William – Page 43 – Really Right

Utopia Impossible: EV Fleet

You know the drill. A man retrieves a small recording device from an unexpected place. He hits play and is given a seemingly impossible task—usually to save the world or prevent an international incident. The recorder finishes delivering its message and self-destructs. A match lights an old fashioned fuse which starts to burn as the Lalo Schifrin theme song begins. You know the next hour will be full of twists, turns, and deceit. Buckle-up and let the intrigue begin.

Oh, the message for today’s episode goes something like this:

Greetings Mr. Newsom, your mission as passed on from your predecessors, Schwarzenegger and Brown, is to outlaw the internal combustion engine within the boundaries of California by ~~2030~~ 2040. Know that you have the full support of Democratic state Assemblyman Phil Ting of San Francisco, state Air Resources Board Chairman Mary Nichols, and a large block of the Legislature. Your mission, should you decide to continue this quest, is to secure the necessary legislation and resources to make all vehicles in your State electric powered by this deadline. The fate of the planet is in your hands.

**Air Resources Board Chairman Mary Nichols**

As mentioned above, the recorder vaporizes and the credits roll. When the story continues, we find the Governor assembling his team. The team is commissioned with implementing a plan to force people into electric vehicles. After consulting with Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Sierra Club, Green Peace, and a host of interested parties, the team presents the Governor with a list of proposals.

Increasing gasoline taxes
Raising the vehicle emission standards
Denying new permits for gas stations
Increasing regulation of refineries
Tax incentives for electric vehicles and charging stations
Increased DMV registration fees
Allowing electric vehicles to use HOV lanes
Subsidize even more public transportation
Tax all vehicles per mile driven
Outlaw barbeques and fire places
Outlaw gas powered lawn movers, blowers, and trimmers
Outlaw privately owned fuel storage tanks after 2040
Ban privately owned aircraft and tax the crap out of commercial air travel

Anyway, you get the idea. Use the power of government to force people to change their behavior. It sounds so good, what could possible go wrong?

While California seems on the cusp of making this self-imposed dream a political reality, the bigger issue is can an all-electric vehicle mandate be done?

While Sacramento, used to issuing orders, believes it can simply command a fully electric automobile fleet through votes and the stroke of a governor’s pen, the same way it believes it can decree that the entire state must switch to renewable sources for electricity, it can’t escape the reality, which says it can’t be done. There aren’t enough raw materials available.

This answer many surprise you. In England, a similar mandate has been adopted with a date further into the future, 2050 as opposed to the preliminary date of 2040 in California. The United Kingdom (i.e. England, Scotland, Ireland, etc.) has 38.2 million vehicles as opposed to 25.6 million in California. Doing the math, California has 2/3 as many vehicles as the U.K.

A statistical study was published to see just what it would take for the U.K. to achieve their goal. The study was quoted by Steve Milloy on the website Junk Science.

British researchers say that if the United Kingdom is to meet its electric car targets for 2050 it “would need to produce just under two times the current total annual world cobalt production, nearly the entire world production of neodymium, three-quarters the world’s lithium production and at least half of the world’s copper production.”

Adjusting other statistics for California’s market yields:

134% of current global cobalt production
67% of current global neodymium production
50% of current global production of lithium
And 34% of current global production of copper

With governments all over the world scrambling for the same scarce resources, it’s just “not possible,” Milloy concludes, for California to go all-electric. Have policymakers even considered this in their haste to outlaw conventional cars and trucks?

The article I’m quoting concludes:

Lawmakers can legislate, expect, wish, hope, and mandate until they collapse from exhaustion onto the capitol’s marbled floors. But they are bound by the pace of technological advancement. They can no more decree an EV fleet to be so than they can change the color of the sky.
Here’s Why an All-Electric Vehicle Fleet Can’t Happen in California … Or Elsewhere

The statistics in the U.K. study are mind blowing.

Again, as is my habit, I will quote extensively in case the URL I’m citing should be deleted, moved, or placed behind a pay firewall at some point in the future. Remember that this study assumes only the U.K. is implementing this goal. The economic reality of other actors–be they California, China, or whoever–places even more demand on these resources.

The metal resource needed to make all cars and vans electric by 2050 and all sales to be purely battery electric by 2035. To replace all UK-based vehicles today with electric vehicles (not including the LGV and HGV fleets), assuming they use the most resource-frugal next-generation NMC 811 batteries, would take 207,900 tonnes cobalt, 264,600 tonnes of lithium carbonate (LCE), at least 7,200 tonnes of neodymium and dysprosium, in addition to 2,362,500 tonnes copper. This represents, just under two times the total annual world cobalt production, nearly the entire world production of neodymium, three quarters the world’s lithium production and at least half of the world’s copper production during 2018. Even ensuring the annual supply of electric vehicles only, from 2035 as pledged, will require the UK to annually import the equivalent of the entire annual cobalt needs of European industry.

