Wednesday Chronicle: Japan's Nuclear Crisis Shouldn't Derail Nuclear Power

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Chronicle · March 16, 2011 The Foundation "Every new regulation concerning commerce or revenue ... presents a new harvest to those who watch the change and can trace its consequences; a harvest reared not by themselves but by the toils and cares of the great body of their fellow citizens. This is a state of things in which it may be said with some truth that laws are made for the few not for the many." --James Madison Editorial Exegesis TVA reactor at Watts Bar in Tennessee "After a once-in-300-years earthquake, the Japanese have been keeping cool amid the chaos, organizing an enormous relief and rescue operation, and generally earning the world's admiration. We wish we could say the same for the reaction in the U.S., where the troubles at Japan's nuclear reactors have produced an overreaction about the risks of modern life and technology. ... We have no special brief for nuclear power over any other energy source. Our view is that it should compete with other sources on a market basis, without subsidies or government loan guarantees. Every energy source has risks and economic externalities, whether they are noise and bird kills (wind), huge land requirements (solar), rig explosions and tanker spills (oil), or mining accidents (coal). But more than other energy sources, nuclear plants have had their costs increased by artificial political obstacles and delay. The U.S. hasn't built a new nuclear plant since 1979, after the Three Mile Island meltdown, even as older nuclear plants continue to provide 20% of the nation's electricity. The Tennessee Valley Authority is a couple of years away from completing a reactor at Watts Bar after years of effort. Proposals for 20 new reactors to be built over the next 15 to 20 years are in various stages of review in the multiyear approval process at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, with two each in Georgia and South Carolina at the front of the line. But the much-ballyhooed 'nuclear renaissance' is a long way off, and it will be longer after events in Japan. Our larger point is less about nuclear power than how we react as a society to inevitable disasters, both natural and man-made. Because a plane crashes, we don't stop flying. Because an oil rig explodes in the Gulf, we don't (or at least we shouldn't) stop drilling for oil. ... We should learn from the Japanese nuclear crisis, not let it feed a political panic over nuclear power in general." --The Wall Street Journal Insight "Scientists can tell you just to the minute when something is going to happy 10 million miles away and none of them has ever been smart enough to tell you what day to put on your heavy underwear." --American humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935) "Let therefore every man, that, appealing to his own heart, feels the least spark of virtue or freedom there, think that it is an honor which he owes himself, and a duty which he owes his country, to bear arms." --British colonial statesman Thomas Pownhall (1722-1805) Upright "Consider the Senate Democrats' most recent proposal for budget cuts to avert a government shutdown. Senate Republicans, following the House plan, proposed $61 billion in cuts for the current year, while Senate Democrats proposed a paltry $6.5 billion. (The Congressional Budget Office says it's actually only $4.7 billion.) Though Obama seems to be hiding in the bushes on this one, he is said to support the Democratic plan. Did you hear that: $6.5/$4.7 billion? This is nothing. It's an outrage. This from the clowns who say the Republican cuts, which themselves wouldn't be enough, are 'Draconian.' No, it's their attitude that is Draconian -- to the republic." --columnist David Limbaugh "As Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew wrote in USA Today just a few weeks ago, the [Social Security] trust fund is solvent until 2037. Therefore, Social Security is now off the table in debt-reduction talks. This claim is a breathtaking fraud. The pretense is that a flush trust fund will pay retirees for the next 26 years. Lovely, except for one thing: The Social Security trust fund is a fiction. If you don't believe me, listen to the OMB's own explanation (in the Clinton administration budget for fiscal 2000 under then-Director Jack Lew, the very same). The OMB explained that these trust fund 'balances' are nothing more than a 'bookkeeping' device. 'They do not consist of real economic assets that can be drawn down in the future to fund benefits.' In other words, the Social Security trust fund contains -- nothing." --columnist Charles Krauthammer "There's never been a better opportunity to rid public broadcasting of its dependence on public welfare to spread its left-wing bias and propaganda, if only the Republican leadership can screw up the courage to lead the way. Public broadcasting could have leavened the bias years ago and saved itself by easing up on the mockery and ridicule of the things most Americans hold dear. We can be glad it didn't; government radio is the norm in Pyongyang and Havana and Tehran, but never here. All things considered, the left and the liberals should pay for their own entertainment. The rest of us do." --Washington Times editor emeritus Wesley Pruden "The outraged reaction to New York Rep. Peter King's hearings into the radicalization of the domestic Muslim community was so mindless it bordered on a collective