Public hearing tonight in Amsterdam on solar farms in residential neighborhoods

Do utility-scale solar farms belong in residential neighborhoods? The town of Amsterdam Zoning Law Amendment states “Utility-Scale Solar Systems are permitted only in the B-1 (Business), B-2 (Restricted Business) and M-1 (Manufacturing/Mixed Use) zoning districts” …and yet the solar companies persist. Should meadows, woodlands and natural habitats be replaced by acres of glass panels, metal and chain-link fencing? Would property values be diminished? Could groundwater be contaminated and/or diverted onto neighboring properties and roadways? Would construction noise for 2 years be objectionable to neighbors? Can the local streets withstand the weight of heavy construction equipment? Is the fire department trained and able to access the area in response to any emergency such as an electrical fire? Will it set a precedent for similar projects or enable expansion after completion? Will the area be monitored and maintained for decades to come? What is the decommissioning plan for 20-25 years from now? These questions and more are all valid concerns. AMP Energy applied for a Use Variance to build a commercial 5MW Solar Farm on TRUAX RD in the Town of Amsterdam. It would initially cover 25 acres in an R-1 (Residential) zone. It would be built on a hill, over an aquifer and adjacent to wetlands. If approved, what message does it send to homeowners, perspective homebuyers or builders anywhere in the town? Why do we have zoning laws if they’re not going to be enforced? The public hearing is tonight, March 9th, at 6:45 pm in Town Hall.

We must all create less demand for oil Depending on oil makes us weak. We could easily be creating less demand. We should have already turned the energy dial towards 30% more of electric vehicles, solar and wind power. Now we are all ticked off about gas prices. Worse, we find ourselves purchasing oil from Putin. He spends that money on murdering innocent people and his personal stash. Love your not very fuel-efficient large truck that can tow your boat? Lower demand for fuel equals a lower price for you. That is how it works; there is no button for a president to push to make fuel prices go up or down. If we don’t count suspending federal gas tax, that is. So cheer your electric car driving neighbors on. Put some solar panels on your roof. Support green energy when you vote. We all know that Americans just want to stay comfortable in their homes and be able to move around freely. Sometimes they want to take horses, boats, snow mobiles, 4-wheelers and camping trailers with them. That’s OK. We can manage. Having a mix of way more solar, wind and electric vehicles and less need for oil can make it so we can easily supply ourselves and keep the cost down. Glenn Gray Schenectady

Trump, supporters fuel Putin support I don’t know how some people are viewing Putin’s invasion/war on Ukraine, but an ex-president and his former Secretary of State have publicly expressed their view. The fact is that they have called that murdering dictator Putin a savvy genius and have great respect for him?! I don’t care what party affiliation you are, what color you are, what religion you are, those statements are not American. It’s so unbelievable that these two grown men who held two of the highest offices in this country would say this. I read recently that we didn’t hear anything about Russia in the previous five years. That’s because Trump wanted the U.S. to withdraw from NATO — I’m going to guess at Putin’s behest. And, Trump has also stated this war would not be happening if he were in office. I do agree. He’d be turning his head and letting Putin do whatever he wanted. Nothing at all about the ex-president comes as a surprise anymore. In light of these statements, we get Congresswoman Elise Stefanik cherry-picking President Biden’s State of the Union speech. He inherited all of the still-devastating effects left by the ex-president’s denial of a killer virus. We all know it and saw it every single day. Can’t deny it. Definitely no mention of the ex-president and ex-Secretary of State actually praising Putin. Imagine for one nanosecond if Obama or Clinton had made such disgusting praises of Putin while he’s bombing innocent people. Imagine it. Mary Baker Perth

Seek funding for mediation services The March 4 Gazette article (“Plans to add police officers to city schools sparks opposition”) mentions families needing nonviolent community resources for students and communities. The coordination of guidance counselors and community engagement officers to assist with the “social and emotional learning” policy of the state Board of Regents needs additional resources. One inclusive resource is the federal AmeriCorps-funded New York State Community Mediation School Corps, being sponsored by the New York State Dispute Resolution Association. The AmeriCorps program provides funds for the education and training of School Based Conflict Resolution Specialists and CDRC Based Youth Services Specialists for non-violent restorative justice services in our communities. I think a Consolidated Fund application to the Capital Region Economic Development Council for state government funds to coordinate with the Community Mediation School Corps program will improve nonviolent community services for youth and families. The district’s 21st Century Community Learning Center program can coordinate a comprehensive restorative justice service with tutoring, project-based learning, service learning, college and career explorations and field trips as an alternative to violence for our children’s future. Michael McGlynn Watervliet

Sanctions alone won’t stop Putin We are importing and exporting oil. It sounds stupid to me. We should keep all our oil instead. If only we had a government. Oh, I forgot we do. You wouldn’t think so the way they are spending money. They are bankrupting our country. Remember that the next time when you vote. We should be helping the Ukrainians by sending war supplies to knock out the Russian tanks. We should also be sending guided missiles to knock down their planes. Sanctions aren’t enough. Putin won’t stop even when they conquer Ukraine. The Russians are killing a lot of innocent people, including mothers and children. What will Russia do now that they have the nuclear plant? They will use it someday. Putin is crazy. I’m voting for Rob Astorino for governor. He’s experienced, conservative and strong. James Maxfield Scotia

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Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are repressive totalitarian regimes which fear sanctions and clean energy since they are members of OPEC and major oil producers. Get your head out of Trump’s behind, suck in some fresh air, clear your mind, and get informed.

I’m surprised I haven’t heard from you people about how not only Saudi Arabia but the UAE both refused to take a phone call from Biden. How embarrassing is that? Trust me that would never have happened under Trump, never.

