Cool and possibility of rain. I really hope no rain. Too much to do that didn’t get done yesterday.
Spent the day yesterday doing pickups. All over the greater metro area… and everywhere there was vacant commercial and retail space. They are still building what looks like fulfillment warehouses out on I 10, maybe cross dock facilities, but there is so much vacant, I wouldn’t want to be building on spec.
Chatting with the people at the auctions, they are pretty aware of the gun and ammo shortage. There is a lot of support for Trump in the small and independent business community… and several of the auctioneers have signs posted saying that guns are welcome, and they support concealed carry. They also don’t seem to think 2021 is going to be instantly better. Given that that mirrors a lot of what people here have been saying, I’d say it was a widespread and mainstream idea.
2020 almost had one last kick in the teeth for me. My sibling had a near miss. They were in an Uber and got T boned last night by some guys street racing in Chicago. All I can say is seatbelts save lives. Three broken ribs, severe whiplash, ongoing headache, and a visit to the ICU, but now at home recovering. F me. That was too close.
Not that I expect 2021 to be better, but let’s get out of 2020 without any more tragedy.
All the stacks in the world won’t replace people. Take some time out, and make the phone call. You won’t regret it.
n
(keep stacking, that’s important too)
OFD would have had something to say about this–
Nuns pimped out boys to priests and politicians who would rape the children as other men watched at German children’s home, it emerges as victim wins compensation battle
Why are people surprised that nuns go bad? They aren’t all Julie Andrews singing “Do Re Mi”.
When my father-in-law was in the heart transplant program at UT Southwestern, the hospital had to quiet a scandal involving nuns and the bookkeeping at the guest house on the campus which the Sisters ran. Rackets. The nuns were amateurs compared to the nurses, however.
Spent the day yesterday doing pickups. All over the greater metro area… and everywhere there was vacant commercial and retail space. They are still building what looks like fulfillment warehouses out on I 10, maybe cross dock facilities, but there is so much vacant, I wouldn’t want to be building on spec.
The “office” at the last job was in a multipurpose space which could have easily been part of the Amazon fulfillment complex across the street.
The metric to watch on I-10 is the point where the toll lanes begin west of town. The last time we headed to Houston, construction began 10 miles west of Katy. If construction stops suddenly, that’s the time to be concerned.
From yesterday:
First claim:
That has already been rejected by the Supreme Court in the “Texas” lawsuit, which was based on an equal protection theory. It was denied a hearing 7-2, but the dissent said that they only would have granted a hearing and then rejected the suit. The two dissenters felt that since is was a suit by one state against another, they should at least hear it.
Second claim, that the Vice President can make this determination and request new electors.
Ignore all the citations of 3 USC x. Those are simply citations of the law that governs how the electors meet and send their votes to the Congress for reading and counting. Second, it’s clear from the law (and I heard a conservative conlaw prof discuss this) that the only way at this point for the vote total to be changed is for a Senator and a Representative to make a written objection to the votes from a state as the vote is announced. (This is outlined in 3 USC 15 and 17.) The two chambers meet separately, have a debate for up to two hours, and then vote. Vote is not by state, but by member. Both houses must concur for the EC vote from that state to be rejected. If it is split, the votes from the state are accepted. (This section of the US Code seems to be from 1948.)
This is the slim chance that President Trump has. And Slim’s on his way to his secondary location.
Any other lawsuit still pending has little to no chance to do anything. And given how poorly the other lawsuits have been drafted, don’t expect a miracle.
“given how poorly the other lawsuits have been drafted”
–so they were infected with the Republican virus, a grand gesture, halfheartedly done, doomed to fail…
n
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9081631/More-people-left-New-York-year-state.html
holy cow.
n
“How power is shifting in the US: Exodus from Democrat states like NY and California to Republican states such as Texas and Florida is set to alter the number of seats in House of Representatives next year”
holy cow.
Our Congressional district will probably split, picking up one of the new TX seats, but, unfortunately, we live on the Dem side of the line. Williamson County supported MJ Hegar for both Congress and Senate.
The ammo shortages are getting a little old. The first I recall really hearing people scream about it was 2008 when Obama was elected and everyone was worried what sort of gun control policies would follow. Here we are 12 years later and every time the world hiccups you can’t find ammo. Seriously? Still? Are ammo manufacturers acting like 1970s OPEC? Limit production and drive the price up.
