Grid Monitor Warns of Blackouts That Utilities Can Still Prevent

Townhall 

Fresh off the heels of Winter Storm Fern, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) released an alarming 10-year outlook about the U.S. electric grid this week. It’s worse than NERC’s last prediction: More than half of the electric grid is going to be at a high or elevated risk of blackouts within the next five years due to growing demand, accelerating retirements of reliable resources, and increasing reliance on weather-dependent wind, solar, and battery storage.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to happen this way. Reliable, dispatchable coal-fired generation can stay on the grid longer and run more frequently than the NERC report expects, thanks to Trump administration policies. Utilities must take Winter Storm Fern as a warning and stop shutting down reliable generation if they want to avert blackouts and protect families from rising costs.

NERC expects electricity demand, driven by artificial intelligence and the digital economy, to “continue to climb higher than at any point in the past two decades,” with summer peak demand predicted to be 69 percent higher than last year’s projection. Unfortunately, “dispatchable resources are currently leaving the system faster than they can be replaced with other dispatchable technologies.” In much of the U.S., NERC expects new resources coming online soon to be predominantly wind, solar photovoltaic, and battery storage.

The U.S. can’t afford to retire more coal-fired generation without more reliable, dispatchable replacements coming online — not weather-dependent wind and solar. For the week of Winter Storm Fern, coal-fired generation increased 31 percent from the prior week, and natural gas generation increased 14% to meet demand. Coal is uniquely valuable to the grid during winter weather because its fuel is stored on-site, unlike natural gas, which must travel through pipelines in real-time.

Despite wind and solar capacity being nearly 30 percent of nameplate capacity across the U.S., on January 25, they were only a combined 10 percent of actual generation — and they lulled at precisely the times they were needed most. In the Northeast, where natural gas pipelines have been sidelined, utilities were predominantly burning oil between midday January 24 and early on January 26.

This doesn’t bode well for future winter storms that will strain the grid and lead to blackouts. But NERC’s predictions are based on announced generator retirements — which means utilities have a chance to reverse course.

The Trump administration has been a vocal supporter of coal-fired generation. In addition to Mr. Trump’s executive orders, the administration is repealing 2024 Biden rules regulating carbon dioxide emissions on power plants that would have forced coal plants to shut down in the next five years and hampered the economics of new natural gas plants. These rules will soon be finalized, and utilities and states would be smart to start planning now for the possibility that they will be able to keep running their coal plants and construct new natural gas.

That is, if state policy choices allow them to. States have broad authority to determine their generation portfolios, set prices, and establish mandates for wind and solar generators. Always On Energy Research, in collaboration with the Institute for Energy Research, found that the five states with the most expensive electricity are blue states and have established mandates requiring 100 percent of their power to come from renewable or carbon-free sources in the coming decades. Unless blue state legislators soften or repeal these requirements, consumers will be stuck paying more for electricity sources that weaken the grid and risk blackouts.

The NERC report demonstrates clearly that every megawatt of existing coal-fired generation is needed to meet growing electricity demand and bolster the grid in times of peak demand like Winter Storm Fern. The Trump administration knows that coal-fired generation is important, and it is time that utilities and state policymakers recognized the same.

Podcast thread for Feb 1st

 

Prime Video has a ton of great period shows on their platform, if you're bored.

Cop Derangement Syndrome

American Thinker 

One of life’s enigmas is trying to figure out why people, who are generally reasonable, get enraged when a cop shoots a criminal, yet they don’t have a lot of sympathy when a cop gets shot.  We see the same lack of objectivity when people wring their hands remorsefully when they hear a death sentence for a savage killer but have no sympathy for a fetus whose life is terminated by a mother who treats it like bodily waste.  What is it in the human condition that causes such mental aberration?  How many times have we heard about women who write love letters to men on Death Row and visit them in prison?  Hollywood celebrities have taken to the streets to protest the execution of cop-killers.  How many have tried to discourage pregnant women from aborting the innocent life growing inside of them?

What we’ve been witnessing on the streets of Minneapolis is another example of this aberration.  Here we have the Trump administration keeping a campaign promise of rounding up the millions of illegal aliens who were foisted upon our country during the disastrous Biden regime.  Instead of welcoming the obvious law enforcement benefits of that righteous action, hordes of protesters have been reacting violently against those who seek to rid their streets of potentially dangerous neighbors.  I don’t doubt that many of those carrying signs and obnoxiously screeching at ICE are being paid to do so by forces on the left.  Yet the size of the mobs leads me to believe that many are simply Trump-haters who are always willing to join a mob that tends to validate their derangement.

