I was born and raised in the coalfields of Virginia just a couple of hours from the disaster in West Virginia. As a matter of fact, when I heard about the mine explosion I called my stepdaughter in Connecticut to see where her dad (my ex-husband) and her brother (my stepson) were working. The work for a company that does mine maintenance and construction and were actually doing work there two weeks ago.

A build up of methane gas most likely caused the explosion. All coal mines have methane gas, it a natural occurrence in coal seams. Some mines are "gassier" than others. The mines in the area where this happened are very gassy mines. They require ventilation. It is the job of the Mine, Safety and Health Administration inspectors to see that violations are corrections.

Nick Rahall and Jay Rockefeller are Democratic politicians who have fought against Massey Energy for years. It's all about money and power and private interest influencing our judicial system. Massey Energy, a completely non-union operation, has always been a controversial and hot button topic in the coalfields. It is the fourth largest mine operation in America. AT Massey's mines in that area are protected with guards armed with high powered rifles with scopes because of ongoing fights with pro-union residents. The area is very, very poor and those mines were union for years. They shut the mines down and came back to life about ten years ago as non-union. People who work there were starved for work after having the mines shut down for so long. They were willing to work non-union mines to survived. That doesn't sit well with West Virginia unions.

Don Blankenship, Massey Energy's CEO, who I had a working relationship with as a reporter in the area for years, is very, very political. He was photographed on the French Riveria with the judge mentioned in the article you quoted. He supports Republicans and works to out any Democrats who support unions.

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