Bulletin #153: Reminder about tonight's meeting; concerns re the Senate version of Defense Authorization Act

July 17, 2012

Dear friends –

If you live in Santa Fe or Taos, this is a reminder about this evening’s (Santa Fe) and tomorrow’s (Taos) discussions, which we might theme, “Beyond The Bomb” – or perhaps “Beyond Anti-Nuclear Activism.”  Although the nuclear weapons industry remains politically very potent, very well-funded, and very dangerous locally and globally, it is now in irreversible decline.

But so are most things.  It’s a question of who and what declines first.  The point is, nuclear disarmament is now far from enough.

How can we effectively get past the sterile and ineffectual posturing which marks so much “activism” today?  That’s our ambitious topic for this evening.

We’ll provide updates – authoritative, we believe – on the current status of U.S. nuclear weapons issues, legislation, and politics, especially as regards CMRR-NF, our biggest concern and the biggest nuclear issue on the national stage.  And we want to discuss with you some of what may be more fruitful and positive alternatives to most “activism” as it is thought of today.

These meetings will begin at 6:30 pm and end at about 8:30 pm.  Please come!

• Santa Fe: Today, Tuesday, July 17, CloudCliff Bakery, 1805 Second St. (map)
• Taos: Tomorrow, Wednesday, July 18, Kit Carson Electric Coop, 118 Cruz Alta Rd (map)

Then, on Wednesday, July 25, again at the CloudCliff in Santa Fe and like the above meetings at 6:30 pm, we will host a special presentation on solar electric generation in New Mexico by Allan Sindelar of Positive Energy and Claudia Pavel.  Positive Energy, a leading installer of photovoltaic systems in our state, recently received the distinct honor of being named Santa Fe’s Small Business of the Year by the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce.  Allan has long been an active participant in Study Group discussions.

Again I have to offer my apologies for the lack of a comprehensive issue update in writing for those of you who do not live in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Taos corridor.  I hope you have all begun the long process of realizing that we do not live in a democracy any more, and there is no magic political rabbit of reform that will jump out of the hat of a well-informed public.  We are on the field and in the game, not in a sportscaster’s box.  We hope you will join us on the field.

I hope to see you tonight or tomorrow night if you live in the area!

Greg Mello, for the Los Alamos Study Group

P.S. You may find the following letter (fresh as of this morning) and AP article interesting and useful.

• Concerns regarding CMRR-NF in the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as reported in the Senate, Jul 16, 2012 (pdf 617KB)
• Oversight board questions nuke lab radiation risk, Associated Press, Jul 12, 2012