LAST WORDS

Aren't we all overjoyed to contemplate the election madness in the rear view mirror? As most of you know, I worked as an election official again, one of 1,450 manning 98 polling stations in Virginia Beach. Lots of hours (5:00 AM to 8:30 PM plus training, set up), but great to be part of the process.

The mandate from the city election commission was to make sure that we did all we could to allow every voter who showed up the ability to cast a ballot, and there was only one failure for our polling location--a young woman who showed up registered properly in the city in which she lived, but unable to go there yesterday because of work. She should have voted absentee, but there was nothing we could do. The records are excellent, our crew was pretty experienced and skilled, so we were able to handle address changes, name changes and everything thrown at us.

I had two people ask me how to mark their ballot for Hillary, both appeared to be illiterate. When Linda and I were in Sweden, we went out to get a bottle of vodka (rhymes with Friday, right Kevin?) and a snack as it was late and we didn't want to do the restaurant thing. We ended up in a grocery where no one spoke English, a rarity in Sweden, and we tried to figure out what were crackers and what were cookies, what was cheese and what was some sort of spread, etc. We found airline bottles that said "vodka" and thought we had what we needed.

Got back to the hotel, sliced the apple, elated to find that we indeed bought crackers and popped the vodka. Turned out to be lemon extract. Yuck! But gives you a bit of empathy with the lives of people who can't read.

Oh, and yes I gave them the correct info on how to mark for Hillary although I'm not sure that I was supposed to as an election official!!

Our precinct results for President mirrored the national with Trump a bit farther ahead. Northern Virginia around Washington D.C. swung the state so that Clinton carried the electoral votes. Our area has endured the effects of a weakened military and northern Virginia is the beneficiary of the expanding bureaucracy.

Linda and I did better on local election knowledge, and had studied the candidates for Mayor, City Council, School Board, Constitutional Amendments so that we had our "informed" opinions. Not easy to find good information on those. Local newspapers are strapped for money and the internet doesn't care. The presidential campaign may have made us wonder where the honest and capable people might be, but letting local government proceed without much in the way of oversight is a recipe for disaster.

One of the Constitutional Amendments involved making the current law providing Virginia as a "right to work" state into a provision of the Constitution. Apparently, so that it would be more difficult to change. I had, perhaps, a dozen inquiries/complaints about the wording and people just didn't understand. Seemed to revolve around the use of the word "prohibit" in the long, run on sentence. My guess is that the attorney who drafted the language was completely unaware of the regular voter's vocabulary and difficulty with sentences that ran to multiple clauses, numbered sections and phrases that are not part of our every day speech. It was a close result.

An impassioned plea from Hollywood actor George Takei was posted on Facebook this morning lamenting how the "weak" were going to be harmed. Like so many, I agree that we need to respect and defend the rights of the members of our society, but I don't think we should do that by punishing useful members of that society. Difficult to discuss these things with many liberals today because when you do, they shout epithets at you and key your car.

BTW, George--the word is "charted." As in "we are going into uncharted waters." Not "unchartered." His command of the language is apparently as flawed as his logic.

Back to newspapers, media, social media, etc. How did all the "experts" get it wrong? I have never experienced anything as blatantly one-sided as the coverage of Clinton and the condemnation of Trump. Sort of plays into my recurrent theme of the media feeding me information and when I know about something, my reaction is usually "No, that's wrong!" What about the huge number of topics where I have no personal knowledge? Should I believe that they get that stuff right? That on those topics, they are competent and it is only the areas where I actually know something where they get it wrong?

My guess is that pollsters/MSNBC/Yahoo/CBS have become accustomed to ignoring the middle of the country, the men and women who go to work every day in a factory, in the diner or restaurant, in hospitals and farms or running a small business (we don't have the time, usually, to riot in the streets). No need to include in the polls or even consider them, they don't matter.

I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Trump was so feared and demonized by all the elite. I get why the Clinton and Bush royal families might stick together, but are things that bad that they cannot withstand the light of day?

Let's spend the next eight years uniting the country, tightening our borders as Bill Clinton declared we should in his 1995 state of the union message https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3yesvvYEvs that talks about a fence which is evidently fundamentally different than a wall. Making sure that this country upholds its traditional role as a haven for the oppressed, but with some caution so we don't make the same mistake as Germany. Let's spend the next eight years mending the horribly disruptive policies of Obama that has created a racially divided atmosphere as bad or worse than what I remember of the 1960's. Support law enforcement. Let's find a way to employ the 10 million idle men of working age who are NOT INCLUDED in the official unemployment statistics http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/06/the-missing-men/488858/ .

