Carolina Journal Radio No. 903: Election campaigns head into home stretch

From chair to current and the largest city to the smallest and from the statehouse into the schoolhouse Carolina Journal radio your weekly news magazine discussing North Carolina's most of public policy events and issues welcome to Carolina Journal radio why Michiko got during the next hour, Donna Martinez, I will explore some major issues affecting our state.

The Congresswoman known as AOC is getting a lot of attention for her energy and environmental proposals, but the John Locke foundation's own AOC the right AOC says those policy ideas are wrong for America one North Carolina congressman is urging federal officials to take a closer look at nuclear power as they safeguard the American energy supply.

Learn why State Sen. explains why he hopes North Carolina will be first in line as job creators decide where they want to do business next and will discuss the impact of the recent decision to kill a key permit for a natural gas pipeline in this state. Those topics are just ahead. First, Donna Martinez joins us and she has the Carolina Journal headline last week we looked at key themes from the Democratic national convention and this week we are turning our attention to the Republicans joining us with an analysis not only of what it means for our country, but also for the battleground state of North Carolina is my good friend Rick Henderson.

He is editor-in-chief of Carolina Journal Rick welcome back to the program so the Democrats it was all zoom and it was a little bit subdued, etc. in terms of just tone in the way that it came across since were used to conventions. Of course being cheering at people in an auditorium, the Republicans this time around seem to manage to give it a little bit more energy and a few more people. Did you notice that the difference there. First of all, absolutely. It was much more energetic and normal-looking convention even though there was no balloon drop and so there was a huge fireworks which may well is more than one observer I've seen on social media point out.

This may be the last time we see and workbench convention hall since basically the purpose of having them in the conventional wall was to cut deals pass platforms too often nominate candidates, the people really getting sick of and so much of that was done in advance of that in this case the rubble to have a flat so the use of having everyone in the same building at the same time goes away quite a bit. In fact, the business part of the convention could be accomplished as it was in Charlotte in a day with a few hundred people so I think this is probably started a custom hybrid of what we saw the past two weeks were going to see how long conventions you will see some stage filled pieces that are used in between the live speakers live speakers maybe at multiple locations and you may see weakness of the percentage that an outdoor acceptance. JFK did that in 1960 the LA Coliseum. Barack Obama did that 2008 in Denver at mile high.

And then the president trumpeted this time around at the White House. Let's do a little bit about the key themes and messages from the Republicans say a whole lot of speakers. They had down people that have occultist, average Americans, as well as some well-known elected officials after listening and watching for four days. What do you think I'm there. Two or three primary messages were what part of the thing that was that was is not shocking, but still a little bit unusual is that Pres. Trump is still running is the outsider even though his income. He still running against Washington. He still running against his law and with Joe Biden as his opponent that is more realistic than almost any other Democrat Abimelech chose to have the ticket because Joe Biden has been in Washington nonstop for almost half a century, so you could very easily run against Joe Biden, either the Senate you was a leader for many years, or when he was VP for eight years and so is Donald Trump is still running against the insiders in Washington and running as an outside candidate 11 side of the report was the lot over thing which we anticipated. Unfortunately, the violence, saluting the Writing Taking Pl. in Kenosha, WI is very disturbing and that was a backdrop for a lot of the talk, especially Wednesday and Thursday night when VP Pentz gave his acceptance speech and then when the president gave his and when the people introducing the president gave their talks was that essentially we may be in charge of Washington with their Democrats in charge of many cities and they are not able to keep cities under control. They are allowing businesses and homes to be randomly and wantonly polluted and I we have to have access our presence to prevent the basically the are major economic centers going in the hands of anarchists that came through very clearly on Wednesday and Thursday before that it was more of an introduction of of what the second trumpet ministration would mean for issues such as a site lower incomes of minorities in the issues such as school choice. Prison reform and also some of the future of the party when you had UN ambassador Nikki Haley in current South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott being headliners in the first week it seemed to me that that's kind of boiled down between week of the Democrats and then week of the Republicans to the Democrats and messaging out that hate Donald Trump is a bad guy.

