Stickler under fire

MHSA chief Richard Stickler has come under fire lately. Newspaper articles from around the country are calling for an independent investigation into the Crandall Creek disaster in Utah, focusing on 1) why MSHA accepted a revised mining plan for the site that proposed the removal of support pillars; 2) his leadership of MSHA in general, and; 3) the fact that he has never received Senate confirmation. The call for an investigation is warranted, although it must be pointed out that Stickler's tenure has not been a total failure. It was under Stickler that the Sago/Darby/Aracoma reports and all of MSHA's failings were in fact made public, and a plan put in place to correct deficiencies, according to Ellen Smith of Mine Safety and Health News. The bottom line is, Stickler is caught in a no-win situation, and you couldn't pay me enough money to take his job right now. Your comment?