New York Times anti-Bush bias on display

The New York Times says

Political figures from both parties have long defended and profited from ties to the coal industry. Whether or not that was a factor in the Sago mine’s history, the Bush administration’s cramming of important posts in the Department of the Interior with biased operatives from the coal, oil and gas industry is not reassuring about general safety in the mines. Steven Griles, a mining lobbyist before being appointed deputy secretary of the interior, devoted four years to rolling back mine regulations and then went back to lobbying for the industry.

Bizzyblog responds with the truth: Coal Mine Fatalities 1995 - 2005

1995 - 47
1996 - 38
1997 - 30
1998 - 29
1999 - 34
2000 - 38
2001 - 42
2002 - 27
2003 - 29
2004 - 28
2005 - 22

Bizzyblog points out that coal mine fatalities have been cut almost in half since 2001 and that Bush, while taking office in January of 2001, had to operate under Clinton's budget until October of that year. Bizzyblog puts the numbers on a nice graph which makes the improvements in mine safety under the Bush administration all the more stark.

Other views:
Sister Toldjah - commenter Kevin with Deaths per 200,000 hours worked since 1990. These safety improvements under the Bush administration look about the same.
Free Frank Warner - here's where Sister Toldjah's commenter Kevin got the numbers
Michelle Malkin - uses AMA official description of anti-Bush bias: BDS
Right Wing of the Gods - why wait for facts?
Ex Donkey Blog - it didn't take long to blame Bush
EU Rota - NYT dancing on the graves - with another graph
The Political Pit Bull - venom being spewed
Reverse Vampyr - Bush can't be an idiot and AND an evil genius, can he?
The Florida Masochist - Palm Beach Post blindly follows NYT lead
RCP Blog - more data - all trends DOWN
The Anchoress - mine disasters and cave-ins never happened before Bush.
Ace of Spades HQ - NYT seizes opportunistically on a tragedy
VariFrank - the ol' game of j'accuse
The Kirk
Weapons of Mass Discussion - New York Times readers are left with...nothing.
The Right Politics - no wonder the NYT's stock has plunged.
You Big Mouth You - does the analysis that the NYT should have done.
Betsy's Page - research was, apparently, beyond the grasp of the NYT editorial page.
John Hawkins at Right Wing News quotes Sister Toldjah: Shame, shame on the New York Times

TAGS: New York Times, anti-Bush bias, coal mine safety, Sago, BDR, Bush Derangement Syndrome