It has been a week since America lost a little more innocence when 2 bombs were blown up at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.  3 people were killed, scores more injured and a city was left feeling violated.

While the city (and too much extent, the entire nation) is still is trying to process the tremendous amount of grief, anger and disbelief;  politicians and pundits have already begun to use this incident as an argument against immigration reform.   We need to protect our borders is the common theme expressed by many commentators, and while America does need to carefully determine who it lets into the country, it’s interesting that when it comes to the other tragedy that took place just days later, there seems to be no out-cry for reform.

I speak of course about the catastrophe which took place in a town called West, Texas.   14 people were killed, with more missing and injured.  The cause of the explosion which took place at a fertilizer plant is still under investigation, but a story is beginning to emerge of a company that cut corners and failed to file accurate reports.

Why do we not hear the same indignation from politicians?  Are plant inspections not as sexy as immigration reform in the eyes of their constituents?   Could an already fragile economy be hurt by even more government regulation/interference?  Is it because we care more about a large city like Boston, than we do a small Texas town?  More people died in West, Texas than in Boston, yet very little focus is given to how we can prevent such disasters from happening again.   Are we to just chalk this up to “the cost of doing business”?   Yes; what happened in West, Texas was an accident, and what happened in Boston was intentional, but does that make any different in the end?

There was a lot of debate when the Supreme Court ruled corporations should enjoy the same rights as people when it came to campaign donations.  Perhaps it is time we also hold them criminally accountable for crimes committed in the quest for profits.  Issuing large fines does not seem to get their attention.  Maybe a few months behind bars would.