Huh: California Law Meant To Make Solar And Wind Easier Making It Harder In Practice

By William Teach August 19, 2025 – 3:00 pm

Someone at Politico did random act of journalism

California’s self-own on wind and solar

A wind power farm in the mountains of far-Northern California was the first through the door of a new permit streamlining program that came with a lofty promise to renewable energy developers: Once a permit application was complete, the California Energy Commission would make a final ruling on the project within 270 days.

It’s been more than 650 days since Fountain Wind completed its application. But the agency still hasn’t made a final ruling, after fierce local opposition successfully derailed the permit review.

In renewable energy circles, the project has become a poster child of the sluggish progress California has made toward expediting the infrastructure state leaders say they so desperately want. Meanwhile, local officials and their advocates see the initiative as a prime example of why decision-making is better done within the communities where workers are breaking dirt. That argument will continue playing out in Sacramento in the coming month as language that would further empower the CEC’s permitting authority is in one of the most-watched end-of-session bills.

That law has created lots of NIMBY. Wind and solar, especially giant wind turbines, may be popular in theory, but, only when they are Somewhere Else. Over There. Annoying That Guy.

The thing is, while the focus is on the law

In June 2022, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a major budget trailer bill that was a key step in California’s yearslong effort to pare down its notoriously byzantine permitting processes. AB 205 created an optional permitting process that would allow large renewable energy projects to get the green light from the CEC, effectively sidestepping local advocates who have become so effective at wielding county-level laws to mothball construction.

what Politico is touching on but more as a sidebar is this

“Why champion a state permitting process that does authorize a local override if you’re not going to wield it?’ said Alex Jackson, executive director of the American Clean Power Association, a renewable energy trade group. “In the face of federal attacks on wind and rising demand, the case for grabbing every zero-carbon electron in California could not be stronger right now.”

That’s right, the Warmists are super upset that those stupid local peasants have a say in what occurs in their local areas. How dare they stop progress!!!!!!

SB 254, state Sen. Josh Becker’s (D) sprawling bill to rein in electricity rates, contains language that would establish a presumption under the AB 205 system that the facilities’ construction would economically benefit local governments, reversing the current dynamic, which has a higher bar for developers to demonstrate those benefits. It would also extend the application window deadline from 2029 to 2034, make smaller projects eligible, and give the CEC a 30-day deadline to ask for additional information after it receives records from applicants.

In other words, screw those locals. They do not get a say. The state and the companies are going to force these projects on the locals and localities, which tend to be far from the areas those forcing this live in.

“We need to retain discretion over projects that are occurring within our jurisdictional boundaries,” said John Kennedy, a senior policy advocate with Rural County Representatives of California, which represents the state’s 40 rural counties. When the state overrules county regulations, it can leave locals feeling “embittered by projects that come in and don’t take their concerns into consideration,” he said.

Warmists are not happy that local yokels might retain control in their areas. The authoritarian Warmists will, eventually, force the projects on these people. Because that’s who the Warmists are.

Read: Huh: California Law Meant To Make Solar And Wind Easier Making It Harder In Practice »

Posted in Climate Cult, Global Warming | 4 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach August 19, 2025 – 1:08 pm

…is a wonderful low carbon bike keeping hurricanes away, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is No Tricks Zone, with a post on corals liking warm water.

Read: If All You See… »

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Politico: Trump World Is Not Happy About Trump’s Zelenskyy Reset

By William Teach August 19, 2025 – 10:30 am

So, big things are happening when it comes to trying to end the war in Ukraine. How did Trump World react?

Inside Trump world’s reaction to the Zelenskyy reset

For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Monday began with a diplomatic whirlwind. It ended with a great sigh of relief.

Hours of meetings in Washington — Zelenskyy with President Donald Trump, Trump with a coterie of Europe’s most powerful leaders, all of the above together in the Oval Office — culminated in a “breakthrough,” in the words of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte: Trump expressed a willingness to participate in security guarantees for Ukraine.

On the international stage, that alone amounts to a new dawn not only for the relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine, but also Zelenskyy’s relationship with Trump, and America’s with some of its closest transatlantic allies.

On the home front, it could be a bit more complicated. While there are no specifics yet on what exactly U.S. security guarantees might look like for Ukraine — Zelenskyy suggested those would be ironed out within 10 days — even the vague allusion to them hints that MAGA may be careening toward another foreign policy divide.

Do we want to provide security for Ukraine? I know many on Twitter are not happy. But, most aren’t even bothering to comment. We have to see if it happens first. Also, what would that look like? A small number of US military troops as a buffer? A small base? Air Force bombers and fighters? We don’t know. Would it be worth ending the war? Maybe the most hardcore MAGA will say “no.” I do not see a problem, not when they are not there to actually fight.

