Ponderable

Ain’t Ca great?

JULY 21, 2019
Cali wildfire bailout results in electric rates 70% higher than national average
By Chriss Street
California’s proposed $26 billionbailout of bankrupt PG&E’s wildfire liability will push the state’s average residential electric rates to 70 percent higher than national average.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on July 18 that supposedly will share equally between Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) shareholders and its customer the estimated $21 billion liability for 2017 and 2018 wildfire losses. The deal is also contingent on PG&E and the state’s other two investor-owned utilities, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas, contribute another $5 billion to cover losses.

According to the latest U.S. Energy Information Agency report, California’s residential electric rates currently average 18.05 cents per kilowatt hour (kwh) versus a national average for the other states of 13.16 cents / kwh. Despite already being 37 percent higher than the national average, the bailout will push rates up to about 22.22 cents / kwh, or almost 70 percent higher than the national average.

PG&E is the seventh largest U.S. electric utility. The company has 106,681 circuit miles of electric distribution lines, 18,466 circuit miles of interconnected transmission lines, and 24,000 employees to service 5.4 million customer accounts for 16 million residents.

The State of California has implemented a series of disastrous policies since the 1990s to slash utility profit margins, demand conversion to much more expensive sustainable electricity generation, and shriveled spending money on forest management.

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The California Public Utilities Commission slashed investor-owned utilities’ return on shareholder equity from 13 percent in 1990 to about 9.45 percent since 2016. The very low return on equity clearly encouraged PG&E to cut back on maintenance spending.

California also passed a power deregulation plan in 1998 that gave bureaucrats the authority to purchase wholesale electricity. Rather than paying slightly higher prices for long term fixed-rate electricity generated in the state, the regulators made “cheaper” purchases of short-term electricity from out-of-state producers.

But when short-term rates went up by 500 percent, PG&E suffered a $12 billion loss and was forced into a 2001 bankruptcy that lasted for the next three years. The weakened company has never recovered from the devastating losses from its first bankruptcy.

A recent Wall Street Journal investigation found that PG&E delayed repairs to older transmission lines by ranking the upgrades as low priority compared to other work like substation upgrades, according to a review of federal regulatory filings. The Journal found that PG&E in 2017 identified the need for new steel towers and transmission line repairs to prevent “structure failure resulting [in] conductor on ground causing fire.”

PG&E issued a statement pledging to continue “working with the new California Public Utilities Commission President, the governor, and all stakeholders on shared solutions to California’s ever-growing risk of wildfire,” while “keeping customer rates and bills as low as possible.”

Gov. Newsom’s bailout plan requires San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison mustapprove their willingness to participate. The bailout plan also requires PG&E must exit bankruptcy by next June and meet a series of safety requirements, despite providing a long-term funding mechanism for up to $20 billion in repairs.

Although it was assumed the other utilities would participate, Southern California Edison is now requesting that California approve a spike in the return on equity to above 17 percentto "compensate investors for the higher risks associated with uncertain state policies for utility cost recovery and liability resulting from California's devastating wildfires."
 
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Marvel planning to do #JaneThor in movies

TAYLOR MILLARD Posted at 8:01 pm on July 21, 2019

Marvel is bringing #JaneThor to the movies. The entertainment company announced yesterday it would release Thor: Love and Thunder in 2021 which will feature Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster picking up mighty Mjolnir aka Thor’s hammer for those not versed in Norse mythology. Via E! Online.











On Saturday, [Natalie Portman] made a surprise appearance at Comic-Con International: San Diego 2019, appearing at Marvel Studios’ panel, where it was announced that she will play the title superhero in the fourth film in the franchise, Thor: Love and Thunder. Chris Hemsworth, who played Thor in the first three films and the Avengers movies, will also return.

Director Taika Waititi told the Comic-Con audience while they were shooting Thor: Ragnarok, he read from Jason Aaron’s Mighty Thor comic series, which depicts Jane as a female Thor

“So, there’s only one person who can do that,” Waititi said, referring to Portman.

The actress then took the stage and was handed a replica Mjolnir hammer.

“This feels pretty good,” she said. “I’ve always had a little hammer envy.”

It should also be pointed out this is not the first time Foster has appeared as Thor. Marvel’s What-If series in 1978 featured an issue where Foster got the hammer – instead of the intended Donald Blake (Thor’s original secret identity in Marvel).








https://twitter.com/geoftweets/status/1152999904328990721

My TL has been flooded with MCU news from SDCC (understandably so). 3 months ago after seeing Endgame I posted about how cool it would be to have a fun comic series that I enjoyed reading come to life in the MCU. I just happened to pick this issue for the post. #janethor #whatif


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10:52 AM - Jul 21, 2019
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Of course, the main reason for #JaneThor coming to the movies is the popularity of the 2014 to 2018 series which featured the character. The story was extremely well written by Jason Aaron and did not come off like a suddenly thrown together project going, “Let’s shake things up and make Thor a woman!” Aaron had a definitive plan and stuck with it – and Marvel let him do it.






