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Friday Night Mulitmedia Extravaganza!

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Jimmy Kimmel: The week in unnecessary censorship.

The Opposition with Jordan Klepper: Monopoly’s tabletop abomination

How the FISA process works.

The Census Gets Political:

James Corden: Political monologue

Seattle Mayor Durkan wants ALL past misdemeanor marijuana convictions erased from people’s records!

Bill Maher and Bari Weiss on the #MeToo movement

Inside Amy Schumer: Shhhh-Nacks.

The Dotard Трамп and His Parade of Banana Republic Idiots:

WaPo: Holocaust denier is running unopposed in Republican primary for Congress.

Samantha Bee: This week in chaos—Nukes

Lawrence O’Donnell: Charlie Cook suggests a blue wave following Dem win in Трамп country.

Vox: The horrific reality of a war with North Korea.

Jimmy Kimmel: Jesus is your flu shot.

Ari Melbur: GOP redistricting trick, threats to impeach judges amid blue wave.

Black History Month:

Mark Fiore: Buster the little nuke!

The new face of the NRA.

Sam Seder with Ari Berman: Koch brother scumbags and the best elections money can buy.

Jimmy Kimmel demonstrates why denying gay couples wedding cakes is wrong:

The fight for birthright citizenship in America.

Vox: Why do taxpayers pay billions for football stadiums?

Stephen: Missouri Senate candidate Courtland Sykes prefers sexism over feminism.

Last week’s Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza can be found here.

Comments

  1. 1

    Presidents, regardless of party, should not take credit for the rise of the market, because it CN fall.

  5. 5

    Econ 102: This is the advanced course, so the problem you’re asked to solve may be a little more challenging. Ready? Here’s the problem:

    If you’re a politician facing upcoming elections, which of the following economic scenarios would appeal to you more?

    (1) 3% nominal GDP growth – 1% inflation = 2% real GDP growth

    (2) 5% nominal GDP growth – 3% inflation = 2% real GDP growth

    Note: This is NOT the same question as “If you’re Doctor Dumbfuck, and you sell all your wife’s horses to meet your broker’s margin calls, how many horses do you have left?” That’s not Econ 102, it’s third grade arithmetic.

  6. 6

    @4 Fake News.

    “When Newsweek editors attempted to push back, Davis grew increasingly defensive, saying Newsweek’s own journalists had written “hit pieces” which “attacked” the company, adding “if we had integrity we should be defending the company.””

    Sounds like something Trump and Trump Admin (Sanders) would say.

    The world is turned upside down nowadays. It’s not hard to turn things upside down, in fact it is actually easy to do, and we have the best doing it today right at the White House – The fish smells from the top (I know it’s suppose to be rot, but I like smell better). The leader of the free world top upside down magician.

    Stop taking Fake News as real Bob! You should know better.

  8. 8

    @6 The real trouble, of course, occurs not when politicians criticize journalists but when they kill them. Too often, the former is just a step toward the latter.

  9. 9

    Truly….in stead of denouncing what the cunt said just turn to her and call her a cunt….maybe then she’ll learn. Spare the rod and spoil the cunt!

  10. 10

    @10

    People like that never learn. Calling her a cunt would have no true impact. Why? Because she knows she is one. Posting the video has much more impact.

  11. 11

    3,
    Republicans have always been very, very concerned about affording lots of due process…
    …but only to American white guys who rape or beat up people who aren’t American white guys.

  12. 12

    5,
    Don’t you think the answer depends on which voters you are targeting, where they are in life, how they derive their monthly income and how they spend that income?

    I’m not so sure that runaway Roypublican borrowing will hurt them at the polls if (when) it results in rising interest rates.

  13. 13

    Can’t say it enough:

    What’s more, wind and solar (variable renewable energy, or VRE) and natural gas complement each other. VRE is completely clean but variable. Natural gas is moderately clean but flexible. Variable and flexible work well together; they are the basis for the modern grid…

    Giant, slow, inflexible, dirty coal plants simply don’t fit in that picture. Coal still represents 30 percent of the US electricity mix, but as natural gas and renewables grow and the grid evolves toward a flexible, distributed model, its role will inevitably shrink.

    There’s no big conspiracy, no “war on coal,” just the creative destruction of capitalism at work, as technological advances and evolving social preferences transform industries.

    https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/8/25/16201218/us-coal-industry-handouts

    Really bad news for Drumpfies and the execrable HA trolls.

  15. 15

    @13 funny you should post that. I am just reading an article in ENR. I’d post a link and save myself some typing but the site (I don’t think) allows access to articles unless you have a subscription.

    The article, in the 2/5/18 issue, page 14, by Neelam Mathews – “Water Shortages in India Causing Power Plant Outages”

    “”Water shortages shut down power plants across India every year. When power plants rely on water source from scarce regions, they put electricity generation at risk and leave less water for cities, farms and families. Without urgent action, water will become a choke point for India’s power sector, said O.P. Agarwal, CEO of World Resources Institute (WRI) India, in a paper “Parched Power”, released on Jan. 16″

    India lost 5.87 billion kilowatt-hours of power generation in 2016 due to the lack of water,……”

    Something to think about. Is it not South Africa that was said to be running out of water?

    Many of America’s Nuclear Power plants are located near oceans that provide the source of the water for the cooling. But some are inland adjacent to rivers.

