Al Fonzi may not be aware of the U.S. Constitution or the GOP platform that endorses states’ rights supremacy except for those federal authorities enumerated in our constitution. Mr. Fonzi articulates that he prefers a supreme federal government, which would decide where to drill, transport fuels, build nuclear power plants, and presumably how to store or transport the waste. Since the federal government cannot focus policy enforcement solely on one state, this new policy would have to apply across our nation. Thus, the retired colonel advocates for a federal government with the authority to confiscate public and private land, to drill or transport fuels or build a nuclear power plant or to store waste.
Of course, that means this would apply throughout our country including in the coastal regions of Southern states such as Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, where drilling is also currently banned. He is also proposing usurping states rights for the 14 states that prohibit nuclear energy development, which include Oregon, Washington, Montana, and West Virginia.
If you do not want the government to take your property for these developments—Al Fonzi seems to indicate too bad, because there is money to be made and you just need to acquiesce to a federal official who decides what is best for you and your community. What he proposes seems very much like Cuban political principles.
B Gibler
Atascadero
This article appears in Mar 22 – Apr 1, 2018.
B, You expect conservatives, including “Mr” Fonzi to be consistent? You only need to look at their fear mongering of people of color while ignoring white terrorists, or their indignation about deficits as they blow up spending while gutting revenues, to realize today’s conservatives are not our parents conservatives.