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Tag: Rick Weiland
Because I did quite a bit of e-mail list pruning over the holidays – it was easier than shedding those holiday pounds, which are still there – it took a little longer for me to find compelling items I wanted to spend anywhere from a couple sentences to a couple paragraphs on. So here we go again.
A cure for insomnia
You may not have noticed this while you were putting on pounds and using your gas-guzzling vehicle to drive around and buy holiday gifts, but Delaware now has a Climate Action Plan. Of course, it involves the folly of minimizing greenhouse gas emissions – as if our little state will make much of a difference on that front – and actions they term as "maximize resilience to climate change impacts." They fret that "Delaware has already experienced over 1 foot of sea level rise at the Lewes tide gauge since 1900. By midcentury, sea levels are projected to rise another 9 to 23 inches and, by 2100, up to an additional 5 feet." These are the people who can't tell you if it will snow in two weeks but they're sure of this one. Moreover, these assertions were easily swatted out of the park.
The only climate action plan we need is to first follow Virginia's lead and ditch the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, since that's simply a wealth transfer mechanism from middle-class pockets to utilities to government to entities they deem as those in need of "equity." After that, it's time to repeal every last renewable energy mandate and get back to reliable power, not dependence on arbitrary and capricious wind and sunshine for our electricity. The dirty little secret is that we need those fossil fuel plants as backup anyway so we may as well get our use out of them. Don't believe me? Well, the Caesar Rodney Institute agrees:
Did you know Delaware has been mandating wind and solar power in addition to providing subsidies for both for over a decade? In 2021, the mandate required 21% power from wind and solar, increasing to 40% by 2035. So far, 90% of the wind and solar mandate is being met with out-of-state generation, with only 2% of electric demand met by in-state solar. At night, when it's cloudy, and in winter, when solar power drops 40% compared to summer, reliable power is needed for backup.
"What Delaware Needs in State Electric Power Generation?", Caesar Rodney Institute, December 26, 2021.
So we are subsidizing other states. Unfortunately, we are probably in the same boat for awhile but, rather than muck up the shipping lanes entering Delaware Bay with useless wind turbines or put hundreds of acres out of use for agriculture with ugly (and generally Chinese-made) solar panel farms, we could just build a series of natural gas generating plants with a minimal infrastructure investment in additional or expanded pipelines. It's the better way.
Losing the hand
If you recall the 2010 election, the Beltway pundits bemoaned a missed opportunity in Delaware because Mike Castle lost in the Republican primary to TEA Party favorite Christine O'Donnell. (Some guy wrote part of a chapter in a book about this.) After their favored candidate lost, the Delaware GOP establishment took their ball and went home, resulting in a schism that still occasionally pops up to this day.
Well, Mike is back in the news as he was recently selected to be part of the board at A Better Delaware. As they describe it:
During 40 years in public office, Gov. Castle served two terms as governor, from 1985 to 1992, before he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for nine terms. While in Congress, he served on the Financial Services Committee and on the Education and Labor Committee and was a strong advocate for fiscal responsibility and working across party lines to build bridges and form coalitions to find pragmatic, bipartisan solutions to some of the nation's most pressing problems.
"Former Gov. Mike Castle Joins A Better Delaware Board," January 18, 2022.
What do we get when we reach across party lines? Our arm ripped off and beaten with it. Democrats in Delaware have zero interest in working with Republicans (let alone the conservatives who need to be in charge) so I don't see the use of this relic who exemplifies everything that frustrates common-sense Delawareans about the Delaware GOP. If you want A Better Delaware, you need to elect people vowing to do whatever it takes to undo the forty years' worth of damage done by the Democrats. They can shut up and sit down for awhile.
But it would be cool if Christine O'Donnell took a job there.
Tone-deaf
Anymore I use part of my odds and ends to pick on that crazy one from South Dakota, Rick Weiland. (You thought I would say Kristi Noem?) Just two weeks ago he wrote, "It has never been more important for the Biden administration and Congress to go bold and make sure everyone has enough high-quality masks to protect themselves and others." Weiland was advocating for some boondoggle called the Masks for All Act.
Of course, we all know that two weeks later mask mandates were being dropped all over the blue-state country by Democrat governors who claimed to be following the science, and they did… right up to the point where the "science" affected their chances of holding on to any sort of power. It's all about power, folks, and don't you forget it.
But Weiland is the same nut who rails on about "insurrectionists" in Congress and deplatforming Fox News because it, "consistently downplays the seriousness of the pandemic, while amplifying risky treatment alternatives like ivermectin (and) is allowed to spew disinformation directly into the homes of millions of Americans 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." Yet people take this stuff seriously. I just thought you needed a good laugh.
Invading the Shore
Speaking of crazy people…
It took awhile, but now we seem to have a branch of Indivisible of our very own on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. "We are IndivisibleShore," they write, "and are here to help you help progressive candidates win elections in Maryland, specifically The Eastern Shore and Eastern parts of the Western Shore."
Well, that's about the last thing they need – talk about an invasive species. Besides the Zoom training sessions, they also promise, "We have phone banking, door knocking (when safe) and postcard writing available. We also will be sponsoring music events and get togethers when safe." One out of five ain't bad if the band is halfway decent, as I'm quite aware that most musicians are on the opposite side of the political spectrum.
This guy gets it
Now we can come back to sanity.
One thing I recommend reading (or hearing, since it's a brief weekly podcast) is the Castle Report. While Donald Trump was a fine president, I think Castle would have been Donald Trump on steroids when it came to trimming the government back to Constitutional levels (provided he had a like-minded Congress.) He's the reason I joined the Constitution Party here in Delaware. (And somehow I've managed in one article to talk about two different guys surnamed Castle. Odd. Or maybe an end.)
This week he talked about the Canadian truckers' convoy and it's one of his best. One thing to ponder from his piece – ask yourself who this sounds like:
So, who is this man, Justin Trudeau, and what are his qualifications to hold the office of Prime Minister of Canada? Other than the fact that he was elected by a majority of Canadian voters, he has only one qualification and that is he is the son of the former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Pierre was of military age during World War ll but declined to serve. He built his fortune and his political career at home while Canadians were dying on the battlefields of Europe. Pierre was apparently a devout communist and never met or even heard of a murderous, dictator he didn't love. He went to the Soviet Union to participate in the great achievements of Joseph Stalin. He wrote glowing praises of Mao's regime in China. He had a friendly relationship with Castro and visited with him in Cuba. Some of the praise he heaped on Stalin was of new Russian cities built from the rubble of the great war, but he never mentioned the many thousands of slaves who died building those cities.
Justin seems to have nothing to recommend him to Canadians except he follows in his father's communist footsteps. What, I wonder, is his own merit or his own achievement? He has no scholarly achievement, no publications to his name, no business experience, but he is an accepted legacy, member of the global ruling elite and, therefore, protected.
For example, as a young man, he often appeared in blackface and sang the Harry Belafonte classic, The Banana Boat Song. He now says he considers that racist but no resignation, and no groveling apology. He is also free to call the truckers racists because one truck flew a Confederate flag.
"Unacceptable Views", Darrell Castle, The Castle Report, February 11, 2022.
It's worth mentioning that the Canadians are just the first, as other nations have gotten into the act. But imagine this: thousands of everyday Canadians lined Canada's main highway east from British Columbia to cheer these truckers on, in subfreezing weather. It was a little bit like a Trump rally in terms of enthusiasm, but instead of a political figure these folks were there for a political statement and not the opportunity to glom onto celebrity. That's a key difference. Let's pray for their success.
While the major leaguers are locked out and almost certainly won't begin spring training on time, our Delmarva Shorebirds are on track to begin their spring training on February 28 and begin the regular season April 8, as they are unaffected by the lockout. There are lots of reasons to go to the ballpark already, but the Shorebirds have an interesting promotional schedule worth checking out.
It's a good way to bring this 109th edition of odds and ends to a close.
Author MichaelPosted on February 13, 2022 February 12, 2022 Categories All politics is local, Business and industry, Culture and Politics, Delaware politics, Delmarva items, Delmarva Shorebirds, Inside the Beltway, Maryland Politics, National politics, Politics, Radical Green, Sports, State of ConservatismTags A Better Delaware, Caesar Rodney Institute, Canada, Christine O'Donnell, Darrell Castle, Delaware GOP, Delaware Politics, Delmarva Shorebirds, face diapers, Justin Trudeau, Mike Castle, offshore wind, Radical Green, renewable energy, RGGI, Rick Weiland, solar energy
Expressions of angst
It never ceases to amaze or amuse me how the spoiled rotten Left behaves when they don't (or won't) get their way. And there were a couple cases that I'm promoting from the "odds and ends" pile to their own post because the schadenfreude is strong here.
I'm going to start with the guy whose mailing list I haven't left because he's the most shrill example of the loony left out there. He's the mirror image of the hardcore TEA Party right, which seems weird to say but you could tell who was really in it for the donations. Anyway, this one was a howler:
We're fighting to investigate and expel insurrectionist Republicans from Congress.
We must do everything in our power to save our Democracy!
We won't stop fighting until every single one of them is held accountable, because accountability is critical to stopping these insurrectionist Republicans and another coup attempt in 2024.
"Every single Insurrectionist Republican must be expelled from Congress", Rick Weiland, January 10, 2022.
There's more of a case that the Democrats who supported the BLM riots or CHAZ uprising in Seattle were insurrectionist, but that doesn't matter to old Rick. We've basically had a coup attempt every time a Republican wins, so maybe he knows of what he speaks. And then we have this:
Friend, there are 700,000 people in Washington, D.C. who pay federal taxes but have no voice in Congress.
Yup, that's taxation without representation.
It's time to make D.C. the 51st state. Sign your name now to demand Congress give D.C. residents the representatives they deserve.
Residents in D.C. pay taxes, serve in the military, take part in their communities, and contribute to our country, all without the right to representation.
D.C. Statehood should be a top priority for every member of Congress. But Republicans and some corporate Democrats will do whatever it takes to keep D.C. from becoming the 51st state.
"Residents in D.C. pay taxes, serve in the military, take part in their communities, and contribute to our country, all without the right to representation." Rick Weiland, January 21, 2022.
How many holes do we have in this theory? Well, first of all, they have a Delegate who can vote on her committees. It's not a full member, but remember the District of Columbia is a district, not a state – and was made that way intentionally so that no state could boast having the capital city. Residents have the choice to move just a few miles into Maryland or Virginia if representation is that important to them.
I'm not going to blockquote, but Weiland goes on to whine that we would have Bilk Back Better, voting fraud rights, and eliminated the filibuster had there been senators from the District of Columbia. Yet I'll bet he's not down with the idea of the State of Jefferson, a region that would split off from California like West Virginia broke from Virginia during the Civil War, or War Between the States if you prefer, because it would almost certainly send two Republicans to the Senate.
There's already precedent for the proper solution, but unfortunately for the Democrats it wouldn't increase their power save for perhaps one seat in the House as Maryland may gain a member from the additional population. Just retrocede the non-governmental portion of the District back to Maryland as it was to Virginia in the mid-19th century.
If you thought Weiland was bad, let's see what the real big-time grifters from Indivisible said when they lost both their bid to kill the Senate filibuster and enshrine cheating rights in our votes for perpetuity. This comes from co-founder Ezra Levin, who put out an e-mail last Wednesday claiming "I'll be damned if I'm going to let the fascists win in a forfeit."
Kyrsten Sinema betrayed her constituents and our democracy. Joe Manchin betrayed his constituents and our democracy. Elected Republicans everywhere betrayed their constituents and our democracy. Ignore whatever spin comes from their press releases and media appearances in the aftermath of this debacle — history will not be kind to these enablers of racism and authoritarianism.
"I'll be damned if I'm going to let the fascists win in a forfeit." Ezra Levin of Indivisible, January 19, 2022.