    To deny climate change and to not invest in renewable energy has got to be the biggest mistake.

    Climate change deniers say that it is too expensive to combat climate change – short sighted dumbfucks.

    What we are experiencing today with governments moving towards isolationism stems from all of them knowing that the future is going to be a competition for dwindling resources, never mind the damage caused by super storms or a greater frequency of storms and fires.

    The next 50 (or less) – 100 years don’t bode well for human life.

  16. 16

    Many of America’s Nuclear Power plants are located near oceans that provide the source of the water for the cooling. But some are inland adjacent to rivers.

    The future for nuclear power I believe lies in molten salt reactors that use flouride salts as the coolant, not water. If the reactor overheats, the salts drain into a tank and the reactor stops, i.e. no meltdown is possible because the coolant by design is already “melted”.. So in theory they are safe by design.

    China is doing this..

    There’s a company here that wants to commercialize a reactor.

    To deny climate change and to not invest in renewable energy has got to be the biggest mistake.

    Renewables take a lot of space. Their energy generation performance is variable, so they need fossil fuel backup like natural gas or still exotic energy storage tech like batteries or molten salt. There’s plenty of space just offshore, the deserts and otherwise undesirable land in rural areas here in North America and elsewhere but you have to be careful not to impact wildlife and other hazards to aircraft and what not.

    I’d prefer nuclear power to preserve open spaces and bio-diversification. Molten salt reactors burning thorium would be the greatest bang for the buck but much more R&D is still needed to minimize the risks. A huge investment.

    Renewables like wind and solar – their costs are dropping like a boulder and therefore they’ll be widely adopted. Storage options for renewables to even out the variability are also dropping in cost.

    However, countries like China are taking the long view and are continuing to explore the most promising option for nuclear power.

  17. 17

    @16 China is choking on coal pollution. While they invest in cleaner energy, our head-up-his-ass leader stumps for a coal revival, which fits right in with his 19th century social policies.

  19. 19

    @18

    He claimed that there were “demonic and idolatrous objects” in the White House, which he blamed on the Clintons.

    “They actually honeymooned in Haiti. They witnessed a ritual performed by a Voodoo priest. And there were Haitian symbols, Haitian icons in the White House that the Clintons brought in there,” Fischer said.

    Vlad Putin’s trolls couldn’t have scripted that shit better.

    Boob’ll be here soon to bloviate ad nauseam about “that bitch”..

  20. 20

    Meanwhile Trump’s economic policies are nothing but a cheap trick, akin to a pawn’s gambit in chess, and Oxford-educated economist Dambisa Moyo is calling his bluff:

    “Short-term economic gains are being supported by policies that threaten to sink the economy in the longer term.”

    (Barron’s, Feb. 12, 2018, p. 39)

    Borrow now, shrink GDP later, for a short-term electoral advantage. Oldest politician’s trick in the book. That’s what we’re being sold and the usual suspects are falling for it. Anyone who thinks Trump is producing real economic growth is a gullible fool. Many of them are getting trimmed in the financial markets.

  21. 21

    @16 nice. Hopefully there is time left to reverse what is happening now, it would be nice if this Country invested more than it does today.

  22. 22

    While they invest in cleaner energy, our head-up-his-ass leader stumps for a coal revival, which fits right in with his 19th century social policies.

    Drumpf talks only to his base, the people who are suffering from the “creative destruction” of capitalism..

    Coal is doomed like the buggy whip.

    It’ll take a while of course but no parent who mined coal should tell their kids to do the same. That would be child abuse.

    Of course Drumpf talks only to those people because it divides them from everyone else..

    And dividing americans against themselves serves the agenda of Vlad Putin who wants those sanctions lifted so he can do whatever the fuck he wants in the Russian sphere of influence to serve nationalist fervor in Russia and pry open more opportunities for Russian oligarchs to loot countries weakened by Russia’s trolling and aggression.

    And that in turn puts Drumpf in Putin’s favor who can then reward Drumpf with being his lender of last resort for his failing businesses. Drumpf has screwed every one of his bankers.

  23. 23

    @16

    I’ve long thought nuclear power would be a viable solution and yes, the sodium based reactors have a safety factor over boiling water reactors, however they do have risks due the corrosive nature of the moderator. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium-cooled_fast_reactor

    But one problem still exists, the waste. Until they have a solution for storing mitigating the waste, there will never be traction to put more nuclear plants in place in the US. Glass encapsulation seems like a reasonable approach https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120822101115.htm

    By the way, know who makes reactors in the US? GE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Simplified_Boiling_Water_Reactor

  24. 24

    @19 Unfortunately, there are plenty of people out there who swallow this stuff whole. And they get to vote, too. Democracy, foo all its virtue, tends to operate at the lowest common denomination.

  25. 25

    @22 The angst of laid-off coal miners is understandable. It’s hard to replace those $100,000-a-year union jobs, especially in places where there isn’t anything else. But six-figure flight deck jobs are shrinking, too. Tell your kids to learn programming, so they can get a six-figure software engineer job, because the world isn’t standing still.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/09/boeing-raises-prospect-of-only-one-pilot-in-the-cockpit-of-planes

  26. 26

    @23

    The sodium in the uranium based fast reactor is very volatile. That’s not a design I favor but a lot of people like it because the uranium burns more or less completely. You get a lot more energy per unit of fuel.

    The salts in a molten salt reactor are flouride salts which are much much more stable.