The worldwide impact: If this analysis is extrapolated to the currently projected estimate of two billion cars worldwide, based on 2018 figures, annual production would have to increase for neodymium and dysprosium by 70%, copper output would need to more than double and cobalt output would need to increase at least three and a half times for the entire period from now until 2050 to satisfy the demand.

Energy cost of metal production: This choice of vehicle comes with an energy cost too. Energy costs for cobalt production are estimated at 7000-8000 kWh for every tonne of metal produced and for copper 9000 kWh/t. The rare-earth energy costs are at least 3350 kWh/t, so for the target of all 31.5 million cars that requires 22.5 TWh of power to produce the new metals for the UK fleet, amounting to 6% of the UK’s current annual electrical usage. Extrapolated to 2 billion cars worldwide, the energy demand for extracting and processing the metals is almost 4 times the total annual UK electrical output.

Energy cost of charging electric cars: There are serious implications for the electrical power generation in the UK needed to recharge these vehicles. Using figures published for current EVs (Nissan Leaf, Renault Zoe), driving 252.5 billion miles uses at least 63 TWh of power. This will demand a 20% increase in UK generated electricity.

Challenges of using ‘green energy’ to power electric cars: If wind farms are chosen to generate the power for the projected two billion cars at UK average usage, this requires the equivalent of a further years’ worth of total global copper supply and 10 years’ worth of global neodymium and dysprosium production to build the windfarms.

Solar power is also problematic – it is also resource hungry; all the photovoltaic systems currently on the market are reliant on one or more raw materials classed as “critical” or “near critical” by the EU and/ or US Department of Energy (high purity silicon, indium, tellurium, gallium) because of their natural scarcity or their recovery as minor-by-products of other commodities. With a capacity factor of only ~10%, the UK would require ~72GW of photovoltaic input to fuel the EV fleet; over five times the current installed capacity. If CdTe-type photovoltaic power is used, that would consume over thirty years of current annual tellurium supply.
Pedal to the Metal: Why California can’t ban gasoline-powered cars

Please note that many of these rare-earth metals are mined by poor people in third world nations that are slaves or politically oppressed. The workers’ pay with their blood while the ruling class line their pockets with the proceeds.

Apple Spanked Repeatedly as Tim Cook Leads from Behind

Here are seven recent stories (in no particular order) that all agree that Apple is rotting.

Waterproof My ***

Samsung is being taken to task in Australia for deceptive advertising.

Samsung was one of the first companies to make water resistance a regular feature of their flagship smartphones, but it turns out the confidence this gave consumers to use their handsets around bodies of water is false, as, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the company regularly “denied warranty claims from consumers whose phones were damaged when used in water.”
Samsung in hot water Down Under for misleading ads about water resistance

Samsung & Apple lied about water resistance

Buried in the bottom paragraph of this story is this nugget.

Samsung is not the only company who advertises their phones as water resistant and who then refuses claims based on water damage, with Apple guilty of the same practice, using weasel words in their warranty documentation.

Crumby Earphones

If you are looking to replace your awful Apple AirPods, here’s the good news. Sony WF-1000XM3 is the latest noise canceling truly wireless earbuds that has arrived in the market. According to the early reviews from various tech blogs, it may be the best truly wireless earbuds that money can buy.
Sony’s new wireless noise-canceling earbuds can replace your awful Apple AirPods

5G Vaporware

5G technology is expected to change the way users interact with each other. Undoubtedly, 5G will open more opportunities than what 4G roll-out did. And now that we are on the verge of getting a commercial roll-out of 5G, almost all smartphone manufacturers are trying to bring it in their upcoming flagship.

Although there isn’t plenty of 5G-enabled smartphones available at the moment, technology market analyst firm Canalys says the shipping of 5G-enabled smartphones will reach nearly 1.5 billion by the end of 2023, while the shipment will reach 800 million in 2023 alone, which accounts for 51.4 percent of all smartphone shipments, surpassing the number of 4G smartphones shipped.

Local Chinese brands, such as Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi and ZTE, are 5G handset launch partners for the three operators, while Samsung will also use this window of opportunity to fight back in China. Yet Apple will miss out, leaving loyal iPhone users waiting another year, which might risk them switching to aggressive competitors,” said Canalys analyst Mo Jia.
5G smartphones to surpass 4G ones in 2023, says analyst firm Canalys

China more or less?

For Apple it’s both, which makes no sense.

