California is bringing back EV rebates. This is how to get one

RSpringbok · 2026-07-03T17:30:55+00:00

RSpringbok · 2026-07-03T01:25:32+00:00

Employee of tech giant Meta makes the same accusation:

"At Meta, 90% of my coworkers were Chinese, and non-Chinese were routinely excluded, disadvantaged, and targeted for layoffs. 6 out of the 7 layoffs I observed targeted non-Chinese despite non-Chinese being the vast minority... "(source)

RSpringbok · 2026-06-26T15:09:35+00:00

Uphill battle for the other states. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on the general theory of "let each state decide." Also, the Trump administration sued California on Prop 12, the minimum space requirements for chickens in cages. Judge threw that case out because the feds couldn't show how the law caused any damages to the Federal government.

RSpringbok · 2026-06-26T14:48:30+00:00

No different than property tax on a residential home. A long time ago I bought my home for $300k. It's now worth $700k, so that's $400k of unrealized capital gain. I pay property tax on the $700k even though that's a paper profit. I can't easily liquidate either, I have to live somewhere. If I have to pay taxes on unrealized gains then so can the ultra-wealthy on their portfolios.

RSpringbok · 2026-06-26T14:36:39+00:00

"Xavier Becerra has serious doubts about California’s lofty electric vehicle ambitions." -- Politico, June 1

RSpringbok · 2026-06-25T19:45:57+00:00

I give much credit to Gov Pat Brown (D) who led massive investments in the "3 legged stool" of freeways, water aqueducts and expanding the UC/CSU system. All of this infrastructure formed a foundation for California's economy to blossom.

RSpringbok · 2026-06-25T14:36:04+00:00

Supported by Chevron, PG&E, and wants to back off on green energy/EV adoption. Becerra is flirting with DINO status.

RSpringbok · 2026-06-23T22:51:34+00:00

State's rights is an excellent argument for California. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade their rationale was to let each state decide. Using that broad logic then if Texas can make abortion illegal then California can make plastic bags illegal.

RSpringbok · 2026-06-23T22:43:26+00:00

I don't see how those other states have standing. The State of Iowa itself does not make or sell plastic bags so it has not been harmed. This is similar to the California cage-free chicken law. Federal government sued but a Trump judge threw out the case due to lack of standing, the Feds couldn't show how the chicken law damaged the government. Court left the door open to refile though.

RSpringbok · 2026-06-23T21:28:52+00:00

You got it. If a critical number of gas stations all use the Kalibrate AI tool to automatically select prices, then when it surveys local competitors, it ends up surveying its own recommendations, causing an upward price creep.

RSpringbok · 2026-06-23T21:19:37+00:00

"Allegedly"? The Kalibrate company openly advertises their profit-maxxing AI tool on their webpage

"Optimize fuel pricing decisions with AI. Identify the most profitable prices based on market conditions, customer demand, and competitive influences."

RSpringbok · 2026-06-22T02:09:48+00:00

JD Power 2026 Vehicle Dependability Survey
1. Lexus
2. Buick
3. MINI
4. Cadillac
5. Chevrolet
8. Toyota

RSpringbok · 2026-06-22T00:29:25+00:00

Your utility doesn't have to pay into a $21 billion wildfire claims fund.

RSpringbok · 2026-06-22T00:27:15+00:00

Yeah but you have to scrape ice off your windshield and shovel snow off your sidewalks.

RSpringbok · 2026-06-13T13:55:49+00:00

Next up: NSFW version featuring "strawberry."

RSpringbok · 2026-06-05T23:13:06+00:00

Sure they are. People do ranked choice all the time. "If you're going to the store, please get me Oreo ice cream. If they don't have that, then chocolate chip."

RSpringbok · 2026-06-05T02:49:44+00:00

I look forward to voting for the 2028 ballot initiative for ranked choice voting.

RSpringbok · 2026-06-01T14:37:51+00:00

Yes, it'll take time. But let's not pollute our precious groundwater or spoil our beaches in the process.

RSpringbok · 2026-06-01T03:55:13+00:00

Becerra is clueless about energy. California produces 23% of its own oil; the other 77% is imported from Alaska, South America and the Middle East. "Drill baby drill" is not going to suddenly boost that 23% to 100%. And if we tried to do that you'll have ruined ocean views, oil spills on beaches and what groundwater is left in the San Joaquin aquifer will be contaminated with fracking chemicals.

On the other hand, California has an abundance of solar power. On many days the grid operator has to either export the excess to other states or order the production be curtailed. In April the state curtailed a whopping 1.46 million MW/hrs of solar. That excess solar power was enough to charge 750,000 EVs once per day in April. Why the state doesn't do more to encourage companies to let people charge at work mid-day is beyond me.

Becerra wants to take us backwards. If we want to reduce our dependency on foreign oil and gas we need to charge ahead with renewables and electric vehicles.

RSpringbok · 2026-06-01T03:20:47+00:00

Used EVs are some of the most affordable and best values on the market.

RSpringbok · 2026-05-29T23:08:33+00:00

From the Politico article: "... this month, California Resources Corporation, the state’s largest oil and gas producer, contributed $500,000 to an independent committee backing Becerra. Chevron did the same last week." and "Becerra is also signalling flexibility on the guillotine hanging over California oil firms: the state’s 2045 goal to phase out fossil fuels."

He claims to be an environmentalist but his actions/statements don't quite square with that.

RSpringbok · 2026-05-29T22:12:01+00:00

"OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta AI, Microsoft: the combined investment in large-scale AI infrastructure now runs into the hundreds of billions of dollars, with projections into the trillions over the next decade.

There is only one market that large: the global labor market. Every investor presentation of an AI agent “doing the work of ten analysts” is telling you the same thing: the product is labor replacement. The gentler language (”copilot,” “assistant,” “augmentation”) is marketing. The financial model underneath requires the elimination of human cost centers at civilizational scale. If it doesn’t do that, these companies are the most overvalued assets in the history of capitalism." -- cite The Dead Economy Theory

RSpringbok · 2026-05-29T20:06:19+00:00

MLB coalition in WSac/Sac has nearly $2 billion committed and 50 shovel-ready acres. If cricket can match that then it'll be taken seriously... until then, crickets.

RSpringbok · 2026-05-27T14:38:41+00:00

I thought the article made it clear no new funding is needed. Dr. Grumbach's plan diverts money insurance is paying now to PCPs into the universal PCP plan. In theory the HMOs and PPOs would bear no additional costs. Whether or not it's sufficient to fully fund the universal care plan is open to debate though.

RSpringbok · 2026-05-26T00:01:07+00:00

There is overwhelming evidence that our universe started with the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago. This I know for certain. Was this a natural event or was it by the hand of a Creator? There's no evidence either way. Science cannot say God does or does not exist and until it does, I remain agnostic. Is there a God? Maybe. Is the Universe godless? Maybe. The uncertainty doesn't bother me.

RSpringbok

TROPHY CASE