    The materials in a thorium molten salt reactor burn much more completely like in the fast reactor and the wastes are radiotoxic for a much shorter period of time. In theory it’s much cheaper to build, fuel and operate and it’s safer.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium_fuel_cycle

  28. 28

    @26,

    The Thorium cycle does have some advantages and disadvantages. All reactor designs have trade offs, it depends on what you are really trying to accomplish.

    The Gen IV designs are vastly improved from the 60’s and 70’s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_IV_reactor

    Although there are few designs that shouldn’t be revisited.

  29. 29

    23)Should read Energy Northwesr’s Facebook page, practically a PR shill for nuclear power, then again, Columbia Generating Station is their biggest generating asset.

  30. 30

    18,
    No doubt the Pedo-Liar will appear momentarily with the setting sun to mindlessly pimp the very same story.

    Give Doctor Dumbfuck six months and he’ll be singing along.
    Republicans are lost, I tell you. Sick, demented, self-loathing, and lost.

  32. 32

    @29

    After WPPSS, there isn’t an energy company in the PNW that has any real credibility. Yeah I know that was a long time ago, but talk about financial stupidity.

  34. 34

    Obama is in their heads. They take him with them everywhere they go. He sits on Branson’s island sipping VSOP and fucking with their minds, making them beat their wives and spend money they don’t have.

  37. 37

    Sure, there’s desalination. But think of the distribution or migration to the source.

    Whenever I read about water shortages it seems the story is the same – the urban dweller is the one wasting the water..

    uhhh… bullshit.. It’s the rich urban dweller doing most of the wasting because they can. They almost always thumb their noses at calls to conserve. Their lawns and gardens are kept green, their pools filled and refreshed. Only the little people need conserve.

    And then there’s the farmer. Every year of the last California drought almond and pistachio production went up. each year.. How long was that drought? 4, 5 years? California urban dwellers were urged to conserve and farmers were let off the hook. The farmers went crazy pumping ground water. It was fucking nuts (literally and figuratively) what they were doing.

    The politicians of course said jobs were at stake, blah , blah..

    Farmers in California are better at conserving water than they were but they have to get much better. Fewer acres in production and maybe limits on meat production (much more water intensive) may be in the cards.

    I don’t know. Government should subsidize conservation, figure out the best way to incentivize the growers to conserve water.

    In the urban areas there’s plenty of handing out low flow showerheads and other programs. Everyone has to conserve this limited resource.

    Oh and I just read that after a deluge of water in California in 2017, the State might be heading back into drought.

    The Israelis I understand are doing the best job at desalination – after all, the trolls say they can do no wrong. But it’s still a very expensive option that requires cheap energy. Eventually cheaper and safer nuclear power could play a big role there.

  38. 38

    @37

    Not sure it’s just about conservation. It’s a whole way of life. Conservation just pushes out the inevitable. Poupulation needs to be controllled. Governments know that but aren’t about to tell anyone that.

    Shortbus thinks we need to be wary of the FBI. But if the general public knew what government leaders know we would all be shocked.

  39. 39

    Not sure it’s just about conservation. It’s a whole way of life. Conservation just pushes out the inevitable. Poupulation needs to be controllled.

    Population growth in the late 1960’s was 2 percent annually.

    It’s down to 1 percent..

    https://ourworldindata.org/future-population-growth

    Not sure if this is sustainable. I believe the common wisdom is that the more widespread the prosperity, the more people move into the middle class, the higher the status of women, the smaller the family sizes..

    So this line of thinking dovetails with my general views in that the less inequality there is, the more sustainable things are.

  40. 40

    @ 13

    There’s no big conspiracy, no “war on coal,” just the creative destruction of capitalism at work, as technological advances and evolving social preferences transform industries.

    Hey, YLB, I just want to say thanks to your children for footing a majority of the future bill for the clean new ferries

    “When you pencil them all out, the thing that really stood out to me was, if we’re going to make that leap to being the greenest ferries in the world, we have to tackle some of our vessels that are the real gas hogs,” said Amy Scarton, head of WSF.

    The price tag would run to nearly $35 million per vessel — plus the costs of upgrading the terminals and shore power to match — but the savings were estimated at roughly $14 million per year, so the plan could pay for itself in a relatively short time.

    https://www.seattlepi.com/local/transportation/article/State-hopes-to-save-millions-with-hybrid-ferries-12562300.php

    that will be carrying me across the Sound during my retirement.

    That clean air will keep me happy and healthy, so they’ll pay into my Social Security for many years to come.

    Nothing the government does pays for itself in a short time.

  41. 41

    37,
    Trust me. Cali farmers are shit at efficient water use. Always have been. Not getting any better. Cheap, subsidized power has always encouraged them to simply drill deeper and pump more.
    Didn’t you pointy headed college kids learn anything? “Pumps motors run cooler and last longer when you run them all the time. Everyone knows that.”

  42. 42

    “Cali farmers are shit at efficient water use.”

    In general, I believe that is true but I understand that almond orchard consumption of water has been flat for years despite more acres in production.

  43. 43

    “I just want to say thanks to your children for footing a majority of the future bill for the clean new ferries”

    Thanks for the warning boob. I’ll recommend they move out of state and then your daughter can carry your miserable ass, for the rest of your miserable existence..

    It will come to an end, some day even with life extension.

    “Nothing the government does pays for itself in a short time.”

