I work on submarine nuclear plants...by rate I'm a nuclear trained electronics technician, and commonly stand watch as a reactor operator. And I can tell you the chances of a TMI-type accident on a Navy nuclear power plant (sub or surface) are infintesimal. To make that sort of accident occur we'd have to actively try to break things. I'm not just saying it for publicity sake...Navy reactors are designed to be extremely safe, reliable, and are protected to the extreme. You won't find engineering with more safety features or design margins anywhere short of (possibly) NASA. I'd say we're beyond them, too. In the over 50 years of Navy nuclear power, we've never had a core damaging accident (termed a "reactor accident", i.e. a TMI or Chernobyl). They are made that way for a reason...realibility under combat conditions, and safety of the crew. You don't want to go hundreds of feet under the ocean with a power plant that is dangerous. I'd feel safer, frankly, standing watch in the engineroom of a nuclear submarine than on an airliner, or behind the wheel (Hawaii may be paradise, but the drivers here are, well, scary at times). As for security, we pretty much handle that ourselves. I've tied up in places like Bahrain in the Persian Gulf and anchored in Thailand...I'd not be too worried about security in an American city. I think some people operate under great misconceptions, not only about the issue of the power plant but the issue of military members/units and voicing an opinion on things like the Iraq war. I'm not in favor of the war myself, personally, but there's a difference between disagreeing with a policy and being supportive of those in the military. Showing support for the "troops" doesn't mean one is in favor of the actions of an administration. I don't know if that was a motivator in the decision or not, as I only read about it recently, but if so I'd say it was a misplaced concern. Robert Schumacher http://robschumacher.blogspot.com Member of USS OLYMPIA (SSN-717) crew.

Yes, this country is a product of political protest. No Taxation Without Representation is the theme tune. People originally came to America as religious exiles however.

If you think that we have (or ever had) democracy, you're living in a cloud of illusion and denial. We don't have anything close to equality in America. Free and open exchange of ideas? Maybe. But not if corporate media has anything to do about it.