In public, there are a few topline takeaways from yesterday. The biggest are the security guarantees, and the reality that Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin are hurtling toward a bilateral meeting; German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that summit could happen within the next two weeks. After that, Trump intends to join Zelenskyy and Putin for a trilateral meeting with the aim of ending Russia’s war on Ukraine, he announced on social media. “[T]he optimism of your president is to be taken seriously,” French President Emmanuel Macron told NBC News. “So if he considers he can get a deal done, this is great news, and we have to do whatever we can to have a great deal.”

The Credentialed Media is shocked that Trump would accomplish this, and Politico offers a bunch of “insider” stuff, like

1. The Trump-Zelenskyy reset is real. From the moment Trump complimented Zelenskyy on his suit — all the way through to Vice President JD Vance’s more easy rapport with the Ukrainian president and the many “thanks” Zelenskyy offered — it was a totally different mood than the disastrous February meeting. “The vibe between the president and Zelenskyy was terrific,” a senior administration official told POLITICO. “What happened in that first Oval meeting is well gone.” This official described the ensuing talks as “really productive.”

It’s (hopefully) getting done because Trump approaches negotiations as a businessman, not a politician, but, he has folks like Marco Rubio to provide advice when also dealing with the foreign leaders who have mostly never worked in business. Even Putin has been in government his whole life. Zelenskyy is the only one who really worked.

5. Those security guarantees could be a sticking point internationally. It remains unclear just how big a commitment the U.S. has on the line here. “We haven’t even started [that discussion] other than a commitment,” the first senior administration official told POLITICO. “The question is, ‘Who participates to what percentage?’ But the president did commit that we would be a part of it. No specifics. And then he said he would also help it get organized. And he alone could sell that to Putin. I don’t think Putin would pay any attention to the others, and I’m not sure the others would do it without him.”

It should primarily be EU nations providing security, with a small contingent of US troops. I’d keep the stupid UN peacekeepers out. They like to rape and steal, and, that would end up with a lot of them being killed.

Meanwhile, as European leaders arrived at the White House, MAGA coalition minder Steve Bannon took to his influential “War Room” podcast to warn about the U.S. security guarantees in Ukraine.

“I’m just lost how the United States offering an Article 5 commitment for a security guarantee to Ukraine is a win for the United States,” Bannon said on his show Monday morning.

So, Bannon is not a fan. He’s the only one mentioned. No tweets from others or even the base MAGAs. I’m not full MAGA, and, I am not an isolationist. I’d have no problem with a small base, maybe a couple hundred troops tops. Let Europe have most. Lets see what happens as far as a deal. And give Trump a damned Nobel Peace Prize already.

John Daniel Davidson has a very interesting article at the Federalist regarding the Trump-Putin meeting and how the war was always going to end this way, with land giveaways, including the background of just how the war started and why security guarantees are necessary, and

Reality is really the big difference between the Biden administration’s approach to the war and Trump’s approach. Biden and his top officials routinely talked about Ukraine in a way that was so unrealistic it bordered on the fantastical. More than once, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken dismissed the possibility of a negotiated peace until Ukraine could “defend itself” and Russia withdrew all its troops from Ukrainian territory. In June 2023 he told CBS News that any peace agreement must uphold the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. Biden and Blinken repeatedly insisted that nobody can veto NATO membership. But of course that’s not true; Putin vetoed NATO membership for Ukraine when he invaded the country.

And here we come to heart of the difference between Biden and Trump’s view of the war, and of foreign policy broadly speaking. The establishment foreign policy experts that ran things during Biden’s term (and Obama’s) think the world operates according to theories and abstractions rather than solid realities like history and geography. They thought they could simply invoke something like sovereignty, without grappling with the possibility that sovereignty and territorial integrity, given Ukraine’s history and its untenable borders, might be mutually exclusive.

There’s no peace yet, but, Trump lives more in the real world, rather than this Politics World. That’s the difference. Ukraine was never going to boot Russia out. Russia was never going to leave voluntarily. Ukraine would never have security from Russia on its own. The fluffy headed Politician Thought led to Russia taking Crimea and then invading Ukraine in 2022.

Read: Politico: Trump World Is Not Happy About Trump’s Zelenskyy Reset »

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Sigh: It’s Your Fault That Hurricanes Are Rapidly Intensifying

By William Teach August 19, 2025 – 7:15 am

I tried to avoid this kind of stuff yesterday, but, it showed up, and I can’t ignore it

Climate change is increasing the risk of rapidly intensifying storms. Hurricane Erin is the latest example.

