scharrison's blog

Coal Ash Wednesday: Here we go again

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Duke Energy wants increased rates to pay for coal ash cleanup:

Duke Energy is urging state regulators to approve rate increases at its two North Carolina electric utilities, including money to pay for cleanups of toxic coal ash.

Duke treasurer Karl Newlin told the North Carolina Utilities Commission Monday that if the company isn't allowed to recover coal ash cleanup costs, it could lead to a downgrade in its credit ratings and scare off investors. His testimony came during the first day of a public hearing on the proposed rate increases that are being conducted online.

Not to put too fine a point on it, that "credit ratings" scare tactic is a load of crap. But before I explain why, here's Lynn Good from their 2020 Q2 Earnings call:

Tuesday Twitter roundup

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Go tell it on the mountain. Trump and his ilk are transparent as hell about their support for the top 10%, but too many that are left behind aren't paying attention.

Notes from the Kakistocracy: Miracle cure or deadly toxin?

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My Pillow exec is pushing Oleandrin to Trump as a cure:

Mike Lindell, the chief executive of My Pillow and a big donor to President Trump, told Axios that the president was enthusiastic about the drug, called oleandrin, when he heard about it at a White House meeting last month.

“This thing works — it’s the miracle of all time,” Mr. Lindell, who has a financial stake in the company that makes the compound and sits on its board, said in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Tuesday. When CBS asked Mr. Trump about oleandrin for Covid-19, Mr. Trump said, “We’ll look at it.”

Forget about "snake oil," this stuff is more dangerous than most snake venom. I'll let Dr. Cassandra Quave explain it:

Dan Forest won't turn over communications with Greg Lindberg

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I'm sure they will "discover" those records on November 4th:

Forest’s latest campaign finance report shows that he has received $6.9 million in donations from individuals and PACs. But the donations from Lindberg mostly went to separate groups. One of them, the Republican Council of State Committee, funded a recent campaign ad featuring Forest and the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson.

The News & Observer requested Forest’s schedule and emails during the period of Lindberg’s political donations, under the state public records law, to find out how frequently they communicated. Sixteen months later, the N&O has not received the records.

Bolding mine, because social media has been littered with right-wing whining and angst about Mandy Cohen not turning over reams of pandemic data so those plague rats can misquote it, but we're just now finding out that Dandy has been concealing potential campaign finance shenanigans for 16 months? We're talking millions of dollars he received from a convicted felon, who not only tried to bribe government officials but also likely defrauded insurance customers and fellow investors. And Dan Forest appears to have been involved in the bribery scheme, too:

The Green Wave? Dems rake in the cash in Legislative races

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Online fundraising is breaking records in 2020:

Officials with the digital fundraising service say that even with less than three months before Election Day, ActBlue contributions to Democratic state legislative candidates have already set a record, totalling more than $76 million.

That’s a greater than 20% increase from the $63 million in ActBlue donations to the party’s state legislative candidates in the entire 2018 election cycle — and more than three times state House and Senate candidates raised during the 2016 election.

My initial take on this was that people are frustrated with quarantine life and are anxious to do something before the election clock runs out. But there's also a lot of economic uncertainty, and people will generally hold onto their money when that happens. So in my mind, that crosses off "pandemic" as a reason, leaving only the fervent desire for political change. And NC needs that badly:

"Greek" virus? NCSU fraternity and sorority houses are infected

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That lone wolf will soon infect the Pack:

A North Carolina State University spokesman confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that the university has identified a coronavirus cluster and a number of cases within the Greek life community. A cluster is five or more cases in close proximity or location, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

A spokesman said eight members of N.C. State fraternities and sororities have tested positive for coronavirus. Since the cases are in separate fraternities and sororities but not consolidated in one house, the cases are not considered a cluster.

While you might be familiar with "Rushing," wherein new pledges are chosen for each house after their party skills are observed, "Crush" parties might be even more reckless during a pandemic. That's where a single fraternity invites several sororities (or vice-versa) to their house to determine the maximum hook...romantic relationships that can be derived from an alliance. My point is, it doesn't matter if an individual house rates a "cluster" classification, you might as well view them as one big house for health purposes.

Tuesday Twitter roundup

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No matter how miserable our own situations are in this pandemic, we can't forget about these families, who are being punished harshly simply for existing.

Protest held in front of Louis DeJoy's Greensboro mansion

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Enemies of democracy will find no sanctuary:

Protesters gathered for about two hours Sunday along the streets below Louis DeJoy's gated property, which overlooks the Greensboro Country Club golf course. They chanted and held signs that read: “Sabotage of the USPS is un-American” and “Save USPS," among other messages, news outlets said.

DeJoy, a Republican fundraiser and major political donor named to lead the Postal Service in May, has sparked a nationwide outcry over postal delays and cutbacks just as millions of Americans prepare to vote by mail to avoid polling places during the coronavirus pandemic.

Methinks Aldona's next dinner party might be a tad uncomfortable. It's fine to punish the peasantry, but don't bring them into the neighborhood. The same thing happened on a larger scale at his DC residence:

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