Apr. 26, 2006 - 21:59 MST

FLEW OFF

Items noted in the Rocky Mountain News in the last few days.

One article is by Laura Frank, quoted in part.

Headline:

ILL WORKERS TAKE PLEAS TO PANEL

People who believe that working at the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons complex northwest of Denver made them ill have a chance to plead their case Wednesday. The stakes are high for ill workers."

"Five years ago the federal government said nuclear weapons workers who had been made ill by on-the-job exposure to toxic material deserved compensation."

"Earlier this month, a government agency recommended that Rocky Flats workers must prove the level and degree of their exposure to be considered for financial help. That has been difficult for those former workers, half of whom so far have been denied compensation."

"The records don't exist to prove what happened," said Terri Barrie, of Grand Junction (Colorado) who founded the Grassroots Organization of Sick Workers after her husband. George, fell ill with myriad ailments that they believe are related to his work at the nuclear wepons plant."

"But workers at some other sites have had less difficulty getting compensation. The government has determined that worker-exposure records at those places were so poor that radiation doses could not be reconstructed. In those cases, any worker who suffered from one of 22 cancers linked to radiation exposure was automatically accepted into a compensation program which provides $150,000 to workers or their survivors."

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So the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or NIOSH, recommended that the Rocky Flats petition be denied (the petition involved asking to be treated by the same criteria (any worker who suffered from one of 22 cancers linked to radiation exposure be compensated). Which to me is a crock -- if any of those folks have one of those 22 cancers it stands plain to me in my mind that they were exposed too. So they are going to hold a review and allow workers to testify - - - - yeah right, even if they see it the employees way, I wonder how many years will pass before any real thing is done for the ailing. This article was in the paper on Monday, April 24, 2006

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Then I guess it was Tuesday that an article by Jennifer Loven of the Associated Press was in our morning paper. Headline :

Bush: IMMIGRANTS HERE TO STAY

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I guess the main thing in the article that is emphasized is, Quote, "Bush is walking a fine line on the emotional immigration issue between his party's conservative base who want a clampdown on illegal immigration and business leaders who believe the economy needs immigrants to fill jobs."

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So who draws the most water in the Shrub's administration ? The big boats float I think.

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And then today the Headline:

BUSH PRESSES SENATORS TO PASS IMMIGRATION BILL

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The main thing I can get out of this is that the Shrub wants Congress to quit quibbling and get down to business and pass an immrgration law. Which is fine by me, even if they have to return to Mexico and enter filling in paperwork, and earning the right to apply to become citizens in "x" years. My big thing is that I feel immigration must come to a halt for a number of years and our border strictly policed to prevent the rush and the lies enabling newcomers to go for the same benefits.

So, more articles show up in the paper that I can't say contain productive information, at least not to my way of thinking. Another article today concerns the Shrub's attack on the gas price problem, In the article by Nedra Pickler of the Associated Press headlined -- BUSH TRIES TO STALL SOARING GAS PRICES

his efforts ? Waiving clean-air rules (he didn't like them anyway) He also halted filling of the nation's emergency oil reserve and called for the repeal of $2 billion in tax breaks for profit heavy oil companies."

"The suspension of oil purchases for the federal emergency oil reserve until the fall is likely to have only a modest impact. The halt in deposits involves only 20 million barrels -- less than the 20 million barrels of oil used every day in the United States for transportation."

The messes keep boiling and bubbling, words fly and I fear perhaps that our last chances to accomplish anything much good, just FLEW OFF . . . . . . . . . .

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