“In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile.” — Hunter S. Thompson
The stories are flying like hard boiled eggs at Faber College’s lunch room. News sources have reported that Massey’s sale to Cliff Natural Resources may be imminent. Massey’s reputation as the “poster child” of mountaintop removal and a top producer of mountaintop removal coal in Central Appalachia is finally catching up to them. Massey CEO and homicidal maniac Don Blankenship has recently had his severance package rewritten by the company he’s “led” for the past 10 years and, yesterday, the company posted a $41 million loss…..
Ruh-Roh!
In a year where we are seeing the political rise of batshit crazy (i.e. the Tea Party), one of their biggest fans and funders might be out the door. Unfortunately, his next stop won’t be “Sink Sink,” the aptly named West Virginia Regional Jail built on a sinking MTR site, but the French Riviera or some other retirement spot for the rich and infamous. Back in April, Blankenship led Massey’s charge into the worst mining disaster in recent times.
But wait, presided over is too nice- Blankenship’s leadership killed 29 miners at the the Upper Big Branch on Coal River. And he actually just recently stated that he has a “clear conscience” about the disaster, I think it’s more like “no conscience.”
But Blankenship cares little about human life as he’s waged his own personal war on Appalachia’s mountains, eco-systems and the people that live in them. Maybe “war” is too soft of a term as well. “Genocide?” “Eco-cide?” Something like that.
Blankenship’s far-right laissez-faire philosophy has ravaged this region for decades. The only shame is that once he leaves Massey, he won’t get his just desserts.
Massey may or may not survive. Mountaintop removal will unfortunately continue after they are gone, which is why the end of Massey will only be a rest stop on our mountain-savin’ journey.