The Saturday Page -- Nothing About The Bakken -- September 1, 2018

Governor Andrew Cuomo: "America never was that great."

Daughter Meghan McCain: "America was always great."

Yes, it was. Back in the day. But that was two decades ago.

Candidate Donald Trump: "Make America great again."

President Donald Trump: "Making American great again."

Eulogies say more about the eulogists than the deceased.

And Tuesday morning, Senator John McCain -- one of the Keating 5 -- may he rest in peace -- will be six feet under and Donald Trump will still be president. The Keating 5? They all skated. War heroes. Integrity. Transparency. Honesty. Only investigation? A jury of their peers: US Senate Ethics Committee.

 

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Micro-Dosing

LSD. Story here. Silicon Valley (?) getting ready to do "formal"testing. We talked about this earlier this year.

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Global Warming Benefits Oil Companies

Story here. If Arctic shipping lanes stay open longer, Russian NGL tankers will save shipping costs.

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Deep Pockets

Friends In High Places

PG&E on the hook for billions in damages. Without a bailout, many think PG&E could go "bankrupt."

California Democrats have answer. A bailout. In case the paywall prevents you from getting to the story, here's the lede:

California lawmakers approved legislation late Friday night to rescue the state’s largest utility by letting it bill ratepayers for some of the billions in liability it faces following 2017’s catastrophic wildfires.

The legislation, opposed by some consumer advocates, would give PG&E Corp. a path to securitize the potential billions of dollars in legal damages and other costs stemming from the deadly blazes that swept California’s wine country last October, killing more than 40, and destroying or damaging around 21,000 homes and 2,800 businesses.

State investigators have concluded that equipment from PG&E’s Pacific Gas & Electric Co. unit caused 16 of those blazes so far, and the utility has said it expects to incur losses related to at least 14 of them.

PG&E faces at least 780 civil lawsuits brought by individuals, municipalities and insurance companies alleging that it was negligent and seeking to recoup money for fire-related damage and deaths. The liability exposure has raised concerns among analysts and others that PG&E may be forced to file for bankruptcy.

Wow.

Can't wait to read the comments.

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iPhones? Too Expensive?

One of my pet peeves while watching CNBC -- the meme / trope that iPhones are too expensive and that Apple needs to introduce a low-end model for those who can't afford expensive iPhones. What a bunch of crap:

• iPhone 8 for $8/month at Sprint
• less expensive than the "throw-aways" at Walmart

My wife loves here iPhone 6 and I love my SE which is even older. The iPhone is an incredibly good iPhone and has full access to the Apple ecosystem. Anyone who says iPhones are too expensive are living under the Geico rock.

Actually, this Labor Day weekend -- even better deals .... as in free. What a great country! What's not to like:

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Convalescing

After his recent head trauma, Corky is resting comfortably and convalescing.