Free Republic

BUCKHANNON, W. Va., Jan 5 (Reuters) - The sole survivor of a mine disaster that killed 12 men lay in a coma on Thursday as residents of the tight-knit West Virginia community struggled to understand the latest tragedy in the history of this dangerous profession. But doctors feared that Randal McCloy, the only survivor among 13 miners trapped underground for 42 hours after an explosion on Monday morning at the Sago mine in Tallmansville, could suffer some brain damage as a result of his ordeal. Though mining disasters are nothing new, this one was made more poignant by the fact...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Well, you know, folks, it's just real simple here. From a purely analytical point of view -- from a purely analytical point of view -- the media prove time and time again they cannot be trusted to report the truth or the facts. We can't count on them anymore. First there was Katrina. We got forged documents, lies about the law regarding the NSA program; now this terrible mine accident. Time and again they report false information and spin. They rely on rumored sources. Somebody shouts out a rumor, they run with it. They take it...

by Mark Finkelstein January 4, 2006 - 07:58 Once in a while, it happens. TV serves up human drama in real time. It happened on this morning's Today show when the bereaved son of one of the Sago miners confronted the governor of West Virginia over allegedly lax safety enforcement in the mine. Matt Lauer began with a stand-up interview, at the disaster site, of WV Governor Joe Manchin. Lauer then brought in John Bennett, the adult son of Jim Bennett, one of the miners who died, who stood on Lauer's other side. Bennett described the history of violations in...