June 28, 2019

Apple Inc. is manufacturing its new Mac Pro computer in China, according to people familiar with its plans, shifting abroad production of what had been its only major device assembled in the U.S. as trade tensions escalate between the Trump administration and Beijing.
The tech giant has tapped Taiwanese contractor Quanta Computer Inc. to manufacture the $6,000 desktop computer and is ramping up production at a factory near shanghai, the people said.
Apple Moves Mac Pro Production to China
–Wall Street Journal

July 3, 2019

Microsoft, Google, HP are planning to follow Apple to cut hardware production in China to avoid tariffs in the US-China trade war.

Nikkei also reported that these companies have been planning to move out of China for many months, well before Apple. “Apple is really the very last and the slowest to start formulating plans, while everyone else out there is much more aggressive,” an unnamed supply chain executive said.
However, we haven’t heard anything official from these companies. Neither Apple nor most of the companies in the Nikkei report have commented( via AppleInsider).
Microsoft, HP, Google join Apple to move hardware production out of China

iPhone designer quits Apple

Apple’s chief design officer Jony Ive is leaving the company later this year to form an independent design firm. And Apple will be one of his first primary clients.

Ive’s move may not be as tectonic a shift as a possible retirement or leaving Apple completely. But it does mark a dramatic shift for the tech behemoth.
Ive, after all, has been credited with helping power Apple’s resurgence after co-founder Steve Jobs took over as its head in 1997. He helped create the iMac, the MacBook line and the iPod music player. It was the iPhone, though, that would prove to be his biggest hit, turning Apple from merely a computer company into one of the world’s largest and most profitable.
iPhone designer Jony Ive is leaving Apple

Apple subscription News App not living up to promised revenue

Citing publishing sources in contact with Apple, Business Insider reports the tech giant is actively seeking input from publishers as it tweaks Apple News+ to address concerns from partners.
One pressing issue is money. Apple is said to have estimated publishers would in their first year on News+ rake in 10 times the revenue they made from Texture, the digital magazine subscription service Apple acquired in 2018 to build its premium news product.
“It’s one twentieth of what they said,” the publishing executive said. “It isn’t coming true.”
Apple looks to rejigger Apple News+ as publishers carp over low revenues, ‘unfinished’ product

Measured by the simple metric of right or wrong direction, the verdict is clearly that Apple is going the wrong way.

Amazon Burns Books Again while California Goes to War with Biblical Christianity

Another story has surfaced about Amazon.com burning books. In a previous installment, it was documented that Amazon had deleted books warning of the existential threat of Islam and its incompatibility with Western Culture (i.e. Christianity).

On January 7 of this year, I published an article at PJ Media about Amazon removing doormats featuring Qur’an verses from sale because the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) found them offensive. In that article, I asked:

“How long will it be before Hamas-linked CAIR starts demanding that books that criticize jihad terror and Sharia oppression of women, gays, and others also be dropped by Amazon? “

The answer turned out to be 51 days.

It’s the British government and the BBC, rather than CAIR, that are likely behind this, but Amazon has just dropped the book Mohammed’s Koran by the renowned British activist Tommy Robinson and Peter McLoughlin — and apparently only because its censors dislike Robinson. In the last two weeks, Robinson spectacularly embarrassed the BBC by exposing the bias and dishonesty of its reporter John Sweeney. The retaliation has been swift and severe: Robinson has been banned from YouTube and Facebook, and now his book has been withdrawn from sale.
Amazon Bans Tommy Robinson’s Book, ‘Mohammed’s Koran’

The article above then goes on to say:

This is an extremely ominous development. Amazon and Barnes and Noble — which is also not carrying this book — have a virtual monopoly on book sales. When these two giants refuse to carry a book, that book effectively does not exist.

This time Amazon has banned books that say homosexuals can be cured of their sinful lifestyle (my words).

Amazon has removed English-language books by a man largely considered “the father of conversion therapy” from its site following mounting pressure from LGBTQ activists.

Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, founder of the now-shuttered Thomas Aquinas Psychological Clinic, as well as the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), authored several how-to guides directed to parents of LGBTQ youth, including “A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality.” His books are some of the most well-known works about conversion therapy, the pseudoscientific practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Amazon removes controversial books by ‘father of conversion therapy’

Coincidently, the Bible also talks about some first century Christians being former homosexuals. (The Greek word for homosexual is highlighted in blue below.)

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
I Corinthians 6: 9-11

So, is the Bible next? Actually, yes; but not by Amazon. Enter the State of California. Specifically, ACR-99. Oh, before I get to the specifics of this little gem, consider this. ACR-99 is sponsored by three assembly members and 56 co-sponsors out of 80 members. So, 59/80 is 74 percent support. Yep. This baby is a done deal with bipartisan support and a veto proof majority.