Oh dear! They just won’t leave Donald alone! Leave Donald alone! (sniff, sniff, sob)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The RNC has filed a lawsuit to block the select committee from obtaining the Salesforce records.

The select committee addressed the information in a thread posted to Twitter on Wednesday evening.

“Between Election Day 2020 and January 6th, the RNC and the Trump campaign solicited donations by pushing false claims that the election was tainted by widespread fraud. These emails encouraged supporters to put pressure on Congress to keep President Trump in power,” the committee said. “The Select Committee issued a subpoena to an email fundraising vendor in order to help investigators understand the impact of false, inflammatory messages in the weeks before January 6th, the flow of funds, & whether contributions were actually directed to the purpose indicated.”

Zachary William there is nothing that is conservative about the Republican Party now. it’s the Trump party. Even George Will one of the staunches conservative there was has left the party, He said the republican party isn’t conservative anymore plus many others who were staunch conservatives left. Take a look at the people behind the Lincoln Project all ex republicans. And what do you red hats call these people…..traitors…And yes your red hat is just another form of the brown shirts. It’s your party that threatened Dr Faucci ..it’s your party that threatened people in charge of elections in their States for not declaring Trump the winner. Like I’ve told you before unscrew your MAGA hat from your head and let some sunshine in to your brain. You might even like it. I know you had parades, banners and flotillas Trump flags and shiny red hats and think you should have won …but you didn’t live with it. Be honest with yourself at least

Never gets dated. Only what they want to hear, only what they want to see, only the way they want it to be, nothing else matters. Nothing.

Florida there is not much one can do against willful ignorance. Not many can break away from it. If trump took a dump on their lawns they would thank him for the fertilizer

Zachary William I pity you the most here. I truly hope you find whatever you think will heal your pain. Trump’s epic loss is not your loss it was America’s gain

zach were you posting as both Wiliam and Mr barney? i assumed just one

The deplorables have gained their second wind today I see. Bad news and stupid comments from their leader Trump bring them out. They are trying to do to Biden what they did to Hillary. Only this time people saw through their Orange Savior. D. Wayne I’m not scared of the ignorant …I pity them

D Wayne. You are a breath of fresh air, these people who post on here for the most part can’t stand anyone that has an opinion other than theirs. I’ve read Mr. Marincic and Mr. Barney’s post and they didn’t attack anyone they put up with an awful lot before they went on the attack you can only take so much from somebody before you respond and that’s what they did. This paper having these liberal people post every single day are destroying from this platform.

It’s a blog or page or whatever it is. I have thick skin and Im just typing in my home on a snowy night. Other than emailing the editor and trying to censor me, like they did the other dude, there’s not much they can do about it. It’s a public forum, Im smart enough to keep it civil. The lib mafia loves controlling the narrative, they defend that position to the end. The problem with that is not everyone who reads the gazette is a liberal. So other opinions are allowed by the gazette since this is their forum. The lib mafia has a major issue with that. They can insult to the high heavens but Ill speak my mind. We could be near a conflict with a nuclear power. Our everyday expenses have gone up drastically in the past year. The border is an absolute mess and our “border czar” is MIA and has been for a while. We dropped the ball in Afghanistan and 13 of our soldiers were slaughtered. They told us no americans would be left behind but a bunch of americans were left behind. Dont believe the b s spin that “oh they were warned” We’re negotiating to buy oil from Iran And Venezuela, 2 rogue countries, especially Iran. Imagine that sh#t.We have major supply chain issues, try ordering an appliance and you’ll know. Crime is up in many cities across the country, look at Albany. Theyve tried defunding the police but now they want to fund them. They have politicians who are openly anti-semetic. They want to shut down fossil fuel production before any reliable infrastructure is built to replace it. They want to censor views that don’t match theirs. They want to tax us on top of taxing us and tax us a bit more after that. They want to slowly chip away at the second amendment and the first amendment. So, if the buck stops here then this is Biden and his admins ship. The dudes who pack into A. Santos Prius want us to believe it all comes from somewhere else. They have graphs and charts and articles from biased sources. This is the holy grail!!!!! No, this is your propandist garbage and only a fool would abide by it. Hope you like it, hope you don’t. – John Anderson

You accuse the left of trying to do things they are not trying to do. Of course we need to phase out fossil fuels as we develop clean renewable energy. We should put more effort into clean energy and less into subsidizing fossil fuel production. Have you ever heard of the oil depletion allowance?

Also, what have you got against the Prius? They are excellent cars.

Chuck you are correct but as the lunatic majorie Taylor greene stated” war and rumors of war is incredibly profitable” these are the same people that claim to be concerned for the poor and elderly. Next they’ll be handing us glasses of blue kool-aid

As we suffer the grief-ridden fossil fuel protectors’ cries hiding behind the poor Americans suffering under an imaginary Progressive/fascist cabal “forcing the radical Green agenda down our throats” (with special focus on perceived non-American females like Ocasio-Cortez and Omar and Jayapal), let’s look at the facts about the fossil fuel industry’s revenue.

Fortuitously the IMF prepared a report on just that, and expanded their investigation globally.

As it happens, in 2015, the American fossil fuel industry was the grateful (or not) recipient of US$683,000,000,000 (billion) in US taxpayer funded subsidies. In light of the astronomical profits, don’t anyone of you blathering, yammering, carpet-chewing, sore-loser Righties EVER wonder if you’re being had? Ever?

I wonder how much further down the road we’d be in battery technology and disposal, recycling technology, wind turbine retirement technology, etc all the other stupid fake gripes we hear, how much further along we’d be in reigning in the global climate change crisis, if sustainable industries had the benefit of those subsidies.

“Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies Remain Large: An Update Based on Country-Level Estimates”

https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2019/05/02/Global-Fossil-Fuel-Subsidies-Remain-Large-An-Update-Based-on-Country-Level-Estimates-46509

It is truly sickening. I wonder if Joe Rogan covered the information you have provided. Place your bets.

“do you think we can survive with melting glaciers, rising sea levels, more powerful and frequent storms, wild fires and destruction of natural habitats with consequent extinction of more and more species?”

Do I think we can survive it? Yes (our technology is amazing – levies, sea walls, etc). I do think climate change is real and we are seeing more natural disasters because of it. CA wild fires are self inflicted- they need to do controlled burns, remove underbrush – similar to what they do in Pinebusg in Colonie.

I don’t like that people should be forced into poverty to do it make the entire earth respond. We should have started phasing away from fossils 25 years ago. We don’t have to bankrupt ppl at the pump or paying heating bills because politicians couldn’t be smart enough to slow phase into these programs.

Exactly what we should be doing now – slowly phasing in too more and more renewables. I have solar panels (881 sf on my southern facing roof). They haven’t done much – keeping up with kids showers, heat, fridge, etc.

“The web of life is interdependent among plant and animal species, break too many strands and the entire web collapses. Find ways to drive less, grow a vegetable garden, can your own vegetables, eat less meat. Live simpler lives.”

Anthony – we have a fine garden – one of my favorite things. My daughter who is 22 cans and sells her own jam (blueberry, raspberry and strawberry). We can our own pasata, make homemade wine.

I have TVs & fly frequently for work so I can’t simply out of existence.

I am happy to hear this Joe. I’m not sure we can stop climate change from progressing; it may be too late. But we should all make the best efforts we can and not act like fools. I am discussing concerns and issues in general terms unless, as happens rarely, someone pushes me over the edge. In that case I refer to a specific person or persons. I try to avoid that.

Anthony – grew up on hemlock st in rotterdam – my mom had a huge garden until she passed away in 2008. I got my dad who is now 85 to do solar panels – so solar city did them and they are now tesla – certainly all about green – but there has to be a balance – seniors and low income can’t lose everything to save our planet – what is the solution? There has to be enough of us that make sense but without financially hurting others

You are doing what you can do comfortably. So am I and many others on this site. If we can convince others that climate change is real and the use of fossil fuels creates pollution and destroys the environment and get them to join us in conserving energy that is a good thing. This would also lower energy costs.

Does anyone remember the high cost of lumber during Trump’s rein? This is the same thing happening with oil. Stay calm all will be well. When we the consumers stop buying all will be well again.

The high cost of lumber under Trump? Well a half-inch 4 x 8 sheet of plywood under Trump was $9.97 today it is $55 so tell me how expensive lumber was under Trump, then it was five times less than what it is today. You do know that we can look this stuff up and see that you’re lying?

The MAGA hat crowd are the Brown shirts of our era.

Mr. Varoma it is you people that are the brown shirts. You tear statues down, you people stop free-speech it’s liberals that on Twitter and Facebook that blocks conservative views. You are what you accuse us of you’re just not smart enough to realize it.

Would you be in favor of tearing down a statue of Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler, Goering? Now, imagine you are the great grand child of an American slave. Would you want to tear down a statue of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee? How smart are you? Smart enough to answer my questions?

No we’re not, you are! You tear down our statues to slavery! You stop us from spreading our half-baked theories on disease given by our snake-oil salesmen (and women)! And you stop us from trying to lynch real medical authorities for fun and profit! No we’re not, you are!!! And you’re stupid too!!

Guy you are probably correct and Trump knows it. Once they get started they will not stop. For ample listening to Reffitt’s wife encouraging his fellow traitors after his conviction was eye opening this even after he threatened to kill their two kids. Stand up people I know I’d want to live near.

I loved Mary Baker’s letter on Putin and Trump and Pompeo applauding Putin as smart and how they admire him. Her last line says it all….Just imagine the headlines in the NY Post or FOX night time hosts conversations if Obama, Biden, or Clinton said these things. OMG….There would be a field day if they said that the most ruthless thug and murderer in the World was admired by a former President! So for all you whiners from the right that constantly complain about the media being bias….I haven’t seen nor heard anyone from the right condemning this man for this lavish praise of a brutal dictator. Bravo Mary Baker!

Another major WOW on today’s posts. Falsely Stereotyping people is simply lazy , convenient, and wrong no matter who is doing it. Furthermore , regarding race and racism. We all have our own personal lines that people can and can not cross , our own degree of tolerance and everyone’s is different. We have all heard the N word being said either on TV or in person or as a written word. For me if I hear you use it , that’s it for me, I will tune you out and very likely have nothing further to do with you, If I hear it being used by someone on TV or through the internet , I am not going to stick around to hear what else you have to say. So those that defend Joe Rogan and others that use offensive language , you might think you aren’t a racist because you didn’t say it but if it doesn’t offend you then you might want to reevaluate your values and priorities and really have an honest conversation with yourself. Again , it’s your personal line and you are in charge of what you will tolerate and what you will not.

