And now for another installment in our continuing saga, Jesus Mother Mary Joseph, Where Do These People Come From? Today's star is Rep. Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains), who's come up with his own ideas for TVA's massive toxic ash spill. He says it was caused by an earthquake, but not to worry. Arsenic is "not that bad." Though people near the site are suddenly coming down with all kinds of health problems, Niceley dismisses TVA's culpability. The Emory River is now loaded with dead fish and toxic waste, and has been measuring arsenic levels at 150 times what's safe for human consumption. Yet Niceley claims it's not any more toxic than your standard farm field. Moreover, he's blaming the state, not TVA, for the cleanup. In some lost universe where men still carry clubs and drool openly in public, his reasoning makes a lot of sense. But here on Earth, you get the sneaking feeling that even people from Mississippi are laughing at us.
