Tuesday, August 09, 2022

For reading on a hot summer day while sipping a cool beverage.

Race and Identity as a dividing line in American politics (click here) Did the shift to the right accomplish a benevolent outcome? Why were personage left out of the conservative picture when only profits matter? What is the role of government, profits of corporations or the well being of the citizens?

To understand how Orban divided Hungry to gain a dictatorship is more than a patriotic duty.

György G. MÁRKUS (click here)

PARTY POLITICS, PARTY SYSTEM AND THE TYPOLOGY OF POLITICAL CLEAVAGES IN HUNGARY

Working Paper: Budapest 1998 - Barcelona 2000

CONTENTS:

1.11 Years of Multipartism in Hungary - Classical Cleavage Theory Revisited

2.The Historical Dimension: Hungarian Cleavages and PartiesPrior to 1989

3.Frozen Cleavages and Changing Parties in Post-Communist Hungary from 1989 to Mid-1997

4.The Restructuring of the Party System:NATO Referendum 1997 - Parliamentary Elections 1998

Cleavage theory (click here) accordingly argues that political cleavages predominantly determine a country's party system as well as the individual voting behavior of citizens, dividing them into voting blocs.

Transnationalism is an issue in Europe for obvious reasons. But, it's study is far more about where a country is politically cleaved and how populism plays into voting when social norms are considered part of the cost.

...Our point of departure is the classic cleavage model, and in the next section, we discuss alternative ways of explaining its decline. In the following sections, we argue that transnationalism has generated social conflict that escapes the old left-right divide, and we set out expectations for why and when political parties have socially distinct constituencies on the new divide. We then put our cleavage argument to the test: we compare the extent to which voters and parties are structured by higher education, occupation, rural/urban location, religion, and gender across the old and new divides, pooling crossnational data from eight waves of the European Social Survey. We find that conventional parties on the left-right have become much less socially structured. However, parties on the socio-cultural transnational divide—GAL (green, alternative, libertarian) and TAN (traditionalist, authoritarian, nationalist)—have sharply divergent social bases. In the conclusion, we discuss how this transnational divide has narrowed the parameters for tackling Europe’s crises, and how Europe’s crises have accelerated the restructuring of party competition in Europe....

These nuclear talks? (click here) This is not a nuclear negotiation. This is a farce. 

























The articles that Trump took belong to the country, not him.

Guaranteed he would have sold it at first opportunity.

February 7, 2022
By Grace Panetta

Donald Trump (click here) displays a letter he said he received the previous day from the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly in New York in 2018.

Former President Donald Trump (click here) took several boxes of official White House records and memorabilia that should have been handed over to the National Archives to Mar-a-Lago instead, The Washington Post reports.

The National Archives has so far "arranged transport" to recover 15 boxes of documents from Trump's Florida resort and winter residence, the agency confirmed in a Monday statement. Under the Presidential Records Act, Trump should have given those records over to the agency upon leaving office.

The Archives added that Trump and his staff are "continuing to search for additional Presidential records that belong to the National Archives."

The items that Trump improperly took to Florida with him include correspondence from North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, with whom Trump said he exchanged "beautiful" love letters while in office, and a letter that former President Barack Obama left Trump in 2017, according to The Post....

What did Trump write that threatened war from North Korea? What nuclear negotiations? The Republicans need to straighten up!

January 20, 2020

Kim said US was "abusing" dialogue for "sordid aims" and it will shift to "shocking action to make it pay"

Trump said he liked Kim and said he was "a man of his word" on denuclearisation

The prolonged standstill has dimmed hopes for achieving full denuclearisation

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (click here) has accused the Trump administration of dragging its feet in nuclear negotiations and warned that his country will soon show a new strategic weapon to the world as it bolsters its nuclear deterrent in the face of "gangster-like" US pressure....

They couldn't find everything. It was time for the federal government to secure the items that belong to the National Archives. Additionally, Trump lead an insurgency to overthrow an election. People died. I think Republicans need to come to Jesus. They seemed to be lost in "who gets the vote?" Disgusting.

August 9, 2022
By David Jackson

Washington - Many Republicans (click here) are rallying around former President Donald Trump after the FBI search on his Mar-a-Lago estate – some more aggressively than others.

While House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans vowed to investigate the Department of Justice over the search, Vice President Mike Pence issued a tweet expressing his "concern" over the incident.

"I share the deep concern of millions of Americans over the unprecedented search of the personal residence of President Trump," Pence tweeted.

Pence, who like Trump is considering a 2024 presidential run, also tweeted that some FBI agents "were found to be acting on political motivation" during the Trump administration....

