Udall to teleconference about LANL future
By JENNIFER TALHELM | Associated Press
June 19, 2007
WASHINGTON — Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., wants to talk with Los Alamos National Laboratory employees about critical funding cuts proposed for the lab, but Congress is still is session. So he’s reaching out by telephone.
Using new teleconferencing technology, Udall will hold a telephone town hall meeting Wednesday at 6 p.m. MDT. Tuesday night, he will put out robotic calls to residents of Los Alamos County, Española and other parts of northern New Mexico, telling them about the town hall meeting and giving them instructions on how to take part.
On Wednesday, he will call back and ask residents to participate. Udall will lead the discussion, and listeners will be able to ask questions.
Such high-tech town halls are becoming more frequent since Congress vowed to take fewer days off this year. Udall learned about it from an Oklahoma congressman who tried it last month.
Udall has an urgent need to talk to his constituents. He wants to find out what Los Alamos employees think about the future of the lab. House appropriators have recommended zeroing out nearly $500 million in nuclear weapons program funding. The full House is debating the bill this week. Senators will take it up later this month.
The budget cut poses a serious political problem for Udall, who joined the House Appropriations Committee this year and is expected to help protect funding for the lab, which is in his congressional district.
Udall says it’s time for the lab to diversify. It now does more than 80 percent of its work for national security programs.
“By utilizing the brilliant minds of the lab to develop alternate forms of energy, I believe LANL has a future in helping our nation reduce its dependence on foreign oil and reduce the likelihood of terrorism affecting us,” Udall said.
26 comments:
"Hi Tom. Yeah, I'm interested in working on energy research. In fact I tried to get funding in that area 10 years ago at LANL and ended up whoring myself out to the weapons program instead. Turned out all the 'energy' money goes to 'energy' labs like NREL and Argonne, and their congressional delegations are committed to keeping it that way. So what's different now?"
Oh Tom! You doll!
Hi, Tom!
What caller #1 said. Since those other two labs already have the energy research mandate, what makes you think Congress would approve sending more money to a bunch of stodgy old bomb designers to try to learn how to do energy research also? What makes you think we'd even be any good at it? We're pretty stuck in our ways, you know, up here on "The Hill".
Also, did anybody mention to you that we'd have to charge $450,000 per person to work on it?
Have a nice day, and thanks for calling!
Cold fusion. Send money.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0606/p25s01-stss.html
Guys like Dingell, Stupak and Udall are doing a mighty fine job, aren't they? Latest polls show that Americans hate the new Congress even more than before and now even the Dems have joined in with the ultra low assessments:
---
http://galluppoll.com/content/?ci=27937
June 20, 2007
Congressional Job Approval Dips Again This Month - Gallup Poll
Democrats, Republicans now almost equally likely to disapprove of Congress
by Joseph Carroll
PRINCETON, NJ -- The honeymoon phase is over for the new Congress, as the public's ratings of Congress are down again this month. The latest congressional job approval rating (24%) is the lowest for the institution since Democrats took control of both houses in January, and is far below the 37% registered in February. The decline has been most evident among Democrats, whose ratings of Congress now match those of Republicans.
...It is unusual for congressional job approval ratings to be at or below 24%. Congress has been rated this negatively only a few times in the four decades Gallup has measured this item
The solution is obvious. Surround the world's best and *brightest* with solar panels. The panels would generate so much electricity the lab would have to be kept open.
Udall is clueless about the biggest employer in his district. Not a good sign for someone who wants to keep his job.
Dear Mr. Udall,
LANL has a new energy research project that I'm sure you'll be happy to discover. It involves a new means of generating intense thermal heat by burning US currency. Please send big bundles of cash to LANL so that we can continue our innovative research project into this new form of alternative energy. You'll be happy to learn that we recently sustained a world record at this thermal reaction by achieving an FTE cost of $450 K per year. LANS is quite proud of this achievement, but we hope to do even better in the near future.
Your friend, Mikey.
I would think that the State of NM was the largest employer in his district? Don't know though.
oooohhhh Mikey, why have you not yet stepped up , accepted resonsibility, and resigned?
oh right..there is not a shred of eithics or decency left in your body....
7:24, Udall won the last election by a landslide.