He doesn't know how to be president, and he's messed up the US response to covert, 19, versus Donald Trump essentially saying hey I'm the law and order president. I'm getting keep you safe. Whether it's here on our own on our own land here in this country, or if it means I'm across the world fighting terrorists. Is it really boiling down to that type of an election is and is physically boiling down to that in the suburbs of the swing states as I think of what some of the analysis you see coming out so far is that� Is it the Democratic and Republican conventions help Joe Biden in blue states, and to conventions help Republican Donald Trump interested so you the question now is how does this affect swing voters and there are people who run focus groups of Republicans more Jos� marginally attached Republicans who are very much shaken by the violence in Minneapolis earlier Wisconsin for more recently, and unless the Democrats come up with some effective response to that VP Biden has spoken numerous times over the past week saying that violence writing looting are not accepted but until that message resonates and that's a leg up for the president in that you do have these cities largely controlled by Democratic mayors because there are many cities left Republican control. But you do have the situations in which the cities are basically allowed to burn, and of Democratic mayors don't seem to be very effective in dealing with this week you mentioned them in outreach to the suburbs, etc., and certainly we saw that during the week for the Republicans. We saw a lot of women who were giving presentations, talking about how Donald Trump has employed lots of women and relies on them, etc. so we know he has an issue with with women and suburban women specifically but there seem to be an incredible outreach and to minorities, particularly African-Americans. A lot of Latinos we saw several people who are Cuban-Americans talking about having come from communism and socialism, etc. can you ever remember a Republican convention where there were so many people of color.

It's hard to remember one in particular that is. This time around the convention very much focused around the president around the people inside the White House so it was much easier to have the surrogates of the people who help other speaking slots fill the roles because quite often conventions like the Democratic commission last week and like most conventions you roll out the blue, the people who we all know you have a couple of rising stars, if you will sprinkle here that there but basically the people who were involved in these conventions and come before the American people are familiar faces of folks you know before and so you solve the Democrats all for living president. She saw all the people who ran against Joe Biden and lost being featured at different times you saw people were familiar next. Normally, how conventions are handled with the Republicans you had the vice president of the president, their families, and then the handful of elected officials such as a master Haley and Sen. Scott that was an awful lot of everyday Americans of all colors and genders and so now we have that time two months or so to go until it is election day. Who knows if will have a winner and a loser the day after election day or not Anderson. Thanks so much as much more Carolina journal radio to come tired of fake names tired of reporters with political axes to grind. What you need to be reading Carolina journal, honest, uncompromising, old-school journalism, you expect and you need even better, the monthly Carolina journal is free to subscribers sign up@carolinajournal.com you'll receive Carolina journal newspaper in your mailbox each month. Investigations into government spending revelations about boondoggles who the powerful leaders are and what they're doing in your name and with your money. We shine a light on it all with the stories and angles. Other outlets barely cover but there's a bonus I print newspapers published monthly by our daily news site gives you the latest news each and every day lot onto Carolina journal.com once, twice, even three times a day.

You won't be disappointed. It's fresh news if you'd like a heads up on the daily news sign up for daily email do that Carolina journal.com Carolina journal rigorous unrelenting old-school journalism. We hold government accountable for you look back Carolina journal radio I Muskoka I Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is getting many of his ideas about energy and the environment from Alexandria, a Conseil Cortez, the first-term US representative from New York who's known popularly as AOC. We thought it might be a good idea to get a different perspective on these issues from different AOC the right AOC that is the nickname of Amy O.

Cook, who is CEO of the John Locke foundation and Amy you have been paying attention to the other.

AOC ever since she got on the national scene and when it comes to energy and the environment.

She's very wrong. Energy and environmental policy was or always has been one of my policy loves. I was actually before I before I came here, I directed the energy and environmental policy at the Independence Institute in Colorado. Colorado, of course, when it was seventh largest energy producing states in the country, so it was a huge deal.

Plus we had seemed a plethora of very active far left environmental groups. I'm starting to see similar groups move into North Carolina so I might be picking this topic back up a little bit more, but to your point about AOC and the wrong AOC. She couldn't be more wrong on energy and environmental policy.

The policies that she is espousing will not help with energy, nor will they keep the environment clean course is famously known for her green new deal. Joe Biden introduced her as his energy policy advisor in May of this year so she is going to be advising him on the campaign trail every single American should be worried about that. Let me just share a couple of things. First, about what the green new deal would do. According to AOC by 2030. She wants the country to be added a net zero carbon emissions. No cars, no note planes, no travel, no cows, so forget your nice juicy burger your great steak she's not going to allow that. But of course I'm sure she'll have all of those things will be for for the rest of us. This net zero green new deal is heavily reliant on wind and energy.

