As every 10-year-old who ever got a sweater for a birthday present has been told, “it’s the thought that counts.” That seems to be the guiding principle at the Department of Energy and the California Public Utilities Commission when it comes to solar power.

The latest example is the $2.2 billion Ivanpah solar thermal plant in California. (Note: Solar thermal plants do not use solar panels to directly convert sunshine to electricity; they use sunshine to boil water that then drives conventional turbines.)

Here’s the story so far. Ivanpah…

- is owned by Google, NRG Energy, and Brightsource, who have a market cap in excess of $500 billion.

- received $1.6 billion in loan guarantees from the Department of Energy.

- is paid four to five times as much per megawatt-hour as natural gas-powered plants.

- is paid two to three times as much per megawatt-hour as other solar power producers.

- has burned thousands of birds to death.

- has delayed loan repayments.

- is seeking over $500 million in grants to help pay off the guaranteed loans.

- burns natural gas for 4.5 hours each morning to get its mojo going.

Brightsource, which is privately held, is owned by a virtual who’s who of those who don’t need subsidies from taxpayers and ratepayers.

In spite of all this, Ivanpah has fallen woefully short of its production targets. The managers’ explanation for why production came up 32 percent below expected output is the weather. In addition to raising questions about planning for uncertainty, it is not all that clear how a nine-percent drop in sunshine causes a 32-percent drop in production.

More bizarrely, the natural gas used to get the plant all warmed up and ready each day would be enough to generate over one quarter of the power actually produced from the solar energy. Sorry, let’s not be h**ers.

The problem for Ivanpah’s customers (California power utilities) is that they planned on all those solar watt-hours to meet California’s renewable power mandates, which require that renewables produce a large and rising fraction of California’s electricity. That is why they pay so much more for Ivanpah’s output than for conventionally powered electricity.

Breaching their contracts with these California utilities threatened to shut down Ivanpah. More likely than permanently shutting Ivanpah down would have been a change of ownership at a price that came closer to reflecting reality.

But this would have been bothersome for Ivanpah’s investors and the Department of Energy’s ridiculous Section 1703 Loan Program, so the California Public Utilities Commission saved the day (for the fat-cat owners, of course, not for actual the electricity consumers) by granting the company an extension to meet the production targets.

The best part of the ruling is the section on the cost—it’s pretty succinct.

Here it is in its entirety:

PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA - Estimated cost: Actual costs of the Forbearance Agreements are confidential at this time.

But hey, Ivanpah’s plant is a shiny new technological marvel. That’s what counts, right?

http://dailysignal.com/2016/03/29/taxpayers-are-footing-bill-for-solar-project-that-doesnt-work/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=morningbell&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6vIdO%2FhmjTEU5z16uQoW6e1h4kz2EFye%2BLIHETpodcMTcRhM7zYDBceEJhqyQJxPr3NLtQN191pRhLiDA%3D%3D

Muslims Say That Easter Egg Hunt ‘Violates the U.S. Constitution’

Muslim parents in Dearborn, Michigan are upset after elementary school students received flyers promoting an Easter Egg hunt at a local Presbyterian church.
The parents say the egg hunt “violates the U.S. Constitution”.
The Muslims told the Detroit Free-Press that they were concerned about the religious implications of Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church’s “Eggstravaganza!”
They were also “troubled” by images of a bunny rabbit.
“It really bothered my two kids,” parent Majed Moughni, told the newspaper. “My son was like, ‘Dad, I really don’t feel comfortable getting these flyers, telling me to go to church. I thought churches are not supposed to mix with schools.’ ”
The school district did not comment and the pastor of the church said there’s nothing remotely religious about the event.
“Part of our efforts in Dearborn is to invite the community to let them know we’re here,” Pastor Neeta Nichols told the newspaper. “We’re offering various kinds of programming, fun opportunities, so what we can be engaged with the community.”

Upset’: Majed Moughni, 43, of Dearborn holds invitations for the non-religious,
optional event given to students at Howard Elementary School in Dearborn.
Unbelievable. Once again, Muslims demand that the needs of Sharia Law supercede longstanding American traditions.
It’s not just in Europe that Muslims have a problem with assimilation.

Who supports these views/attitudes/opinions?

The answer may surprise you


◾Oppose equal rights for homosexuals.
◾Don’t trust the United States government.
◾Believe a******n is murder.
◾Want a nation based on theocracy.
◾Believe women should be subservient to men.
◾Think our education system should be based on religion instead of science.
◾Want to oppress the religious freedoms for every religion besides theirs.
◾Oppose access to contraceptives.
◾Aren’t opposed to a violent o*******w of the federal government.



Yup, these are the current views of conservatives, trump/cruz supporters and certain members of OPP

Surprisingly similar to ISIS/ISIL aren't they?