Hurricane Erin strengthened back into a Category 4 behemoth over the weekend, the latest shift in what has been a remarkably fast-changing storm.

The hurricane’s behavior in recent days makes it one of the fastest-strengthening Atlantic hurricanes on record and yet another indication that climate change is increasing the risk of rapidly intensifying storms.

Erin became the first hurricane of this year’s Atlantic season Friday and exploded in strength from a Category 1 into a Category 5 storm in a little over 24 hours. Even after it weakened and re-strengthened into a Category 4 storm, Erin’s jaw-dropping transformation ranks it among the five storms fastest to grow from Category 1 to Category 5. (snip)

Climate change is increasing the risk of rapidly intensifying storms, primarily because of warmer-than-usual sea surface temperatures and high levels of moisture in the atmosphere — key ingredients needed for storms to gather strength.

So, I wonder, do we know what happened prior to the satellite era? There was a time when we really wouldn’t have known much of anything about a storm like Erin. It might not even have been given a name, because it was simply out at sea. Is there data to compare what happened with Erin to what happened during a Holocene warm period? Or even the beginning of the 1900s? Doesn’t matter, no matter what happens the cultists will blame it on ‘climate change’.

In a preliminary analysis, the nonprofit research organization Climate Central said Erin’s “extreme rapid intensification” Saturday occurred as the storm moved over “unusually warm ocean waters that were made up to 100 times more likely by human-caused climate change.”

Seriously? The storm barely started and they were already to blame you for driving a fossil fueled vehicle. Nutters.

Read: Sigh: It’s Your Fault That Hurricanes Are Rapidly Intensifying »

Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

Washington Post: Local “DC Officials” Wonder If All These National Guardsman Are Necessary

By William Teach August 19, 2025 – 7:00 am

In other words, they’re upset that they have lost lots of power. Power granted to them by the duly elected Congress which also gave the POTUS authority to deal with emergencies

As more National Guard units arrive in D.C., local officials question the need

A fourth Republican governor announced plans to deploy troops from his state’s National Guard to D.C. on Monday, as city officials and residents questioned the need for an influx of hundreds of uniformed service members into the capital.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement that he had approved the deployment of about 200 Guard soldiers to aid President Donald Trump’s “effort to return law and order to our nation’s capital.” The news came after three states said over the weekend they would send hundreds of troops: 200 from South Carolina, 350 from West Virginia and 150 from Ohio.

Along with the 800 D.C. National Guard members already mobilized in the city, the deployments announced since Friday would bring the number of Guard members in the city to about 1,700. The deployments are federally funded; the Pentagon has not produced a cost estimate of the mobilizations, and defense officials did not immediately return a request for comment Monday on when those figures would be made available.

The city was already down about 800 cops, so, this very much helps

But D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) told reporters the growing number of National Guard troops from other states “doesn’t make sense” — and was not a matter she had any control over. Unlike governors of states, the D.C. mayor does not even have the authority to deploy her city’s own National Guard.

“So if you want to know what’s happening, the question is not really for us — it’s why the military would be deployed in an American city to police Americans,” Bowser told members of the news media following a ribbon-cutting ceremony of a newly renovated elementary school. “That’s the question — and it’s not for me.”

Says the lady presiding over the nation’s capitol which has areas of massively high crime, where 13, 14, and 15 year olds violently carjack citizens.

As images have circulated showing Guard members taking photographs with passersby and patrolling parts of the city that aren’t considered high-crime areas, some have questioned what purpose the troops are serving. In a video shared on social media Monday, council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large) gave viewers a tour of where National Guard members were present, showing them standing in a grassy area near the Washington Monument and strolling the Tidal Basin. Narrating the video, she said, “This is not what I would consider a high-crime, violent crime area. It’s actually quite scenic and beautiful on the Tidal Basin.”

Henderson said the governors who are sending more National Guard members should be asked, “What are your troops actually going to be doing here? Because the current ones are not doing a lot.”

In fact, it is a medium crime rate area, from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol Building, mostly property crime. Further, that’s not the only area they and others are operating in

Maybe Ms. Henderson would care to wander in higher crime areas? Hey, there’s one just south of where the Smithsonian buildings are, where there are lots of federal office buildings. We can read about it in the crime blotter.

Read: Washington Post: Local “DC Officials” Wonder If All These National Guardsman Are Necessary »

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Hurricane Erin FearPorn Lives

By William Teach August 18, 2025 – 6:24 pm

So, far, I’m not seeing the climate doomer stuff, but, I’m also not looking. But

I know it’s low lying land, but, come on. Just trying to be overly super-duper cautious for the tourists?