The “Trump overhang” had lots of ammo on the shelves and cheap ARs too. Retailers blew that shirt out of the stores with low prices because they can’t afford to have inventory sit. a lot of manufacturers and retailers lost their asses when Trump got elected.
It seems that everyone decided not to get caught like that again and didn’t build inventory, because almost every president ever, especially one as popular with his base as Trump, gets a second term.
Ammo makers have been running flat out trying to keep up with demand, and failing. There was a huge amount sucked up by the resupply of the US Armed Forces, (because supposedly) Obbamma chose to spend money on other things than replenishing ammo used up in overseas adventures. Too many agencies under Obamma also ‘gunned up’ and ordered unusual amounts of ammo in pistol and rifle calibers. There is very little ‘elasticity’ in the ammo supply.
Seven or 8 million new gun owners also suck up a LOT of ammo, even just buying one box to go with their new gun.
Now for INDIVIDUALS to be caught short at this point is pretty silly. As you say, these things are cyclical, and predictable, and prepping means buying while cheap and available with an eye toward future need. I think most people just pick up a box at the range, on the day they decide to shoot, and that’s it. They can’t now. Just like TP, Mountain House, or certain drugs, when you need it, you’re best served by having your own.
n
One of the promotional enewsletters I get is from an old school sales guy. It has jokes in it and this week’s had a couple that made me LOL.
And there were some cheesy science jokes too–
Taking two weeks of vacation starting yesterday. It’s been a *long* semester, somehow, even though I enjoyed the home-office. January is grading projects and exams, but I’m not going to even think about that until I have to.
Smoked bacon yesterday and today, some hot-smoked (frying bacon) and some cold-smoked for eating uncooked. Tomorrow or Friday will be pastrami. Wife does the brining, I run the BBQ.
We also just got a whole cheese as a Christmas present. I know the cheesery – very mild – it will benefit from aging a few months. Have to find a spot to set it over the winter, and decide how best to handle it… Any suggestions from the hive mind?
Hang the cheese from the ceiling, in a room and at a level which will keep it at the proper temperature?
My vision of the future? It’s cold and dark…
Maybe not, but I’m thinking of writing an essay on _The Domesday Book and the Tyranny of the Have-nots_. Essential thesis is that property rights led to the last 1000 years of advancing civilization and they’re being enexorably eroded by the have-nots and those in power feeding bread (Covid relief?) and circuses (Baby Yoda?) to the democratic masses under the guise of bettering ‘society’.
As the year wraps up, 2020 tax season will soon be upon us (at least for those here in the US) and didn’t recall seeing this ‘fun’ mentioned here, so make sure your tax software of choice is up to date on the related rules: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/06/if-you-worked-remotely-due-to-covid-19-a-state-tax-surprise-could-be-coming.html
The most laughable is the one saying that some Michigan precincts had over 100% turnout. Except they used registration data from Minnesota precincts, not Michigan. And more like this happened.
Maybe not, but I’m thinking of writing an essay on _The Domesday Book and the Tyranny of the Have-nots_. Essential thesis is that property rights led to the last 1000 years of advancing civilization and they’re being enexorably eroded by the have-nots and those in power feeding bread (Covid relief?) and circuses (Baby Yoda?) to the democratic masses under the guise of bettering ‘society’.
Baby Yoda is a minor side show to draw in the suckers, not a circus.
This season has upset Wokesters at times, particularly the finale.
The sports leagues bent to the message of BLM are circuses. The DC and Marvel comic book movies also qualify at times if they get too into “the message”. “‘Black Panther’ is the best movie ever made … unless you are racist.” “Only haters disliked ‘Birds of Prey’.”
“Doctor Who” is a full on circus now, funded by a tax and produced by a government to deliver a specific message, except nobody cares anymore. They even bit the Amazon hand that fed them.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9081159/Feds-probe-Iowa-care-home-Disabled-not-human-guinea-pigs.html
-WT actual F?