Those of you that are naive enough to think government doesn’t legislate morality, here is clear proof to the contrary.

So, what is it?

This measure would call upon all Californians to embrace the individual and social benefits of family and community acceptance, upon religious leaders to counsel on LGBTQ matters from a place of love, compassion, and knowledge of the psychological and other harms of conversion therapy, and upon the people of California and the institutions of California with great moral influence to model equitable treatment of all people of the state.
You can read the whole thing here

The bottom line is that the government is telling your pastor, among others, that trying to convince a homosexual that living that lifestyle is sinful and they should repent because God’s model is heterosexuality is against the beliefs of the people of California. Public policy in this state is now to oppose anyone that teaches beliefs contrary to the government’s position.

So, your pastor is now being told that he must accept homosexuals as normal and affirm their lifestyle…or else. The flipside is that telling them to repent is harmful. Sorry but I think letting someone go to Hell is harmful and not warning them is wrong.

You saw already what the Bible had to say but the government knows better.

WHEREAS, The California State Legislature has found that being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBTQ) is not a disease, disorder, illness, deficiency, or shortcoming; and

i.e. homosexuality is not a sin

WHEREAS, Practices or therapies that attempt to create a change in a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity are often referred to as conversion therapy; and

This included pastoral counseling.

WHEREAS, Some family, caregivers, and communities promote conversion therapy when a person is known or thought to be LGBTQ; and California law recognizes that performing conversion therapy on young persons is ineffective, unethical, and harmful; and

Such pastoral counseling is declared as “ineffective, unethical, and harmful”

WHEREAS, The stigma associated with being LGBTQ often created by groups in society, including therapists and religious groups, has caused disproportionately high rates of suicide, attempted suicide, depression, rejection, and isolation amongst LGBTQ and questioning individuals; and

The State’s declaration is not that homosexuality is a mental and spiritual illness but the opposite. Calling homosexuality wrong, sinful, or deviant—all things declared in the Bible about those that practice such behavior—is now and forevermore to be anathema in California.

Don’t believe me, read the next clause:

WHEREAS, The State of California has a compelling interest in protecting the physical and psychological well-being of minors, including LGBTQ youth, and in protecting its minors against exposure to serious harms caused by family rejection and attempts to change sexual orientation or gender identity; and

This is the same rational that is used in Canada to prosecute Christians and discriminate against them for believing God instead of man. This is not hypothetical and tin foil hat nonsense, but stuff already done to Christian families, churches, and colleges and upheld by Canadian courts.

Resolved, That in addressing the stigma often associated with persons who identify as LGBTQ, we call on the people of California–especially its counselors, pastors, religious workers, educators, and legislators–and the institutions of California with great moral influence–especially its churches, universities, colleges, and other schools, counseling centers, activist groups, and religious centers–to model equitable treatment of all people of the state.

There’s the game plan in a short paragraph. Conform or else. As much as they can, this resolution is presenting a public policy framework to stamp-out opposition to homosexuality anywhere it is found.

Like all things Liberals do, this is a beginning and not the end. Look for this new foundation to be rapidly built upon.

If you want to know where this leads then look to Canada. They are a few years ahead of where California is now. Students of private colleges can’t get government loans. Degrees grant by said colleges are not recognized for government employment or professional licensing. Parents opposed to government positions on morality have their children taken away by child protective services never to be returned. The goal is to use the power of the state to stop the propagation of Christianity. You will find similar tactics in places ruled by totalitarian governments.

Today is July 4th. We should be celebrating freedom but beware the future. We are one generation from losing it.

SPAM Month July 2019

Remembering what a splash that was made last year, we decided to check-in with Dixon City Councilman Ted Hickman. Ted ignited a firestorm last year by declaring July, as SPAM month. SPAM is Straight Pride Americans Month.

…I am proclaiming July as NOT LGBTQ-WTF aka… Straight pride month… You know… I hereby resolve that I proclaim the month of July to be celebrated as… I am proud to be a heterosexual, monogamous, married to the opposite sex, straight individual that knows what goes where and why. But I’m not going to try to shove this down you throat, so to speak, you can be one or not, that’s your choice.

(emphasis and colors in original post)

To see much of Ted’s original page, see our article Finally: A Ted I Can Believe In

Today, we took a look at Ted’s blog and sadly found it was down. We were greeted with a generic WordPress web page that was dated April 2019.

The original post can still be found here by scrolling down the page.

Why Ted has taken down his page is a mystery. Looks like Ted was booted from office last November by a coalition of haters.

