The Invisible Hand Wants Us To Become Radioactive

"All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk." - Ronald Reagan

Entergy Says Indian Point Nuclear Plant Leak Isn't Safety Risk:

Entergy Corp. said elevated levels of radioactive material found in groundwater at the 2,000-megawatt Indian Point nuclear power facility north of New York City don’t pose a threat to public safety.

Increased levels of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, were found in three monitoring wells out of several dozen at the plant, New Orleans-based Entergy said in a statement after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday ordered an investigation into the incident. While the levels don’t meet company standards, they are more than a thousand times below federally allowed limits and represent “no health or safety consequence to the public" Entergy said.

Cuomo has long campaigned for Indian Point to be closed down, arguing that evacuating a metropolis like New York would be impossible after a major radioactive accident like the one at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011. In December, he ordered the state’s utility regulator to look into operations and safety protocols after an unexpected shutdown at the plant.

Cuomo’s office described the levels of radioactivity found in the groundwater as "alarming" and said the governor had ordered Department of Environmental Conservation Acting Commissioner Basil Seggos and Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker to investigate.

Republicans want to abolish government regulation. I am in favor of government regulation if it will keep us safe and healthy. I don't want to live in a world where the Invisible Hand tells me that it is safe to eat tainted meat and drink polluted water. I don't want nuclear waste under my desk, or in my backyard.

I don't understand why many Republicans don't trust the government, but they do trust big corporations. Government regulations are supposed to protect people. Corporations are supposed to make money. Without government regulation too many corporations put profit over people. Remember Enron? Remember Grandma Millie?

Word for Word/Energy Hogs; Enron Traders on Grandma Millie And Making Out Like Bandits:

Kevin: So the rumor's true? They're [expletive] takin' all the money back from you guys? All those money you guys stole from those poor grandmothers in California?

Bob: Yeah, Grandma Millie, man. But she's the one who couldn't figure out how to [expletive] vote on the butterfly ballot.

Kevin: Yeah, now she wants her [expletive] money back for all the power you've charged for [expletive] $250 a megawatt hour.

Bob: You know -- you know -- you know, Grandma Millie, she's the one that Al Gore's fightin' for, you know?

Later in the same conversation, Kevin and Bob express little sympathy for Californians.

Kevin: Oh, best thing that could happen is [expletive] an earthquake, let that thing float out to the Pacific and put 'em [expletive] candles.

Bob: I know. Those guys -- just cut 'em off.

Kevin: They're so [expletive] and they're so like totally -- --

Bob: They are so [expletive].

Someone like Bernie Sanders is on our side. Most Republicans are on the side of people like Bob and Kevin.

I don't trust Entergy when they say things are safe and everything is OK. I want someone that is not them to look things over and make sure. I want the government to do that.

It doesn't make sense to me to think that politicians who support government oversight of corporations are anti-capitalist. Why think that Democrats want to kill the economy, when a strong economy is beneficial to all of us, including Democrats? It would be self-defeating.

"Trust, but verify." - Ronald Reagan