Hurricane Erin is heading for the United States and so, too, could some massive waves, reaching more than 100 feet in height.

The major storm, which is currently a Category 3 hurricane, is weakening as it approaches the United States. Still, it could have serious impact on much of the East Coast. The storm is currently impacting the Turks and Caicos Islands while wreaking havoc in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Jean-Raymond Bidlot, senior scientist in ocean modeling at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), told Newsweek that he believes monster waves are possible, due to the severity of the incoming storm.

The waves could reach a striking height.

Bidlot told Newsweek that he thinks the waves could reach 100 feet in height, if not taller.

“The latest forecast does indeed indicate that the largest significant wave height could reach values in excess of 50 feet with an associated most likely largest wave of more than 100 feet,” he told Newsweek.

Everybody panic?

It’s unlikely that those waves could be seen from a U.S. beach, but they could be approaching the East Coast.

Oh, so, never mind. Most people won’t get that far in the article.

“While 100 feet can’t be ruled out, I think they would only be possible if the storm become a Category 4 or 5 storm. I think waves near the center of 50-75 feet are much more realistic (assuming a Category 3 storm), said AccuWeather’s lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva.

In fact, most major hurricanes see 30 foot waves at most, and very rarely 50 feet. You might get crazy waves way higher, but, observations have been limited. The idea here is to scare people.

Read: Hurricane Erin FearPorn Lives »

Posted in Unhinged Tools | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach August 18, 2025 – 1:00 pm

…is a cliff eroding from too much carbon pollution driven Bad Weather, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Green Jihad, with a post on VW having a monthly subscription to raise horsepower in one of their EVs.

Read: If All You See… »

Posted in If All You See | 11 Comments | Trackback URL

Lindsay Graham Knows Exactly How To End Ukraine War Or Something

By William Teach August 18, 2025 – 10:30 am

I mean, it’s a rough outline of a sketch of a plan, but, it also leads to WWIII

Lindsey Graham has a strategy to end Russia’s war in Ukraine

Fresh off President Donald Trump’s Friday summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Sen. Lindsey Graham thinks the next phase of American diplomacy over the war in Ukraine needs to target Moscow’s pocketbook.

“My advice to President Trump and [Secretary of State Marco Rubio] is, you’ve got to convince Putin that if this war doesn’t end justly and honorably with Ukraine making concessions also, we’re going to destroy the Russian economy,” the South Carolina Republican told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.” “We have the ability to do it.”

Tariffs on countries that purchase Russian energy are a key part of the equation, Graham said. A Senate bill he is sponsoring would allow Trump to impose levies of 500 percent on those countries.

Trump in early August hiked tariffs on India to 50 percent due to the country’s purchasing of Russian oil. Graham claimed that it was those sanctions that drove Putin to acquiesce to the Alaska visit. And going after China — another major consumer of Russian oil — could prove even more pivotal, he said.

What does Russia do if its economy is being driven into tatters? Does Putin acquiesce, or, does he decide to forget about Ukraine and attack NATO nations, including the U.S.? Perhaps with Chinese and Indian backing (India has the second biggest army in the world, behind China)? But, it’s an idea

But Trump was far from threatening in his meeting with Putin last week. He rolled out the red carpet for the Russian leader and the two rode together in the presidential limousine. The meeting ended without a ceasefire or even concrete plans for a trilateral talk involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Sigh. This again. Trump is not a politician, he’s a businessman, and thinks about negotiation differently. But, really, no president would go into a discussion like this with threats. That’s not the way it works. What would Trump threaten Putin with, attacking Russia? The NY Times does it too, because the talking points memo went out

Zelensky Brings Backup to the White House as Trump Aligns More Closely With Putin

This time, when President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine arrives in the Oval Office, he will come with backup.

An array of European prime ministers and presidents are flying in for the meeting on Monday to make sure that a viable, defensible Ukraine survives whatever carving up of its territory is about to happen at the negotiating table.

But they are also there to make certain that the trans-Atlantic alliance emerges intact. President Trump’s instant reversal on the critical issue of obtaining a cease-fire before negotiating over land or security guarantees has left many of them shaken, and wondering whether Mr. Trump had once again been swayed by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

These people have never negotiated. They have never served as an intermediary. Trump heard Putin’s terms. Now he listens to Ukraine’s.

Putin’s Proposal for Land Deal, Made to Trump, Shifts Pressure to Zelensky

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has shifted President Trump’s attention back to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine by making a proposal for territory that is fraught with security and political risk for Kyiv.

