Utah vs. the NSA

There's a deep schism in public opinion over whether: A) the NSA is protecting America from terrorists or B) the NSA's data collection is an unconstitutional threat to liberty. Edward Snowden has been at the epicenter of this controversy, and there is a deep division within both political parties as to whether Snowden is a brave hero or a turncoat traitor.

I'm surprised by what's going on in Utah. Their state legislature is threatening to (eventually) cut off water access to the NSA's new $1.7 billion data center in Bluffdale, UT. The building requires lots of water (upwards of 1 million gallons per day) to cool the facility's computers. (The machines consume 65 megawatts of electricity. 65 MW is enough electricity to power 33,000 homes.)

The City of Bluffdale has already agreed to provide the water. A bill gaining support in the state legislature would grandfather in Bluffdale’s current agreements, but when those agreements expire, the bill would prohibit further cooperation with the NSA. It also would prohibit any other Utah cities or water districts from signing new agreements with the NSA. That this bill is popular in the legislature is especially interesting because the Republicans currently have super-majorities in both the House and Senate. They control the House by a margin of 61-14 and the Senate by 24-5.

It wasn't that long ago when hampering the NSA's efforts would be considered an un-Amerikan activity that would help the terrorists kill us all. But times have changed: it's no longer considered unpatriotic to be skeptical of government overreach.

This might just be a ploy by the Mormons to get polygamy approved by the feds?

Legalize plural marriage and the water problems go away.

I get a trade journal and there have been articles about the guys working out there, while others are in denial about it even being built, calling it a "conspiracy theory". [Lead a horse to water]

Last I read, it was a 40meg facility which I still thought enormous. I spent years on Kodiak Island and when the fish cannery's were consuming peak load it was around 23meg. That was with 10k residents thrown in the mix with assorted business's, including taverns which is saying something on the 2nd largest Island in America. Kodiak has been dubbed "a quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem".

The feds will not be denied. If this were the right forum I would place a wager on it. They will divert the Colorado River and pump it up hill if necessary. To deny them any request is after all "un-patriotic".

Or maybe like the nwo has done with the Masaii, they could just have everyone in Utah move? Just write them a check and with AZ, the last one working, the poor guy will have to make good on it with his fed. witholding.

Nevada shut off water to Yucca Mountain so the federal government just trucked it in. However, I'm sure they needed less than this facility in Utah.