What do dead miners and blowjobs have in common?

When I first blogged on the religious hypocrisy of both people and the media related to the recent West Virginia coal mining disaster, it was understandable that I'd take some heat for lacing into a few folks while the tragedy was still fresh. But it was irresistible -- the hypocrisy was so outfront and so immediate, it had to be identified.

You had numerous newspapers, thinking that 12 of the miners had survived, throwing around headlines that were variations of "Miracle!" or "God answers prayer!" or some meaningless fluff like that. And within the space of little more than several hours, when the awful truth came out, suddenly ... whoops, God had suddenly taken a powder. Let's not get him involved when there's bad news, shall we?

And that's what made the mining disaster so revealing -- that it all happened in so short a time. Normally, if you want to slap around right-wing hypocrisy, you have to have a much longer memory, as does E&P's Greg Mitchell when he points out that the papers who don't have a real issue with George Bush's illegal wiretapping were, in many cases, the same ones who were howling in outrage over Bill Clinton, and suggesting he step down.

Sometimes, the right-wing hypocrisy is self-evident. Sometimes, you just have to be patient. But, sooner or later, it's there.