Day: January 6, 2023

A ‘Useless Entity’

“Useless Entity”?

And we are just now noticing how useless they are?

That is what many are saying about the chaos in the House of Representatives as they try to find a leader, a Speaker…..but I have been saying that for decades.

I believe that there has been 11 votes and so far no leader.

What some critics would argue is the usual state of affairs is currently the official reality in the House of Representatives: With no speaker chosen, the chamber is a “useless entity,” unable to swear in its members, let alone conduct other business including passing laws or forming committees, the New York Times reports. As things stand, the House doesn’t even have representatives, only representatives-elect. “If there’s a real emergency, we couldn’t respond,” says Democratic Rep. (or Rep.-elect) Jerrold Nadler, per the Times. “Either the Republicans don’t understand that, or they do understand that and they don’t care. I don’t know which is worse, but it is a profound danger to the country as long as it lasts.”

The speakerless House is a situation unprecedented in living memory—the last time a speaker wasn’t elected on the first ballot was in 1923. In that year, it took three days to elect a speaker. Thursday will be the third day of voting for a speaker in the 118th Congress, and some analysts predict the deadlock among Republicans will continue for a fourth day and beyond. The AP reports that the lack of a speaker and uncertainty about the rules added to the “surreal, looser-than usual atmosphere on the House floor” on Wednesday, when members were seen taking photos, which is normally banned. Clerk Cheryl Johnson has been the one holding the gavel, and Republican lawmaker Chip Roy called her “Madam speaker” Wednesday before correcting himself.

“I think more people need to be aware of the institutional damage that’s going on here,” a House procedural expert speaking on condition of anonymity tells the Washington Post. “If one of those branches is so hamstringed, so paralyzed, as it is right now, do you really have the three equal branches of government that our Constitution has set out?” The representatives-elect say they’re confused about many issues, including whether they’re going to get paid if the stalemate drags on. The Post reports that when Greg Pence, brother of the former vice president, was asked who was in charge Wednesday, he pointed to the ceiling and said “God.

The House has been a clown show for decades so to say it is now useless is just silly….it has been that way for many decades.

The one thing I can say is that at least our much needed programs are safe….at least for now.

Any thoughts on our House performance…then now and in the future?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

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Those Russian Sanctions

The big push these days is for a cleaner energy and the dash toward nuclear power is growing in anticipation.

For this renewed interest will take uranium and this is where this post picks up….

Remember when the Ukraine invasion started and the US and its allies first attack was to put massive sanctions in place to punish the invader.

What about all the uranium that the west gets from Russia for its nuclear programs?

Many world powers have sped-up plans to introduce new nuclear power plants in a bid to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and decarbonise. Due to the high energy demand, many countries around the globe view renewable energy as insufficient in the mid-term to provide enough energy to meet the needs of the growing world population. However, nuclear power could provide a low-carbon alternative, offering abundant energy and low emissions. However, experts now worry that the global reliance on Russian uranium to power many of these projects could put many world leaders in a quandary, having already introduced sanctions on Russian energy and attempted to reduce their reliance on Russia.  Earlier this year, the U.S. announced a $6 billion bailout for its existing nuclear plants. The government and the Department of Energy (DoE) partnered on a scheme to help nuclear plants across the country facing severe economic challenges to support the longevity of U.S. nuclear power, as part of the country’s green transition. Despite being controversial, nuclear power is considered carbon neutral, and therefore key to transitioning away from fossil fuels. Since then, the launch of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has encouraged greater investment in the nuclear energy sector. It offers a variety of subsidies, including a production tax credit to help preserve the existing fleet of nuclear plants and tax incentives for the development of new nuclear reactors.  

While developing its nuclear assets demonstrates a step forward in the movement to carbon neutrality, the U.S. has one very big challenge to overcome for its nuclear power plants to be a success – its reliance on Russian uranium. The type of uranium that U.S. nuclear reactors require to run is only sold commercially by one company in the world, a subsidiary of the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM). At present, U.S. nuclear firms buy around half of the uranium they use from state-owned companies in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Scott Melbye, Executive Vice President at Uranium Energy Corp., stated “We estimate that there is more than $1 billion in annual U.S. dollar purchases of nuclear fuel flowing to ROSATOM.” 

(oilprice.com)

As usual these sanctions are not as sweeping and all inclusive as they would have you believe.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”