Quite frankly, I am battle-weary from fighting the lie that we need more data centers. I have written more than a dozen articles on this issue and was ready to move on until I read JD Rucker’s recent article labeling opponents of data centers as allies of Communist China.[1] The gloves are off. I’m back because now it’s personal.
Rucker is ignoring the big picture and maligning constitutional loving patriots, like me, by claiming:
“Much of the organized resistance carries a darker funding trail. Shanghai-based Marxist Neville Roy Singham has poured millions into American groups that agitate against AI infrastructure. OpenAI itself flagged Chinese-linked accounts pushing water and energy hysteria on social media.”
By the way J D, I am a constitution-loving, conservative. prolife patriot. I write for free and have never received a red cent to oppose data/surveillance centers.
Those Who Oppose Surveillance Centers Are Not Fringe
JD Rucker is completely out of touch with the country he claims to defend. The ordinary American is rising up against the tech billionaires who want to turn neighborhoods into industrial sacrifice zones for their AI empires. Resistance is spreading fast, and a recent poll shows 70 percent of Americans do not want a data center built near them.
Rucker’s smear campaign takes real local concerns about power bills, water/draughts, noise, pollution of the water supply, and farmland and wraps them in a red flag so anyone who questions these massive projects gets painted as a useful idiot for Beijing.
Rucker Leaves Out the Big Picture
Rucker leans on one Pennsylvania project and the current snapshot of existing data centers in Pennsylvania. He quotes Simon Tusha of TEC fusions saying data centers are the new utilities, the modern equivalent of railroads and water works. He also compared those who oppose the data centers to those who opposed the printing press:
“Every printing press had its protesters. Every data center will too. And history remembers neither.”
Then he uses one small example to support his rant, leaving out the big picture:
“Pennsylvania ranks second nationally in natural gas production and third in coal. All the state’s data centers together use about 2.5 percent of statewide energy. Water withdrawals from these facilities amount to a rounding error.”
The facts he leaves out it that those figures describe what is already built. They do not describe the wave of hyperscale centers now in the pipeline. Pennsylvania alone has dozens of proposed or advancing projects. Some single campuses are planned for 1 to 3 gigawatts. National forecasts show data center electricity demand climbing hard through the early 2030s. In the big mid-Atlantic power grid that covers Pennsylvania (known as PJM), that growth is already showing up in higher electricity capacity prices that get passed straight to ratepayers. One company’s claim of on-site gas generation does not erase the system-wide picture.
Water Is No “Rounding Error” When Hyperscale Centers Drain Local Wells
Rucker claims that “Water withdrawals from these facilities amount to a rounding error.” A rounding error means something so small it is barely worth noticing like the extra 3 cents on a $1,000 bill. That claim collapses the moment you look at the actual scale of what is being built. Current statewide withdrawals may look small next to power plants and public systems. But a single large hyperscale facility using evaporative cooling can still pull hundreds of thousands to millions of gallons a day. Multiply that across dozens of new campuses and the “rounding error” talk falls apart. Local communities are the ones who see the wells, the municipal systems, and the drought risk. They are not inventing hysteria. They are looking at the actual scale of what is being proposed. And I repeat: Those who oppose data centers are normal, God fearing, patriotic Americans, not aligned with Bejing. Grid reliability questions, higher residential rates, constant generator noise, and farmland conversion are not fringe worries. They are the daily reality for people living next to these sites.
His Argument is Not Analysis, It’s a Smear Campaign
You cannot take one Pennsylvania example, current statewide percentages, and a single company’s talking points, then declare that environmental objections “collapse under the numbers” and that organized resistance is mostly Chinese-funded. That is not analysis. That is a smear campaign. That is exactly what the left does when they don’t have a valid argument. They take a situation out of context and use it to slap a label on the opposition, leaving out the big picture. That is a rhetorical shortcut that insults every American who simply does not want his electric bill, water supply, or quiet neighborhood sacrificed for someone else’s AI dreams.
True Conservative Patriots are Fighting Back
Plenty of constitution-loving, patriotic conservatives are fighting these projects for the same reasons. They care about local control, privacy, ratepayer protection, property rights, and whether the grid can handle the load without sticking ordinary families with the bill.
