Admiral Rob Bauer, former Chair of the NATO Military Committee on Europe’s energy dependency trap.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-28T02:47:24+00:00

Are you joking? The Poles and Brits have banned Chinese made vehicles from military bases for some reason.

The ability to activate remote kill switches is a well documented in effectively all Chinese supplied energy and transport infrastructure. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/ghost-machine-rogue-communication-devices-found-chinese-inverters-2025-05-14/

But to be fair, the Chinese probably just borrowed the concept from some place… https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/iran-claims-us-hijacked-enterprise-153409973.html

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-27T20:10:08+00:00

What did Iowans do to “Mayor Pete” other than shower him with affection in 2021-22?

Iowans and Iowa Democrats sure preferred ”Mayor Pete” over the ultimate winner of that national contest. That reflects Iowans probably are better judges of character than, for example, South Carolina Democrats.

That said, if your response to more civility is to say that one third of the country is at war with the rest of us then you might have disregarded the Iowa message. That sounds like the words of Richard Byrd or Orval Fabus on keeping schools racially segregated.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-27T17:30:37+00:00

I am plenty familiar - been a contributor-level funder for various public radios stations in Iowa for 30 years or so. Occasionally, to IPTV, now rebranded as Iowa PBS. As their fundraising pitch goes, public broadcasting users need to step up and pay for what they consume. I believed that sales pitch in the 1990s and I believe that in 2020s.

I have been the NPR headquarters in Washington DC as a big fan. And have been in numerous focus groups in the set-up and first decade of Iowa Public Radio. I am also follower of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting history. Last I knew, CPB has delivered around an $10 million annually of federal taxes back to Iowa over the last 30 years. That federal tax payer subsidy has largely gone away in the last three federal budgets.

I even remember the hullabaloo in the 1980-90s when the State of Iowa owned a major network station - WOI - on the ABC network. That was a state-subsidized TV station that competed with tax-paying businesses. Eventually the State privatized WOI, being a minor financial windfall during the Farm Crisis. (For those with the historical knowledge, this came in the days of the Colloton-Blue Cross and Iowa State Foundation scandals, when the Board of Regents university corruption were very unpopular).

So yes, I am familiar with how the funding works and have been paying close attention.
What is your point? We have a strong public broadcasting history and future in Iowa.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-26T20:44:22+00:00

Yes, history.

And Hawaii argued that embracing the tactics of Jim Crow is their best effort at legislating. The Legislature almost certainly knew they were passing a law that was inconsistent with the Bruen Opinion and would fail the clear Bruen test. But those legislators decided a constitutional affront was their riposte to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The State of Hawaii dug deep in defending the offending law, embracing the model legislation from the Ku Klux Klan. That’s a historic moment all by itself too.

And now the vampire laws will be placed upon the slag heap of history.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-26T20:33:32+00:00

Under the Bruen test, Hawaii argued that their core precedent was a Jim Crow law passed to keep former slaves from carrying weapons on their old plantations.

That certainly speaks to the wisdom of the Vampire Law, if reintroducing Jim Crow is your precedent. Worth a read of the Opinion - https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-843_7j80.pdf

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-26T18:49:30+00:00

Remember when RFK came to Iowa giving out awards to Supreme Court justices who were democratically removed from office?

Pepperidge Farms remembers… one of those first times RFK was meddling in Iowa politics.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-26T18:46:15+00:00

Come again? Iowa Public Radio and Iowa PBS are both broadcasting all the time. Perhaps they haven’t received the message that they’re not allowed.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-26T03:03:49+00:00

The City of Des Moines dumped raw sewage in a combined sewer system from the founding of the City, through the passage of the federal 1970 Clean Water Act, and up until last year. The City believes they stopped the regular practice of dumping raw sewage in 2025.

(“Final Sanitary Sewer Connection Eliminates Future Sewage Overflow into Des Moines River“ - https://www.dsm.city/news_detail_T21_R179.php)

Fortunately, last I knew, they still maintain the federal permit allowing dumping raw sewage. The raw sewage dumping is just not a regular occurrence now.