Cops are well acquainted with such madness.  I’ve written many times about my experiences as a cop in NYC, and the hostility from those who exhibited antipathy toward authority.  During arrest situations, especially in high-crime areas, a crowd would suddenly gather and begin attacking us with verbal and physical assaults.  When they were arrested on various charges connected to their interference, we’d often discover that they had no connection to the arrestee but simply hated cops.  I suppose we could have called it Cop Derangement Syndrome (CDS).  After struggling to do our job in that environment, it soon became clear that we’d better have each other’s backs, because the neighborhood residents weren’t going to be there for us.

Moreover, when a cop shot someone during an arrest situation, violent demonstrations were likely to occur.  Contrarily, when a cop was shot, we’d have to tolerate jeers and obscene gestures from a callous group of bystanders.  Hence, I can only imagine what ICE agents have been putting up with as they face packs of ferocious thugs assailing them with a variety of substances.

Enforcement personnel are only human.  They’re susceptible to physical exhaustion and morbid fear of what may suddenly occur.  They’re doing a job, and they expect to go home to their families at the end of the day.  No cop should be expected to take a bullet because fear of political retribution outweighed his survival instinct.

It’s almost impossible to explain the stress cops deal with in life-threatening circumstances.  They may have a few seconds to make a decision involving deadly force, but often have their actions scrutinized by politicians and lawyers for weeks or months, as they await their fate.  We’ve all seen verdicts from politically influenced juries that sentence cops to prison for doing what they were trained to do (Derek Chauvin is one example).

Our country is at a pivotal moment in Western civilization.  If we are to remain civilized, we must choose to either obey the law or give in to the nihilistic hedonism growing in our orbit.

Cops go through several months of academic and physical training before being dispatched to the streets to enforce laws.  Once the cop starts an action against someone, the die is cast.  He cannot just walk away because the person is defiant.  Such defiance can be addressed after police action has been taken, not on the street during the action.

There are numerous ways for the citizen to address grievances against what he sees as improper conduct.  Complaints can be filed, lawsuits can be filed, and defense attorneys can deal with allegations of improper police action during trials.  However, there is nothing in the law that says the citizen has a right to resist lawful authority!  If everyone did that, no one would be safe on the streets, because those with evil intent would take full advantage of the obvious weakness in the police and in the laws they are sworn to enforce.

For example, no one enjoys being given a traffic ticket, yet, if traffic laws were not enforced, no one would be safe on the roadway, because speeders, drunk drivers, etc. would have no reason to moderate their driving or parking habits.  Would you want to go for a drive if there were no rules of the road?  Before there were laws and cops to enforce them, we lived in a savage wilderness.  It became so perilous that people were not safe on the streets or in their homes.

What we’re experiencing in our country today is a very vocal and violent segment of society that wants to return to those primitive times.  Therefore, it’s up to civilized folks to have enough courage to stop the madness before it reaches everyone’s doorstep.

Who are the fascists, again?

Leftists are spiraling into madness.

American Thinker 

A Virginia Commonwealth University nurse recently instructed her TikTok followers to contaminate ICE agents’ food or render them lethally paralyzed.

She did this through a series of social media posts, calmly and with a little smirk on her face.

If people can no longer trust nurses or food service personnel, the economy will eventually crash and the country will come apart.

A Miami nurse recently allegedly put up a Facebook post stating: “I will not perform anesthesia for any surgeries or procedures for [Make America Great Again]. It is my right, it is my ethical oath, and I stand behind my education. I own all of my businesses and I can refuse anyone!” I stand behind my “education?”

Terrifying. If “First, do no harm” is replaced by “First, find out if they disagree with you politically,” we are obviously done as a society.

And they believe MAGA folks are mean?

Twenty-one-year-old Grace Carol Brown faces arson and burglary charges in New Braunfels, Texas, after she allegedly tried to burn down a county Republican Party headquarters. But I’m sure she was planning to burn it down in a tolerant, mostly peaceful way. At least she’s not MAGA!

The Jackson County, West Virginia, Sheriff’s Office recently announced that a 39-year-old librarian had been arrested following an investigation of a “social media recruitment of individuals to pursue and assassinate President Trump.” She has been charged with one count of “terroristic threats.” 

In a recent interview with somebody named Tim Miller on something called The Bulwark, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz actually stated of Vice President J.D. Vance, "I would beat the sh*t out of him now if I could." 