With all precincts reporting, Ernest trounced Hickman with 71.54 percent of the vote on Election Day. In total, Ernest earned 739 votes versus Hickman’s 287, with 7 others writing-in a candidate.
Dixon Vice Mayor Who Penned Homophobic Column Voted Out Of Office

Since Ted is out of the public eye I don’t get why he would take down the whole blog even if this one offending post was an issue. Heck, Aaron Park lights folks up all the time and then deletes the offending posts, especially following June elections.

Now hundreds of millions of the rest of us can celebrate our month, peaking on July 4th, as healthy, heterosexual, fairly monogamous, keep our kinky stuff to ourselves, Americans… We do it with our parades in every state and county in this country with families celebrating together. We honor our country and our veterans who have made all of this possible (including for the tinker bells) and we can do it with actual real pride, not some put on show just to help our inferior complex “show we are different” type of crap.

Ted Hickman July 2018

Anyway, Ted we miss you. Oh, and happy SPAM month 2019. Be sure you celebrate SPAM on July 4th, most folks will.

U-Haul Unexpected Adventures in Moving

Recently my father-in-law decided to downsize from a three-bedroom house to a one-bedroom condo. As a result, our family became the beneficiaries of several pieces of furniture. Moving said furniture items from the East Bay to Elk Grove required that we rent a vehicle large enough to do it in one move. Like millions of Americans, we looked to U-Haul.

My wife went on the internet to make the arrangements. We decided to pick up the vehicle near our point of origin and then return it to a location near our house. My wife selected the ten-foot-long truck. Upon review of the dimensions of the vehicle and the furniture, I had her upgrade the vehicle size to one fifteen feet in length about five days before the move.

On the day of the move, we discovered that the pick-up location had been changed to one about eight miles further away. When we arrived to pick-up the rental truck, we were asked where to drop-off the truck. Apparently, the location near our home was not open on Sundays so I had to pick a place further from our home. We selected one that was open Sundays from 9 AM to 4 PM. We signed the paperwork and were off on the moving adventure.

Five of us loaded the truck in about an hour. After eating lunch and touring the new place with grandpa, we headed back to Elk Grove. We got home just after 5 PM and unloaded the truck. Shortly after 6 PM we had emptied the vehicle. As far as we could tell, all the U-Haul locations near us were closed so we got ready to drop-off the truck on Sunday morning as scheduled.

I took the truck to Safeway for fuel because it was the cheapest gasoline that I could buy on the route to the rental place. Not being familiar with the vehicle, I overfilled the gas tank from the level required on the contract.

I then drove to the special U-Haul location that was open at this time of the morning on a Sunday to drop off the truck. I followed my GPS instructions to the letter. I ended up at a place with Tattoo painted on it in 2 ½ foot letters.

This place was supposedly an auto repair business. The building was buttoned-up tighter than a … (sorry no metaphor really comes to mind so make one up yourself). All the rolling doors were shut, and all the walk doors were too. On the paper from U-Haul it said call this phone number when you arrive. I called the number and it tried to go to voicemail but couldn’t because the voice mailbox was not set-up.

OK, so the business is closed, no one answers the phone number provided by U-Haul, oh, and I had 45 minutes to turn the truck in or I would be charged another day’s rental. The building had two small U-Haul signs on it, so I knew it was the right place. Upon further examination, there was a U-Haul logo near one of the walk doors, this was a key drop. (Tiny white box on wall behind white car in center of above photo.)The key drop had a sign above it with a URL to go on the internet and return the truck.

I entered the URL in my fancy Samsung phone. It asked me for my last name and a phone number. As I began to click thru the prompts, the program sent a confirmation code to me via text message. I entered the code that was supposed to let me begin the return process and then I got kicked completely out of the program. This happened three times.

In desperation, I tried calling another U-Haul location, but they too were closed. I began looking thru the text messages from U-Haul looking for a lifeline. I found a link in one of the messages sent before I picked up the truck. It was a direct link to the return process. Finally, I could begin the self-check-in.

The check-in process was multiple pages of yes or no questions mixed with requests to take photos of various types related to the truck and upload them directly to U-Haul. Once I had completed what I thought was the process, I got hit with another screen. This one for going over the mileage. The overage in mileage was due to the moving of pick-up and drop-off locations.

Interestingly, none of the photos taken with this U-Haul provided URL were stored on my phone. They were uploaded and then gone.

So, from the time I was handed the keys to the truck, I never interacted with another human again., U-Haul never told us that humans were irrelevant to the rental return process, not even the biker looking guy that handed us the keys.

