Scattershots – 23oct19 (updated 26oct19)

George Rebane

Gov Newsom is outraged about the price of gasoline in California.  He doesn’t understand why current prices in the state are well into the $4/gal range.  In the best wisdom he and his can muster, they all accuse the oil companies for price fixing as the answer – another swig from the ‘capitalism is bad’ bottle satisfies everyone in Sacramento.  None of those dumb schiffs have a clue about CA’s draconian fuel regulations, about our having to make our own gasoline from the one or two refineries that the econuts have not yet purged from the state with the most cars in the nation, about the cap-and-trade (2013) and other anti-CO2 programs we have going in addition to raising gas taxes again in 2018.  We are paying $1.50 more than the country’s median price per gallon.  Now the butt stupid Dems led by Newsom are going to “protect the public” by demanding that the state’s Energy Commission start an investigation on the matter, in addition to promising to launch legal actions against gasoline producers, distributors, and retailers.  (more here)

All this to a constant drumbeat from Sacramento that calls for raising fuel prices so as to drive Californians to ditch their gas-powered cars.  The 23oct19 WSJ reports, “The Governor last month ordered revenue to be redirected from the last gas tax hike, which was supposed to fund highway construction, to projects that ‘reverse the trend of increased fuel consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.’  So Californians in the future can look forward to paying more to drive on deteriorating roads as they head to homes without electricity due to blackouts. How long will it take California voters to figure out that these are problems made in Sacramento by politicians?” (emphasis mine)  The Democrats feel sanguine that the answer is ‘never’ since they have assured that teaching the necessary critical thinking skills to their voter base were banished from our schools almost two generations ago.  

‘Apoplectic Democrats’.  A reader and correspondent who long-ago predicted the ‘Advent of Michelle’ (also known as 'The Second Coming') is now chortling in his beer.  The more centrist Dems (yes, there still are some of them remaining on the DNC) are going into panic mode about the make-up of their candidate clown car, and more so because their grass roots constituents have drunk the Kool-Aid about the likely ones from whom they will choose their nominee.  (For confirmation, read the progressive’s comments in these pages.)  So, since Hillary continues to blow her remaining tires, the DNC leaders are casting their eye on the former first lady who has a very recognizable last name.

Yesterday’s NYT and New Yorker had “articles about how centrist and establishment Democrats are apoplectic over what is happening in the Democratic Primaries. (more here)  Biden is fading, mentally and politically. He’s hanging on for dear life to a presumption coming into the primaries that he had what it takes, but he doesn’t. Bernie and Warren are viewed as gateway drugs to general election disaster. (For a brutal takedown of Warren’s electoral chances from a progressive view, read Why Criticize Warren? in Current Affairs.)  The others in the race all have problems, from stone cold boring to non-starters. Kamala Harris is the biggest disappointment, there’s no there there.  And there’s one person they both note who could walk away with the nomination, but doesn’t appear to want it.”  (standing ovation please)  Enter Michelle.

'Gentlemen, start your generators!' is the word from our politically punitive PG&E.  Power shut-offs are scheduled to start this (23oct19) afternoon.

[24oct19 update]  The relentless spread of dumbth in America is picking up speed.  These pages have documented the destruction of our country’s public education in the hands of progressive teachers unions and liberal politicians working hard to maintain their plantations of minority constituents over the last half century.  A just-released poll shows us that the First Amendment and free speech are in the sights of Millennials (“the dumbest generation”), and to a lesser extent supported by GenXers and Baby Boomers. (more here) Nearly 60% of Millennials think that the Constitution “goes too far in allowing hate speech in modern America”.  It should now be amended so that “government should be able to take action against newspapers and TV stations that publish content that is biased, inflammatory, or false”.  These are people who have passed way beyond the tipping point of being able to sustain our democratic republic.  All this confirms that the latest generations have absolutely no understanding of the concept of free speech, and will gladly vote themselves into tyranny. 

[25oct19 update] To confirm statewide assessments (starting with Gov Newsom) that PG&E management continues to be incompetent and corrupt, we read the report of the San Diego power company (SDG&E) that years ago anticipated the potential damage to their infrastructure from weather and fire.  They responded by burying major transmission lines, and reconfigured their distribution network into smaller clusters that could be more surgically shutdown should the need arise.  PGE, on the other hand, neglected all of this, paid their execs handsomely, successfully lobbied politicians and the PUC to turn a blind eye to their malfeasance, and is now forced to execute consumer shutdowns over large areas in which only a minuscule part experiences ‘high’ winds, the overwhelming remainder experiencing dead calm to light airs.  Meanwhile, we in the foothills await yer another blackout starting tomorrow.

Comments

[Walt]

Is it ANY wonder why Gavin Nursace doesn't understand why fuel is so high? It can NEVER be because of Liberalism in the state.
Like ever increasing TAXES?????

