Mad Uncle Bernie: Right or wrong on data centers?

Bernie Sanders wants to put the brakes on America’s AI data center boom. But while the U.S. debates moratoriums, China is building, and the real problem may not be data centers themselves, but how we power them. This is the debate we should actually be having. Follow me on social media Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584036371719 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/epluribusunum/ Instagram: instagram.com/epluribusunum.vip/ SOURCES & CITATIONS Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/03/25/bernie-sanders-artificial-intelligence-claude/ Sanders: https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-ocasio-cortez-announce-ai-data-center-moratorium-act/ Bill: https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/AI-Data-Center-Moratorium.-FINAL-Text.pdf S.4214: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4214 H.R.9442: https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/media/press-releases/ocasio-cortez-introduces-house-version-ai-data-center-moratorium-act H.R.9442 text: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9442/text ITIF: https://itif.org/publications/2026/03/26/the-sanders-aoc-data-center-moratorium-doesnt-add-up-says-center-for-data-innovation/ Axios: https://www.axios.com/2026/04/05/data-centers-midterms-state-bans-bills-ai Brookings: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/data-center-backlash-signals-a-fight-over-ai-power/ NPR: https://www.npr.org/2026/08/08/g-s1-137853/data-centers-primaries-midterms Wisconsin Watch: https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/08/wisconsin-election-governor-race-data-centers-energy-center-stage-democrat-republican/ Daily Reporter: https://dailyreporter.com/2026/07/31/wisconsin-voters-largely-oppose-data-centers/ Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Data_center-related_ballot_measures,_2026 Tribune Chronicle: https://www.tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2026/08/ramaswamy-acton-take-stances-on-data-centers/ Tiffin Ohio News: https://tiffinohio.net/posts/ramaswamy-data-center-flip-free-electricity-promise/ VPM: https://www.vpm.org/elections/2025-10-28/election-2025-data-centers-earle-sears-spanberger-dominion-clean-virginia Virginia Mercury: https://virginiamercury.com/2026/07/30/loudoun-county-other-virginia-localities-consider-hitting-the-brakes-on-data-center-development/ E&E News: https://www.eenews.net/articles/virginia-girds-for-data-center-focused-house-races/ WFYI: https://www.wfyi.org/wfyi-news/2026-07-13/data-center-moratorium-advances-for-indianapolis Mississippi Today: https://mississippitoday.org/2025/11/24/southaven-residents-fear-pollution-complain-of-noise-from-elon-musks-xai-data-center-turbines/ Mississippi Free Press: https://www.mississippifreepress.org/southaven-residents-sue-xai-alleging-near-constant-noise-from-gas-turbines-is-causing-harm/ Technology.org: https://www.technology.org/2026/07/15/xai-59-unpermitted-gas-turbines-southaven-colossus-2/ Mississippi Today: https://mississippitoday.org/2026/05/25/elon-musk-xai-dater-center-mississippi/ Utility Dive: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/doj-intervenes-xai-data-center-gas-turbine-lawsuit/823267/ Electrek: https://electrek.co/2026/06/17/trump-doj-xai-gas-turbines-memphis-national-security/ Earthjustice: https://earthjustice.org/press/2026/trump-administration-attempts-massive-power-grab-in-defense-of-musks-company-xai SELC: https://www.selc.org/news/inside-memphis-fight-against-xai/ Memphis Flyer: https://www.memphisflyer.com/xai-adds-additional-turbines-to-southaven-site PolitiFact: https://politifact.com/factchecks/2026/jun/12/elizabeth-warren/data-centers-rising-electricity-costs/ Heatmap: https://heatmap.news/energy/data-centers-electricity-prices-blame IER: https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/the-grid/the-numbers-dont-lie-ier-analysis-shows-data-centers-are-not-driving-up-electricity-prices/ Reason: https://reason.com/2025/12/23/the-data-center-price-myth/ Reason: https://reason.com/2026/05/06/the-war-on-data-centers-is-here-and-it-doesnt-add-up/ Reason: https://reason.com/2026/06/08/the-best-way-to-keep-data-centers-from-driving-up-electricity-costs/ Fortune: https://fortune.com/2026/07/14/data-centers-23-billion-electricity-bills/ Fortune: https://fortune.com/2026/07/26/data-centers-electricity-costs-cheaper-7billion-buildout-ai-demand/ Reason: https://reason.com/2026/01/12/data-centers-use-lots-of-electricity-this-bill-would-let-them-go-off-the-grid/ Warren: https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-hawley-lead-bipartisan-push-for-mandatory-energy-use-reporting-requirements-for-data-centers Hawley: https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-blumenthal-introduce-bill-to-prevent-data-centers-from-increasing-electricity-costs-for-americans Photos Shelly Prevost from San Francisco, United States, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0