Californians are urged to avoid charging electric vehicles, days after the state announced the ban of new sales of gas-powered cars by 2035: California energy managers are warning that an expected heat wave over Labor Day weekend could cause blackouts and are urging state residents to conserve energy — which is bad news for electric vehicle owners. The California Independent System Operator — a non-profit that manages the power grid for 80% of California and a small part of Nevada — issued a bulletin Tuesday announcing that "extreme heat" conditions are "likely to strain the grid with increased energy demands, especially over the holiday weekend." "The power grid operator expects to call on Californians for voluntary energy conservation via Flex alerts over the long weekend," the bulletin announced. If a Flex Alert is issued, residents will be urged to reduce energy use between 4 and 9 p.m. to relieve stress on the power grid. "Set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, avoid using large appliances and charging electric vehicles, and turn off unnecessary lights," the ISO advised. The warning came days after California's Air Resources Board voted to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035. All new cars, trucks, and SUVs sold in the state will be required to run on electricity or hydrogen. Experts have warned that California's power grid does not currently have the capability to add millions of electric vehicles that need to be charged to operate. "Last week, California announced a ban on the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035. This week, they're telling people not to charge their electric vehicles," tweeted John Cooper, a spokesman for the conservative Heritage Foundation. https://www.theblaze.com/news/californians-told-not-to-charge-electric-vehicles Energy Company Shuts Down Access to Home Thermostats During 90 Degree Heat Wave in Denver: Now you know why the government and Big Tech were pushing smart meters. Residents in Colorado were surprised this week when they were unable to adjust the smart meters in their own homes. The government shut down access to their home thermostat in order to save on energy during the current heat wave. It’s for your own good. The Gateway Pundit warned consumers about smart meters back in 2011 when the Obama White House was pushing the idea. New Jersey banned supermarkets from providing plastic and paper bags — now people are apparently taking shopping baskets from stores: New Jersey's ban blocking various stores from providing customers with plastic bags is apparently causing a problem as some grocery stores experience the theft of plastic shopping baskets. "They are just disappearing," noted Louis Scaduto Jr. of Food Circus Super Markets, which owns several Super Foodtown stores in Monmouth County, according to Asbury Park Press. "I may actually have to just do away with them soon, can't afford to keep replacing them," he communicated via text message, according to the outlet. Scaduto's LinkedIn profile indicates that he is the "President / CEO / Co Owner of Food Circus Supermarkets, Inc." Asbury Park Press reported that Stop & Shop noted in a statement, "Like other retailers across the state, we have experienced theft of our handheld shopping baskets — an unintended consequence of the ban on plastic and paper bags." 'Pride' Event Canceled as Europeans March in Defense of Christian Values: 'We Don't Give Up Holy Places': These days, it is often considered tantamount to professing allegiance to Nazi ideology to openly oppose homosexuality as a matter of Christian conviction. So I believe we have something to admire in the thousands of Serbian Christians who protested against a massive LGBT “pride” event planned in their country — Christians who were not afraid to boldly declare that “we don’t give up holy places,” as one sign professed. Reuters reported that thousands turned up, led by members of the Serbian Orthodox Church, whose bishops are calling for the event to be banned. The outlet noted that the day before, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had said Euro Pride, which is held every year in a different European city, will be postponed or canceled. Still adamant as to the threat to traditional values that the LGBT movement poses in their country, protesters carried signs saying “Keep your hands off our children” and “We don’t want a gay parade and occupation by the West,” according to Balkan Insight. Meanwhile, Western Christians have stood by, afraid of being termed hateful, old-world bigots for opposing LGBT ideology in our own “advanced” countries. To many Europeans, defending their traditional values is a matter of defending centuries of heritage and tradition. But to the unified body of Christ across the globe, defending our right to boldly oppose objective immorality is a matter of defending the cross and our right to bow before it. It is high time we stop being afraid of whom we’ll offend when we stand up for our values — it should concern us much more how many people don’t care about offending God. Americans taking out loans through buy-now, pay-later apps to purchase groceries: Apps that allow users to buy now and pay later have surged in popularity in recent years, with more and more retailers supporting the option. While the service remains most popular for big purchases, with the price of goods continuing to go up, many Americans are now opting to use it to purchase essentials. According to the Daily