These intermittent unreliable sources their whole bunch of problems with it costs what it does to the environment but three things to focus on right now.

What is it's just an impossible standard, and then the other one is, it will dramatically decrease our quality of life and it also really shackles us to China. So what do I mean by those three things. So the first one is it's an impossible standard carbon is life CO2 emissions which she wants at net zero. It's what we exhale being we are here, you're literally talking about eliminating people so it's impossible impossible standard in the states.

By the way, what we about 16, 17 tons of carbon emissions per capita I think was the last figure I saw no here's what we do with that we contribute roughly 25% of the world's GDP. We are incredibly efficient in creating wealth creating a quality of life that people in many other countries want to enjoy as well and AOC and this green new deal would destroy all of that because let me just give you an idea of what zero carbon emissions look like. Think of places like chat. The Congo, even places like countries like Somalia and Afghanistan have some carbon emissions in Chad.

I lifted up actually there living about two dollars a day that's about what their wages are. You can't get a cup of coffee here for two dollars a day.

I just don't think most Americans want to live like that. Their quality of life would be dramatically decreased in carbon emissions by like plants need carbon we exhale it. Plants need it. That's how you execute its life is life, but this is zero carbon emissions. You have to go to some places that have a very very low quality of life to see what zero carbon emissions looks like. Again, remember this is reliant on this intermittent, unreliable these unreliable sources like wind and solar. If you want to know what this transition to look like, look no further than California right now we have heard that the West Coast is experiencing dramatic heat waves and there had been rolling blackouts in California because they are heavily reliant especially on solar and as peak demand for solar drops late in the afternoon early evening. People are getting in from work or they might be home already there working order from home air conditioning needs you. The demand doesn't drop just because solar stops producing candle makers may may have a market in California right now. In fact I was. I saw this on Twitter last night, Michael Shellenberger, who is head of environmental progress, which is a think tank dedicated to improving the human can mission globally as well as providing safe, clean, affordable, reliable, abundant electricity, he tweeted Kamala Harris last night and he was very pointed.

He said hi Kamala Harris you Michael Shellenberger here Berkeley residence three days into a rolling blackout question. Why should the country follow California's lead.

It's a legitimate question as especially if you're sweltering or sitting in hundred degree heat that that's a good question. Why should I not have access to affordable, reliable, clean, safe, abundant power. Not only that California has some of the highest rates of electricity so you have you have quality of life in impossible standard, and the third one is China. I think were all pretty clear on the fact that China's openly hostile to us and yet China controls 95% of the world's supply of these things called rare earth elements rare earth elements are in everything from you know your smart phone to the camera to the equipment were using here today, your TV, your computer there, and weapon systems. There are also used Sigg, there is a significant use in wind turbines and solar panels.

They need those rare earth elements United States imports roughly 80% of the supply from China. Why, because the same environmentalists don't want us using any fossil fuels also won't let us extract rare earth elements here in the United States. So we have to import those elements now you take those things you take quality-of-life dependence on China in impossible standard and you can throw in cost and everything else what it's gonna do to to the American people and you can you compare that to Pres. Trump and Pres. Trump even as he has. He was campaigning when he was candidate Trump was saying we can develop our natural resources responsibly and we can be energy independent and have clean air and clean water be good stewards of our environment was never this mutually exclusive that you have to choose between the economy and the environment. Amy O.

Cook is the right AOC. She is also the CEO of the John Locke foundation. Thanks much for joining us. Thank you for having me Mitch will return with more Carolina drone radio in just a moment.

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Hudson was questioning US energy Sec. Dan Brule mainly about nuclear power is paramount importance for all pretty bases sustained when a priority for that number is your department about supplier on forces future energy supply and our focus is on small modular is the correct 20 minutes of the natural funds authorization act requires important energy and funds to develop guidelines for Apollo program with elder micro reactors at DOE and DoD sites recommendations for affordable pretty bases increasing energy resilience a baseline reports to be so appreciate anything you can do to assist or finalize so we can move forward nuclear fuel working group, which I want help America to reestablish the global leader in this report supported next-generation directors.