[Show-Me Kid]

You hit it Dr. Rebane. How often did we hear that all the SB1 money was going to Transportation before its passage? Just another Newson going against the will of the peopel of this state?

How about the Gov's response to the blackouts? He's shocked, shocked, I say, to learn of the hardships on people in the affected areas as he blow dries his hair in his mansion in Sacramento powered by SMUD.

Why has the Verrrrry pretty GAvin not done anything to prepare for the problems from the blackout? On the east coast, if a hurricane is coming, they start moving supplies, water, fuel, etc., towards the to be affected areas. Where is the gov's Office of Emergency Services and what are they doing to be prepared? Nothing.

Where is the national card and why have they not been called to help? The military can power an army or air force base in the middle of the desert or wherever and power it with generators, why hasn't the governor called them in and placed them in certain areas for evac centers for folks?

Speaking of elected officials, why isn't Brian Dahle pounding on Gavin's door, asking for help for his district in the coming days? Oh, that's right, he's out campaigning with his wife so she can be an assemblyperson. And why hasn't there been a peep from her or her opponent to the gov to try to get some help on these areas? (The wife who is basically a republican Hillary Clinton, my husband was an assemblyperson, so I should be too).

Has the county supervisors done anything to get assistance up here? Where is the Red Cross even? Good grief, people, this is the new normal. Get some prep work done beforehand.

[Walt]

Just a few minutes before it's MAD MAX, Thunderdome.

[Don Bessee]

Newsom wont read this -

The price at the pump was more than $4 a gallon in Vista, Calif., when Scott Hissem recently embarked on a trip to Texas to celebrate his 40th birthday. When the delivery associate for Amazon.com Inc. arrived in the Lone Star state, he got an unexpected present: Gasoline cost just $2 and change.
The gap has Mr. Hissem considering a move to escape California’s high cost of living.

“It makes life hard,” Mr. Hissem said of California, which is the most populous U.S. state and the one with the highest gasoline prices. “You can’t go out and do the things you want to do.”

Mr. Hissem’s journey highlights an unpleasant truth for many Americans, even at a time of abundant global oil supplies: Regional differences in taxes, environmental rules and access to energy infrastructure can translate into large seasonal swings in gasoline prices.

Prices have surged this fall in California and other West Coast states following outages at several refineries in the region. Analysts said the coast is generally vulnerable because of its limited pipelines and refineries that turn oil into fuel products such as gasoline. Higher gas taxes in some states aiming to fund local infrastructure projects and varying pricing strategies by energy companies also drive gaps.

The volatility isn’t an isolated event. The standard deviation of gas prices—a measure of how much each state’s price varies from the national average—has hit its highest level this year in data going back to 2005, according to price tracker GasBuddy. The figure has risen in each of the past three years.

Refineries often shut down at this time of year because gasoline demand tends to fall seasonally and refiners start making a different grade of gasoline for the winter, but unplanned maintenance issues can roil prices in coastal regions. Prices have surged above $4 a gallon in California and have also climbed nearby in Washington, Oregon and Nevada, though not as drastically.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/rising-california-gasoline-prices-highlight-growing-divide-in-u-s-11571832001

;-)

[George Rebane]

Power off at 330pm on Cement Hill.

[Walt]

Here we go again,,, just blame big oil. NOT
proggy regulation and butt reaming taxation.
https://dailycaller.com/2019/10/23/california-gas-prices-newsom/
"California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked his attorney general Monday to investigate oil companies for conspiring to keep gas prices artificially high. Yet years of tax increases, pricey fees and a lack of infrastructure in California are more to blame than a vast conspiracy concocted by big oil. The Democratic governor is facing heat as prices go up and Californians lose power."

[Bill Tozer]

Gas prices from the road. Nashville: $2:09
Cheyene: $2:69
Outside Denver: $2:63

[scenes]

re: BillT

But just thing how smoggy that Nashville gas is.

There's probably a song in that.

[Bill Tozer]

PS:
The roads were smooth as silk on top of that....

[Bill Tozer]

Re: Update
Just like on our progressive campuses (campi?) and HR departments throughout our nation's govrnments big and small, "community standards" are usurping 'free speech'. No one should feel oppresed. Our community values dictate a welcoming enviroment for all. Read 'em and weep

https://reason.com/2019/10/22/seattle-math-oppressive-cultural-woke/

[George Rebane]

BillT 1030am - Thank you for that link Mr Tozer. We will have more to say about yet another ratchet of liberal insanity. Safe travels.

[Bill Tozer]

@ 11:23 am. Oh, I back home now to enjoy $4:04/gal and no power on duch a beatiful day. Great excuse not to laundy. :)

Maybe on topic for the update...For the first time in my life, I feel a bit sorry for Zuckenberg, the rich white guy. Man, how does Steve F. get away with it?

http://dlvr.it/RGsMCs

[Walt]

Bill. Just take the laundry down to the river and beat it on a flat rock. Like to good ol' days. Use PLENTY of Tide. Soap suds on the river are pretty this time of year.

