When I was a kid, my dad would sometimes interrupt what I was doing and say to me, “Just one question … .” Following would be a question he would pose that would stop me in my tracks. Often, asking just one question can lead to opening one’s eyes to a new truth or newfound wisdom. A broader perspective can be added to one’s thinking. It’s also a good way to provide caution before total disaster happens and, at times, it can reveal an obvious solution to a vexing problem.
A memory I recall from my boyhood days is raking leaves in the front yard on a breezy fall day and getting frustrated because the wind kept blowing the leaves to where I had just raked. My dad observed the scene and said to me, “Son, just one question: Why not rake the leaves in the direction the wind is blowing?” “Boy,” I thought, “why didn’t I think of that?”
This idea of just one question came to mind recently when I was reading a news story about Biden’s recent trip to the Middle East to negotiate with Saudi Arabia for more oil. If given the chance, I’d ask the president and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm just one question regarding the trip: Why didn’t you go to the state of Texas instead and negotiate with Gov. Abbott for more oil? Or for that matter, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma or Colorado? After all, they are the five biggest oil producing states, with Texas being by far the largest, (per data from 2020).
Another story that keeps popping up regards the billions of dollars we’re spending on behalf of Ukraine and its battle to protect its eastern border. Last I read, we’ve spent over $54 billion to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion. Just one question: Why are we spending billions to protect Ukraine’s border while spending so little to protect our own?
Shortly after taking over the Oval Office, Biden announced, “it shall be the policy of my administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall, and that I am directing a careful review of all resources appropriated or redirected to that end.” I’d sure like to see a careful review like that when it comes to our spending in Ukraine.
Of course, the border crisis is an issue, which again relates to Texas. In the U.S. Constitution, Article IV, section 4, reads: “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion.” Gov. Abbott understands what an invasion is when he sees one. Just one question: why can’t Joe Biden and Kamala Harris understand what an invasion is when they see one and cause the federal government to act as it is constitutionally required? Not only is it an issue for a border state like Texas but for every state in the union.
As everyone knows, the millions who cross our southern border into the United States illegally are referred to as “undocumented.” Since COVID showed up in the United States in 2019, we’ve all been encouraged, even demanded to get “the jab.” I recall last year Stanford University requiring proof of vaccination to spectate a sporting event on campus. It wasn’t alone. There were restaurants requiring proof of vaccination before patrons could enter, sit down and dine. Just one question: Why was documentation required to enter a sports arena or restaurant but not required to enter the country?
Back to Biden’s Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm. I have read about her and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, lauding the virtues of America going “green” by ridding ourselves of oil dependent cars, trucks and trains. We are expected to convert everything to battery powered, electric vehicles. In a recent interview, Buttigieg stated: “We’re for cutting the cost of electric vehicles, because when you have an electric vehicle then you’re also gonna be able to save on gas, but you’ve got to be able to afford it in the first place.” Just one question: Why doesn’t the federal government pave the way for the rest of us? They could start by converting their entire U.S. Postal Service fleet and the presidential limousine.
To close, one last question. Almost every Pacific Gas and Electric bill I receive includes a slip of paper with a message about how I can reduce demand on California’s overtaxed energy grid. It even offers examples of how a household can become more energy efficient. Just one question: If California is struggling to power its electric grid, how are we supposed to support more and more vehicles plugging in to recharge their batteries, not to mention the requirement for “all electric” homes and office buildings?
A former member of the San Carlos City Council and mayor, Matt Grocott has been involved in political policy on the Peninsula for 17 years. He can be reached by email at mattgrocott@comcast.net.
(6) comments
I'll bite. Lots of good questions worthy of lengthy discussion, without resorting to name calling or questioning the character of the people Mr. Grocott would like to ask just one question. I love the start of the piece remembering the question about raking in the right direction with the wind. Brilliant. I'm going to reach out to Secretary Buttigieg's office and some other folks who are more versed in the environmental issues than I to see if I can get staffers to talk to me about California, specifically, and the desire to go with electric vehicles while at the same time we are being told our grid needs relief. I'm going to guess that an answer is we need to upgrade our grid (we have spent way too little on infrastructure like this), get the ability to store more green energy for use during peak times, etc.... but, as I said, I'm no expert but I'll take on the challenge to try to learn more and share it with this community.
Craig, thank you for showing interest in addressing this misunderstood electricity capacity vs supply issue. UC Berkeley's Industrial Engineering Dept, my alma mater, has a team assigned to this very complex issue. Just remember one thing, storage may be the answer but once depleted it needs to be replenished with green energy. Even the most optimistic forecast by the CA Independent System Operator, the agency that 'schedules' generation supplies, will not see that as a reality for many decades to come. There is much information available on the CAISO website on this topic. Let me know when you have immersed yourself in this thorny issue and we can discuss.
Thank you! I will!!!
Ah - the sound of silence from the left..If Matt had only sprinkled even a minute reference to Trump, there would have been an avalanche of comments. But, since the usual cast of characters who comment here had nothing to say it purportedly means that they agree with Matt. We are in trouble deep.
Thank you Mark for another thoughtful column. You are likely preaching to the choir but in a nod to Westy, I am wondering how many Biden voters will be 'heroes' and admit that they made the mistake of their lifetime to vote for Susan Rice and Anthony Blinken. Those two, even though unelected, are really running this country. The puppeteer is Obama and that should scare most of us even more.
Great questions, Mr. Grocott, but the biggest question is whether you’ll get any answers. Unfortunately, we can ask thousands of valid questions about Biden’s America Last policies or where all this magic electricity will be generated but we’re never going to get valid answers. As our dear readers have seen, instead of being able to list a Biden accomplishment, all we get from rabid lefties are continued letters and comments about “orange man bad” or lately, manufactured outrage at federal abortion rights, even though abortion has not been banned across our great nation, or thought experiments regarding the Electoral College, even though there have been 700, or so, attempts to change the EC, with zero success. And of course, let's not forget the granddaddy of them all, the kangaroo court of the Unselect Committee, which is nothing more than a taxpayer funded gossip circle, attempting to deflect from the disaster known as Biden.
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