Texas Power Outage

IdleRich

IdleRich
What the hell is go on in the US these days... in Texas I'm reading there are power outages in freezing weather, people dying from the cold and killing themselves with carbon dioxide heaters with no water to wash or even drink, queues in all the shops for basic supplies. And senator Ted Cruz has bravely grabbed the bull by the horns and fucked off on holiday to Cancun.
Apparently the problems stem from Texas having its own energy grid which is not connected to the main country's grid and so can't draw back-up power from it when its overstretched due to large demand and the pipes freezing.
The Republican leadership are blaming windmills and the green new deal but I think people are seeing through it seeing as they've been in charge for decades and the new deal hasn't actually come into force yet....
 

Leo

Well-known member
you have it about right.

a friend lives in Austin, she had no electricity, heat or water for two days and decided to drive 25 miles to a hotel that had power. governor abbott isn't MAGA, just more of an old-school GOP dick. he and his GOP colleagues have run the state legislature for the last 20 years and now being beaten up for this energy set up. there are plenty of wind turbines and solar panels in cold-climate countries, Texas just never wanted to spend the money to winterize them or the gas/oil facilities.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Has a real end of empire feeling seeing people queuing for water in the freezing cold... maybe I'm reading too much into it but that's how I feel.
 

Leo

Well-known member
sadly, people have short memories and the GOP are ace at changing the subject with some other progressive bugaboo. but maybe enough people will be remain pissed off and become disillusioned with this type of GOP leadership.
 

Leo

Well-known member
Has a real end of empire feeling seeing people queuing for water in the freezing cold... maybe I'm reading too much into it but that's how I feel.

actually, we get plenty of hurricanes every year that do more damage and cause worse conditions. but I get your point.
 

polystyle

Well-known member
Oh it ALL was avoidable !
IdleRich and Leo you got it right.
The one side of the GOP is all about the super shallow child game of
projecting what THEY did wrong onto the other side , the 'other' people.

Someone of them will soon no doubt blame 'damn immigrants' for
their own' No one tells Texas what to do' solo grid move.
Trump disrupted any and all Dept's he could.
And got close to pulling off the illiberal thing ( see Orban @ Hungary,
Putin @ Russia, Singapore, parts of S America )

'Empire' went long ago. It's about schism, survival now.
Possible reformation / reconstruction ahead.

One of the Dom dancers has been without power for 3 days in Austin,
one cousin in Houston is afraid the pipes will freeze , another cuz in Austin has no power and his texts got v short by today.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Hofstadter's Law - things always take longer than you think they will, even if you take into account Hofstadter's Law
Cruz's Law - Ted Cruz always acts worse than you think he will, even if you take into account Cruz's Law
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Can anyone tell me how come Texas has its own grid? I never knew about it until now. Do any other states do that? How did they swing it? Why?
 

polystyle

Well-known member
Not much expertise on that Lone Star State, but they just might be the only ones who opted out of the national grid.
You know , some just HAVE to go it alone.
 

Leo

Well-known member
texas, the lone star state. they like to go things a-lone. don't mess with Texas. periodic flirtatious trolling about seceding from the union. cowboy, Wild West machismo.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
texas, the lone star state. they like to go things a-lone. don't mess with Texas. periodic flirtatious trolling about seceding from the union. cowboy, Wild West machismo.
So the other states could potentially have done the same, they just didn't.
 
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