Tom DeWeese of the American Policy Center has been sounding the alarm for months. He calls out the promoters’ claims and defends communities that refuse to surrender their land and resources. Read his work here: https://americanpolicy.org/author/tom-deweese/ https://thenewamerican.com/opinion/...r-promoters-are-lying-to-stop-our-opposition/
The Republican Party of Texas passed a formal resolution opposing additional open-loop data centers until real safeguards exist for the grid, water, and local communities. That is not fringe. That is the state party speaking. https://texasgop.org/resolution-on-the-establishment-of-additional-data-centers-in-texas/
In Pennsylvania, Republican State Senator Jarrett Coleman has introduced bills to give municipalities real authority over hyperscale projects and to end tax giveaways that shift costs onto everyone else. https://senatorcoleman.com/2026/04/...-concerns-on-data-centers-and-cost-of-living/
Republican State Senator Rosemary Brown has pushed a “Residents First” package that prioritizes local communities over open-ended corporate development. https://senatorbrown40.com/2026/02/...development-expresses-support-for-moratorium/
Oklahoma Republican State Senator Kendal Sacchieri filed legislation for a multi-year moratorium so the state can study the real impacts on infrastructure and resources before more centers lock in. https://oksenate.gov/press-releases...address-unknown-impacts-data-centers-oklahoma
Florida under Governor Ron DeSantis moved to protect ratepayers and strengthen local governments’ ability to say no to projects that would force ordinary customers to subsidize Big Tech power and water demands.
Numerous other conservatives and conservative websites are opposing the push for more data centers. These are not left-wing outlets. They are places where America-first writers warn that mega-corporations and distant capital are overriding the people who actually live on the land.
Rucker’s Article Treats Skepticism as Disloyalty.
Americans have every right to demand that new industrial loads pay their own way, respect local zoning, protect residential rates, and prove they will not drain the water or overload the grid. Pointing to Chinese influence networks does not erase the legitimate, grassroots resistance coming from everyday Americans who simply refuse to let their towns become sacrifice zones for Big Tech and their dreams of turning our country into a Technocracy.
The big picture is not a handful of existing centers using 2.5 percent of Pennsylvania’s power. The big picture is a rapid build-out of hyperscale facilities that will reshape energy, water, and land use for decades. Implying that the only people who notice this are funded by Shanghai is a cheap way to shut down debate. Constitutional patriots see the numbers, the local costs, and the loss of self-government and privacy. They are not the ones carrying water for China. They are the ones defending their own communities and the constitution. We deserve an apology from J D Rucker.
[1] https://jdrucker.com/far-left-heinz-funded-activists-target-4-billion-pennsylvania-data-center/
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[ H/T The Burning Platform ]
Rucker is ignoring the big picture and maligning constitutional loving patriots, like me, by claiming:
“Much of the organized resistance carries a darker funding trail. Shanghai-based Marxist Neville Roy Singham has poured millions into American groups that agitate against AI infrastructure. OpenAI itself flagged Chinese-linked accounts pushing water and energy hysteria on social media.”
By the way J D, I am a constitution-loving, conservative. prolife patriot. I write for free and have never received a red cent to oppose data/surveillance centers.
Those Who Oppose Surveillance Centers Are Not Fringe
JD Rucker is completely out of touch with the country he claims to defend. The ordinary American is rising up against the tech billionaires who want to turn neighborhoods into industrial sacrifice zones for their AI empires. Resistance is spreading fast, and a recent poll shows 70 percent of Americans do not want a data center built near them.
Rucker’s smear campaign takes real local concerns about power bills, water/draughts, noise, pollution of the water supply, and farmland and wraps them in a red flag so anyone who questions these massive projects gets painted as a useful idiot for Beijing.
Rucker Leaves Out the Big Picture
Rucker leans on one Pennsylvania project and the current snapshot of existing data centers in Pennsylvania. He quotes Simon Tusha of TEC fusions saying data centers are the new utilities, the modern equivalent of railroads and water works. He also compared those who oppose the data centers to those who opposed the printing press:
“Every printing press had its protesters. Every data center will too. And history remembers neither.”
Then he uses one small example to support his rant, leaving out the big picture:
“Pennsylvania ranks second nationally in natural gas production and third in coal. All the state’s data centers together use about 2.5 percent of statewide energy. Water withdrawals from these facilities amount to a rounding error.”
The facts he leaves out it that those figures describe what is already built. They do not describe the wave of hyperscale centers now in the pipeline. Pennsylvania alone has dozens of proposed or advancing projects. Some single campuses are planned for 1 to 3 gigawatts. National forecasts show data center electricity demand climbing hard through the early 2030s. In the big mid-Atlantic power grid that covers Pennsylvania (known as PJM), that growth is already showing up in higher electricity capacity prices that get passed straight to ratepayers. One company’s claim of on-site gas generation does not erase the system-wide picture.
