Category Archives: States Behaving Badly

Surge In Solar Energy Technology

It appears that demand for rooftop solar panels is, ahem, heating up.  Even in Minnesota, hardly a, ahem, hotbed of solar innovation, the industry is seeing significant activity.

High demand for rooftop solar electric panels, especially for commercial buildings, has exhausted Xcel Energy’s Solar Rewards subsidy program for the year, shutting out other customers, solar industry officials said Monday.

“People are really excited about solar,” said Rebecca Lundberg, CEO of Powerfully Green.

Sounds great.  Right?

Maybe not.

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Cleaning Out My Coyote

If you don’t read Coyote Blog you should.

This latest failure of Green Jobs in Seattle is just a hint of the gems you get from the coyote:

Last year, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn announced the city had won a coveted $20 million federal grant to invest in weatherization. The unglamorous work of insulating crawl spaces and attics had emerged as a silver bullet in a bleak economy – able to create jobs and shrink carbon footprint – and the announcement came with great fanfare.

McGinn had joined Vice President Joe Biden in the White House to make it. It came on the eve of Earth Day. It had heady goals: creating 2,000 living-wage jobs in Seattle and retrofitting 2,000 homes in poorer neighborhoods.

But more than a year later, Seattle’s numbers are lackluster. As of last week, only three homes had been retrofitted and just 14 new jobs have emerged from the program. Many of the jobs are administrative, and not the entry-level pathways once dreamed of for low-income workers. Some people wonder if the original goals are now achievable.

Yeah.  Let’s use guns to remove private property from productive people to give to the government so they can spend $20 million on 14 jobs.

California HIgh Speed Rail Costs Lots Of Money

I know this is gonna shock a TON of people.

Environmental reports released Tuesday show the first segment of the line in the Central Valley will cost between $10 billion and $13.9 billion, far more than the 2009 estimate of $7.1 billion.

I know I’m surprised.  I had expected California to come in under budget; ’cause all such projects do, really, come in under budget.

The thing about the Liberati when it comes to central planning projects like this is that they never consider the cost.  Would it be cool if I could take a train that ran on the coffee grounds I brew each morning?  Ride a train that took me to a station a meager few blocks from my office?

Sure.

Would it still be cool if the state had to pay $8,542 per round-trip ticket?

Still think it’s a good idea?

Me either.

Wisconsin: Thoughts On An Election

So it turns out that the Wisconsin Democrats didn’t win as much as they wanted and, more importantly, as much as they needed..  They fell short of taking back control of the Senate.  Now, to be fair, a 17-16 majority is razor thin and in truth is probably better for government than a very large majority.  For example, who can argue about the damage the the US Senate did to the nation as a result of their super-majority in 2009-2010?  No one.

However, what is the impact?  The read?  What does this mean?

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Wisconsin Election Results

The Wisconsin Senate is made up of 33 members.  This morning the sun shone on 19 Republicans and 14 Democrats.  A solid majority for the Republicans.

However, because Democrats are upset that properly elected Senators passed a bill that was also passed by properly elected Congressman which was then signed into law by properly elected Governors, they are forcing, and have indeed, forced, a recall election for 6 of those 19 Republican seats.

For the Democrats to emerge victorious, they must defeat 3 incumbent Republicans.  This would be a 6 seat turn around giving the cry babies, sorry, sore losers, ahem, Democrats a razor thin majority; 16-17.

Those who remember the Prosser election with sadness are destined to be sad again.  Going into the final race, the Republicans were “winning” 3-2.  But a tie goes to the losers, ahem, Democrats.  So they need to win 4 out of 6.  And the last Democrat was ahead by 2,000 votes.

However, there is no joy in Mudville as only 1 f 11 Waukesha precincts reported.  This is the Waukesha that broke for Prosser 73% to 27%.  And guess what, glory be to the gods, ‘ol Waukesha stood and delivered!  They cared for the Republican 66% to 34%.

And to think, two more Democrats will face recall elections for their actions in running away from the office they swore to serve.

 

Minnesota: A Foretaste Of The Feast To Come

Minnesota is closed.