    Why not never then? Getting soft in your old age boob? Watch more Faux News.

  45. 45

    It rained quite a bit across the Easter seaboard yesterday (and into today); Great Lakes region got a lot of snow. It wasn’t a ton of precipitation but hey who the fuck is saying we will run out of water one day!??

    Frack, baby Frack!

  47. 47

    Republican judge and chair of the Donald Trump campaign in Campbell County, KY gets 20 years in slammer for human trafficking, forcing teen girls to have sex.

    “According to the report, Nolan, 71, a former judge, used drugs and threats of arrest to force women and girls under the age of 18 into sex acts.”

    https://www.rawstory.com/2018/02/ex-judge-gets-20-years-sexual-abuse-trafficking-teens-serving-trump-campaign-co-chair/

    No doubt he is a good Christian, praying to Jesus before preying on underage girls. That reminds me. Where’s the loon? Did he get lynched by his friends last night?

  48. 48

    @44 Trayvon Martin was minding his own business until your favorite vigilante took it upon himself to decide he didn’t belong in the neighborhood. Zimmerman deserved what he got.

  49. 49

    47,
    Another “very fine” person’s life “being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation” from the derp state.

    #thinkofthewhitemen #FREECARTERPAGE!

  50. 50

    So let’s see if I have this straight. Besides the pro-Putin, pro-pussy-grabbing, pro-wife-beating and pro-child molestation factions of the Republican party, we also have the white supremacists…

    https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/white-supremacists-running-for-office-2018_us_5a7da926e4b0c6726e1285c1

    …and Nazis.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/07/us/nazi-congress-illinois.html

    And that’s not to mention all the goatfuckers.

    Nothing unfortunate about that!

  51. 51

    Man shot dead by motorcyclist in road rage incident on I-5

    Oh but boob conveniently doesn’t tell the whole story. Who was the shooter?

    The two were on the ground fighting, the State Patrol says.

    The woman who was the motorcycle rider then shot the man, the State Patrol said.

    The wife pack heat boob? What’ll happen when the pre-sales reps go all #metoo on you?

    It’s not hard to guess where she’ll be aiming.

  52. 52

    It’s a big fucking tent of the biggest fucking losers. Our trolls are card carrying members.

  53. 53

    Accused of raping a 13 year old girl. Accused of sexually assaulting a score of women. Brags of pussy-grabbing. Ogles teen beauty pageant contestants in states of undress. Vigorously supported a pedophile for senate. Provides cover for men who beat their women.

    “Trump to hold public signing of ‘Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse’ law”

    https://www.rawstory.com/2018/02/trump-hold-public-signing-protecting-young-victims-sexual-abuse-law-wife-beating-allegations/

  54. 54

    Those Norwegians can sure x-country ski.. Drumpf wants more of them – maybe Norwegian immigrants can then harvest pomegranates for the Resnicks in Lost Hills, CA.

  55. 55

    We were discussing desalination. Here’s the latest on a possible breakthrough:

    It all comes down to metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), an amazing next generation material that have the largest internal surface area of any known substance. The sponge like crystals can be used to capture, store and release chemical compounds. In this case, the salt and ions in sea water…

    “The prospect of using MOFs for sustainable water filtration is incredibly exciting from a public good perspective, while delivering a better way of extracting lithium ions to meet global demand could create new industries for Australia,”…

    “Produced water from shale gas fields in Texas is rich in lithium. Advanced separation materials concepts, such as this, could potentially turn this waste stream into a resource recovery opportunity.”

    Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-02-efficient-sustainable-filter-salt-metal.html#jCp

    Scientific breakthroughs like this are more than welcome especially at a time when greed-driven corps whose stocks fill the portfolios of greedheads like boob ruthlessly pursue the privatization of water resources.

  57. 57

    Solar costs keep dropping:

    Getting back to the actual price of solar modules today — the topic of this story, after all — Jenny just sent me this update: “We have pegged the typical factory-gate module price at the end of 2017 at about 33 cents per W, meaning a price around 37 cents per W in most markets. About 98GW was installed in 2017.”

    Remember, that’s after a “bullish” 2015 projection that solar modules would drop from 62¢/watt in 2015 to 21¢/watt by 2040.

    https://cleantechnica.com/2018/02/11/solar-panel-prices-continue-falling-quicker-expected-cleantechnica-exclusive/

    From 62 cents in 2015 to 37 cents today.. No end in sight and that’s not even counting possible breakthroughs being developed that may match or even exceed the performance of silicon while being much cheaper.

    As Tony Seba would say: deep water oil and gas, tar sands – GONE..

  58. 58

    “White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Sunday fired back at Senator Kirsten Gillibrand over sexual misconduct allegations against President Trump. ‘Those accusers have had their day on your network and elsewhere for a long time. They were trotted out again late last year. And I don’t need a lecture from Kirsten Gillibrand or anybody else who protected and defended and harbored a sitting president who had sexual relations in the Oval Office and was impeached for lying,’ Conway told George Stephanopoulos on ABC News’ ‘This Week.’”

    https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/02/11/conway-fires-back-at-sen-gillibrand-trumps-accusers-have-had-their-day/23358719/

    Roger Rabbit Commentary: Gee, Kellyanne, don’t get your panties in a twist. All we’re asking for is parity.

