I’m not big into placing blame for tragedies of any sort, because it’s just tacky and unproductive.  And while I think Bush is a moron, I’m not particularly inclined to blame him for everything bad that happens, and I certainly don’t belong to the "Oh my God another disaster just happened how can we blame Bush?" crowd, I just couldn’t avoid noticing this bit of information:

Federal mine safety official’s credentials questioned

How big a contributor to the Shrub do you have to be to have the President use a recess appointment to put you in charge of, say, the country’s mine administration despite your nomination having been twice rejected by the Republican Congress?  From the article itself:

Also coming to light, is the fact that Stickler’s nomination to head the mine administration was twice rejected by congress and rejected when republicans were still in charge.

Rejected reportedly by senators who were concerned about Stickler’s safety record when he operated mines.

After his nomination was twice rejected by the Senate, President Bush gave Richard Stickler the mine safety job with a recess appointment.

It is kind of amazing, isn’t it?

The tag for my entires on politics, by the way, is "Maniacs and Morons and Robber Barons".  Because no matter who’s been elected to national office, that’s generally who you end up with in charge.  Sometimes I think the best approach for the common citizen is to do their own thing, respecting the rights and welfare of others, and hoping that the people in the government don’t fuck things up too much.