Indeed. Some, some here, regard the Liberal and Progressive thinking voters as bullies, and the “Liberal mafioso” which is odd since the same people have also been accused of being too “soft” and pacifistic. The truth is we became enraged when we watched millions of Americans bend wa-a-a-y over for a man who claimed he “had the truth!!” that the first Black man elected to the highest office was a fraud and not a real American, and not a Christian and born in Nairobi, and otherwise not fit to be President. Oh, and lazy and not intelligent! Millions flocked to those words and continued to follow him to a land where they didn’t have to be civil any more, where they were going to get what’s theirs, where the laws of our country didn’t apply to them, where they going to “take back our country” (from who?). This is the insult we Americans have had to endure, even as the world was struck by an unprecedented global pandemic that’s killed millions. These same people and their leader did what they could to throw spanners and sand into the works and cause even more damage. Wonder why we’re pissed? Because this sorry, dead-end demographic, among the most uneducated, incurious of our population, continues to offer nothing but chaos. Currently about 41 Republican election officials are under investigation for attempting to muck up the Electoral College with fake letters of certification they somehow thought would get their man-child back in the White House. This is something from a Kurt Vonnegut novel in it’s clownish stupidity. But since we already witnessed the meatheads who thought they could storm the Capital (not lead by their leader but who was their biggest cheerleader) we had a hint of how stupid they could be. “Liberal mafioso”, indeed. Get a mirror.

I hear you Chuck. This nonsense is getting old. I don’t think they understand that the things that they continue to defend are indefensible. It’s no longer about taxation or even abortion or building up military etc. When I read these nonsensical and hate filled angry posts , it immediately makes me think back to what Rush Limbaugh started many years ago. He is the one that helped make the L word a dirty word! He got the ball rolling and handed the baton off to Hannity , Tucker and the rest. Now this hate filled rhetoric is expected of them to continue their membership in the FOX haters club. The rebuttals are for the most part illogical and have no substance, just a lot of cherry picking emotional outbursts. You want to be a true Conservative…read George Will , William Buckley ,Bill Kristol, Charlie Sykes and many others… These guys are the real deal , the people that they are clearly listening to are using them as pawns. Do they realize that their savior DJT is about to go down for the count. I mean at least say that you recognize his evil and move on to Ron De Santis or some other R candidate. If the insurrection wasn’t bad enough , what about his latest comments demonstrating admiration for the # 1 biggest criminal Putin! You want to hate Biden….fine…. but at least disavow your love for Donald Judas Trump!

This is rubbish Trump D. You and you’re superior way of thinking is impressive. Those degenerates, rednecks, they know nothing. Trump D. is going to educate us all and lead us down this wonderful path of enlightment. This is similar to Neil Young’s way of thinking. You know the popular singer Neil Young. That’s why Skynard sang “Southern man don’t need him around anyhow” My point is, they could g#ve 2 sh#ts what a yankee from NYS thinks about them. That’s a fact, Jack!

Like all the comments you’ve generously offered us these past 3 days of your presence, you’re firing blanks.

That is the problem Chuck. Those on the side of Trump think they do know it all. Actually they don’t understand our history or they would know that the Civil War was not fought over a noble cause, states’ rights, but over the continuation of slavery and its spread into territories about to become states. They would know that slavery and discrimination are problems with historical roots and that to eliminate those problems we need to understand their origins. They would know that a statue honoring Robert E. Lee is an insult to every descendant of a slave in America today.

They would know that climate change is real, that COVID is real and that measures to deal with them are necessary. How best to deal with our problems? People who think are willing to discuss and debate a variety of proposals but first the problems must be acknowledged. This is what the far right refuses to do.

Their denial of what happened on 1/6, their ‘deification’ of a mediocre nonentity like Trump, their Christian nationalism, and their ignorance of the Constitution of the United States threaten the entire world. And it seems there is nothing we can do about it other than hope for a Democratic sweep in the November elections. Regrettably that is unlikely. But I will continue to hope for that and work for that.

Well I don’t claim any superiority, intellectual or otherwise. As I’m sure a man of your age knows, wisdom is acknowledging there’s so much you don’t know. As I progress through my 6th decade, I learn more and more how much I don’t know. It seems some stop at some point and just announce they’ve figured it all out. The gaps in their knowledge are glaring. I mean, did you see what happened on January 6th? ; )

Chuck, the 3rd grader reveals himself in the above post as afraid he can’t match you intellectually or respond with factual logical counter arguments to the points you make. He thinks he is being sarcastic when he posts “you’re (sic) superior way of thinking is impressive.” However it is one of the few accurate comments he has made.

I think he is one of those who believe in the “lost cause” lie of the defeated Confederacy and I believe his admiration for the south is for all the wrong reasons.

At least im alive to keep firing baby. Right on to that.

Mr. Aiken and Mr. Vendetti thank you for your honest and factual posts. To the rest of you I’m dumber for having read it.

Stand by Zach. The liberal mafia will be ganging up on you in 3…..2……1. They’ll do it from the back seat of A. Santos Prius, he’s the ride share dude since noone can afford gas. They’ll stop for lunch here soon and enjoy a plate of twigs and nuts with a kale smoothie chaser. They have to be in Colonie at 3 to stand in front of Colonie Center with signs that read “Honk if you hate oil” Christopher will be riding his unicorn so he might be a few minutes late.

And you claim others lack intellect twist facts and use insults? Do you read your own posts? You are your own worse enemy.

I think Zachary and Dwayne may be related to wm such hostility

Chris, I think Dwayne is in the 3rd grade and really ought to go outside and build a snow fort. In the summer he could play in his sandbox.

Zachary, if he isn’t WM, I’m sure WM is coaching him.

I don’t think I contributed to your dumbness …that you got on your own. But I do think the MAGA hat did contribute to your lack of critical thinking

Guy you are correct and people will adapt they always have and always will.We can fill in the potholes.

Christopher that is correct. Mankind has always adapted. That’s why we have survived this long. Mankind was a wanderer first moving from place to place because of weather and food. We learned to grow our own food and stay in one place which created our first cities, All will be well because of our ability to adapt to the changes around us. We needed a way across a river so we built a bridge. We needed to travel from the east coast to the west coast so we built the railroad …etc etc etc

Guy – if you can potentially live with double digit inflation? which is going to happen if average fuel price go to $5.10 nationally.

