And another Order comes down limiting DOGE, this time in its efforts to get rid of USAID by putting employees on administrative leave and shutting them out of the USAID system, forcing “expedited evacuations” on them, and of course, the USAID funding freeze.

Musketeers lose again. Here’s the Order:

Bottom line?

DOGE/Musk get good swift kick

February 9th, 2025

Minnesota was one of the states that sued over DOGE’s access to Treasury, accessing Treasury information, and doing who knows what with it. It started with a request for an Emergency Temporary Restraining Order that was filed Friday, February 7, 2025. For a succinct statement of the facts in support of this TRO request, see pages 41-46:

And on Saturday, wasting no time, the Court Ordered that DOGE come to a screeching halt — that is if they obey the Order (and if not, bring on the sanctions, bring on contempt of court:

It’s a delightfully simple and straightforward Order, essentially:

[T]he defendants are (i) restrained from granting access to any Treasury Department payment record, payment systems, or any other data systems maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information and/or confidential financial information of payees, other than to civil servants with a need for access to perform their job duties within the Bureau of Fiscal Services who have passed all background checks and security clearances and taken all information security training called for in federal statutes and Treasury Department regulations; (ii) restrained from granting access to all political appointees, special government employees, and government employees detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department, to any Treasury Department payment record, payment systems, or any other data systems maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information and/or confidential financial information of payees; and (iii) ordered to direct any person prohibited above from having access to such information, records and systems but who has had access to such information, records, and systems since January 20, 2025, to immediately destroy any and all copies of material downloaded from the Treasury Department’s records and systems, if any…

To which Musk responds:

Right…

Today’s list of “Presidential Actions” includes (emphasis added):

Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa

Egregious is an apt description of this “Executive Order,” and an apt description of a policy that the U.S. “shall not provide aid or assistance to South Africa” and to “prioritize”resettlement of Afrikaner refugees” — right.

Why South Africa? Well, DOH! MUSK, eh?

And “humanitarian relief,” “resettlement,” how would that work? Give them one of the 50 states and the state’s treasury as compensation?

The one Africaner I knew left the U.S. because when confronted with having to work for a living, found that “life was too hard.” Well, this from someone so extremely privileged, not too surprising, but I’d be curious how ANY Afrikaner “refugees” would fare. And what all would they take from the country and bring over here? Would that be balanced with what they have to determine what sort of assistance the would receive, what sort of assistance would they deserve? Who would make that determination? It’s not like they’d arrive here with only a backpack with some clothes, sustenance, a water bottle, and a phone. And note, assistance is for “Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination.” UNJUST! In this context, what is unjust?

Here it is (emphasis in bold):

Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

     Section 1.Purpose.  In shocking disregard of its citizens’ rights, the Republic of South Africa (South Africa) recently enacted Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 (Act), to enable the government of South Africa to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation.  This Act follows countless government policies designed to dismantle equal opportunity in employment, education, and business, and hateful rhetoric and government actions fueling disproportionate violence against racially disfavored landowners.

In addition, South Africa has taken aggressive positions towards the United States and its allies, including accusing Israel, not Hamas, of genocide in the International Court of Justice, and reinvigorating its relations with Iran to develop commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements.  

     The United States cannot support the government of South Africa’s commission of rights violations in its country or its ‘undermining United States foreign policy, which poses national security threats to our Nation, our allies, our African partners, and our interests.

     Sec. 2.Policy.  It is the policy of the United States that, as long as South Africa continues these unjust and immoral practices that harm our Nation:
          (a)  the United States shall not provide aid or assistance to South Africa; and
          (b)  the United States shall promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation.

     Sec. 3.  Assistance.  (a)  All executive departments and agencies (agencies), including the United States Agency for International Development, shall, to the maximum extent allowed by law, halt foreign aid or assistance delivered or provided to South Africa, and shall promptly exercise all available authorities and discretion to halt such aid or assistance.
          (b)  The head of each agency may permit the provision of any such foreign aid or assistance that, in the discretion of the relevant agency head, is necessary or appropriate. 

     Sec. 4.  Refugee Resettlement and Other Humanitarian Considerations.  The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take appropriate steps, consistent with law, to prioritize humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program, for Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination.  Such plan shall be submitted to the President through the Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor.

     Sec. 5.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: 
          (i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or 
          (ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. 
     (b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. 
     (c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

It’s the garbage burner, f/k/a coal plant’s 75th Anniversary! Well drat, we didn’t get invited to the party! Did you?? The last Xcel gathering Alan and I went to was a “Community Meeting” where we got to ask Sparby about the IRP at that time which said the Red Wing and Wilmarth garbage burners were going to be closed! HA! So much for projections and continuity of IRPs!

