C
C -- S
Guest
..
"....In the meeting, Murray shouted that "Mitch McConnell calls
me one of the five finest men in America, and last I checked, he
was sleeping with your boss."
Meet Robert E. Murray, Chairman, Murray Energy Corporation
By Robert Gehrke and Paul Beebe
The Salt Lake Tribune
8/8/07
http://origin.sltrib.com/ci_6570325
Robert Murray scoured the skies for the helicopters above Crandall
Canyon,
refusing to continue his disjointed, rambling Tuesday morning media
briefing
until the county sheriff chased them off.
It was a public relations meltdown that prompted the chairman of the
U.S. House labor committee to demand that federal officials take the
helm of all future briefings on the cave-in that trapped six men in
the
Crandall Canyon coal mine.
But in many ways it appears to have been Murray being Murray - an
eccentric, passionate, politically connected coal executive who has
never shied from speaking his mind.
In his briefing, an update of the Crandall Canyon mine collapse
that was carried live on national television, Murray defended the
coal industry,attacked the media and railed against what he called
a foolhardy crusade against global warming that jeopardized his
industry and America's economy.
Murray insisted there was no way the collapse was not caused
by an earthquake - "It was a natural disaster and I'll prove it to
you" - even though a federal geologist said Tuesday evening the
collapse was absolutely not caused by an earthquake.
Crisis management and public relations authorities criticized
Murray's performance as "callous," "damaging" and "not very
helpful" to the families of the six miners trapped underground.
"His behavior is the beginning of blame-shifting, which causes people
to dislike business leaders and to distrust those who blame others for
their problems," said James Lukaszewski, president of The Lukaszewski
Group, a White Plains, N.Y., crisis management consulting firm.
Murray is a man who wears his emotions publicly, whether it's clashing
with Congress, scolding regulators or briefing reporters.
Upon leaving North American Coal Corp. after 31 years with the
company, he bought his first mine, the Powhatan No. 6 mine in
Alledonia, Ohio.
Over the years his company grew to include mines in Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Illinois, West Virginia.
Last year, he completed the purchase of the former Andalex
Resources mines in Utah.
One of his first moves was to shut down the Tower Mine, idling
114 workers less than two weeks before Christmas.
Murray blamed environmentalists and state regulators who had
been slow to approve production at the Lila mine, forcing him to
cut jobs, he told the Price-based Sun Advocate. John Baza, head
of the state's Divisionof Oil and Gas, disagreed, writing the paper
to say the layoffs were a business decision unrelated to the Lila
mine, which was delayed because Murray's company hadn't
provided necessary information.
Murray is strident in his belief that global warming is a fraud.
In June, he told a Senate committee that Congressional Democrats
and former Vice President Al Gore are bent on "the destruction of
American lives and more death as a result of his hysterical global
goofiness with no environmental benefit."
He called Sen. Hillary Clinton "anti-American" in an interview with
Fox News' Neil Cavuto after the senator said America needs a
president who will defend workers' rights.
And he bashed politicians who, after mine disasters in West Virginia
last year, called for new safety measures.
"I resent these politicians playing politics with my employees'
safety,"he said in an article in the Columbus Dispatch.
"I resent them because I take the safety of my miners to bed with me
every night."
But safety at some of his mines was suspect.
Only a few months' data is available for the Crandall Canyon
mine under his ownership, but at several other mines owned by
Murray, the accident rate was well above the national average, in
some years several times the rate for comparable mines.
And in 2003, KenAmerican Resources, a company owned
by Murray, was convicted of violating mine safety laws at a
Kentucky mine and the company was fined $306,000.
Murray backs his political beliefs with his pocketbook.
He contributed more than $213,000 to Republican candidates
over the last decade.
Three political action committees tied to Murray's businesses
have given $724,500 to Republican candidates and causes,
including $4,000 to Rep. Chris Cannon.
He made use of his political ties to Kentucky Sen. Mitch
McConnell, who is married to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao
and oversees MSHA, to get back at a safety regulator who had
crossed him, according to the Lexington Herald-Journal.
In the meeting, Murray shouted that "Mitch McConnell calls me
one of the five finest men in America, and last I checked, he was
sleeping with your boss."
______________________________________________________
And the beat goes on.......
Is there ANYONE connected [however slightly] to the
Bush-Cheney-GOP manure wagon with even a shred
of so-called "honor and dignity" ?
C_S
=============================================================
" Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.
They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country
and our people, ...and neither do we. "
-- George W. Bush
Thursday, August 5, 2004
2005 Defense Spending Bill Signing
Washington, D.C.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040805-4.html
=============================================================
"....In the meeting, Murray shouted that "Mitch McConnell calls
me one of the five finest men in America, and last I checked, he
was sleeping with your boss."