Locally sourced produce, goods & services are all great ideas if we didn’t have seasons, or people that needed hospitals, medicine, rely on stable power grids for their oxygen generator or to run their dialysis.

As I said even if we started today it will take until 2050.

Joe, do you think we can survive with melting glaciers, rising sea levels, more powerful and frequent storms, wild fires and destruction of natural habitats with consequent extinction of more and more species? The web of life is interdependent among plant and animal species, break too many strands and the entire web collapses. Find ways to drive less, grow a vegetable garden, can your own vegetables, eat less meat. Live simpler lives.

We will not flip a switch and change over to renewable energy instantaneously..All those concerns will be dealt with over time. People must look beyond today and look way into the future.

Guy and Christopher, I hope you are right and my pessimism is unwarranted. At times reading comments based on misinformation stated with in-your-face certainty is depressing. I don’t know what it will take for some to see our future depends on getting off fossil fuels and developing clean energy, recognizing that all people, not just Americans, are entitled to a decent standard of living and that the accumulation of so much wealth in the hands of so few leads to corruption, autocracy, and war.

Anthony and guy it is important many uninformed read thebabble some of these people post here. Short of having an editor factual responses are needed otherwise we will all be left with nothing but Dr. Spotify for medical care and Trump for political non leadership.

“Now, because Putin invaded Ukraine — effectively encouraged by the Biden administration to do that, which is true — because that happened, we are going to send billions of dollars to the Saudi theocracy and then to the Iranians and to Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.

“And at the same time, we’re going to embrace green energy which means giving the government of China complete control over our power grid here in America.

“That’s our plan. Are you confused by it? Don’t be. It’s a moral victory. Let us know when you get tired of winning.” – Tucker Carlson, last night.

I do want to have peace in whatever time we have left. If that is to happen we must stop people like the three men quoted and described above. They are enemies of democracy, peace, the environment and our constitutional republic.

Anthony you are correct and it is important to speak out regardless of the nonsense spewed Trump is scary but looking at the lunatics he empowers like Barr is even more frightening

“It was certainly unsettling when I went in to talk to the president about the election and you know, he was livid and shaking and showed a lot of temper and yelling. That was a little unsettling.

“But the other thing that was actually unsettling was later when I went in to actually give him my letter of resignation, he started talking about how he had actually won the election and how the machines were rigged and that he was actually going to be there for another term.

“And he was very confident of that. And I just felt this showed a detachment from reality that was stunning to me. He was willing to accept anything, no matter how fanciful, as long as it didn’t make him a loser in the election.

“The truth is he lost the election. I understand a lot of these very sensational stories come out online and in social media but they’re simply not accurate.” – Bill Barr, last night on Fox News. Earlier this week Barr said he’d still vote for Trump in 2024.

Appearing Tuesday with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, former Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has stayed in the capital city of Kyiv to lead his country’s resistance against Russia’s invasion, should instead give in to Russia’s set of demands. Brat also said “as a Christian brother, I would tell him” that if Russia’s offers are rejected, “Kyiv, the other major cities, are going to be just devastated.” (Zelensky is Jewish.)

People through history have always been resistant to change. When we first started lighting our homes with electricity people talked about the danger of electricity when they were lighting their homes with kerosene lamps. Change takes time. Over many years we gradually changed our homes to be electric. This too will happen with renewable energy. Resistance is natural but in the end will be futile. Each generation will contribute to the change until finally most people will be comfortable with the change….The sky is not falling

Thank you Dwayne I’m sorry you’re offended. Sorry but I support the president and the country and not a racist Spotify celebrity.

Chris S: “I support the president and the country and not a racist Spotify celebrity.”

Chris, have you even watched Joe Rogan’s wildly successful podcast? He offers his audience a commodity is in short supply; honest conversations on current, important issues. By doing so, the left demands that his platform be cancelled. The left’s virtue signaling is part of their DNA. They can’t help themselves.

The minute a public figure uses the ‘n word` for comic relief its a total turn off to me when he does it 30 or 40 time total turnoff Yeah no ill never listen to it.

“War and rumors of war are incredibly profitable and convenient” Marjorie Taylor greene on buying Lockheed stock the day before the invasion. Another class act cut from the Trump cloth. These are the people we’re supposed to believe are concerned with the impact of high gas prices on the poor and elderly. Let the spinning begin!

thanks zach/ william no I don’t consider it anything like it give it some thought the difference might get sink in

Mr. Christopher, is there anything like Nancy Pelosi‘s husband buying tesla stock the day before Biden said all government vehicles are going to be electric? Or the other 20 stock trades that the Pelosi family made right before she legislated on them. More than one time she has been investigated by the ethics committee because of her stock trades. You only hear what you want to hear unscrew that Biden hat it’s too tight on your head.

Thats cool man, you have that option. Do what works for yourself, its a great concept.

Thanks Dwayne I will think for myself no dewormers wanted here!

William, Rogan tells you what you want to hear…it’s neither honest or factual

This is false. How was Paul Stamet’s time on his show not honest or factual? or Chef Daniel Holzman? or Valentine Thomas? or Tony Woods? or Bernie Sanders? or Robert Jones? Or Rickson Gracie? Which parts of their interview wasn’t factual or honest?

You avoided every one of them dude. Y? You seem to the expert on whats true and false. You’re medical qualifications are far superior than Dr. Robert Malone I assume. Impressive if true. My guess is, you were just talking sh#t on the Daily Gazette opinion page and pretending to be a know it all. It doesnt take a scary red hat to see that bro. Be careful out there, there’s red hats everywhere. Those scary red hat monsters and bullies. Run Guy! Run!!

