Podcasts about united states one

In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Tina Guilford. She's the Town Clerk in Derry, New Hampshire – home to the largest polling place in the United States (One polling location for 21,000 voters).They spoke about a newer law in New Hampshire that requires all people to provide proof of United States citizenship to register to vote, as well as how this new law has impacted the administration of elections in the state.

Our take on Trump's return to the White House, becoming the 47th President of the United States: One of the main channels that might affect Egypt's economy is the fact that Trump's main economic policies might cause an upward pressure on the USD globally. Trump is pro expansionary fiscal policies, and likely to try to boost businesses in the US through tax cuts. This, in turn, might imply some inflationary pressures, which means the Fed might need to revise its pace of easing, that easing was long awaited for by the EMs in general to relief some of the pressure on their currencies. Besides, Trump's expected trade protectionism through tariffs means lower pressure on US current account, which also might mean a stronger dollar. In addition, such kind of trade policies might trigger some fears of a negative impact on the Chinese economy, causing some risk aversion in global financial markets that will eventually affect EMs cost of borrowing.The head of the EGX said that six temporarily listed companies will offer their shares on the stock exchange during H1 2025. Regarding the offering of the companies “Safi” and “Wataniya”, he said that the procedures for listing the two companies have not yet begun, but we are anticipating them soon.Around 500 Turkish garment manufacturers expressed interest in investing in Egypt last year with the total proposed investments amounting to around USD 5 bn, head of the Federation of Egyptian Industry's apparel chamber said. Some 50 Turkish companies have already taken steps to move their operations over to Egypt, investing around USD 150 mn.Government sources said that the average bond issuances in the international markets range between USD2.5 billion and USD3 billion annually until 2028.The government is in discussions with the private sector to finalize studies on setting a more profitable feed-in tariff rate, the set price that the government pays for the electricity projects generate, for its initial phase of waste-to-energy (WtE) projects, a government source said. The new tariffs aim to ensure a good return on investment for companies currently making investments in the sector.China's JA Solar will supply 1.25 GW worth of solar panels for AMEA Power's Abydos 2 project, located in Aswan's Benban, under an agreement with project builder China Energy Engineering Corporation, the solar panel manufacturer said in a statement. No details about the cost of the agreement were disclosed.UAE-based Nas Investments Holding submitted a mandatory tender offer to acquire an additional 57.5% stake in EGX-listed fertilizers player EgyFert (SMFR). The move would bring Nas' total holding in the company to 90% through the acquisition of an additional 5.5 million shares. If Nas hits its acquisition target, the total transaction would be valued at EGP522.5 million, with Nas paying EGP95.0 per EgyFert share, implying a 2024e annualized PE of 8.5x. Nas did not put forward a minimum acceptance threshold.Misr Petroleum will establish and revamp 70 fueling and service stations nationwide in FY25/26, building on the 33 stations upgraded in 2H24, Misr Petroleum Chairman Mohamed Maged Bakheet said. The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has issued a decision setting new increased minimum capital requirements for companies operating in the ins. sector, in line with the Unified Ins. Law ratified last year. TSWDY reached financial close on its 50MW/100MWh battery energy storage system project in Greece. TEGTS's court date for the 20.0 million sqm third phase Sahl Hasheesh land plot lawsuit is postponed to 28 January 2025.

On today's Equipping You in Grace show, Dave talks with T. David Gordon about help for those struggling with anxiety about their decisions, how we can assess whether our decision making is honoring to the Lord, along with his book, Choose Better: Five Biblical Models for Making Ethical Decisions (P&R, 2024).Enter to win one of three copies of T. David Gordon's book if you live in the United States:One of three copies of Choose Better: Five Biblical Models for Making Ethical DecisionsWhat you'll hear in this episode What the five models are and how they can help the average Christian.Why ethics matter for the Christian and how it relates to decision making.Help for those struggling with anxiety with their decisions.How we can assess whether our decision making is honoring to the Lord or not.Subscribing, sharing, and your feedbackYou can subscribe to Equipping You in Grace via iTunes, Google Play, or your favorite podcast catcher. If you like what you've heard, please consider leaving a rating and share it with your friends (it takes only takes a second and will go a long way to helping other people find the show). You can also connect with me on Twitter at @davejjenkins, on Facebook, or via email to share your feedback.Thanks for listening to this episode of Equipping You in Grace!