So the other shoe has dropped. And the radical l*****ts running the country are declaring open war on Broken Windows Policing. Which means effectively crippling any ability to enforce the law.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch has issued a warning to municipal and state judges across the country that their courts could lose federal funding if they don’t ease up on fines and arrest warrants for minor crimes involving poor offenders, indigent minorities in particular.

In lieu of fines and jail time, Lynch urges the nation’s 6,500 municipal courts to provide an avenue for offenders to perform “community service” or take advantage of “amnesty days,” whereby outstanding arrest warrants are cleared for nominal fees.

Failure to comply with these policies could trigger a Ferguson-style discrimination investigation. Already, Lynch says she’s “evaluating discrimination complaints against several court systems.”

The Michael Brown shooting h**x was just a pretext for that kind of witch hunt. So now Lynch is dispensing with the pretexts and cutting right to the crackdown.

A strongly worded “guidance” letter, written by her civil-rights team, warns that a local court policy of enforcing warrants for failure to pay court fines and fees can have an adverse “disparate impact” on African-Americans, who are fined and/or arrested for outstanding warrants at “disproportionate” rates versus w****s.

Of course the same is true for most crimes. So why enforce laws against murder, robbery or rape? There is no reason. So look for those to be "equalized" as well. Or removed in favor of some kind of "r********ns" scheme.



“In court systems receiving federal funds, these practices may also violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when they unnecessarily impose disparate harm on the basis of race,” the nine-page letters states.

So Lynch is contending that Title VI is insane and needs to be abolished. Either that or eliminate all enforcement of criminal laws. Well played.

Former federal civil-rights attorney Hans Bader, now with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, describes the latest reforms as a “massive assault on the criminal justice system.”

Of course it is. This is a declaration of war on public safety in America by the most pro-crime administration in American history.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/262312/attorney-general-lynch-fines-are-r****t-and-will-daniel-greenfield

Grand Inquisitor Marsha Blackburn carries out her crusade on Planned Parenthood Heresy.

Blackburn’s committee was created by former Speaker of the House John A. Boehner and called “the Select Investigative Panel On Infant Lives.” Initially the ‘committee’ was created to discover wrongdoing on Planned Parenthood’s part, but with no wrongdoing and no-one to punish, Blackburn is going after any and every person remotely connected to medical and scientific research involving fetal tissue; it is a religious crusade and inquisition using taxpayer dollars and no-one is outraged.

However, the scientific researchers and medical technicians targeted by this 21st Century evangelical inquisition are outraged, and terrified that this latest religious attack will serve a dual purpose important to evangelicals. First, it has the very real potential of halting critical, lifesaving research and second; “seriously endanger the lives of the many, many researchers, technicians, and students when their names are made public.” Making the names public is according to a longstanding demand of anti-choice evangelicals so they know exactly whose lives to “endanger.”

The latest crusade should also be particularly frightening to every American, including anti-women’s health Catholics and evangelicals seeking to punish non-compliant Americans. Every one of the laboratories and medical research scientists depend on fetal tissue samples to find cures for nearly every fatal condition including the Zika v***s, Parkinson’s disease and HIV among many other conditions and infirmities. http://www.politicususa.com/2016/03/27/gop-planned-parenthood-inquisition-expands-punish-research-scientists.html

Comprehensive Health Vindicated, Dedicated to Providing Health Care Services
Overland Park, KS — The inquisition and threats made against Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri by former state Attorney General Phill Kline have been officially dismissed after a state review of the evidence. The state attorney's office officially notified Planned Parenthood’s attorney Pedro Irigonegaray by letter that the matter has been closed.
“Former Attorney General Phill Kline launched a fishing expedition to further his personal anti-a******n agenda,” said Peter Brownlie, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri. “His attempts to conduct a sweeping invasion of medical privacy to pursue a political agenda have now been rebuked. Planned Parenthood has always been focused on providing high quality reproductive health care, and this ordeal is an important reminder about the dangers of political extremism.
- See more at: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/kansas-medical-records#sthash.PyvYPqKF.dpuf. Persevere

from the LA Times-letter

Re “In wake of Brussels, ugly ideas,” editorial, March 23
WHEN MUSLIM ATTACKERS IN BOSTON, Paris, San Bernardino and Brussels shot or blew people up, there were immediate calls for, among other things, stopping all Muslim immigration to the U.S., surveilling mosques and patrolling Muslim neighborhoods. But when a white man in Norway k**led 77 people (most of them teenagers), there was talk of only a deranged person. When a blond-haired, blue-eyed former soldier named Timothy McVeigh blew up an entire federal building, k*****g 168 people, nobody called for extra patrols of Christian neighborhoods and churches.
When white Christian Americans shoot innocent people in movie theaters, shopping malls, schools, churches or healthcare clinics, nobody calls for special scrutiny of their churches or neighborhoods. Have we noticed how the National Rifle Assn. promptly calls for protecting gun rights after mass k*****gs perpetrated by white people but remains quiet after k*****gs by Muslims, evidently because doing so would imply Muslims deserve unfettered access to firearms too?
Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and all the other Republican also-rans: What’s your answer to this?
BRUCE BARNBAUM, Granite Falls, Wash.