But wait, there's more.
The consequences of this betrayal are real. But it turns out this wasn't enough. And with the developments of the past 48 hours, I'm convinced that nothing would have moved Manchin and Sinema to side with us. We left no stone unturned. We responded to every question and concern. We rewrote legislation repeatedly. We corrected historical inaccuracies. We offered concession after concession. We showed up in force in their states time and time again. Hell, this past weekend Martin Luther King, Jr's family marched in Phoenix with Indivisibles and pro-voting advocates from across the state. We succeeded in bringing every possible ounce of pressure we could.
It turned out this wasn't enough. We took on a tough fight with less than even odds of success, and we came damn close. But close wasn't enough, and that's devastating.
This isn't a game. We weren't fighting to score political points. We weren't fighting to help one political party over another. We were fighting to safeguard our democracy, and to protect the sacred right to vote. And so this loss comes with real consequences.
I would love to see the polling Indivisible had to assume that Manchin and Sinema "betrayed their constituents." I get betrayed on a regular basis by my representatives but Indivisible doesn't seem to give a rat's rear end because they agree with that shade of betrayal. And when Levin says "we weren't fighting to help one political party over another," you know that's a stone cold lie right there since he says later in the diatribe, "we want to elect diverse, progressive Democrats." Count me out – I want to elect constitutionalists who work to limit the size and scope of the federal government as envisioned by our Founding Fathers.
So let's hope the losing streak of Weiland and Indivisible continue right on.
Author MichaelPosted on January 27, 2022 January 27, 2022 Categories Culture and Politics, Delmarva items, Inside the Beltway, National politics, PoliticsTags District of Columbia, Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, Rick Weiland, State of Jefferson
This will be a little shorter than some, but I thought it was a good time to clear out the mailbox and give you some good reading.
All solar and wind is all wrong
Recently I got an e-mail from the Caesar Rodney Institute that told me:
Proposed legislation nationally and in some states would establish a requirement 100% of electricity be generated from "renewable" sources such as wind and solar power. This policy will lead to unacceptable electric price increases and blackouts.
"100% Wind and Solar. 100% WRONG." Caesar Rodney Institute, October 8, 2021.
This goes in the category of "duh" for me, but apparently some states are thinking they can pull this off – and in principle, perhaps they can. But there is a big problem with the reality, to wit:
When we look at states from Virginia to Maine, with some of the most aggressive requirements for wind and solar power along with taxes on emissions from power plants, we see two disturbing trends. One is more reliance on imported power. The Virginia plan drops reliable power generation from 95% now to 45% in 2035, and imports from other states grow from 25% to 40%. The RGGI states have increased imports from 5% in 2008 to 17% in 2019. Electricity exporting states are also under pressure to reduce conventional power generation. Pennsylvania's Governor Wolf would like to cut generation by 30% by 2030, which would end exports. Massachusetts is importing 57% of its power, Delaware 50%. It is likely there will be very little export power available, requiring each state to generate 100% in state.
The second part is the government-created market for so-called "renewable energy credits" (read: mechanism for wealth transfer.) I like looking at farm fields, not 600-foot tall wind turbines (that would make all of us sick from the low-frequency noise) or acres of solar panels that might power a few hundred homes at peak efficiency, not twenty years down the line.
If I store a tankful of natural gas or a lump of coal for a time, it works pretty much as well as it would have when I put it there, at a cheaper price point. Let's ditch these phony market mandates, shall we?
A Made in America call
My friends at the Alliance for American Manufacturing alerted me to this irony: those who created the CCP virus and allowed it to come to our shores are benefitting from dumping cheap N95 masks on our shores while American companies suffer.
At least that's how James Wyner, the CEO of the Shawmut Corporation tells it. "We worked hard to create an American-made product that wasn't dependent on foreign governments like China. We labored around-the-clock to get things up-and-running in 120 days, and created hundreds of new jobs in the process. Our masks received rave reviews for comfort and protection. Now Made in China imports are back."
Interestingly, the tariff suspension was put in place by the Trump administration in March 2020 to deal with the spot shortage of PPE, but no one from the Biden regime has reinstated it. Wonder why?
One can say Wyner is living up to his name because there was always this risk, but we can substitute a lot of things for N95 masks that we should be making – including the aforementioned solar panels that are often made in China.
And since I'm talking about AAM, it's worth reminding readers one of their annual programs is the Made in U.S.A. Holiday Gift Guide and it's time for suggestions. Now that Halloween is just about in the rear view mirror, it's time to start the stampede to Christmas. (Thanksgiving? What's that?)
WTF is he thinking?
So did you know that AT&T is "by far the largest single funder of One America News"? Me neither. Just looking at it as an observer, maybe it has something to do with DirecTV, which AT&T owned until recently. And when I checked into the story, I found out it was true.
Okay, this is a problem why? (And full disclosure here: we are DirecTV subscribers and my package includes OANN. Can't recall the last time I watched it, though – maybe immediately post-election?)
Well, the reason I bring this up is because Rick Weiland – miserably failed political candidate and my semi-correspondent loony leftist from the otherwise sane bastion known as South Dakota – sent me an e-mail demanding AT&T cut ties with OANN. Get a load of this rubbish:
Listen, the bottom line is clear: AT&T has not only been helping to spread disinformation about everything from the 2020 election to public safety during the pandemic, it's also been instrumental in the success of Donald Trump's favorite cable news channel while it continues to whitewash what happened on Jan. 6th.
AT&T needs to take bold action and join the fight against deadly disinformation — by cutting all ties with OAN. And (sic) your name to demand action now!
Unless AT&T hears from us — it will continue to fund the network that has fueled an insurrection, dozens of voter suppression bills, and the proliferation of disinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"WTF is AT&T thinking?", Rick Weiland, October 11, 2021.
Now I'm not crazy about DirecTV – it's one of the few options I have for TV watching out here in God's country – but when you consider the Reuters "investigation" comes down to a entrepreneur creating a product to address a market need, I shrug my shoulders on this one. I think Merrick Garland is doing far more to whitewash what happened on January 6th and Weiland isn't asking us to kick him out of office.
And next week I expect an e-mail from Weiland condemning a recent attack on a federal building. Should I hold my breath for the call on people to drop their funding? Thought not.
If I want to watch the partisan media, my satellite brings me CNN, MSNBC, and so forth. Maybe we should do more to encourage a variety of viewpoints instead of shutting down those we don't agree with. However, AT&T did hear from me recently: I sent in another month's bill.
This one worries me a bit
I think this is more because I'm on a mailing list than being anything resembling a power blogger anymore, but I guess at least someone was thinking of me and it's worth a few lines.
To avoid going all tl:dr on you, I'm just going to link to the Executive Summary of the 2022 Index of U.S. Military Strength from the Heritage Foundation. While I obviously have an interest in our nation remaining free and independent, I also have an interest in having several young men our stepdaughter knows from being classmates (in the same class as well as a few years ahead or behind) stay on this side of the grass as enlisted men. So judge this one for yourself.
Sunday evening reading
This is more for a particular author than for individual articles. And it all began with selling a book.
You may recall last year during the pandemic that I introduced people to a site called ammo.com. While they sell ammunition, I look at them now as a provider of a different kind of weaponry: potent arguments for limiting government and history you don't find anywhere else. Where else can you find a retailer that sees deplatforming, righteousness, and the decline of civil society as topics worth discussing? (Being a former league bowler from a Rust Belt bowling town, the latter hit me where I live.)
It's an alternate view of history and society complements of a writer named Sam Jacobs. If I were to bring back Ten Questions or do a podcast, he would be a subject because I'm curious how he got to a political point not all that far off of mine. They never told me how they liked Rise and Fall, but I do like hearing from their website each Friday.
Speaking of Friday, a programming note: I pushed it back a week because of website issues I was having, but the return of Weekend of Local Rock is now scheduled for the coming weekend. I may get a post in midweek if the mood strikes me (particularly with the offyear elections on Tuesday.) We will see.
But this should do for now, right? Mailbox is clean as a whistle.
Author MichaelPosted on October 31, 2021 October 31, 2021 Categories Business and industry, Culture and Politics, Delaware politics, National politics, Personal stuff, Politics, Radical GreenTags Alliance for American Manufacturing, Business and industry, Caesar Rodney Institute, China, Heritage Foundation, manufacturing, Merrick Garland, offshore wind, One America News Network, Radical Green, RGGI, Rick Weiland, solar energy
Subtitled, the post-election edition.
I have a number of items I collected over the last few weeks that I figured I would end up getting to after the election. Well, the election is over so now I can clean out the e-mail box with this handy feature.
Despite Donald Trump's stated defense of Planned Parenthood (coupled with his vow to defund it) and shaky position on abortion, the head of the pro-life group Created Equal was pleased with the election results and their efforts in securing them.
"Now, we must hold our new president-elect accountable for his promises to defund Planned Parenthood, pass a 20-week ban, and nominate a Constitutionalist to the U.S. Supreme Court," said Created Equal's Mark Harrington.
Defunding Planned Parenthood will be a battle since Congress controls the purse strings and a Republican majority couldn't get the job done in this edition of Congress. And as a reminder: they are funded through September 30, 2017 – the end of the federal fiscal year. Passing a 20-week ban and getting a pro-life SCOTUS justice will also be difficult with 48 Democrat Senators, although eight of them may want to keep in mind that Trump won their state and they are up for re-election two years hence. (In 2018 Democrats face the same minefield Republicans did this time: 23 of 33 Senate seats at stake are held by Democrats, along with two "independents" who caucus with the Democrats.) But I suspect the pro-life side will be disappointed with a President Trump; however, I never thought he would be President either so he may shock us all.
Another group angling for a payoff is my old friends at the American Alliance for Manufacturing, who are begging:
President-elect Trump and Congress must come together on much needed investment that will put Americans to work building and repairing our nation's crumbling infrastructure. Stronger trade enforcement to address China's massive overcapacity and a crackdown on countries trying to circumvent U.S. trade laws can boost manufacturing jobs.
Factory workers were more than a prop in this election. Now's the time to deliver for them.
The signs are there that Trump may be their kind of President: we know he's more hawkish on trade, and he's planning on making it possible for up to $1 trillion in private-sector infrastructure investment over the next decade. But it takes two (or more) to tango on trade, so progress on that front may be slow. And the union-backed AAM may not be happy with the infrastructure plan if it doesn't feature union-friendly rules and prevailing wage regulations. (Maybe this is a good time to repeal the Davis-Bacon Act? I doubt Congress has the guts to.)
But if you thought AAM wanted a tougher stance on trade, this diatribe came from Kevin Kearns, head of the U.S. Business & Industry Council:
Trump's antagonists (on trade) are Wall Street institutions, multinational corporations, major business organizations, academic economists, editorial boards, business journalists, opinion writers, bloggers, and the generally knowledge-free mainstream media. All are opposed to Trump because they are wedded to a false, outdated "free trade" dogma, which has decimated the working and middle classes.
On Capitol Hill, a minority of Democrats and majority of Republicans are partial to the same free-trade theories. Speaker Paul Ryan admitted as much in his remarks on the election victory, noting that Trump alone had recognized the dire plight of average Americans.
I found it interesting that the LifeZette site has as its editor-in-chief Trump ally (and radio talk show host) Laura Ingraham. But this was the real payoff of the Kearns piece for me:
Trump must impose a Value-Added Tax of 18-20 percent applicable at the border to all imports. Over 150 of our trading partners use such taxes to make American exports pricier in their home markets. We should reciprocate.
So anything we import becomes 18 to 20 percent more expensive? Yeah, that will end well.
Another item in the election hopper was some attempted reform from another guy who I've oftentimes cited on my website, Rick Weiland. A "trifecta of reform" his group successfully put on the South Dakota ballot went 1-for-3 the other night. Measures for redistricting reform and non-partisan elections failed, but South Dakota voters narrowly passed a sweeping campaign finance reform package the state's Attorney General said "may be challenged in court on constitutional grounds."
