Walk for a Nuke-free Future April 23rd, 2011

While millions Worldwide oppose nuclear power generation and the inevitable weapons of mass destruction that nuclear power makes possible, our government continues to tell us that the radioactivity that we are getting from Japan is "minute". Seriously. When your milk becomes "hot" from ionizing radiation, it should be a warning that the entire food chain is contaminated. The US atomic Energy Commission deployed radiation detectors across the Western Coast of the United States last week. They stationed 22 units in Washington, Oregon and California. Within hours of getting data from them, several interesting things happened. First, the online telemetry,intended to quell fears that we are under a giant plume of radioactive isotopes, was taken down, which violates open records laws considering that any data amassed by the government through the use of tax dollars can not be withheld from citizens, unless it is a matter of national security. Second, twelve of the twenty-two radioactivity detection units were removed because they showed "abnormally high" readings. Lord and Lady know that in a crisis like this, that would more likely tell us that they are working, not that they are not! Finally, the very news that this entire boondoggle represents, for those of us who feel that we live in a free society, was wholly ignored by the major media outlets. Rather than create public "hysteria", our leaders must figure that the fallout from public awareness of this crucial issue would be more devastating than a few extra chest x-rays, for all of us. Please forgive my passion, but I have seen this approach taken many times before. The motivation is always the same and the outcome is the same as well.
As far back as the seventies, (and even before)citizens have opposed nuclear insanity. When I got involved we worked in Denver. Around the Bi-centennial, much of our opposition to following the corporate line on nukes was hidden beneath a thick slathering of cultural jingoism and "patriotic" drivel. The whole "America, Love it or Leave it!" crowd drowned out most accurate information about the dangers of nuclear energy production and environmental insanity that was being perpetrated by industry on the masses. My first protest marches against nukes were against The Bomb. Because of my inquisitiveness, it didn't take long to learn that our government had lied to us from the start about both the bomb and the precursor to nuclear weapons production, nuclear energy production. The marches that we attended in the early seventies morphed into teach-ins by the mid seventies.
While our neighbors were decking out every single thing in Red, White and Blue, our family made posters and charts listing things like the half life of many of the by-products of both nuclear fusion and uranium enrichment. At the time the closest nuclear facility to us was the Rocky Flats facility north of Denver. The facts were known and everything we said could happen, did. I have written of the feelings that this brings up in me before but it is worth mentioning again. rather than feeling elated or exonerated, being proven right in this instance feels more like a knife-swallower's trick gone horribly wrong. At one time, the Rocky Flats "facility" had the notoriety of being the largest Superfund site ever remediated by the USEPA. (Environmental Protection Agency)
This post is an invitation to come to Wisconsin, join in with others who are ready to end the madness and express your outrage over continued use of this unimaginably dangerous "source" of electricity. We will be walking, seven miles, between two reactor sites, one at Two Creeks (which is several miles North of Manitowoc, Wisconsin) and Kewaunee. Some of the most beautiful beaches on the Western Shore of Lake Michigan lie within the hot zone of these facilities. The public trust has been violated by putting such dangerous electric generating stations on the shores of this feshwater sea. In addition to the active reactor cores, these facilities harbor between them, over 100 tons of high level radioactive waste, which requires "safe" storage for tens of thousands of years. Remember, just 10,000 years ago, this area was covered by a one mile thick ice sheet. We may not have the threat of earthquake, but...
Previous protests that we have had at these facilities were wonderful chances to share food and fun, good information about the threat posed by nukes, a chance to experience a carnival atmosphere with other caring and compassionate people, and a time for friends and families, united to save Mother Earth, to re-unite and savor the knowledge that we speak with many voices but say the same thing, as one, STOP THE MADNESS! Japan may be the lead brick that breaks the camel's back so to speak. The radioactive nail in the coffin of this destructive and dangerous, although well-funded "technology". The Obama administration has roots in Illinois, one of the states with the worst environmental records. It takes people power to demand that our government make good decisions and we have been sheelple for too long. Stand together and work together and the task of creating a new paradigm will be much easier. We have the resources, the creativity and the intellect to replace nuclear generation with benign technologies. all that is needed is the expression of public will to proceed.
This event is scheduled from Noon-four o'clock, but I'm sure that we will be there earlier and later. In honor of the 35 million people who perished as a result of Chernobyl, and the many millions more who will be sacrificed as a result of the recent events in Japan,come out, stand shoulder to shoulder with others who want a sustainable planet for the next seven generations, not the threat of near certain annihilation that the specter of nuclear contamination holds for our people, our planet, our homes and our families.

