"Despite a recent plea by former Vice President Al Gore, Vermont lawmakers Wednesday failed to ..."

[bananas]

http://www.platts.com/Nuclear/News/6399602.xml

Vermont lawmakers fail to override veto of nuclear power tax bill

Charlottesville, Virginia (Platts)--11Jul2007

Despite a recent plea by former Vice President Al Gore, Vermont lawmakers
Wednesday failed to muster enough votes to override Governor Jim Douglas' veto
of a bill that would have taxed nuclear power to pay for energy efficiency
programs.

The state House vote in favor of an override was 86 to 61, 12 votes shy
of the two-thirds majority needed.

Gore had entered the fray over bill (H.520) in late May when he endorsed
the measure in a video conference aired in six Vermont towns.

Entergy Vermont Yankee, which supplies one-third of Vermont's power, had
lobbied heavily against the legislation, saying it would add $25 million to
the nuclear power plant's tax bill over the next five years.

<snip>

[Dead_Parrot]

1. I thought nuclear cost brazilions...

...and you you can't tax something that looses money, can you?

Unless it makes money.

In which case it's quite reasonable.

So long as they've taxed the fossil fuels, like gasoline, first.

Obviously.

Otherwise they'd be dumbasses.

They've done that, right?

[MatrixEscape]

2. As I have said, and will continue to say ...

It does not matter what Al Gore does or says -- or anybody else for that matter.

If America cannot and will not accept that fact that the corporate entity has totally and legally encroached on our system and, by placing its fictitious self, (as a functional body without a soul on the very same ground as we as individuals, with the very same rights, but far more money, power, and energy, than we have, then nothing we do or say has the kind of power and impact these entities do. That's the fact, and you can bank all of your political activity and frustrations on it! You can also bet your certain losses and decline on it as well, and I would bet against you every step of the way.

If and when America, also know as We The People, notices, stands up to, and rescinds, the virtual reality of corporate entities, there is some potential for change and a glimmer of equity for mankind. If this does not happen very soon, (and I mean immediately) you can post your heart out and cry, moan, beg, and vent, but that won't ever equal the very real power and control that the vampires of corporate fiction made real have and wield every step of the way, from your birth to your death.

Why is the fact that corporations have all the rights, (and more so now thanks to the titular Bush representation they have) and benefits of what the Constitution so dangerous and destructive? Well, that is not hard to imagine or understand. That's a Wal-Mart in your town. That's like an ultra-wealthy person building a McMansion in your slum and going up against you as you struggle to keep your humble home while he/she raises the property values and invites his friends to come in and take advantage of the investment opportunity that his game plan provides. You are going to lose, no matter how many movies tell you that winning is possible in the odds. America is not the result of that and you would have to be totally ignorant or in total denial to avoid the fact that corporations are the new Feudal Lords and we are already in the process of being nothing more than Serfs.

Go watch your MSM if you must. Believe it if you choose to. Hope for what you might. If you cannot overcome and conquer the corporate takeover as it reaches its pinnacle, then lable myself and those who understand this as mad. Keep on keeping on, and then wait for the results because, as this point, you just have to be right, don't you?

Obey your thirst! Aren't you hungry now? Why ask why? It's the real thing, (in the back of your mind, what you're hoping to find)! You deserve a break today. Challenge everything! Please don't squeeze the Charmin! Can you hear me now? Don't leave home without it! Like a rock! You are in good hands with Allstate. Mr. Clean. Ram tough. That vacuous, money making crap goes on and on. It serves, most often, to seperate you from your own wealth and fortune in the end ... nothing more. How many capitals of any state or country can you name, or even the names of US Presidents in relation to the number of endlessly repeated and inserted corporate slogans and jingles you can quickly recite? Doesn't that tell you ANYTHING at all, or is this falling on commercially deaf ears now?

Who informs you, and how? How much do you believe them, and why? Where are they leading you, and for what purpose and to who's benefit?