Meet Robert E. Murray, Chairman, Murray Energy Corporation
By Robert Gehrke and Paul Beebe
The Salt Lake Tribune
8/8/07
http://origin.sltrib.com/ci_6570325
Robert Murray scoured the skies for the helicopters above Crandall
Canyon,
refusing to continue his disjointed, rambling Tuesday morning media
briefing
until the county sheriff chased them off.
It was a public relations meltdown that prompted the chairman of the
U.S. House labor committee to demand that federal officials take the
helm of all future briefings on the cave-in that trapped six men in
the
Crandall Canyon coal mine.
But in many ways it appears to have been Murray being Murray - an
eccentric, passionate, politically connected coal executive who has
never shied from speaking his mind.
In his briefing, an update of the Crandall Canyon mine collapse
that was carried live on national television, Murray defended the
coal industry,attacked the media and railed against what he called
a foolhardy crusade against global warming that jeopardized his
industry and America's economy.
Murray insisted there was no way the collapse was not caused
by an earthquake - "It was a natural disaster and I'll prove it to
you" - even though a federal geologist said Tuesday evening the
collapse was absolutely not caused by an earthquake.
Crisis management and public relations authorities criticized
Murray's performance as "callous," "damaging" and "not very
helpful" to the families of the six miners trapped underground.
"His behavior is the beginning of blame-shifting, which causes people
to dislike business leaders and to distrust those who blame others for
their problems," said James Lukaszewski, president of The Lukaszewski
Group, a White Plains, N.Y., crisis management consulting firm.
Murray is a man who wears his emotions publicly, whether it's clashing
with Congress, scolding regulators or briefing reporters.
Upon leaving North American Coal Corp. after 31 years with the
company, he bought his first mine, the Powhatan No. 6 mine in
Alledonia, Ohio.
Over the years his company grew to include mines in Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Illinois, West Virginia.
Last year, he completed the purchase of the former Andalex
Resources mines in Utah.
One of his first moves was to shut down the Tower Mine, idling
114 workers less than two weeks before Christmas.
Murray blamed environmentalists and state regulators who had
been slow to approve production at the Lila mine, forcing him to
cut jobs, he told the Price-based Sun Advocate. John Baza, head
of the state's Divisionof Oil and Gas, disagreed, writing the paper
to say the layoffs were a business decision unrelated to the Lila
mine, which was delayed because Murray's company hadn't
provided necessary information.
Murray is strident in his belief that global warming is a fraud.
In June, he told a Senate committee that Congressional Democrats
and former Vice President Al Gore are bent on "the destruction of
American lives and more death as a result of his hysterical global
goofiness with no environmental benefit."
He called Sen. Hillary Clinton "anti-American" in an interview with
Fox News' Neil Cavuto after the senator said America needs a
president who will defend workers' rights.
And he bashed politicians who, after mine disasters in West Virginia
last year, called for new safety measures.
"I resent these politicians playing politics with my employees'
safety,"he said in an article in the Columbus Dispatch.
"I resent them because I take the safety of my miners to bed with me
every night."
But safety at some of his mines was suspect.
Only a few months' data is available for the Crandall Canyon
mine under his ownership, but at several other mines owned by
Murray, the accident rate was well above the national average, in
some years several times the rate for comparable mines.
And in 2003, KenAmerican Resources, a company owned
by Murray, was convicted of violating mine safety laws at a
Kentucky mine and the company was fined $306,000.
Murray backs his political beliefs with his pocketbook.
He contributed more than $213,000 to Republican candidates
over the last decade.
Three political action committees tied to Murray's businesses
have given $724,500 to Republican candidates and causes,
including $4,000 to Rep. Chris Cannon.
He made use of his political ties to Kentucky Sen. Mitch
McConnell, who is married to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao
and oversees MSHA, to get back at a safety regulator who had
crossed him, according to the Lexington Herald-Journal.
In the meeting, Murray shouted that "Mitch McConnell calls me
one of the five finest men in America, and last I checked, he was
sleeping with your boss."
______________________________________________________
And the beat goes on.......
Is there ANYONE connected [however slightly] to the
Bush-Cheney-GOP manure wagon with even a shred
of so-called "honor and dignity" ?
C_S
=============================================================
" Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.
They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country
and our people, ...and neither do we. "
-- George W. Bush
Thursday, August 5, 2004
2005 Defense Spending Bill Signing
Washington, D.C.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040805-4.html
=============================================================