I avoided nothing..I gave you claims Rogan made that are false. You can’t separate and say this was true and that was false. The man is a racist. Which disqualifies him right off. All he is doing is telling you what you want to hear not factual at all. Your red MAGA hat doesn’t let you believe anything else. The hat makes you willfully ignorant to him and Trump

You totally avoided my questions, well done Guy. Why?

I’ll give you four instances he claimed 1. Claim: A vaccine can alter your genes 2.Claim: Ivermectin can cure Covid 3.Claim: If you get vaccinated after having had Covid, you’re at greater risk of harmful side effects 4.Claim: For young people, the health risks from the vaccine are greater than from Covid

All are BS…..if you want more proof unscrew your MAGA hat from your head and fact check his claims

Neither honest or factual according to who?. Rogan’s millions of followers disagree with your take. Yet, the left’s solution to address public discourse is to have Joe Rogan cancelled. Conservatives don’t have the desire or power to silence their opposition.

It’s not factual because of the facts,Try investigating what people say. Don’t believe it because you want to believe it. But burn your MAGA hat first. That is the first thing to do if you want factual information.

William the “fake news” movement was originated by conservatives it is the original cancel culture

Joseph thanks for the statistics what I am suggesting is we need to look for solutions which biden is doing rather the repeating the oil independence myth and continue to repeat the same crazy day after ray after day. Sorry some people are angry about a 2 year old election oucome.Yes renewables are going to be difficult but pounding on stones and hoping oil comes out is not the answer. Buy from the Saudis or uae not possible they told us to rake a hike. Turn to Russia and support the killing of more innocents maybe some support this but Innovation and the American spirit is needed. Everyone is going to suffer in this process.

What we need to do to survive as a species and protect the biosphere is what people don’t want to acknowledge. We need to drastically reduce the human population. We need to simplify our lifestyles, live locally, deindustrialize, and return to mechanical means of production. Wind, flowing water, and muscle should be our energy sources. This isn’t going to happen because humans are selfish, stubborn, and shortsighted. They poke fun at each other while disaster looms on the horizon. We will die out as a species and take most others with us. It might be a slow death due to pollution or climate change or a quick death caused by a catastrophic nuclear war. No Jesus or other deity will appear in the mushroom cloud to save humanity. We will have been the shorted-lived dominant species in the history of life on Earth.

Anthony, I believe the only way we survive as a species is by realizing we must ALL work as one unit as apposed to dominate countries, groups or individuals. I also believe that because of greed, indifference, ignorance and stupidity this will not happen before we humans bring on our own self-inflicted demise.

Relating this to the incomprehensible vastness of the universe and what’s in it, we’re less than one grain of sand on all the worlds beaches, and therefore relatively insignificant anyway. – At this point in my life I’m just trying to make my remaining years as pleasant for myself and those I care about as I possibly can. – “Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream, merrily merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream” probably as as much significance as anything ever written.

Not to mention that all our roads are paved with petroleum products. How much do you like potholes that will now cost a fortune to repair? Easy to say suck it up when you actually can, but most cannot and there is no reason why this has to be except for poor leadership.

Here’s a tip, Denise: Free thinking does not equal logical thinking. Sheesh, you make it seems like cleaning this planet up is a path toward some dystopian hellscape.

Actuallt black top is recycled now instead of being tossed in our landfills. Stay calm. unscrew your MAGA hat a bit and relax all will be well

Why do you assume I have a MAGA hat just because I can logically think? You know nothing about me and making stupid remarks like MAGA and always Fox news shows the shallowness of your ability to think freely and appreciate another persons point of view. And all blacktop is not recycled now, only where it is able to be. there are still petroleum products used in the recycling process, how do you think they heat up the pavement to be recycled??? What is powering all the trucks doing this work???? solar power??? Really, you need to think these things through before you give your usual curt answers.

The MAGA hat is an aphorism for your love of Trump and your willful ignorance to him. You might not wear one but you do stand for what the red hat represents. Cheers !

She won the popular vote by 3 million. Biden won by 7 million.

And look where it got her Guy. Her political savy was a off a bit when she said that, for once she couldn’t b%llsh$t her way out of it. She should’ve broke out her fake accent and told them how much she likes beer. She would’ve won in a landslide. She didnt put the pig in the ground and the beer on ice. All of Don’s rowdy friends came out election niiigghhtt….

And how do you know that??? Just because I can think for myself???? Are you so brain washed that unless I think exactly like you and fall in line like the brown coats did during Hitler’s regime I must be a MAGA person??? How shallow can you be! Heaven forbid in this great USA that I have a thought that does not fall in line with you. Perhaps you are the brown coats!

D Wayne stay calm. Things will get better. You might think your red hat has magical power, but it doesn’t. The MAGA crowd doesn’t scare me, It disgusts me. Hillary was right you and the rest of MAGAs are deplorable

DWayne, Why do so many act like the pandemic had little effect on our economy? With not much made in the US, there were foreign factories shut down or slowed because of covid. Biden is responsible for the global economy? Really? He did an amazing job getting the US back up and running, unemployment is low, wages up, record gdp, so hot we have inflation, but hoping it will level out soon. Yes immigration is and has always been a problem. We don’t need a stupid wall or babies and toddlers ripped from their parents, so don’t give 45 credit on immigration. Numbers were low b/c of pandemic, too.