[Bill Tozer]

Mr. Walt

No need to pound too much on flat rock, albeit it works great and nothing beats Tide. But, my good fine fellow, I have new fangeled contrapion that got me up with the times.

They won't call me Washboard Willy fer nuthin'. The little lady swings a mean stick when beating the rugs. I know. She rolled me up in one once. :)

[Bill Tozer]

Darn, power just came on

[Walt]

We are back into the 21ST century.
Got it back @ 8:30. And it wasn't even a half hour, before the phone rings and that automated message saying or power may be cut AGAIN due to high winds.
This keeps getting better and better.

[Gregory]

I think this piece belongs here:

It ends with
"I have no illusions about Trump’s way of engaging and debating people and why it coarsens politics. But discrediting and even dehumanizing your opposition was the dominant form of politicking before Trump came along, and that was obvious to voters no matter how much the media and administrative state tried hide it or give it a patina of respectability. If you’re continually surprised we’ve arrived at a point where much of the country doesn’t regard Trump’s rhetoric as disqualifying, you haven’t been paying attention."
https://thefederalist.com/2019/10/24/why-its-not-surprising-voters-dont-think-trumps-rhetoric-is-disqualifying/

[Barry Pruett]

Great article Gregory. So true.

[Bill Tozer]

[24oct19 update] The relentless spread of dumbth in America is picking up speed.

Mediocrity for All!

“Indeed, to some educational observers, this is déjà vu all over again (to quote the immortal Yogi Berra). As Chester E. Finn Jr., distinguished senior fellow at of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, argued in a controversial essay for Education Week, self-esteem education has not disappeared, but rather continues to thrives “across a broad swath of America’s K-12 schooling, supported by foundation grants, federal funding, and both nonprofit and for-profit advocacy groups”—except the name has changed “to social-emotional learning.” Educational theorists of the 1960s reasoned, based on pure supposition, that subpar academic performance resulted from subpar self-esteem. Ergo, they surmised, rectifying that deficit would pay dramatic dividends in overall educational excellence, especially among at-risk students. One major task force report “ascribed ‘near-magical powers to self-esteem,’” writes Finn, insisting that it “inoculates [children] against the lures of crime, violence, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, child abuse, chronic welfare dependency, and educational failure.”

“But these would-be educational reformers encountered an immediate stumbling block: Any excellence that surrounded underperforming students might get in the way of the inspirational vibe administrators hoped to establish. It would do little good to sell the mantra that “you’re all winners!” if students could simply glance at their test papers or report cards, compare to those around them, and realize that they were plainly losers. So, administrators decided that they had to de-emphasize excellence in order to achieve the self-esteem benefits that would drive excellence. They regarded this incoherence as just a “temporary” concession to a paramount goal.“

https://quillette.com/2019/10/25/mediocrity-for-all/

[Walt]

And the LIB press comes unglued.
https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2019/10/25/malcolm-nance-trump-may-be-after-obama-biden-clinton-brennan-ultimate-distraction-to-steal-an-election/
"“WARNING: I heard a DC rumor fm a close Trump source in May 2017 he wanted to charge Obama, Biden, Brennen & Clinton w/treason over Russia. Now with Barr as AG this may be crazy but viable. It could incite civil unrest…the ultimate distraction to help steal an election,” Nance wrote on Twitter."

[Walt]

And another one from the dirty rotten bastard bin.
“Those changes added an unequivocal statement that ‘Flynn stated he did not’ — in response to whether Mr. Flynn had asked Kislyak to vote in a certain manner or slow down the UN vote [on sanctions],” Powell wrote. “This is a deceptive manipulation because, as the notes of the agents show, Mr. Flynn was not even sure he had spoken to Russia/Kislyak on the issue. He had talked to dozens of countries.”

Powell also alleged that agents added: “or if Kislyak described any Russian response to a request by Flynn.”

“That question and answer does not appear in the notes, yet it was made into a criminal offense,” Powell wrote. “The draft also shows that the ag
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fbi-agents-manipulated-flynn-file-as-clapper-urged-kill-shot-court-filing

[scenes]

Walt@7:36AM

So the people trying to steal an election are accusing Trump of trying to steal an election.

lol. Got it.

Bummer that everyone can't just settle down and wait for 2020, but then all of the crazies are too invested into their craziness to back down. You wouldn't believe the things I hear Trump accused of by local people with totally straight faces.

All this because the guy has done a slightly better job (but still feeble) of immigration enforcement, doesn't champion men in the women's bathroom, and doesn't make speeches about global warming. Look around, and aside from the stock market going up, things haven't really changed that much. US greenhouse emissions are about the same (and an ever shrinking proportion of world totals), no new wars, world trade keeps on keepin' on.

It's a shame that the lunatics want to start a civil war over basically a nothing burger, but maybe it's all just a combination of the new dynamics of social media and an addiction to outrage. It would have all happened in any case.