Total cost from Pleasanton to Elk Grove $376

Truck Rental $312
Gasoline $55
Over mileage charge $9

So, if you’re looking for an adventure in moving, be sure you have patience and a good internet signal. You’ll need it.

Trump Cancels Airstrike Due to Equipment Malfunctions

That’s my take on it. Trump gave the order to attack Iran and some piece of equipment necessary for the mission failed or was not ready for the job.

The US armed forces have a bad track record when it comes to military action against Iran. You can go back to the aborted hostage rescue attempt under the Carter Administration. This cluster f**** of an operation killed a bunch of good men in a mission that was doomed to failure. Carter and company wanted every branch of the military to have a part in the mission which was flown at night. People that had not trained together were thrust into a dangerous operation in an environment hostile to both men and equipment.

Operation Eagle Claw … was a United States Armed Forces operation ordered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter to attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis by rescuing 52 embassy staff held captive at the Embassy of the United States, Tehran on 24 April 1980. Its failure, and the humiliating public debacle that ensued, damaged U.S. prestige worldwide. Carter blamed his loss in the 1980 U.S. presidential election mainly on his failure to secure the release of the hostages
Operation Eagle Claw

Fast forward to today. President Trump has inherited a sketchy military that is highly reliant on untested systems. My use of the word “untested” is a charitable term.

As documented previously on this blog, Navy’s 13 Billion Dollar Cruise Ship, we have aircraft carriers that can’t arm planes, launch them or land them because their systems don’t work. The Navy also has weapon systems that they can’t test fire because it costs too much money to test them ($1 million per shot).

The Navy is scrapping production of rounds for its newest warship, citing costs of nearly $1 million per unit.

The move comes just two weeks after the Navy commissioned the U.S.S. Zumwalt, the next generation of the Navy’s guided missile destroyer program. The scrapped Long Range Land-Attack Projectile (LRLAP) fired from the Zumwalt would be capable of hitting targets up to 80 miles away. Lockheed Martin claims the rounds are so accurate they can “defeat targets in the urban canyons of coastal cities with minimal collateral damage.”

The Zumwalt is equipped with two large guns which are only capable of firing LRLAP rounds. The guns are still slated to be mounted on two upcoming Zumwalt class ships, and are the largest weapons to be designed for a warship since World War 2.
Navy’s Fancy New Gun Can’t Be Fired Because Rounds Are $1 Million Each

Every branch of the military has similar stories of equipment issues.

The U.S. military, government agencies and other purchasers bought more than $20 million worth of Chinese-made counterfeit goods designed to look like domestically produced gear from a company that defrauded the government and helped to orchestrate the counterfeiting process between January 2013 and October 2018, Justice Department officials said last week.

The counterfeit gear included 200 specialized parkas designed to counter night vision goggles that would have been used by U.S. Air Force personnel stationed in Afghanistan.

But the Multicam APECS Parkas sold to an unnamed U.S. Air Force base supply center didn’t actually do that, which could have put troops’ lives at risk.

Those types of parkas use a near-infrared technology woven into the fabric that is designed to make the wearer more difficult for enemy forces to detect with equipment such as night-vision goggles, justice officials said. The counterfeit versions, however, lacked the near-infrared technology, unbeknownst to the wearer.

The sales were in violation of the Berry Amendment and the Trade Agreements Act, which require goods sold to the military and certain government buyers to be manufactured in either the United States or select countries.
DoD bought phony military gear made in China, including counter-night vision clothing that didn’t actually work

In the case of Trump aborting the attack on Iran, I think the likely culprit is the F-35.

The F-35 program began in 1992. The idea was that all branches of the military would use the same aircraft thus saving that taxpayers money. The program was known as the Joint Strike Fighter. However, like the proverbial horse created by a committee, every part of the military had their own ideas about what this aircraft should do and what type of weapon systems it should have. By 2017, the commonality of function between the services was measured at 20 percent.

Further reading: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

The F-35 in my opinion is a failure as a replacement for the F-16. It is incapable of winning a dogfight with an F-16, it cannot maintain supersonic speed without compromising its structure, and requires pristine flight conditions to operate.

I think the carrier aircraft were not up to the task of doing the mission due to an equipment readiness issue and Trump remembering the Carter fiasco, aborted the mission. It was not a last minute breakthrough of diplomacy.

That’s my read on it but we will learn soon enough because nothing stays secret in Washington for very long.

Tesla Rejected: Must Pay China’s 25% Tariff

Tesla stock has been slightly up these past two weeks but not because of earning reports or Elon Musk ginning up support on Twitter. Instead Tesla has benefitted from the algorithms that fund managers use to insure they have a sufficiently diversified portfolio. Generally, if the Dow is up, Tesla has been up and vice versa.