The promotion of the series? Well, that’s a different story. From Marvel’s 2014 announcement.

This October, Marvel Comics evolves once again in one of the most shocking and exciting changes ever to shake one of the “big three” of Captain America, Iron Man and Thor. No longer is the classic Thunder God able to hold the mighty hammer, Mjölnir, and a brand new female hero will emerge worthy of the name THOR.

Who is she? Where did she come from and what is her connection to Asgard and the Marvel Universe?

“The inscription on Thor’s hammer reads ‘Whosoever holds this hammer, if HE be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.’ Well it’s time to update that inscription,” says Marvel editor Wil Moss. “The new Thor continues Marvel’s proud tradition of strong female characters like Captain Marvel, Storm, Black Widow and more. And this new Thor isn’t a temporary female substitute – she’s now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy!”

It’s a horribly-written news release with cringe-worthy quotes. It’s so bad several friends of mine had to convince me to actually read the title once it was released. Thank Odin the story was really good, made sense, and wasn’t written as some sort of “Hi, we’re doing this to surprise you!” nonsense with no follow-up. And, yes, the Odinson got his hammer back, eventually.






The only concern of mine on this upcoming Thor movie is whether the makers are trying to throw too much into one film. Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and the Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) will also be in the film – although it isn’t known how large of a part they will play – it seems like Valkyrie and #JaneThor will be the focus. It also depends on whether the Odinson will be killed or take Odin’s place as King of the Asgardians. Or if he has to go on some walkabout which can be charted in another film (Guardians 3?) or elsewhere.





There are plenty of questions regarding how Marvel will pull this off – but it can definitely be done and done well. We’ll just have to see in 2021. Here’s hoping they don’t promote Thor: Love and Thunderbolts like #JaneThor was originally promoted. That won’t go well.
 
DAILYWIRE.COM
WALSH: If America Is A Racist Country, Why Do People Have To Constantly Invent Fake Hate Crimes?
gettyimages-1158985977.jpg

Photo by Paulus Rusyanto/EyeEm/GettyImages
matt-walsh.jpg

By MATT WALSH
@MATTWALSHBLOG
July 24, 2019
20.6k views
Hate crime hoaxes have become a tried and true American tradition. We can generally count on a spate of high profile hoaxes to mark each season, especially since President Trump was elected.




CLICK TO PLAY

Forever 21 Criticized For Selling 'Fake News' Clothes


This past fall, college hoaxers carried most of the load. A racist message posted to a dorm room door at Kansas State turned out to be written by the supposed victim. A student at Ohio University received anti-gay death threats that she had sent to herself.

The winter featured two all-time great hoaxes with Jussie Smollett staging a racist assault on himself and the media turning a group of innocent high school kids into a roving gang of dangerous bigots. Neither of these quite rose to the level of, say, the infamous Clock Boy Hoax, but they came close.

Spring was a slow time for hate hoax fans. Fortunately, Canada gave us a little something to snack on as we waited for the summer hoaxing season to begin. A Jewish-run restaurant in Winnipeg was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti which the Jewish owners had themselves applied.


The summer is usually primetime for the classic "racist message left on restaurant receipt" hoax — my favorite genre, personally — but Democratic Representative Erica Thomas decided to stray from that script this week. Thomas claimed that a racist white man verbally assaulted her for bringing too many items into the express lane at the grocery store, calling her "lazy" and telling her to go back where she came from. Hate hoax connoisseurs could sense the phoniness immediately. Democrats had spent the previous week claiming that Trump's "go back" tweets were not only racist but symptomatic of a greater cultural trend. And then — what do you know — a Democratic politician goes to the grocery store and finds herself in a situation that proves exactly the point the Democrats has been making. Sadly, life is rarely so politically convenient — unless you engineer it that way.


Sure enough. Erica Thomas engineered it. After being confronted by the alleged racist, Eric Sparkes — a Cuban Democrat, as it happens — she immediately began changing her story. The police report delivered the final blows to her credibility. The police were not able to find a single witness who could corroborate Thomas' version of events. In fact, one witness reported that Thomas was the one who said "go back where you came from." A description of the security camera footage indicates that Thomas was also the aggressor, coming toward Sparkes and wagging her finger while he backed away. If there was any racism in this exchange, it seems that Thomas is the one who supplied it.

All of this hoaxing is peculiar. We are assured by the Left that America is a racist country where white supremacists roam free. Bigotry is endemic. Racism lies at the very foundation of all of our major societal institutions, they tell us. Strange, then, to see members of racial and ethnic minorities inventing fake occurrences of racism. Why should that be necessary, if racism is as rampant as they say? If there is such a surplus of bigotry, why was Erica Thomas stuck with the homemade variety? Why would someone who wishes to be the victim of racism have to conjure it out of thin air in a country where racism is allegedly so common? Indeed, how could anyone have that wish to begin with? How could they ever develop the desire to be victimized by racism if they live in a country where racism is an everyday reality? Real victims don't treat victimhood like a game.

