No Kings Day πŸ‘‘

Is Donald Trump a king? No. Does he want to be a king, maybe but that’s besides the point – he’s one government worker in millions. Granted, he’s an important one with broad responsibilities and powers but ultimately he’s one of many people in the government.

It is obvious that under Donald Trump’s second term he wants to consolidate power in the Presidency, and he wants to enact substantial conservative change using all levers of power at his disposal. He has showed little tendency to shy away from avaliable tools to get his agenda done, indeed he’s in many ways testing the limitations of the laws that govern the office. He doesn’t have anything to loose as he never will be President in a few years, and frankly he’s quite old and probably doesn’t have long left in his life.

All politicians want to get things done with their power. Most don’t want to pull the fire alarm right away or push up against the limits of the institution with fear that they will loose power they need in the future for unforeen circumstances. But it’s obvious Trump doesn’t see that office that way – probably for good reason – as he knows Democrats will probably take the House of Representatives, pick up seats in the US Senate and local offices, and generally be seen on upswing after the 2026 elections. Use it or loose it when comes to power.

Is President Trump reckless with power? Yes, but what does he have to loose? If anything, his experimentation with remaking government in his conservative model will show where the guardrails are actually located, and provide a model for future presidents, assuming Congress doesn’t limit the power of the Presidency which is certain to happen, especially if there is a strong likelihood that a Democrat is likely to be heading back to the White House in 2029.

Trump is a shock to system, but a lot of old things were broken. We can be horrified at changes we are seeing enacted, and in many cases we should be horrified. But also, he’s cleaning out a lot of crap out of government, helping industries that have been too long propped up by subsidies and polices – like solar power and electric cars – which have gotten pretty good and now could use the training wheels kicked off and let industry find ways to make the technology cheaper and better without so much government support. Maybe we could use a bit higher taxes on imports, especially cheap disposable things made by slave labor overseas so that people use less of those things.

I am not saying protests are a bad thing. People should be out there and being heard. I kind of wanted to show up to the No Kings Protest with my Gadsen Flag, because what is any more resisting tyrancy then β€œDon’t Tread on Me”? I think people should be skeptical of government, not only when their party of choice is out of power. While all this whiplash between the policies of each party are problematic from a planning and business perspective, certainly it’s a moderating effect on government, though it seems like conservatives have the upper hand in the sense it’s easier to repeal regulations and policies then enact new ones, which tend to be preferred policy of the left.

Looking back, so much of what dominates the news today will just be seen as noise and as unimportant. Much of people’s panic about the changes enacted will just be that – hardly ripples in the time line of history. Some of Trump’s policies will quietly be accepted by the liberals, and become permanent while others will be rolled back. We will get through it all.

Oh, so you want solar! 🌞

It’s truly amazing how you can click on a few Youtube videos about a topic you are interested in, and quickly the number of advertisers selling you products in a frantic fashion. Lately I’ve gotten interested in learning more of the ins and outs of off-grid solar systems, not the tiny little 12-volt system like I have my truck or the whole-house grid-tied suburbanite systems that the advertisers are hawking left and right.

The truth is I want to understand modern solar technology, and not wokeness. Everybody wants to sell you being woke, glossy plastic packages. I understand basic things like power and current and stored versus used energy. I am familiar with a lot of electronics but I don’t necessarily fully grasp the modern off-grid solar technology, specifically the latest technology. Even if I don’t build my off-grid place tomorrow, I want to know what options are out there as I really don’t want some woke house out in suburbs.

While the marketers and the hawkers of all things plastic don’t want you to know, wokeness is a mental disease put forward by industry to sell more socially-conscious products. But solar energy is real, and it’s a powerful tool to power a homestead, when implemented correctly. You don’t have to live the suburban lifestyle in the big houses with the electrically-mowed lawns and grid-tied solar panels on roof that are totally divorced from reality.