self-lobotomy. The late conservative intellectual James Burnham once wrote that 'liberalism permits Western civilization to be reconciled to its dissolution.' If the congressional committee devoted to homeland security ... can't examine why some Muslims born and raised in the United States wage war on their own country, we might as well turn off the lights on our common culture." --National Review editor Rich Lowry Click Here Honor the rich history of the American Firefighter from the pre-revolution days of the 1700's to today's firefighter. This panoramic style poster measures 36" wide x 11-3/4" tall and is printed on 100lb Acid-Free Matte with fade-free ink. Dezinformatsia Loving adoration: "Well what was interesting to me was, the way the President noted his personal connection to Japanese culture, having been raised in Hawaii, which has a heavy influence of, of Japanese culture, he's familiar with it. I think it affected him personally. And so, in terms of the, the humanitarian response of trying to help Japanese I think he has been as fast and, and correct as you could possibly be." --Washington Post's Eugene Robinson Non Compos Mentis: "Was this [earthquake and tsunami in Japan] sort of a good opportunity for the president to remind everybody that he grew up in the United States and Hawaii?" --MSNBC's Chris Matthews with video of the tsunami playing in the background (Matthews also accidentally called Obama "President Carter" this week. Some slips are a bit too true.) New civility: "Wisconsin's Governor Wins, but Is He Now Dead Man Walker?" --Time Magazine headline Give us a break: "There is a reason that we are the only news organization, other than Fox, with a growing audience. It is because of our product which is straight-shooting, factual, and spends an enormous amount of money gathering news from all over the country and the world. Judge us by our product." --NPR's Nina Totenberg, who once wished AIDS on then-GOP Sen. Jesse Helms and his grandchildren in an apparent example of straight-shooting analysis "Let's put aside Peter King's seemingly strange obsession with Islam and Islamists, or whatever you want to call it. I don't quite understand how when you put an -ist at the end of it, it changes the subject. But let's just say, putting that aside, should Muslims be looking more carefully at themselves? Is there something that law-abiding American Muslims should be doing ... to satisfy this call to action that Peter King has put out? ... My concern is the radicalization of people in all faith groups. I think we have to be very careful when we single out one group. Certainly, when are you in charge of Homeland Security, you are worried about terrorism. We're all worried about terrorism. But how are we going to end this stigma of 'Muslim equals terrorist'?" --CNN's Ali Velshi (Perhaps when Muslims decide to stop being terrorists?) Newspulper Headlines: He Always Wanted to Be a DJ: "Obama Attempts to Spin His Record" --HotAir.com Reporters Shoo Away Obama -- Now That Would Be News: "Obama Shoos Away Reporters" --Politico.com That's a Low Standard: "'Climate Change' Rings Truer Than 'Global Warming'" --USA Today website Unless They Have Fronds in High Places: "Mexican Palm Trees Cannot Cross Border" --El Paso Times Everything Seemingly Is Spinning Out of Control: "Cyndi Lauper Cheers Up Stranded Airline Passengers With Rendition of 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun'" --Daily News (New York) Bottom Story of the Day: "Japan Earthquake Will Have No Impact on Ohio" --WTAM website (Cleveland) (Thanks to The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto) The Demo-gogues Regulatory Commissars: "I am also struck by the fact that the tragic events now unfolding in Japan could very easily occur in the United States. What is happening in Japan right now shows that a severe accident at a nuclear power plant can happen here." --Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), who draws all the wrong conclusions from Japan's tragedy The BIG Lie: "Four million jobs will be created by the legislation when it is fully in effect. ... [T]his year, the biggest growth in jobs in our economy has been in health care jobs." --House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (See the video and comment.) Platform to nowhere: "Universal health care -- well, every industrial country on the planet already has a universal system of health care. ... [ObamaCare is] a platform. I don't think they flow smoothly but without that, if we didn't have this then health care, universal health care would be an even more difficult legislative objective." --Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) Pontificating: "Let's not try to sneak political agendas into a budget debate." --Barack Obama As if that's a bad thing: "The budget fight going on here is not really about budget cuts either. The conservative Republicans in the House are showing themselves to be Scott Walker Republicans." --Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) He obviously didn't watch the news: "It's been more than two months since the tragedy in Tucson stunned the nation. It was a moment when we came together as one people to mourn and to pray for those we lost. And in the attack's turbulent wake, Americans by and large rightly refrained from finger-pointing, assigning blame or playing politics with other people's pain." --Barack Obama in an op-ed on gun control for the Arizona Daily Star Village Idiots More BIG Lies: "Just 12 months