  59. 59

    @5 To an economist it’s the same. So rationally a politician should not care. A smart politician will pick B as the wage increase will show up before the inflation actually occurs or before voters will notice the inflation.

  60. 60

    @13 You do leave a lot out though. The greatest opponent for renewables are power companies. Many are working against having renewables as part of their power infrastructure, because they make money producing power, and not much money on the distributing power. When homeowners or business produce excess power the power company has to reduce their power bill, and then send the power elsewhere. This really does not cost the power company all that much, but they don’t make as much as they did not produce the power. When working property it does mean a more robust power distribution system that would be more resilient during natural and man made events, but that requires investment in a not so glamorous and not very profit producing part of the business. Though finally batteries are coming on line that are better than coal power plants that have to be kept running even when the power they are producing cannot be used, or stored. Still this is what power consumers pay for. So they can make that first cup of coffee in the morning or afternoon or night.
    Coal is cheap and it will be some time before the last coal plant closes if ever, and coal will still be needed for coke production, and for the occasional steam train, and the English love the tradition of coal fireplaces, as they don’t have all that many forests anymore. Nothing more nostalgic for the English than that coal burning fireplace in the middle of the waiting area in the train station. And coal is cheap. And if you are the Russians who would benefit from global warming should they not be building more coal plants? The Soviet dream of wheat fields in Siberia coming to fruition.

  61. 61

    @14 I’m sure Jean Raspail will thank you when the royalty checks come rolling in.

    Oddly “The Cat in the Hat” is not mentioned in the article and I’m sure that book is also one of Mr. Bannon’s favorite books, if only because it was read by a loving father to his son when he was unable to be home, because he was being a patriot in the well of the Senate. It was a pretty good reading of the Cat in the Hat.

    In any case there is nothing in the article that suggests Bannon even owns a copy of the book the author lambasts. Not saying he has a copy of the “Cat in the Hat” still this American novel of epic renown could well be in the mans personal library.

  62. 62

    @15 Then again the closure and movement away from coal has little to do with power companies wanting to be more green, but the underlying trends. The movement away from coal has gotten a mild boost from global warming, but frankly it’s just a advertising campaign by these companies to garner public admiration on something they would do anyways. That is not good if you work in the coal industry. Best to move into renewable energy, whisky production or something else. Meanwhile find an owl to blame all the economic hardship on, and feel a little better.

    While I do believe that human beings are contributing to global warming. I don’t believe global warming is the great bugaboo some are making it. Some are using the science to political advantage, and frankly what a lot of politicians are missing is that there are winners and loser in climate change. Why should the potential winners go along? And they can easily build more coal plants like China has done for the past two decades, even while expanding renewables for power.

    Dangers exist with global warming, but some of those dangers are being over hyped. When people in a democracy learn they have been swindled or a lot of money has been spent to little effect then they do get upset enough to actually change out politicians.

    PS Coal is used to make concrete.

  63. 63

    @16 The technology has been kicking around for a long time, and politics has kept the US Energy Department from building such a plant. The big question is whether you support breeder reactors that would turn waste into usable fuel for reactors. Without breeder reactors you have to continue to mine for new uranium. There is plenty of usable fuel in the waste of current reactors, and this would reduce or eliminate the amount of waste that has to be stored for decades. Of course you support the plutonium reactor?

  64. 64

    @18 Sounds like a hit new TV show on Fox. Maybe a little like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Will it star Melania? Hmmm guess that is a question for the producers. It could be huge!!!

  65. 65

    @13 I guess you do like breeder reactors. The type of reactor you are referring to can be used as that.

    Still you are not representing how it works properly. You said that the molten salt would just go into a special area if there were an accident and I wondered about that. So I looked up what a molten sodium reactor is on Wikipedia. I found out experimental ones have been run. Also the safety is inherent in the design. Since they are high temperature and low pressure, should there be an accident because of the low pressure there should be no breaching of the reactor chamber, and temperatures can remain high and the coolant which can include the fuel will simply remain in the closed reactor. With the coolant and fuel mixed in the reactor at high temperature no meltdown will occur. Unless Hal is sabotaging the reactor and adding pressure in some manner or breaching the reactor.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten_salt_reactor

  66. 66

    @19 Sounds great for Fox or the History Channel. Maybe HA Heroes have a show here to propose. We just have to remember the secret of a hit on the History channel is the suspense like when the metal detector guy finds something and it’s interesting and and and cut to commercial!!! Then redo the find and cut to commercial again. Then cutting to the huge piece of machinery and well folks if you want to find out what was so exciting to the metal detector guy tune in next week. Hey it always worked on Rocky and Bullwinkle, but you found out by the end of the show.

  68. 68

    @22 Meanwhile in West Virginia, Virginia, Colorado, Kentucky and other states with coal workers who actually vote, and used to be solidly Democratic because of well Unions. They do vote, so what Trump is doing boils down to good politics whether or not he thinks coal is coming back or not. When he puts a coal boiler into the White House then everyone will know he loves those coal miners whether or not a coal boiler goes into Trump Tower.

  70. 70

    58,
    “Sekshyuwull Reelayshuns”?
    Oooooh.

    Vas der any pooosee grahbink? Spankink. PeePee?
    Asking for Melania.

  71. 71

    @68 Trump gets their votes, and the coal miners get nothing in return. Sounds like a typical Trump business deal. Sadly, there are still folks who fall for this guy’s conjobs. Probably the same suckers who keep the Nigerian and IRS scams alive.

