What stupid thing did the GOP say or do this time? Episode 3!

[Paladin]

No responsibility, no accountability.

"Texas: hug OFF AND DIE."

Texas power plants have no responsibility to provide electricity in emergencies, judges rule

A panel of judges has said that big power companies cannot be held liable for failure to provide electricity during the 2021 blackout. The reason is Texas’ deregulated energy market.

www.kut.org

 

[wonko the sane?]

I love how they spent years screaming about democract death panels... and have absolutely no problem with republican death panels. The next ruling will be "Texas power plants aren't obligated to provide energy"... you still have to pay them, but they aren't responsible to actually deliver power.

 

[Spin-Out]

See, Republicans want to run death panels so they can kill "undesirables" and get away with it

 

[Pale Rider]

FB friend:

According to Republicans like Mike Johnson, abortion hurts the economy by depriving it of "able-bodied workers".

Also according to Republicans like Mike Johnson, immigration hurts the economy by flooding it with ... (checks notes) ... able-bodied workers.

Conservative "think tanks" are recommending for-profit homeless shelters as a solution to the homelessness problem.

Naturally, they would be paid by the state to house the homeless, so the taxpayers end up footing the bill, so the advantage over state-run homeless shelters is ... what, exactly?

So many temper tantrums are called "conservative backlash" by the media, but they're still just temper tantrums.

The "conservative backlash" against "wokeness"? It's just racist and sexist white males, throwing a temper tantrum because someone called them out on their bad behaviour.

The "conservative backlash" against environmentalism? It's just people who love their gasoline-powered toys, throwing a temper tantrum because they don't want to hear that their toys are bad for the world.

The "conservative backlash" against LGBT books in public libraries? It's just homophobes throwing a temper tantrum because society stopped listening to their anti-gay fearmongering.

The "conservative backlash" against sex education in school? See above.

The "conservative backlash" against Bud Lite? See above.

The media can call these things "conservative backlash" all they want, but they will always be nothing more than the temper tantrums of spoiled petulant man-toddlers.

 

[NovaSaber]

Technically the anti-LGBT segment is at least 30% woman-toddlers.

 

[The Predaking]

I love how they spent years screaming about democract death panels... and have absolutely no problem with republican death panels. The next ruling will be "Texas power plants aren't obligated to provide energy"... you still have to pay them, but they aren't responsible to actually deliver power.

Alabama Power, the biggest power provider in the state, has laws like that. If you get solar power for your house, you have to pay them a $5.41 fee every month per kilowatt hour of power that you generate. So if you have 30 solar panels on your roof, you have 9 kilowatts max setup, and now have to pay them $48.69 every month plus whatever power that you use.

And of course our state government allowed this even after it was challenged:

State lets Alabama Power keep solar fee

A monthly fee on Alabama Power solar customers will remain in place after state utility regulators dismissed challenges that the fee, one of the highest such in the country, is discriminatory against solar customers.

www.al.com

The whole point is to remove the cost savings of getting solar panels to stop people here from getting them. You should also see our insane EV vehicle registration fees.

 

[The Predaking]

Alabama Power, the biggest power provider in the state, has laws like that. If you get solar power for your house, you have to pay them a $5.41 fee every month per kilowatt hour of power that you generate. So if you have 30 solar panels on your roof, you have 9 kilowatts max setup, and now have to pay them $48.69 every month plus whatever power that you use.

And of course our state government allowed this even after it was challenged:

State lets Alabama Power keep solar fee

A monthly fee on Alabama Power solar customers will remain in place after state utility regulators dismissed challenges that the fee, one of the highest such in the country, is discriminatory against solar customers.

www.al.com

The whole point is to remove the cost savings of getting solar panels to stop people here from getting them. You should also see our insane EV vehicle registration fees.

To follow that up,

It violates federal law, as it doesn't show that people using solar require such an infrastructure fee compared to people who just use less energy through other means. Alabama asked the Fed commission to strike it down, but they declined while admitting that it violated federal law.

Then Alabama citizens took the state regulators that approved the fee and even increased it to federal court. It spent months there only for the commission to pass a new version of it, which doesn't change anything, while arguing that it makes their argument moot. For some reason, the citizens decided to go back to ask the Fed commission to strike it down again, to which the court said well, if they are going to strike it down, then there is no need for us to rule on this. And I can't find anything else on it since then.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Why would anyone want to switch to self production or even clean energy under those circumstances. Christ, quebec is the most monopolistic province for energy: but even hydro quebec doesn't charge you for using your own infrastructure!

 

[Ungnome]

I think the (flawed)logic goes that even if you aren't directly benefiting the grid, you are indirectly, since it benefits those around you so you should still pay the utility companies. Which on its face isn't totally wrong, but the way it's implemented actually hurts grid decentralization AND the environment, both things that benefit society MUCH more than making energy execs and investors more money(which is the REAL reason it's implemented the way it is). What would make more sense would be to make the utilities publicly funded and supported via a combination of usage fees and taxes.