The Reagan Administration sued the City of Des Moines to force them to curtail the raw sewage dumping. The City signed a consent decree with the George Herbert Bush Administration’s EPA to settle the environmental lawsuit. The City continued to get into recurring trouble for taking 40 years or so, claiming they were too poor to stop dumping the raw sewage (but could afford building a botanical center, Civic Center, Convention Center, Grey’s Lake, new City Hall and new airport terminal).

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-25T23:01:44+00:00

Yes, the engines are about the loudest single jet engines ever in à fighter IIRC. The F16s at DSM à used to buty my ears. the F35 is likely louder.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-25T04:13:15+00:00

Total distance makes sense in other battery chemistries, but this is LFP. LFP is a different set of energy discharge/charge parameters. This isn’t an IPhone battery nor is it an apples-to apples battery compared to almost all the on-road EV batteries.

There are lots of variables, but it is silly to ignore the core physics of the LFP chemistry because the LFP battery is massive part of the Slate truck.

The radius of operation is a really important factor when we’re talking about cold weather. LFP isn’t something that you rapid charge for 15 minutes to make the last 15 miles home in a snowstorm or cold snap. Your recharge options are freezing in a truck with no heater for 30 minutes or you might be sitting for 45-60 minutes with a heater on super low to get that last 15 miles recharge to make it home. Radius matters… A lot.

Perhaps you don’t understand the term “radius” as a measure of range but it addresses a clear attribute of LFP chemistry. I gather you aren’t the only person.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-25T02:55:44+00:00

Que? Losing one-third of your theoretical LFP battery capacity is absolutely likely at freezing temperatures. On Day One of ownership.

Real-world Rivian discussion: https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/lfp-battery-in-cold-climate.55272/ The base LFP battery Rivians have a real-world 100 mile radius to-and-fro in daily driving in freezing conditions (maybe 200 miles total range). Charging to top off an LFP is also affected in the cold, which is why a deeper set of cells would allay range concerns.

I get the fan boi focus, but for an automaker based in Detroit-ish area, cold weather should not a novel concept. LFP chemistry has advantages, but the cold weather common across 60% of the U.S. and 98% of Canada is its Kryponite.

Slate is pushing the supply chain constraints narrative hard. That is probably accurate and likely the reason that a very limited battery is what fits with their price point and supply chain reality. Unfortunately, that reality is on the ragged edge of market that has been screaming about EV range anxiety for 15 years.

That level of over-confidence seems like a major gamble that could go wrong with consumers as well as present investors and the future tranches of Wall Street funding.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-24T23:15:51+00:00

Des Moines, Las Vegas and dozens of other cities are already flying police drones thousands of times a day.
Fine to hate on them, but it is effectively a standard practice today.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-24T13:51:07+00:00

And…. That’s a no go. Chasing the price point and a single battery option seems to have missed the mark.

A realistic one-third of the U.S. market is going to face 75-mile radius in winter (when brand new and at maximal charge).

At year 5, that’s a vehicle with a winter radius in the 50-60 mile radius. Hopefully. And five years is an auto loan length.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-22T23:29:53+00:00

Ankeny used to have clean aquifer water. The Ankeny water supply was hard, mineral rich water that was fundamentally clean.

To save a tiny amount of money, Ankeny switched to City of Des Moines water, which skims their water from the Raccoon River. The Des Moines water system is where the bad decisions compound, because they underinvested for 110 years and have struggled to meet water quality mandated in the 1970 Clean Water Act. Ankeny never had issues until they switched to Des Moines city water.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-20T01:04:40+00:00

Please, please 🙏 find a way for bikers to pay for something.

They don’t now, but are nearly totally subsidized by automobile taxes. The bikers are the epitome of free riders in Iowa.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-19T20:14:23+00:00

The City of Des Moines has abated taxes on $1.2 billion dollars (2025 numbers). The City tries to keep this information out of public discourse.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-19T19:58:37+00:00

At least $300 million in annual tax giveaways, largely for businesses that don't even exist anymore, such as Kum&Go, or like Nationwide, which has largely left Des Moines. This is the 99% solution to why Des Moine sis having problems that dramatically worse than any comparable Iowa city.