  72. 72

    @22 If coal is so doomed just where are we going to get coke, and what about all those concrete plants that burn coal?

  73. 73

    @71 So you are saying Democrats are gong to do nothing to get their votes. No support for their union. Democratic party cannot be for the working man? Or can’t be associated with coal? Even though Dems in coal states vote, and the Dems voted in vote to support coal production. There is a why these coal workers voted the way they did. Corporate Democrats. You are one of those Corporate Dems and there is no difference between and the Republicans. At least when they vote for a Republican they know they are getting the real thing. Maybe he helps them, but if he doesn’t it’s the same lip service they have gotten from the Dems. Those workers and the Unions have put a shot across the bow of the Democratic party and yet you seem to have missed it.

  74. 74

    @23 And don’t forget about the mining and all the fuel that involves and then there is processing the uranium that is power intensive. At least when you recycle used fuel in a breeder reactor those costs have already been paid.

    RR can use those arguments in attacking tree farms for paper and falsely stating that paper contributes to CO2 then I can point out all the CO2 used in the mining and creation of fuel for reactors. Which is an energy intensive process. Just saying nuclear energy is not CO2 neutral, unless you reprocess the fuel we already have which is enough to tide us through for a long time with no further mining.

    And the original design of the sodium based reactor was to be a breeder reactor.

  75. 75

    Shortbus! Wants to talk energy policy!

    “The greatest opponent for renewables are power companies. Many are working against having renewables as part of their power infrastructure,”

    Agreed. Florida is notorious for utilities that HATE renewables..

    But not all utilities are like that… Why? Because every day renewables pencil out better. Sure sucks for coal…

    “Coal is cheap ”

    How much did this cost shortbus?

    “it will be some time before the last coal plant closes if ever,”

    How long did it take for 266 coal plants to be retired, shortbus?

    “Nothing more nostalgic for the English than that coal burning fireplace in the middle of the waiting area in the train station.”

    Blah, blah, blah. What a romantic. You still use a rotary dial, shortbus?

    “I’m sure Jean Raspail will thank you when the royalty checks come rolling in.”

    Not nearly as much as he appreciates chan 8, stormfront, vdare and devotees of Jared Taylor.

    “it was read by a loving father to his son when he was unable to be home, because he was being a patriot in the well of the Senate. ”

    Awwww.. How sweet of you to appreciate the most disliked man in the US Senate. Even a porcupine needs love and Ted Khruzz has at least one fanboy.

    “Then again the closure and movement away from coal has little to do with power companies wanting to be more green, but the underlying trends. ”

    You’re learning shortbus. Yes, coal is outmoded fuel that’s quickly losing to natural gas and increasingly more competitive renewables. Xcel energy found that out quick when they put out bids to replace two old coal plants. Bids per kw-hr keep coming in lower and lower. China and India are way ahead of you shortbus.

    ” I don’t believe global warming is the great bugaboo some are making it.”

    Keep sticking your head in the sand.. Luckily more and more are not paying attention.

    “Of course you support the plutonium reactor?”

    Nope.

    “You said that the molten salt would just go into a special area if there were an accident and I wondered about that.”

    Look up “molten salt reactor freeze plug” genius..

    “WE WON GOLD IN THE MENS LUGE!!!!”

    Wrong again. Chris Mazdzer got the silver..

    “When he puts a coal boiler into the White House then everyone will know he loves those coal miners whether or not a coal boiler goes into Trump Tower.”

    It doesn’t matter.. Coal has no chance against cheap, plentiful natural gas and renewables that cost less and less.. The US is now EXPORTING liquid natural gas. Ever hear of the free market? The Chinese and the Indians don’t like their air polluted by dirty coal any more than we do.

    Since you’re denser than cubic zirconia, I’ll go back to just scrolling past you.

  76. 76

    So local RW media hyped that big UW college republicans Patriot Prayer rally for weeks. Free speech or something and going to be a wake up for the Universtiy leftists to see how strong we GOPers are.

    And about 30 people showed up.

    That must be demoralizing. You have an entire line up of radio shows advertising it all week.

    Couple dozen showed up.

  77. 77

    @31 It’s drought. El Nino has this effect in Southern Africa. As far as climate change one could argue it’s population increase that is causing the drought, one would have an equal amount of evidence as to the climate change evidence, and might actually be addressing the real issue of population growth.

    Cape Horn with a population could arguable be a city that should not exist. Something like LA or Las Vegas. Neither should exist as cities of millions of people, perhaps towns of thousands.

  78. 78

    @75 Coal in the United States and most of the world is based on market economies. They have not all closed. Many that have closed were at the end of their expected life or had gone well past that life. We are not a government controlled economy so our government cannot pick the winners and loser, and yet China which is a communist economy has built a lot of coal plants far surpassing any CO2 reduction by the closing of our 266. Also with coal we are not just talking about energy. You don’t produce coke you don’t produce steel, iron, or concrete. so some coal jobs are not going away. It’s an ugly, dirty industry whose product is best left in the ground., but I don’t say that just because that coal is a great carbon sink. It is. Only I know human beings will put human beings and themselves first when push comes to shove.
    We could have plenty of type IV nuclear power plants only politics makes it hard or impossible to build them in the US. And yes PSE does pay attention to politics. I get their we are supporting renewables, because you the customer has told us too, and boy aren’t we fortunate to live here in the Pacific Northwest with all those hydro electric power opportunities. There are costs associated with those dams. Grizzly bears, black bears, and deer don’t do well in valleys full of water that used to be their home. And no we don’t get more salmon out of the deal. And again it’s not our government driving those dams, just the power industry, the agricultural industry, ect.

