From “The Grio”:

Austin Smith, a former Republican state representative in Arizona, has pleaded guilty to ­charges for forging signatures on his 2024 re‑election campaign petitions. He admitted to submitting nomination papers with names of deceased individuals and other forged entries. The plea agreement calls for probation, a fine of $5,000 and a five‑year ban on seeking public office. Meanwhile, Smith had served as a senior director (and briefly strategic director) of Turning Point Action, the 501(c)(4) advocacy arm of the conservative youth group Turning Point USA and resigned from that leadership role when the allegations surfaced. Through his dual role as lawmaker and conservative organizer, Smith’s case underlines questions of campaign integrity and the responsibilities of politically active organizations.

I would have thought (and hoped) that election fraud would merit some jail time.

Election Fraud Doesn’t Merit Jail Time? Guess Not

A segment of Newsmax tonight began with many clips from commentators from both parties saying that Donald Trump is the most powerful person in the word.  “All right, enough!” the host finally interjected. “Well, if he is the most powerful person in the world, why can’t he appoint whoever (sic) he wants to prosecute James Comey and Letitia James?”

Well, we do have a few sticking points here.

We have the U.S. Constitution, and 200+ years of rule of law, and the concept that no one is above the law.

And we have the question, “Given that they have taken stances against Trump, why not have them both summarily beheaded?”  Given that we no longer have a balance of powers among the supposedly three co-equal branches of government, what’s the big deal?

Three hundred years ago, that’s precisely would have happened to people who took public stances against a king.

We either stand for freedom and loyalty to a constitution — or we don’t.  We can’t have it both ways.

Why Not Behead Dissidents? It Worked for Millennia

There is no need to physically attach solar panels to your car’s roof to determine if it will charge your car.  Of course it will while it’s in the sun.  Let’s do some math:

If:

The area of this Tesla’s roof is 2 square meters (being generous),

The efficiency of the panels is 25%,

The capacity factor of solar (depending on your location) is 20%,

The sun’s irradiance is 1000 watts per square meter,

The Tesla’s battery capacity is 100 KWhrs,

And we neglect the increased weight and drag of the array,

We’re talking about 100 hours, more than 4 days.

Doesn’t sound like a bargain, especially considering that if you overbuild the solar array on your roof and charge your car in your garage, you’ve achieved the same goal at far less expense and inconvenience.

Solar PV on a Car’s Roof