Shoutouts and Kudos
Chaka Khan, Simple Minds, and Tears for Fears
Shoutouts and Kudos of the Week:
(and in no particular order)
Shout out to Virginia Democratic leaders House Speaker Don Scott and Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell in this WVTF piece by Brad Kutner:
Democratic leadership signals willingness to reexamine Virginia Clean Economy Act
PJM is the company responsible for connecting every other power company in the region, including Virginia. His (PJM’s Asim Haque) presentation showed projections for power demand back to 2020 when the VCEA was passed, then about 150,000 megawatts. Now, in 2025, that projection is closer to 210,000 megawatts.
Further good reporting from Dwayne Yancey at Cardinal News:
A rewrite of the Clean Economy Act seems increasingly likely. This may pose hard questions on all sides. The law mandates a carbon-free electric grid in Virginia by 2050. Republicans never liked the bill, but now even some Democrats are saying it should be tweaked.
“As we look at our energy infrastructure and future growth everyone involved needs to take a little humble pie and realize we can’t let perfect be the enemy of the good,” said Del. Michael Webert, R-Fauquier County. “There are a whole lot of competing interests and it’s complicated.”
What’s forced this reevaluation of the Clean Economy Act, especially on the Democratic side? The world has changed.
“The demand created by data centers changes everything,” says state Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville.
Kudos to the Speaker and Majority Leader for recognizing the math needs more mathing.
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine for advancing the debate on use of military force. Excellent floor speech on the Constitutional powers of the President and Congress:
Well worth the watch.
The WSJ Ed Board disagreed A Senate War Powers Stunt - Tim Kaine’s resolution is gesture politics that accomplishes nothing
False! Kaine has been very consistent on this issue regardless of the party in the White House and having a debate on this issue is completely within the realm of the U.S. Senate.
George Friedman over at Geopolitical Futures writes War and the Constitution
Formal declarations of war have become globally obsolete. For the past 80 years, presidents from both parties have initiated wars – some successful, others not; some lasting hours, others years. Congress has been sidelined not by conspiracy but by the speed and complexity of modern warfare. It is dangerous to allow any part of the Constitution to be ignored because of the precedent it sets concerning what should be the sacred foundation of the republic. The clause on declarations of war must be amended as the Constitution allows. However, returning the war-making decision to Congress is likely impossible. Time constraints and the need for secrecy make it unworkable. One possibility, granted a poor one, is that Congress could create a special committee of a small handful of members to represent it at meetings dealing with the war option. But war has become so complex, and international relations so dynamic, that it is difficult to see this as a solution for many reasons.
However BIG Kudos to the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board for dropping the hammer on New York and national Democrats on governing large cities following the NYC Democratic primary: How Democratic Failure Made Mamdani - Andrew Cuomo’s policies planted the seeds of his own defeat.
The failure of Democratic urban governance is one of the tragedies of 21st-century America. Mr. Mamdani’s ideas are bound to fail, but it’s not surprising that Democratic voters didn’t trust Mr. Cuomo and the rest of the party establishment to do any better.
Bill Maher, once again, gets a shout out. This time for defending DADs on Father’s Day:
AMEN!
To Babylon Bee for summing up the headlines with their usual good humor:
6. Kudos to Data:
Lastly - here are the top 100 songs from 1985 - yes, FORTY years ago. In the future, researchers will look back and ask, “Just when did Yacht Rock reached its peak?”
Answer: 1985.
Yeah, I feel for those researchers…but these stand out
What are your top 1985 songs?