In this week's episode of Let's Get Civical, Lizzie and Arden talk about the Supreme Court case, Reynolds v United States! Join them as they talk about the facts of the case, how the justices could have gone a little further separate church and state, but how they were just really weirded out by polygamy!  Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @letsgetcivical, @lizzie_the_rock_stewart, and @ardenjulianna. Or visit us at letsgetcivical.com for all the exciting updates! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live from the Heart of America—I'm Steve Gruber— your Soldier of Truth ready to fight for you from the Foxhole of Freedom—asking the questions you wish you could and nobody else will—giving you better analysis and defending this great nation—this is the Steve Gruber Show—   Here are 3 big things you need to know right now—   Number One— Jason Aldean continues to soar—and the support in the black community is tremendous—CMT will soon join Bud Light and target—and Aldean will be an American Hero!   Number Two— In the completely dishonest pursuit of climate change purity—led by a mob of self righteous white liberals—the next target is your water heater—and your generator—   Number Three— It is starting to feel like the damn is about to break for the Democrats—   They have paraded Joe Biden around for about as long as they can—but his senility is destroying him in public—and worse—his scandal plagued family led by his junkie son Hunter is about destroy him on every level—   It seems that Devon Archer—one of Hunters longtime business associates is ready to come in front of Congress and tell them everything he knows about the millions of dollars flowing to the Biden family including Joe, Hunter, Jim, Ashley and a whole bunch more—   And Archer—according to more remarkable reporting from Miranda Divine at the New York Post—Archer is prepared to blow Joe Bidens claims that he never discussed or knew about Hunters overseas business deals—   In fact—The Post broke the story today—that Hunter would put his dad on speaker phone to impress clients—and it happened at least 2 dozen times that he is aware of—   So that makes maintaining the lie a whole lot harder going forward—    House oversight committee Chair James Comer says he thinks the Biden haul on all the graft could be as high as $100 million dollars—and he thinks the money strong armed out of Ukraine was just one small job along the way—and he thinks this has been the full-time family pursuit ever since Biden became Vice President—  Archer who is 48—is already facing jail time for his role in a $60 million dollar bond fraud—and it would seem to me that he is ready to turn over on anyone he can to save his own ass—   You know why?   Because that is what people do—when the chips are down, survival mode comes out—and people will turn on whoever they have to, in order to save themselves—   Well, look for Devon Archer to step to the microphone with the intent of saving himself from prison—or at least trying to cut the amount of time he is going to be locked up—   One of the meetings Archer is expected to outline—involved Him, Hunter Biden and two top level executives with the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma—that was paying Hunter a million dollars a year plus bonuses—for his consulting—even though he knew nothing about energy and could not speak the language—but I digress—   Archer and Hunter were together in Dubai when they were summoned to an urgent meeting with Vadym Poxharski and Mykola Zlo-chevsky, the owner of Burisma--  a short time later they met at a hotel where the men asked Hunter to call his dad—   Archer will testify that he did—and then put his dad on Speaker Phone—where Hunter introduced them both to His dad—now the President of the United States—   One month after the phone call—the prosecutor in the case—Viktor Shokin was fired—after Joe Biden while in Ukraine now famously threatened to withhold $1 Billion in aide if Shokin wasn't canned—   Leading up to Shokin being fired—Archer is expected to testify that the pressure campaign to get him fired was getting ratcheted up—and that is the reason Hunter Biden was being paid—to bring the influence of his father to bear and reap huge profits along the way—   Archer is expected to tell the committee that he saw this kind of thing repeated at least two dozen times—almost like Hunter was just showing off and saying—yeah—pay us, we get things done and you need to pony up—   And this is why Joe Biden and his administration could be in serious jeopardy—   So no matter what lies have been spun over and over again—year after year—if you follow the money the truth will usually leak out—    And this is making life a bit uncomfortable for those that are facing questions everyday about the Biden Cabal—   I mean can you imagine having to stand there and act like none of this really matters—when an entire Presidency is hanging in the balance?   So what about all those denials?   Well, let me tell you—there is a lot more than just Ukraine—I mean that really is just the tip of the dirty, corrupt iceberg—   We have heard of money coming in from Russia, China and Romania—and something tells me—there could be a whole lot more to come—   I mean Hunters infamous laptop showed dozens of meetings with Hunter, Joe and various business partners—many of which took place in the West Wing of the White House while Joe was VP—   Yeah—this filth runs deep and appears to have gone on for many many years—   Eric Schwerin one of Hunters partners in Rosemont Seneca was in the House at least 21 times In February of 2012—it seems Hunter was wining and dining with high level officials in Russia Yeah no matter what you do—there is a very high price to pay for all of this—and there will be as well for all those Democrats that were ‘Ridin with Biden' – its turning out to be a trip to the Titanic—politically speaking—  

