We Won't Move On This Mountain
There he goes again. John Kerry has lambasted the Bush administration's support for creating a national nuclear waste dump in Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

Yucca Mountain, as our friends in the nuclear power industry are well aware, is an ideal place for us to toss our toxic cookies. Reason #1: It's in Nevada. Reason #2: It already has an unpleasant-sounding name (why not just call it "Yucky Mountain" and be done with it)? Our 110 commercial-grade plants across the nation (most of them east of the Mississippi) are poised and ready to ship 77,000 tons of radioactive sludge out there on the government's dime.

So what if the state of Nevada and 11 of its major government and civic associations oppose the plan? As usual, they're prattling on about "cancer" and "genetic defects." But as I've noted before, cancer and birth defects from toxic waste are merely diseases of people who can't afford to move. These pesky Nevadans seem to forget the first rule of Not In My Backyard: Whoever has the nicer backyard wins.

Thank goodness W. wasn't too literal when he promised to respect states' rights shortly before he took office. We all know that he really respects the greatest States in the land: the States of Wealth, Privilege, and Unaccountability!


- posted by Colin A. Faver