If you're an Xcel Energy natural gas customer
Xcel Energy seeks rate increase to cover natural gas costs | Colorado News | denvergazette.com
Please use any of these methods to submit a comment to oppose approving Xcel's outrageous request to raise prices on consumers even as the actual cost of natural gas declines and is hovering around all-time lows.
This link is probably easiest:
https://www.dora.state.co.us/pls/efi/EFI_COMMENT_GUI.Gas
- Click the button to choose Xcel
- Click the button for 24AL-0049G
- Leave your (polite but firm) comment.
Other methods:
Individuals can also submit written or verbal public comments. Public comments should reference Proceeding Number 24AL-0049G and can be provided by:
• Submitting written comments using the Commission’s online form.
• Submitting through email at dora_puc_website@state.co.us.
• Mailing comments to the Commission’s offices at: Colorado Public Utilities Commission, 1560 Broadway, Suite 250, Denver, CO 80202.
• Calling (303) 869-3490 to leave oral comments (English and Spanish options).
Never Forget
I've said for years on the radio that the difference between a radical Palestinian and a moderate Palestinian is that the radicals want all the Jews dead today while the moderates are happy to wait until next week. I don't know if this is absolutely representative of residents of the West Bank but it sure wouldn't surprise me.
Just One Thing: Biden wants to be FDR (in the worst way, both possible meanings intended)
Joe Biden once met with presidential historians to ask how he could be remembered as the next FDR. Quite a delusion of grandeur for a man of limited intelligence and skill. In domestic policy, FDR was a buffoon full of harmful and illegal policy ideas. He threatened the Supreme Court and they caved in, going from blocking his illegal acts to allowing them. Joe Biden hopes to do the same by proposing term limits for Supreme Court justices. This cannot be achieved without amending the Constitution, which Biden knows is impossible on this issue. When liberals dominated the court and gave us bad law after bad law, like Chevron deference and Roe v Wade, conservatives didn’t turn to court-packing. Leave it to Biden to try to mimic the worst impulses of his political idol.
I'd add that to some degree I share Biden's dislike of the recent SCOTUS ruling on presidential immunity. It cannot be right that a president could do something he knows is illegal, like order a murder or take a bribe, and have it be not prosecutable because it was done as part of an act where a president has enumerated responsibility, such as a bribe in return for a presidential pardon.
I also think a Supreme Court code of ethics is reasonable. The question is: who should write it? And who should enforce it? Strikes me as essentially unconstitutional for Congress or the president to tell the Supreme Court how they must operate. It would make the Court less than a "separate but equal" branch of government. I have yet to see an act by a modern Supreme Court justice that I consider to have been corrupt. The problem is that the left is so thoroughly demonizing the Court, turning the public against the Court's very legitimacy, that it might serve the Court to voluntarily put together a code of ethics that would be enforced by the Court on itself. Not easy, but at least constitutional. That said, don't think the left will stop their attacks on the Court even if this happens. Remember, the left is never guided by principle, only by desired outcome. So there is no amount of perceived back-stabbing or deal-reneging that they won't engage in.
The result of years of the left attacking the Supreme Court: Supreme Court blues | Semafor
One More Thing: So this is what "not stranded" feels like?
Yes, I’m sure that “not stranded” is exactly what test pilots Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore would call themselves right now. The two NASA astronauts took a 3-hour tour with Gilligan, Mr Howell,…no wait, that’s a different story. They took a one-week test mission on a Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station. Seven weeks later, they’re still there. And NASA says they’re not stranded. Last week, Boeing said they weren’t really worried about small helium leaks and some thruster problems. I mean, to me, that doesn’t sound great. But they did note that “Four of the five thrusters that were previously shutting down are now operating normally. This means only one thruster out of 27 is currently offline. This does not present an issue for the return mission.” Fair enough, Boeing. So let’s get ‘em home.
Today's Guests
Dr. Kamran Bokhari is the Senior Director of the Eurasian Security and Prosperity portfolio at the New Lines Institute. He’s also served in policy and teaching roles at the US State Department and the World Bank. We'll discuss the increasing attacks between Israel and Hezbolloah and whether a larger war between the two is likely, and, if it happens, whose interests that would serve. We'll also talk a bit about the war against Hamas and other regional issues.
Kamran Bokhari - New Lines Institute
Follow Kamran on Twitter here: https://x.com/kamranbokhari
On the Brink of War, Hezbollah Is Emboldened in a Crippled Lebanon - WSJ
Other Stuff
Protected "free speech" or fraud? Based only on reading these things, I'll say it's fraud, not free speech.
