Running Los Alamos

The most telling quote is this,
"On a deeper level, the struggle is over Los Alamos's mission - whether it should turn away from its traditional role as a center of scientific excellence toward a narrower one focused on weapons design and production, in essence a bomb factory. "

It you change it from a mecca of learning into just another corporate lab, wither it is manufacturing bombs or not, your going to drive out the people you want the most. If the government does give it to a defense contractor it will be the same thing as buying a company and firing all the senior personnel.

Those who favor "privatizing" Los Alamos in the name of capitalism need to understand that this is not a black-and-white issue. For example, Sandia National Laboratories just announced that it has provided some helpful engineering concepts to Petty Farm and Ranch in Clovis, N.M. Perhaps the matter of Los Alamos is better understood in terms of the type of free market economy that we want to have. Clearly, we need to conduct some research for research's sake and provide technical assistance to small business. If we turn Los Alamos into just a bomb factory, we lose both.

I have no problem with privatization. I have a problem with turning one of our preeminent R&D facilities into a bomb factory. I have no problem with bomb factories, just build it someplace nearby and let the Los Alamos scientists do what they do best, research.

I was offered to work there once and glad I turned it down.