don't know what happened yet, so it is a little early for new rules. There is always some risk in an industrial environment. All you can do is try and minimize it, and hope the thing you haven't considered doesn't happen.
A minor fire grew, and became an inferno, and then a massive explosion. I'm not sure we should lynch the owner of the plant yet. Let's figure out what happened first, and if he was cutting corners or taking unreasonable or understood to be unsafe actions.
On the other hand, if he was playing with matches next to the propane tank while standing in a puddle of gasoline, that is another story. But really guys, let's slow down, and figure out what happened first OK?
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)what could possibly go wrong?
panda3
(7 posts)And this is the type of thing that happens,
mckara
(1,708 posts)Isn't that protected by the Second Amendment?
WilliamPitt
(58,179 posts)Puzzledtraveller
(5,937 posts)I get what the OP is insinuating.
jsr
(7,712 posts)blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)Too Big To Hunt Down.
j/k
randome
(34,845 posts)I am ashamed to admit.
alfredo
(60,065 posts)excruciating pain.
SHRED
(28,136 posts)southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)yawnmaster
(2,812 posts)hifiguy
(33,688 posts)and compensate people who fall through the inevitable "exclusions" of the insurance coverage. Let the asshole who owned the facility beg on the streets. Fuck the capitalist class in the ear.
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)whether or not you do it in the name of capital.
all is forgiven if it's for the sake of making money.
it's weird. there could be as many as 100 people dead yet the fuckwit owner is out drumming up more business for his criminal enterprise after a perfunctory expression of grief.
meanwhile, in boston...well, you know.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)Brickbat
(19,339 posts)Amonester
(11,541 posts)Not in hiding...
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)is the governors and legislators who made Texas a deregulation haven.