Trump Asserts “National Emergency”, Fed Control Over Electric Utility Purchases
In a 1 May executive order declaring a national emergency, Donald Trump has given the U.S. defense department the authority to oversee electric companies’ purchases of electronic equipment.
The order grows out of a view widely shared among U.S. intelligence agencies that adversaries such as China and Russia have secured hidden access to the American utility grid through equipment utilities have imported from them and could trigger blackouts at will.
The order enables the defense department to control companies’ purchases of electronic gear from entities deemed to be “controlled or influenced” by foreign adversaries. The edict also establishes a process by which the federal government can examine already-installed equipment to see if it has been compromised.
The order effectively transfers issues of grid security from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to the defense department and gives domestic industry an incentive to manufacture items that utilities have been buying overseas.
Americans Drink Their Way Through Home Confinement
U.S. residents spent $2 billion more on alcoholic beverages in March than they did a year previous.
Beer sales were up 20 percent to $5.5 billion, wine rose 28 percent to $2 billion, and spirits 39 percent to $1.3 billion.
Almost all of the gains came from sales at retail stores after bars and restaurants went dark as a result of the economic shutdown.
The beverage industry is scrambling to shift its operations to meet the suddenly lopsided demand.
Molson Coors is operating “pretty much flat out” to meet retailers’ orders, although drinking at home did not balance the loss of on-premises sales; the company’s overall sales declined 8.7 percent in 2020’s first quarter compared to 2019’s.
TRENDPOST: In the clear hypocrisy of making up rules, the nation’s rulers have proclaimed liquor stores an “essential business.”
Drinking at home has been increasing in tandem with a rise in domestic violence police are reporting during the lockdown. But governments are reaping the rewards as their alcohol tax revenues increase.
Thus, politicians are assured they will maintain their salaries, pensions, health benefits, etc. while those they rule lose their livelihoods, businesses, homes, etc.