As far as making electric car registration fees higher.... Unfortunately it's a snap decision made by state governments who used to rely on gasoline taxes to fund road construction and maintenance. They have to make up the difference somehow, and THAT's what several of them went with partially, but not only, due to lobbying efforts from the fossil fuel industry. A more nuanced and forward thinking solution should be come up with, but I'm not exactly sure what said solution could be.... Granted SOME red states are passing those laws JUST to OWN THE LIBS and not for any proper reason.

 

[The Predaking]

I think the (flawed)logic goes that even if you aren't directly benefiting the grid, you are indirectly, since it benefits those around you so you should still pay the utility companies. Which on its face isn't totally wrong, but the way it's implemented actually hurts grid decentralization AND the environment, both things that benefit society MUCH more than making energy execs and investors more money(which is the REAL reason it's implemented the way it is). What would make more sense would be to make the utilities publicly funded and supported via a combination of usage fees and taxes.

As far as making electric car registration fees higher.... Unfortunately it's a snap decision made by state governments who used to rely on gasoline taxes to fund road construction and maintenance. They have to make up the difference somehow, and THAT's what several of them went with partially, but not only, due to lobbying efforts from the fossil fuel industry. A more nuanced and forward thinking solution should be come up with, but I'm not exactly sure what said solution could be.... Granted SOME red states are passing those laws JUST to OWN THE LIBS and not for any proper reason.

The thing is, the fees aren't meant to cover the costs, they are disproportional to deter the use of solar panels and electric cars.

For example, the tax per gallon of gas in AL is $.29. The Electric car fee is an extra $200 per year fee for any EV. Meaning to break even, you would have to buy 690 gallons of gasoline in a year. If you have an average car of 30mpg, then you would have to drive around 21K miles a year on that EV to pay the same amount of taxes you would in a normal gasoline car. I commute form one city to another every day to work, have to drive over an hour to see family, and even I don't get more than 12K miles in a year. Usually I am between 10-11 thousand miles a year.

The thing about the solar panels is that other low energy users aren't charged a fee to keep up the equipment. Also, the fee is ridiculously high to remove the cost savings so that the solar panels don't pay for themselves over time like they should. A lot of states love to have grid tied solar panels, as it can help out during peak time with energy demands. Not Alabama Power though.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Florida was going to have something like this, but DeSantis surprisingly vetoed it. I guess even he realized there was no way to explain it if he had to defend it on the campaign trail. It's too plainly obvious that policies like this serve no purpose but to make solar panels financially pointless for consumers.

We will probably have it a month or two after his presidential run ends.

 

[Pale Rider]

FB friend:

Republicans are ranting that it's "anti-democratic" to use the Constitution to kick Trump off the Colorado primary ballot, because only the voters can decide this.

What happened to all of that "America is a republic, not a democracy" horseshit that they were spreading when Trump "won" an election in 2016 despite losing the actual vote by 3 million voters? For that matter, what happened to their "screw your public support polls, it's in the Constitution" rhetoric from every gun control debate?

 

[Ungnome]

The thing is, the fees aren't meant to cover the costs, they are disproportional to deter the use of solar panels and electric cars.

Trust me, I know. Alabama's government is squarely in the ' own the libs' camp, but even blue leaning states like Delaware were considering adding a tax to electric vehicles to offset lost fuel tax revenue.

 

[The Predaking]

Florida was going to have something like this, but DeSantis surprisingly vetoed it. I guess even he realized there was no way to explain it if he had to defend it on the campaign trail. It's too plainly obvious that policies like this serve no purpose but to make solar panels financially pointless for consumers.

We will probably have it a month or two after his presidential run ends.

Doesn't Florida have a ridiculous amount of Home solar usage though? I remember them pushing that back in the early 2000s. Upon googling it, Florida is a haven for Solar Power compared to Alabama.

Approximately 90,000 homes in florida have solar panels opposed to Alabama's 1,500.
Florida is the 3rd highest solar state in the country.
Florida even lets you finance your installation through your property taxes.

Florida Solar Incentives, Tax Credits And Rebates

Get expert advice on improvements to your home, including design tips, how much you'd expect to pay for a pro and what to ask when hiring experts.

www.forbes.com

 

[Ironbite4]

Oh John Schneider...did you think being a celebrity would shield you from this? Did you? Poor baby.

John Schneider Probe Opened By Secret Service After ‘Dukes Of Hazzard’ Star Urges Public Hanging Of Joe Biden

John Schneider may now be insisting he never threatened the life of President Joe Biden, but the Secret Service beg to differ.

deadline.com

Ironbite-enjoy Secret Service poking you in the ass.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Can't jump the creek on this one, bo!

 

[KidTDragon]

"'Bout this time, that ol' Duke boy realized he done tweeted himself a whole heap a' trouble."

Ain't no Roscoe P. Coltranes in the Secret Service, dumbass. Have fun with that.

 

[Pale Rider]

If only Boss Hogg had lived to see this day.

 

[NovaSaber]

 

[Paladin]

Priorities.

Lindsey Graham Threatens To Defund "Any City Or State" That "Forces" Chick-Fil-A To Open On Sundays - Joe.My.God.

The Hill reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) declared “war” Friday over a New York state bill that would require some Chick-fil-A restaurants to operate on Sundays. “This is war,” he wrote on X. He continued in a second post, threatening to introduce legislation that would withhold federal...

www.joemygod.com