A look at how Afghan refugees are resettling in the United States one year after the Taliban regained control of their home country. Expert analysis on the latest religious freedom violations in Nicaragua and the recent arrest of a bishop. Plus, the inspiring story of a religious sister who felt called by God to leave her home in war-torn Iraq to start a new community in Boston.

China, Russia, Communism, Dictatorship, and the United States: One of these things is not like the others, but for how long? Anne Applebaum, the Pulitzer-prize winning historian and staff writer at The Atlantic, joins Kasich & Klepper to discuss the ongoing threats on democracy across the globe, why authoritarianism continues to grow in popularity; the terrifying message that is spread by those in power like Hungary's Viktor Orbán, and what will be left of Russia and Ukraine after Putin. Anne's newest book, TWILIGHT OF DEMOCRACY: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism, is available now wherever you get books and visit anneapplebaum.com for more. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

  Patrick chose his favorite moments from episodes of Halloween past, going back to 2014. Segments include LIVE moments from Trick or Treating, Sam Haynes, Annie Wilder, Karen A. Dahlman, Lesley Bannatyne, Jim Harold and the Ghost of Karen Carpenter, the 2016 LIVE Halloween Ouija Seance, and the hosts of the Cemetery Confessions podcast. Visit BigSeance.com/174 for more info.   Other Listening Options Direct Download Link   In this episode: Intro :00 Please enjoy this Best of Halloween episode that Patrick has put together! It’s his favorite moments going back to 2014. :51 Sam Haynes has a brand new album out! Check out Groovy Murder Disco! 1:46 Want more Halloween episodes? Visit BigSeance.com/Halloween! Entertainment advice from Ruby Ross Goodnow, who was the entertainment writer for the Delineator magazine, which was an American women's magazine of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This fabulous article, called A Hallowe’en Housewarming, is from 1911. 3:38 Also in 1911, Abe Olman wrote a song called Halloween (The Jack O’Lantern Rag). 7:56 Annie Wilder, author of House of Spirits and Whispers, and owner of a haunted house, shared this great Halloween memory in Episode 19 from 2014. 10:18 One of our favorite guests, author and Ouija expert, Karen A. Dahlman, shared a wonderful memory of designing Halloween costumes with a friend. This was also from Episode 19 in 2014. 13:10 Some of the history of Trick or Treating from America’s leading Halloween expert, Lesley Bannatyne from Episode 18 from 2014. 16:43 Karen Carpenter’s Ghost, a story from Jim Harold, from his book True Ghost Stories: Jim Harold’s Campfire 4. From Episode 47 from 2015. 22:53 Who will be the next president of the United States? One of Patrick’s favorite moments from the Big Seance LIVE Halloween Ouija Seance from 2016! 30:04 Some tips for spirit communication on Halloween from Karen A. Dahlman, from Episode 47 from 2015. 40:57 Favorite moments from when Patrick went LIVE from Trick or Treating in Episode 108 from 2017. 45:40 The Jen Faust interview, on family connections to Halloween! Also from Episode 108 in 2017. 51:45 This wasn’t from a Halloween episode, but it was a great segment on the topic of Halloween from Episode 35 with the hosts of Cemetery Confessions in 2015. 1:00:45 Darkness at Your Door from the brand new Sam Haynes album, Groovy Murder Disco! 1:09:05 A special THANK YOU to Patreon supporters at the Super Paranerd and Parlor Guest level! 1:14:07 Outro 1:16:10   The Big Seance Podcast can be found right here, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio. Please subscribe and share with a fellow paranerd! Do you have any comments or feedback? Please contact me at Patrick@BigSeance.com. Consider recording your voice feedback directly from your device on my SpeakPipe page! You can also call the show and leave feedback at (775) 583-5563 (or 7755-TELL-ME). I would love to include your voice feedback in a future show. The candles are already lit, so come on in and join the séance! 

