Alan Zweibel

I'm not sure which lefty sources you are referring to. There was a problem with the Azov brigade which certainly was a Neo-nazi group. They did fight alongside other Ukranian forces in Donetsk. But does that mean the Ukrainian army is neo-Nazi? An army whose government is headed by a Jewish person. When you're fighting for survival, you can't afford to be too choosy about your allies. The Soviet Union was an allyl of the US during WW2. Does that mean the US forces were communists? The Azov forces have undergone reformation since. But we know that there are openly Neo-Nazi forces fighting for Russia in the Ukraine.

If, in fact limiting the oligarch's mobility is counterproductive, then it is a legitimate cause for caring.

What does that even mean, they're both just traders? Traders aren't part of the free market? Given the number of options offered to Texans to buy retail plans, that qualifies as a free market. If you want a 100% free market, move to Utopia. Your arguments are ridiculous. You started off by trying to claim that solar is somehow tied to higher cost for electricity, and now you end up quibbling about the purity of a market. When it comes to power sources, Texas clearly has a free market. The power suppliers compete on price.

The "little fella" as you called him, was very wealthy before he became Prime Miinister. He had a very successful career as a TV star. And please cite links from reputable sources that provide evidence that Zelenskiy has abused his position as PM to enrich himself. If you can't then you've got nothing.

Yes. There is a serious Nazi problem. On the Russian side Who Are The Neo-Nazis Fighting For Russia In Ukraine? Along with members of the Russian Imperial Movement, a white supremacist group that was designated a "global terrorist" organization by the United States two years ago, Rusich is one of several right-wing groups that are actively fighting in Ukraine, in conjunction with Russia’s regular armed forces or allied separatist units. According to a confidential report by Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, which was obtained by Der Spiegel and excerpted on May 22, numerous Russian right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis are fighting in Ukraine. German analysts wrote that the fact that Russian military and political leaders have welcomed neo-Nazi groups undermines the claim by Putin and his government that one of the principal motives behind the invasion is the desire to “de-Nazify” Ukraine, Spiegel said. https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-neo-nazis-fighting-ukraine/31871760.html

Which is why at the opening of the war it launched a major front heading towards Kiev. Because it wanted its soldiers to take a tour of the Ukrainian capital and buy some souvenirs?

So that means that the basis for Trump's tariffs is not, as he claims, that the competition isn't fair, but rather that there's any competition in whatever industry he chooses to protect. Sounds socialistic to me.

So ridiculous. In the USA, for example, there are safety rules about various all sorts of safety rules that various products have to abide by to be sold. Does that mean that there's no free market for electrical appliances or food items because they are subject to those rules. It's largely a free market. And who says that it's only "for wholesale power supply". But that is where the various energy sources like coal, gas, wind and solar compete. As for retail...“Texas has a competitive retail electric market. Our firm did the studies that were used in setting it up about 25 years ago,” economist Ray Perryman told the Reporter-Telegram. “Consumers are able to shop from a range of alternative plans which allow them to choose the structure which best suits their needs.” He addhttps://www.mrt.com/business/article/texas-electricity-plans-summer-20394014.php?utm_source=chatgpt.comed: “Shopping periodically for a new provider can often produce cost savings or other benefits.” And this is just nuts: "And of course, it's "...operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)." That sounds real "free" market, yes?" Your argument here consists of what ERCOT sounds like? For wholesale power supply Texas operates like an auction. But for an auction to function, you need an auctioneer. That's the role ERCOT plays when it comes to wholesale power supply. What could be more free market than an auction?

Since you have nothing germane to offer in rebuttal, you make it personal instead. And this "Not to mention, when they want their choice of action to be implemented, it's always using someone else's money, they never pay for anything themselves." has the remarkable feature of being entirely irrelevant." It's a completely Pavlovian comment.

Like the leftists at FERC: The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) serves as an independent system operator, managing the flow of electrical power to 24 million customers in the state of Texas, representing approximately 90 percent of Texas’ electrical load. ERCOT operates a competitive wholesale electricity market, ensuring reliability over more than 46,000 miles of transmission lines, for approximately 550 generating units and for its customers in Texas. Operating as an energy-only market with real-time, day-ahead, and ancillary service markets, ERCOT also performs financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for 7 million premises in competitive choice areas. https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/electric/electric-power-markets/ercot#:~:text=ERCOT Website,rest of the United States. or as the Marxist/Leninist Gemini AI puts it: "Texas has a competitive, largely free market for wholesale power supply, operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). This "energy-only" market design encourages competition among generators and allows prices to respond to supply and demand signals."

Thank you for your evidence-rich critique.

What has personal hands on experience got to do with the economic feasibility of solar power at the utility level? What in your personal experience qualifies you to dispute the data I've cited? You've got nothing.

