The Definition Of Insanity
Oct 29, 2009 Political
Since the Healthscare Bill is oozing its way out of committee at the predictable, snail- like rate, the Resident is trying to give a boost to the Cap and Rob energy policy he’s been pimping relentlessly- it is his newest girl, and he really wants you to like her- in the biblical sense. It’s hard being a pimp in Washington these days, when your girls are so fugly.
The Commerce Department is scheduled to release estimates Thursday of economic growth for the third quarter of 2009, and for the first time in a year, forecasters say, the economy has expanded.
But job losses continue to plague the country, although not nearly as much as when Obama took office. That has left an opening for Republican critics, who have said that rising unemployment is evidence that the president’s economic policies are not working.
“We’ve seen a $4 trillion budget — $787 billion stimulus, $700 billion financial bailouts, health care, cap and trade [climate change legislation]. Everything seems to be more government, big government,” said Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.).
While many economists say the stimulus money has helped stabilize the economy, most voters think otherwise, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. It found that 22 percent of Americans think the package has made the economy worse, while 35 percent say it has had no effect.
washingtonpost.com
Yeah- that is a problem, as it has been shown with the studies done on the “green jobs” created in Spain, that 2.2 jobs are lost for every “green job” created. We are walking backwards, people- this is called negative growth, and is not good.
Several things could be done that are not, and one of the most important would be the immediate construction of nuclear plants for residential and commercial energy needs, but there are no permits being issued- one of the bigger miscues of this administration, and there have been a bunch. Another was to withdraw a permit for coal mining in West Virginia, after the permit had been okayed, throwing several hundred people in a rural area with one employer out of work.
Now, that’s the way Liberals handle things- stir the pot with a big FUBAR stick.
Standing on the edge of a large solar-power plant here, Obama urged the Senate to pass a measure that caps carbon emissions and to set aside arguments that it would harm the economy and cost jobs.
“The closer we get to this new energy future, the harder the opposition is going to fight, the more we’re going to hear from special interests and lobbyists in Washington whose interests are contrary to the interests of the American people,” Obama said.
As he spoke to Florida Power & Light employees, the sun was glinting off acres of the utility’s solar panels behind him. “It’s a debate between looking backwards and looking forward,” the president said.
latimes.com
Yep, the sun glints off of acres of solar panels that will most certainly be sucked up by a tornado, or shattered to bits by hail- Oh, nobody brought up the fact that there are more tornados and thunderstorms in Florida than anywhere else? And then there’s the wildfires, oh- and let us not forget the hurricanes, all of which will harm these panels- but there will be plenty of work replacing them several times a year, all while they are off- line, and not producing electricity. In other words, while they are nothing more than useless propaganda images.
And in other areas, the Resident is throwing money at the situation, so utility companies can install big brother “smart grid” meters that can dictate when you can use a machine in your own home.
Pepco, with 750,000 residential and business customers in Maryland and the District, will receive $168 million, mostly to subsidize the installation of smart meters. The devices allow the utility to turn off the air conditioner in a customer’s home, or turn on the dishwasher when energy is cheapest.
Baltimore Gas and Electric received $200 million, which it will match with $251 million in private money to install smart meters for its 1.1 million customers, the White House said. [emphasis mine]
washingtonpost.com
Don’t you just love that the government can dictate when you do something in your own home? Such freedom- this is typical liberal vomitus- “we know you better than you know you- and we know better how you should live”. What unmitigated arrogance on their part. If I want to be cool, I will be cool- and if I have to fire up a gasoline generator to do so, I will, and throw some carbon monoxide into the air doing so. Or you can keep your hands off my meter and my A/C. Your choice, EPA-
As long as I can pay for it, it’s noone’s business but my own, and I will treat it as such-
And you had better stay out of my way.
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Tags: climate scam, KMA, loss of freedom of choice, smart grid
You say Smartgrid, I Say Intrusive
May 30, 2009 Political
I have had an ongoing discussion with several people who have advocated for the smartgrid technology, while I have had many reservations, especially since it appears that this technology will attempt to alter your consumption habits whether you want to or not. This limits freedom of choice, and is but one manifestation of how the government believes it knows what is best for you than you yourself do. Incredible. They can’t chew gum and walk at the same time and they want to tell us how to act?
In the newest issue of my Electrical Co-op magazine, (I live in the country, hence the Co-op), which is intended to educate the consumer, the author expounds on the new “smart house”- the house that communicates with the power plant, ostensibly to exchange information about electrical usage. There is a problem in River City with this scenario, however.
The “smart” grid, which is in constant communication with your electrical generator, can accurately predict if the system is approaching peak capacity. The grid informs your distribution co-op about unusually high energy usage.
By prior arrangement, has provided you with a programmable thermostat with the understanding that the co-op can take control of the system and cycle it on and off for short periods on very hot or cold days.
Texas Co-op Power, June 2009
Wow- it’s so wonderful that my government takes such an intrusive interest in my life that it knows just how hot or cold I need to be, or, more to the point, want to be. But wait- there’s more!
You can, in this smart” house, have a refrigerator, washer, dryer, and dishwasher who will tell you when you may do the chores. If you choose to do the chores on your schedule, you will have to override the “high- tariff” warnings that will blink on their electronic readouts.
That has a chilling effect on me- “high- tariff”- this means in addition to the regular price you pay for your electricity, now you will have a “punishment” payment, in effect, a tax on your”excessive” usage. If you do not use the electricity that you pay for in a way the government approves of, you will have to pay more money, on top of the rates you already pay.
Does anyone other than me believe this is an intrusion into our Right to privacy? The government doesn’t need to know anything about when I wash my clothes, or turn the thermostat lower, as long as I pay my bill. The government doesn’t need to be in the power business- private markets should take care of this need. What the government wants is a source of data- mining, where the government collects information on its citizens and then sifts through it for what it might consider useful. That is a Constitutional No-No.
FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) has looked to the Electrical Co-ops to take the lead in this smart technology, and admittedly, even now, there’s just 16% of the Co-ops who have this technology, but you can believe that this will snowball in a hurry, as the socialists in the government want to know all they can so they can control you all they can, because after all, they know what’s best for you.
The FERC defines “advanced metering” as a system that records customer consumption on at least an hourly basis and provides at least a daily transmittal of measurements over a communications network to a central collection point.
Texas Co-op Power, June 2009
This is a path we should tread with extreme care- our right to privacy is in peril, and for those who do not believe this, remember one thing- change is incremental, and what seems like a little thing now can be used as precedent, and enable the next step to be taken with less outrage.
The government does not need to know any of this information, and certainly should not be telling us how to live our lives- if we want to turn the thermostat lower, or wash our dishes at an odd time, that should be our business, and we should not be penalized for this. Not everyone lives their lives like everyone else, and to use a “tariff” to punish any power usage different from what the government considers the “norm” is punitive and excessive, and possibly unconstitutional.
But we have come to expect unconstitutional behavior from this administration.
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Tags: data mining, freedom of choice, power, right to privacy, smart grid