Welcome to Finance and Fury, the Furious Friday edition. Last Friday, we went through theory versus practical reality of public infrastructure spending  – roads and railroads are needed. In this episode - Look back at an economic crash – in relation to infrastructure – I Know there are differences – but illustration of when too much of a good thing can go bad – especially when economic or development policies create a reliance to the economy on economic growth – especially when there is speculation involved What am I talking about? Crash of 1873 - What was it – To start – US coming out of their Civil War(1861-1865) – in an effort to deal with unemployment and economic fallout- infrastructure was proposed – The US has a long history of government job creation program – Job creation efforts were undertaken at the local level by cities or state by state – During the 1857, 1870s and the 1890s economic crisis and depressions going on New York, Boston, Phili – developed municipal programs to aid the poor or unemployed – But the administration and financing of these programs presented major problems for each city or state – Logistics was one but funding was another major one – Led to the proposal for statement government to take over for cities and for the federal government to take over from the states – assumed the responsibility for these work relief programs So a boom in railroad construction commences - 33,000 miles (53,000 km) of new track were laidacross the country between 1868 and 1873 Back then - the railroad industry was the nation's largest employer outside of agriculture due to the work programs – Most of the boom in railroad investment was being driven by government land grants and subsidies to the railroads - involved large amounts of money and but due to the size started becoming a ticking timebomb of financial risk a large infusion of cash from speculators caused spectacular growth in the industry as well as in construction of docks, factories and ancillary facilities that process the goods needed for construction – timber, etc – But how long does it take for infrastructure like railroads to make a return – years – so the capitalwas involved in projects offering no immediate returns Now enters the Coinage act 1873 In 1871 - the German Empire ceased minting silver thaler coins in 1871 – most countries had gold and silver coins – similar to today but back then they were the actual metal, not just imitations But Germany doing this caused a drop in demand and downward pressure on the value of silver Less demand lower prices But this had affects in the United States One effect was in the mining industry – as the US was where much of the supply of silver was mined But also on their monetary system – United States Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1873 - changed the US silver policy Before this - backed its currency with both gold and silver - minted both types of coins This Act moved them to a de factogold standard – resulting in no longer buying silver at a statutory price or allowing for silver to be converted from the public into silver coins  Statutory price used to be a monetary tool – set the price of metals like gold and silver based around the money supply – So the immediate effect of depressing silver prices and also changing the coinage law reduced the domestic money supply – this resulted in raising interest rates – hurting those who carried heavy debt loads This perception of instability in United States monetary policy caused investors to shy away from long-term obligations, particularly long-term bonds. The problem was compounded by the railroad boom, which was in its later stages at the time – started kicking off company failures One of the biggest failures - In September 1873, Jay Cooke & Company, a major component of the United States banking establishment, found itself unable to market several million dollars in Northern Pacific Railway bonds. Cooke's firm, like many others, had invested heavily in the railroads on both sides – the ownership but also selling bonds (the debt) in the investment to investors Around this time investment banks were anxious for more capital for their enterprises in railroads – easy cash cow and could get government loans – but new monetary policy of contracting the money supply (again, also thereby raising interest rates) made matters worse for those in debt – those who speculated on infrastructure investments – that wouldn’t see returns for years – were no left holding the bag with higher interest repayments In addition – put a halt on more infrastructure spending – there were plans by Cooke and other entrepreneurs to build the second transcontinental railroad, called the Northern Pacific Railway. Cooke's firm provided the financing - ground for the line was all ready to go - But just as he was about to swing a US$300 million government loan reports circulated that his firm's credit had become nearly worthless – loan was ceased and in September 1873, the firm declared bankruptcy. Another flow on effect – was on the insurance industry - Many US insurance companies went out of business as deteriorating financial conditions created solvency problems for life insurers – they invest in a low of what is seen stable investments – like bonds Other effects- The failure of the Jay Cooke bank, followed quickly by that of Henry Clews - set off a chain reaction of bank failures Factories began to lay off workers as the United States slipped into depression. The effects of the panic were quickly felt in New York, and more slowly in Chicago, Virginia City, Nevada (where silver mining was active), and San Francisco. The New York Stock Exchange closed for ten days starting 20 September – first time in history that the market was closed By November 1873 some 55 of the nation's railroads had failed, and another 60 went bankrupt by the first anniversary of the crisis.  