Tampon Tim, who has said one outrageously false thing after another, was recently upbraided by the Holocaust Museum for comparing the situation in Minneapolis to the Holocaust. That could be a first for a sitting governor. Even one who has done everything in his power to foment an insurrection. It may also be the first time a governor openly stated that he wanted to assault the vice president of the United States.

But Trump is a fascist!

Elliot Forhan, a Democrat Ohio Attorney General candidate, recently took to ‘X’ to announce his plan to someday execute President Donald Trump, but only following a hypothetical trial and guilty verdict, of course! Gotta be reasonable and fair!

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner apparently heard of these threats and essentially said, “Hold my beer!”  

In a chillingly psychotic speech outside city hall, Krasner said of ICE members (and by extension Trump administration supporters, "This is a small bunch of wannabe Nazis. That's what they are.” The Soros-funded lunatic then told the cheering crowd, "If we have to hunt you [them] down the way they hunted down Nazis for decades, we will find your identities.” For emphasis, he added, "We will find you.” Got it.

Krasner is vowing that he and his ilk will pursue their erstwhile political opponents across oceans -- and decades -- once they regain power. And then what? Re-education camps? Concentration camps? Not because we wanted to exterminate the Jews, but because we wanted to protect American citizens from illegal alien rapists and murderers … and to Make America Great Again.

Also, it seems like you guys are pro-Hamas and anti-Jewish, what with the college rallies and rhetoric. “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free?” And little Israel will be gone.

But Trump and his supporters are cruel and violent Nazis!

The number of people who want to assault or kill Trump and his supporters is staggering. There has already been at least two assassination attempts on the president. And Charlie Kirk was murdered for politely debating with college kids. Others have been attacked or killed simply for being a Republican or conservative (which are by no means necessarily the same thing.)

It’s a good thing for these violent, mentally ill insurrectionists that Trump is demonstrably not a violent dictator or fascist bent on torturing and exterminating his opponents. It is a remarkably sad thing that so many Americans cannot -- or will not -- see this.

For disagreeing with Leftists politically, Trump supporters have had their hats stolen or knocked off and been kicked out of restaurants. We are often shunned, cancelled, investigated, mocked, or assaulted. And occasionally shot at.

So, who are the Nazis? Maybe none of us. But Krasner and company share far more fascist traits and tendencies than do conservatives or Trump and his supporters.

🎭 𝐖𝟑𝐏 𝓓𝓐𝓘𝓛𝓨 𝓗𝓾𝓶𝓸𝓻, 𝓜𝓾𝓼𝓲𝓬, 𝓐𝓻𝓽, 𝓞𝓟𝓔𝓝 𝓣𝓗𝓡𝓔𝓐𝓓

 

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The Tragedy of the Republican Commons

RedState 

On Friday, Politico featured an article about President Trump’s pick for Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, and the announced opposition from Republican U.S. Senator Thom Tillis:

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said Friday he will oppose President Donald Trump’s Federal Reserve chair pick until a Justice Department probe into current Fed chief Jerome Powell “is fully and transparently resolved,” a stance that could severely complicate Kevin Warsh’s path to confirmation in the Senate. The retiring North Carolina lawmaker’s vote is needed to advance Warsh’s nomination through the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees the Fed and considers its nominees.

This article is very complementary for Sen. Tillis, whose opposition to Warsh will certainly slow down, if not block the nomination process for Warsh on the Senate Banking Committee, where the GOP has only a 13 to 11 majority.

Politico, of course, is a MSM news organ that hates Donald Trump, conservatism, and the GOP, while shamelessly in the tank for the Democrats and progressives. 

This is just the latest example of what I have coined the “Tragedy of the Republican Commons.”

You may recognize a similar term. In my economics class in college, I first learned about the Tragedy of the Commons.  

The tragedy of the commons refers to a situation in which individuals with access to a public resource—also called a common—act in their own interest and, in doing so, ultimately deplete the resource.  This economic theory was conceptualized in 1833 by British writer William Forster Lloyd. In 1968, the term “tragedy of the commons” was used for the first time by Garret Hardin in Science Magazine.

The Republican Party has a tragedy of the commons problem, too. The Republican Party has a certain amount of goodwill among its adherents and the public at large. This is their “common.” The higher this amount goes, the more individual Republican politicians can gain in votes in the next election(s).   

