My heart goes out to the people of Japan for their great loss and their heroes who will meet their untimely doom trying to curtail the nuclear meltdown.  Each blast at Fukushima represents a dirty bomb on the Japanese and all others downwind or stream.  But as the earthquake's destruction exposed the reactor cores so has this international crisis further exposed the rotting core of the campaign finance system of our elected officials here in America, local to federal, should you want to see it.  This is President Obama's dirty little secret.  Read more ...

On St. Patty's day, not yet one week after the devastating quake with electrical power not even close to being restored to the reactor cooling systems, Obama declared with strong resolve, "Here at home, nuclear power is also an important part of our own energy future..."  To call his remark premature is a gross understatement.  What would drive a president seen as "cautious and consultative" by nearly half the population to float this zeppelin with unfounded certainty?

Baffled, my answer came three days later while watching The McLaughlin Group (start video at 12:26).

$54 billion is slated for the nuclear power industry in next year's budget, quite a bit of it rest assured for Illinois and Exelon the largest nuclear power company in USA with headquarters in Chicago.  Illinois has the most reactors in USA, boasting eleven.  Rahm Emanuel, the new mayor of Chicago and former Chief of Staff to Obama, helped put the deal together that born Exelon in 2000 while putting $16.2 million in his pocket as an investment banker.  Exelon was fourth largest contributor to Obama in Senate race in 2004 and more in his 2008 election.  David Axelrod has also been a paid consultant for Exelon. Two of Obama’s biggest fundraisers during his presidential run, Frank M. Clark and John W. Rodgers, are Exelon executives.  Exelon’s lead lobbyist, Elizabeth Moler, served as deputy national co-chair for the Obama campaign, said that “we are proud to be the President’s utility."

The $54 billion dollar quid pro quo goes to one of Obama's largest campaign sponsors sans any debate about safety or cost (wind as a non-carbon choice is cheaper, considerably when government subsidies are stripped away, or in trying to put a cost to evacuating the 20 million people within the 50 mile radius of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, the same radius the U.S. recommended for Fukushima).   Cost per megawatt, and its uninsurable in the private sector nature, are more likely the real reason why nuclear power died its first death after Three Mile Island decades ago. 

Regardless, the rhetoric sets in stone Obama's policy objective should anyone be in doubt: Nuclear power full steam ahead Fukushima and the "cautious and consultative" mythology be damned.  The safety review is not much more than a smoke screen, part of the magician's illusion.  The $54 billion for Exelon et al. will pop out of the budget box unharmed no matter how many swords are shoved into it, even the findings of Obama's own safety report.

On the local level, we see how the election and campaign finance law play out.  New York State lawmakers are more likely to die or go to jail than to get voted out of office.  New York State Senator Carl Kruger is the latest to be indicted while NYC Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz refuses to give back dirty contributions tied to the Kruger bribery scandal.  Albany routinely blocks income disclosure laws with gaping loopholes like exemptions for lawyers with most lawmakers being lawyers (dizzying isn't it).  Mayor Bloomberg tops them all locally when it comes to campaign finance funny money, skating from $1.1 million Haggerty-Gate unscathed.  Like a "Boat Unit," seven figure campaign corruption can be called a "Dirty Bloomberg Unit."  It is estimated that the 2012 presidential election will top the scales at over $2 billion in campaign finance.

The only way to end the massive corruption of our campaign finance system is to end the inherent conflict of interest at odds with democracy and the will of the people.  Public financing of all elections and full financial disclosure of elected officials' income, local to federal, is our only hope.  The heroes of Fukushima will give their lives by the hundreds, if not thousands, to save the people of Japan, whereas barely a politician will jeopardize his re-election or the revolving door of $16.2 million dollar pay-days to do the right thing for the people of America.  Courage defies the political ranks and moneyed interests but not the working folks who get to clean up the messes.

P.S.  Invaluable information and context for Fukushima can be found on Dr. Helen Caldicott's Facebook page whereas the same for political corruption can be found at truenewsfromchangenyc.blogspot.com

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