Personally, I would have been fine with the two that failed in a broad sense – as a Maryland resident, I know all about partisan gerrymandering and would be interested to see how non-partisan elections pan out. (The duopoly would have a fit, I'm sure.) But this campaign finance reform was a bad idea from the get-go, and it tips the Democrats' hand on how they would attack the Citizens United decision. One controversial facet of this new law would be a $9 per registered voter annual appropriation to pay for this public financing – such a law in Maryland would be a required annual $35 million appropriation from our General Fund. (The fund Larry Hogan used in his successful 2014 campaign was built with voluntary donations via a checkoff on income tax forms; a checkoff that was dormant for several years but was restored last year.)
And instead of "democracy credits" as this amendment proposed, a better idea would be one I believe Ohio still uses: a tax deduction of up to $50 for political donations. But I'm sure soon a South Dakota court (and maybe beyond) will be ruling on this one.
I also received some free post-election advice from the creators of iVoterGuide, which is an offshoot of a small Christian group called the Heritage Alliance (not to be confused with the Heritage Foundation.)
Pray specifically for the appointment of Godly people as our newly elected President selects his Cabinet and closest advisors. Pray that the Administration, Senate and House will work together to honor life and liberty as set out in our constitution by our founding fathers. Pray for ALL elected officials to humble themselves and seek God's will for our nation. We need to repent, individually and as a nation, and turn from policies contrary to God's word.
Pray for unity and peace. Our country is deeply divided. Christians must truly start loving our neighbors as ourselves so that there can be a spiritual awakening. Now is not a time to gloat but to turn our hearts continually toward God so we can be examples of His love and work toward reconciliation and unity. Pray for all nations, as a new stage is being set both nationally and internationally.
I think I can handle that. Oddly enough, this was also a subject of our Bible study prayer group Wednesday – maybe one or more of them is on this e-mail list, too. As for iVoterGuide, what they need is a larger state-level base as Maryland and Delaware aren't among the handful of states they cover (it's mostly federal.)
As iVoterGuide's executive director Debbie Wuthnow concludes, "we ask you pray about how God wants you to be involved in retaining the freedoms He has so graciously granted us." I suspect I'm going in the right direction here but one never knows what doors open up.
I was originally going to add some energy-related items to this mix, but I think I will hold them until later this week for a reason which will become apparent. There's one other subset of items I'm going to have fun with tomorrow – I would consider them odds but not ends. And so it goes.
Author MichaelPosted on November 13, 2016 November 13, 2016 Categories Business and industry, Campaign 2016 - President, Culture and Politics, Inside the Beltway, National politics, Politics, State of ConservatismTags abortion, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Business and industry, Citizens United decision, Created Equal, Donald Trump, fair trade, gerrymandering, Heritage Alliance, infrastructure, iVoterGuide, Larry Hogan, Non-Partisan Elections, Planned Parenthood, Rick Weiland, U.S. Business & Industry Council
The lab of democracy
You wouldn't think much about South Dakota, which is a state squarely in flyover country and fated to be close by – but not the center of – several economic, cultural, political, and geographic phenomena. It lies just off the booming North Dakota oil fields, dosen't have a major league pro sports team like neighboring Minnesota does, misses the campaign excitement of Iowa just across the Big Sioux River, and is one state east of the majesty of the Rocky Mountains.
Yet South Dakota has one neighbor that it's trying to emulate, and the impetus behind that is, in part, from a candidate who's been destroyed electorally in that state by running as a populist liberal, Rick Weiland. He's a guy I've quoted, featured, and snickered at on occasion here, but give him credit for not giving up. At least he's not tossed me off the mailing list – perhaps bad press really is better than no press at all.
After having his doors blown off in the midterm Senate run last year, he put his energy into a website called TakeItBack.org, which has lent itself to an initiative called South Dakotans for a Non-Partisan Democracy. Its goal is to scrap partisan elections in the state via a referendum on next year's ballot in order to match its neighbor to the south, Nebraska. Not only is Nebraska the only state to have a unicameral legislature, but they elect all of its members on a non-partisan basis with the top two finishers in the primary advancing to the general election regardless of party.
Given that South Dakota has Republican domination, certainly the cynic can easily argue Weiland is just trying to fool the voters, albeit with the backing of a popular local talk radio host. Yesterday they announced the initiative had more than enough signatures to make the ballot for 2016 – South Dakota is a state which allows citizen-driven referenda without a corresponding act from the legislature.
I'm sure this is a rhetorical exercise because Maryland doesn't allow citizen initiatives, but it makes me wonder how the Maryland conservative movement would fare under such a system if it were introduced here? Obviously there are thousands upon thousands who almost reflexively vote for the first Democrat they see on the ballot, but what if that security blanket were taken away? The Justice Department didn't want to find out in one city, but eventually relented.
We didn't have a primary in the recent Salisbury election, but if we had (as was the case in previous elections) the lone white candidate would have been eliminated in District 1 (a majority-minority district), one minority candidate would have moved on in District 2 (also a majority-minority district), and a minority candidate would have been eliminated in District 3. Racial minority hopefuls ran in three districts but won just one seat in these non-partisan elections.
But Salisbury scrapped its partisan primaries some years ago, allowing candidates who are unaffiliated to run on an even playing field with those having partisan backing. Arguably this may have helped Muir Boda, although he was successful in far greater measure based on the work he put in. We'll never know if not being specifically identified as a Republican would have helped or hurt his cause, although having a slew of statewide Republicans helping him may have yielded a clue to the discerning voter.
Unlike South Dakota, which doesn't have a Congressional gerrymandering issue because there's only one House member from the state (it's less populated than Delaware), Maryland Denocrats stand in the way of non-partisan solutions because they run the show. They even complain about the Hogan redistricting commission because (gasp!) drawing boundaries in a way that makes geographical sense could make the Congressional delegation 5-3 Democrat – never mind it's a closer proportion to voter registration than the result of the current scheme Martin O'Malley put in place. While the House of Delegates comes relatively closer in proportion to registration numbers, the districts there were still drawn in such a fashion that safe GOP districts on average have more population than safe Democrat ones.
If my home state can do a redistricting reform, so can Maryland. If going to non-partisan elections is a worthy goal – and I suspect some of my unaffiliated friends may agree – the first step should be getting the districts in order.
Author MichaelPosted on November 10, 2015 November 9, 2015 Categories Campaign 2015 - Salisbury, Maryland Politics, National politics, Politics, State of ConservatismTags City of Salisbury, Maryland General Assembly, Maryland Politics, Muir Boda, Non-Partisan Elections, redistricting, Rick Weiland, South Dakota
To the left, the world is not enough
I've probably given as many pixels to failed candidate Rick Weiland as anyone outside his native South Dakota, but it's because I think he's very useful as a gauge of reactionary liberalism in a part of the nation which has maintained a streak of populism surprising for such a rural area. While the South has gone almost completely Republican, those in the rural Midwest will occasionally elect Democrats they deem to be centrists or populists on a statewide level. South Dakota has rejected Weiland several times, but it doesn't mean he'll stop trying and to me that exhibits precisely how the far left operates and why it's important to hear about their desires. (He could also use the money since he can't manage his campaign funds, but I digress.)
So yesterday, in the wake of the debate about CRomnibus, I received a missive called "We can't breathe!" from which I quote in part:
The revenge of the money changers is in full swing in Congress today.
Let the big banks have their swaps back. Let Las Vegas advertise itself with your tax dollars. Increase by 1000% the amount billionaires can contribute to buy off our political parties.
Men of color are not the only ones they have in a choke-hold – now they've got all of us – and it's way past time to tell them none of us can breathe!
Emboldened by the Obama-haters they just elected, Wall Street is readying the nooses for Obamacare and Dodd-Frank. They think they can't be stopped.
But WE can stop them!
24 states allow initiatives and referendums – 24 states where you can show them exactly what you think of their choke-hold on the rest of us.
So let's put what they are doing to us on the ballot in those 24 states and find out who is right.
Help us close down the debt on my just completed Senate campaign, and fire up our initiative and referendum team. Because we are going to turn our little state into a laboratory for direct democracy.
A laboratory and an export market.
Let's put Citizens United, Ferguson, and Big Bank plutocracy on trial at the ballot box.
Because when you go down fighting instead of whimpering, a funny thing often happens: people notice, then they think a little, and pretty soon they're fighting too.
If you have to vote on it you have to think about it. So let's put our ideas directly on the ballot and pick a fight. (All emphasis in original.)
This is the mirror-reverse of the strategy Maryland Republicans tried in 2012 to petition already-enacted legislation to referendum, which failed. Looking back, I wonder if the Maryland Republican Party isn't kicking itself for not placing the "bathroom bill" or 2013 gun bill on the ballot this year – we may have even had a more shocking victory by repealing both laws. (The counter-argument, of course, is the "sleeping dog" school of thought which liked the Democrats' low turnout – perhaps the inclusion of those ballot measures would have hurt Larry Hogan's chances by bringing out more liberal Democrats.)
It's also true that, even in the face of a Republican wave election, four states that had a minimum wage increase on the ballot, including the aforementioned South Dakota, passed these measures while electing Republican Senators – in Alaska and Arkansas the Democrats seeking re-election to the Senate were defeated on that same ballot. (Nebraska was the fourth state.) Again, this shows the streak of populism which occurs in the Midwest.
Obviously Weiland sees a trend, exhibited in his home state, where direct democracy can succeed in accomplishing those things a representative republic would not. As the minimum wage example shows, people can be fooled into voting against their best interests – that's why we were founded as a Constitutional republic.
Weiland's mindset is shared by a lot of people, though. Witness the populist appeal to Southern voters espoused by the writer of the linked New Republic piece, Michael A. Cooper, Jr., who pleads with his party:
Speaking as a southerner, we need help, not from the DCCC but from government to deal with issues like homelessness and drug addiction.
These aren't esoteric concerns Beltway liberals tut-tut about like global warming or political correctness, but true pocketbook issues which unfortunately tend to affect the poorest among us. Conservatives would prefer these issues be dealt with on more of a faith-based level through private charity but it can also be addressed by local and state governments. (By the way, thanks to Jackie Wellfonder for bringing the New Republic piece to my attention just in time for me to add it in because it fit the point so well.)
Just as the right has its TEA Party movement which has cooled to the mainstream Republican party – and for good reason – many activists on the left are embracing their new savior as Senator Elizabeth Warren, whose populist screed against Wall Street has won the backing of elements of the Democrat Party who think Barack Obama sold them out and Hillary Clinton is too close to the right wing. They are also fed up with the government, but stare at the problem from the other side of the fence because they want the power of government to regulate corporatism out of existence, or rein it in as fascism dictates.
Meanwhile, while these Warren acolytes whine about what Barack Obama is not providing them, they fail to see that many of their goals are being realized anyway. Truly it's the Right that's not being served.
As the new year arrives and Republicans take over Congress (along with the governor's chair in Annapolis) we will begin to see all the stories and tales of woe unreported on over the last six years. There's a lot of work to do, and Republican leaders in Congress didn't get off on the right foot by passing CRomnibus. We must demand, now that we've granted them the opportunity to complete the FY2016 budget in regular order as they've wished to do for several years, that our priorities be the ones funded and the mistakes of the last six years deleted.
Perhaps we can also do our part in using the referendum system in advancing conservative causes as well. Two can play that game, and it's just as important to motivate our voters as it is for the other side to buy theirs.