Construction of new rail lines plummeted from 7,500 miles (12,070 km) of track in 1872 to just 1,600 miles (2,575 km) in 1875 – remember that this had become one of the backbones of the economy 18,000 businesses failed between 1873 and 1875 – flow on effects of banks failing but also companies providing goods and services to the railroad industry Unemployment peaked in 1878 at 8.25%. Building construction was halted, wages were cut, real estate values fell and corporate profits vanished Further flow on effects created a second business slump by 1877 – example - the market for lumber crashed, leading to several lumber companies going bankrupt With the depression, ambitious railroad building programs crashed across the South, leaving most states deep in debt and burdened with heavy taxes. Retrenchment was a common response of southern states to state debts during the depression. Social unrest and Rioting – In 1877, steep wage cuts led American railroad workers to launch the Great Railroad Strike. Initial protests broke out in Martinsburg, West Virginia when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut worker's pay for the third time in a year. As the workers began rioting, with reports of looting and attacks on civilians and police - dispatched federal troops. Within the week, similar riots had erupted in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Missouri. Summary of events - Why did it go bad The Panic of 1873 arose from investments in railroads. Railroads had expanded rapidly in the nineteenth century Eventually – as investment in railroads continued, new projects outpaced demand for new capacity - returns on railroad investments declined – remember they were already delayed in nature – You had a share market crash in most major financial centres -USA, EU with Vienna - investors divested their holdings of American securities, particularly railroad bonds This mass selling depressed the market, lowered prices on shares and bonds, and impeded financing for railroad firms - Without cash to finance operations and refinance debts that came due, many railroad firms failed others defaulted on payments due to banks Large banks then failing changed investors expectations. Creditors lost confidence in railroads and in the banks that financed them. Stock markets further collapsed. The panic spread to financial institutions in Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, and Georgia, as well as to banks in the Midwest, including Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. Nationwide, at least one-hundred banks failed.   What is happening today? There is a Push for large infrastructure spending – a lot of speculation surrounding this - Push for spending to help boost economic growth and to provide employment Investment speculation – from Super funds involvements – Government policy as well Also have large investment funds that are looking at this – if you cant beat them join them Not on railroads – but Mostly on the same thing – green infrastructure ROE – is it low or high? ROE is relatively low – it is high cost but thanks to Gov subsidies it can provide a profit – but what if these go away? Or – what if supply outstrips demand? If most of the projects over time have little demand – lower ROE – similar to the railroads – diminishing marginal returns on everything Interest rates are low – so the borrowing costs of any infrastructure will be low for some time and lots of funds will come from Governments or Super funds – so it isn’t their money Either invest the money in the project – or buy bonds in the project (capital notes) to finance them Can the same thing happen as the crash – Not likely – there is a safety net now in the financial system and Central banks – Liquidity issues? More QE or bailouts – Super funds can put a lot of their money into this and have the guarantees of the debt not being too risky Especially in low interest rate world – but if we go through a new monetary system – if it creates higher interest rates then the amount of debt around would create massive issues But is it a good idea? Well time will tell – the debt on the infrastructure projects will be around for a while But may be a similar thing to Chinas WMPs – a shadow banking rolling ponzi scheme – Takes long time to get a return on infrastructure projects from implementation to be in working order – A lot can change in economic conditions over the 5-10 years it may take to see ROE on these projects Taking more debt out and if it isn’t quality investments – where supply outstrips demand – the infrastructure policy could be another trap in the future for another bubble and collapse   Thank you for listening to today's episode. If you want to get in contact you can do so here: http://financeandfury.com.au/contact/ Links - https://resources.saylor.org/wwwresources/archived/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/HIST312-10.1.2-Panic-of-1893.pdf https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/banking_panics_of_the_gilded_age https://books.google.com.au/books?id=u_6uDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA170&lpg=PA170&dq=infrastructure+crash+1894&source=bl&ots=_OzgH-SsIv&sig=ACfU3U29tw7Dw11WpH2TKUM_HtYmjgBUlg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi55uymnPnpAhUZA3IKHWy3C1wQ6AEwEXoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=infrastructure%20crash%201894&f=false

