Knoxville, Tennessee State Representative Frank Nicely (R-Strawberry Plains) is the kind of guy who says what he thinks - no matter what the facts say.
For example, while introducing legislation in the 104th Session of the Tennesee General Assembly to combat the deadly scourge of eco-terrorism in south Knoxville, Rep. Nicely stated that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was "a leaderless terrorism group - they just kind of spring up sporadically." PETA, which has offices located at 501 Front Street in Norfolk Va., is led by the well-known activist and author Ingrid Newkirk.
Rep. Nicely also stated PETA were "left-wing eco-greenies" that "drive spikes into logs so it will knock the teeth out of the sawmills." When asked if he knew what the acronym PETA stood for, Nicely replied "People Eating Tasty Animals." The video of Nicely introducing his bill - with animal noises and explosions added - is posted on line here.
According to the official Tennessee General Assembly website, Rep. Nicely is a member of the "National Riffle Association." At first I thought that meant he liked to paddle his canoe in the rapids, but judging by his comments about PETA, I guess it's just a typo.
Now Rep. Nicely has uncovered the real causes of the recent 1 billion gallon TVA coal ash disaster near Kingston over the Christmas holiday - turns out it wasn't careless neglect or gross incompetence by TVA - no, it was an earthquake.
Rep. Nicely says that "they think that earthquake got that forty-acre pond, fifty-five feet deep of this sludge just got it a-quivering."
But what about all the arsenic in the coal ash that was accidentally dumped by TVA into the nearby Emory River? Federal Toxic Release Inventory data shows that in just one year, TVA placed 45,000 quivering pounds of arsenic compounds in their Kingston ash mountain. Since the Kingston plant has been in operation for over 50 years, it seems probable that over 1 million pounds of arsenic compounds were dumped into the river during this disaster. The EPA has found arsenic in the Emory River downstream of the spill site at 150 times the safe drinking water standards.
But Rep. Nicely assures the public not to worry: "The stuffs not really hazardous .... well, it doesnt have any more arsenic than farmland has ... it's not that bad."
Isn't it great to know that Tennessee taxpayers have elected Representatives like Frank Nicely looking out for the public health and welfare?
Maybe Tennesseeans could even adopt a new state motto. Instead of the boring "Agriculture and Commerce" they could change it to "Tennessee: It's not that bad."