As of 12:01 AM July 1, the state has shut down.  A disagreement over how to balance the budget between the Democrat governor and the Republican Senate has caused a stalemate.  Without a budget, the state government officially closed Friday morning.  State parks, rest areas, road construction and other services were shuttered.

State employees were sent home.

The battle just got real for a whole bunch of people; a WHOLE bunch.

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Actions Have Consequences

I really enjoy chess.  Well, actually, I wish I really enjoyed chess.  In reality, I’m a horrible chess player; and I know why.

I think the reason I’m such a poor player is that I’m a “selfish” or “arrogant” player.  That is, I assume my opponent will play as I would.  Therefore, when I create my strategy and begin to implement it, I fail to take into account that as the board changes, my opponent is going to react and change his behavior.

I’ve never overcome this failing of mine.  So I lose.

And because I lose, I rarely play.

I can take heart that others face the same challenges.  However, that comfort can also cause great concern.

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Unintended Consequences: California Style

There are some good things in California.  For example, I can think of two:

1.  California Pizza Kitchen

2.  That little corner store on Inter-State 8 East just before you hit the Arizona line.  How can’t you like the last thing in California?

But seriously, California must be a nice place to live.  It HAS to be, or so many otherwise sensible people wouldn’t live there.

But that doesn’t mean business find it a nice place to live.

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Government Can’t Get Too Large

Because really, nothing should go unregulated.

In an age where we believe that the only valid unassisted choice a person can make is to abort or not abort a child, the government continues to restrict our liberties.  In the name of “safety” the government, and those who are government fan-boys, march toward the regulation of every movement and decision we make.

Buy too big a house and can’t afford the payments?

Regulate it.

Wanna consume cheap energy?

Regulate it.

Wanna sell flowers in New Orleans?

Regulate it.

And now this.  Kids selling lemonade to people who are hot.  Regulated:

BETHESDA, Md. (WUSA) — You can make a fortune selling parking spots outside the US Open, but don’t even dream of setting up a lemonade stand.

A county inspector ordered the Marriott and Augustine kids to shut down the stand they set up on Persimmon Tree Rd., right next to Congressional.

Yup.

Some kids set up a lemonade stand and were told they needed a $300 permit.

No regulation is too big to save us from the next Wall Street greed induced bubble!

A Tale of Two Governors: Wisconsin’s Walker and Carolina’s Purdue

In Wisconsin, a properly elected Senate passed a bill that a properly elected State Assembly had also passed.  Then, a properly elected Governor signed said properly passed bill into law.

The reaction from the far left at the time:

They are showing that citizenship is rooted in the willingness to listen to one’s opponents and to find shared solutions. The governor’s refusal to do the same shows his aim to rule by executive fiat. He is setting himself up as a notorious adversary of the democratic process.

I love it.  Rule by fiat.  Hardly.  Walker signed a bill into law that was passed by the Senate AND the Assembly.  Adversary of the democratic process?  Hardly.  It’s just that in this case, democracy delivered a solution that doesn’t agree with the hard left wing segment of the Democrat party.

Now, here in Carolina.

A properly elected Senate passes a bill that was also passed by a properly elected House.  Then, a properly elected Governor vetoes the bill.

Said governor complains that life isn’t fair.

Said Governor then signs an executive order to get what she wanted the whole time:

RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Bev Perdue signed an executive order Friday to extend federal unemployment insurance benefits for thousands of North Carolina residents amid a battle with Republican lawmakers, who tied the extension to the state budget bill.

In April, the Republican majority in the General Assembly passed a bill to extend the federally funded benefits for up to 20 weeks…

The liberal hard left?

Perdue’s press secretary Chris Mackey said the governor gave “Republican leaders the chance to do the right thing and they didn’t. So, she found another solution.”

So, the lesson here, is that when “the right thing” and “other solutions” involve those things held most dear to the Leftist, fiat [using the right definition of the word] is fine; noble.

But, BUT, when a centrist republican follows the rule of law and signs a legally passed bill, he is called a ruler by fiat [using the Leftist’s version of the word].

Funny world, that.