    Yet out of all this you are managing to miss my main point. That Union members do vote. Coal workers in those places that ther are coal mines do vote. Does the Democratic party want the union vote or not. If you really want to shut down coal mining, then you support shutting down the concrete industry, and the steel energy. Is climate change so important that you loose those voters whos support for the environment is broad, but not at all very deep?
    Energy from wind and sun do mean jobs. Many long term jobs, Unlike pipelines which offer few jobs once the pipeline is built. Pipelines are the safest, most efficient means of moving gas or liquids. Still there are politics involved. Or no as most pipelines are way off of most American’s radar unless gas goes up at the pump, and the local station needs a scapegoat.

  79. 79

    @38 Of course a scared government will need an FBI to enforce population control.

  80. 80

    @60 “The greatest opponent for renewables are power companies. Many are working against having renewables as part of their power infrastructure, because they make money producing power, and not much money on the distributing power.”

    1/29/2018 ENR – page 12 – “Lack of Transmission Lines Slows Corporate Energy Goals”

    First sentence – “More big corporations are looking to meet up to 100% renewable energy goals, but antiquated grid operator planning has delayed construction of transmission infrastructure that is putting the targets at risk”

    “Coal has trains [and] natural gas has pipelines, but wind needs new infrastructure.”

    The article talks about how Texas (of all States), has invested in 3,600 miles of transmission lines…”moving wind generation from West Texas to load centers in East Texas.” …..Cost – $7-billion, paid for by the Customers.

    @68
    Drumpf doesn’t have to put a coal boiler into the White House. Why not retrofit his golf carts to burn on coal instead – that would make a greater statement.

    Dec. 11/18 2017 ENR, Page 60, “Data and Renewables Drive Power Changes – coal and natural gas take a back seat as solar , wind costs dive”, by Scott Lewis.

    ” The growth of renewable generation is helping to feed the ever-increasing global demand for power using the renewable sources that are expected to comprise two-thirds of new generation by 2040, according to” IEAWEO (substituted for full name for briefness) “, released in November.

    Solar, wind and other renewable sources have become the lowest-cost alternative for most countries, supplanting coal plants. Coal has added 900 GW of new electric capacity since 2000, but coal is expected to supply only 400 GW through 2040, as even India and China turn towards renewable sources.”

    Article also states – In Europe, renewables will account for 80% of new generation by 2030 according to IAE. The article goes further to state that “The energy rush has set off”, with gas and oil companies acquiring new firms to “differentiate their services and portfolio”.

    Further it states that digital technology and date will transform the energy market. Helping is development of cheaper battery storage which will grow from 5 GW-hours to more than 300 GW-hours nad 125 GW capacity by 2030. And it talks about Elon Musk’s lithium-ion system recently completed in South Australia that will store power generated from a wind farm that has the capacity to power 30,000 homes (page 4 of same ENR Edition), as well as China pushing energy storage with two projects in developed (said to be giant).

    But the article does close with saying that coal will still play a role, as world energy demand is expected to grow by 30% by 2040. But new coal plants are being built to burn fuel cleaner.

  81. 81

    71,
    Who gives a fuck. In the whole of the United States there might be as many as 20,000 coal miners? 40,000? Solar employs more. Renewables overall employ a helluvalot more. And all without black lung and roasting alive in mine fires.

  82. 82

    Abigail is stuck in the past – not very progressive speech form him. Whether it be related to population or wasted use, or climate change, etc (or all of the above)….should you not do something that would be beneficial and be part of a solution? An answer that is the solution to more than one problem? Is going Nuclear a solution to the energy needs if there is no water to cool the reactor? Well you need no fucking reactor with solar and wind, Shortbus. Do we not make things better, or do you just throw up your arms in the air and say fuck it.

    Coal is dirty – every knows that, even you…..do you like to keep a dirty fucking house?

    Bottom line – strides are being made with renewable energy, with lower costs and newer advances in storage. Why not make a better investment and create jobs. Why not accelerate the advances? And more and more people and companies are realizing the potential and the advantages and want to move in that direction, even power companies.

    Furthermore,

    Advances are being made to erect mid rise bldgs without the use of structural steel, but with timber. So instead of working thru problems with solutions, Shortbus only makes problems. Republican = No Solutions.

  83. 83

    @80 It’s not what they say, it’s what they do that matters. If they aren’t willing to replace aging transmission lines, they aren’t willing to put in a distribution network that will support renewable energy.

  84. 84

    @83 and what did Texas, of all states, do? Invested 7 Billion Dollars. 3,600 miles.

    Maybe they need a wall. To keep them Mexicans from the Water, here up North of Mexico.

    The article talked about other people getting on board.

    And transmission lines are antiquated and need to be replaced and can not meet the growing energy needs with or without coal.

  85. 85

    And what’s the cost to construct a Nuke Plant or Coal Plant…..shouldn’t that weigh into the equation….or is it just Drill, Baby Drill….Frack, Baby Frack (causing tremors and wasted and polluted water).

    I see it’s not necessarily what is smarter with you that makes most sense.