Can you comment on this report we lost her leadership in America. All nuclear power were losing it very quickly to places like China and Russia. In the case of China and other using technologies that I think can be fairly characterized as American technology Westinghouse as per absolute the world's leader in the development of advanced technologies. They created a reactor called the AP 1000.

It's a fantastic product. China developed a reactor that looks awfully similar and overseeing them deployed around the world. Importantly deployed around the world without the safeguards without the nonproliferation safeguards that we as Americans feel is very very important to the extent that we don't focus on the we only increase our defense needs around the world. We allow rogue nations to develop this technology and from that develop warrant programs. We only increase our need for strong defense attorney.

United States was very, very important that we connect these things together in a way that allows us to move forward and perhaps regain our leadership in this area of the working group is the first step of the we have many steps to go, but we do feel it is a very credible strategy that lays out a roadmap for American retainer legal regain her leadership in this case in the nuclear space that's US energy Sec. Dan Brule responded to questions about nuclear power from North Carolina Congressman Richard Hudson he's a Republican representing Fort Bragg and the rest of the district will return with more Carolina jewelry. In a moment where doubling down on freedom at Carolina journal radio were proud to bring you stories that impact your life and your wallet. And now get twice as much freedom when you also listen to our podcast headlock available on iTunes and@johnlocke.org/podcast headlock is a little bit different. It's a no holds barred discussion that challenges softheaded ideas from the left and the right, like Carolina journal radio headlock is smart and timely but with headlock you'll hear more about the culture wars get some more humor as well. We guarantee great information and a good time double down with us.

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Welcome back Carolina journal radio I Mitch coca the covert, 19 pandemic is hit the North Carolina economy hard work and state policymakers do to help recover from that hit that was the topic for discussion at a recent John lock foundation virtual town hall. One participant Republican State Sen. Paul Newton of Cabarrus County. On the one hand you gotta take care of today right, we are seeing budget on the horizon.

Good news there is that good fiscal fiscally conservative policies of the last decade and really put us in a position to have a rainy day fund to have a budget surplus.

And while we also are looking approximately 5 billion in net, fewer revenues to the state we are in a strong position to deal with not easy, but were in better shape than most states are to handle that. So is appropriate to look inwardly to solve those issues but it's also important. My future to think about Mark Morris. We are going to reopen. We are going to see more economic activity, but I would like to do is make sure North Carolina is one of the law in terms of locations for job creators to choose supports a number of ideas to meet his goal one would offer franchise tax relief to companies that invest in North Carolina.

Franchise tax is a tax that actually actually the way issues Our state job creation are stated love to eliminate the franchise tax sure that I can. I can give you capital investors five year pre-franchise tax that would be to go Newton also would change existing state tax incentives one and she thought I would put under this bill hundred million dollars, all used for much larger prospective employers is used for today, so my point to the rest of the world is to take care of today we're going to do everything we need to do fiscally sound, but we also did a little more position estate to be first in line. The site selection consultants consider where to repatriate manufacturing where to grow their business is to explain how he's approaching businesses that reopen after the pandemic they are entering into the realm of the unknown with respect to what is their duty of care as they open their doors and then there's an allegation made. I contracted COBIT in your business, your responsible. I'm going to show you for the COBIT. I bet I contracted in your place of business. Now that shouldn't happen.

We cannot let that happen.

Carolina we owe it to our business community drawer educational community to give them a safe harbor so that they know they have immunity against claims and the only responsibility for anyone in the state's reopening when they're allowed to reopen will be for gross negligence or intentional misconduct of excited about that over to our community to do that.

That's State Sen. Paul Newton recent speaker at the John Locke foundation virtual town hall Newton mentioned the key point of North Carolina's recovery.