Water Is No “Rounding Error” When Hyperscale Centers Drain Local Wells
Rucker claims that “Water withdrawals from these facilities amount to a rounding error.” A rounding error means something so small it is barely worth noticing like the extra 3 cents on a $1,000 bill. That claim collapses the moment you look at the actual scale of what is being built. Current statewide withdrawals may look small next to power plants and public systems. But a single large hyperscale facility using evaporative cooling can still pull hundreds of thousands to millions of gallons a day. Multiply that across dozens of new campuses and the “rounding error” talk falls apart. Local communities are the ones who see the wells, the municipal systems, and the drought risk. They are not inventing hysteria. They are looking at the actual scale of what is being proposed. And I repeat: Those who oppose data centers are normal, God fearing, patriotic Americans, not aligned with Bejing. Grid reliability questions, higher residential rates, constant generator noise, and farmland conversion are not fringe worries. They are the daily reality for people living next to these sites.
His Argument is Not Analysis, It’s a Smear Campaign
You cannot take one Pennsylvania example, current statewide percentages, and a single company’s talking points, then declare that environmental objections “collapse under the numbers” and that organized resistance is mostly Chinese-funded. That is not analysis. That is a smear campaign. That is exactly what the left does when they don’t have a valid argument. They take a situation out of context and use it to slap a label on the opposition, leaving out the big picture. That is a rhetorical shortcut that insults every American who simply does not want his electric bill, water supply, or quiet neighborhood sacrificed for someone else’s AI dreams.
True Conservative Patriots are Fighting Back
Plenty of constitution-loving, patriotic conservatives are fighting these projects for the same reasons. They care about local control, privacy, ratepayer protection, property rights, and whether the grid can handle the load without sticking ordinary families with the bill.
Tom DeWeese of the American Policy Center has been sounding the alarm for months. He calls out the promoters’ claims and defends communities that refuse to surrender their land and resources. Read his work here: https://americanpolicy.org/author/tom-deweese/ https://thenewamerican.com/opinion/...r-promoters-are-lying-to-stop-our-opposition/
The Republican Party of Texas passed a formal resolution opposing additional open-loop data centers until real safeguards exist for the grid, water, and local communities. That is not fringe. That is the state party speaking. https://texasgop.org/resolution-on-the-establishment-of-additional-data-centers-in-texas/
In Pennsylvania, Republican State Senator Jarrett Coleman has introduced bills to give municipalities real authority over hyperscale projects and to end tax giveaways that shift costs onto everyone else. https://senatorcoleman.com/2026/04/...-concerns-on-data-centers-and-cost-of-living/
Republican State Senator Rosemary Brown has pushed a “Residents First” package that prioritizes local communities over open-ended corporate development. https://senatorbrown40.com/2026/02/...development-expresses-support-for-moratorium/
Oklahoma Republican State Senator Kendal Sacchieri filed legislation for a multi-year moratorium so the state can study the real impacts on infrastructure and resources before more centers lock in. https://oksenate.gov/press-releases...address-unknown-impacts-data-centers-oklahoma
Florida under Governor Ron DeSantis moved to protect ratepayers and strengthen local governments’ ability to say no to projects that would force ordinary customers to subsidize Big Tech power and water demands.
Numerous other conservatives and conservative websites are opposing the push for more data centers. These are not left-wing outlets. They are places where America-first writers warn that mega-corporations and distant capital are overriding the people who actually live on the land.
Rucker’s Article Treats Skepticism as Disloyalty.
Americans have every right to demand that new industrial loads pay their own way, respect local zoning, protect residential rates, and prove they will not drain the water or overload the grid. Pointing to Chinese influence networks does not erase the legitimate, grassroots resistance coming from everyday Americans who simply refuse to let their towns become sacrifice zones for Big Tech and their dreams of turning our country into a Technocracy.
The big picture is not a handful of existing centers using 2.5 percent of Pennsylvania’s power. The big picture is a rapid build-out of hyperscale facilities that will reshape energy, water, and land use for decades. Implying that the only people who notice this are funded by Shanghai is a cheap way to shut down debate. Constitutional patriots see the numbers, the local costs, and the loss of self-government and privacy. They are not the ones carrying water for China. They are the ones defending their own communities and the constitution. We deserve an apology from J D Rucker.
[1] https://jdrucker.com/far-left-heinz-funded-activists-target-4-billion-pennsylvania-data-center/
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[ H/T The Burning Platform ]
