The Frivolity of Fatal Illness
Good catch by Atrios. From Bush’s State of the Union:
We must free small businesses from needless regulation and protect honest job-creators from junk lawsuits. Justice is distorted, and our economy is held back, by irresponsible class actions and frivolous asbestos claims.
Frivolous asbestos claims like these, I suppose, where the W.R. Grace chemical company knowingly poisoned the residents of Libby, Montana with asbestos from the Grace mine there for nearly 30 years, sickening more than 1200 people, and apparently killing some of them.
Grace and its employees are being prosecuted for their crimes (although I notice that neither “manslaughter” nor “reckless endangerment” are among the charges). The company faces as much as $280 million in fines, and some of the guiltiest executives might spend 50-70 years in prison, which is still galling. If I walked into town spraying cans of poison into the air that resulted in several deaths, I’d probably never see the light of day again.
Why do the people of Libby hate America? Why won’t they take one for the economy and die painfully and quietly?
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I love how he says “small businesses” like it’s the mom and pop stores that are getting nailed by these “frivolous asbestos claims” It’s always the massive corporations that have the resources and political ties to pull shit like that… Bitches…
Comment by Robin — February 8, 2005 @ 11:01 am
Very true. The company (though many may never had heard of it) made $140 Million of the asbesto programs, according to the Yahoo link. Time to pay up. 70% didnt work in the mines and lung cancer is 40-80 times higher than normal. Damn
Comment by Brian/Buddy — February 8, 2005 @ 11:42 pm
You can thank your Gordon Gekko’s and corporate whores like Dubya for the apparent lawless state of multi-national genocide, now openly practiced with the blessings of this Payola administration; if greed is so fucking good, why is it a sin?
Comment by jr — February 9, 2005 @ 10:14 pm
As one of the last walking dead who worked for those murderous bastards in 1975 and told in 1999 that three generations of my family tree are/will/have died from exposure to this deadly fiber. Anyone interested in how thousands of innocent people for over 40 years could be poisoned and not know what is killing them. Course we all were lied to and today the lies have not stopped and neither has the exposure and death to innocent people who have continued to move to Libby since 1999. This is a holocaust that does not qui and people, entire families are still being wiped out and not being told the truth nor protected.Read Paul Peters of Independent Missoula titled A Dangerous LIE by EPA.Watch the documentry by Michael Brown Productions titled Dust to Dust or/and read the book The Air that kills in a town left to die.Best if you all just stay away fron Libby Montana because Libby is not safe to anything that breathes.
Comment by Mike Crill — December 21, 2006 @ 1:25 pm
Why would I be mad at Govt and the town of Libby?Well,where shall I begin? As a long time resident and dying from asbestos along with three generations of my family tree,and most of my friends and other family members and even our pets are part of this madness and I could go on. But if you and all you love were poisoned with something that is known to kill you that their is no cure and that your way of dying is not the way to go and then when you and all your loved one have a life of nothing but pain and heartache because not only do you have to watch all your loved ones suffer and die and take care of them, you also have to deal with the fact that you are dying too,and you kids and mother and father,you getting my point yet.And then for the town/EPA/Govt,etc., to continue to lie to innocent people/families to get them to move to Libby by telling them Libby is a safe place to live and raise a family, this is a deadly lie and is being allowed to continue.Does this make any sense to you,yet?Yeh,people are being poisoned knowingly.And you ask what I hate about Libby and this Govt,they are murderers and they are getting away with it and the stupid sheeple are the ginny pigs,ust as we all were.Move to Libby if you think the air is safe,dumb ass….leave your kids,please…
Comment by Mike Crill — May 17, 2007 @ 8:33 am
Today is April 07,2008 and I just heard on TV that WR Grace is fined 3 BILLION dollars and that the bankrupcy is over.This opens the doors for all those who also have hid behind WR Grace’s bankrupcy will now have to pay up.I wont be around writing for stuff,I plan to fly away fly away before the Good Lord takes me away.Ya buddy.God bless take care and keep the powder dry. oh ya, stay away from Libby,all children atleast. Bye for now…
Comment by mike crill — April 7, 2008 @ 7:46 pm
Well,so frickin much for the 3 BILLION settlement from murderous WR Grace after years and many folks dying because of them,waiting.But now we,the alive sick and dying will have to continue to wait for any compensation for another 1 to 2 years from now,even longer.Unfrickin real as they ALL KNOW we are sick and dying,with nothing……Make things right with those who deserve to be FIRST,to get anything.
Comment by mike crill — June 25, 2008 @ 8:50 pm
Well, it’s April 19 2009, WR disGrace trial is winding down and no justice in site.Still haven’t seen a dime but we all were offered, 90% of Libby with Plural, a grand total screwing of $7,500 for pain and suffering till death.That don’t even pay to bury my exposed dead ass.Good thing we are only human beings…I’d hate to see what they do to dogs.We know Hamsters die from Meso but the people don’t matter.Stay away from Libby Mt.
Comment by Mike Crill Missoula,Mt — April 21, 2009 @ 12:30 pm