However, Tesla has hit another bump in the rode.

Tesla and Uber both had requests for tariff relief rejected by U.S. trade officials, a decision that will force the companies to pay a 25% tariff or seek new suppliers.

Reuters was the first to report the decision by the office of the U.S. Trade Representatives. TechCrunch previously reported on the Trump administration’s refusal to exempt the “brain” of Tesla’s Autopilot technology from punitive import tariffs.

Last year, the Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on a range of imports, including electronics, to try to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China. Tesla and Uber are among the U.S. companies that have requested relief on those tariffs.

Tesla warned that higher tariffs on the “brain of the vehicle” could cause economic harm to the company.
Why Tesla and Uber won’t escape 25% tariffs—for now

As stated here before, Musk’s fortunes have been bleak since Trump was elected. Trump has shutoff many of the taxpayer subsidies that Musk needed because he can’t compete in an open and free market. Republicans don’t tend to tamper with the market by subsidizing unproven alternatives to things that work while Democrats have the hubris to pick winners and losers (Solyndra and Tesla) claiming for political and economic reasons that “Green” is good despite any evidence that it is factual.

But there’s even more bad news for Elon and his posse.

One such stock that you may want to consider dropping is Tesla, Inc.

A key reason for this move has been the negative trend in earnings estimate revisions. For the full year, we have seen two estimates moving down in the past 30 days, compared with no upward revisions. This trend has caused the consensus estimate to trend lower, going from a loss of $1.14 a share a month ago to its current level of a loss of $1.32.

Also, for the current quarter, Tesla has seen two downward estimate revisions versus no revisions in the opposite direction, dragging the consensus estimate down to a loss of 70 cents a share from a loss of 64 cents over the past 30 days.
Falling Earnings Estimates Signal Weakness Ahead for Tesla

I’m not ready to declare Tesla dead yet but the disconnect between their perceived value and actual value is still way out of line. Barring anything else, look for a significant drop when the 90-day monster makes its appearance in July. The “tell” is when Musk goes on Twitter in mid-July to divert your attention from the impending bad news. So far we have had the flamethrower, leaf blower, underwater submarine car, and pickup truck.

**Elon** has plans for submarine better than the one driven by **James Bond**
Disclaimer: *Playboy model extra, some assembly required*

Can the Tesla motorcycle be far behind?

Oh, wait, Elon had that last year. What will this guy think of next? He wants you to look at the new shiny thing in his hand not dollars and common sense.

Trump Reelection: American Values v California Values

I keep telling the editorial staff here at ReallyRight that the 2020 election will be American Values (i.e. Donald Trump) versus California Values (everyone else).

This is true not only culturally, socially, and politically but also because in their attempt to be relevant, California Democrats have moved our jungle primary to Super Tuesday, the earliest allowed date in March 2020. Thus giving a hyper-Liberal an early advantage in the delegate count towards their nomination.

Per an article at World Net Daily, yesterday Rush Limbaugh also seized upon this idea.

But talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh believes Donald Trump, a Republican, needs to make a bid for those votes.

“I’m talking actually making a play for people out there. Go to California and make your case. Go to California and explain your philosophy, your policies, your heart. Go to California. People out there are not hearing it. California may as well have boundaries around it where outside news doesn’t get in there, other than things like this show,” he said Wednesday.

“And not to win California. This is an unreasonable expectation. It would be great icing on the cake if Trump could actually win California for the Republicans. There just aren’t the Republican votes to do that right now. At the same time, it makes no sense to write off the state. Somebody like Trump could go there and make the case that the people of the state of California never hear made anymore, because it’s a one-party state and a different way of life as an option is really never presented,” he said.
Trump Urged to Make Serious Play for California

It would be fun to see Trump campaign here, even just a little; plus it would bleed the Dems of a bunch of money just to shore-up their base. Democrats just don’t understand how toxic any ideas labeled as “California” are in the rest of the country.

If Trump defines the race as America versus California, he will sweep states in ‘flyover country” and give Democrats a much deserved black eye in the process.

Georgia on my Mind

Georgia has decided to break with conventional wisdom and dare to support the weakest among us and all hell has broken loose on the other side. Many media companies that find it too difficult (bureaucratic and expensive) to work in Liberal meccas like California and New York are spending big money in the Peach State to create content. Now these folks are threatening to pull-out of Georgia and other states that take a stand for life. First out of the gate was Netflix; followed by Disney et al.

Nearly half a dozen major media companies have joined Netflix in reconsidering their hundreds of millions of dollars in investments in states where so-called heartbeat bills have either been passed or are already in effect.

