To what extent is a person willing to go in order to gain more power and money, of course to buy more supporters, and thus more power. A vicious cycle of greed and power-hunger which has victimized many people along the path of those who choose to feed their never-ending craving. In a recent article in the Texas Observer, I came across an interesting piece which presents to the readers an example of what a person is willing to do. Waste Control Specialists, a company that is owned by one of Rick Perry's friends with deep pockets, Harold Simmons, is planning to open a nuclear waste facility in the state of Texas. It is well known that Mr. Simmons has contributed millions of dollars to Perry's campaigns, and it is now Perry's turn to return the favor, and using his influences to allow this facility to open in Texas is not going to surprise many people. Perry needs to consider the fact that nuclear waste is virtually indestructible, with the half-life of many of these elements being in the thousands of years, it would take a very long time for them to decay in to safer radiation levels (click here for more information). Perry's decisions now will have the potential to negatively affect the health and well being of the many generations of Texans to come. It is understandable to need to store nuclear waste in order to support nuclear reactor facilities, but to rush things and to try to downplay the consequences of a possible radiation leak is definitely not the way to go. Our leaders need to look past the dollar signs and really think things through. The life of those who allow for them to keep their positions is far more valuable than a briefcase full of Benjamin's.
The editorial called “One for the Money,” posted on November 30th, 2010 on the blog “Mind of a Texan,” is a commentary on what goes on behind the scenes in politics. According to the editorial, Governor Rick Perry has done a back door deal with a company called, Waste Control Specialists, owned by a friend and campaign contributor, Harold Simmons. The old “you- scratch –my- back -and -I’ll- scratch- yours,” method of politics is something that the public has always known about, but I believe if we the people did some of our own investigating we would find that things are much more corrupt than a back door hand shake on an energy policy. I realize when I say this I run the risk of being called a “conspiracy theorist,” which I am not, but as the writer of this editorial points out, power and greed seem to have no limits and no conscience, and in some cases, no concern for this country. I appreciated this blog because what the writer did was what investigative reporters should do, that is, illuminate the public of which politicians are serving the people or serving themselves. In the case of Governor Perry, I have always been under the impression that his constituency was made-up of big business and wealthy people so this move on his part is not surprising. What is surprising is that anything would detract a Texas politician from their love of oil, gas, and coal. I was thinking about that U.T. presented discussion we had to watch for this class where Michael Williams of the Rail Road Commission said how excited he was about talking all the Chinese people out of riding bikes and switching over to driving automobiles. I realize the guy is very charismatic and intelligent, but I thought someone in the audience should have called him out on that statement, especially since the pollution coming out of Chinese coal plants is off the charts. Nuclear power has many down-falls, and as the writer of “One for the Money,” points out, the storage and breakdown of radioactive waste is one of great concern. This blog was informative and supplied some good links so that the reader can follow up on the subject and form their own opinion. Thanks for the informative and interesting perspective, and happy holidays
ReplyDeleteConsidering the fact that many U.S citizens attribute to that life living moto, of an individual performing what is necessary in order to maintain with whatever lifestyle one disires within their capability, makes the slightest doubt of goverance losing somewhat of their power enivetable to react upon. For Perry in this particular case it helps him gain the confedence in what needs to be done. Instead of us worrying about the actions that are done from someone who is superiorly empowered with a stronger and louder voice we should infact attempt to contribute to bettering within our own community. I do disagree on the "type" of facility he is wanting to contribute with but unfortunately whats going to be done is going to get done.
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