[Gregory]

toes 527am

Good article. I found this to the point:
"As psychologist and author Michael J. Hurd once told me, “Kids don’t feel better about themselves and then do better in school. They do better in school, then feel better about themselves.” Educational researchers also learned that those temporary relaxations in standards had to be institutionalized systemically after students who were shunted on to the next level couldn’t do the higher-level work, either. The fallout lingers: today, the number of incoming college freshmen who need remedial courses in order to handle college work hovers at an abysmal 50 percent."

"Math class is hard!"-Barbie
"There is no royal road to geometry"-Euclid

[Bill Tozer]

scenes @ 8:09 am penned:

“So the people trying to steal an election are accusing Trump of trying to steal an election.

lol. Got it.”
————————
“Donald Trump is being politically lynched for suggesting he is being politically lynched. But then I repeat myself!” —-Mark Alexander

[Bill Tozer]

Re: ‘Apoplectic Democrats‘

From Woke to Broke: Yes, Sanders and Warren are gateway drugs for disaster....and they are not alone.

“The fact is there is no more money. Period," says Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“She's talking about the teachers' strike that has paralyzed her city's public schools—enrollment 360,000—for the past week. The public employee union is demanding more: more money for salaries (only eight states pay teachers more than Illinois), more support staff (Illinois ranks first in spending on administrators), more teachers per student. Their cause has attracted national attention. Elizabeth Warren joined the picket line.

“Which is ironic. Lightfoot is not some stingy Republican. Nor is she a centrist Democrat like her predecessor Rahm Emanuel. She's as progressive as you can get. But she now finds herself in the same position as many of her political brethren: facing criticism for failing to reconcile the contradictions in the left's agenda.

“Lightfoot has discovered that there is no limit to the appetite of the constituencies generated by government spending. She has learned that the special interests bargaining for higher benefits also desire policies that make such benefits unattainable. I hope she's taking notes.”

https://freebeacon.com/columns/from-woke-to-broke/

[scenes]

re: BillT@11:21AM quotes

"Elizabeth Warren joined the picket line."

She should demand that teachers make as much per semester hour taught as she does.

Hold on, time for a beer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWehvtOL_VI

[Bill Tozer]

GOP Has A Choice: Fight Anti-Trump Coup Effort Or Surrender Government To Democrats

“Republicans have two choices for how to handle the Resistance's latest attempt to undo the 2016 election through dramatic means. They can sit there and take it, or they can fight.

Some Republicans can be counted on to sit there and take it. This approach entails allowing Democrats to hold secret hearings where they handpick snippets to leak to a compliant media in service of setting a narrative. After the leaks are published by the compliant corporate press, these Republicans can impotently push back on some of it.

The other approach is to learn something from the previous few years. Trump’s surprising election was followed by attempts to delegitimize the Republican victory in 2016 by claiming it was due to “fake news,” desperate efforts to overturn the Electoral College, anti-Trump riots in Portland and D.C., the Clinton-directed claims that Russia “hacked” the election, the Russia collusion conspiracy theory, the release of the completely ridiculous dossier alleging that Trump was a Russian agent, the whisper campaign that the truth of Trump’s collusion was so bad that he might not be inaugurated. Yes, all this was before the inauguration.

Within minutes of the inauguration, the Washington Post published that the “campaign to impeach President Trump has begun.” The primary impeachment effort was the Russia collusion hoax, in which the Resistance embraced — or pretended to believe — a patently absurd theory that Trump is a secret Russian agent who stole the 2016 election in a brazen act of sedition.

Corporate media outlets published and broadcast story after story supporting this theory, which was later shown to have been invented and secretly funded as a Clinton campaign operation alongside the Democratic National Committee. Foreign policy was put on hold, key administration advisors were fired and sidelined, investigations into whether former Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions was a Russian spy were launched. Following the firing of the mendacious and corrupt James Comey as FBI director, the Resistance forced the launch of an intrusive and unstoppable special counsel probe, ostensibly headed by Robert Mueller.

Years later — after the special counsel had stymied the Trump administration, fed the collusion conspiracy theory, rung up Trump associates for process crimes, and destroyed the lives and bank accounts of many Trump associates — the probe ended with not a single American, much less a single American tied to the Trump campaign, much less Trump himself, found to have colluded with Russia.

So then the goalposts moved once again. The argument went that Trump, by being upset that he was falsely accused of being a traitor who stole the 2016 election by colluding with Russia, might have “obstructed justice.” Team Mueller couldn’t say, exactly. A report — clearly designed to be an impeachment report — was transmitted to Congress to get things going.

But then Mueller testified before Congress and demonstrated that he had very little understanding of the probe that bore his name. Mueller’s role had been used by the Resistance to silence any criticism of the probe or the Russia collusion theory in general. As soon as it was obvious to the world that he had not really participated in the probe so much as been its titular head, the goalposts moved again.