after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law, the American people are enjoying new protections, greater freedoms and lower costs." --Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Belly laugh of the week: "[Barack Obama] is a guy who does not look at politics in left, center, whatever. He really doesn't." --White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley We'll see: "So why did the Dems wind up depressed after losing the House? The problem is a bad economy dampened turnout among key Democratic groups in a non-presidential year. But the enthusiasm will bounce back when Obama's on the ballot again." --Democrat strategist James Carville With resignation: "The unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a serious crime under U.S. law. My recent comments regarding the conditions of the pre-trial detention of Private First Class Bradley Manning [who is accused of leaking to WikiLeaks] were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discreet actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership. The exercise of power in today's challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values." --P.J. Crowley, former State Department spokesman, who resigned over dubbing pre-trial detention and confinement of Bradley Manning "ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid" Click Here New Police Shields of Strength Operation Shield of Strength shields for our men and women in police uniform are now available! With a deep blue background on both sides, the back of the shield features the words of Joshua 1:9. "I will be strong and courageous. I will not be terrified, or discouraged; for the Lord my God is with me wherever I go." Short Cuts "Where there are taxpayer-funded cowboy poets, there must surely be cowboy poetry festival administrators, and a Bureau of Cowboy Poetry Festival Licensing, and cowboy poetry festival administration grant-writers, and a Department of Cowboy Poetry Festival Administration Grant Application Processing, and professors of Cowboy Poetry Festival Educational Workshop Management at dozens of American colleges credentialing thousands of cowboy poetry festival workshop coordinating majors every year." --columnist Mark Steyn "It's been a long time since college campuses have lived up to their reputation as venues dedicated to the free expression of unpopular ideas. At this point, the main difference between a college campus and a totalitarian state is that the former doesn't require the secret police in order to shut down dissent." --columnist Burt Prelutsky "Due to the recession, there are now 15,000 fewer lawyers in the U.S. No one ever talks about the good things that come from a recession." --comedian Jay Leno "The White House considered tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to increase U.S. oil supplies and ease prices. It's a start. Until now, the only plan Democrats have had to increase the number of barrels of oil produced is to decrease the size of the barrels." --comedian Argus Hamilton "Springfield, Illinois is STILL trying to get Obama to pay $55,457 he owes the city for security costs that his campaign ran up in 2008. Amazing. We've finally found something Obama doesn't want to spend money on." --former Senator Fred Thompson (To submit reader comments click here.) Opinion John Stossel: End the Drug War, Save Black America Jacob Sullum: Let There Be Light Paul Greenberg: The Thought We Hate Michelle Malkin: John Kerry's Recycled Government Slush Fund Recipe Tony Blankley: Deficits, Promises and Destiny Ben Shapiro: The Deep, Virulent Evil of the United Nations Terence Jeffrey: Why Congress Must Stop $105.5 Billion in Automatic Obamacare Spending Austin Bay: Gadhafi's Cyrenaica Offensive: A Gift to Dictators L. Brent Bozell: NPR's Ridiculous Denials Jonah Goldberg: Talk About a Meltdown Thomas Sowell: Blacks and Republicans Walter E. Williams: Continuing Stubborn Ignorance Cal Thomas: National Pathetic Radio Mona Charen: Who Won in Wisconsin? Thomas Sowell: The 'Redevelopment' Hoax More Opinion Headlines New York Mosque Project Site Faces Legal Challenge Japan Prepares to Restart Work at Nuclear Plant After Rising Radiation Levels Forced Them to Withdraw Reactor Design Used in Japan Caused GE Scientist to Quit in Protest TSA Admits Bungling of Airport Body-Scanner Radiation Tests Obama Pressed to Extend National Guard's Stay Along Mexico Border DOD and Petraeus: U.S. Planning Military Presence and Operations in Afghanistan Beyond 2014 Utah Governor Signs Arizona-like Immigration Law House Panel Votes to Repeal Net Neutrality Liberal Senators Want Two-thirds Majority in Both Chambers to Pass Social Security Cuts House Committee Moves Again to Defund NPR Young Leaders of Egypt's Revolt Snub Clinton in Cairo Miami-Dade Mayor Ousted in Recall Vote; Anger Over Tax Hike More Headlines Commentary Safer Streets 2011: There's No Such Thing as Common Sense Reform of Gun Laws The Tea Party Express and the Republican Establishment Islam Perceived versus Islam Itself More Commentary Policy The Heritage Foundation The Cato Institute Hoover Institution National Rifle Association Ludwig von Mises Institute National Center for Policy Analysis The Heartland Institute (Please pray for our Armed Forces standing in harm's way around the world, and for their families -- especially families of those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, who granted their lives in defense of American liberty.) 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