Water Crisis in the West

Everyone knows it's been hot and dry for way too long in the west.  Reservoirs built to retain water and produce electricity are drying up at an alarming pace, meaning people will be thirsty and living without air conditioning soon. 

Nevertheless, several dams are currently being deconstructed in the interest of fish preservation. Proposed new dams have been put on the back burner. A significantly large portion of what precipitation does fall escapes downriver to the ocean and there are no realistic plans in the works to alter that fact.  And as farmer's fields go dormant for lack of water, fruit, vegetables and nuts grown in California and other western states will being to disappear from the nation's grocery shelves. 

Biden Deliberately Screws America

First it was the Keystone Pipeline; now, it's the Alaskan oil and gas leases. Biden has stopped all activity on those leases under the guise that he wants to "review" the way the Trump Administration handled environmental issues when issuing new leases.  

If you think gas prices are high at the pump right now, just wait a few weeks! It appears to me this is just another attempt to lockdown the nation;s economy and keep people under the Democrat's thumb!  

Blame Newsom

Rolling blackouts got you down? Just wait until THIS summer!  

Some rolling blackouts are secretly being blamed on the need to shout down electricity to prevent wildfires! The fact is that neither California's Governor Newsom or the electric companies always have enough electrical energy to go around!  THAT problem started when Newsom orchestrated the shutdown of the Diablo Nuclear Plant without any new sources of electricity to replace it.  

BERNIE SANDERS TELLS IT LIKE IT IS

After riding his camel to the debates Wednesday, he proceeded to lash out against fossil fuels. 

PGE TO CALIFORNIA BUSINESSES: "T.S."

Anybody in business in California areas where PGE has been shutting off electricity has faced adverse economic ramifications.  Grocery and convenience stores lost a combined total of millions of dollars worth of frozen and refrigerated foods.  Small, online mom-and-pop retailers couldn't process sales because their computers were down.  Taxi and delivery services couldn't find gas for their vehicles. Schools and government offices closed.  The list is endless.  

PGE insists it's a small price to pay for ensuring that disastrous wildfires won't start.  

It's not the customer's fault that the electricity is being shut off; blame lies solely on PGE, which refused to keep its equipment safely operating and modernized, so it would have enough money to pay stock dividends and huge bonuses.  

Now, they're refusing to offer any compensation to their customers who lost money due to the outages.  

"T.S.," as they say. 

PGE: BLACKOUTS TO CONTINUE FOR TEN YEARS

PGE, which forked over huge employee bonuses and stock dividends rather than upgrading its systems, now says it may have to continue periodic blackouts throughout California for up to ten years to prevent wildfires.  PG&E equipment was found responsible for a series of wildfires that caused billions of dollars of damage in California in recent years. The company filed for bankruptcy in January, citing an estimated $30 billion in wildfire liabilities. 

It is now seeking rate increases to force citizens to pay for the upgrades that they were obligated to pay for with the money they paid out in bonuses and dividends.  The company demonstrated its "sensitivity" to the issues by hosting a wine tasting and dinner party for its top employees as the process of shutting off electricity to two million people began.  

FOR CALIFORNIANS, THAT'S JUST TOO DAMNED BAD

PGE, northern Calfornia's electric company, has made it clear: if the wind is just right, the humidity is too low and the heat is too high... they're shutting down everyone's electricity.  They have no concerns as to whether or not you're elderly, whether you're a restaurant with food in the freezer, whether you are on at-home dialysis or a CPAP machine, whether or not you require air conditioning... in fact, they just don't care.  

Their answer?  Go buy a generator for $600 plus and pay $1,500 or more to have it wired into your house.  If you run out of gas, of course, you can't get any more because the local gas station won't be able to pump it. 

You see, PGE is a public utility and in California, that means you don't have to serve the public.  

CALIFORNIANS OUTRAGED AT POWER COMPANIES, LEGISLATORS

While California was being consumed by record-breaking wildfires last fall, top executives of major power companies were basking in the sun in Hawaii, having very quiet conferences with top Democrat California lawmakers.  During this little "joint vacation," the main subject of conversation was how to force California citizens to pay for the new replacement electrical equipment and for the legal judgments against them which are sure to come.  

