Testimony to the Public Utilities Commission of the Ohio House, January 30, 2008

Thank you for allowing me to testify today.

I am a resident of central Ohio and author, or co-author, of a dozen books, including four on energy. My most recent is SOLARTOPIA! OUR GREEN-POWERED EARTH, which is graced by an introduction by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and has been captured in song by Pete Seeger.

My message today is simple: any state that allows the construction of new nuclear power plants in the face of today’s global industrial competition and financial turmoil will be committing economic suicide.

Any energy legislation that allows any kind of incentive to build such reactors dooms itself to the failures of the last century, not the successes of the new one. Thus the 12.5% of future electric production that is left open to nuclear power and coal in this new energy bill should be transformed and devoted entirely to renewables and efficiency.

There is nothing “advanced” about atomic energy.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-08), Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, today held an oversight hearing on reforming the state secrets evidentiary privilege.  The state secrets privilege allows the government to prevent public disclosure of testimony and materials in litigation if their disclosure would reveal information damaging to national security.

“When used properly, the state secrets privilege protects vital national security interests,” said Rep. Nadler.  “However, in recent years, the state secrets privilege has been expanded to not only produce arguably unfair results by preventing disclosure of specific items of evidence but also has been used to block litigation altogether and prevent any examination of challenged government activity.  We need to consider how we can reform the system to ensure that only truly sensitive information is kept secret.”

The hard times of winter are here. There are people living on the streets and under bridges because our government has failed. Should the average person complain or stay silent as not to be singled out by abusive government agents. These Gov. agents are not bad people but it is a natural act to harm those that correct what is perceived to be the right way. Gov. agents do not like to be told what to do. The people grant HUD and different Gov agencies public money to do a job. Is it possible to spend the money in a more efficient manner? Can we solve or control homelessness by using the money in a more practical manner? Should homeless people be allowed to tent on public land? Does the public realize that 25 percent of the homeless are disabled Veterans. Disabled because of where these hero’s have been and what they have seen. Can we ignore or limit the use of public land or money to help these people in hard times.

Here’s your question, class:

In his State of the Union, the President asked Congress for $300 million for poor kids in the inner city. As there are, officially, 15 million children in America living in poverty, how much is that per child? Correct! $20.

Here’s your second question. The President also demanded that Congress extend his tax cuts. The cost: $4.3 trillion over ten years. The big recipients are millionaires. And the number of millionaires happens, not coincidentally, to equal the number of poor kids, roughly 15 million of them. OK class: what is the cost of the tax cut per millionaire? That’s right, Richie, $287,000 apiece.

Mr. Bush said, “In neighborhoods across our country, there are boys and girls with dreams. And a decent education is their only hope of achieving them.”

So how much educational dreaming will $20 buy?

-George Bush’s alma mater, Phillips Andover Academy, tells us their annual tuition is $37,200. The $20 “Pell Grant for Kids,” as the White House calls it, will buy a poor kid about 35 minutes of this educational dream. So they’ll have to wake up quickly.