Puffs

It was quite the weekend, on many items of interest. First off, the weekend included the fund raising “Dueling Pianos” at the American Legion Hall. The small group of citizens on the Community Building Committee did a lot of work in bringing the entertainment to the community to raise funds for the building. I’ve only heard good comments about the whole evening which seemed to end successfully.

No matter how successful it was, the need for more monetary contributions to complete the project remains. The committee welcomes any contribution, at any time.

Your contribution will benefit the community and its people for years to come.

The second item of interest of last weekend, in fact, of all week, was the basketball tournament. The Huskers lost on Saturday, so that sure confused my Sunday plans. Rather than watch the Big Ten Conference Championship game, I took a nap.

These things always work out.

A O

On the national news scene: seems many people are upset that the U. S. Congress may try to ban the social media entity called “Tik-Tok.”

For me, I guess that if they are eliminated from the choices we have for social media, it would not make any difference. I don’t know what it is, or how it works that is any different from the many other choices we have.

I guess my concern is that there has to be a very compelling reason to ban them, or else we’re talking about limiting free speech and maybe other liberties protected by the U. S. Constitution.

Democracy . . . it is not an easy form of government. It takes work by many to make it work.

A O

Time Flies . . .

I was reminded this week that March 19 is the feast of St. Joseph. Seems that came up early this year, I am just not ready for it. If I remember correctly March 19 is the day we’re supposed to plant potatoes in our garden.

Well, that didn’t get done in the Ostdiek garden. Seems I don’t have the garden to plant them in. Also, I didn’t get peas planted on St. Patrick’s Day.

Life does change over the years.

A O

Some writers have the resources and ability to do a lot of research by themselves. Many of us do not have that capacity. As such we rely on other resources. I receive many reports via the Heritage Foundation whose ability to report on social policies like more government control over health care, increased regulations and open borders is far greater than what I could do. They compile input from more than 100 constitutional scholars and legal experts into the country’s many and often complex issues. I trust their opinions and like to pass them on.

One recent bit of information they released was the effect “Green” policies had on the German economy. The idea of producing electricity without pollution is an idea everyone likes. However, it cannot be forced on people. Germany is learning.

At the present time the German gross domestic product has been falling since the third quarter of 2022, causing fears of the first 2-year long recession since the early 2000.

It seems German farmers are openly protesting new climate regulations that would raise the price of diesel fuel. This discontent is mirrored by the general public which is opposed to higher energy costs that drag down the economy. Some of the results that this forced change to renewable energy sources include:

• Germany closed its nuclear plants in April 2023 in spite of the fact nuclear power is capable of generating substantial amounts of carbon emissions-free electricity. Germans now pay an average of 46 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity compared to an average price in the United States during December was just under 13 cents per kWh.

• Cost disparities can also be seen in the price of gasoline. German consumers pay an average price of $7.23 per gallon, compared to $3.33 in America.

I’m sure many of you remember the very cold winter a couple of years back when Texas was unable to produce enough electricity to serve all of its customers. They had built renewable energy projects and shut down most all of their non-renewable energy sources. What they built did not equal what they did away with. As a result, because of inter-local agreements, neighboring states helped provide the energy and helped pay for it. Because Nebraska was part of this agreement, most all of the readers paid for the government putting the cart in front of the horse. You may have noticed your electricity bill was larger than you expected, but you paid it regardless.

It seems some of the German industry is in the process of moving to places outside of Germany to continue their business. Poland, and even the United States are locations that seem to be areas the Germans are moving on to so they can continue operations.

As I’ve noted, I don’t object to using renewable energy sources, but that use cannot be forced on people. The results may not be what was hoped for as is noted in Germany’s experience.

From what I’ve read the Ford Motor Company is finding out the results of forcing renewable energy. They have built the capacity to produce electricity powered cars, but people are not buying them to make it a paying enterprise. “They cost too much” is the common response as to why the sales are so low.

“Socialists” or “Liberal” policies seem to be behind the push for renewable energy. And . . . they want it now . . .

Sometimes good ideas take a time to be absorbed and used by the public. The Socialists seem to want to use this renewable energy theme as just another way to exert control over the population. They seem to contend that they can make better decisions than the general public and they will do whatever they can to do that.

A O