Andrew Left faces criminal, civil fraud charges by DOJ and SEC (axios.com)
Andrew Left of Citron charged with fraud by prosecutors, SEC (cnbc.com)
SEC.gov | SEC Charges Andrew Left and Citron Capital for $20 Million Fraud Scheme
Short sellers’ place in markets will be tested by Andrew Left charges
The worst of DeSantis's impulses are when he tries to use the power of government to compel private businesses. That's not what a conservative should do, even though I understand and share his antipathy toward racist "training" in businesses. Federal judge permanently blocks part of Florida's Stop WOKE Act (tallahassee.com)
It was a fierce competition! CNN Awarded Pulitzer For Outstanding Achievements In Deleting Old Stories About Kamala Harris | Babylon Bee
What a surprise...they underestimated the demand for free babysitting: Free full-day preschool: More Colorado 4-year-olds will get it this year - Chalkbeat
Who other than leftists running or state gov't could do something like this? (From the article linked just above) "But one risk factor captured a particularly large group of kids: the low-income category. That category covered children in families with household incomes up to 270% of the federal poverty line, or about $84,200 in annual income for a family of four." (emphasis mine)
Nice work if you can get it: Grand jury indicts Lakeside police chief, town clerk | FOX31 Denver (kdvr.com)
I believe it: Colorado has some of the most aggressive drivers in the US: Forbes study | FOX31 Denver (kdvr.com)
Cat Lady (or Ladies) strike(s) back: Republicans need to bring it home for me and my three cats - The Spectator World (may require subscription)
From a life-long conservative with no kids and 3 cats...one paragraph: "Is that what he really believes? It’s difficult to see language like that and accept any apology of “Oh, I didn’t mean YOU.” How could you not mean me? I fit the bill entirely of this vicious caricature you’ve created except for party affiliation."
Olympic stuff:
Congrats to US Men's Gymnastics: US men's gymnastics looks forward after winning bronze at Olympics, marking first medal in 16 years | Just The News
Who knew? The Paris Olympic Pool Has a Problem: It's Too Shallow - WSJ
More: Paris Olympics 2024: Is a ‘slow’ swimming pool impeding world records? - Yahoo Sports
Good ratings for NBC: NBC's Paris Olympic Games drives a major TV ratings rebound (axios.com)
Don't swim through a warm patch: Olympic Swimmers Reveal Strict Protocol For Peeing In The Pool (brobible.com)
Back to gymnastics...And this guy! Stephen Nedoroscik is USA’s quirky, glasses-wearing pommel horse hero - The Washington Post (subscription may be required)
Or here: How Stephen Nedoroscik sealed Olympic bronze for US with pommel horse (usatoday.com)
Venezuela's stolen election is bad news for that nation, and maybe for Denver too: Venezuela election: protests erupt as questions grow over strongman Maduro’s victory | CNN
Venezuela's contested election could mean more immigrants arriving in Denver - Axios Denver
Turns out “disinformation czar”’s lawsuit against Fox was disinformation: Judge Tosses Nina Jankowicz's Defamation Suit, Says She Was a Censor (reason.com)
The new Dem thing…probably a decent tactic against Vance, probably a lot less effective against Trump. And of course people are voting on Trump. Or they would be if he had made a better VP choice. Indeed, I said specifically that part of the reason I liked Doug Burgum, the governor of North Dakota, is that he's boring. Trump NEEDS a boring, competent running mate, not someone who adds to Trump's own weaknesses. I still think Trump can win with Vance but the pick sure made it harder.
Harris keeps calling Trump and Vance 'weird.' Here's why | AP News
One example of why I've said throughout the VP process that JD Vance was a bad choice. I don't mean that I'd seen this particular clip, but rather that it was always obvious that there'd be plenty of stuff like this out there. (Sorry for the bad language in Portnoy's tweet). It's worth noting, as Reason does in the link below, that actually many people with children (other than high-income folks) already pay a lower tax rate if they have kids. So even if you like Vance's basic idea (and I don't), his statement suggests that he doesn't understand the tax code...or that he's not good at communicating the idea that he wants to modify/expand the child tax credit.
J.D. Vance Says Childless Americans Should Pay Higher Taxes. They Already Do. (reason.com)
So is this "cringe" or is it amusing and effective? ‘White Dudes for Harris’ knows their name makes people cringe. They think it’s worth it. | Semafor
Why is it "infamous"? Carrie Fisher's 'Star Wars' gold bikini auctioned for $175,000 - UPI.com
They’re entitled to your money: How travelers are combating the increasing tipping requests (usatoday.com)
One new EV story and a couple I didn't get to last week:
It can't be "briefly" enough for the automakers: No, the EV isn’t dead — just briefly comatose – POLITICO
(And to think this insanity is being subsidized by taxpayers and STILL having this result.)
This research organization says that China will soon dominate, or at least massively impact, the global auto industry, particularly with EVs (including hybrids): AlixPartners Predicts Chinese Automakers Will Have 33% Market Share By 2030 - CleanTechnica
The early adopters are satisfied. Those waiting for the industry to overcome "range anxiety" are still waiting: EVs Are Cheaper Than Ever. Can Car Buyers Be Won Over? - WSJ
This is what a combination of gov't mandates and corporate wokeness have achieved: (30) Ford's EV Bloodbath Continues - Robert Bryce (substack.com)
Today's Videos
Brutal takedown of JD Vance to the tune of Abba's "Dancing Queen"
Donald Trump at 34. Staying with politics, this is rather interesting. (And no, I don't think it's a negative for Trump that he changed his mind about running for office.) What strikes me more is just how similar he sounds now at more than twice the age he was then.
Young Donald Trump predicts Joe Biden in 1980 interview (youtube.com)