Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Help from our friends?

Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2000 | 10 a.m.

Brian Greenspun is editor of the Las Vegas Sun.

Your money or your life!

There was a time when that choice used to evoke laughter throughout this country. It was part of the Jack Benny show on yesteryear television. He would hear the question -- usually at gunpoint -- and then, in characteristic Benny style, when asked again by the anxious would-be robber, he'd reply, "I'm thinking, I'm thinking."

Jack Benny was well-known for his unwillingness to part with a penny. The funny part, of course, is that everyone else could answer that question in a heartbeat, and still can. That Jack Benny always had trouble making the decision is what made people laugh.

Well, to quote another very funny fellow, Yogi Berra, it is deja vu all over again. This time, though, it ain't funny. In fact, what is happening to the people in the state of Nevada is anything but laughable, although I am sure there are some who find our predicament quite humorous. None, however, in Nevada, I trust.

We have always known that the nuclear power industry has too many billions of dollars invested in yesterday's power plants and tomorrow's new generation of nuclear reactors to allow its minions in Congress to deny its bidding. That bidding, of course, is to find a way to send to Nevada as soon as possible all of the high-level nuclear waste from across this country and bury it just 90 miles from what will soon be home to 2 million people in Southern Nevada. We call that place Las Vegas.

By the way, just in case it has escaped anyone's consciousness, we also play host to some 34 million visitors each year, with significant hopes that that number increases steadily each year to keep these marvelous new hotel rooms that have been built full. Many of those folks come from areas that cry out to move the radioactive waste from their own back yards. Keep that in mind when we try to invite them back to visit Las Vegas, as well as their nuke waste, in the years ahead.

OK, it is no secret where I am going with this. We are being put upon by the rest of our countrymen in their quest to get what they don't want out of their back yards and into ours -- regardless of the cost, human or otherwise. Science, which should be the only determinant, is the last thing that is being considered in the politicians' quest to get the radioactive poison off of their plate and onto ours. Those could be dinner plates, mind you.

There is a wee bit of good news, though. We have a congressional delegation that is so far determined to do all it can to make sure the nuclear industry's will is not done unto us. Our people have had a great deal of help these past seven years because President Clinton has made good on his promise to veto any legislation from the Congress that forgoes science in favor of political expediency. But the GOP-controlled House and Senate have learned from their mistakes, and one of these days they'll get it right. That may be the bad news that always accompanies the good.

And therein lies the Jack Benny dilemma that, until recently, always got a laugh from me.

The powers that be in this state have made hay of their claim that they are in tight with the folks who run the House and Senate. The gamblers are so assured of their position with Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and other Republican leaders that they seem content to rely on those people when the chips are down. Well, the chips are being played and I don't see a GOP savior in sight.

In fact, it is Lott himself who is pushing his minions in the Senate to get this nuclear waste problem handled in as short an order as possible. Nowhere have I heard him make one sound that could be interpreted as anti-nuke dump sentiment. Quite the contrary.

It seems to me that if we really had friends in high places, they would show up to help us every once in a while. At least we should expect them to, don't you think? But, alas, maybe they have. Unfortunately, the gambling fraternity may have made the wrong choice when asked the question that always stumped Jack Benny and let it off the hook.

You see, at the same time the whole world is trying to dump its death-laden garbage on us, there are folks who are trying their best to attack the gaming industry itself in an effort to hurt us and help their own political fortunes. The stupid notion, for example, that all will be well in the NCAA if legal betting goes away is just the latest in a long line of dumb ideas designed to placate certain constituencies at the expense of Nevadans. The National Gambling Impact Study Commission was another one and taxing our industry -- and ours only -- for some other notable cause keeps the list growing.

The one constant throughout is that the people leading the charge are our friends in the GOP. The same people the gamblers in town claim will be there to help because they understand us.

The other constant, of course, should go without saying. Money.

Could it be that the people in whom Nevadans have entrusted their futures -- those in our single most important industry -- have turned away from that which will kill us and our children in return for a promise of help in those matters that will only cost us money? Could it be that we have allowed our futures to be traded away for a little peace in the present?

I know that is an awful question to ask and one which implies the worst of motives to some very good and decent people. People who, to be charitable, may not really understand what is at stake. If that is true, I apologize for even thinking the question.

But what if it is not? What if the answer is far closer to yes than no. Should I apologize then? To whom will Nevadans look for help when it is too late? To whom will we all look when the die is finally cast?

The question is being asked: Our money or our lives? We shouldn't even have to think about the answer.

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