Federal, CCI, Remington ammo CEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIgvoJKovIg
21st century Gub sales for November. Note spike for Presidential election years. Annual sales graphs are similar.
https://images.guns.com/prod/2020/12/02/5fc7326b4478d7fff36760849653410b65cddfa860785.jpg
I’ve always been a bit dismayed, but a bit proud of the continuing, usually consistently increasing quantities of gub sales, a wholly discretionary investment/expense.
OFD would have had something to say about this–
Nuns pimped out boys to priests and politicians who would rape the children as other men watched at German children’s home, it emerges as victim wins compensation battle
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9078857/Nuns-pimped-boys-German-childrens-home-priests-politicians-rape-them.html
The victim, now 63, was just five when he joined the children’s home in Speyer
He said he was raped around 1,000 times before leaving the home in 1972
Darmstaft Social Welfare Court awarded the man with compensation over abuse
To say that I am horribly disappointed in that church facility in Germany is an understatement.
Unfortunately, any time people are involved, the ability of the devil to get at their hearts and souls runs rampant. We are all fallen and I am continuously struck by the words of Paul the Apostle.
https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/15-9.htm
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9081631/More-people-left-New-York-year-state.html
How power is shifting in the US: Exodus from Democrat states like NY and California to Republican states such as Texas and Florida is set to alter the number of seats in House of Representatives next year
holy cow.
n
I just became aware a week ago that California is going to lose a seat to Texas. That is sobering. And those three new seats in Texas will probably all be liberals around the big cities of Houston, Austin, and D-FW.
The ammo shortages are getting a little old. The first I recall really hearing people scream about it was 2008 when Obama was elected and everyone was worried what sort of gun control policies would follow. Here we are 12 years later and every time the world hiccups you can’t find ammo. Seriously? Still? Are ammo manufacturers acting like 1970s OPEC? Limit production and drive the price up.
The ammo makers are all running three shifts and making nine billion rounds a year right now. The only way that they can make more ammo is to open more manufacturing facilities and they do not have the capital to do so as their access to the banks and markets has been shut down by the Karens.
Dilbert: No Makeup On Zoom
https://dilbert.com/strip/2020-12-23
Oh my !
“given how poorly the other lawsuits have been drafted”
–so they were infected with the Republican virus, a grand gesture, halfheartedly done, doomed to fail…
n
Just remember what OFD called the dum-bro-crats and the repuglicans, both sides of The War Party.
I just became aware a week ago that California is going to lose a seat to Texas. That is sobering. And those three new seats in Texas will probably all be liberals around the big cities of Houston, Austin, and D-FW.
Near Austin, Williamson County. Dell will finally get its own member of Congress, bought and paid for.
Have to find a spot to set it over the winter, and decide how best to handle it… Any suggestions from the hive mind?
My vision of the future? It’s cold and dark…
Maybe not, but I’m thinking of writing an essay on _The Domesday Book and the Tyranny of the Have-nots_. Essential thesis is that property rights led to the last 1000 years of advancing civilization and they’re being enexorably eroded by the have-nots and those in power feeding bread (Covid relief?) and circuses (Baby Yoda?) to the democratic masses under the guise of bettering ‘society’.
You forgot crowded.
Biden said yesterday that there are two million illegals XXXXXXX undocumented aliens waiting to cross the southern border of the USA. He was going to give them the ok to cross the border on election day but he has decided to wait until March since, covid.
We are going to get it and get it good. I wonder how long it will be until some government official shows up with ten illegals at my business front door and demands that I hire them.
Here, I fixed it for you:
Biden said yesterday that there are two million illegals XXXXXXX undocumented aliens XXXXXXX future democrat voters waiting to cross the southern border of the USA
Wizard of Id: Wizz’s Carrier Pigeon
https://www.gocomics.com/wizardofid/2020/12/23
Ok, that is nasty !
Oh, that’s an interesting point! Do slaves or their equivalent output of cheap foreign labor count as property in an economic sense? Certainly adds to the GDP, but at what cost?
The effect, though in this case not by an emporer’s design, is the same: distraction.
*****
My ponderings question how “advanced” civilizations collapse. Another worry involves Gresham’s Law and the Fed’s ability to create currency out of thin air and where that manipulation will come to rest. Who’s going to end up holding the bag? In the same vein, is this why Bitcoin and the lot have increased in market value?
