The efficiency that the authorities, (FBI, Homeland Security, police etc) showed in capturing the alleged Boston bombers is nothing less than remarkable. It’s incredible what they can do nowadays, including pinpointing a “terrorist” in a pick up 6000 miles away and blowing them to bits, along with their family of course.
If only finding out who is responsible for the 14 deaths and
massive destruction after the fertilizer plant exploded in West, Texas was so
easy. Texas lawmakers, which means politicians form the two Wall Street
parties, are trying to “..sort out who in
the state is responsible for monitoring the safety of such plants like West
Fertilzer Co…” the Wall Street Journal reports. How difficult can that be
unless you don’t want to find out?
As is normally the case, a struggle of sorts has been taking
place between various forces. Such anti-American elements like “Environmental groups and Unions..” have
been pressuring the federal government to “mandate”
new safety procedures. This is more of the same “big government” policies that are destroying the 1%’s way of life
and is typical of these commie type organizations.
Fortunately the real Americans step to the plate.
“..agricultural and chemical lobbying groups have long opposed laws that
would require it…” the
WSJ reports. And it’s hard to argue
with their reasoning, any such laws or safety measures, “..would be unnecessary, costly, or impractical.” Profit is king
for these patriotic fellows.
That’s enough satirical humor about this tragic event, an
act of terrorism on Texas soil. As I commented in a previous piece on this
tragedy, government agencies like OSHA are a joke. OSHA is a social service, just like public
transportation or education; it’s “money
out” for the coupon clippers and crowds them and private capital from the
marketplace. Dan Keeney, speaking for
the Fertilizer company says that the company’s focus now “..is on doing whatever we can to make sure this never happens in any
community again.”
Well, we’ve heard
that before. And I shudder to think what 14 deaths and the destruction of homes
has done to the psychology of this small rural community. Even if he means it, Mr. Keeney cannot stop
this happening again as it is a by-product of the market, as natural to it as
the air we breathe. The capitalist system of production and the class that governs it is responsible.
The reason for this has already been explained in the quote
above from those who make a living bribing the corporate politicians, “unnecessary” (profits), “costly” (profits), impractical, (profits). And in case the reader missed that the WSJ
gives us a little more information. A
Democratic politician proposed legislation earlier this year that would have
required, “….certain chemical facilities
to adopt technologies to reduce the impact of an accident or terrorist attack.”
Note the use of the word “accident”
here. The dictionary describes an “accident” as, among other things, chance, mishap, coincidence fate. This tragedy was none of these; it was a
product of conscious design.
The above politicians proposal, and it’s hard not to laugh
at this were the results not so tragic, “..wouldn’t
apply if it impaired the facility operator’s business.” You can’t put it any clearer than that? Is
that what the average American, what millions of workers and the owners of most
community businesses would argue is sound judgment, good political and legal
practices? Are you a commie and anti-American if you put the interests of an
entire community above the right of a capitalist or group of capitalists, many
of them nothing but clippers of coupons?
It appears you are. So be it.
Even this weak-toothed attempt at safeguarding workers and our communities is opposed by the terrorists that represent big capital. Mike Pomeo, a Kansas Republican has introduced a bill that would “…bar the EPA from imposing obligations on companies to use a particular approach to making and storing chemicals,” (“big government” again.) The 1 percent’s politicians have waged a successful war against any restrictions on these companies.
West, Texas: not an accident |
Even this weak-toothed attempt at safeguarding workers and our communities is opposed by the terrorists that represent big capital. Mike Pomeo, a Kansas Republican has introduced a bill that would “…bar the EPA from imposing obligations on companies to use a particular approach to making and storing chemicals,” (“big government” again.) The 1 percent’s politicians have waged a successful war against any restrictions on these companies.
So despite investigators from the US Chemical Safety Board
claiming that they found the “..damage in
the areas surrounding the plant, ‘The worst we’ve seen at any accident site.’” ,
the culprits will not be
apprehended. We know who they are, they
could be found as quickly as the alleged Boston Bombers who were not able to
inflict as much damage to American life and property. They are lobbyists, bribers of all sorts,
some higher ups in government regulatory agencies, owners of business and the
US Chamber of Commerce. We should
remember as I wrote earlier that the US Chamber of Commerce opposed OSHA as
worthless as it is. OSHA’s role (and not fault to the grunts that work there)
is to tally up the dead after these things occur and issue a few citations.
We know who the politicians are that have used their
positions to undermine the safety of our communities in the interest of
profits. They are guilty. But most of
all is that the system is at fault.
Leaving aside whether we would actually need such chemically based
fertilizers if human food production was not an industrialized for-profit
venture, a major step toward reducing such tragedies along with other tragedies
like the BP spill, is a strong and militant union presence on the job. In this way, rank and file safety reps could
shut down jobs and refuse to work whenever workers and our communities were in
danger; no worker or middle class people would oppose such measures that
protected their lives, homes and schools. There’s a reason for the misnamed “right to work” legislation. It’s
actually the “right to profit”. The “right to exploit.” And coerce.
We must call for the banning of all lobbyists as an
independent political presence and build an independent political party of
working people based on our organizations, our communities and the youth in the
schools and colleges as an alternative to the two parties of the one percent.
We have no party of our own here in the US. When a worker says he or she is a Democrat it
means they vote Democratic, the Democratic Party is not a living active party
with millions of workers in attendance in branches throughout the country. It
is a thoroughly corrupt big business machine and millions of workers have drawn
the correct conclusion that on the basics it doesn’t make much difference who
they vote for and abstain from electoral politics in disgust. The Democratic
Party was the party of slavery and is the only political party in human history
that has dropped nuclear weapons on densely populated urban centers.
Through such independent political action, the major
industries that are crucial to the production of our needs from food production
to transportation can be taken under public ownership and management, and must
include the storage houses of capital, the financial industry. This is the only way free market terror like
the death and destruction in West Texas can genuinely “never happen again”.
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