Author MichaelPosted on December 13, 2014 December 13, 2014 Categories Business and industry, Inside the Beltway, National politics, Politics, State of ConservatismTags Alaska, Arkansas, Barack Obama, Bathroom Bill, CRomnibus, Elizabeth Warren, Larry Hogan, Maryland GOP, Nebraska, Rick Weiland, SB281, South Dakota, TEA Party2 Comments on To the left, the world is not enough
Rather than talk about the executive amnesty that I fear the Republican leadership in Washington will find a way to accommodate, I want to show you how the other half lives.
Many months ago I somehow got on the mailing list of a liberal Democratic candidate named Rick Weiland, who ran and lost this month for the Senate seat in South Dakota. Senator-elect Mike Rounds crushed Weiland by 20 points in the election but for some reason Weiland still thinks he's relevant and decided to take out his frustrations using the Keystone XL pipeline vote as the vehicle. While I took out the fundraising appeal links, this is still fun to observe:
The only crock bigger than the Keystone Pipeline is Senate Democrats dumping on our environment to try to save one of their own.
Talk about business as usual, talk about midterm lessons unlearned, talk about just plain stupid!
You've already lost the Senate. Polls show that Mary Landrieu, whose runoff election you hope to influence, has absolutely no chance of winning. So what do you do, backstab your president, our Native Nations and the entire environmental community on behalf of a pipeline that will not only not create jobs or any energy security, but will pour additional billions in profits into the hands of the big money special interests who just spent a fortune to crush your party at the polls.
That's genius, DC Democrat style. And it is the reason my campaign is not over. In fact, it has just begun. As a political party, and as a country, we have one chance and one chance only. END THE HAMMERLOCK BIG MONEY HAS ON BOTH OUR POLITICAL PARTIES.
If you would be willing to help us, click here.
For 18 months we ran for Senate with little more than my videographer son Nick, myself, a lot of shoe leather, and the help of a handful of friends with more passion and skill than common sense.
I want to keep that team together, retire our small debt, and get back into the fight, right now. If the DC Democrats selling us out on Keystone XL doesn't show why we can't wait, what will?
Please, send just a few bucks and stay tuned. We may have gotten washed over by the same wave that drowned so many Democrats. But unlike them, we're not rolling over, belly up and bloated, we're fighting on.
We are going to make South Dakota a demonstration project, and a nationwide beacon for the fight against big money.
And if you don't think that matters to you, think about this. Does Elizabeth Warren's voice matter beyond the boundaries of Massachusetts, or Bernie Sanders beyond Vermont, or did Paul Wellstone make any difference outside of Minnesota?
If you can help, click here.
We have assembled a merry band of very low maintenance truth tellers out here on the prairie. Keep us going with a buck or two and you'll get the most entertaining, noisy, truth to power megaphone in America. Maybe you'll even get a new song or two!
So stay tuned. We are not done yet, and Keystone XL shows why.
The fight for a constitutional amendment and other reforms to drive big money out of politics and put the most constitutionally ignorant Supreme Court in American history back in the jack in the box from which it sprang has got to be won or it will be Keystone XLs and stolen Presidential elections as far as the eye can see.
Yes, this guy is apparently serious. Dude, you didn't fall victim to a "wave" when you got less than 30 percent in a statewide election. Nor does Weiland admit that there were big-money donors on his side as well – then again, the guy is way out on the edge on some issues, like ethanol, so there will always be some who think he's the best thing since sliced bread.
While Weiland has a point about the cynical political games being played in Washington, the problem isn't the Keystone vote, the fate of Mary Landrieu, or any sort of political contribution. In fact, I would argue the Keystone XL pipeline would be the best bet for the environment because Canada is going to extract those tar sands whether environmentalists like it or not. We can pipe the oil underground in a vessel which would provide relatively trouble-free transport or we can ship it by rail car with the inherent safety risks. (Or Canada can pipe it to the Pacific coast and send it by tanker to China, which has its own set of perils.) To me, Keystone XL makes a whole lot more sense than growing corn to be fuel for the family SUV and not food for the dinner plate.
But I suspect Rick Weiland would have found something to complain about besides his dismal electoral record – he's now lost statewide elections in 1996, 2002, and 2014. His "fight against big money," though, is truly against the wrong source of that massive pile of cash – after all, we spend more on many other common items than all the 2014 federal campaign spending put together.
But the $3.7 billion spent on the 2014 election is a rounding error that's a factor of about 1 to 1,000 what the federal government spends each year. THAT is the pile of money which we need to address by shrinking it to a more appropriate Constitutional size. As I see it, less money in Washington would lead to less incentive to spend a lot on campaigns.
The example of Weiland well illustrates how the other side feels. To them, it's all about the feelgood issue du jour, whether its the Keystone XL pipeline, the Citizens United decision, or one of another hundred things where life is unfair and the only solution is bigger government. Yet we have tried it their way for over 80 years now and problems aren't being solved. This is the question they need to honestly ask themselves: with their track record, is government the answer to problems or does it perpetuate those issues to maintain a reason for existence? To bring it closer to home, ask yourself what happens to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation if the waterway is ever cleaned up?
We have entered the era of the perpetual campaign, which in and of itself provides a reason for being. If government was truly practiced in the best interests of the people, the big news of the day wouldn't come from Washington or the state capitals but from the achievements of the common man which still occur throughout our nation. Getting money out of politics isn't the answer – the solution really lies in rightsizing our government.
Author MichaelPosted on November 20, 2014 Categories National politics, Politics, Radical Green, State of ConservatismTags Keystone XL pipeline, Mary Landrieu, Mike Rounds, Rick Weiland, role of government1 Comment on Unhinged
The bad news for good performance
If you go to the gas pump, you've probably noticed the little sign that says the blend is "10% ethanol." For several years, the EPA has mandated a certain amount of ethanol be used to slake America's thirst for gasoline, with a 10% blend of ethanol being just enough to cover the mandate. Unfortunately, with less gasoline being necessary to meet demand thanks to both a stagnant economy and more fuel-efficient cars, the mandated amount of ethanol isn't being used anymore. I noted the other day that the oil companies were calling on the EPA to scrap the proposed mandate increase this year.
When I wrote that I wasn't aware that a movement is out there to not just stop at E-15 but go all the way to E-30. Oddly enough, I saw a piece from Rick Weiland, who I referred to in my dark money post, which brought it to my attention. (Damn, that dude has made it on here twice in one week. After he loses that race, he'll probably move to Maryland and run with his newfound name recognition here.) So I did a quick bit of research and found there is a movement out there which believes E-30 is actually the optimum amount of ethanol to take best advantage of its attributes. Weiland is obviously driving a vehicle tuned to that specification and there are actual service stations which have the blend in his region – in both cases, the average motorist isn't usually going to have that condition. A check of this site revealed no such stations around Delmarva, so it wouldn't do us much good.
Needless to say, what the market won't do government will force. So Senate Democrats are pushing the EPA to increase the mandate, meaning that they'll artificially create a market for higher ethanol blends. (Flex-fuel cars are supposed to be able to handle E-15, but they've never been a popular option because they're not as fuel-efficient running an E-15 blend. It's telling that you see a lot of government cars with that option, but not a lot of private cars.)
But let's say the mandated number of gallons increases. The scarcity will be in the E-10 or straight gasoline which smaller motors need to run properly; in addition, the cost of anything which consumes or has corn as an ingredient will rise. It's why so many different groups advocated for a smaller ethanol mandate.
If we really wanted to do something to use less gasoline, it makes more sense to me to impose part of the Pickens Plan. Now I don't think wind power is the way to go because it's not as reliable as fossil fuels, but I think running fleets on natural gas is a fairly good idea for the reasons they state. To me, using food as fuel for automobiles doesn't make a whole lot of sense – and yes, I know Brazil uses sugar cane for their ethanol. Brazil can use all the sugar cane it wants.
But I look closer to home, and our chicken farmers want their feed to be as inexpensive as possible. Corn growers already have plenty of mouths to feed, so they really don't need to fill our gas tanks, too.
Author MichaelPosted on July 25, 2014 July 25, 2014 Categories Business and industry, Delmarva items, National politics, Politics, Radical Green, State of ConservatismTags Environmental Protection Agency, ethanol, oil and natural gas, Pickens Plan, Rick Weiland
The peril of 'dark money'
Of all the states in the union, South Dakota is not one where I have a ton of readership – maybe one or two a month wander by here from the Mount Rushmore State. But I have somehow found my way to the mailing list of their Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rick Weiland, and if his e-mails are any indication, the dreaded Koch brothers aren't just the obsession of Harry Reid. Get a load of this:
"Americans for Prosperity," a dark money front group for the Koch Brothers, have quietly set up shop in South Dakota in an effort to exert big money control of South Dakota's United States Senate seat.
The Washington Post reported over the weekend, "Americans for Prosperity, the on-the-ground wing of the network of conservative organizations spearheaded by the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, will open new state chapters in South Dakota and Alaska in coming weeks, the group's president said."
"Big Money is becoming increasingly concerned that our town-to-town grassroots campaign to take our country back from groups like the Koch Brothers and other billionaires and big corporations is working. And, as a result, South Dakotans will be "subjected to a never-ending stream of negative television advertisements," said Sioux Falls small businessman and US Senate candidate Rick Weiland.
Weiland challenged Republican nominee to work with him to keep so-called "Dark Money" groups out of South Dakota. "Mike, this is an opportunity for both of us to show we can be leaders. Let's sign a pledge and agree to keep billionaires from buying these elections," Weiland said. (Link added.)
I'm less than impressed, particularly since the South Dakota version of AFP really doesn't have a full site and their Facebook page has 11 likes. Then again, they have a state chapter and Maryland doesn't anymore. That's a very, very quiet setting up of shop, though.
But it sounds to me like AFP is trying to do something the Republican Party doesn't seem to be doing otherwise – trying to mobilize action on a local level. Something Weiland didn't quote from the Post story:
Building AFP's presence in new states, (AFP president Tim) Phillips said, is one of the lessons the group took away from the 2012 elections, when Democratic efforts to organize voters proved far better than the GOP's turnout operations.
Sounds like the old "50 state strategy" to me, although for now AFP hasn't returned to Maryland. Guess we have to do it ourselves.
My point is that Democrats seem to be desperate to attack anyone who has money and wishes to donate to conservative causes because they sure can't run on their record. The seat Weiland is aiming for is one held by a retiring Democrat, Sen. Tim Johnson. Polling is still rather scarce, but Weiland – who's threatening to move into the "perennial candidate" category with another loss – trails in the state's polls by about 15 points, with former Gov. Mike Rounds, the Republican, leading, and a third candidate, former Sen. Larry Pressler, in the race as a centrist independent and behind Weiland by about 10 points. No wonder Weiland is blaming AFP, since he's lost any prospect of running to the center. Moreover, there's no question Democrats are fighting elsewhere to save seats.
But this tale also provides a good transition to something I've been meaning to do for awhile. How much "dark money" is in our local politics? And by that I mean how much do our candidates here on the Lower Shore get from elsewhere? Now that we have just two entrants in most races, it should be easier to see where the money came from pre-primary and can serve as a lead-in to the next report due August 26. Look for these updates in coming weeks.
If we would only be so lucky to get some conservative counterweight around these parts to all the special interests which seem to be funneling money toward the Democrats. But we will have to make do with what we have, which is the right position on most issues. Many of our folks have been out knocking on doors and engaging in the retail politics which will have to beat the 30-second commercials and expensive full-color mailers the other side will surely try to fool us with. Let's keep those tricks from working this time.
Update: As if on cue, Michelle Malkin has this piece on a major-league lefty contributor. But you won't hear anything from the rest of the media on the eeeeevil Democracy Alliance, nor will John Boehner begin screeching about them.
Author MichaelPosted on July 22, 2014 July 23, 2014 Categories All politics is local, Campaign 2014, National politics, Politics, State of ConservatismTags Americans for Prosperity, Campaign 2014, Larry Pressler, Mike Rounds, Rick Weiland, South Dakota, Tim Johnson2 Comments on The peril of 'dark money'