Jclark, Ill give you credit man, you represent well. Inflation is temporary? Is that the same as transitory? That was misinformation that the Fed and the Biden admin fed us. It’s not transitory, its still here with no end in the near future. Gas prices at this level are temporary, we hope, but they were inching towards $4 before the Ukraine invasion, the reasons are debatable. Yes his polling numbers have inched up but he’s still very low on the economy, foreign policy, and immigration. Those are key factors in a midterm year. The supply chain issues are his fault, he’s the C.E.O. man, dont pass the blame it comes with the job. So far, he’s handling the Ukraine situation as well as can be expected. Its complex and there’s no easy way out. I have no idea whats going to happen from here on out concerning the war. For all of our sakes, lets hope it ends. I do know the party in power typically loses the house but its going to tell us how the country feels about the current administration. I’m not going to address your other comments, its the same b.s. that you can read on any blog. I do have a question though, when Trump was President he was blamed for everthing that went wrong in the country. If gas was high, he’d be to blame. If Putin attacked Ukraine it would be his fault. If 13 soldiers were slaughtered in Afghan, he’d have blood on his hands. If their were major supply chain issues it would all be on Trump. That’s the crap I read on a daily basis. All those things are happening now and you and the liberal mafia in here want to make an excuse for everything. Its not Biden’s fault, it’s because of blah blah blah. Then another mafia member will post articles and graphs from who knows where. It’s the same pattern, over and over and over on here. That’s why reading this crap is comical, it just shows how blinded partisan politics makes them and they have no credibility. The MAGA hat, Trumper, traiter comments are stale and it does nothing other give them a little rise in their levi’s. Please note, I did say little. Peace, love, and waterbeds baby.

DWayne, Biden got Infrastructure and helped Americans get thru the pandemic on his 1st year. The variants and supply chain bottlenecks were not his fault. His numbers have gone up since SOTUnion and most of his policies are popular. I think the gop have a bunch of traitorous kooks, so hope they don’t get reelected! Biden has been demonstrating great leadership thru this Ukraine crisis and knows who our enemies are! He fights for democracies around the world, and has unified a weakened NATO and Congress. Gas prices and inflation are temporary. Besides, the party in power typically loses seats in the midterm.

Then your party better get their sh#t together dude. The way it’s going, you’re not going to hold the house. You libs can put lipstick on the pig all you want but he’s not polling well at all. 37 38% isnt going to cut it come Nov. People don’t like the way he’s handled many issues and you’re starting to see some in his party running from him. You and the liberal mafioso can try and pretty it up but most people can see right through it. He’s running out of time and his party is as well. Time to either sh#t or get off the pot.

Dwayne–you bet your arse we’re scared of 45 since he led an Insurrection and is a Putin/KimJongUn lover since he wants power and money like they have. 45 was willing to sacrifice his own VP if it gave him what he wanted–another term to carry out his crimes–even though he lost–BIGLY! He’s a lying POS!

Why are you so terrified of a Red hat? That hat’s not going to hurt you dude. Are you afraid of people who wear it? Are u morally superior? If yes, how so? Are you the only one who agrees with your superiority or do you have a following that agrees as well? Did big daddy Trump scare you with his mean tweets? Are you still scared of him? Do you see that MAGA hat in your dreams and nightmares? Is it the same MAGA hat that the 2 Trump dudes wore when they attacked Joosy Smoolet’ in Chicago at 2 a.m.? Inquiry minds want to know big Guy.

The realistic answer isn’t suck it up. Lots of people lower & fixed income rely on O&G. This will be so from now until around 2050. 2050 is the date that even utilities believe we maybe able to use all re-newables for US consumption purposes.

Going headlong and headstrong with a progressive strategy has obviously hurt millions of Americans. At 1st gas prices were rising because of the pandemic, then supply chain issues, then OPEC now the Russian invasion. Can we wake up and agree we have cut supply.

Jen Psaki’s statements on US oil production history are categorically false. January 2017 oil production was 8,873,000 barrels per day (BPD); peak production in Nov 2019 was 12,966,000 BPD; January 2021 was 11,096,000 BPD, December 2021 was 11,567,000 BPD. We are NOT producing more oil than ever, regardless of Ms. Psaki’s numbers as we are about 1.5 million BPD lower than the peak per EIA statistics.

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MCRFPUS2&f=M

As far as 9000 drilling leases. The avg has hovered between 8000-10000 leases per year. O&G buy these leases as speculators. If that ground could produce and make money they would be harvesting it at $120 plus per barrel.

Then the administration (EPA, etc) has to approve so the tip gets in the ground which I hear from friends in TX is on a 11-13 month backlog.

Lower EPA standards, lower or relax fuel taxes in federal and state levels & you will see fuel prices come down. When fuel comes down so does the price of chicken and everything else that travels by truck in the US.

We need to slow roll into renewables logically because the materials that build battery storage isn’t ready anyways.

What false information did Jen Psaki give?

Obviously, we aren’t going to flip a switch and turn immediately to Green Energy, but we should push harder. As President Biden says, we can use this time as an opportunity. It can help Americans with new jobs, stop getting shammed with high gas prices which support countries like Saudi Arabia & Russia, and help our planet.

jclark124 someone on fox news said it was false ….they were affiliated with the oil industry ….This was there way of saying we want federal oil leases back before we produce more oil

Guy – i actually included a gov’t data link. She claimed we are producing more barrels per day then in 2020. You can see from the chart we are 1.5 million barrels less.

Yes solar and wind are great clean sources (unless you consider that the panels when outdated need to go into a RCRA landfill) and windmills are high grade fiberglass. Or consider – avg US power plant is 500 MW (.5 GW). Current US grid is over 300 (500 MW) plants. One windmill produces .5 to 1 MW per year. 1,000 SF of space of southern exposure in the creates 11 kw – so to produce 1 MW in the Northeast you need 1 acre of panels. So what is better 500 windmills? Or 500 acres of land of panels?? To replace 1 500 MW plant.