Then by the same token this is nothing special either: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USPRIV

Well, for one thing, Sweden is a lot closer to Russia than the USA is. For another, "In announcing their recent efforts to stop offshore wind, Secretary Burgum said the administration was prioritizing the protection of Americans by addressing what it claims are emerging national security risks and citing potential radar interference near East Coast population centers. He pointed to a 2024 Department of Energy report noting that while increasing a radar’s false-alarm threshold could reduce clutter, it could also increase the risk of missing potential targets. That same report also found that, “the development and use of radar interference mitigation techniques, and collaboration both among federal agencies and between the federal government and the wind industry have enabled federal radar agencies to continue to perform their missions without significant impacts.” https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2025/12/24/offshore_wind_is_not_a_national_security_threat_misusing_the_term_is_1155371.html

You should definitely start a thread about that issue. Although you even got the facts wrong here.

I suspect some of these numbers may be out of date and not in a way that favors Trump.

From merrily dismissing climate science, to promoting irresponsible health claims, the podcast was an unintentional warning for our times https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/27/mel-gibson-denies-climate-breakdown-home-burns-joe-rogan Among the pieces of ignorance on show by the pair: Gibson claimed that because ice cubes when melted don't add to the volume of water, that disproves that sea levels are rising. Rogan cited a scientific study that he says proves global temperatures are declining. The actual authors of the study say that the ignoramus has got it exactly wrong Rogan claimed that California spent 24 billion on the homeless while spending nothing on fire prevention. The actual figure was 2.5 billion for expenditures on the homeless. And California funding for fire prevention has tripled since 2016. And this does not include requirements that utilities take every expensive measures to keep power lines from igniting fires. Nor the passage of Proposition 4 that also provides such funding. Rogan also claimed that RFJ Jr.'s book about Fauci was kept off the bestseller lists. Actually it was on the NY Times best seller list for 20 weeks. Sadly enough, this podcast is a major source of so much misinformation to so many people.

No, I have offered plenty of evidence. It's you who have offered nothing in the way of facts except some states with high solar usage also have high energy costs. Since you offered the correlation, it's your responsibility to provide the proof that there is causation. I'm not obliged to do your homework for you. On the other hand, I have offered proof that solar is highly competitive in a genuine free market energy system. You've got less than nothing.

Thanks for the irrelevant comments about work and job security. And making well paid Canadian workers the victims of Trump's trade policy just shows what a piece of B.S. his claims are about unfair competition.

"Solar has been the driving force in renewables’ recent rise in ERCOT. Through August, solar generation is up 13.8 million megawatt-hours (MWh) compared to 2024 and has supplied 13.8% of total demand year to date." https://ieefa.org/resources/summer-solar-and-battery-storage-records-texas Since you have accused me of dishonesty, I won't do you the courtesy of acknowledging that you might be mistaken but rather assume that you are being dishonest. Turnabout is fair play, right? I've also shown, contrary to your ignorant assertion, that there is a robust free market in Texas power. So I guess that means you were being dishonest again. As I also pointed out to you, solar dominates the queue for primary power generators waiting to be connected to the Texas power grid. Given that there is such a free market in Texas when it comes to power sourcing, do you think that the parties building solar are clueless about the costs? As for why California and some other states have higher rates, correlation isn't proof of causation. But if you have proof that solar has is responsible for the high rates in these states, provide it.

Texas currently gets about 14% of its electricity from solar and it's growing rapidly. Here is what is waiting in the queue: Read more: https://www.mercomindia.com/texas-grid-hit-by-massive-data-center-demand-wave-ercot-warns?utm_source=chatgpt.com is just more of And your comment about there being no free market in power sourcing of your willingness to create falsehoods to back up your claims. In fact, the power sourcing is very much a free market in texas. That's why it refused to be part of the national grid in order to keep federal regulations from applying. How Texas electricity works Texas operates one of the most market-oriented electricity systems in the world, especially compared with other U.S. states. What is a free market in Texas: Generation is competitive Power plants (gas, coal, wind, solar, etc.) compete to sell electricity into a wholesale market run by ERCOT (the Electric Reliability Council of Texas). Retail choice for most customers About 85–90% of Texans can choose among competing retail electricity providers (REPs) that sell power plans. Prices are market-based Wholesale prices fluctuate every 5 minutes based on supply and demand. No guaranteed profits for generators Texas uses an “energy-only” market—generators get paid only for electricity they actually sell, not for just being available.

China is building data centers on the Tibetan plateau. One of the reasons being that the cold climate makes cooling the centers a lot cheaper. I don't think America has anything comparable in the 48 contiguous states.

Maybe because they had the highest rates they're now turning to solar to get those rates lower. And in California there has been a tremendous amount of investment in fireproofing the grid. Hawaii always had the most expensive electricity because of its location. And why is Texas, where there's been a very free market in power sourcing, barreling ahead with massive increases of solar power and storage? "Since 2019, Texas power firms have boosted solar generation capacity by 800%, wind capacity by 50% and battery storage capacity by an eye-popping 5,500%, according to energy data portal Cleanview, using EIA and state-level data." What do you know that they don't? https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/texas-tops-us-states-renewable-energy-battery-capacity-maguire-2025-01-09/ In fact, Texas still has more electricity coming from wind power because of their plentiful wind supply and back then wind was cheaper than solar. Now, solar is cheaper and is being built up at a much more rapid pace than wind.

This comment of yours hasn't aged well. You might want to consider outsourcing your thinking to others.

Of course, the nuclear energy industry has always depended on huge subsidies in various forms from the government. And despite all the hype it's far more costly than renewables plus storage.