“President Trump vetoes National Defense Authorization Act”
https://thelibertyloft.com/president-trump-vetoes-national-defense-authorization-act/
“The total cost of the bill was $740 billion and did not include the $1.4 trillion that Congress passed this week as part of the coronavirus package.”
“In his response, Trump said that he recognized the importance of the bill to national security, but that important measures were not included as part of the bill. One thing that President Trump wanted to include was the repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.”
“Trump also said he took issue with the renaming of military institutions and that the bill was an insult to military history. He said that the act contradicted his administration’s focus on America first.”
They ignored him and he flexed his muscles.
Hat tip to:
https://thelibertydaily.com/
“Coming 2 America Trailer Journeys Back to Zamunda… & Queens!”
https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/trailers/1159175-coming-2-america-trailer-journeys-back-to-zamunda-queens
“Set in the lush and royal country of Zamunda, Coming 2 America continues to follow newly-crowned King Akeem and his trusted confidante Semmi embark on an all-new hilarious adventure that has them traversing the globe from their great African nation to the borough of Queens, New York – where it all began.”
“The sequel will feature the return of original cast cast members Eddie Murphy as Akeem, Arsenio Hall as Semmi, James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer, Shari Headley as Queen Lisa, John Amos as Cleo McDowell and Louie Anderson as Maurice, and the motley barbershop crew. Joining this star-studded ensemble are Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, Jermaine Fowler, Bella Murphy, Rotimi, KiKi Layne, Nomzamo Mbatha and Teyana Taylor.”
I thought this was a joke ! Turns out it is for real via Amazon Prime.
“Ammo has gotten stupid”
https://gunfreezone.net/ammo-has-gotten-stupid/
“*******, ammo has gotten stupid expensive. I was just at the range. I swear, if I have to have to shoot a ************ in self defense, I’m gonna dig through his wallet for cash to get my money back.”
“1/29/20 FEDERAL 5.56MM 62 GR GREEN TIP 1000 RDS $299.50
Now
12/17/20 PMC 5.56MM 62 GR GREEN TIP 1000 RDS $739.95”
“Mandatory Vaccines and woke logic”
https://www.sovereignman.com/trends/mandatory-vaccines-and-woke-logic-30093/
“– Cornell mandated the flu shot to keep the most vulnerable people safe from COVID.
– BIPOC people are among the most vulnerable.
– Therefore Cornell exempted BIPOC people from the flu shot.
MAKES PERFECT SENSE!”
It was a nice sunny 75F today. The the front started to arrive. 75F to 62F in an hour. Pretty windy, too. No rain darn it.
I’m making Chili Mac for supper. A pound of hamburger browned off with a bit of bacon grease. Two pints of home canned tomatoes. From July ’09. A bit discolored but smells fine. Texture is “melt away” but I tend to process stuff when canning a bit on the long side.
A can of tomato sauce and enough water to rinse the can. A couple of tablespoons of chili powder. One of cumin. Onion and garlic powders. Salt. Black pepper. It’s simmering and smelling good. Needs a bit more salt, maybe.
I’ll toss in a couple of handfuls of macaroni and that will thicken it up.
It might not be the best chili mac ever made. It just has to be better than the stuff that comes in a box.
But first, a shower.
Repealing that section, as I understand it, will have far-reaching effects on web sites everywhere.
Including this one – it could expose Barbara Thompson (owner of the site) or the rest of us to damages due to content posted here.
Trump is just mad at FB/Twitter, and wants to expose them to lawsuits…probably including his own. (Actually, I suspect he is mad at everyone that disagrees with him. And is willing to any presidential powers he still has to punish those that disagree.)
Not a good idea to repeal that, IMHO.
Well, I”m almost done with decorating. I have one last thing to put out, an animated polar bear skiing. House looks good, my new homemade pieces worked out exactly as I hoped, and look good.
Lights are lit.
n
“How an obscure British PC maker invented ARM and changed the world”
https://arstechnica.com/features/2020/12/how-an-obscure-british-pc-maker-invented-arm-and-changed-the-world/
“1987’s Acorn Archimedes was the first production RISC-based personal computer.”
I did not know that. The first RISC machine that I used was an Apollo DN10000 in 1990. It was a dual cpu beast in its day in a 15 ft3 refrigerator box, screaming like a banshee with many, many fans.
“repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.”
–they are either common carriers and protected, or publishers and subject to editorial restrictions and the libel laws that come with that. The current hybrid cannot last. They want the best part of both worlds, but if you end up on their shirt list, then you get the worst of both worlds.
They have to stop policing third party content, which they EXIST to steal the value from. Provide better filtering tools for users, let USERS decide which voices they don’t want to hear. Of course users will quickly decide they never want to hear commercial voices, and then they won’t be cattle to be penned, herded, and driven to the feed lot.
n
I don’t know about crypto currency, seems like even less tied to reality than fiat bucks, but my $40 in bitcoin is now worth 61.27USD and that partly offsets the $50 in bitcoin cash that went to $43 in a couple of days….
The bigs are all down a lot so there must have been something in the news…
n
“California Accelerates Plan To Chase Away The Wealthy”
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/california-accelerates-plan-chase-away-wealthy
“California’s proposed wealth tax, Bill 2028, would apply for a decade to anyone who spends 60 days in the state in a single year.”
“Here are the details.
A 0.4% tax on residents with a worldwide net worth in excess of $30,000,000 ($15,000,000 for a married taxpayer filing separately).
The proposed tax would apply to residents, part-year residents, and temporary residents.
Temporary residents are defined as those who stay in the state more than 60 days during the calendar year. For part-year and temporary residents, the tax would apply proportionally based on the number of days they are in the state during the year.
10-year lookback provision : The portion of a taxpayer’s wealth subject to the wealth tax is multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be years in residence in California over the 10 preceding years with 10 years being the denominator.”
It will be $30 million year 1, $10 million year 2, $5 million year 3, $1 million year 4. By year 10, it will be $100,000 so every home owner will be paying wealth tax on their home equity.
I don’t know about crypto currency, seems like even less tied to reality than fiat bucks, but my $40 in bitcoin is now worth 61.27USD and that partly offsets the $50 in bitcoin cash that went to $43 in a couple of days….
The bigs are all down a lot so there must have been something in the news…
n
The vaccine distribution is not going according to plan and is very slow. The feddies and the manufacturers are arguing about where to send the vaccine and how much to keep in reserve. The feddies are keeping 50% in reserve and Pfizer is telling them that there is not that much super low freezer space in the world. This reminds me of the 1979 gasoline distribution orders by the White House MBAs (Jimmuh Carter trying to take over the energy bidness in the USA) that caused immense gasoline shortages across the USA.
“SpaceX Boca Chica: Starship SN9 Rolls Out to the Launch Pad”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFXQS01U4Eo&feature=youtu.be
“Starship SN9 rolls out to Launch Pad B ahead of its cryo-proof, static fire, and flight testing in the coming weeks. Freshly repaired from its encounter with the High Bay wall, SN9 will carry out a similar flight to SN8, hoping for a successful landing this time around.”
Man, that is a big sucker ! Hope she flies well and lands well !
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starship
Sounds like they’re betting that Silicon Valley and Hollywood will keep the wealthy in California.
I (I know, I started with “I”) really don’t know how CA can impose a tax on someone that has left the state. Someone living in Idaho cannot be held responsible for CA taxes as long as the person never returns to the state. I am certain for the big players CA would issue an arrest warrant should the person ever return to the state. CA would probably even be monitoring the movements of the individuals.
The end result will not meet the end goal. People with money will leave the state and never return. Rather than CA enjoying the tax revenue while the people are living in CA, the people leaving will take the revenue with them. CA just keep shooting itself in the foot with ill-conceived legislation. It would not upset me one bit if all TV and movie production found a new home somewhere besides CA. In addition the big tech players all pack up and leave for better pastures.
@Paul
Ever tried making your own? I started out with Alton Brown’s recipe many moons ago and moved on. Toasting is always the tricky part! One trick I learned is to keep another big heavy skillet in the freezer to stanch the toasting *immediately*. Toss the mixture in it as soon as it looks toasted.
I (I know, I started with “I”) really don’t know how CA can impose a tax on someone that has left the state. Someone living in Idaho cannot be held responsible for CA taxes as long as the person never returns to the state. I am certain for the big players CA would issue an arrest warrant should the person ever return to the state. CA would probably even be monitoring the movements of the individuals.
