Fuck the workers

This pretty much speaks for itself.

U.S. mine safety regulators failed to conduct inspections required by federal law at more than one in seven of the country's 731 underground coal mines last year, a year in which the number of worker deaths in mining accidents more than doubled to 47, a government report says.

Budget constraints and a lack of management emphasis on worker safety by the Bush administration are responsible for the lapses, the Labor Department inspector general said in a report released yesterday. The report details the department's failure to meet inspection mandates of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.

Separately, auditors reviewing 21 completed inspections found that Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) officials failed to document completion of "critical inspection activities" 15 percent of the time.

So I guess when Bush said

"We make this promise to American miners and their families: We'll do everything possible to prevent mine accidents and make sure you're able to return safely to your loved ones."

he must have meant everything possible except conduct safety inspections that are required by law, adequately fund the Mine Safety and Health Administration and not leave the MSHA in the David Dye's incompetent, inexperienced hands for 10 months. Because, after all, nothing matters to George Bush more than the safety and well-being of America's workers.