The lawmakers all previously voted for legislation that would help utility companies fined for wildfires and have received more than $630,000 in campaign contributions from those same utilities, according to Consumer Watchdog.  

All of which means that taxpayers will be facing the double whammy of increased electrical rates and increased taxes to cover California government assistance projects to help the  companies.  In the meanwhile, the Democrat lawmakers have successfully lined their pockets... again.  

HIGH VOLTAGE BUNK

Ask any lawyer and he'll tell you that the owner(s) of a company are liable for the negligent actions of its employees.  In the case of a corporation, the owners are the stockholders and, should the company have to pay out on a legal claim,  the stockholders... particularly the preferred stockholders... will have to dig into their pockets to cover the claim, unless the corporation has adequate liability insurance. 

So, where does Pacific Gas and Electric, (PGE), and the State of California come from when they insist that the customers are going to have to dig into their pockets by-way-of higher electric rates to cover costs associated with the disastrous Camp Fire in Butte County, California, inasmuch as PGE did not have adequate liability insurance coverage at the time its equipment started the fire?  

Explain that to me, Jerry Brown.  

STANDING ROCK: WE'RE TO BLAME

I've been asked countless times about my opinion of the Standing Rock Sioux standoff over the Dakota Access Pipeline, (DAPL).  My answer has been consistently the same: I'm in favor of the pipeline, but I'm totally against running it through sacred Indian lands or through an area where a rupture could destroy anybody's access to water.  I'm also certain that if the pipeline were to go through a cemetery in Fargo or laterally down the Missouri River, it would never happen.  

So, I cheered the decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to delay its construction and I supported the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and its allies in their efforts to move it or stop it.  That having been said, I was glad to see Trump's decision to give the go ahead to both the Keystone XL and the DAPL.  But, I presumed that the Trump administration would see it the way I and many others do and condition the completion of the DAPL on rerouting.  

But, that evidently isn't the way it came down. 

Now, hundreds of protesters have been ordered to leave their encampments by today.  This is likely going to lead to an ugly showdown and we're to blame.  

The fact is, we have been conditioned to think of Native Americans as being "dumb Indians" and somehow as being sub-human.  So, what does it matter to us if we threaten their water or ruin their sacred sites?  

Well, my friends, just remember two words: "Bad Karma." 

Do what's right.  Stand up and stand with the Standing Rock Sioux.  Let's get the pipeline completed, but lets have the contractors spend a few extra bucks to move it a few miles so we can all sleep at night. 

OIL PRICES SET TO SOAR

Let's see if we can keep all of this straight.

Iran is our enemy, but we just gave them their pathway to nukes.  Iraq is our friend, but they take orders from Iran.  Syria is our enemy, but Syrian rebels are our friends.  Cubans our now our friends because we just established diplomatic relations with them.  Russia is our enemy and they are helping Syria against the rebels.  The Cubans are helping Russia.  The Saudi Arabians are our friends, but they're angry with us because we signed the "deal" with Iran.  

Obama is the Nobel Peace Prize winner who has essentially handed the Middle East to Russia on a silver platter.  Maybe that's what he was referring to when he whispered to Putin before the 1012 election that he's have to wait until after the election to accommodate Putin's wishes whatever they were.  

In any event, who has all of the oil and natural gas in the world?  Russia, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Cuba.  

Cuba?  

Well, since we're not issuing any more oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean, Russia is supporting Cuban drilling there.  In the meanwhile, Obama has killed the Keystone Pipeline and virtually all oil exploration.  

Enjoy the low gas prices while you can.  

Blame Bush.  

"NO ONE IS RESPONSIBLE"

That's the latest Obama administration gimmick.  For six years now, they've been blaming everyone but themselves for their scandals, their lies and their shortcomings.  Now, suddenly, they're saying "no one is to blame."  That's the story on the tens of millions of federal personnel files that were hacked.  The hacking "just happened."  There was nobody to blame.  

Now, there's an even more ominous hacking going on and the government is trying very hard to cover it up.  According to the Congressional Research Service Report, hackers are going after electricity companies and the national power grid, and the number of attacks is increasing every day. 