text:
A 6312 Robheinlein (ideiglenes jelöléssel 1990 RH4) a Naprendszer kisbolygóövében található aszteroida. Henry Holt fedezte fel 1990. szeptember 14-én.

Kapcsolódó szócikkek
 Kisbolygók listája (6001–6500)

Jegyzetek

A Naprendszer kisbolygói

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
// Licensed to the .NET Foundation under one or more agreements.
// The .NET Foundation licenses this file to you under the MIT license.
// See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information.

using System;
using Cake.Core;
using Cake.Core.IO;
using Cake.Core.Tooling;

namespace Cake.Common.Tools.GitReleaseManager.Create
{
    /// <summary>
    /// The GitReleaseManager Release Creator used to create releases.
    /// </summary>
    public sealed class GitReleaseManagerCreator : GitReleaseManagerTool<GitReleaseManagerCreateSettings>
    {
        private readonly ICakeEnvironment _environment;

        /// <summary>
        /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="GitReleaseManagerCreator"/> class.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="fileSystem">The file system.</param>
        /// <param name="environment">The environment.</param>
        /// <param name="processRunner">The process runner.</param>
        /// <param name="tools">The tool locator.</param>
        public GitReleaseManagerCreator(
            IFileSystem fileSystem,
            ICakeEnvironment environment,
            IProcessRunner processRunner,
            IToolLocator tools) : base(fileSystem, environment, processRunner, tools)
        {
            _environment = environment;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Creates a Release using the specified and settings.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="userName">The user name.</param>
        /// <param name="password">The password.</param>
        /// <param name="owner">The owner.</param>
        /// <param name="repository">The repository.</param>
        /// <param name="settings">The settings.</param>
        public void Create(string userName, string password, string owner, string repository, GitReleaseManagerCreateSettings settings)
        {
            if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(userName))
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(userName));
            }

            if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(password))
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(password));
            }

            if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(owner))
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(owner));
            }

            if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(repository))
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(repository));
            }

            if (settings == null)
            {
                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(settings));
            }

