Daily Digest

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• Goodbye to Coal? Hardly
• Podcast: Celebrating Power Line’s “China Anniversary” by Breaking More of It
• Inside Pfizer
• Mr. Putz strikes again
• At General Mills, gum control needed

Goodbye to Coal? Hardly Posted: 03 Jun 2022 04:16 PM PDT (John Hinderaker) The United States has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions more than any other country, primarily by shifting from coal to natural gas as a source of electricity. Our government has applied considerable pressure to kill America’s coal industry, ostensibly to preserve the Earth’s climate. But other countries haven’t gotten the memo. Energy expert Robert Bryce explains: [O]ver the past few weeks, China and India have announced plans to increase their domestic coal production by a combined total of 700 million tons per year. For perspective, US coal production this year will total about 600 million tons. *** Adding the 700 million tons of new coal that China and India will be mining to the amount they are now producing leads to some staggering numbers. By the end of next year, China will be producing about 4.4 billion tons of coal per year and India will be mining about 1.2 billion tons. Add those together and you get 5.6 billion tons of coal, which is more than 9 times the amount of coal that will be mined in the U.S. this year. When it comes to the Earth’s climate, if you believe the global warming models, the U.S. is becoming a relatively minor player. And coal isn’t going away, because it is plentiful and affordable: Coal persists because it can be used to produce the gargantuan quantities of electricity the world's consumers need at prices they can afford. Indeed, coal's share of global electricity generation has stayed at about 35%, since the mid-1980s. Citizens of developing countries have no intention of remaining poor forever, and for the billions now living in what Bryce calls energy poverty, that means doing whatever it takes to get access to reliable electricity. “Green” hysteria isn’t going to stop them. Bryce concludes with the obvious inference: [I]f the countries of the world are serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing more electricity to the 3 billion people now living in energy poverty, the only way to do it is with nuclear energy and lots of it.

Podcast: Celebrating Power Line’s “China Anniversary” by Breaking More of It Posted: 03 Jun 2022 09:44 AM PDT (Steven Hayward) The 20th anniversary is known as the "China anniversary," and can you still use that if your predominant mode is breaking China? In any case, the Power Line crew assembled for a live (by Zoom) VIP webcast this week that featured a rare appearance by our technical director Joe Malchow, who is usually our behind-the-screen Wizard of Oz figure. Among other things, Joe shared a sacred relic, a personally signed copy of Tom Wolfe's last novel, as it turned out Wolfe was an occasional Power Line reader. We decided after the hour was over that our general readership might enjoy the conversation (though everyone should still sign up to be a Power Line VIP member—new premium VIP content coming soon!), so herewith a classic format podcast. A lot has changed in 20 years, from the technical aspects of websites which saw Power Line early on coping with the problem of site crashes from sudden surges of traffic (we were one of the first to figure out how to cope with that), to changes in the format and character of the online media world. We still have "blog" in our title because of the difficulties of changing domain names. The term has become archaic, but like '57 Chevys, maybe it will come back into fashion again. We also review a number of milestones along the way—no, not that one, because we've told that story too many times by now, instead focusing on more recent topics, such as why Scott Johnson's picture is on a dartboard in the employee break room at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. For exit music this week, it seemed like something from Tower of Power(line) would be appropriate, so you can pretty easily guess which track we're using. (Though when I hear the key term in the title, my first thought these days is “replacement” rather than rock n roll.) And not to worry, the Three Whisky Happy Hour will be out as usual Saturday morning with two special guests, on the topic, "Just What Is 'Conservatism' Trying to Conserve?" You know what to do now: listen here, or break some china over at our host’s foyer at Ricochet. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Inside Pfizer Posted: 03 Jun 2022 08:10 AM PDT (Scott Johnson) And this just in: I read with interest your post regarding the leftist General Mills employees pressuring corporate leadership. This is very similar to what I observe daily at Pfizer where I work out of the New York City office. Oh, and by the way, the company that created the “vaccine” still is almost >85% remote work. But I digress. I have found the Ombudsman’s Office at Pfizer a useful and cathartic option for voicing my displeasure with the corporate virtue signaling. Via their EthicsPoint Ombudsman website, I am able to anonymously direct comments to corporate leadership. If possible, please let your Power Line readership know that the Ombudsman offices at most publicly held American companies provide some means for employees to voice their concerns to woke corporate leadership. I like to think that we’re a full-service site. We certainly appreciate the opportunity to be of service to those laboring in the vineyards.

Mr. Putz strikes again Posted: 03 Jun 2022 07:29 AM PDT (Scott Johnson) The Minnesota Department of Human Rights has filed a 72-page charge of discrimination over a period of 10 years against the Minneapolis Police Department. I commented critically on the charge along with a link to the charge itself in “Who will speak for the MPD?” We have yet to see any of the 480,000 pages of documents and other evidence gathered by the department in the course of its investigation. The department denied my request for access to it. Even more absurdly, the department has denied the request of the City of Minneapolis to see it. This is not the way the adversary system is to work. Media reports on the charge have frequently referred to it as a “report.” The Star Tribune refers to it as a “report” in today’s Star Tribune story by Andy Mannix today. Get a clue. It’s not a report. It’s a charge. The city can’t wait to sell out the police department, but it can’t do so without a look at the underlying evidence. The Office of the City Attorney has therefore reiterated its request for a peek. I have embedded a copy of the letter below requesting access below. Taylor Putz (“Pronouns: He/Him/His”) is the department’s spokesman. He denied the city’s request. He denied my request. He denied the Star Tribune’s request. The Star Tribune quotes Putz today in the story linked above: “MDHR is reviewing the letter and looks forward to productive conversations moving forward.” Letter to Commissioner Lucero 05-27-2022 (1) by Scott Johnson on Scribd

At General Mills, gum control needed Posted: 03 Jun 2022 06:14 AM PDT (Scott Johnson) General Mills is in the news today for caving in to demands that it abandon a “controversial Pillsbury plant in the West Bank,” as the Star Tribune puts it this morning. BDS advocates claim victory. Speaking for itself, General Mills states: "We have made clear the global business strategy that drove this decision." The company’s headquarters are located in Golden Valley, Minnesota. Yesterday we heard from a Power Line reader working at headquarters: I have worked for General Mills for [redacted] years and have been disappointed by leadership's seeming inability to stay out of the political arena (gay marriage, Obamacare, Covid, police reform, etc.). I assumed these statements were always initiated by a few execs who deemed it appropriate to speak on behalf of the entire organization. I still believe that is true but I think they have now created a culture that empowers employees to demand that leadership take action to address all of their political concerns. This morning, in a large group chat my team received a request to sign an internal petition [addressed to “General Mills Leadership Team,” signed by “General Mills employees,” and attached to the message but omitted here] from one of my division managers demanding that leadership take a stand on gun reform. I do not want politics in my workplace and I don't want my workplace involved in politics but what is one to do? I would ask my direct manager for assistance but he is one of the signatories on the petition. I would go to HR but [the employee was dinged once for less than enthusiastic participation] in a diversity and inclusion exercise…. I have accepted that there isn't anything I can do. I am just putting in my time until retirement. Maybe your readers will gain some benefit by my story. This is bad enough. The petition with its 200-plus signatories is also idiotic beyond belief. “It is easier to get a gun of mass destruction (over the counter!),” the petition argues, “than it is to get birth control (must have a doctor’s prescription!).” Support gum control!

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