A key focus of our practice at Insight Folios is Tax planning. We believe there are actually two tax systems in the United States: One for the well-informed, and a far more expensive one for the uninformed! We keep ourselves as informed as we can, and that means working with one of the top-notch CPAs in town, Patrick Coleman. So, when it comes to taxes, do you just owe what you owe, or can you SIGNIFICANTLY reduce your tax liability? Tune in next week and find out!

The aftermath of a mass shooting has become a familiar cycle in the United States: One side demands change, the other works to block it. But this time, it is the students who survived the assault who are pressing lawmakers to impose new restrictions on guns. Guest: Michael D. Shear, a White House correspondent for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

How can members of the congenital heart defect (CHD) community lobby for change in today's laws in the United States? One thing they can do is to come together as a unified group to speak to their lawmakers and request, in a collective voice, for changes to occur. This is how the Congenital Heart Futures Act came into effect. Members of the Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA) organized a coalition of members to storm the Hill together to request more government money being spent on those with congenital heart defects. Today's episode will feature 2 ACHA members who met with lawmakers on the Hill to discuss the future of those born with congenital heart defects. If you've ever wondered how you could take a stand a make a difference, not only for today's survivors but for all future survivors, you won't want to miss this show.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/HearttoHeart)

This commentary aired October 1, 2008 on KUNM.Listen to Commentary (Quicktime, 3.5Mb)One of the greatest myths of our time is that renewable energy isn’t quite ready to compete with so-called “conventional” sources of energy. More research is needed, we are told, because renewables are still too expensive. So onward we march, powering our homes with coal and filling our gas tanks with imported go-juice, all the while shipping bagfuls of cash out of our communities to pay for it.There is a lot of evidence that this myth about renewable energy is false. Many countries smaller than ours are installing renewables faster than we are, creating jobs and increasing their self-reliance while lessening their environmental footprint. So, why does the myth still play so well in the United States?One reason is that the oil, gas, coal, and nuclear companies here are actively engaged in energy policymaking, and they repeatedly tell the myth to lawmakers at all levels of government. Using carefully crafted messages backed by well-funded research, they tell the same story again and again: We wish we could...we look forward to the day when we can...but right now, we just can’t.The key to telling a lie is delivering it alongside the truth. And it is, in fact, true that we haven’t figured out how to turn bloated, investor-owned monopolies and their overpaid executives into agents of community sustainability. If that were the plan, renewable energy would never be ready.There is, on the other hand, a way to roll out renewables right now that would stabilize energy prices, create good jobs, retain energy-dollars in the local community, and provide secure and sustainable energy for the long term. It isn’t being proposed by either of the major party candidates for president, who instead keep insisting that renewables aren’t enough, and that we need to develop nuclear power as well as some strange substance they are calling “clean coal”.No, it turns out that renewables can serve all of our needs, and the transition can happen quickly if we would just provide one thing that’s missing: a market. If we set up a market whereby independent energy suppliers could trade with independent energy consumers, we’d be all done.Now, there have already been many attempts to create local markets for energy, but nearly all of them have been shut down by incumbent energy suppliers. I know this one guy who was trying to sell high-efficiency cogeneration systems, until one day he discovered that the utility was offering cut-rate electricity to his prospective customers in exchange for an agreement that they don’t buy one of his systems. He sued the utility, but as soon as the utility realized they were going to lose the case, they settled out of court. Did the utility retreat in shame, and amend their practices? Hardly! Instead, they drafted a law making what they were doing legal, and persuaded their state legislature to enact the law. Now, whenever a customer even thinks about putting in a clean, efficient, on-site system to generate their own power, utilities can offer something called a “load-retention rate” to entice them not to do it. That’s just one of their tricks – the list is long.If lawmakers and regulators are unwilling to keep incumbent energy suppliers from obstructing the market for local, independent renewable energy, we’ll need to create this new market ourselves. All we need to do is organize all the energy consumers who already want to buy clean, locally generated power and heat, and form alliances with the local, independent energy producers. The only hard part will be fighting against an enormous, entrenched opposition of dirty energy suppliers, but in reality, we have all the power we need to pull this off.Because next year, as we set out to spend another two-trillion dollars meeting our energy needs, we can simply decide to give the money to independent energy companies right here in our community.