This is a preview for a wealth tax in the USA also. If your name ends with Pelosi, Kennedy, Biden, etc, you will be exempt.
The predicted rain held off until just a few minutes ago. Light drizzle started with some distant thunder…
71F
n
And now it hit.
n
I (I know, I started with “I”) really don’t know how CA can impose a tax on someone that has left the state. Someone living in Idaho cannot be held responsible for CA taxes as long as the person never returns to the state. I am certain for the big players CA would issue an arrest warrant should the person ever return to the state. CA would probably even be monitoring the movements of the individuals.
CA can’t realistically, but they will probably try a challenge in a court to establish precedent.
As for monitoring movements, don’t laugh. CA is going for toll roads in a big way, and we had SR91 from Riverside to Anaheim, a major choke point, at the last job. Every vehicle gets front and rear images, processed with OCR, at every plaza.
We joked that we could probably help document every Cannonball attempt since 91 is the most direct way to the Portofino Inn from points inland.
My brother got a call from his Indian clinic saying he was on the list for the Pfizer covid vaccine and would he like to make an appointment for next week then the second jab 6 weeks later. He jumped on it. He’s diabetic and vastly overweight so I guess he is on the high risk list. He’s looking forward to being able to visit his daughter and her family in Houston once they don’t have to worry about infecting him.
Still waiting for the dialysis center to announce vaccination are required for patients so the wife will need one. I am not in any rush myself, no great personal fear of the covid or of death. Sometimes I feel death would be a nice change. I have known people who are terrified of death but I just see it as a transition to the next step whatever that may be.
Bruce Schneier on SolarWinds:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/23/cyber-attack-us-security-protocols
Several cities in TN are suing Netflix, Hulu, etc. The premise is that the content is traveling through wires on public right of ways. Thus the cities should be compensated franchise fees of 2% of revenue generated within the confines of the city.
It is another money grab. If it succeeds the next grab would be for internet traffic. Then phone traffic. Then email. Basically any bit traveling on wires on city right of way or easements.
Wasn’t the city compensated when they rented the right of way to the utility companies?
As times get tighter and revenue drops of because of decline in business activity, property values, and (in states that tax it) income, look for more ways to feed the beast. The beast will increase fees, invent new taxes, and generally decrease services all at the same time.
n
Congress is expected to vote on a potential override once it returns from Christmas break sometime next week. The original bill passed the House 295-125 and the Senate 84-13.
So now will enough Repubs vote to override ‘their’ President?
I’d guess yes for the Defense Bill, not as sure if Trump vetos the latest stimulus bill.
How worried are they about the two Georgia run-offs? Mitch really doesn’t want to move out of his plush office…
It was interesting, but not for this reason. On to January 6th…
How worried are they about the two Georgia run-offs? Mitch really doesn’t want to move out of his plush office…
I am fairly sure that Fulton County has already got the suitcases full of ballots for the runoff elections in Georgia. Mitch will be transitioning to the Minority Leader office, a glorified broom closet.
BTW, Trump is going to pocket veto the stimulus bill. That way the new Congress in January will work on it. I think that the last pocket veto was Ronald Reagan ????
Cheaper than Dirt (may they be forever vilified) just sent an eflyer that says right at the top of the page “Load up while you can” on white box 556 FMJ. It doesn’t say it’s $2/round, or that there is a 20box limit. So “LOAD UP” if you’ve got deep pockets, and you only need 400 rounds, or 13 mags worth. They’ll sell you the mags too, at $20 each for steel junk. Magpul is available from others for $13/mag… and they’ve got a couple of Del-Ton complete uppers for only $600, when they used to sell complete Del Ton rifles for $325….
If you aren’t already geared up, it’s possible but it’s gonna cost ya. Just don’t do it at Cheaper than Dirt, or it will cost you more than it has to.
n
Wasn’t the city compensated when they rented the right of way to the utility companies?
As times get tighter and revenue drops of because of decline in business activity, property values, and (in states that tax it) income, look for more ways to feed the beast. The beast will increase fees, invent new taxes, and generally decrease services all at the same time.
n
The tortured electrons make the wires heavier and make the ground compress and the city’s right of way is damaged. So, they must be compensated.
*Snerk*