            Run(settings, GetArguments(userName, password, owner, repository, settings));
        }

        private ProcessArgumentBuilder GetArguments(string userName, string password, string owner, string repository, GitReleaseManagerCreateSettings settings)
        {
            var builder = new ProcessArgumentBuilder();

            builder.Append("create");

            builder.Append("-u");
            builder.AppendQuoted(userName);

            builder.Append("-p");
            builder.AppendQuotedSecret(password);

            builder.Append("-o");
            builder.AppendQuoted(owner);

            builder.Append("-r");
            builder.AppendQuoted(repository);

            // Milestone
            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(settings.Milestone))
            {
                builder.Append("-m");
                builder.AppendQuoted(settings.Milestone);
            }

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            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(settings.Name))
            {
                builder.Append("-n");
                builder.AppendQuoted(settings.Name);
            }

            // Input File Path
            if (settings.InputFilePath != null)
            {
                builder.Append("-i");
                builder.AppendQuoted(settings.InputFilePath.MakeAbsolute(_environment).FullPath);
            }

            // Prerelease?
            if (settings.Prerelease)
            {
                builder.Append("-e");
            }

            // Assets
            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(settings.Assets))
            {
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                builder.AppendQuoted(settings.Assets);
            }

            // Target Commitish
            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(settings.TargetCommitish))
            {
                builder.Append("-c");
                builder.AppendQuoted(settings.TargetCommitish);
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            {
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                builder.AppendQuoted(settings.TargetDirectory.MakeAbsolute(_environment).FullPath);
            }

            // Log File Path
            if (settings.LogFilePath != null)
            {
                builder.Append("-l");
                builder.AppendQuoted(settings.LogFilePath.MakeAbsolute(_environment).FullPath);
            }

            return builder;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


In a recent survey by The Co-op insurance company there is a 37% rise in thefts at this time of year and especially on a Friday. They put this down to the temperatures warming up and people leaving doors and windows open as one example as to why.
Some of the advice is obvious but we all become complacement and so we think it is always wothwhile giving people a subtle reminder. In our experince The Co-op is correct with their survey. The vast majority of thefts we attend are a forced entry during the winter months via locksnapping. As soon as the weather warms up this type of attack becomes less of a problem but we want to get some fresh air through our stuffy bedrooms and living rooms. So what do we do is open the windows and carry on spring cleaning. Thieves will always look for an opportunity!
So just have a quick read through the tips and keep an eye out.
You'd be pretty surprised how many people ask me what exactly a locksmith's day entails. Okay, you might not be totally surprised, it's not as many as you might think. In fact it's not probably not even as many as you're revised estimate you're now thinking. Fine, okay, it's none. None. But that wouldn't lead me on to a second paragraph, so I had to pretend. Happy now? Now let's try to move on from this awkwardness.
We've all had that moment when we've shut the door behind us and realised we've left the keys inside - or perhaps even lost our keys and realised we can't get back in.
These things happen, so the trick is knowing how to deal with the situation promptly and effectively. Here are our top tips that will help you get back in your home or office in as little time possible, and without causing any lasting damage.
I was walking through Doncaster town centre the other day, taking in the sights as you do, when I looked up at the big screen on the side of the Frenchgate Centre. The sound of an amplified cough had emanated from its direction and on closer inspection, the face of a young chap was emerging onto the screen. This caused a great deal of excitement amongst the passers-by – several of them nearly dropped their Greggs' pasties, and all around stopped to stare at this odd occurrence. The fella on the screen raised his head and began talking.
Garden shed security guide - 5 essential tips!
As technology improves homeowners across the UK are starting to use more advanced home security measures in order to protect their property, family and belongings. But what about that other roof in the garden with so many valuables inside?
5 different ways you could easily get locked out of the house!
Unfortunately lockouts are a lot more common than you might think and are rarely caused by the owner just losing their keys. Hopefully by sharing the 5 most common ways people get locked out of their property and how you can avoid it happening to you and your family.
Is Doncaster a Safe Place to Live?
It's true that across the UK there are some places to live that are safer than others. Thanks to government statistics and poll results it's easier than ever to find out which towns and cities are the safest places to live, but naturally this can also mean paying more for the privilege of living there.
So as a Doncaster based business with so many customers who reside in the area we thought it would be useful to address specific safety concerns in Doncaster, uncovering how safe people feel living in the area and what they can do about local crime.
Understandably customers are looking for a good quality uPVC door lock that will last a long time and is less likely to need repairing. So which manufacturers' locks do we come across most often when we are called out to repair a uPVC door lock?
Many homeowners across the UK have been fooled into thinking that their property is more secure than it actually is due to believing a common myth about home security.
When you think of a locksmith you probably picture someone whose job involves repairing and installing locks, and cutting duplicate keys. However, in the past locksmiths played a fundamental part in the design, development and manufacture of both locks and keys.
This brief history will give you an insight into the locksmith's changing role, and the origins of the lock and it's development into the modern locks we have today.


text:
Home » Singer » Rock City (Musician) Wiki, Bio, Girlfriend, Dating or Gay
Rock City (Musician) Wiki, Bio, Girlfriend, Dating or Gay
Date: 05 Nov, 2015 Report This
R. City or Planet VI, professionally known as Rock City is a musical duo, which is basically known for its RNB style of music, including some Pop, Hip Hop and Reggae fusion. This musical duo is formed by two Brothers Theron Thomas and Timothy Thomas, who are the natives of Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands, United States of America. Both these brothers were born in a middle class family to father Morgan Thomas, who was a small time musical instruments businessman and their mother was a piano teacher for the primary school. They both went to study at the Charlotte Amalie High School as children, and were performers in their school's dance group. They are both American by nationality and belong to Afro- American ethnicity.
After being inspired by their mother towards music, they discovered the power of team work where one of them would write music and the other would make it into a song. Then in the year 2000, after graduating high school they both went to Miami, Florida in order to pursue their career towards music. Their expedition took some harsh tides and the boat was not stable until 2003, after which they have had a pretty smooth and successful journey till date.
After making some street music in the roads of Miami, the R. City brothers were seen in some music videos, primarily of musicians like Kardinal Offishall and Verse Simmonds. These small but important chances opened their door towards bigger opportunities as they made links with other big starts. Slowly, they were seen sharing stage with other musicians like Adam Levine and Akon, who were bi stars towards the beginning of 2000. In 2006, they got their first chance to record their own song, which was "The Rain," and it was included in Akon's super hit album "Konvicted". Dreams were starting to turn real with fame slowly building up and more links and contracts for songs with artists like Ashlee Simpson, Nicole Scherzinger, Usher, Sean Kingston etc.
Not much is known regarding the personal life of these guys, and there are no public images or paparazzi information that points towards any of their girlfriends. There is no record whatsoever of them dating anyone; which raises suspicions towards the rumors of them being sexually gay. With good height and well-maintained body, you can find a couple of shirtless pictures of the on the media. To find out more about their career, you can surely read their biography that can be found in sites like IMDb and Wikipedia.
With many hit music, songs, rap and videos over the years, the R City have made subsequent number of fans from around the world. Their style of rapping; along with melody and words that can be related to actual life has often been praised by their fans. With a huge number of fans on their Twitter account, they also have large followers on Instagram. By 2015, their estimated net worth value is about $60 thousand US dollars. With still a long way to go, it seems like they will achieve more and more success in the years to come.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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WILLIE NELSON'S 4TH OF JULY PICNIC RETURNS TO AUSTIN, 42ND EDITION TO TAKE PLACE AT AUSTIN 360 AMPHITHEATER
Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic
Presented by Budweiser
Returns Home To Austin, Texas
Nelson To Headline Line-Up Which Includes Eric Church, Merle Haggard, Kacey Musgraves, Sturgill Simpson, Asleep At The Wheel, Jamey Johnson,
Jason Isbell, Leon Russell, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real and More
AUSTIN, TEXAS (March 30, 2015) – Live Nation, C3 Presents and Circuit of The Americas are proud to announce the return of Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic to Austin, Texas. The legendary Willie Nelson plays host to one of America's most celebrated festivals, as the 4th of July Picnic returns to the Austin area for the first time in five years. Joining Willie at this year's party is a cavalcade of his star-studded friends.
The 42nd edition of the picnic takes place at the Circuit of The Americas' Austin360 Amphitheater on Saturday, July 4th. The all-day event on America's birthday features performances from more than 20 artists on two stages including Willie Nelson & Family, Eric Church, Merle Haggard, Kacey Musgraves, Sturgill Simpson, Asleep At The Wheel, Jamey Johnson, Jason Isbell, Leon Russell, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Billie Joe Shaver, Ray Wylie Hubbard, David Allan Coe, Chris Stapleton, Johnny Bush, Insects VS Robots, Folk Uke, Amber Digby, Raelyn Nelson Band, Pauline Reese and more.
"The first 4th of July picnic was outside Austin at Dripping Springs, Texas," said Willie Nelson, "I got the idea from Woodstock about how music could bring people from different places together. I had just moved to Austin and had come to realize what a great music center it was and could be. I thought it would be a nice idea to, this year have it back in Austin, but at a more comfortable venue for the fans AND the pickers. The Austin360 Amphitheater at Circuit of The Americas is that place. It's the Formula 1 track with a beautiful Amphitheater in the middle of the circuit.
Some of the original artists will be returning: me, Leon Russell, Billy Joe Shaver, David Allan Coe; along with some younger acts we are happy to have on the program like Kacey Musgraves, Sturgill Simpson, Jamey Johnson, Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Amber Digby, my son Lukas with his Promise of the Real band & my son Micah with Insects VS Robots, my daughter Amy with Arlo Guthrie's daughter Cathy and their band Folk Uke, and my daughter Paula. Also on our show this year are my friends Eric Church, Merle Haggard, Asleep At The Wheel, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Johnny Bush."
To accommodate the 20 artists, this year's 4th of July Picnic will feature two stages: the main Austin360 Amphitheater stage and a second stage located on the Grand Plaza. The Grand Plaza will have picnic tables where fans can eat, drink, celebrate and watch their favorite artists, as well as a shopping area featuring a wide variety of Texas based vendors. This year's picnic will also incorporate a very special fireworks display to commemorate the show and to celebrate America's birthday. SiriusXM will be broadcasting live on Willie's own channel, Willie's Roadhouse.
Tickets are priced at $75 for Reserved Seats, $55 for Tickets in the GA Pit Section in front of the stage and starting at $35 for H-E-B General Admission Lawn. There are also a limited number of special VIP packages available for sale. All tickets will go on saleFriday, April 10th and will be available at ticketmaster.com, circuitoftheamericas.com, all Ticketmaster outlets throughout Texas or can be charged by phone at 1-800-745-3000.
Standard parking lots at Circuit of The Americas open at 10:00 a.m., with premium parking lots opening an hour earlier at 9:00 a.m. and gates to the Austin360 Amphitheater open at11:00 a.m. Standard Parking is included in the price of the ticket. Premium Parking, Bus Parking, RV Parking, as well as camp sites are also available for purchase at the time tickets are purchased.
For more information on the event please visit circuitoftheamericas.com.
TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY, APRIL 10TH AT 10AM
Tickets will be available online at livenation.com, ticketmaster.com,circuitoftheamericas.com,
Ticketmaster Outlets throughout Texas or charge-by-phone at (800) 745-3000.
ABOUT WILLIE NELSON:
With a six-decade career and 200 plus albums, this iconic Texan is the creative genius behind the historic recordings of Crazy, Red Headed Stranger, and Stardust. Willie Nelson has earned every conceivable award as a musician and amassed reputable credentials as an author, actor and activist. He continues to thrive as a relevant and progressive musical and cultural force. In the last five years alone he delivered eight new album releases (of which one resulted in a Grammy Award win), released a Top 10 New York Times' bestsellers book, again headlined Farm Aid, an event he co-founded in 1985, received his 5th degree black belt in Gong Kwon Yu Sul, and graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. In 2013, Willie's albums included Let's Face The Music And Dance, an album of deep pop country repertoire classics performed with transformative patented ease by Nelson and Family, his long-time touring and recording ensemble; and To All The Girls…which features 18 duets with music's top female singers. In 2014, he released Band of Brothers, a 14-track studio album of new recording that debuted at #5 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart and #1 on Billboard's Country album chart, and December Day: Willie's Stash Vol. 1, an eclectic album collaboration of intimate new recordings from Nelson and Sister Bobbie Nelson. This year he will add two more titles. On May 5, 2015, "It's A Long Story: My Life," the unvarnished and complete story of Nelson, will hit bookshelves. Later in the year he will release a new album with Merle Haggard titled Django And Jimmie.
Filed Under: Austin, Majors, Music Tagged With: Willie Nelson 4th of July Picnic 2015
VOLVO OCEAN RACE UPDATE: DONGFENG CREW BREAKS MAST, HEADED TO SAFETY IN ARGENTINA
Footage from the boat ALICANTE, Spain, March 30 - Dongfeng Race Team broke their mast early on Monday (GMT, March...