History and Logic Ignored By Wisconsin's Elected Officials

Being one of the few who actually loved school and who couldn't get enough information about history and culture, perhaps my understanding of our current economic state will surprise the average reader. However, let not your own prejudice color my words. They are chosen without malice or hate, but for the love of all who wish to continue to live free in a society of rules and of justice, for those who value liberty and recognize the responsibilites that come with that trust. In my understanding, we have never had the democracy that we were told to love. In teaching our children to love heir country, we have to model that country in a way that can first be respected, then it will follow naturally that it will be loved.

I often ask my children to describe their teachers. Their responses are a source of great joy and occasional consternation. Early on, they reflected on the ability of some teachers to command respect while others had to demand it. Similarly, our Nation used to command respect around the world. We were the country where rationality and humanitarianism came together in such a unique way as to light the world with hope and trust that one day freedom would reign supreme. As we come into the present day, these moral underpinnings have become decoupled from policies and practices that are perpetrated around the world in the name of "American" interests. Oddly enough, none of us ever voted for them. Many were shocked and horrified as they learned about them and as we continue to uncover, layer by layer, the indefenseable actions that have led much of the world to hate us, we must seriously question the direction our leaders have taken us over the years.

The most recent case in point is that of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Right off the bat, before even taking office, he put the kybosh on high speed rail that had been worked for for over thirty years. Finally, it was funded and stood on the threshold of realization. Mr. Walker's biggest concern was that once built, the line that was to connect the state's largest city with the capital would cost money to operate. Anyone who has been to the East Coast realizes that, although rail transport costs money, folks served by the line gladly pay to use it, because it saves them money that would be squandered out of state if they were to have to purchase a private automobile and keep it maintained and fueled. After generations of savings, most folks living along the Main Line in Philiadelphia are wealthier than their neighbors, just a few miles in any direction. Ironically, providing a cost effective way to get citizens between the power center of the state and the largest single population center seems to have scared our new Governor enough that he stopped it cold. Now, the largest concentration of the poorest folks in Wisconsin will never be able to afford to go to Madison to rally and demonstrate. Those who can afford cars and the gas to feed them will still have access, but to many of those people he has turned a deaf ear.

The Republicans have once again proven their teflon nature. nothing seems to stick to them and though they walk through a forest of crap, they seem to be able to patchouli up and carry on as if they smelled like roses. It was due to their rhetoric that many fell for the fallacy of trickle down economics. Their boondoggles such as "No Child Left Behind" and sidling up to the "Moral Majority", which was neither are well documented. Now, they want to continue to perpetrate their methods on another generation of even poorer and even less educated people than they did last time. I can't remember a single candidate that refused to say what he would do, specifically, if elected. running as a mystery candidate seems to have worked however. Only after the election are we able to see what this governor has in store for our people. Sadly, he cares more about certain others than the good people of our state.

The corporate interests that Mr. Walker works for are only beginning to be unraveled. With further investigation, we will all see exactly where this guy is comong from. It helps to put things in perspective if you realize that the Calvinist ideas that should have been left in the past are alive and well within our culture. Many believe that good people do well in our system and that bad people make bad choices which lead to worsening of their condition. In other words, they get what they deserve. Although I have not heard Scott Walker say it himself, his actions speak louder than words. With one fell swoop, trying to make collective bargaining illegal for public workers, except police, fire and rescue services, he has ignored the history and tradition of our state in fair treatment of workers. This immediately trickled down to my own work. The day we first heard of this illegal attempt to legislate out of existence any power left in unions, we were informed of illegal changes to our disciplinary actions at my job. Management dictated who would be allowed to represent us in any disciplinary action, a direct assault on our rights as workers. By law, union workers are allowed to choos who they want to represent them in job related actions against them.