I don't watch television anymore, but I do have a TV and watch DVD's still. I simply cannot tolerate or withstand the barrage of commercials that the so-called entertainment has been designed as a carrier for that pervasive and invasive wave of manipulative noise that many consider normal and a way of life. I don't want or need most of what is being foisted on me ... I can't even afford it without going into debt = slavery.

I go by a wise new saying: "You can never get enough of what you don't really need to make you happy!" That is anathema to the ideals the idealism of modern capitalism that has usurped a more practical and natural, maybe even sustainable way of life. Along with the idea of diminishing returns that we are already seeing, we are becoming more aware of the fact that you don't get something for nothing. The price we have to pay will be clear in the end. I think most capitalists would agree that there is ALWAYS a price to pay for everything.

[Dead_Parrot]

3. For casual observers...

...the text of H.520 is here: the word "nuclear" appears once, at Sec. 36 (immediately before the words "hydro-electric, biomass, wind, fuel cells, and solar"); the other 18,319 words appear to relate to energy efficiency.

Only those with a the ability to perform a Vulcan mind-meld with Mr Gore (i.e. Bananas) will realise that he wanted to tax nuclear power because it is evil: Everyone else will think he wanted to increase energy efficiency in the state, which just happens to get most of it's power from nuclear reactors.

PS: It follows that everyone from VT is a radioactive mutant. But you already knew that. :)

[bananas]

4. The nuclear plant has a special low tax rate. nt

[Dead_Parrot]

5. And that's relevant to H.520... how? nt

[bananas]

6. It would tax it at the same rate as wind.

<snip>

"Unlike homeowners (and renters), Vermont Yankee pays only a fraction of the property taxes we struggle with. It is up to Gov. Jim Douglas, champion of the "affordability agenda" he took throughout the state last year, to make sure that Vermont Yankee pays their fair share, enabling energy conservation and renewable energy sources to continue to be a priority. We shouldn't depend on the volatile Middle East to heat our homes and run our cars.

"Vermont Yankee now pays a property tax rate literally one-third of that proposed for wind and other power generators. Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize one type of power over another. Gov. Douglas, say no to the high-paid lobbyists and campaign contributions that end up costing Vermonters dearly."

<snip>

"Sweetheart deal" etc etc
http://m.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070531/OPINION/705310327/1006&template=wapart


Veto override is a must Douglas plan shortsighted

June 13, 2007

By PETER SHUMLIN

House Speaker Gaye Symington and I are grateful that Vice President Al Gore endorsed the Vermont Legislature's climate change/energy bill last week. When the leader of the worldwide movement to combat climate change tells Vermonters that we have the opportunity to lead the nation by saving energy, saving money, reducing emissions and kicking our addiction to foreign oil, we know we're onto something good.

As Vermonters we face an inconvenient truth: Gov. Jim Douglas and his veto pen.

<snip>

Al Gore calls H.520 a "terrific bill" and says he hopes the Legislature can rally to override the governor's veto. The bill puts money in Vermonters' pockets, creates jobs, curbs greenhouse gas emissions, and reduces the amount of oil that Vermonters purchase from countries that mostly hate us. It provides incentives for local, renewable energy sources like wind, solar, small hydro and biomass. In short, the bill helps Vermont achieve energy independence and keep more money in the state.

The governor's objection to this bill is equally troubling. He doesn't want Vermont Yankee to pay its fair share in property taxes. In 2003, shortly after he was elected governor, Entergy, which operates Vermont's only nuclear power plant, was given a sweetheart deal that no one else in Vermont was offered. Entergy was granted permission to freeze its property tax rate at the 2003 level, shortly before it invested over $100 million in its plant. With Vermonters facing double-digit property tax increases since 2003, one has to wonder which of us in Vermont would reject a similar sweetheart deal. Last year, Entergy paid $500,000 less in property taxes then it did in 2003. The rest of us made up the shortfall in our property tax bills. Why should Entergy, with revenues of over $10 billion a year, be offered this property tax relief package, when under Jim Douglas, your property taxes have nearly doubled? It pays to have deep pockets.

<snip>

Peter Shumlin of Putney is the president pro tempore of the Vermont Senate.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=115&topic_id=99799