Rob Evans, dad and host of HGTV's "The Expandables" talks about being a dad and parenting a teenager.
Motorcycle aficionado, donut fanatic, and single dad, design-trained contractor Rob Evans is a man's man with a point of view about almost everything. Now a specialist in renovating residential properties, Rob began his career as the owner and operator of a successful design firm which inform his creative and aesthetically adventurous style. His projects range from complete home rebuilds to furniture design and construction. Rob likes to get involved in every step of the construction process. One day he'll be meeting with architects and structural engineers, the next securing building permits and digging out basements.
Born in London, England, Rob and family moved to Canada when he was still small and eventually settled in Oakville, Ontario. One of three boys, Rob learned all about fixing and building things by helping his father with anything there was to be done around the house. Rob's interest in aesthetics led him to the study of design in university and the launch of his own design firm after completing his degree. As the firm grew, Rob became restless, and when a photographer friend asked him to construct a digital studio, he discovered he was more excited about the build than any of his work behind a desk. That job was his first time feeling the satisfaction that came from creating something using both his design skills and his building ability, and it inspired him to make the transition into his new career.
Outside of his work, Rob's passions are working on and riding motorcycles, collecting vintage tin toys, seeking out the city's best bacon and eggs, and spending time with his daughter. Oh, and the donut obsession? He'll happily share the entire history of the now-defunct Tim Horton's Sugar Twist. Like everything else he is passionate about, Rob has big opinions on the subject and he's not afraid to share them.
You say Rob grew up 1 of 3 boys. Where did you receive your information? Rob had 1 brother and 2 sisters.
Hi! The bio was provided by his PR people. Hope they didn't get it wrong.


The Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes is a musical holiday show on stage that is presented yearly. It takes place at Radio City Music Hall in the "Big Apple", New York City. It is an extravagant show that features a lavish costumes and sets, and performed by about 140 individuals. It also has its own original music score, combining humor, dancing and singing. All these are presented in a stage setting that is nothing short of being spectacular. The presentation revolves around The Rockettes; a precision dance troupe made of women.
The very first version of the presentation was 1933. The show has then become Christmas tradition in New York City, and it is being witnessed by millions of people each year. It was originally intended as 30-minute filler in-between movie showings. Now it has expanded to the full-blown 90 minute show format.
Since 2007, NBC has been airing the show as being a standalone special. As of 2009, it has evolved to a fund-raising special that is aired for public televisions across the United States in an effort to promote families to Buy Radio City Christmas Spectacular Tickets.
In 2007, the show celebrated its 75th anniversary. The show was being updated and directed by Linda Haberaman, and it features new choreography and design. NBC was the first to film the new edition of the show, and it is available for DVD purchase under the production of Time Life Entertainment. There is also a two disc version of the DVD that features behind-the-scenes documentary.
When going to buy Radio City Christmas Spectacular tickets, remember that this performance is a strong tradition; so strong that it even continued playing in December 2007, despite the fact that most of the Broadway theatres in New York closed down due to a strike. The show is simply spectacular without even mentioning its rich history. Because of that, it is not something that your family would want to miss out on this Holiday Season!


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SENSIT P100 – Personal Gas Monitor
Sensit manufactures a line of handheld gas sensors for utility and industrial use. They are typically used by gas utility personnel to identify leaks, or by public safety to verify that an area is safe to enter. Sensit recognized an unmet need for a new product line: compact, wearable sensors to warn of a potential hazard. For example, a miner would be alerted that methane is accumulating in their vicinity.
Sensit management envisioned an exceptionally rugged personal gas monitor. Smaller than a playing card, it can withstand high temperatures, high-pressure spray (IP65), and extreme mechanical abuse. When a specified gas is detected, it alerts the wearer by vibrating, sounding an alarm, and flashing brightly. Gas measurements (PPM) are also displayed on the screen.
Finding the ideal balance of toughness, cost, size, and performance required an unusual mechanical architecture. The main housing is a transparent shell that is almost completely over-molded with a durable thermoplastic elastomer (TPE.)
This allowed us to integrate features into a single injection-molded part:
No need to seal the two transparent lenses; it's all one contiguous part. (should have a section-view or diagram here)
The TPE overmold wraps around the edge of the housing, which provides the water-tight seal for the battery compartment.
The TPE spans an opening over each push-button, making the buttons themselves watertight.
That overmold is very tough. Dropping the P100 from six meters will not damage it.
Porticos went from a hand-written list of goals to a fully-functioning prototype in less than four months. The P100 has become Sensit's biggest seller. It has been Made In America for more than ten years and is still going strong!
Additional features include a thoughtful "suspender-clip" that clamps the monitor to any piece of clothing or equipment. The buttons and display are slightly recessed to provide even more protection from accidents, abuse, or accidental press. And the buttons are big enough to actuate with a gloved hand.
Scott Kleppe, Sensit Technologies
"The P100 is the perfect addition to our gas-sensor family. It's our first wearable product; the smallest and, by far, the most robust. Porticos engineers really did turn our ideas into a great product."
PROJECT INCLUDES
Insert Molding
Electronics Packaging
Appearance Design
Haptic Interface
Rugged Electronics
Our core values are Innovation, Trust, Community, Teamwork, and Experience. We're not just focused on our business but also sharing our talents as we work with others. This way, we are able to provide end-to-end engineering solutions that drive results. Connect with us below to learn more and get your product to market!
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© 2022 Porticos, Inc. | All Rights Reserved | Site Designed & Maintained by Porticos, Inc.


