Letters to the Editor Policy

Postmortem On The Beck Narrative

Now that Glenn Beck has been cut loose by Fox, having proven to be too out there even for the famously biased network, perhaps those who have been busy parroting his view of reality might pause to re-evaluate.

For those blessed enough to be unaware of it, Beck's message can be boiled down to the following premises:

1) The Founders were Divinely inspired and instituted perfection in 1788 (though they themselves did not think so).

2) All change after 1788 has been a bad thing (even though the Founders provided for it).

3) All change can be subsumed under the term "progressive."

4) Progressivism is utterly sinister (even though in the broad sense, the Founders were progressive).

5) It's possible to turn back time, and we must.

6) It's possible to freeze time, and we should have.

Of course, this is all nonsense. But that didn't stop the dull-witted from parroting convoluted variations of these premises in various rants, including in the Transcript (letters). But the times do not need parrots. The times need original thought. So I hope those who've made no effort to be original will give it a try for once. Better to fail at being original than to be a competent parrot. And I haven't even seen that!

Sincerely,

Stephen Van Eck

Rushville, PA

Forty Thousand Reasons

What I am about to relate to you is a matter of public record here in Susquehanna County Court of Common Pleas, case number 2008-1100 CP, U.S. District Court Scranton case number 3:09-CV-01285, and on file in the Susquehanna County clerk’s office.

On July 24, 2008 at 1:32 p.m., a petition for injunctive relief was filed in Susquehanna County Court, by the County Solicitor, on behalf of the County Commissioners and the County Assessment Office as plaintiffs, naming a well-known, highly respected, firmly established, professional, citizen and businessman of the County as defendant. His business and livelihood, requires him to enter the courthouse on a daily basis. The petition alleged this individuals had a hostile, angry and volatile confrontation with one of the Commissioners and a County employee. The petition asked the court to order the individual not to enter the courthouse. On July 25, 2008 at 10:06 a.m., a judge from another judicial district granted the request! At 2:29 p.m., 4 hours and 23 minutes later, the same judge granted a motion to allow the individual back into the courthouse. On July 28, 2008, three subpoenas to appear were requested by the Susquehanna County Solicitor. Subsequently, on July 30, 2008 the individual requested three like subpoenas. At 11:42 on the 30th, a praecipe to discontinue the injunction was filed by the County Solicitor on behalf of the County Commissioners and Assessment Office and, thereby, “acknowledged the wrongfulness of their conduct” (quoted in part). Total elapsed time involved in this fruitless endeavor: 3 business days, 22 hours and 10 minutes. The individual subsequently filed a suit in Federal Court alleging a violation of his civil rights. After another fruitless endeavor to have this suit dismissed, the County agreed to pay the individual a cash settlement of $40,000.00 or a little more than $10,000.00 for each day of this worthless injunction!

And, there we have 40,000 reasons not to re-elect our County Commissioners.

Sincerely,

David L. Walters

Hop Bottom, PA

Rural Roads Safety Week

The Susquehanna County Farm Bureau is celebrating Rural Roads Safety Week April 17 through 23 by encouraging county residents to travel safely on the roads this spring.

This time of year, farmers are busy working in the fields and driving tractors, farm trucks, wagons and large equipment on roads. To the distracted or impatient motorist, vehicles such as these can pose a threat when safe driving practices are not practiced. For example, if a car is moving 55 mph and comes upon a tractor moving 15 miles per hour, it only takes five seconds to close a gap the length of a football field between the car and the tractor.

Remember not to rush when driving on roads where you might encounter large farm machinery, slow down immediately when you see the orange Slow Moving Vehicle (SMV) triangle and pass farm equipment only when it is safe for you to do so. Even if you have to slow down to 20 mph and follow a tractor for two miles, it takes only six minutes of your time, which is approximately equivalent to waiting for two red lights. Caution, courtesy and special attention to safety tips can make a critical difference in ensuring safe driving conditions on rural roads.

On behalf of the Susquehanna County Farm Bureau, I encourage all residents to be aware of farm equipment during their travels on rural roads. By working together, we can make the trip safe for motorists and farmers.

Sincerely,

Pauline Fallon

Susquehanna County Farm Bureau

Fuel Prices (Redux)

Last week’s letter suggested that we would be paying $4.00 per gallon for our gasoline. How short sighted of me. Let me restate that number - we will all be paying $5.00 per gallon for our gasoline. So much for hope and change although “The One” warned us that if he had his way, energy (specifically, he referred to electrical energy) would necessarily skyrocket. At this rate, I really have grave concerns with respect for the condition of our country come November, 2012 when we have the opportunity to correct the most grievous political error this country ever made. A very few weeks ago, I took issue with the action of President Obama in Libya. He blatantly ignored the Constitution when he took us to war. Only the Congress is empowered by the Constitution, Section 8, Article 1, to declare war. Considering what is happening to our country, where are you on impeachment? Remember, not to act is to act. Two more years may well be two years too many. Wake up, America!