Yes Tom, Los Alamos is the center of the universe don't you know. The rest of the world needs to adapt to our needs...period! It's always been this way and the arrogant cowboy buttheads of Los Alamos (me and my distinguished colleagues) see no reason why that should change now. If you don't "get it" we'll just have to vote you out of office. Of course we wouldn't vote for a Democrat if our livelihoods depended on it! Scratch the last comment. We MIGHT vote for you if you can arrange a NIF like project for us at Los Alamos. Until that happens, you can tell your Democratic colleagues in Congress that we're mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore! Excuse me now as I proceed to hold my breath.
I continue to find something fascinating about LANL. In spite of all the current news regarding significant funding reductions (a new Washington Post article about the House voting down the RRW funding will be posted here soon), the continued massive screw ups/cover ups by LANS, the scheduling of a sudden, urgent telephone "town hall" meeting by Udall -- in *spite* of all this evidence that LANL is finally in serious, near terminal trouble, the majority of LANL staff continue down their own oblivious, self-centered paths. That's fascinating.
When LANL, as an organization is in as much trouble as it presently finds itself, and yet most of the staff there don't seem to have noticed, or even care much, what kind of an argument can possibly be made for trying to keep the place afloat?
-Gussie
Let's just focus on ousting Mikey and yanking the contract from Mikey.
The the laboratory could be run better, and could attract WFO funding because once the greedy trolls are kicked out the overhead rates will fall. We'll save taxpayer money (i.e. reduction of the greed factor)
Gussie, a suprising large number of staff at LANL simply believe what they are being told by LANS. Thus, they see no storm clouds forming at LANL. They won't begin to take a serious interest in what is happening until the layoffs are announced.
Also, we have a large number of staff who are completely burned-out from the turmoil of the last few years. They've given up caring any longer. You've probably seen many of these zombies walking the hallways of late.
7:24, 8:59, here are the results for the 2006 election by county.
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//
pages/results/states/
NM/H/03/county.000.html
Udall won overall 75%-25%. In Los Alamos County he won 63%-37%. Although he won all counties in his district, he received a lower percentage than he received in Los Alamos in several other counties.
How important is Los Alamos County voting wise? It cast a total of about 8600 votes out of about 192,000 total.
6/20/07 9:56 AM:
I identify with the demographic you describe in your second paragraph.
On the other hand, those that you describe in your first paragraph (believe every bit of bullshit that LANS tells them, eyes wide closed) make a strong argument for a new Darwin event to come along and rearrange their oblivious little worlds. It's my opinion that if you are not even aware that there is a problem, then you are part of it.
-Gussie
Gussie, many think Sen Bingaman will simply take over and save the day like Sen Domenici did.
It's almost as tough for NM to get off the dependence on Fed dollars as it is for the US to get off oil. In 2004, NM got $2 in federal expenditures for every dollar sent to DC in taxes. Highest in the US. Next closest is AK at $1.87.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa
/A0923084.html
Sorry, NM was highest of all the states. DC itself was highest in the US with $6.64 per dollar. Chart just has the states highlighted. CA by comparison was in the lowest 10 states with $0.79 per dollar.
Baaaaa...Baaaaaa...Baaaaa
--LANL Workforce Collective Protest
Guss,
The issue is that people have reached the point of fear where most are emptying their bowels.
One many are are mortgaged past the point of bankruptcy to own a house in Santa Fe/Los Alamos area..
Two the reputation of working LANL is not a good one anymore...
Three, their research (if they are the 10% that are scientists versus other staff) is under question because if they cant do security.. how can they do science (I heard this one from some people at CERN).
Four, with all that.. many are looking at either lower pay or lower standard of living if they go elsewhere (I had to take a 28k cut in leaving Los Alamos.. but I do not regret not having the heartburn anymore).
The only hope many have anymore is that there might be a final St Pete bill to have a buy-out and transfer of personell to LLNL or SNL.
"7:24, Udall won the last election by a landslide."
Yes, but he was running against an even bigger piece of vaporware than he is. So it is no wonder.
St. Pete is the reason we're in this pickle. If he hadn't pulled out all stops when it came to covering UC's ass at every turn perhaps we'd have more friends in the U.S. Senate today. After the Roberto Gonzales debacle, St. Pete ain't so saintly anymore, much less credible.
Points taken, 6/20/07 5:10 PM.
It's not a pleasant place to work and live these days.
-Gussie
6:43 "Roberto Gonzales debacle"? what's missing here?
I think I did sleep with that lady......
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