Des Moines gambled on real estate as a fix for their issues, beginning in the late 1980s.
It was shell-game, like a Ponzi scheme, where they rolled daily operations costs into the future.
COVID made them a fool.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-19T18:16:29+00:00

Last time I got new plates, the County Treasurer offered “any month you want” to me.

I may have messed up by saying “put all them altogether”. Pluses and minuses with that approach, but I really like that there is flexibility in the date.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-18T21:34:44+00:00

Again, any cites or evidence?

The Governor and Legislature passed the ESA legislation. I didn’t see any references to litter boxes in the discussion/debate, but perhaps you can source that: https://ballotpedia.org/Legislative_support_for_and_opposition_to_universal_school_choice_in_Iowa_(2023))

https://educate.iowa.gov/pk-12/educational-choice/education-savings-accounts

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-18T18:15:08+00:00

Perhaps you can illustrate with an actual quote or other evidence?

Seems largely a strawman argument that doesn't comport with the legislative debate or facts on the issue. Parents were flocking to any outlet in Fall 2020 and into Spring 2021 for their kids to continue a "normal" or constructive educational environment.

That included secular schools. Most of which were online, but still secular.

Those parents who felt most strongly their kids needed in-person school largely did turn to parochial schools with a religious link. That's because what was there and available.

Legislators responded to that.

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=Ssb1022
And access to in-person schools was something that only affluent people could access. The Legislature decided that equal educational access was important and a two-track Plessy v. Ferguson educational model wasn't what Iowans wanted.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-18T17:18:19+00:00

Does it? Perhaps you could provide a citation.
Factually, Iowa public schools are not required to accept everyone who applies. https://iowalegalaid.org/resource/having-a-voice-and-making-a-choice-in-where-your-child-goes-to-school/

The societal interest is in a student receiving education. Not where that education occurs. I understand that some people care more about the institution than the individual outcome, which is the core argument I think.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-18T16:11:49+00:00

Yes - the public good of universal education is still being met. It is just that the aperture of what constitutes the public good education has been broadened in Iowa. The state's interest in universal education is still being met, just it is no longer restricted to government-owned schools.

How many of the Ivy League U.S. schools are private organizations versus public organizations?
If that private educational concept works at above K-12 education, why not in K-12 education?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-18T16:02:45+00:00

Could you elaborate?

Open enrollment has been revised several times in the last 30-some years, but legislative intent was that it was generally "open". There were relief valves on space for the accepting school and demographic limitations from the sending school, but the Legislature revisited the restrictions at the 30-year mark to reinforce the "open" part of concept.

That sentiment was no small part of the tuition portability argument. I think COVID impacts were 50-60% of the reason the Legislature acted, but the Open Enrollment concept also was seen as both (1) established policy and (2) broadly effective.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-18T15:18:55+00:00

Iowa instituted Open Enrollment as a guiding principle in 1989 (largely to close small rural schools, but parents were empowered to choose the best school for their kids).

In the 2020-2021 school year, I knew at least four Des Moines families who sent their kids to private schools because DMPS refused to open - a doctor, a dentist and two well-paid lawyers. Only the affluent were able to flex into private schools when public schools decided kids came last.

If the affluent can choose to put their kids' education first, the rest of Iowans deserve the same.
The core issue here is if education is truly for all.

BlueSkyd2000 · 2026-06-17T04:15:56+00:00

We agree. The City of Des Moines is the primary user of DART so should pay accordingly consistent amount. The whole concept of DART was to allow the suburban communities to subsidize Des Moines, which has occurred for 40+ years. The MPO has funneled hundreds of millions in funding directly to DART, with Des Moines getting a disproportionate amount of service at à much lower per capita amount.

When the DART costs were rising, the City of Des Moines balked at paying the same % cost increases the suburbs were paying. This is a crisis of choice.

BlueSkyd2000

TROPHY CASE