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Feb 3 from the RW bEagle:

Red Wing’s Xcel biomass facility celebrates 75th anniversary

Written by Alec Hamilton Published on Feb 3, 2025

Xcel Energy’s biomass burning facility in Red Wing celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2024 and nearly 40 years of burning refuse derived fuel (RDF).

The facility, located off of Fifth Street in Red Wing, began as a coal-fired energy generating facility in the 1940s until it was converted into a RDF burning facility in 1986. Garbage from Ramsey and Washington Counties, as well as the City of Red Wing and surrounding Goodhue County, is sorted for recyclables in the municipalities and at a facility in Newport before it is burned on-site to create electricity. 

Leon Lenertz, the plant manager who has been at the facility for 16 years, said they receive and burn about 800 tons – or 40 semitruck trailer loads – a day and have burned an average of approximately 230,000 tons per year the last several years. The facility operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week for about 330 days of the year with it being closed for maintenance the other few weeks. 

Over the course of a year, the facility produces 23 megawatts of electricity, enough energy to power the equivalent of about 12,000 homes. 

Lenertz also described the burning process, which meets the State of Minnesota’s emissions standards to be carbon neutral. Before the RDF arrives at the facility, it is thoroughly sorted and numerous types of metals are removed. He said that thanks to this process, the communities that ship their garbage to the Red Wing facility, or others like it, often have the highest recycling rates in their areas. Once it arrives at the facility, it is unloaded onto a series of conveyor belts where it is organized before eventually feeding into the burner. The burner reaches 2,500 degrees Fehrenheit and the burning process takes about 45 minutes.

The smoke from the burning then makes its way through silos filled with bag houses that hold 1,104 filter bags per bag house. Lenertz said the bag houses and scrubbers in the silos are state-of-the-art technology and facilities like Red Wing’s were some of the first to receive it. Once the facility’s emissions hit the air, it is almost clear in the sky outside since the particulate was removed. 

The volume of RDF burned is reduced to 1/10 of its original volume in the form of ash, so if 800 tons of RDF is burned per day, that results in 80 tons of ash. Plant Direct Jared Graham, who not only oversees the Red Wing biomass plant but also ones in Mankato and La Crosse (Wisconsin), said that the ash is then taken to the facility’s landfill. However, some facilities have companies come in and sift through the ash for leftover precious metals – say if a lost wedding ring ended up in the RDF – while other municipalities have started to experiment with using the ash in road base material, though that is not yet state-approved. 

With the rise of the emerald ash borer and the resulting removal of vast amounts of trees, the facility also has started to burn wood waste from private companies and municipalities. It can also now burn products like household pharmaceuticals or illicit drugs that authorities would not want to end up in a landfill. 

The facility has 28 employees, 16 of which are operators. At any one time, there are two operators in the control room monitoring the facility while another, the outplant operator, is responsible for making any manual adjustments like opening/closing valves, etc. Those operators are split into five shifts of three people working 12 hours. 

Readers can reach Alec at ahamilton@orourkemediagroup.com

Color me paranoid, but this sure raises red flags:

A Plan For Establishing A United States Sovereign Wealth Fund

     By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to promote the long-term financial health and international leadership of the United States, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.  Policy and Purpose.  It is the policy of the United States to maximize the stewardship of our national wealth for the sole benefit of American citizens.  To this end, it is in the interest of the American people that the Federal Government establish a sovereign wealth fund to promote fiscal sustainability, lessen the burden of taxes on American families and small businesses, establish economic security for future generations, and promote United States economic and strategic leadership internationally. 

Sec. 2.  Sovereign Wealth Fund.  The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce, in close coordination with the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, shall develop a plan for the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund consistent with section 1 of this order.  The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce shall jointly submit this plan to the President within 90 days of the date of this order.  Such plan shall include recommendations for funding mechanisms, investment strategies, fund structure, and a governance model.  The plan shall also include an evaluation of the legal considerations for establishing and managing such a fund, including any need for legislation. 

Sec. 3.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

THE WHITE HOUSE,
    February 3, 2025.

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Trump signs order establishing a sovereign wealth fund that he says could buy TikTok

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From Reuters:

Trump orders creation of US sovereign wealth fund, says it could buy TikTok

If created, the sovereign wealth fund could place the U.S. alongside numerous other countries, particularly in the Middle East and Asia, that have launched similar funds as a way to make direct investments with government dollars.

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Oh, great idea…