There is something fundamentally wrong with our economy evidenced by interest rates at near zero. In the last eight years, our military has been gutted, the Middle East has gotten worse, not better. Petty tyrants in the Philippines and North Korea can rattle their swords and intimidate the US without fear of consequences. These grown up two-year olds and all of these problems are like the elephant in the living room--we know it's there, we just don't mention it.

Hopefully, we can move forward.

IRONY?

We all know that as we mature, we quit growing. Except I have read that your nose and your ears continue to grow, even into old age.

Ironic, then, that my sense of smell and my hearing are getting worse.

Thought you might need some truly frivolous info during the closing days before the election.

WIND POWER

WIND POWER

When I first worked with the people of Midwest Energy, I was impressed with many things, but two stood out:

·         These were really smart people who worked in a well-organized structure

·         Provision of electric power through a grid to thousands of customers was an intricate process

Spoiler Alert: This continues a theme that I have mentioned before, which is that the news media, but also other amateurs, usually get a complex subject wrong when they report it. This opinion is based on many instances where the media reported on something THAT I PERSONALLY KNEW ABOUT. Then it made me wonder how many times I had believed the media on a topic that I was ignorant of...and gotten the wrong info!

I would really like to query the people who support and implement the huge subsidies that the government provides to make wind power "feasible." Sorry, wind power is not feasible from any true financial standpoint, whether oil is $50 per barrel or $150 per barrel.

For details supporting this opinion, please read:

https://www.masterresource.org/natural-gas/how-many-households-can-a-large-wind-project-serve-lessons-from-texas-and-the-uk-part-1-of-2/

Plus their reading list that contains the writings of smart and knowledgeable authors, contrary to what you see in the media.

Ignore the intricate financial analysis for a minute, the broad brush paints a picture where the cost of wind power is exorbitant. There are other significant details in the article that circle back to the two bullet points at the beginning of this blog post--this is a complicated, intricate endeavor.

We all remember the hue and cry in California when the state experienced brown outs and black outs due to inadequate capacity in 2000-2002. It is fair to note that not all of the capacity shortage  then was due to generating facility inadequacy, some of it happened due to fuel shortages, but the primary reason for the shortages was that the economy was booming, demand was growing but the California PUC and the public resisted every effort to build more capacity.

One may conclude from this that the public does not like building more power plants, building more transmission capacity, building more fuel supply sources in order to meet increased demand, but the public also does not like having no lights when they turn on the switch! Pretty typical human nature.

Few of you will remember when there was a recurring rumor that somebody had invented a magic carburetor that would get "x" (usually 50 to 100) miles to the gallon but Mobil/Exxon/General Motors had purchased the magic carb and put it on the shelf. When you have a problem, it is often the opportunity for charlatans and conmen to swoop in and offer the magic bullet solution.(SIGH, why don't we learn?)

Mate the need for more capacity with environmental hysteria and you get a fertile ground to plant seeds like wind power. And solar power. Think of it--unlimited, free, renewable, "green" wind and solar. Let's get rid of that nasty oil and coal. Both Hillary and Obama have vowed to ruin the economy of West Virginia and shut down all coal plants. Refer back to the California story.

Problem is, people don't like higher prices for their power, and that is the only way you can produce wind and solar. Solution? Subsidize. You then have a hidden cost which is so much safer for politicians.

Subsidies for wind power in 2010 amounted to $5 billion and increased to $6 billion in 2013. In 2010, wind power produced 2.3% of the electricity generated and received 42% of federal subsidies. Wind power received $52.48/MWh; oil and gas, $0.63/MWh; coal $0.64/MWh; and solar a whopping $968.00/MWh produced.

 Enter another problem with the stuff we typically read--the difference between a Megawatt of capacity, a Megawatt Hour of production or consumption and the costs of those metrics. You add the fourth dimension of time and then complicate it with economics. Especially the liberal press (aka NYT) would rather we just deal with what we believe and feel. Sorry, physics doesn't work that way.

The federal government has subsidized wind power for the last 30 years. If you are a family of four, your contribution to the 2013 subsidy for wind power was $68.57. Think of that in terms of your electric bill and then think of receiving only 2.3% of the power from that source.

The authors and readers of the article mentioned above are well- acquainted with these facts, and the article then goes on to discuss how that energy produced tends to be either duplicated or wasted. One of the laws of physics that is really beyond my pay grade is that if those electrons are not used in the moment created, they disappear. Somehow. From an economic standpoint, easy to follow. Another reason that the less-dependable wind is duplicated by stand by and spinning reserve…because when you need the reserve, you need it in that moment.

We could go on, but let it be known that after 30 years of support, wind power and solar are not fulfilling their promise, but they keep spending your money.

