Two Putt Tommy » Crown Hydro

Another Example of “Republicans Are Against Federal Handouts (except when they’re not)”

tommy — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:37:39 +0000

(With news that 2 of 3 (and 3rd might be next) of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Plant in Japan, I thought it might be time to remind people that the only industry that I know of that does NOT have to provide liability insurance is Nuclear. In the case of a meltdown, Taxpayers pick up the cleanup tab. The USS Ronald Reagan is off the Japanese Coast for assistance operations and reportedly just got a dose of radiation; you know – KNOW – who’s going to pay for that. NOT the Nuclear Industry; it’s taxpayers – you and me. The following was originally posted on 26 January 2010)

I saw the link in Politics In Minnesota’s Morning Report; a story written by one of the mutts over at “Freedom Dogs”. Quite certain it was filled with typical republiCon bull(chips), I clicked on the link. I, of course, was correct – complete tripe, and simply another example of “Republicans are against federal handouts (except when they’re not)”

The issue this time, from the mutts, was nuclear power. Let’s look at just one line (I could rip more, but I’m really rather busy to waste too much time on these mutts):

“Nuclear power is safe, efficient, cost-effective, and it’s what the fast growth countries have been doing for years.”

Yeah, “right”. It’s so (cheney)in’ safe, that Xcell Energy mailed out the following calendar to those in the immediate fall-out zone, in 2009:

MONTICELLO EMERGENCY PLANNING GUIDE AND CALENDAR 2009

Those beyond the immediate fall-out zone? Well, if you are it sucks to be you, but: “sucks to be you” really is the mantra in today’s GreedOverPrinciples party so no surprise there!

Here’s the part, that really, Really, REALLY tells me that nukes are safe:

In the unlikely event of a nuclear generating plant accident, how would you be notified?

If the public needs to take shelter or evacuate, warning sirens will sound.
Weather-alert radios will also activate and you will hear a message.
Listen for a steady siren tone lasting 3 minutes. In areas not served by sirens, slow-moving law enforcement vehicles or state helicopters will warn citizens using sirens and loudspeakers.

Now, no one ever accused those mutts at “Freedom Dogs” of bein’ none-too-bright. Lemmings? Yep. Bootlickers? Of course! Flat-out liars? Well, click on the link above, and judge for yourself.

Here’s the kicker: mutts like the Freedom ~~Lemmings~~ “Dogs” love – LOVE – to claim that they’re “free-marketeers” that hate – HATE – “government handouts.”

Folks, the simple fact is, there would be no – NONE – nuclear plants now in operation, had not the nuclear industry been given the federal handout known as the Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act.

In a nutshell, The Price-Anderson Act says that if, as stated in the Excel Calendar above, there’s an “unlikely event of a nuclear generating plant accident” and there’s a whole bunch of damages, Excel isn’t on the hook for the damages – YOU are. Me, too. Well, EVERYONE is. That’s right; nuclear plants don’t have to buy no stinkin’ liability insurance; the nuclear industry instead will stick the taxpayers with the tab if there’s a meltdown.

“Too big to fail” ring a bell?

Here’s why the nuclear industry puts the cost of a ~~(cheney)up~~ meltdown on the American Taxpayers: it’s because no insurance company in their right mind would ever – EVER – insure a nuclear plant for liability. So, to make the buck, the nuclear industry has to put the good ol’ USofA taxpayers on the hook. If they had to buy liability insurance in the open market (“Hello, Allstate?”), and factor that cost into the end price customers paid, other technologies would suddenly look mighty cheap in comparison. You know, like solar? Hydro? Wind? Yada, yada, yada?

Price-Anderson, Gentle Readers, is a Federal Handout – something today’s alleged “conservatives” claim they are against.

Can anybody reading this, tell me one other industry that doesn’t have to provide liability insurance for their operations; one other industry that has to have – HAS TO HAVE – the American Taxpayers on the hook, in order to be economically viable?

As far as I know, nuclear is the only one that fits both of the above.

I’d bet the mutts over at Freedom Dogs never thought of that, before they decided to (once again) play bootlicker for the GOP’s benefactors (this time, the nuclear industry). And I’m certain they never figured out that although they claim (loudly and often) that they want LESS Government, expansion of nuclear power would require MORE government: more regulators/more inspectors/more fire/more police/more emergency responders/more yada, yada, yada.

Unless, of course, they’re advocating MORE nuclear power with LESS government regulations and oversight and evacuation plans, yada, yada, yada.

If they are (and don’t put anything beyond the realm of those mutts), I’m certain they’d have no problemo if said new nuclear plant were built upwind from them by a company run by, say, Ken Lay Jr., or, perhaps, a Charles Keating The Third, or say, the next Tom Petters?

At any rate, the whole sorry saga of alleged “conservatives” advocating for more nuclear power is also another example of:

“Hypocrisy, Thy Party Is GOP”

(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)

How About “green, as in cash AND energy”??!?

tommy — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:11:34 +0000

OK, I read the Strib story; it was there on their front page:

Parks think green, as in cash

Minneapolis’ Park Board is looking at business partnerships and other ventures to bring in needed bucks.