Following a few returning visits to the 25th Amendment fever swamps, where Resistance members fantasize that they could get Trump’s cabinet to undo the 2016 election, or speculation that Trump might resign, they have landed on something something Ukraine.

Corporate media is trying to spin the Ukraine story as if it is something other than what it is. As if it were legitimate and quickly moving. Mike Allen of Axios opined of impeachment that “It’s remarkable how fast it has gotten off the ground. You can see how quickly the Ukraine phone call came out of nowhere to become the all-consuming impeachment topic — way faster than the impeachment inquiries into Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.”

Yes, this is a really good talking point if you ignore literally everything that has happened since November 8, 2016.“

https://thefederalist.com/2019/10/25/gop-has-a-choice-fight-anti-trump-coup-effort-or-surrender-government-to-democrats/

Perhaps a few fisticuffs are in order just to clear the air. Better than lip biting per usual

[Walt]

Chuck E.Cheese Schumer would lose most of the nevada County vote.
https://dailycaller.com/2019/10/25/schumer-gas-cars-plan/
He's lost what mind he had left.

Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer is preparing to spend hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars on a plan that would fast-track the elimination of nearly every gas-powered vehicle in the country.

The Senate’s top Democrat wants to spend a massive amount of money enticing Americans to exchange their gas-guzzling vehicles for an electric car. Schumer’s proposal, which he announced in a New York Times editorial Thursday, shows Democrats are lurching leftward on the issue.

Under Schumer’s plan, car owners will get a rebate starting at $3,000 if they trade in their car for an electric vehicle"

So "Cash for clunkers" 2.0

And THIS is how LIBS plan on winning back control?
Run on that hard and strong LIBS,, spend BIG pushing that plan. PLEASE!!!!!

[Bill Tozer]

Administrative bloat and the attacks on free speech on campuses.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/10/administrative-bloat-and-the-attack-on-campus-free-speech.php

Keep us safe, 24/7!

[Bonnie]

About the cost of gasoline...Sad and disgusting regarding the gas tax. We were watching it from when Jerry Brown was Gov the first time, and wanted to tamper with the Transportation Fund and allow gov to use the money in the General Fund, but it was illegal. By the time he became Gov the second time, his democrat lawmakers figured out how they could fool people into changing the law. Now it never has enough money for what it’s intended...for drivers and commerce.

[Bill Tozer]

Re: “So the people trying to steal an election are accusing Trump of trying to steal an election”

https://thefederalist.com/2019/10/25/gop-has-a-choice-fight-anti-trump-coup-effort-or-surrender-government-to-democrats/

[Bill Tozer]

Newsome outraged over the price of gasoline? He ain’t the only one.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/expensive-climate-policies-sparked-the-chile-riots-just-like-the-yellow-vest-protests-in-france_3127717.html

[Biguns]

,,,PG$E corporate heads are the worst!!! They brought us nuclear waste and decommissioning costs, Hinkley groundwater contamination, San Bruno, and now Paradise and other wildfires. This is what happens when you have a for-profit monopoly. AAA is non-profit. If PG$E was non profit they could improve their infrastructure.
If anyone deserved a lynching...

[fish]

Posted by: BigAnus | 25 October 2019 at 09:42 PM

The perpetual whine of the statist.......let the government run it.....!

dugsKKKi it would almost be worth watching you get that for which you constantly beg......except others would be hurt!

Of course you could alway go back to the "old country" .......pretty governmenty over there!

[scenes]

"AAA is non-profit."

so is the Clinton Foundation, which is going to "strengthen the capacity of people in the United States and throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence."

lol

"If PG$E was non profit they could improve their infrastructure."

Given that bit of reasoning, just imagine how cheap/good stuff would be if Boeing, Ford, New Balance, Coca Cola became non-profits. The Soviet example of thousands of non-profit companies poisoning the landscape is pretty frightening.

Junior High economics arguments aside, it's interesting to think about how to improve something that's a natural monopoly like power. Perhaps it would be best to start by thinking about vertical separations. I can't see any reason for PG&E to be vertically integrated for instance.

[Walt]

Dougy MUST be on GEN power... Running it in the house?
The fumes are getting to him.

[Bill Tozer]

For Scenes.

You seem to like this find of stuff: the ruling class, the American Empire vs The American Republic. Guess I will put this here. The Codevilla tapes:

David Samuels: In 2010, you wrote an article, which then became a book, in which you predicted the rise of someone like Donald Trump as well as the political chaos and stripping away of institutional authority that we’ve lived through since. Did you think your prediction would come true so quickly?

Angelo Codevilla: I didn’t predict anything. I described a situation which had already come into existence. Namely, that the United States has developed a ruling class that sees itself as distinct from the raw masses of the rest of America. That the distinction that they saw, and which had come to exist, between these classes, comprised tastes and habits as well as ideas. Above all, that it had to do with the relative attachment, or lack thereof, of each of these classes to government.”

