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January 11, 2006
Mining Mishaps
Another update*
I just received a call from the Tibune about a letter to the editor I sent regarding this cartoon. Supposedly it will be in tomorrow's paper. The text of the letter was:
I usually get a kick out of Bagley, mostly because his cartoons have an element of truth to them. Today’s cartoon, portraying a blind man in charge of the Bush Administration’s Department of Mine Safety, is simply off base. A simple Google search produces the below graph, which clearly shows that mine deaths have dropped each year from 2001 through 2003. 72 in the year 2001, 69 in the year 2002, and 56 in the year 2003, as you can see.
(In case the graph doesn’t come through, the article can be found at this link:
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=011006A )
The 2004 and 2005 data can be found at the below link, with 55 and 57 respectively, which is steady at an average of 56 for three years running, which is well below the average of 88.6 for the 8 years of the Clinton Administration, which would not have gotten this sort of treatment, I assume.
http://www.msha.gov/STATS/DAILY/D2005BAR.PDF
Making political points on the backs of the tragedy that was the miners’ deaths is simply sad, and you both should be ashamed.
Thank you,
Jonathan Sabin
Cottonwood Heights
Update*
Given the below post, today's Bagley cartoon seems a bit out of touch, yeah? Unless of course, you're a partisan hack who cares nothing for the facts. See for yourself:
Via Instapundit.
Interesting. Very Interesting.
Here’s a headline you aren’t likely to see: “Sago mine tragedy defies improved mine safety trend under the Bush administration.”
Yet, despite the Sago mine tragedy, the facts support it.
Mining fatalities have dropped every year President Bush has been in the White House, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Since 2001, mining deaths averaged 63 a year, which is 30% lower than during the Clinton administration. The fatality rate has dropped as well -- it was 31% lower in 2004 than it was in the last year of the Clinton administration.
There is even a handy chart:
Posted by Jonathan at January 11, 2006 8:41 AM
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Comments
A few good facts here. Wanted to make sure you know you're still welcome to re-post or just post at http://www.PolState.com.
- Temple
Posted by: Temple Stark at January 22, 2006 10:08 PM