However, the MSM and “high society” organs (e.g., Georgetown cocktail parties) really despise the GOP and conservatism. Therefore, they have shown a willingness to celebrate and promote any politician who caters to their beliefs, especially if it is a Republican politician. This is because a Republican politician’s criticism of the Republican Party or the Republican leadership, including a president, is worth far more than a Democrat politician’s criticisms, as it is more credible, going against partisan interest.

Where this leaves us is in a situation where an individual Republican can create/boost his own popularity among the MSM and high society by reducing the popularity of his party at the same time. Now, he or she could also keep quiet or speak in a unified voice with other Republicans, thereby also creating some additional popularity for the GOP. But a rise from this is not individually focused on that politician, and even if it occurs, it is not as obvious a positive for him/her personally as it would be if the politician sought to distinguish himself by attacking his/her own party. 

Which is exactly what we have here with Sen. Thom Tillis. Tillis can boost his own popularity and praise from the MSM and high society by attacking Donald Trump and other Republicans. While it is true that Tillis is not seeking re-election, every politician still enjoys flattering articles from the MSM and praise from high society.  

Granted, Tillis may have other reasons to cause trouble as well. On the merits of the argument, he may be concerned. Also, he seems to have a particular dislike of the president, whom he may believe prevented him from serving another term in the Senate.  

But Tillis is not alone among Republicans.  Over the years, many other Republicans have been “tragedies.”   

A most prominent example is Senator John McCain. In 1987, McCain got involved with Charles Keating and the Keating Five Scandal. Although most informed observers understood that McCain had done little wrong, and that he had been kept in the scandal largely because the other four more guilty parties were Democrats – and the Democrat leadership in the Congress didn’t want a purely Democrat scandal – he took to heart the criticisms he got from the MSM and high society, and vowed to act in the future in a more “pure” and less partisan manner. So, for the next (almost) thirty years, he did that, most prominently when he gave his famous “thumbs down” on replacing Obamacare.  

As a result, McCain was largely showered with praise by the MSM and high society. They did so when he criticized and voted against his 2000 presidential rival, George W. Bush. They did so when he criticized and voted against his Senate leader, Mitch McConnell. And, they did so when he criticized and voted against Donald Trump.

The only time the MSM and high society didn’t celebrate McCain was when he ran for president in 2008. That is because the MSM and high society are Democrat, progressive, and they especially love diversity, and his opponent that year was a mixed-race progressive Democrat named Barack Obama.  

Now, most Republican politicians are never going to run for president. However, they can still run afoul of the MSM and high society by this type of behavior, because they get used to the praise and don’t expect the MSM and high society to turn against them. But, if/when they are involved in a competitive general re-election, the MSM and high society will immediately turn on them to win another seat for the Democrats.

For example, I worked for Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Specter loved to distinguish himself from Republican presidents and other Republicans during his 30 years in the Senate. But occasionally, when he faced a tough general election, the MSM that loved him during the off years swung savagely against him in the hopes that his Democrat opponent would topple him from his seat. See, 1992. And when he finally switched parties, they abandoned him altogether in favor of a more loyal partisan Democrat.

Unfortunately, none of this will change soon. If anything, the MSM and high society are becoming more partisan and more biased, rather than less.  So, we can expect many more such Republican “tragedies” to occur in the near future.

Trump Warns Rioters: Federal Property Will Be Defended 'Very Forcefully'

Townhall 

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he’s ordered the federal government to stay away from riots in “various poorly run Democrat Cities” unless asked for help. 

However, he ordered Department of Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem to protect federal buildings from vandals and agitators, he said in a Truth Social post. 

"Please be aware that I have instructed ICE and/or Border Patrol to be very forceful in this protection of Federal Government Property," Trump said. "There will be no spitting in the faces of our Officers, there will be no punching or kicking the headlights of our cars, and there will be no rock or brick throwing at our vehicles, or at our Patriot Warriors.” 

The post follows unrest in Los Angeles at a federal immigration facility where an unruly crowd vandalized federal equipment and hurled objects at federal employees. Those people protested the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 in Minneapolis. 

Strategic Retreat? – President Trump Announces Instructions to DHS to Pull Back from ICE Operations in Democrat States/Regions

President Trump appears to be initiating a strategic retreat from sanctuary states and sanctuary cities. Via a message on Truth Social President Trump says he has instructed DHS Secretary Noem not to participate in “poorly run Democrat cities”:

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP – “I have instructed Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, that under no circumstances are we going to participate in various poorly run Democrat Cities with regard to their Protests and/or Riots unless, and until, they ask us for help. We will, however, guard, and very powerfully so, any and all Federal Buildings that are being attacked by these highly paid Lunatics, Agitators, and Insurrectionists.

