The Seven Immutable Laws of Numbered Lists

Dear Lord,

Why am I so drawn to stupid prayer titles? Anyway, this is actually just a seven-item to-do list that I'm going to iterate here.

I've got to:

1. Get a hold of the guy from Gretna who calls himself "Who Knows." After the PSB meeting last Monday, he wrote insults about Brattleboro area anti-nuke activists on the Reformer's news blog. What he wrote was this:

I was at the hearing last night and now have no worries whatsoever about VY not being successfully relicensed. The anti-nuke crowd is a literal freak show of the marginally employable. It'd be nice if you could heat and power your home with ignorance and paranoia since there was a limitless supply of it there last night.

That guy's a walking PR nightmare for Vermont Yankee. We're trying to play down the Louisiana link here, and we don't want to be seen as filled with scorn for ill-dressed Vermonters.

I've found some information that might put the point of view of "Who Knows" from Gretna, Louisiana in perspective. First of all, Gretna is the location of Entergy's primary data center. Second, some people dislike Gretna intensely. This is from www.gretnasucks.com. Really.

During the aftermath of hurricane Katrina people were told to evacuate New Orleans by crossing the bridge that lead from New Orleans to Gretna. The bridge spans the Mississippi river linking New Orleans to the west bank city of Gretna. If you were black or in the company of blacks you were blocked from evacuating New Orleans by the Gretna police.

Gretna Police Chief Arthur S. Lawson, Jr. ordered his officers to kill any black people that tried to cross the bridge that lead into Gretna. His officers shot at blacks or people in the company of blacks that tried to cross the bridge….

The Gretna police blocked the evacuation route for days. Shooting in the air and above the heads of blacks who were trying to get out of New Orleans during the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. These gun shots from the white police officers of Gretna were mistaken by rescue workers in New Orleans as sniper attacks. This lead to the grounding of ambulance helicopters that thought they were being fired at when in reality it was the Gretna police shooting in the air and over the head of black people trying to cross the bridge. Much, if not all, of the reported shooting in New Orleans was actually coming from the Gretna police shooting off their guns and assault riffles at the black victims of hurricane Katrina just trying to get out of the city of New Orleans.

I don't know what of any of this is true. For example, here's a comment left at gretnasucks.com that interprets those incidents differently:

Racist against whites, blacks, hispanics….who? ALL were kept from the city in the aftermath of Katrina-EVEN GRETNA CITIZENS/PROPERTY OWNERS. So, its “racist” to keep looters out of the city? [Why else would they try to come in??…there were no stores or shelters open and no services available] After the entire city of New Orleans had been cleaned out, Mayor Nagin gave those criminals “permission” to cross the bridge and “take what they needed”. He didn’t, however, tell them to go to his house and take what they needed!! NONE of the Gretna citizens wanted those criminals here….white, black, hispanic, asian…you name it. Too bad that we have a bunch of sour grapes criminals and liberals, who are seeking their 15 minutes of fame, getting involved in things that they know nothing about. If they’re so insulted by the actions of Gretna, why don’t they give their names and addresses out so those criminals can “take what they need” from THEIR houses!! Good job Gretna!!! This is a great place to live!!

Needless to say, even though I work for Entergy I have no idea what actually happened during Katrina in Gretna. But it's not going to work to our advantage if people up here realize that the guy we may have brought in from Gretna is hurling slurs at them. And it certainly isn't going to get those activists to dress any better when they attend the following meeting:

September 22, 2008
7 PM
Docket 7440 - Petition of Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC, and Entergy
Nuclear Operations, Inc. to Extend License of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power
Station

Meeting held via Vermont Interactive Television at the following sites.

Bennington -- Mt. Anthony Lodge, 504 A Main Street, Basement
Brattleboro -- Brattleboro Union High School, 131 Fairground Road, Room 125
Castleton -- Castleton State College, Stafford Academic Center, Room 142
Johnson -- Johnson State College, Bentley Hall, Room 211
Lyndonville -- Lyndon State College, 1001 College Road
Middlebury -- Hannaford Career Center, 51 Charles Avenue, 2nd Floor
Montpelier (broadcast site) -- Vermont Department of Labor, 5 Green Mountain
Drive
Newport -- North Country Union High School, 209 Veterans Avenue
Randolph Center -- Vermont Technical College, VIT Studio, Morrill Hall
Rutland -- Stafford Technical Center, 8 Stratton Road, Room 222
Springfield -- Howard Dean Education Center, 307 South Street, 2nd Floor
St. Albans -- Bellows Free Academy, 4 Hospital Drive
Waterbury -- State Office Complex, Stanley Hall, 103 South Main Street
White River Junction -- Community College of Vermont, CCV Upper Valley, 145
Billings Farm Road
Williston -- Blair Park, 451 Lawrence Place

Well, Lord, it turns out that I actually don't have another six items to place on this to-do list. "The Seven Immutable Laws of Numbered Lists" was just a (misleading) way to call attention to an important meeting. Guess I fooled you this time, didn't I?

Amen,

Fake-Rob