Netflix was the first Hollywood studio to publicly take a stand on the polarizing issue, when chief content officer Ted Sarandos said Tuesday that the company would consider pulling movie and television productions from Georgia if the state implements a controversial abortion ban, Variety reported.

Walt Disney Co. followed Wednesday night and by Thursday, NBCUniversal, WarnerMedia, Sony Pictures, CBS and its Showtime division had each issued statements saying states’ anti-abortion laws would affect the studios’ decision-making when it comes to selecting locations for production.
Major studios rethink film and TV work in Georgia and other states over anti-abortion laws

Other states are in the crosshairs of these liberal leaning corporations for daring to support life but please note that one player is conspicuous in their absence. Where is CNN? You know, the Liberal news network headquartered in Atlanta Georgia.

CNN has made no public statements on the topic of moving but their supporters have noticed and purport to speak for them. The following quote is from a California Democrat and Presidential hopeful telling CNN what they should do.

Rep. Eric Swalwell on Sunday said he supports the kind of economic boycott that private businesses are threatening in Georgia if a new abortion law goes into effect and suggested at a CNN town hall on Sunday that the television network might have to leave the state as well.
Rep. Eric Swalwell: CNN may have to move if Georgia abortion law takes effect

Meanwhile, the big studios that huffed and puffed in the article above are moderating their stance.

To be clear, each company’s statement includes the same set of caveats. None of the corporations has actually committed to boycotting Georgia, but only to reconsider their work there. Plus, they’ve only said they will potentially take action if the law survives what are expected to be significant court challenges.

It’s a far cry from the full-on boycott some activists have demanded. Yet, the various statements represent a notable shift, or at least a breaking of the silence.
Hollywood is rethinking Georgia, sort of. What changed?

Folks, I think the movie studios should take a page from Laura Ingraham’s Shut Up & Sing. Quit worrying about social issues or you risk the wrath of the other half of the country that disagrees with you.

I’m not going to cancel Netflix and Hulu yet but if they go forward with their threat then I’m pulling my money from their companies. Getting rid of Comcast as my ISP is more problematic but once 5G is deployed, I may not need them anymore. I may not be signing a bunch of online petitions about this but I will surely vote with my wallet if this posturing is turned into action.

Prediction: Donald Trump Is the Last Republican President Ever

While the CRA and Koch Brothers may be glad to hear this prediction, it’s sad for the rest of us. Why? Because Republicans have failed in their duty to defend and uphold the Constitution while the Democrats never believed in the Constitution to start with. Democrats view the Constitution as an obstacle to overcome (or thwart) to get what they want. No news with that claim.

Koch Brothers promise to support Democrats in 2020 elections

Basically, my prediction is just simple math. Democrats allow illegal aliens to vote and ditto for felons (see Florida, Virginia, California). Anyone they can create into a group dependent on them gets the franchise. Also they have no problem with letting people vote more than once and even beyond the grave. In short, any and all means they can use to game the system to get the outcome they want are allowed.

Only a national voter I.D. program that is part of a comprehensive voter reform and integrity program could change this from happening but the Republicans failed to do this when they controlled Congress so I think that ship sailed. There is an outside chance to do this in 2020 if they retake the House but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.

We live in a country where there are millions more voters than people and the ruling party in these states likes it that way. And if by some miracle we should prevail at the ballot box they then go to their buddies in the courts to get an injunction to stop what they don’t like.

Also, the indoctrination of our youth via government schools is creating dependency on government programs and solutions, a trend which is unfavorable for freedom as well.

Folks the Republic is over and nothing but divine intervention can fix that fact. You can call it oligarchy or rule by elites, but the idea of rags-to-riches as described years ago by Horatio Alger and more recently by Rush Limbaugh is a world of opportunity that is going the way of the T-Rex and coal powered trains.

The old saying that “as California goes, so goes the nation” is proving more true that we’d like to believe. The question is not “if” but “when”. The only alternative left for “flyover country” is exit the republic. Me? I’d rather cling to my guns and religion than be led by these “leaders.”

Like him or hate him, Donald Trump is the last Republican President we will ever have. I hope I’m proven wrong but sadly I see no evidence to contradict this assertion.

Here are a few supporting links for my prediction:

Link: Koch Network Willing to Back Dem. Candidates In 2020

Link: Chicago had 14,000 more votes than voters in 2016 general election

Link: 11 Calif. Counties Have ‘More Registered Voters Than Eligible,’ Watchdog Group Claims

Link: America may have 3.5 million more voters than eligible adult citizens

Link: How felons can register to vote in Florida under new Amendment 4 bill

Link: Free Felons Deserve to Vote