  86. 86

    Indiana shoveled money at Carrier and they still sent jobs to Mexico.

    Drumpf will shovel money and other favors to coal and coal will still be used less and less because natural gas and renewables are better and cheaper at generating electricity.

    It just doesn’t matter how much right wingers love coal – they can’t say they love the free market and then try to tweak it their way. They can’t have it both ways.

  87. 87

    Something tells me you would never see Shorbus’ face next to Elon Musks. Shorbus probably has a different brain from his too, one that is stuck in the past and trapped in some fantasy-fiction world.

  89. 89

    @88

    After getting the next issue of ENR I’ll let you know what the leaders of the Building Trades think of it…..so far the consensus is that anything is greater than nothing but it doesn’t go far enough….I’m sure that will not change. I could post some comments from some of the articles that have already been written about it. Of which, each article pretty much states that he hasn’t addressed it quick enough.

    Pretty much what your linked article states.

  90. 90

    Of course the small not insignificant fact that PSE is owned by Macquararie Group, An Australian company really puts a hole in some of the arguments put up on here.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macquarie_Group

    No indication of how the Aussies feel about doing nuclear power. For you capitalists who think PSE is swell now you know where to put your stock purchases. Hard to make national power decisions with foreign players in the mix.

  91. 91

    @74

    I’m all for breeder reactors, never said I wasn’t.

    Get rid of coal miners, transition them to uranium mining.

    Some cement plants burn tires as fuel, like the one on the Duwamish river in Seattle. They just have to have emissions scrubbers (like they have for coal plant).

    Nice that you took some time to read up at Wikipedia, I’m sure you are ready to apply to the NRC.

    How many reactor has the U.S. Air Force designed, built, and maintained?

  92. 92

    @90
    “No indication of how the Aussies feel about doing nuclear power.”

    Well, if you think of the project in South Australia that I mention above, that powers 30,000 homes….I bet that that would tell you a bit on how Aussies feel about doing nuclear power.

    Every time I read articles on the cost over runs and schedule delays associated with nuclear plants I would think that many people would be opposed to them, never mind the risks associated with them and the dilemma of how to store the waste safely.

  93. 93

    An Australian company really puts a hole in some of the arguments put up on here.

    Big yaaaaawwwn… We get our natgas bill from PSE – the gas furnace is shutoff from mid April to late Oct…

    Electric is from Seattle City Light.. Bills could be lower. We’re handling it – nothing a bit more energy efficiency couldn’t remedy.

  95. 95

    91,
    Roypublican standards are just different.

    If their Pissident is briefed with coloring books and Rick Perry can be their Sec. of Energy then I’m sure Shortbus qualifies for their NRC.

  96. 96

    SO now we know where all those Trump rumors came from. Even the NY Times is trying to spin this for DUMMOCRETINS… https://hotair.com/archives/2018/02/09/u-s-spies-paid-100000-dirt-connecting-trump-russia/

    Can you say COLLUSION?

    How about Mark Warner HA DUMMOCRETIN FOOLS? https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/02/warners-text-messages-with-russian-oligarch-raise-more-questions/

    Remember, Mark Warner only fessed up to the Senate after being caught. Of course the libtard erags are all atwitter about this!

    Till Next Time!

    Now Watch!

  97. 97

    SO now we know where all those Trump rumors came from. Even the NY Times is trying to spin this for DUMMOCRETINS… https://hotair.com/archives/2018/02/09/u-s-spies-paid-100000-dirt-connecting-trump-russia/

    Can you say COLLUSION?

    How about Mark Warner HA DUMMOCRETIN FOOLS? https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/02/warners-text-messages-with-russian-oligarch-raise-more-questions/

    Remember, Mark Warner only fessed up to the Senate after being caught. Of course the libtard erags are all atwitter about this!

    Till Next Time!

    Now Watch!

  101. 101

    I’m glad the loon’s friends didn’t lynch him. I was getting worried about that.

  102. 102

    Sweet how the loon shows up with a double-post head explosion of HATE! Looks to me like the loon might be dialed in to “Peak Hate” again.

  103. 103

    The loon really, really hates Mirai Nagasu. Says she dilutes the whiteness of our Olympic Team.

  104. 104

    Too bad there isn’t an Olympic sporting event for head explosions. The loon’s double and triple post head explosions could get him gold easy.

  105. 105

    There’s clearly a whole lot we libbies have to learn about the new media magic being performed daily by Roypublicans.

    In one week it’s gone from a simple black eye to a staff filled with wife beaters and their accomplices and the party leaders calling abused women liars. The tax cuts and shutdown battle are down the memory hole. And U.S. Olympic gold is being tainted with more white privilege.

  106. 106

    @90 Mark Sidran was the swing vote on the state utilities commission that sold out local PSE ratepayers and shareholders to an Aussie hedge fund. Before that, as Seattle city attorney, he harassed homeless people. Fortunately he’s out of public office now.

  107. 107

    @94

    The problem with how the US nuclear industry has been run is allowing it to be run by commercial enterprises that put profit before safety and environmental concerns. Some things don’t scale well and “bigger isn’t always better.”

    Look at the US Navy, they have a heck of a reactor program. Maybe the answer isn’t huge reactor sites like Satsop and Handford, but smaller power generating stations.

    The movie “Back to the Future” with its “Mr. Fusion” had the right idea (but the wrong reaction process).

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