This winters' infrastructure catastrophe in Texas

[Pamela]

Ted Cruz is an epic tool and was elected because he is an epic tool and will likely be re-elected and continue to be an epic tool.

I think when his perfidy affects white people, that’s a line crossed.

 

[Pamela]

We have water! Still have to boil it, but a shower never felt so good.

And H-E-B (grocery) is open again, from 12-5, tho I imagine the line to get in will be long and pickings slim.When they closed up days ago it was a sobering moment. In the absence of real government, we all look to H-E-B to rescue us, as they did during Harvey. They never close. Until now.

I put my pandemic emergency backup food out by the street for those who are running low.

 

[Free]

Editorial: As Texans froze, Ted Cruz got a ticket to paradise. Paradise can have him.

Even in crisis, Texas' junior senator put his own itinerary before the needs of his...

www.houstonchronicle.com

With the statewide death toll mounting into the dozens, snowmegeddon melted into catastrophe for struggling Texas families already on the brink amid a global pandemic. Even as millions saw their power restored, others faced burst pipes, boil water notices, long lines for food, and warnings of another hard freeze on the way.

It’s a mess. We don’t begrudge anybody their “wanna get away” fantasies.

But a senator elected to represent nearly 30 million people? He got a ticket to ride and he don’t care.

 

[Pamela]

Editorial: As Texans froze, Ted Cruz got a ticket to paradise. Paradise can have him.

Even in crisis, Texas' junior senator put his own itinerary before the needs of his...

www.houstonchronicle.com

What I have learned from our feckless elected officials in Texas and throughout magaland: They want to have the job but not do the job, because they, like their dear leader, are unaware there is work to be one, that the job is more than tweeting, grandstanding, and pontificating on Hannity. Thus Ted was unaware of any work to be done in Texas, even as Beto and AOC got busy helping the elderly, and figured it was a good time to kick back.

 

[Roxanne Blue]

What I have learned from our feckless elected officials in Texas and throughout magaland: They want to have the job but not do the job, because they, like their dear leader, are unaware there is work to be one, that the job is more than tweeting, grandstanding, and pontificating on Hannity. Thus Ted was unaware of any work to be done in Texas, even as Beto and AOC got busy helping the elderly, and figured it was a good time to kick back.

The GOP has once again reverted to being the party of obstruction and "NO". Thus, GOP senators don't actually need to do much to achieve the desires of their constituents (donors only, of course). And, Abbot and the rest of the TX crew are aptly characterized as totally uninterested in doing any actual governing beyond greasing the remaining wheels of government to enable that donor base.

Living in a Blue city within a Red state is endlessly frustrating. Our Guv, Ron DeathSentence, staged a snit when he was challenged about favoring white rich people in Manatee County. The commissioner who arranged it put herself on the list, as well as the developer of the "community" selected and overruled using the county's prepared list of eligible residents for a random selection. Gotta love how naked their privilege and entitlement are.

 

[Khamon]

My Patridiots acquaintances in the Texas are "resilient" and "self reliant" and suffering through the cold and hunger and thirst for the good of those who need power and food and water. They believe that the Pubes are shunting warmth and supplies to the elderly and unfortunate despite every single news source that says otherwise. This bullshit is even coming from a couple in their late sixties while he's in bed recovering from life threatening back surgery in their frigid apartment with no running water.

 

[Eunoli]

I didn't have a ton to give, but I just donated to a Texas foodbank. I would encourage everyone who can to do the same.

 

[Jolene Benoir]

We have water! Still have to boil it, but a shower never felt so good.

And H-E-B (grocery) is open again, from 12-5, tho I imagine the line to get in will be long and pickings slim.When they closed up days ago it was a sobering moment. In the absence of real government, we all look to H-E-B to rescue us, as they did during Harvey. They never close. Until now.

I put my pandemic emergency backup food out by the street for those who are running low.

My aunt works at HEB. She gets internal updates. While it is technically open from 12-5 the wait can be up to two hours and if they empty out, as they have been they may close up early meaning you may not get in at all.

Hopefully this will improve quickly. The inside of one.

ETA: Try Randall's. My cousin was able to procure food there but no water. They still do not have water at either of their homes. The lines at HEB were bad so she went there instead. She was able to get food for both her family and my aunt. Her boss gave her a 24 pack of water which she is sharing around.

 

[Spirits Rising]

No Pamela, most are not unaware of the work required. They don't give a tin shit - there's a difference.

Fuckstain wasn't unaware either - he simply did not give a shit and for reasons quite different to the Senators and such.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

I'm an avid viewer of the Youtube channel "The 8bit guy" hosted by David Murray, who lives in Kennedale, Texas. So he made a video about what's been going on in his area of Texas the last view days and how this affects his personal life.

 

[bubblesort]

I'm too busy lately to research this, but I'd lay ten to one odds that the reason Texas's power infrastructure is so fucked up can be traced back to Enron, which was headquartered in Houston. Massive frauds on that scale have a tendency to echo for decades after they fall apart.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

this u, ted?

 

[Cristiano]

AOC announces that she's raised $2 million for Texas relief efforts in under 24 hours

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

I'm too busy lately to research this, but I'd lay ten to one odds that the reason Texas's power infrastructure is so fucked up can be traced back to Enron, which was headquartered in Houston. Massive frauds on that scale have a tendency to echo for decades after they fall apart.

This is true, Monsanto used to be in Pensacola - our water is still a disaster, I'm convinced its why we lost at least 4 pets to cancer or other health related things. To the point we do not allow animals unfiltered water either [now if the spouse would stop...]

Corruption abd corporate greed - though I'd bet it wasn't just Enron, but a lot of other factors, considering that Texas is so freaking big. Its big enough to have three or four different regional accents and cultures.

 

[Casey Pelous]

I'm too busy lately to research this, but I'd lay ten to one odds that the reason Texas's power infrastructure is so fucked up can be traced back to Enron, which was headquartered in Houston. Massive frauds on that scale have a tendency to echo for decades after they fall apart.

You'd lose. Enron was a brokering/arbitrage scheme -- not a real power distribution company, though they did own some of those. The roots of this go back to the Roosevelt administration.

 

[Khamon]

As Texas deep freeze subsides, some households now face electricity bills as high as $10,000

Is this what the Republicans mean when they say "trickle down economics?"

 

[Veritable Quandry]

I believe the phrase is "trickle on economics."

 

[Pamela]

I think the days when Texans could be convinced that it’s okay to have no services or safety net because 1) we are “Texas Tough“ and 2) we don’t have state income tax — may be over.

 

[Eunoli]

Washington State doesn't have income tax and they manage a safety net.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]