I'm not saying that racism doesn't exist in America. Of course there is racism here. There is racism everywhere. But America is one of the least racist nations in the history of the world, and people like Erica Thomas must know that or else they wouldn't go through this trouble. Maybe we should all try having a little gratitude for the great strides our country has made. This seems much healthier than Thomas and Smollett's approach.
 
DAILYWIRE.COM
WALSH: If America Is A Racist Country, Why Do People Have To Constantly Invent Fake Hate Crimes?
gettyimages-1158985977.jpg

Photo by Paulus Rusyanto/EyeEm/GettyImages
matt-walsh.jpg

By MATT WALSH
@MATTWALSHBLOG
July 24, 2019
20.6k views
Hate crime hoaxes have become a tried and true American tradition. We can generally count on a spate of high profile hoaxes to mark each season, especially since President Trump was elected.




CLICK TO PLAY

Forever 21 Criticized For Selling 'Fake News' Clothes


This past fall, college hoaxers carried most of the load. A racist message posted to a dorm room door at Kansas State turned out to be written by the supposed victim. A student at Ohio University received anti-gay death threats that she had sent to herself.

The winter featured two all-time great hoaxes with Jussie Smollett staging a racist assault on himself and the media turning a group of innocent high school kids into a roving gang of dangerous bigots. Neither of these quite rose to the level of, say, the infamous Clock Boy Hoax, but they came close.

Spring was a slow time for hate hoax fans. Fortunately, Canada gave us a little something to snack on as we waited for the summer hoaxing season to begin. A Jewish-run restaurant in Winnipeg was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti which the Jewish owners had themselves applied.


The summer is usually primetime for the classic "racist message left on restaurant receipt" hoax — my favorite genre, personally — but Democratic Representative Erica Thomas decided to stray from that script this week. Thomas claimed that a racist white man verbally assaulted her for bringing too many items into the express lane at the grocery store, calling her "lazy" and telling her to go back where she came from. Hate hoax connoisseurs could sense the phoniness immediately. Democrats had spent the previous week claiming that Trump's "go back" tweets were not only racist but symptomatic of a greater cultural trend. And then — what do you know — a Democratic politician goes to the grocery store and finds herself in a situation that proves exactly the point the Democrats has been making. Sadly, life is rarely so politically convenient — unless you engineer it that way.


Sure enough. Erica Thomas engineered it. After being confronted by the alleged racist, Eric Sparkes — a Cuban Democrat, as it happens — she immediately began changing her story. The police report delivered the final blows to her credibility. The police were not able to find a single witness who could corroborate Thomas' version of events. In fact, one witness reported that Thomas was the one who said "go back where you came from." A description of the security camera footage indicates that Thomas was also the aggressor, coming toward Sparkes and wagging her finger while he backed away. If there was any racism in this exchange, it seems that Thomas is the one who supplied it.

All of this hoaxing is peculiar. We are assured by the Left that America is a racist country where white supremacists roam free. Bigotry is endemic. Racism lies at the very foundation of all of our major societal institutions, they tell us. Strange, then, to see members of racial and ethnic minorities inventing fake occurrences of racism. Why should that be necessary, if racism is as rampant as they say? If there is such a surplus of bigotry, why was Erica Thomas stuck with the homemade variety? Why would someone who wishes to be the victim of racism have to conjure it out of thin air in a country where racism is allegedly so common? Indeed, how could anyone have that wish to begin with? How could they ever develop the desire to be victimized by racism if they live in a country where racism is an everyday reality? Real victims don't treat victimhood like a game.

I'm not saying that racism doesn't exist in America. Of course there is racism here. There is racism everywhere. But America is one of the least racist nations in the history of the world, and people like Erica Thomas must know that or else they wouldn't go through this trouble. Maybe we should all try having a little gratitude for the great strides our country has made. This seems much healthier than Thomas and Smollett's approach.
Its the definition of racism to perpetrate a fake hate crime, and it reveals the true racists when they rush to excuse or ignore, or exonerate them.
 
Will Hollywood ever learn?

Lashana Lynch—a Black Woman—Is Taking Over as 007. It’s About Damn Time.
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OPINION
Slaven Vlasic/Getty
According to a new report, Daniel Craig will pass the martini to ‘Captain Marvel’ actress Lashana Lynch, who will be introduced as the new 007 in the still-untitled 25th Bond film.


What happens when she has cramps/etc .....
Does she get a " Pause " in the " Space-Time Continuum "...?
 
Isnʻt that you Richie? Lol! Fries U! What a deal
Iz. Understand there's people like me who are only about 100 times richer than you, which is nothing, but then there are actually rich people, like the guys who you all worship who wear suspenders and bow ties and have golden toilets.
 
Iz.
Understand there's people like me who are only about
100 times richer than you, which is nothing, but then there
are actually rich people, like the guys who you all worship who
wear suspenders and bow ties and have golden toilets.


You ooooooze Jealousy/Envy for those who produce and
actually appreciate Beauty....
 
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