Sincerely,

Joe McCann

Elk Lake, PA

The Surprising Causes Of Fukushima's Total Failure

They burst like popcorn kernels in a microwave. Explosions in nuclear reactors Nos. 1, 2, and 3, caused the three to meltdown; No. 4 has no cooling water and is in imminent danger of a meltdown. Reactors Nos. 5 and 6 are problematic. What went so catastrophically wrong at Japan's Fukushima nuclear complex?

There were five problems and none of them are what you think.

No, it wasn't the mega 9 earthquake. At the quake's first rumble all six reactors immediately raised control rods that shutdown the six reactors. The system worked perfectly.

And it wasn't the battering of the tsunami's crushing tide. The Fukushima nuclear complex was built on a sea bluff 13-feet above sea level. Giving added protection was a 19-foot seawall. The bluff and seawall protected the plant from the tsunami. Aerial images of the post-tsunami facility do not show any damage (view cnn.com/pacific ocean will dilute toxic water).

But the tsunami did disable power lines feeding Fukushima. Though the reactors were shutdown they still needed electricity to power water pumps to cool the nuclear fuel rods. Thirteen giant diesel generators were ready for this contingency. They automatically switched on, then off and they stayed off.

According to investigative journalist Grey Palast, standby generators were more of a fail-sure system than a fail-safe system. “Back in the day when we checked the emergency back-up diesels in America, a mind-blowing number flunked.”

Citing his experience with three generators Palast said, “When the diesels were put through a real test under emergency-like conditions, the crankshaft on the first one snapped in about an hour, then the second, and the third. We nicknamed the diesels, Snap, Crackle, and Pop.”

Yes, the Tokyo Electric Company periodically tested the generators and they worked fine. But going from a cold start to a full-scale switchover of the entire installation's electrical load, the generators failed as Palast expected. One hour after the tsunami all 13 went down.

Almost certainty, the Tokyo Electric Company never conducted a full-scale test of the emergency electrical system. A valid system check would have revealed flaws in the backup system. But such a test would have necessitated the shutdown of the entire Fukushima complex. The resulting disruption of electricity to northern Japan was apparently not feasible. The crucial test was either never performed or insufficiently tested. That was problem No. 1.

Problem No. 2 is inherent in all nuclear reactors: zirconium.

Fuel rods are 12-foot long, pencil-thin tubes made of an alloy of zirconium and filled with pellets of enriched uranium. Zirconium absorbs neutrons (they slow and control the nuclear reaction) and is corrosion resistant. But the advantages are a tradeoff for disadvantages.

When the emergency generators failed the pumps supplying cooling water to the reactors quit. The water in the reactors boiled off exposing the fuel rods to air. The uranium pellets heated up the exposed zirconium until it combusted. Zirconium burns at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This heat reacted with water to release hydrogen (Remember the Hindenburg?) and steam under enormous pressure.

Problem No. 3 is a fatal flaw in the Mark I's design.

General Electric's Mark I had a compelling edge over its competition; it was cheap. But cheap didn't come safe.

In 1975 three GE engineers resigned in protest insisting that the Mark I design would eventually lead to a devastating accident. The problem, they said, was that the reactor vessel doubled as a containment structure. This eliminated the need for the reactor to be enclosed in a massive and expensive concrete dome.

But the reactor vessel, they said, could not contain the immense pressure that would result in a power failure. Time and Fukushima proved the engineers prescience; the reactors cracked.

Problem No. 4 was a second cost-saving measure in the Mark I design.

Hundreds of tons of spent fuel rods were stored in open cooling pools next to each of the six reactors. Picture putting a gasoline tank on top of an engine or building a barbeque pit in arm's reach to a propane tank. In essence, that's the Mark I.

Problem No. 5 is the failure of the outer buildings to have a venting system for hydrogen.

It occurred to GE engineers that the outer building should have a venting system. This was installed as a retrofit at Fukushima. It made everyone feel better but did nothing else. They failed at three of the reactors' housing. A spark ignited the hydrogen and blew the lightly constructed buildings to tattered bits and scattered the remains of thousands of broken fuel rods.

Lastly, the world faces a sixth problem and it's the worst.

What can be done with the spate of wrecked nuclear reactors littering Japan's landscape and the unrelenting geyser of radioactive particles now circling the globe?

Sincerely,

Bob Scroggins

New Milford, PA

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY
Letters To The Editor MUST BE SIGNED. They MUST INCLUDE a phone number for "daytime" contact. Letters MUST BE CONFIRMED VERBALLY with the author, before printing. Letters should be as concise as possible, to keep both Readers' and Editors' interest alike. Your opinions are important to us, but you must follow these guidelines to help assure their publishing.

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