One of the things that struck me about your original piece was your portrait of the American elite as a single class that seamlessly spans both the Democratic and Republican parties.

“Of course, yes. Not in exactly the same way, though; what I said was that the Democrats were the senior partners in the ruling class. The Republicans are the junior partners.

“The reason being that the American ruling class was built by or under the Democratic Party. First, under Woodrow Wilson and then later under Franklin Roosevelt. It was a ruling class that prized above all its intellectual superiority over the ruled. And that saw itself as the natural carriers of scientific knowledge, as the class that was naturally best able to run society and was therefore entitled to run society.

“The Republican members of the ruling class aspire to that sort of intellectual status or reputation. And they have shared a taste of this ruling class. But they are not part of the same party, and as such, are constantly trying to get closer to the senior partners. As the junior members of the ruling class, they are not nearly as tied to government as the Democrats are. And therefore, their elite prerogatives are not safe.”

https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/culture-news/292763/angelo-codevilla

[scenes]

re: BillT@8:12AM

It strikes me that the more egalitarian America was a short-lived phenomena and began dying with the closing of the frontier.

There was a time period when regular people ran ahead of their lords and masters, built homesteads/small businesses/became tradesmen. Following some decades behind in the march west were cities and moneyed interests.

The end game was always going to be what it is becoming. When listening to globalists like TV talking heads and the local crack KVMR news desk, the counter-arguments are as much an echo of a lost past as anything.

[Bill Tozer]

CA and power....in pictures. I like visual aides.

https://i0.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2019/10/Screen-Shot-2019-10-25-at-7.22.58-PM.png?w=864&ssl=1

https://i1.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2019/10/IMG_2167.jpg?w=602&ssl=1

https://i1.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2019/10/IMG_2153.jpg?w=960&ssl=1

and finally.....listen to the children

https://i0.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2019/10/Screen-Shot-2019-10-22-at-9.12.44-PM.png?w=930&ssl=1

[George Rebane]

Power outage information on the PG&E website continues to be dated and worthless. All we know about our power outages in western Nevada County is that over 43K customers will be affected IF they decide to turn it off at some "Anticipated Power Shutoff Time: To Be Announced" which hot flash they updated yesterday afternoon at 5pm. In my field of expertise we call this retrodiction - a process not much use for emergency preparedness. More jaw-dropping news here -
https://www.pge.com/en_US/safety/emergency-preparedness/natural-disaster/wildfires/public-safety-event.page

[Bill Tozer]

Power to be cut to Nevada City @2:00 pm

[George Rebane]

BillT 1109am - Where did you learn that little bit of intelligence Mr Tozer?

[Walt]

George.. The Union has it up
https://www.theunion.com/news/nevada-county-shutoff-county-upgraded-to-psps-watch-for-saturday-monday/
Nevada County shutoff: Local OES says shutoff will happen at 2 p.m. Saturday

[Bill Tozer]

Dr. Rebane

From Nevada County Happening Now, just below all the post about the PGE bucket truck driver failing a soberity test on HWY 49. Replacement being sent up. :). Some guy in Nevada City got an e-mIl from PG&E. Nevada City Power off at 2pm and Monday @ 6:00 am inspections begin to turn the juice back on.

[Bill Tozer]

On every outage, I learn something new or something that I missed. Last time I blew the cig lighter in the car with an old DC to AC converter. Had to go get more fuses and tossed that old converter away...err...in the toxic waste pile. Luckily, I brought a flashlight and the store owner let me in, grab new fuses (for charging the phone), laid down some cash and told the shopkeeper to keep the change.
I just filled the bathtub with water and a 5 gallon bucket nearby to flush the toilets with. Didn’t do that the two outages before. I made tons of coffee, put the cooled coffee in freeze bags inside bigger freezer bags, and they can double as ice blocks and be defrosted/heated on the skillet, all ready to go.

Now, that that is done, all I need is food, gas, and matches. Those I will wait until 1:45 pm today to leave and got get. :). What, me worry??

[George Rebane]

That's the spirit Mr Tozer, a stitch in time and all that. No need to get ready too soon and miss meeting all your neighbors at the grocery and hardware store.

[Bill Tozer]

Indeed, sir. And now we wait.

https://i1.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2019/10/70355737_2628192983910072_6771809750884548608_n.jpg?w=720&ssl=1

[George Rebane]

Power still on at 230pm; was supposed go off at 2pm. Does anyone think that they know what's happening at The Union, County OES, YubaNet, PG&E, the Pentagon, ... ??

[Walt]

Still on here.. The automated warning call did come about an hour ago.

[Don Bessee]

They reset to the original 3pm its reported.

;-)

[George Rebane]

Still on here.

[Bill Tozer]

A watched pot never boils

[Bill Tozer]

“Historic wind event.”

PG&E will shut off power in six phases, beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, and ending at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 27. The warning was announced as firefighters battled flames in Northern and Southern California.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-wildfires-evacuations-power-cut

[Biguns]

,,,NWS weather radio says winds to pick up after midnight. NWS is what PGE uses.