The bottom line is we got economy and frustration were hearing from constituents, many is the lack of consistency lack of logic between usually opening in Asia. We were all uncertain about what the nature aspires to be supported the decision early on how he handled it as well as anyone could. There's a principal in play here. Observing that I've seen in the private sector and oftentimes in the private sector might find the CEO's career on a decision and recognize the circumstances. Circumstances have pivoted beneath him, and he's unwilling to pick it with the change in data change in circumstance and I feel like we've got a situation here. Many of our constituents due to where the governor might've started out we nature of this virus has changed greatly. The modeling was wrong. We know that now we know who are older populations are to think about example of Turkey UK and Turkey has 10 X fewer deaths from COBIT, yet they never shut down their UK did 10 X fewer deaths. How did they do that early population is very elderly underlying conditions in the very and they said you all you sheltered place to work cheaper go so we can safely reopen this economy, which then generates those revenues and gets us back on solid footing to provide the essential government services where expected to provide Newton emphasized the importance of addressing business owners needs. We have got off what job creators.

We we cannot. The moment we become complacent and I heard leaders say this is a great place to be gotten job creators need to do anymore.

We have to do more shingle to see the value proposition job creators and families will we have got offer a quality of life. Tax structure and regulatory structure that is second to none. Because our competitors are working to be every single day and we cannot just cannot forget that and just never get complacent work, there's always room for improvement and organizations like the John Locke foundation like John Locke foundation, your principles, your practices types of things are sparse things in our state needs to embrace more and more every day because you reflect the types of sustainable public policy positions that will make us successful for multiple generations. We are a lifecycle state.

We stop working on and then suddenly the next generation work on the state to retire out of state to get educated right now her life.

We offer all of the above with excellence and gotta continue to improve and strive to get better and better every day. We will lose population taxation effective taxation is a really simple concept. If you're growing your rooftops. You can spread the tax liability. Keep your tax rates low and no individual feels New York is experiencing the Exodus of I wager that taxes are going.

It's falling on fewer and fewer people and that is a government like what's the goal of North Carolina's economic recovery were never there. Anybody who thinks there's a goal line is wrong. Standard always changes continuous excellences required when you think about attracting job creators to North Carolina it all all factory despite such company is going to look at it really all leadership team of that company. Being able to look at its employees and say we're gonna were asking you to relocate your family place you can be proud Republican State Sen. Paul Newton recent speaker in the John Locke foundation virtual town hall will return with more Carolina drone radio real influence. You either have it or you don't and at the John Mott foundation we have it, you'll find our guiding principles in many of the freedom forward reforms of the past decade here in North Carolina.

So while others talk or complain or name call. We provide research solutions and hope our team analyzes the pressing issues of the day jobs, healthcare, education, and more. We look for effective ways to give you more freedom, more options, more control over your life. Our goal is to transform North Carolina into a growing, thriving economic powerhouse envy of every other state research is how policymakers make decisions that ensure you keep more of what you earn.

Expand your choice of schools for your kids. Widen your job opportunities improve your access to doctors. The recipe for stability and a bright future for truth for freedom for the future of North Carolina. We are the John Locke foundation. Welcome back to Carolina Journal radio time.

Donna Martinez North Carolina lacks the necessary infrastructure to move a low cost clean burning natural gas into our state. That's why the Cooper administration's decision to deny what was known as the Mountain View project a critical water permit is of such concern down on foundation Senior fellow, Dr. Don Vandermark analyze the impact of the loss of this particular pipeline project as well as another one that would've come into North Carolina. He did that in an op-ed published recently in the Raleigh news and Observer, the Charlotte Observer as well as the Durham Herald Sun. Don joins us now to talk about this critical issue in North Carolina access to energy. Don welcome back to the show in your piece on the lead of it is pretty alarming for any person who pays electric bill in North Carolina. That's pretty much all of us say higher electricity prices are coming expect a higher bill. Why will the simplest superficial level. It's already obvious which is as we continue to struggle to bring natural gas into North Carolina because of a lack of pipeline capacity. When you weigh that against the fact that we are burning more and more natural gas to generate electricity. You can see that at some point the suppliers are going to 222 fall below the demands and that raises prices so at the most superficial level. Anything that prevents Duke fraction facilities get the gas they need is going to necessarily make that the commodity dear will pay more for I have to tell you, as I was reading through the piece said this was kind of an aha moment for me and this is my na�vet� and ignorance.