The thousands of people who died for and protested against unfair treatment at the hands of those paying their wages have not sacrificed in vain. We must all stand in league with the public sector employees who have given much for our quality of life. To allow the powers of evil and greed to control our state is just insane. Standing up might be as easy as writing a letter to the Governor, or your local representatives. It may cost as little as a tank of gas. The future of all workers in the State of wisconsin as well as the entire nation may de[pend on it. Get active, stay active and don't give up until your rights are ensured. The fight needs to be focused on retaining the right to collectively bargain for all people, not just teachers or public employees. The working man has not gotten us into the current economic crisis, it was the bankers and Wall street executives that raped our nation. don't make our civil servants pay the price of the wealthiest amongst us fleecing our nation.

anecdotally, the three states with the smallest budget deficit have collective bargaining agreements in place with state workers. The three states with the biggest budget shortfalls do not. I'm sure that there are other factors involved, but we have to ask ourselves, "What motivated our Governor?" when we answer that question we can better decide if we want to keep him or reject him, the damage he has done already has put us at a decided disadvantage for at least the next fifty years, what he wants to do could sety us back another hundred.

Wisconsin's Legislature Stimies Clean Energy Bill

Once again, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce has had their way with Wisconsin's leaders. They claim that the potential rise in electric rates that Wisconsin's Clean Energy Legislation might bring would have a chilling effect on Wisconsin businesses. These are the same lobbyists who have opposed every significant environmental regulation that Wisconsin has attempted to pass as far back as my memory serves. The 16 Billion that Wisconsin shells out for imported energy each year was swept under the carpet by WMC and the people who want to continue business as usual. These dollars that we pay, for fossil fuel based energy, go away for good, creating jobs in far off regions, destroying the foundation of our quality of life. Renewable energy sources are all around us. If our business leaders can't see the damage that energy costs have on our daily life now, they are too well paid to understand the reality of the situation. Shame on our leaders who have once again knuckled under to the most powerful interests in the state, the few, the ignorant and the wealthy.

Every single person that sees renewable energy sources, in place and working is impressed by the quiet, clean and logical approach to harvesting available energy. As an energy producer, who uses a solar furnace to supplement about forty percent of one of my houses heat budget, I have begun to realize cost savings after only two winters. Of course, with more expensive production facilities, the pay off might take longer, but the solar furnace I own was built in 1972 and has only four moving parts, two automatic dampers, a thermostat and a fan. It continues to provide heat, and will for years to come. What is required to make positive changes that effect the future is will. "You can't get something for nothing" the old saying goes, but when what you have no longer meets your needs, it is time to look elsewhere for better ways of getting them met.

What Wisconsin's leaders fail to realize is that the time to act has come. Leaders can only be called that when they lead. Letting a special interest kill legislation that will create jobs, limit energy production costs and create a new infrastructure that will allow Wisconsin residents to keep more dollars inside our borders is criminal. Each and every one of us deserves to have our say in the direction our state is headed, not just the most wealthy among us. These are the same folks who opposed every piece of clean air legislation that was proposed for the state, clean water regulation, and recycling efforts. Even though,in the end, the regulations that passed helped rather than hurt their members. I'm sure that many of the folks who oppose any government oversight or leadership feel that government has grown too large. However, when we all work together to do what is right, it makes the job easier, more cost effective and stands as a testament to our cooperative spirit. Fighting the inevitable is Quixotic but Don Quixote was only a hero in a play! Tilting at windmills is not only dangerous, counter productive and futile but also just plain naiive.