By ALEX EBERT, Star Tribune
Last update: July 25, 2010 – 9:19 PM

Faced with a shrunken budget, Minneapolis park leaders hope a combination of bikes, burgers and an Italian sculptor named Brioschi will stave off further cuts to the popular and nationally known park system.

Hey, it’s deja vu, all over again!!!

Last year, I wrote a whole bunch of posts about a clean and green project that couldn’t get done in Minneapolis, The Crown Hydro Project. Posts included “Protecting A Parking Lot, or…” and “Crown Hydro Update: The Park Board Already Takes Water From The River” and “Crown Hydro, Minneapolis Parks, and a St. Cloud Times Editorial”.

And many of the points I and others pointed out have come to pass.

Except for the Crown Hydro Project.

Excuse me, but: anyone remember wanting to reduce our dependence on oil? Remember the BP Spill, too?

And now the Park Board is hurting for cash.

Are they hurting enough to do a deal with Target, to solve a cash-crunch problem?

Hey, we know – KNOW – they’re not hurting enough to do a deal for a clean energy project – Crown Hydro – to solve a cash-crunch problem…

(cross posted from MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)

What I Said Last Night

tommy — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:52:24 +0000

Two weeks ago I wrote a post entitled “Protecting A Parking Lot” where Park Watch’s June 17th testimony to the Park Board was duly noted and dismissed as the junk it was. I was going to fisk that junk; but other things got in the way. So, I thought I’d attend last night’s Minneapolis Park Board meeting, and do some fisking there. Here’s what I wanted to say; I gave an abridged version as I thought I’d have three minutes but was only given two:

Mr. President, Ms. Vice President, Commissioners: My name is Tommy Johnson. Most of you know me as TwoPutt Tommy. I am a blogger at MNProgressiveProject. I am here to speak about blogging, ParkWatch, and a little bit about Crown Hydro.

MNProgressiveProject is a group of bloggers that speak for no one but ourselves. We cover issues all over the state of Minnesota. Like all reputable blogs, we try to follow something loosely called the Blogger’s Code of Ethics. There are two basic elements we go by.

First, be honest in gathering, reporting and interpreting information. This means checking facts. One of the tenets of this guideline is to distinguish between advocacy, commentary and factual information. Even advocacy writing and commentary should not misrepresent fact or context.
Second, be accountable. We admit our mistakes, and correct our posts.

In the course of my blogging, I covered the issue of Crown Hydro, and became aware of ParkWatch. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is covered extensively by the blog ParkWatch, and they are also activists against certain projects, such as Crown Hydro. On June 17th a blogger from ParkWatch addressed the Park Board and posted said comments on their blog.

I made a brief blog post about this on Friday, June 19th – I brefly touched on Park Watch’s comments, but didn’t get into specifics. Tonight, I’d like to.

On June 17th, a Park Watch member, Arlene Fried, made the following comments:

She said, and I quote: “We know that the public will lose control over St. Anthony Falls to a private developer and the FERC. No one can predict water flows over the next 50 to 100 years, and an EAW will not enlighten you on this topic. The FERC will have the authority to let the Falls run dry in order to produce energy.”

This is completely at odds with what the FERC License says. The FERC license Article 309 requires Crown Hydro to work with the other water users on a flow plan. (1) They did this. (2) There are 4 water users at this elevation, the City, the Army Corps and Xcel Energy. Crown Hydro has last use. First to turn off, last to turn on, and will never run at times of low flow. Article 404 (3) requires them to have a plan to implement this. And finally, the lease terms negotiated by the Park Board indicate the Park Board has control of water diversion when flows are at 1000 cfs or below. (4) This lease term becomes part of the FERC license, in essence, fully enforceable federal law. Some people might call what Ms. Fried said untrue; I’ll simply say the license contradicts what she said.

The second statement she made, and I quote: “We know that a FERC hydropower license will preempt local control of historic preservation issues.”

Again, completely at odds with everything I’ve read. This is local park land, on a federal waterway, in part of a national park. The Minneapolis Heritage Preservation office will work with the State Historic Preservation Office and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to create a Programmatic Agreement that addresses historic preservation issues. Some people might call what Ms. Fried said untrue; I’ll simply say the record contradicts what she said.

I hope the ParkWatch blog accepts these fact corrections and edits their blog accordingly.

***
1 – pages 10 and 17 of FERC License, 19 March 1999
2 – System-Wide Low-Flow Management Plan, Mississippi River above St. Paul, revised 11 March 2004
3 – pages 10 and 20 of FERC License, 19 March 1999
4 – Crown Hydro Proposed Lease Term Sheet

Quite frankly, the Park Watch people don’t source their work and for the most part their work is junk. When people have to make stuff up to make a point, their point isn’t worth making.