BMW has been saying for some time that an electric crossover based on the X3 is coming. Today at Auto China, we got our first look at it as the Concept iX3.
The iX3 has some subtitle design differences when compared to the standard X3. Up front is a new take on the iconic BMW kidney grille as they are joined together. Other details include special wheels to improve aerodynamics, blue accents, and a small door on the front fender for the charging port.
Power comes from BMW's fifth-generation EV hardware which includes an electric motor producing 270 horsepower and a 70-kWh battery pack. BMW claims a range of 400 kilometers (about 249 miles) on the WLTP test cycle. The Concept iX3 can handle a charging rate of up to 150 kW, which will allow it to get an 80 percent charge in a half-hour.
The production version of the iX3 is expected to launch in 2020 as part of BMW's plan to introduce 25 electrified vehicles by 2025. 12 of those models will be full EVs.
That is a nice looking CUV EV. Nice Job BMW.
Now they are onto something. The i3 is an ugly looking car with odd proportions and that combined with the small range is why it doesn't sell. This looks like a legit BMW, this will sell. These quirky, goofy EV's were never going to sell, I think car makers though EV buyers wanted something different. What people want is a BMW crossover, and BMW is giving them a BMW crossover.
BMW is, like, 25 years past due for a new design language.
I'm still having trouble believing these governments are going to bring the people around to the so-called "virtues" of EVs when there has been no preponderance of evidence that people want them... unless they are subsidized by taxpayers. How is that sustainable?
It will certainly be interesting to track the effect of the pare-down of the tax credit.
I'm tending to think it won't have a huge effect due to the nature of how the credit works, vs. it being money off at sign-time. Most consumers seems to gravitate toward 'instant savings'/ the short term. It's a big factor in the steady rise in leasing, IMO.
That said- what will be even more interesting is if any of the brands do what they're 'threatening' to do, which is quickly shift to all EVs. THAT is going to throw some major sparks in the near term (if any actually try it). Remember- for all the incredible hype around Tesla, they only sold 50K vehicles in the US last year, and as the poster child king of EVs.
Volvo is one brand threatening to go all EV- they sold 81K in the US in '17. I have to wonder what their internal volume projections are after their switch- they can't possibly be expecting to be at even 50% of that number. The best yardstick is overall EV marketshare, which is 1%.
1% of 81,000 is only 810 vehicles. Even 25%, for which there is no indicators that it would be so high I know of, is 20K vehicles. What is the business plan to deal with such a drastic downturn in volume?
I do want to correct one thing above. Volvo is not aiming for 100% EV, they are aiming for 100% electrified. That means hybrid, even as little as an eAssist type setup. Ram's Etorque counts as electrified and it's just eAssist.
So; yet another reality check to the 'coming sooner than you would think' retort.
I'll say it again; the transportation market is like an oil tanker, slow to react & slow to turn. 'Hype' likes to think it's manning the helm, but it's in a life raft on a tow rope, bouncing around in the tanker's wake.
Nice try but I think Kia will want their grill back.


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/ Real Estate
Will 2018 Be the Year of Japan's Tech-Infrastructure Plays?
There's no question that Japan's economy is hot and next year companies' confidence to invest in infrastructure plays well for tech stocks.
Dec 21, 2017 | 10:30 AM EST
Stocks quotes in this article: MTU, PRU, FUWAY, SMTOY, SFTBY, S, MIELY, FELTY, NMR, ATEYY, DSCSY, TM, NJDCY, TTDKY
The year 2018 should mark a significant milestone in Asia: the longest advance in the economy since World War II.
The Japanese economy likely grew at 1.8% this year, according to Oxford Economics, which forecasts another gain of 1.7% in 2018. That would then represent the seventh straight year of growth in gross domestic product in what is, let's not forget, still the third-largest economy by some stretch.
This year's rate means the economy is growing at double the rate of last year. That is finally giving major corporations confidence that now is the time to invest in expansion, and expensive machinery, which makes for some interesting investment plays.
It's clear the conservatism that has characterized Japan's corporate approach for much of its post-bubble timespan is no longer paying off. The Bank of Japan on Thursday opted to keep interest rates virtually at zero. It's actually charging banks a negative interest rate of 0.1% on money they hold with the BOJ, which is also keeping the yield on the mid-term 10-year Japanese government bond at 0%.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to continue firing the arrow of strong government spending, providing a strong footing for industrial investment. His acolyte, the Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, will continue to make sure the money flows freely. The only dissenting voice at the BOJ, the newest member of the policy board, Goushi Kataoka, thinks the Japanese government isn't doing enough to stimulate its target 2% inflation rate, and should be spending more money.
The fact that companies and institutions make virtually nothing by placing the simplest of bets - putting their money into Japanese government bonds - is encouraging them to make "riskier" investments. The massive Japanese Government Pension Investment Fund earlier this week selected a subsidiary of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MTU) to oversee a "core" real-estate investment strategy in Japan, investing in blue-chip Tokyo buildings.
I said at the time that the move should encourage other investors in those kind of buildings, and indeed core stock in other gateway cities such as New York, London, Sydney, Paris and Frankfurt. That has only been reinforced by two purchases by institutional investors in greater Tokyo.
The Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, GIC, to buy a 43% stake in a Shinjuku office tower in downtown Tokyo for $558 million. PGIM Real Estate, the property offshoot of Prudential Financial (PRU) , has bought an 18-floor office building in Fuchu City, in the Tokyo suburbs. That's the latest of five office properties PGIM has bought over the last 14 months in Tokyo and Osaka.
It takes a long-term view to buy such office space. It is also creating demand for new teched-out buildings and the infrastructure around them. The economic expansion is a boon to the companies that drive technological investment.
Traffic at data centers is due to rise by at least 20% per year for the foreseeable future. That promises plenty of business for the companies that construct the wires and cables that go into the physical form of the Internet, Furukawa Electric (FUWAY) , Sumitomo Electric Industries (SMTOY) and Fujikura T:5803 chief among them. They are the most-competitive among the manufacturers of the multicore optical cables that data centers use in vast amounts.
Semiconductors are supercharging Japan's development. Softbank (SFTBY) , well on its way into transforming itself into a venture capital company as much as one that got its start in telecommunications and still owns Sprint (S) . It has acquired the British chipmaker ARM Holdings, giving it a leg up in the industry.
Mitsubishi Electric (MIELY) and Fuji Electric (FELTY) are other chip manufacturers set to benefit from semiconductor strength, the analysts at the investment bank Nomura (NMR) believe. If storage-class memory chips continue to gain ground over DRAM chips, partly because products using "SCM" chips use less power, then Ulvac T:6728 and Advantest (ATEYY) , which make equipment to make SCMs, also have a bright future.
It is likely that the demand for high-speed flash memory used in hot-storage products will also continue to grow. As a result, Nomura expects the bulk of companies that make equipment used in the production of semiconductors to gain. That would point to advances in the shares of Advantest again, as well as Disco (DSCSY) and Tokyo Seimitsu T:7729.
Electric and hybrid vehicles continue to gain in popularity, with Toyota Motor (TM) announcing this week that by 2025 it will introduce an electric or hybrid version of all new vehicles that it offers. With robotics further adding to the demand for electronic parts, heavy-industry manufacturers such as Nidec (NJDCY) and TDK (TTDKY) look good to gain business globally.
Investors looking for stocks that represent the new face of Japan may want to look at recently public companies such as PKSHA Technology T:3993, which develops algorithms that use machine learning and similar technology.
They may find another play on Japanese innovation in the form of UUUM T:3990, which provides support services for YouTube video bloggers and creators of video content.
Money Forward T:3994 also has plenty of potential, as a company that provides automated household-finance management, as well as broader asset-management services.
If Japan does indeed post a seventh straight year of growth, there will be plenty of household money to manage. At $6.1 trillion, Japan's economy is 60% larger than fourth-place Germany, although now well behind second-place China at $9.5 trillion and the United States at $16.9 trillion.
The point is that Japan is still a world power economically - and lest we forget, still one of the most-innovative countries in the world. Investors, next year, can benefit from the country's burgeoning corporate confidence.
At the time of publication, Alex Frew McMillan had no positions in the stocks mentioned.
TAGS: Investing | Global Equity | Financial Services | Technology | Real Estate | Economic Data | Markets | Economy | Politics | Stocks | Features and Commentary
Open Door to Dividends With These REITs
Chris Versace
If interest rates go lower, that will likely jump-start investor demand for quality dividend companies -- looking to these real estate investment trusts is a good bet.
Simon Shares a Deal at This 'Sale' Price
Jul 5, 2019 7:00 AM EDT
An industry-wide rout of real estate investment trusts has brought ultra-high quality Simon Property Group back into extremely undervalued territory.
STAG Industrial Gives Investors a Chance to Profit From Industrial Real Estate
Apr 9, 2019 9:16 AM EDT
Investors can reap a nice monthly income stream through STAG Industrial, which owns tens of millions of square feet of warehouses, distribution centers and light manufacturing facilities.
Will the Greater Bay Area Plan Produce China's Silicon Valley?
Cement stocks will be big beneficiaries of the Chinese administration's infrastructure growth plans.
Small-Caps No Longer Own Bragging Rights Over Their Big Cousins
Oct 26, 2018 11:30 AM EDT
Smaller stocks had outperformed large-caps for much of 2018, but now find themselves down for the year to date after a tough couple months.


Yaaay! I'm so glad you did a post on this. When I saw this room on the cover of AD, I died. The color of the velvet against Mandy's pretty floral dross in that shot is so stunning. It's really interesting to read about how many times the fabric changed during design, because I can't imagine anything more perfect than this. Thanks for sharing the process. You're making an ochre convert out of me, Sarah! (Which is very weird since I'm usually a navy blue and blush pink kinda gal.) This room makes me want to push myself out of my comfort zone a little and start playing with a new color pallet. Thanks for the inspiration!


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View More Press Releases by HUB International
Hub International Acquires the Assets of San Juan, Puerto Rico-based Christiansen Insurance Group, LLC
Issued by: HUB International
Chicago — Hub International Limited (Hub), a leading full-service global insurance broker, announced today that it has acquired certain assets of Christiansen Insurance Group, LLC (Christiansen Insurance Group). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Located in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Christiansen Insurance Group is a full-service insurance firm, specializing in property and casualty, personal insurance and employee benefits solutions. Ralph Christiansen, President of Christiansen Insurance Group, will join Hub Puerto Rico as Senior Executive Vice President and report to Antonio Casellas, President and CEO of the region.
"We are excited to join Hub and work with an extraordinary group of talented professionals," said Mr. Christiansen. "With Hub, we will now have access to more markets, services and resources to continue to grow and assist our clients."


Kernelci.org has been hailed as "the most successful, public build and test system for Linux, in the world". To keep that reputation, there is a need to do more testing faster, and we believe LAVA v2 will help us get there. Come learn about the effort underway to transition the testing system from LAVA v1 to LAVA v2, and the benefits that it will bring. In this session will we review the new architecture for distributed testing that LAVA v2 will enable. Also, providing status of what's working currently, and what is still in progress. Come be a part of the solution and help make the Linux kernel the best it can be!