U.S. payrolls show surprising growth in February; unemployment holds steady

The U.S. economy’s job engine revved up again last month, producing a surprisingly strong 242,000 net positions, while the unemployment rate held steady at an eight-year low of 4.9%, the Labor Department said Friday.

Job growth was up sharply from January’s upwardly revised figure of 172,000 -- far exceeding analysts' expectations -- and should ease fears that the U.S. was slipping toward another recession.


The Labor Department revised up the totals for December and January by a combined 30,000 net jobs. That means the economy added a solid average of about 228,000 net jobs over the last three months. The average is about the same as for all of 2015.

California's unemployment rate dropped to 5.7% in January from 5.9% the previous month, the state's Employment Development Department said Friday.

But the state's job engine stalled. Employers shed 1,500 positions in January after a downwardly revised gain of 47,700 the previous month. State jobs data lag federal figures by a month.

With job growth improving nationally in February, about 555,000 people jumped back into the labor force. That pushed the labor force participation rate -- the percentage of adults in the workforce -- up to 62.9%, the highest level since January 2015.

The figure is still historically low, but now has risen for three straight months.

Despite the upbeat top-line figures, there was a key piece of disappointing data in Friday’s report that indicates the job market and economy are still not fully healed.

Wages surprisingly declined in February after a strong gain the previous month. The decline of 3 cents an hour in average earnings, to $25.35, was the largest since 2014.

------------

For the 12 months ended Feb. 29, wages have increased 2.2%, which is well above the low inflation rate but off the annual pace recorded in the previous two months.

“While the headline numbers in the report are important, many Americans are most eager for better pay gains,” said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at financial information website Bankrate.com. “On that front, the February data represents a setback.”

The February jobs report is the last significant batch of economic data before Federal Reserve policymakers meet this month to determine whether to enact another small hike in a key interest rate. The mixed data on job gains and wages in the wake of recent financial market turmoil could lead central bank officials to hold off on a rate increase.

“Continued months of strong job growth should eventually t***slate into durable accelerations in wage growth, but it hasn’t happened yet,” said Josh Bivens, research and policy director at the Economic Policy Institute think tank. “Given this, job creation and economic expansion should continue to be encouraged, not tamped down with another interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve at their next meeting.”

I recently made the point in a gun debate that we should only be able to own revolvers and bolt action rifles because they are limited in the amount of damage they can do before running out of ammo and the shooter having to reload.

A case in point is the latest school shooting because where a 14 year old shooter ran out of ammo after shooting only 4 people where he than had to run away on foot.

This is exactly why we should be limited to revolvers and bolt action rifles. Our right to self-defense and hunt remain intact while the damage others can do against to us is limited because of the equipment they will have to use. Lets ban ALL semi autos and automatics and become it will led to a safer and, hopefully, saner nation.

What do you think? Great idea huh! Can I hear a AMEN!

http://www.wlwt.com/news/report-of-2-people-shot-at-madison-high-school/38252402

You idol worshippers k**led millions of us Jews for 1700 years all in the name of this Jesus. And you wonder why we h**e the Catholics and Jesus today...Even the Gentiles who were the true followers of Yeshua were k**led by the millions during the Reformation period...And when the Conquistadors took over the Americas, they wiped out the advanced civilizations in Peru and Mexico, k*****g millions of Indians all in the name of Jesus...And your k*****g spree isn't over yet. According to the Bible, Catholics will be k*****g hundreds of millions of the saints during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 17:5-6).

You idol worshippers k**led millions of us Jews for 1700 years all in the name of this Jesus. And you wonder why we h**e the Catholics and Jesus today...Even the Gentiles who were the true followers of Yeshua were k**led by the millions during the Reformation period...And when the Conquistadors took over the Americas, they wiped out the advanced civilizations in Peru and Mexico, k*****g millions of Indians all in the name of Jesus...And your k*****g spree isn't over yet. According to the Bible, Catholics will be k*****g hundreds of millions of the saints during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 17:5-6).

Sounds like manuel of prostitution. Who can determine the original intentions of anyone especially those who drafted the Constitution.

I believe this Patriotic Jingoistic Hyperbole is in reality a euphemism for something else. Consider this when you study Native American History and the original intent of their fate.
http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/01/05/260006815/the-ugly-fascinating-history-of-the-word-r****m After all They knew what the greater good consisted of. Especially for Indians! Tragic!