There were classified documents mishandled by Trump while in the Oval Office, how many more did he steal? And Republicans are going to stand behind this bozo for the sake of votes or worse? We don't need a party that can't even maintain it's identity from that of an insurrectionist.

August 8, 2022
By Devlin Barrett, Mariana Alfaro, Josh Dawsey and Jacqueline Alemany

Former president Donald Trump (click here) said Monday that the FBI had raided his Mar-a-Lago Club and searched his safe — activity related to an investigation into the potential mishandling of classified documents, according to two people familiar with the probe....

Glenn Youngkin is making it impossible to convert energy to offshore wind.

The old guard does not understand alternative energies and for that reason obstructs everything about it. Solar and wind experts need to be part of the government infrastructure to facilitate a change in energy to non-carbon polluting methods.

August 8, 2022
By Ethan Howland

The SCC (click here) last week approved a rate rider for recovering the cost of Dominion’s $9.8 billion offshore wind project and related onshore transmission facilities.

The commission ordered Dominion Energy Virginia’s customers to be held harmless for any shortfall in energy production below the project’s expected 42% annual net capacity factor, measured on a three-year rolling average.

“Meaning, of course, that roughly half the time, it would be above that level and half below,” Blue said. “Effectively, such a guarantee would require [Dominion Energy Virginia] to financially guarantee the weather, among other factors beyond its control, for the life of the project.”

The performance guarantee creates an unprecedented layer of financial one-way risk for the utility and is “inconsistent with the utility risk profile” expected by investors, Blue said.

“There are obviously factors that can affect the output of any generation facility, notwithstanding the reasonable and prudent actions of the operator, including natural disasters, acts of war or terrorism, changes in law or policy, regional transmission constraints or a host of other uncontrollable circumstances,” Blue said....

This indicator presents data on 11,000 deaths classified as “heat-related” in the United States.

How many Americans would give anything to have their family members back? 

MEASURE THAT!!!!!!

This figure (click here) shows the annual rates for deaths classified as “heat-related” by medical professionals in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The orange line shows deaths for which heat was listed as the main (underlying) cause.* The blue line shows deaths for which heat was listed as either the underlying or contributing cause of death during the months from May to September, based on a broader set of data that became available in 1999.

This is only heat related deaths. ONLY. There are deaths by fire and flooding not measured in that graph or counted in these statistics. 

I really don't want to hear it. ALL OF IT looks good to me and that is not even measuring the vast changes the USA will be ACHIEVING in the climate crisis.

One thing conservatives never value is QUALITY OF LIFE. This bill is going to increase the country's quality of life. The idea in ten years there will be a total reduction of the National Deficit by $305.2 billion (THAT IS NEARLY A THIRD OF A TRILLION) while changing the way the USA gets energy through No Pollution of Greenhouse Gases is an incredible accomplishment. Every American should be proud of what is being accomplished in this Congress.

Protections for the climate cannot be undervalued. It is far more than simple dollars and cents. This is a burgeoning accomplishment for the USA every American can be proud of and tout as the greatest country on Earth. Not everything is measured by military prowess.

August 4, 2022

by Andrew Lautz

On Tuesday, (click here) over 100 economists signed a letter to Congressional leaders urging them to pass the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), claiming that because the legislation “is deficit-reducing,” it will put “downward pressure on inflation.” However, this claim was undermined the very next day by a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate that found that only seven percent of the IRA’s deficit reduction, or $21.4 billion out of $305.2 billion, occurs in the next four years. This makes it extremely unlikely that the IRA will fight inflation in the next few years, when it is expected to be highest – a finding confirmed by CBO in an analysis that found the IRA will have negligible effects on inflation in calendar years 2022 and 2023.

The CBO calculations, along with estimates of new revenues from enhanced IRS enforcement, find that the legislation reduces deficits by about $21 billion in FY 2023 and $5 billion in FY 2024, but then increases deficits in FY 2025 (by $2.6 billion) and FY 2026 (by $1.8 billion). The IRA then decreases deficits by larger and larger amounts from FYs 2027 through FY 2031, from $21.9 billion in FY 2027 to a high of $77.9 billion in FY 2031, the last year of the 10-year window....

The systems have to be modernized and the good news is that it is all possible. From offshore wind farms to land based solar arrays.

August 9, 2022

Transmission lines run through the hills of New Hampshire.

Senate Democrats’ climate bill (click here) includes $3 billion in loans and grants for electric transmission projects—money that, in addition to tax incentives for electricity generators, would break down a significant barrier to a large-scale clean energy rollout, advocates said.