Please be aware that I have instructed ICE and/or Border Patrol to be very forceful in this protection of Federal Government Property. There will be no spitting in the faces of our Officers, there will be no punching or kicking the headlights of our cars, and there will be no rock or brick throwing at our vehicles, or at our Patriot Warriors. If there is, those people will suffer an equal, or more, consequence.

In the meantime, by copy of this Statement, I am informing Local Governments, as I did in Los Angeles when they were rioting at the end of the Biden Term, that you must protect your own State and Local Property. In addition, it is your obligation to also protect our Federal Property, Buildings, Parks, and everything else. We are there to protect Federal Property, only as a back up, in that it is Local and State Responsibility to do so.

Last night in Eugene, Oregon, these criminals broke into a Federal Building, and did great damage, also scaring and harassing the hardworking employees. Local Police did nothing in order to stop it. We will not let that happen anymore!

If Local Governments are unable to handle the Insurrectionists, Agitators, and Anarchists, we will immediately go to the location where such help is requested, and take care of the situation very easily and methodically, just as we did the Los Angeles Riots one year ago, where the Police Chief said that, “We couldn’t have done it without the help of the Federal Government.” Therefore, to all complaining Local Governments, Governors, and Mayors, let us know when you are ready, and we will be there — But, before we do so, you must use the word, “PLEASE.”

Remember that I stated, in the strongest of language, to BEWARE — ICE, Border Patrol or, if necessary, our Military, will be extremely powerful and tough in the protection of our Federal Property. We will not allow our Courthouses, Federal Buildings, or anything else under our protection, to be damaged in any way, shape, or form. I was elected on a Policy of Border Control (which has now been perfected!), National Security, and LAW AND ORDER — That’s what America wants, and that’s what America is getting! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP

I would not be surprised to see both Kristi Noem and Tulsi Gabbard pressured to resign by the White House inner circle ie Susie Wiles.

Federal Judge Refuses to Block Minnesota DHS Operation ‘Metro Surge’

State and local officials within Minnesota had asked the federal court for an injunction halting Dept of Homeland Security ICE/CBP operations in/around the Minneapolis metro area on the grounds the tenth amendment.  A federal judge rejected the request and refused to stop ongoing ICE operations.

In the ruling today [FULL RULING HERE], U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Menendez admitted the ongoing operation “will likely continue to have profound and even heartbreaking, consequences on the State of Minnesota, the Twin Cities, and Minnesotans,” however, there is no grounds for the state’s case using the 10th amendment.

[source]

The decision means the ongoing surge of Immigration Customs Enforcement, as well as various federal officials looking into regional fraud in the region, can continue.

(Via Politico) – […] “There is evidence that ICE and CBP agents have engaged in racial profiling, excessive use of force, and other harmful actions,” Menendez said, adding that the operation has disrupted daily life for Minnesotans — harming school attendance, forcing police overtime work and straining emergency services. She also said there were signs the Trump administration was using the surge to force the state to change its immigration policies — pointing to a list of policy demands by Attorney General Pam Bondi and similar comments by White House immigration czar Tom Homan.

But the Biden-appointed judge said state officials’ arguments that the state was being punished or unfairly treated by the federal government were insufficient to justify blocking the surge altogether. And in a 30-page opinion, the judge said she was “particularly reluctant to take a side in the debate about the purpose behind Operation Metro Surge.” (MORE)

Sunday Scripture

 

Thoughts on Today's Verse from Verse of the Day

"You mean I have to put up with all this from that person!?"

 
There are those folks in life about whom the saying is true: "They are the grit out of which we are to fashion our pearls." Our great example in this challenge —  "To be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." — is Jesus. Jesus has fashioned many pearls from pretty bad grit. Think of what he had to put up with in his 12 disciples. Remember how the Lord's patience and kindness helped transform them. His love persevered through so many of their failures, especially failures in his hardest and darkest moments. In the process, however, Jesus' life of humbleness, gentleness, patience, and love transformed them. Can we dare to do less with those for whom Christ died?

♦️𝐖³𝐏 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝

 

W³P Daily News Open Thread. 

posted by DarkGoldenMan

Welcome to the W³P Daily News Open Thread. 

Post whatever you got in the comments section below.

This feature will post every day at 6:30am Mountain time.