[Walt]

Another "warning" call from PG&E.

[Bill Tozer]

Finally the power went out. It's about friggin time!

[Walt]

Yup, Bill and I are on the same grid.

[Gregory]

The power went out at my place at about 7:25PM, 10 minutes ago. My anemometer (windspeed measuring device to the unwashed) reads ZERO.

As it did with all the other BS "PSPS" events.

[Gregory]

Toes 1218pm, I've two pots of coffee brewed and awaiting the next morning or two, and I've two liters of reposado 100% agave tequila and 1.75l of vodka in the freezer for added mass.

I roasted a 5lb chicken last night that had been frozen, ate it for dinner last night and tonight. Will be eating it tomorrow, too.

I am pissed about the timing of the failure... was streaming My Cousin Vinny on the big TV and when the tv winked out, it was the big scene where Vinny is asking his fiancee on the stand about the pictures of the tire tracks... if his theory held up... I can watch Marisa Tomei over and over.

[Walt]

Cold coffee? No thanks. A fresh cup in the morning is well worth the price of a gen. alone.

[George Rebane]

Power out at 745pm.

[Keith]

Power out in the mMorgan Ranch area at 7:45 PM

[Bill Tozer]

Ok, the power is out. Is everybody happy now?

[scenes]

For your reading pleasure:

Latest Ragamuffin polls show Trump leading at McGee's poll. 5 for, 1 against, 3 felons on parole not voting. +99% for recognizing power outage except for some blind guy. 100% chance of crack KVMR news desk getting fire and power local news by asking another news organization (Yubanet).

[Walt]

Actual WIND today. Well,, 1 out of 5 "predictions" ain't bad.

[George Rebane]

Mr Branson, what’s the cross section of the ditch when they bury power cables (like PGE is promising to start doing on their transmission lines)?

[Bill Tozet]

Come on, it will only be a decade of darkness. Look at the bigger picture. One little decade in the span of eons. Statically insignficate.

[Bill Tozer]

Scenes @ 7:43 am

Perhaps all the money Uncle Sam gives the local alternative FM radio station should be given to Yuba Net instead, and rightly so.

All the radio station does is call Yuba Net in times of emergencies, fires, massice snow storms, etc, to find out what's going on anyway. Besides, we all know how grandmaw up there at the station is always railing about the budget and budget deficits and spending. We could save a lot of money by giving Yuba Net half of the loot and cut off grandmaw's gravey train. A win-win silution. Sounds like Yuba Net has its finger in the pulse in times like these.....not to mention having a real News Director.

[Walt]

George. Usually it's four feet deep, three feet wide. Six inches of sand 1 to 4 four in. conduit then a foot of sand,(compacted) then a traceable marker tape is layed on top of that sand. "usually"
If rocky soil is present, then that dirt has to be screened to remove any rocks over one inch. (clean backfill)
With a good crew, and ideal conditions, 300 to 350 feet can be put in the ground a day.
If you're looking for the cost, estimates are about 10,000 bucks a foot, from planning to backfill.
Then there are the transformer pedestals.(those big green boxes you see in front of the properties) (A grand or two each)

Now.. would you like to pay union scale?

That's just the easy ones.
Those major transmission lines, I have no clue what those would take to put in the ground.

[Walt]

Got the scanner going, and trees and lines down all over the place. 49 & Pleasant Valley (NSJ) is one of them.

[Bill Tozer]

Walt my brother,

I do not see the local lefty arrogant ashhole elitista mocking ditch diggers right now, do you? Your moment in the Sun has arrived and they need you now. Make them beg and crawl like the vermin they are as you laugh all the way to the bank :)

[Walt]

Your right Bill, I would LOVE to start with those very ones.
They most likely still have above ground lines from the pole to their power panel.(service line) They need to get a good taste of the cost.
PG&E don't pay for that. That's on the property owner.

[Walt]

Give till it hurts!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/were-asking-you-to-dig-deep-biden-seeks-to-steady-finances-as-allies-fret/ar-AAJnGzs

Already running low on money? Now how does he expect to beat Trump? "like a drum"??

[Walt]

Will our LIBS take issue with this?
https://www.foxbusiness.com/money/private-firefighters-california-wealthy-wildfire
It just ain't fair..... Right?

[Walt]

SHIT!!! More wind for Tues. and WED. (PER CDF.)

[fish]

Posted by: Walt | 27 October 2019 at 09:52 AM

It just ain't fair..... Right?

Yup....!

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/western-wildfires/wildfire-prone-states-wealthy-pay-have-private-firefighters-protect-their-n869061

[Bill Tozer]

It just ain't fair, right.

