Randi Rhodes: From Bad to Worse

Tuesday, March 16, 2011

A second reactor at the crippled Japanese nuclear plant may have ruptured, releasing more radioactive steam. It’s hard to believe we’re dealing with the aftermath of an earthquake and tsunami that should have been the story in and of themselves. I knew that nuclear waste has an incredibly long life. It seems that nuclear power also has the ability to extend the life of natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis.

The Republicans aren’t saying a lot about nuclear safety right now, probably because everything they said up until now looks so stupid now (video below). During the 2008 campaign, John McCain kept lambasting Barack Obama for Obama’s insistence on safety in the nuclear industry. Hey, McCain is the guy who picked Sarah Palin to be his running mate. Obviously he’s not afraid to take chances that could lead to an awful catastrophe.

There is no looting in Japan. I suspect that there would be looting if this was happening in America. But then America has much worse income disparity than Japan. Let’s face it, if there was looting in America, it would only be because the American people have had everything looted from them by the super rich in recent years. Consider it a trade-off. The banks and the rich walked away with our pensions and our savings, so if there’s a major disaster, we feel we’re entitled to walk away with an armful of canned food.

While Japan was getting hit by a natural disaster, Michigan was getting hit by a man-made disaster, disguised as a response to a financial disaster. Governor Rick Snyder’s new budget bill in Michigan allows him to virtually declare “financial martial law.” The bill allows Snyder to declare a “financial emergency” and appoint emergency managers with sweeping powers. And by “sweeping powers,” I mean powers to sweep the middle class into the gutter. The emergency managers could fire elected officials, terminate union contracts, seize assets, or even eliminate entire municipalities. This law essentially gives Rick Snyder the power to do anything short of to sleep with every bride in the state on their wedding night.

Today’s Homework | Discuss

A look back at just a few of the inane nuclear power comments made by Repubs leading up to tragedy in Japan…