For argument’s lets just say we have 125,000 Free acres we would still need 5,470,000,000,000 SF of constructed panels as well as all the battery storage plants to hold & retain the energy captured from the sun. Vistra energy just spent 2.2 years constructing a solar array and battery plant to replace an 1100 MW plant in Moss Landing CA.

So tell me again how quickly we can convert fossil plants energy to renewable? There are lots of electric vehicles (EVs) but they are still being powered by 70-80% energy from fossil plants.

We need to concentrate on reducing demand. I know you know that and you know how to do it. The use of fossil fuels is destroying us.

How will you pay to pave and maintain roads if you relax fuel taxes? We’ve built our environment based on the idea that gas will be cheap forever. Sprawling suburbs, insufficient mass transit, the interstate highway system, all prefaced on the idea that you can fill up your tank for a nominal fee and hit the road. Lack of foresight by politicians and consumers has meant that we lag developed countries in renewables as a percentage of energy consumption. When gas is cheap, no one thinks there’s an issue and we don’t need to invest in future energy technologies, and people go out and buy 15 mpg Hummers. When gas is expensive, consumers complain and politicians say we need to drill baby drill to reduce prices. Solar and wind energy comes free from our natural environment. We can make ourselves truly energy independent and increase our national security if we just made the investments in renewables and quit thinking we can drill our way out of this problem.

The government has little to do with the cost of gas. Since our oil companies are privately owned, the cost of oil goes up and down according to supply and demand… In the midst of the pandemic, there was little demand for oil, prices were very low. That meant producers reduced production, and they have not yet fully ramped it up.

Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, the booming U.S. economy meant increased demand for oil and thus increased prices. U.S. companies increased their production, but perhaps not enough that would address soaring gasoline prices. And in that gap, oil companies made huge profits. The Keystone Pipeline, which runs from oil sand fields in Alberta, Canada, into the United States and to OK, exists and IS FULLY OPERATIONAL. The XL Pipeline consists of two new additions to the original pipeline, together 1700 miles. One addition was designed to connect Cushing to oil refineries in Texas, on the Coast. That section was built and went INTO OPERATION in January 2017.

The second extension is the one that caused such a fuss. It was to carry crude oil from Alberta to Kansa, where it would pick up U.S. crude oil to deliver it to the Gulf Coast of TX. (This would have had the effect of raising oil prices in the middle of the country.) This leg crossed an international border, and thus the Canadian company needed approval from the State Department. The proposed pipeline would threaten water supplies in the Northwest if it leaked, for it would run over a huge aquifer,…tribes protested the pipeline’s construction. Even if Biden had not overturned Trump’s approval of the project, it would not be completed yet, and even if it were completed, there is no guarantee that it would have delivered more oil to the U.S.. The U.S. exports about half of its oil production to other countries, both because the crude we produce is hard for us to refine and because of the demand for it overseas. The Keystone pipeline was designed for EXPORT. Oil prices are skyrocketing because of the dislocation of the pandemic, the Russian invasion, and the disinclination of countries to buy from Russia, even though oil sales have not yet been sanctioned. Excerpts from Heather Cox Richardson March 8, 2022

Denise Glen is correct but crisci once again we get ramblings and no solutions the why we can’t instead of the how we will.Biden is looking and creating solutions that will take time rather than whining like a two year old or traitorously praising a Russia murderer. The US is back taking the lead Americans will adjust like our parents did in the past. oil is not the solution more oil is not the solution wake up Denise we need to move on like other countries are. Suck it up be a patriot.

Thank you Dwayne I’m sorry you’re offended. Sorry but I support the president and the country and not a racist Spotify celebrity.

Our foreign enemies(Iran, China Russia) are delighted that our energy policies under President Biden have been hijacked by Green New Deal ideologists. These climate alarmists never suffer from the policies that they foist on the rest of us. Multi-millionaire, Steven Colbert boasts how he would gladly pay $15 a gallon for gas and feel good about it. He couldn’t care less that it would destroy the economy. Colbert can afford his virtue signaling at the expense of others, less fortunate.

Denise makes a great point about how green new deal policies would priced out most Americans of being able to buy their own car or the elderly being able to heat their homes. Your dismissal of this grim reality shows you have no empathy for the the poor and working class, have suffered the most this past year.

Glen, it must be nice to be a dreamer, but look at the whole picture. Just about everything you use, the solar panels, chips in your car, batteries, lap tops, phones, TV’s, pats for major appliances are all petroleum based! Electric cars will never get enough power from solar, wind turbines, they get their power from coal fired, oil fired and Nuclear generators. Power does not just fall out of now where. Oil prices don’t bother you? How about the 85 % of all Americans who can’t afford a electric car, the elderly who heat their homes with oil, how about the gazette delivery person who delivers the paper every day in a car that is falling apart? Not everyone can live in your world. If everything in this world is to go electric, what is the source???? Solar panels themselves are very toxic to dispose of, there components come from mining done in the ocean destroying ocean environments, they are not really the answer, they are also part of the problem. Batteries, how do you dispose of them – highly toxic. Cars catching on fire in garages, running out of juice in traffic jams, having to be recharged by portable GAS generators? The answer is responsible use of all our resources. Being energy independent is not a one size fits all. From day 1 Biden made it impossible for the US to remain energy independent and he does not have enough brain power to bring us back, many will suffer and are already suffering from his horrible and tragic decisions. I do believe in my world it is more important for the elderly and struggling family’s to stay warm this winter and every winter then some unsustainable idea of all electric. It will never happen without also destroying the environment.

Ok Denise, let’s not consider future advancements in science and technology as a means to eventually cleanse our disgustingly polluted planet. (“It will never happen without also destroying the environment.” OMG and Help) Yep, you’ve got the solution; let’s just keep burning all those fossil fuels, and we won’t have a thing to worry about, because extinct species don’t worry.