ARNOLD PALMER DIES AT 87

Just saw the news. I treasure knowing Arnold Palmer, even if for a short time that had to be non-memorable to him, but has always been a special memory for me.

The observation I always made when visiting about Mr. Palmer was that "the color went clear through." He appeared on TV to be a genuine nice man, and in private he was even more of a decent, common man.

 

HUSKERS

Daughter-in-law, Amy, called a bit ago to let me know the Huskers were on TV playing Wyoming. She is an Alabama fan. She "gets it."

We didn't have time to discuss it then, but she needs to know the long-term connection between us and Wyoming since it was in 1961 that Nebraska hired Bob Devaney from Wyoming and thus began the tradition of sold out stadiums (since the 1962 season, his first) and national championships. 

Personally, I remember several things from those early years including Devaney (pronounced de van ee and not de vain ee just like it is Tom Osborne as in oz burn, not oz borne) speaking at our sports banquet in Genoa in the spring of 1962. He was great, a natural Irish story teller, and it played well in the gym in central Nebraska and in the homes where he recruited in Ohio, West Virginia and elsewhere.

I have often retold the story he told about the guy being fitted for a new suit, just not as effectively. I remember that team from the fall of 1962 going to the Gotham Bowl in New York City but idling at the end of the runway in Lincoln until the money had been wired. It was that close.

Nebraskans were fans of the Huskers before that, but they didn't enjoy success. In the fall of 1961, the autumn before Devaney, my friend Larry Pearson and I walked up to the little white and red-trimmed building outside the East Stadium, purchased tickets, sauntered in and had great seats. It was my first major college game and I soon realized that those guys were fast and they hit hard! Not like high school. One of the "cheers" was dedicated to the coach who preceded Devaney:

     Give 'em hell, Bill Jennings, Give 'em hell.
     Give 'em hell, Bill Jennings, Give 'em hell.
     Give 'em hell, Bill Jennings,
     Give 'em hell, Bill Jennings,
     Aw, hell, Give 'em Bill Jennings.

Thanks, Jerry DeFrance for reminding me of that one a few months ago.

There are other connections, of course given the proximity to Wyoming. A childhood friend, Myrla Peterson married Jan Grossnicklaus from Shelby, Nebraska who was a Wyoming quarterback. When I was a sophomore, I played against (and tried to block) an athlete who played at Wyoming...I'll remember his name one of these days. He was definitely a man among boys the night we played.

Ah, the memories, and football autumn in Husker Nation. Thanks, Amy. It's now 38-17 Huskers with half the 4th quarter to go.

This is an afterthought--this will be the only football I watch or follow this year. No more NFL for me. For obvious reasons.

 

TELEVISION

We don't have TV any more. Just the internet, and we get shows with Netflix that way. Very spoiled as we don't have to watch those inane commercials.

The shows we like are the ones that don't take too much thought--yes, we liked "Breaking Bad" but it was heavy. Really enjoyed the "White Collar" series, the characters were likeable and the endings were routinely good. Life isn't like that, so the entertainment should be.

Watching one now that is going to challenge us a bit--"Foyle's War." It is a British series (we like those quite a bit, in general) where Christopher Foyle is a police detective during World War II. There are a lot of "jolly goods" and "nasty bit of" sayings, very stiff upper lip stuff, which is amusing, but the real message is pretty profound. The moral dilemmas and the routine sacrifices made by people during the war should make modern Americans think a bit about the things we tend to bitch about.

Our kids call our griping "first world problems." Your car doesn't have air conditioned seats...first world problem. You can think of your own.

These people did things like returning to Germany to make contact with the resistance knowing that the likelihood of being killed was nearly certain. The 22-year old pilots were the "old men," because anyone who was a bit older had already been lost.

Recommend it. Wondering if the British may have a better view of how the world works than Americans right now, and that the themes of the show may illustrate how political correctness should not outweigh historical facts.  For instance, the show gives voice to the great amount of anti-Semitism in England at the time. The amount of German sympathy. The number of Communists who would later be saboteurs endangering Americans.

Not a heavy, vulgar show at all, but thoughtful and thought provoking.

DIVERSITY

Next time someone at a college or university insists that there needs to be more diversity (wherever), ask how many Republicans are in their sociology department.

A New England administrator explains it this way: “Typically, we hire people because we’re planning on working with them and it’s a lot more attractive to have people you agree with.”

In 1989, liberal academics outnumbered conservatives 2:1, nationally. That number is now 6:1 and in New England the ratio is a startling 28:1.

No wonder you can't get a good discussion going. When you disagree with these people, they riot, burn things and hurt you.