For a couple of klieg-lit days in rainy West Virginia, we were reminded--once again--that the dark and hidden project of coaxing coal from the earth remains a deadly business. The January 2 nightmare of Tallmansville added 12 victims to history's mountain of slain miners. Tallied as regrettable isolated incidents, these deaths were in many ways predictable fallout from corporate profit pressures and permissive government regulation.

Let Them Eat Crap    By Susan J. Douglas

Begin on the sixth floor, third room from the end, swathed in fluorescence: a 60-year-old woman was having two toes sawed off." So opened the New York Times' four-part series in early January, "Bad Blood," about the Type 2 diabetes epidemic in New York City. Type 2 diabetes is caused by excess weight, lack of exercise and poor diet, and is directly related to poverty.      Read more   >>> 

Recess Appointments Reek of Cronyism    By Nick Burt

After last year's Katrina and Supreme Court fiascos provoked catcalls of "cronyism" from all sides, the Bush administration learned something about making appointments. The lesson: Be more subtle. On January 4, Bush used the congressional recess to bypass the Senate confirmation process and appoint 17 officials to posts in the State Department, Federal Election Commission, National Labor Relations Board and other federal offices. The recess appointments avoided floor fights over dubiously credentialed nominees, including a former oil executive, a former president of a weapons manufacturer and a relative of a cabinet employee.      Read more   >>>