Frankly, I never really thought much about the fact that you have to have what you term infrastructure pipelines to actually move the fuel the natural gas into the state so that we can access it and use it so why don't we have pipeline capacity here and coupled with that is the fact that over the last year we years we have seen a dramatic shift from coal-fired electricity ration to natural gas-fired electricity generation and and and it's because of that shift after seeing the pinching of our existing infrastructure which is essentially the Transco. So what we are faced with. For example, in 2014 was a severely cold polar vortex called and everyone was at home burning fuel. Duke obviously was burning a lot of natural gas to generate electricity for those people who want to heat and you had a curtailment of what's called interruptible supply contracts for a lot of manufacturing plant in textile manufacturing plants actually have to go down and that was the beginning of sort of the realization that North Carolina was facing a pending shortage capacity there. From that and for the federal right agency value are two things determine the North Carolina needed additional task.

So we needed that would make one think okay then there's gotta be some projects. No pun intended in the pipeline in order to get that natural gas into North Carolina.

There were two there were to be written about both of them. One was the Atlantic coast pipeline which is now a dead project and briefly explain why right so that was the project between Dominion and Duke were as the project is more private public utility, but that the pipeline was watching the news there was controversy about the same for one more permit the issued but in that case.

Whatever the reason why there was a $58 million slush fund or whether it was a deal with solar whatever the point is the Cooper ministration approved the project so apparently believed that North Carolina needed more capacity and then in a somewhat surprising move, we see Duke and Dominion back out of that project and there there. Reason was that they were just having too much uncertainty about continued environmental litigation and shift apparent shift in North Carolina. Energy policy which appears to say that we are now opposed any increase in the underlying problem here so that project is no more for the reasons you you just listed. That brings us to what's known as the Mountain View project.

Now the Cooper administration apparently supposed to this why that's the only option left and we need this natural gas into North Carolina. Gotta have a pipeline to get it here. Why would the Cooper administration be opposed to this, and interestingly early about a year ago. They have filed comments with the federal agency overlooks this, saying, well, we don't need the Mountain View project because we have this so we have the capacity needed since that as I said there is seems to be a crystallization of their opposition to more natural and even after ACP withdrew from building the state of North Carolina decided to to to deny the critical permit that Mountain View needed mental make any sense because that is what it appears to say is that they now no longer support additional capacity that gets us sent back to where we started and you say the result of all of this is the fact that, okay, we still have no pipeline then that's going to mean we don't have the energy that we need where fast-growing state lot of people want to move here, businesses, individuals retirees for all sorts of reasons that we know because we all live here right to great place. So how do we actually make sure that we can produce and deliver the energy that we require. And here's the fallacy that we just now saw an illustration of an California. The stated strategy by Cooper in the clean so-called clean plan is to expand renewables, which are no intermittent energy supplies in California were reason we recently saw that that just doesn't fill the gaps at all times and having rolling blackouts.

I have a family member who lives there. It's no fun and and what we all have to remember is when you have solar when you need natural gas backup to make to fill those gaps up on the case, California. They have a couple gas units go down, but couldn't fill the gaps and they have rolling blackout, North Carolina have a different issue have insufficient capacity to bring natural gas entering these gaps and will be faced with shortages of electricity as well. So it's a shortsighted and I believe Phil thought out strategy and I think it all goes back to this clean energy plan which is nothing more than sort of a watered-down version of green new deal, it's just anti-fossil fuel its anti-fossil fuel and it will serve to increase electricity prices. What's what's really concerning Don is that not only does Gov. Cooper embrace this idea that we don't need this infrastructure and that data renewables.

This is what we need to do and he doesn't like fossil fuel, etc. were saying that at the federal level, as well as a big discussion in the presidential election about energy policy going forward. So Gov. Cooper seems to be on board with the leftist view of where we should be going.

But that still leaves North Carolina with no pipeline again. I think it is.

It is very unfortunate and ill thought out strategy and were going to see higher electricity prices were going to duction our standard of living that it is not the right answer. We been talking with Dr. Don Vander var. He is a senior fellow here at the John Locke foundation joining us all the time we have for the program this week.

Thank you for listening to Bill join us again next week for another edition of the Carolina Journal rate Carolina Journal radio is a program of the job on to learn more about the John Locke foundation donations that support programs like Carolina Journal radio sending email to development John Locke done call 1866 jail left info 16655466 Carolina Journal radio is the John line foundation airline is maintaining Carolina broadcasting system, Inc. all opinions expressed on this program are so clearly the station for more information about the show.

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