Envy was considered one of the 7 deadly sins until it became an admirable trait when it's name got changed to Social Justice.
---------
‪"Democracy and liberty are not the same. Democracy is little more than mob rule, while liberty refers to the sovereignty of the individual.” ‬
‪―Walter E. Williams (@WE_Williams)‬

[Walt]

With all the tree trimming over the last year, it surprising just how many trees are taking down power lines. All over the place. Some calls, the pole has snapped off at the top, with no tree as the culprit. PG&E saving money by importing trees from China? (like the bolts on the new Frisco bay bridge)

[Walt]

First local fire, Sutton and Dorcy. The homeless camp,, scratch that, TWO fires.

[Walt]

Fire blowing S/SW.
Cider Ridge in danger.

[Walt]

Things getting better. Fire crews seem to be getting the upper hand.

[George Rebane]

Keep us up to date Walt; thanks.

[scenes]

BillT@8:50AM

re: Yubanet.

It's fairly obvious that Yubanet is a Bolshie website, but by golly they actually appear to give a tinker's damn about news. Compare their current front page to The Union. The local newspaper really is laughable. To be fair, KVMR really isn't a news source aside from the occasional interview and the mandatory DEMOCRACY NOW! hosted by Elizabeth-Warren-without-the-charm.

re: Homeless fires.

Sshhhhh. You're not supposed to notice. The Holy Untouchables are just like you 'n me except for the drug problems and the opportunities to burn down the town. 105% are Vietnam vets and the rest are working on getting their lives together. I'm thinking that the KVMR lobby, over by the espresso machine, might be just the place for them to hang during the wind events.

[Bill Tozer]

ATT pole down, Beyers Lane & Coleman. Landlines/internet down.

[Walt]

They have it under control. And with no air support no less.
This was a close one. It was pandamonium for a while there.

[scenes]

re: Walt@4:35PM

"They have it under control."

Dorsey/Sutton? Good. Every time I drive down Idaho Maryland I think about what a tinderbox that general area would be. It's like Railroad Ave. in NC.

Is there just no point in clearing some of those areas? Maybe it wouldn't make a difference?

I'd sure hate to roust out some of the squats you'd uncover, moonsuits for everybody, stat.

[Walt]

There is a VID on the Union website someone walking through the burn as things got better.
Now didn't a bunch of dogooders clean up that aria just the other week? The VID shows an overturned car with crap hanging out of the trunk. Nice way of saying Thanks.
You can thank the Homeless camp for this fire. It's where is started.

[scenes]

I wonder how long until the insurance companies use the local homeless census as a factor in home insurance rates

[scenes]

You know, if California didn't exist, you'd have to invent it.

https://www.marinij.com/2019/10/26/lawsuit-challenges-mill-valley-fire-safety-rules/

[George Rebane]

Scenes 933pm - The Brunswick fire supposedly started at a homeless encampment. Apparently we try to cover up such community embarrassments. The Union this morning cites the fire as being “sparked”, which paints a totally different picture, and a wrong one if there was no PGE involvement.

[scenes]

GR@7:57AM

Some new fire by Twin Cities Church? What are the odds of the cause?

Listening to Pascal on KVMR, the person who appears to be the only source of news in the area. We should just assign all the frequencies and money to Yubanet.

Seriously, why do these radio stations and newspapers even claim to have 'news' aside from Boredman screeds or hyper-partisans like Paul doing the occasional interview?

It's funny to me how crappy cell service, internet providers, landlines, local radio, newspapers have turned out to be in what is a relatively minor crisis. Something real happens, fuggedaboutit. It isn't like we'll come out of this learning moment with any serious infrastructure changes or interest in serious local forest/brush management. The homeless will continue with their 'warming' fires and, as usual, everyone else is on their own.

[Bill Tozer]

Scenes: there is no other news when we are the center of the Universe.
--------------------
Under other topics under Scattershots, imagine if you will a Day without a Republican. Its easy if you try....

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1019/kass102519.php3

[Don Bessee]

Oh what a tangled web they weave -

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/10/28/impeachment-witness-bill-taylor-led-ukraine-delegation-for-group-advised-by-hunter-biden/

;-)

[Don Bessee]

Busted!

https://www.theunion.com/news/grass-valley-man-arrested-in-connection-to-dorsey-fire/

;-)

[scenes]

re: DonB@11:05AM

The perp:

https://reports.nevcounty.net/Justice/bookingphotos/B19003233_10-27-2019-22-32-16-189.jpg

A face only a motha could love.

Nothing to see here, move along.

[Gregory]

"PG&E has begun restoration and re-energization of power lines in Nevada County. Power has been restored in some areas, however it is unknown when Nevada County will be 100% re-energized. Duration of restoration is dependent on level of damages sustained during the wind event."

-the twits at NevCo OES at about 2pm

[Gregory]

No power at my place.

[Don Bessee]

McKnight to Brunswick is on in gv, Alta Sierra went on a little bit ago.

;-)

[Bill Tozet]

Power still off down by the river in my van.

SPD (Mt Mikes) on per rumors.