Mail, one of the major players in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) game, Zip, reported a 95 percent rise in the purchase of groceries using their service in the US. Users can pay for groceries or a pumpkin spice late with just 25 percent down, and the remaining 75 percent split into four payments over the following six weeks. With most buy now, pay later (BNPL) services, consumers are given the opportunity to split the cost of a purchase over a number of weeks or months, often with no interest. As with credit cards, it is easy to swipe, only to realize when it comes time to pay that you don't have enough money in your account. Tens of Thousands of ‘Czech Republic First’ Protesters Demand End to Russia Sanctions War: Tens of thousands of ‘Czech Republic First’ protesters are on the streets of Prague demanding their government adopt a neutral posture in the Ukraine war as energy prices go out of control. The protesters are described by the Associated Press news agency as “from the far right and far left”, with the anti-mass migration Freedom and Direct Democracy party and the Communist Party both represented, and numbered around 70,000, according to law enforcement. “The best for Ukrainians and two sweaters for us,” one banner at the protest read, alluding to what are likely to be punishing energy bills come the winter, and the fact that the country of around 10 million has absorbed around 400,000 Ukrainian refugees. NATO and the European Union, of which Czechia currently holds the rotating presidency, were also criticised — the latter for its net-zero climate agenda, in particular. Germany Will Support Ukraine ‘No Matter What My Voters Think’, Says Foreign Minister: The German government will support the Ukrainian war effort for “as long as they need us” and no matter what public opinion of voters is on the issue, Germany’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. Appearing at the Forum 2000 conference in Prague, Annalena Baerbock of the Green Party, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the ‘traffic light’ coalition government of Olaf Scholz, said that Germany will press on with supporting Ukraine’s struggle supporting sanctions against Russia for years if necessary. Gorbachev, Last Soviet Leader, Will Not Get State Funeral, Putin Skipping Ceremony: MOSCOW (AP) – Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who launched drastic reforms that helped end the Cold War and precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union, is set to be buried Saturday in a relatively low-key ceremony snubbed by Russian president Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin’s refusal to declare a state funeral reflects its uneasiness about the legacy of Gorbachev, who has been venerated worldwide for bringing down the Iron Curtain but reviled by many at home for the Soviet collapse and the ensuing economic meltdown that plunged millions into poverty. Declaring a state funeral for Gorbachev would have obliged Putin to attend it and would have required Moscow to invite foreign leaders, something that it was apparently reluctant to do amid soaring tensions with the West after sending troops to Ukraine. Disney goes satanic: New 'cartoon' features little girl dubbed 'the Antichrist': In a move that seems a stretch even for a leftist corporation that openly promotes LGBT agenda points and links itself to the body mutilations of young children through transgender ideology, this new "cartoon" from Disney features a little girl "Antichrist." "There's no more putting this off. Your dad is the devil and you're the Antichrist," the cartoon mom tells her daughter, about 13. The "adult" programming is called "Little Demon" and one of the actors who provide voicing expressed approval that it normalizes "paganism." The Gateway Pundit was blunt in its assessment, with, "Disney continued down its path to destruction, releasing a new cartoon entitled Little Demon, and it is just as bad as it sounds." It was YouTuber Nick Jones who also pointed out the "cartoon" is intended for adults, but undoubtedly will get the attention of children. "But perhaps even more sinister is how spiritually undiscerning adults are being targeted with the normalization of satanic, demonic and pagan ideas through the use a comedic cartoon, that will further desensitize themselves and their children to this kind of evil," the Gateway Pundit said. https://www.wnd.com/2022/09/disneys-new-cartoon-little-girl-identified-antichrist/ Americans at 30-year high for taking on second jobs: AOS surveyed 25,062 US adults between March 15 and April 18. One-quarter of the Americans who took the McKinsey’s American Opportunity Survey (AOS) said they had to take extra work "out of necessity to support basic family needs." A record number of Americans are taking up second jobs, freelancing, or identifying as independent workers while already holding down one job. . . . a quarter of those surveyed working multiple jobs said they were experiencing financial difficulty paying for food, childcare, and transportation. https://thepostmillennial.com/americans-at-30-year-high-for-taking-on-second-jobs?utm_campaign=64487 
According to Credit Karma, one third of BNPL users reported that they had fallen behind on at least one payment, with 72 percent of them adding that it had had an impact on their credit score. Many service providers charge late fees, meaning a simple purchase can quickly become expensive if payments are not made in time.