The Inflation Reduction Act (H.R. 5376) that senators passed Sunday would authorize the Energy Department to issue $2 billion in loans to support new and upgraded electric transmission lines that are deemed part of national corridors. The department would have $760 million in grants to siting authorities—namely state governments—to aid developers in navigating the review and approval processes. An additional $100 million is dedicated to offshore wind transmission.

Transmission projects have been stalled by regulatory delays, hindering renewable projects waiting to connect their power to the grid.

“It’s great to see really every aspect of transmission siting and permitting being addressed in the IRA,” said Christina Hayes, executive director of Americans for a Clean Energy Grid....

...The bill—which is scheduled for a House vote on Aug. 12—complements efforts underway at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to overhaul regional transmission’s planning and cost allocation process, said Hayes, who worked at FERC from 2007 to 2015 and at the Oregon Public Utility Commission for the four years prior.

The commission is also reassessing how transmission providers connect generators to their systems.

Transmission siting falls to state commissions, though Congress has provided federal officials a “backstop” authority to approve a transmission line even if one state rejects it. That authority hasn’t been used yet.

More than 8,100 generation projects totaling 1,400 gigawatts of generation and storage were stuck waiting in interconnection queues throughout the country at the end of 2021, according to FERC....

We have been waiting a very long time for this. It is more than time for a huge paradigm shift. No more delays!

September 8, 2021
By Pippa Stevens

The White House (click here) on Wednesday outlined a plan for solar energy to supply nearly half of the nation’s electricity by 2050. The ambitious outline would see solar rising from 3% of generation in 2020 to 40% by 2035 before ultimately hitting 45% by 2050.

Heavy spending across industries will be required to meet that blueprint. U.S. solar installations hit a record high in 2020, but yearly solar capacity additions will need to double annually through 2025, before quadrupling from 2020′s level each year between 2025 and 2030. Falling costs and supportive policies including tax incentives have boosted solar’s robust growth over the last decade.

The report, issued by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, said solar capacity will need to reach 1,600 gigawatts by 2050. This is more than the total electrical consumption from residential and commercial buildings today....

The IAEA must report this burgeoning danger to the UN Security Council and any major power in the region.

The facility needs a third party to come in and shut down the plant until full inspections can take place and the facility made safe again. Russia knows less than nothing about nuclear material and cares even less.

Every nuclear reactor should be overseen by a third party that has control. There is no one from a communist country capable of taking care of these nuclear reactors. The responsibility will have to fall to a neutral party.

August 9, 2022
By Hugo Bachega

Map Source: Institute of War Studies. Why does that make me nervous?

Russian forces occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (click here) have turned the site into a military base to launch attacks against Ukrainian positions, the head of Ukraine's nuclear power company says.

Petro Kotin told the BBC the threat to the plant was "great", but that it remained safe.

For days, Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for attacks on the site, Europe's largest nuclear plant, raising concerns of a major accident.

The complex has been under Russian occupation since early March, although Ukrainian technicians still operate it.

Over the weekend, Ukraine accused Russian forces of attacking the Soviet-era site, saying two workers were taken to hospital with shrapnel injuries and that three radiation sensors had been damaged.

Mr Kotin, who heads Enerhoatom, said 500 Russian soldiers were at the plant, and that they had positioned rocket launchers in the area, claims that cannot be independently verified....

We have been lucky to date. Europe is right there. Someone has to manage these facilities even if it means closing them indefinitely. 

August 8, 2022
By Peter Behr

Rocket fire (click here) around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in eastern Ukraine late last week has raised “a very real risk of a nuclear disaster,” the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned over the weekend.

In a statement on the threat Saturday, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said none of the six reactors at Zaporizhzhia — Europe’s largest nuclear facility — had been damaged by recent rocket strikes and that no radiation had leaked.

There was damage to several support structures and a high voltage power line, the Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom reported Friday. The Paris-based Nuclear Energy Agency said the Ukraine State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate reports it is no longer in a position to oversee safety at the site.

Two of the plant’s reactors are still running, and two of four power lines connected to Ukraine’s power grid also remain operational, bringing in outside power to keep those reactors running, Ukraine agencies reported.

But Grossi renewed demands that Russia permit IAEA safety technicians to visit the plant to inspect its safety status and the health and security of the Ukrainian plant employees who have been forced to remain in place to operate the facility.

The operators must be allowed to do their work free from threats, pressure or punishment from Russian occupiers, Grossi said.

News reports said Russian troops had fired rockets at the Ukraine-held city of Enerhodar on the Dnieper River, hitting the nearby nuclear plant....

I think a lot of the country feels the same way.

Rob Reiner (click here)

FBI raids Mar-a-Lago. Game on!!!
He has the best picture of Secretary Hillary!