Recently, I mocked, ridiculed, and scorned the ParkWatch folk. Shortly thereafter, I recived an e-mail, notifying me of a new blog, Minneapolis Park Watch Watch, which is now mocking, ridiculing, and scorning the Park Watch folk.

FOR THE RECORD: I was not involved in forming the Minneapolis Park Watch Watch blog, I have not been invoved, nor am I now involved. But, I’d like to think that my mocking, ridiculing, and scorning of the Park Watch folk was part of the inspiration to the people that did. And who knows? Down the road, I might just make a post or three or more over there…

(crossposted from MnProgressiveProject)

Mockery, Ridicule, and Scorn

tommy — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:30:24 +0000

Mockery. Ridicule. Scorn. They’re used all of the time; they’re actually tools of the trade. Matter o’ fact, take them three, add “satire” and some professional writers, and viola! You got a potential “Daily Show”, or “Colbert Report”! Sometimes, mockery, ridicule and scorn are the best ways to make points about folk like Little Miss Hiding In The Bushes, the ~~unthinking~~ unsinkable Bachmann MotorMouth Overdrive. And to make a point about ol’ Smokescreen himself, Norm “If I were Al, I’d concede” Coleman. Not to mention, but I will, George aWol Bush. Of course, there’s his misAdministration – you know, Boy Blunder And The Plunderers? And even though he won’t be around to mock, ridicule, and scorn anymore, who can forget about republiCon Ron Carey, outgoing Chair of Minnesota’s GreedOverPrinciples party? As noted a little over a year ago, by the ol’ TwoPutter:

One reason republiCon Ron still has his job, is he’s good at asking AND he’s good at ducking. It’s the GreedOverPrinciples Party’s Golden Rule: “Do Unto Others But Don’t Let Them Do Unto You.”

I bring this up, because so many of us on the left side o’ the aisle have a tendency to enjoy – if not laugh uproariously – when some brain-dead bootlicker in the “Family Values” party (they’re called the “Family Values” party because they have so many of them; for instance, in the last presidential election the only candidate that had only been married once was the Mormon – go figure) does something incredibly hypocritical – such as David Vitter replacing the disgraced Bob Livingston in Congress, and Vitter later getting caught in figuratively if not literally the exact same (cheney)in’ kind of scandal.

Well, since morckery, ridicule and scorn are heaped upon those on the right for the old-fashioned reason – they’ve EARNED it, it only seems fair to rip those on the left side of the aisle when they’ve done something incredibly hypocritical. It seems that they too should be roasted and toasted with the same types of mockery,ridicule, and scorn. And I was going to do just that, today, to an organization known as Parkwatch – but, I’m tracking down more information on them that’s recently come in — so that’s going to have to wait for another day.

In the meantime, and to whet the whistle o’ the Regular Readers, I’ll end with a couple of thoughts. First, let’s review what it says on the “About Us” page at ParkWatch:

Minneapolis Park Watch is not affiliated with any candidate or candidate’s committee.

Yeah, “right.”

Right there, on ParkWatch homepage, is this:

Posted by Liz Wielinski on Thu, 06/18/2009

Well, I guess technically that might be true, depending on what your definition of “is” is, because they could argue that “ParkWatch isn’t ‘affiliated’ with Park Board Candidate Liz Wielinski; it IS Park Board Candidate Liz Wielinski, along with a bunch of her pals.

And, it also says this on that ParkWatch “About Us” page:

Openness and Accountability

We are advocates for openness and accountability in all of the Park Board’s fiscal and administrative activities.

So, they advocate for openness and accountability of others? Where’s the disclosure and openness from them; the acknowledgement that Liz is a candidate for the very organization their website likes to trash?

This one, on that same page, made me ROFLMAO!

Observing Meetings

As a watch dog organization, members of Park Watch attend Park Board meetings on a regular basis to observe first-hand official Park Board business being conducted. Park Watch also reviews various Park Board documents. (emphasis added)

“…various documents.“??!?

How’ bout dam near EVERY piece of paper that the Park Board generates?

As noted here:

Seems like these days, a lot of people are taking shots at the Park Board. In the course of investigating the Crown Hydro Project, one group that seems to especially get in the Park Board’s face*, is a group called ParkWatch.org, who’s whole schtick seems to be “the Park and Rec Board is filled with incompetents, liars, and thieves and you can’t trust them or believe anything they say – EXCEPT when it comes to Crown Hydro.”

And I couldn’t believe the amount of paperwork ParkWatch.org demands. I asked for information regarding data requests from the Park Board; I simply couldn’t believe what ParkWatch.org wanted. Let’s look!

Well, you can go here and look, but if you don’t want to, I’ll leave it at this: ParkWatch wants copies of so much stuff, that it’s fair to say the Park Board had to add a full-time staffer just to keep up with their demands.

Which is why ParkWatch reminds me of republiCon Ron – it seems the things they accuse others of are the exact same things they do themselves.

Stay tuned!

Oh – and keep those tips coming in!!!

(crossposted from MnProgressiveProject)