I don't know about you, but I live in California and if our power goes down, I'm not only going to bake, but I truly won't have any water, either.  

And what is the government doing about it?  Obviously nothing, if they're trying to cover it up. 

ONE TRACK MINDS

Much has been said about how spending more money on infrastructure would have prevented the recent Pennsylvania train crash.  Of course, we all know that was not the cause of that accident. 

But, there's another move on by the feds in Washington that doesn't make any sense, either.  Supposedly, there's this new type of tanker car that is much safer than the tanker cars of today and years past.  One of the associated arguments for building the XL Pipeline is that transportation of oil by train is more dangerous; indeed, that seems to be the case.  Part of that hysteria is due to the fact that transportation of oil by train has increased from 9,500 carloads to over 450,000 carloads per year over the last few years; and, the explosive volatility of oil being transported has increased as there has been a shift to oil from developed from tar sands and fracking.  

But, the federal government is once again trying to throw money at the problem by making a mandatory upgrade to these newer and "safer" tank cars.  Newer tank cars have already been involved in train accidents and have proven to be more susceptible to leaks of crude oil which result in more explosions.  

It seems to be that the fundamental issue in Pennsylvania and in the oil tanker problem is the same: safety.  The answer is to slow down the trains, take more care to ensure braking systems and signals are working properly and to have more frequent,  and meaningful, safety training sessions with train operators.   

To that extent, the current failures can be blamed on the railroad operating companies. 

REGARDNG THE MALAYSIAN SHOOT-DOWN

Just weighing in this morning.  Why hasn't the administration let us know how many Americans were aboard that aircraft?  Certainly, if it's 23, that would raise the ire if all of us, demanding some firm response against Putin.  

Also, if Obama blames Putin, he's going to have some wrath over his mishandling of foreign affairs, particular regarding Russia. 

My thoughts: a possible out has already presented itself.  It was an unfortunate accident.  The Ukranian rebels intended to shoot down a cargo plane and got a passenger plane instead.  That mitigates the need for action against Putin and takes the heat off of Obama's foreign policy.  

Let's see how the day progresses.  

Well, I'll be dipped in grits!  He surprised me.  

OBAMA CHANGES THE SUBJECT

Now that the country has forgotten all about Fast & Furious, Obama is hesitant to start pushing for gun control again. How deftly Obama has changed the course of daily conversation from Benghazi, to a whole slew of scandals, to Snowden, and now to coal.   You see, he may sound and act like a psycho, but he's really quite clever.  And, when the going gets tough, he gets going... this time to Africa.  How can you point the finger of blame at him if you can't find him? 

WAS GULF TRAGEDY AN ACCIDENT, OR CAUSED BY GROSS NEGLIGENCE?

SPECIAL POST

Information barely being covered in any press or media outlet is that BP/ARCO had certain environmental responsibilities when drilling and operating in the Gulf that they did not meet. It has already been pointed out, albeit briefly, that a rubber-skirted boom is supposed to be on hand in order to provide an immediate response to such an incident. The boom surrounds the leak and pumps then skim the oil off the top. Where was the barge with that equipment, and where was the response crew? Is it true that they were told they were not needed because BP/ARCO had already sealed the well?

When you drill, you pack special cement around the outer side of the casing at the top to prevent a blowout, where oil and gas pressure force their way up the outside of the casing and blow off the wellhead. It is possible that the company which provided that cap, (Haliburton), was misinformed by BP/ARCO (in an effort to cut costs?) as to the depth of the well and therefore poured too small a cement cap. Resulting pressure could blow that cap, destroy the automatic shutoff valves and create the resulting mess. Word seeming to support the possibility came late Friday that a huge methane bubble escaped from the wellhead and surfaced below the drilling rig, causing the instantaneous explosion and fire.

The White House was also slow to respond. Nine days passed before the Administration put into motion its emergency management response to the disaster. Although the President and Secretary of DHHS both insisted that the Administration was on top of things “from day one,” it was heard Friday and mostly unreported that BP/ARCO had called authorities and told them they had everything under control. That remark would tend to substantiate Obama’s early statement that the "experts," BP/ARCO, were on the scene and taking care of things.

