The cybersecurity issue won’t die. But then, who thought it would? The government is determined to save the country from the evils of the Internet by limiting our privacy on … Continue reading Cybersecurity Act of 2012: A distinction without a difference
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) wants a moratorium on the construction of nuclear power plants in the U.S. It was only a matter of time until someone in this country freaked out over events in Japan, and the Senator stepped up.
On “Face the Nation” this morning, he opined: “… I don’t want to stop the building of nuclear power plants, but I think we’ve got to kind of quietly, quickly put the brakes on until we can absorb what has happened in Japan …”
Really? “Until we can absorb what has happened in Japan”? They had an earthquake, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake, followed by a 25-foot tsunami. The worst quake in Japanese history. The fifth worst quake in the world since 1900. That’s what happened, Senator. Things over there were hunky dory before the earthquake hit.
And yet, despite the unprecedented devastation in the world’s most quake-prone country, those 40-year-old Japanese power plants are still standing. They did not collapse; they did not rupture. And although they are having some serious problems right now, there has been no massive release of radiation. Remarkable, all things considered.
CBS News noted today:
Nils J. Diaz, a nuclear engineer who led the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 2003 to 2006, told the New York Times that safety programs for nuclear power plants developed in the wake of 9/11 would have prevented the serial problems experienced by the reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex.
So, Senator, unless you’re ready to share with us your secret technology for preventing earthquakes, it seems your moratorium would be rather pointless — expensive, certainly, but pointless.
Sen. Arlen Specter, who recently switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party, is discovering it isn’t as easy as he thought it would be. The Democrats voted last night … Continue reading What goes around, comes around, Senator
So Harry Reid is thinking of dumping Joe Lieberman from his committee posts? It’s about time!
I’ve written before about Lieberman’s self-serving party hopping and it’s long past time for him to pay the piper. However crazy the American political system may be, party loyalty still counts for something. I can’t imagine why Lieberman thinks he shouldn’t be stripped of his posts (the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection, and the Subcommittee on Airland).
This is the man who saw nothing wrong with dropping his Democratic Party affiliation in 2006 after losing in the primaries, just so he could get on the November ballot — as an independent. Connecticut voters saw fit to return him to Washington anyway. Go figure.
Then he reappeared on the national radar this year as Republican John McCain’s shadow. Joined at the hip, it appeared. This led eventually to Lieberman’s appearance at the Republican National Convention, where he was featured like the GOP’s prize steer, speaking on McCain’s behalf. Before it was over, I was digging through Wikipedia to remind myself which party he was in.
You burned your bridges, Sen. Lieberman. Plum posts in Washington go to loyalists. Buh bye.