Feb. 18, 2006 - 12:42 MST

ANYWAY

No surprise to me is this article in this morning's Rocky Mountain News by Ann Imse of that paper. Italics are mine. Here in full:

PROGRAM FOR SICK NUCLEAR WORKERS TARGETED FOR CUT

"The Bush administration has proposed cutting $686 million from the program to aid Rocky Flats and other nuclear weapons plant workers who were sickened on the job by radiation and toxic chemicals."

"That proposal has U.S. Rep. Mark Udall and Sen. Ken Salazar of Colroado worried that thousands of people who put their lives on the line to build nuclear weapons will be left out in the cold for lack of funds."

"The proposal amounts to a 44 percent reduction in a program that had an estimated budget this year of $1.56 billion, according to Lawrence Pacheco, Udall's press secretary."

"No one could be reached late Friday at the Department of Labor to explain the proposed budget cut."

"THe program pays for medical care and $150,000 or more in compensation for cancer and other often deadly illnesses tied to the job."

"In the part of the program dealing with toxic chemicals and less common ailments, 35,000 of 37,000 applications have yet to be processed, according to the Department of Labor Web site. In the part of the programs for cancer and beyllium disease, 14,000 of 51,000 applications have yet to be finished."

"Tens of thousands more sick workers have sought compensation than originally expected. Many have been unable to find records of their employment or their exposures. Others could not prove their jobs caused their diseases. Nationally 23,371 applications have been denied."

"But some 12,000 applications have been approved for a total of $1.7 billion so far. That includes more than 300 former workers at Rocky Flats, Denver's now-demolished nuclear weapons plant."

"The two Colorado members of congress say they fear the administration intends to implement the proposed budget cut by denying a petition by Rocky Flats workers seeking to grandfather into the program everyone with certain cancers."

"The compensation law allows for such petitions to be approved when radiation records at a particular site are so sketchy that workers can't possibly prove a connection to their illnesses."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A number of years ago a grand jury sat on the goings on at Rocky Flats and a number of the jurors wanted to make public some of the things that were encountered during that proceedings, they seemed to think they had good reason to suspect a massive cover-up was being attempted. And possibly they were right. However the judge would not allow that to be done.

And now defense attorneys are demanding the right to question jurors on this latest jury action, the $350 million award to property owners in the area of Rocky Flats. And I expect the case will be appealed and appealed ad inifinitum on into the dim future.

The Rocky Flats case has been mishandled by one arm of our government and finally turned over to the Labor Department and so far their progress has been less than speedy for the workers.

Apparently it comes down to the fact that our government does not want to pay for its stupidity of building a nuclear arms factory uphill from Denver, its inadequate oversight of the people running the plant and its stonewalling actions undertaken against someone finding out what was really going on there.

I for one suspect that records kept were skewed, incomplete and totally inadequate.

All done in the panic of the cold war - - "The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming." Much like the 9/11 paranoia of today's time. We feared, we built factories, we employed people and didn't tell them the hazards they faced and covered up boo-boos -- paranoia the same now but causes different. We feared nuclear attack then. We fear the world today and in our paranoia are willing to give up many rights in the hopes of being warm and safe from attack.

Regardless of all the Homeland Security people, we are NOT safe from harm and attack as far as I can figure out.

In regards to people who worked in nuculear plants and toxic chemical plants such as Rocky Mountain Arsenal and things like that, it would appear that our government as a whole figures the the problem will go away when all the sick folk die -- think of the money we save by dragging our feet - - - money saved of course is tax dollars, not money out of legislator's pockets. And speaking about that, why not thinkl about rescinding the tax break that benefits the corporations and rich folks more than it does us little folks ?

So, let them die off, there's no big hurry ANYWAY . . . . . . . . . .

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