Those who have followed BP/ARCO’s environmental and safety track record are very aware of its extremely poor performances, its stone-walling and its continued failure to meet its corporate responsibilities to the environment and to the countries where it operates. While accidents can and do happen, BP/ARCO’s accidents invariably involve negligence… usually gross negligence. Their CEO, Tony Hayward, bragged last year that, despite increased oil production in exotic deep waters, he had cut BP's costs by an extra one billion dollars a year. Was that all due to cutting safety corners? Does the fact that they were partners with Exxon in Alaska drilling operations when the Exxon Valdez ran aground tell you anything?

British Petroleum’s 1st Quarter profit in 2010 exceeded $6.1 billion. That’s $67 million per day operating profit. While three days worth of profits could more than adequately mitigate the remaining radioactive and other dangers at BP’s Yerington Anaconda Mine in Nevada, BP has continued to fight cleanup efforts every step of the way. In the meanwhile, downstream residents are facing increasing levels of uranium and arsenic in their domestic wells.

If I owned stock in BP/ARCO, I couldn’t bear to look at myself in the mirror every morning.

GLOOM AND DOOM, UNLESS YOU ACT

You need to make yourself comfortable, gather your spouse and kids around, sit down and listen to every last word this man has to say. This message is so important to America right now that I am going to post it on all of my blogs.

I talk to people from all around the country every day. I have been listening to the rumble. The angry tempo of America is growing. A massive explosion in our country looms, as if the tinder is dry, the kindling is dry, and the powder is volatile.

We need to act now, before we step into anarchy.

Click below:

http://la-gun.com/email/manning/

LET'S HELP OBAMA WITH HIS PLANS FOR CHANGE

1. We all know that Congress is to blame for too many of our ills. Let's start planning now to vote out everyone who is not a freshman senator or Congressman in the 20010 off-year elections. We can spend 2009 identifying good candidates and getting them ready to run.

2. At the same time, we need to replace every top-level policy-maker in Washington. Let's look inside each agency and identify them and make plans now to furlough them out.

3. Illegal immigrants are costing this country too much money. Here we are on the verge of national bankruptcy and no one is willing to come to grips with the problem. Let's solve it for them and buy them all one-way bus tickets back home.

4. We're at the mercy of foreign governments for energy. Right now, the price is down, but we need to make it a national priority to remove our dependence.

5. Let's give the media 12 months to clean up their act by creating a self regulatory body to enforce the rules of good journalistic reporting. If they don't, we'll make it a government agency.

6. Nuke Syria. That will directly take care of that problem and should convince Iran, North Korea and Russia to backoff as well.

LET'S JUST GIVE UP ON OUR COUNTRY; Who Cares?

I'm reading a letter from my insurance provider. It's a six-page letter telling me how California law now requires that companies doing business in the state MUST provide their customers with interpreters. The letter was written in English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese. Presumably, the company must also provide language assistance in Yiddish, Haitian, French, German, Latin, Indian, Russian..... as well as Navajo, Paiute, Apache and so forth. If they don't, that's blatant and open discrimination fostered by the State of California. Maybe we should just go back to speaking English. On the other hand, who cares?

The public outrage over illegal immigration seems to be a dead issue in Congress. But, who cares?

Nancy, Harry and Barack now want to give away another $500 billion of our money. Yes, we were flat outraged over that just a few weeks ago, but who cares today?

All of these issues that we Americans have been courageously taking a stand on.... no longer exist. At least, no one is talking about them, so who cares?

You know, that's what we pay those guys in Washington to do.... and whatever they decide should be fine with us. We are fretting about it, getting high blood pressure over it, and who cares?

DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH GUTS AND PATRIOTISM LEFT IN YOU TO VOTE OUT THE WORST CONGRESS IN AMERICAN HISTORY?

OR ARE YOU A "BORN AGAIN" MASOCHIST WHO WANTS MORE CORRUPTION, INACTION OR BAD ACTION IN YOUR LIFE?

REMEMBER THE BAILOUT. REMEMBER WHO CAUSED IT. REMEMBER THAT MORE IS COMING.

THEN, VOTE, VOTE YOUR HEARTS AND YOUR PATRIOTISM.