Along with other demands, Mr. Putin proposed that Ukraine hand over the remainder of the Donbas region to Moscow, and in exchange Russia would stop fighting along the rest of the front, Mr. Trump told European leaders in a call after meeting with Mr. Putin in Alaska. Mr. Trump backed the idea of Ukraine’s ceding territory to freeze the war. (snip)

Ukraine’s Constitution bars ceding territory apart from through a nationwide referendum. A recent poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that 78 percent of Ukrainians were against transferring territory controlled by Ukraine to Russia.

No one really wants to see the Donbas given to Russia, except maybe the Russian aligned people in the region. But, how do they get Russia to leave otherwise? Russia still holds Crimea, after waltzing in during the Obama-Biden years, and nothing forced them out. What are the other options? Continue fighting and see millions more die? See Ukraine destroyed? Perhaps a nuclear weapon used? War has uncertainties.

But, it is talking time. Negotiation.

Read: Lindsay Graham Knows Exactly How To End Ukraine War Or Something »

Posted in Current Affairs, Donald Trump | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

Bummer: Tucson City Council Ends Climate (scam) Panel As Money Dries Up

By William Teach August 18, 2025 – 7:00 am

If they really cared they could certainly find the money somehow, right? A new tax or fee?

Tucson to dissolve climate panel; post-Project Blue rules take shape

Anyone remember climate change?

See, it was (and remains) that civilization-defining threat that everyone said they wanted to do something about. Let me rephrase: Everyone wanted to do something about it, unless they were inconvenienced in any way. (snip)

Even the activists decided to switch gears and focus only on a genocide in Gaza. Climate change will bring about probably a dozen more genocides or mass famines but hey, “the climate” was so 2015.

The cultists have had a tough time trying to beat the drum for both at the same time, as well as the inability to link the two.

Bad news first: The Tucson City Council will vote Tuesday to terminate a funding agreement with the University of Arizona, Pima Community College and Pima County dedicated to a partnership to help deal with climate resiliency and adaptation.

In December 2001 (I assume they meant 2021), the coalition was awarded a $500,000 Build Back Better grant to start a planning process to establish projects and programs for implementation paid for with a subsequent Phase II grant.

Well, Donald Trump got elected and there’s no federal grant money now for a Joe Biden climate program.

The local climate coalition has no money, therefore there’s no need for a coalition to work on climate resiliency. The funny thing (or not so funny) is that the grant was actually focused on programs to deal with resiliency and adaptation.

Let them spend their own money if they care so much.

But there’s is some news of local action on the climate front. Pima County Supervisor Jennifer Allen is asking that a data center zoning ordinance be drafted for consideration.

Allen wants to add more regulations on data centers.

Her action comes after the Board of Supervisors approved a rezoning for “Project Blue,” which was turned out to be an ill-fated attempt to build multiple data centers in Pima County and in the city.

And then the data centers will go elsewhere, taking their jobs and money with them. Good job!

Read: Bummer: Tucson City Council Ends Climate (scam) Panel As Money Dries Up »

Posted in Climahypocrites, Global Warming | 1 Comment | Trackback URL

FAFO: Illegal Who Targets ICE Arrested, Has Conniption Fit

By William Teach August 18, 2025 – 6:45 am

If you’ve broken the law, it’s a bad idea to do things that get you noticed, right? If you’re unlawfully present in any country, it’s really a bad idea to do things that forces federal immigration agents to notice you, right?

Whoops!

ICE Arrests Influencer Tatiana Martinez During Live Stream

A Colombian immigrant TikTok influencer was detained by immigration agents after a confrontation outside her Los Angeles residence that unfolded live on social media.

Leidy Tatiana Mafla-Martinez was apprehended by federal authorities while streaming on TikTok from her Tesla on Friday, August 15, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek that Martinez was arrested because of a prior DUI conviction in Los Angeles. (snip)

Martinez—who entered the U.S. in 2022, according to DHS—posts under the handle @tatianamartinez_02. She has gained attention for documenting ICE operations, sharing “know your rights” guidance, and offering commentary on immigration enforcement. (snip)

Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek: “On August 15, ICE arrested Leidy Tatiana Mafla-Martinez, a criminal illegal alien from Colombia who was convicted for driving under the influence in Los Angeles. This criminal illegal alien entered the country in 2022 and was RELEASED by the Biden administration. During her arrest, Martinez claimed to experience shortness of breath. She was given proper medical treatment and will be held in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.”

Even I think this was more than just for the DUI. They specifically targeted her, but, hey, she is illegally present, and should have kept a low profile.

Read: FAFO: Illegal Who Targets ICE Arrested, Has Conniption Fit »

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