{"id":1722,"date":"2017-08-03T15:59:16","date_gmt":"2017-08-03T19:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/?p=1722"},"modified":"2017-08-03T16:00:10","modified_gmt":"2017-08-03T20:00:10","slug":"trump-heads-coal-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2017\/08\/03\/trump-heads-coal-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Heads to Coal Country to Give Best Speech Ever Made"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TrumpPresident Trump is heading to West Virginia coal country tonight to give the best-speech-ever-made to the largest crowd the state has ever seen. (Tickets can be purchased\u00a0here<\/a> if you happen to be in the neighborhood.) You may recall that Trump was just in West Virginia to give the best-speech-ever-made to the Boy Scouts. Being as he loves, loves, loves coal miners, I’m going out on a limb and predicting that he’ll talk about coal tonight, and how he’s already created thousand of jobs by ending the “war on coal.”<\/p>\n

So before that happens, I’ve supplied a few actual facts to arm you with before settle in with your popcorn to watch this week’s\u00a0best-speech-ever-given. \u00a0(And let me know how it goes. Unfortunately, I have an appointment to trim my beard at that exact time.)<\/p>\n

Safety<\/h2>\n

Deaths in coal mines have surged this year — already ten this year compared with eight all of last year — and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette<\/a> describes how MSHA will be dealing with this problem. \u00a0More enforcement? Don’t be silly. \u00a0Just because aggressive enforcement over the past eight years led by Obama MSHA head Joe Main brought mine safety deaths down to a historic low doesn’t mean we should learn from that example. So, instead of sending MSHA inspectors in to do more inspections, MSHA will make them take off their badges and send them into hazardous mines “to observe and train miners new to a particular mine on safer working habits.”<\/p>\n

Solution to spike in mine deaths: Send MSHA inspectors in the urge miners to be more careful.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What’s the reasoning behind this new strategy? According to an MSHA Press Release<\/a>, almost all of the fatalities this year have been miners who are new to the mine they are working in, or new to the job they are working at. \u00a0 The solution, according to Trump’s MSHA? Send mine inspectors in, not to identify and cite unsafe conditions, but to help miner owners to improve their training programs and urge miners to be more careful.<\/p>\n

The United Mine Workers note that MSHA inspectors who conduct such training visits will be barred from citing the mine, even if they spot any safety violations. \u201cTo take away the inspector\u2019s right to issue a violation takes away the one and only enforcement power the inspector and the agency has,\u201d union president Cecil Roberts wrote in a recent letter to the federal agency.<\/p>\n

Jobs<\/h2>\n

But by not issuing new regulations or enforcing the current laws, we’re saving jobs, right? The Donald and I had a furious debate about this issue earlier today:<\/p>\n

\n

I am continuing to get rid of costly and unnecessary regulations. Much work left to do but effect will be great! Business & jobs will grow.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n