Comments

1

Texas recently brought up their perennial secession talk again. And they don't want their power federally regulated. So of course when things went badly due to snow they immediately started crying to the federal government for help. So much for self reliance I guess. Typical.

2

From Twitter:

"I'll vote for a Democrat when hell freezes over." - Texas Republicans

"Deal." - Mother Nature

3

@1: So predicable. No caring about individuals, babies and mothers, or pets even. Just because they live in Texas. What a bigot.

4

@3:

Oh, like YOU give one flying fuck about Texas. Hell, just yesterday you couldn't muster even a scintilla of courage to explicitly state that institutional racism is bad. and spent, what? - a half dozen brutally obtuse comments in an impotent attempt to criticize others because THEY said systemic racism is bad.

In short, you have about as much innate empathy as a seed corn maggot...

5

congrats dewdrop
took you long enough
you've become a Caricature
an Attention whore whose
trollings ring Hollow
with each insipid
'effort.'

6

what conservatives lack in bootstraps they certainly make up in feigned outrage borne out of hypocrisy deflection

8

@3 -- Jesus you are an asshole. Brent makes an observation about the political situation in Texas, and you accuse him of disinterest in the people there. Like most assholes, you aren't very smart. You miss the fact that when people criticize politicians, they most often do so on behalf of their constituents. It is as if every paragraph has to have the same ending sentence (even though it is fucking obvious):
"As a result, the people there are screwed".

For example, I could write: Trump's mishandling of the pandemic was not limited to his slow response. There was also the failure to use federal authority and budget to supply PPE. The failure to require mandatory universal paid sick leave for those unable to work due to COVID-19. The failure to mandate standards for occupational exposures. As a result, the people in the US were screwed.

Most people wouldn't need that last sentence, but apparently you do. Otherwise, you accuse the author of disinterest in the lives lost or ruined because of the pandemic, while they go on and on about Trump. But apparently you need everything explicitly stated.

9

@6: The point is about weather, science, and humanity; not politics, policy, and consequences.

11

@8: Nice pinpoint of @3’s pointlessly argumentative and obtuse post

12

@8: Ok, but what you miss is this:

"As a result, the people in the US were screwed." Sure, that's a national thing - we're all in this together.

But a state like Texas. Come on. The hatred of the south, especially Texas, on Slog, is huge.

So whenever a disaster strikes these communities, one is sure to hear: "You get what you vote for".

Perhaps. But provincial attacks are too irresistible for some to make, slipping into arguments that are ultimately belittling, condescending, and uncaring.

14

You guys have to realize raindrop isn't playing with a full set of Boggle letters. Sure, he has enough to make a few bland words here and there, but gosh it gets repetitive and the words don't really make sense when used together. It's a shame. If whataboutism were brain cells though, he could be the next Noam Chomsky or Umberto Eco.

15

"This week Democrats plan to "finalize" Biden's $1.9 relief package..."

whoa -- they've certainly whittled it down
I sure hope KkKonnell* won't Insist on More...

*the Demon of the Senate

17

It's not a damned stimulus bill!

It's a relief bill.

If it were a stimulus bill, serious people - Larry Summers for one - would have very strong reasons to argue it's too big.

But it's a relief bill.

It will have a stimulus effect, and most of that will be captured by the Haves ... but right now the Have Nots need the relief.

18

"... ultimately belittling, condescending, and uncaring."

--@dewdroppings perfectly
Projecting as per usual
well done.

19

@16: Most people just scroll instead of configuring add-ons. Obviously you're not using it.

20

@14: No wonder that you hold that shared-misery fanatic Noam Chomsky in high esteem.

21

@19:

Probably because it's just too much fun piling on the excoriations - or perhaps we all just share a perverse fascination with seeing how much abuse your apparently limitless masochism can drive you to take for your unmitigated stupidity...

22

Feeling compelled to comment here to praise a nicely done Slog AM. I share RonK's complaint @17 about the term "stimulus," but heck, even the big national media is making that mistake.

I appreciate the reminder that the fact that Austin was warmer than Anchorage yesterday is a function of climate change. The jet stream is one of those wonderful things that have helped hold the fragile balance to make so many places habitable. I shudder to think about the effect on wildlife. Actually, I'd rather not think about it. What can I do?

And I want to share the outrage at these mega-corporations' "generosity" in offering to help with the vaccination effort. Not that it's wrong of them to make the offer and not that there isn't value in something like the Defense Production Act, but if an effort like this is not the domain of the federal government, then what is? It doesn't say much about our society that Amazon is so all-powerful and the federal government's IT and logistics are so compromised that we're in a situation now where Amazon can "graciously" offering to do the government's job for it.

23

How does the Stranger square with the fact that while fossil fuels are harmful to the environment, a higher gas tax is needlessly regressive when there are other potential sources of revenue that could fund roads, EV subsidies, and transit that doesn't disproportionately harm lower income populations?

24

Friends recently retired to Texas, in their 80's, report no heat, light, or water. Temps in single digits. No relief in sight.

25

RE: Texas failure:

Love what Journalist and Texan Kurt Eichenwald said:

“If Texas was on the national grid, our homes wouldn’t be as low as 15 degrees. But no, we had typical yeee-haw thinking we’re better than everyone. Or we could have planned ahead, made sure our wind turbines had cold weather packages – companies like Siemens sell them given how much of our power comes from turbines now frozen"

“Instead, these idiots who think they know more than experts go ‘Yee-haw! Hardy-hardy-har! It’s so cold and the libs say global warming!! Har har. Let’s watch The Bachelor now.’ This would not be anywhere near this bad if, 1. The USA invested money in our power grid. 2. If Texas either got on the national grid, bought cold temperature packages for turbines, or both, and 3. Listened to science."

“But as always, we are governed by the stupid who think they’re smart, who think preparation is for wimps, who laugh at science and who are more concerned about lowering taxes than public safety. We’re captive to the dumbest among us. And through the people they vote in, we are rapidly turning into a 3rd world country while cheering how exceptional we are.”

27

Just for the laughs: A twitter thread in which Texas politicians criticize other states that have had to implement rolling blackouts: https://twitter.com/blkahn/status/1361682089310052354

28

In Texas, a circle only has 6 radians.

30

It's so dumb and antiquated that Texas has it's own grid. In normal operation, they could be making a lot of money exporting energy.

But of course in dum-dum land, this is all because of renewable energy.

31

@22 - because of wage disparities, our government's IT capability is nowhere near the private sector. Consider the L & I fiasco, as one example. Not to mention that Amazon no doubt has better logistical capacity than any entity on the planet. You might not like everything these companies do, but hating on legit offers of help is ridiculous (this goes for Rich too).

32

I agree that the gas tax should be doubled. Or better yet, quadrupled. But if you are getting near 50:50 support out of those numbers I want your junior high math teachers fired immediately.

33

@3 - the issue here is not people hating Texas. This is a symptom of a much larger problem with red states pushing the "self-reliance" myth about how "we don't need no gummit fo' nothin'", pushing for lower and lower taxes and fewer and fewer regulations and services, and then acting surprised when some natural disaster happens.

Us Blue-staters would be a hell of a lot happier helping out after the ice storm, hurricane, or whatever if those in the red states would stop doing their best to prevent us raising the revenue and establishing the government services that could help.

33

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhW-FJkq5GU

34

I know. How about a company like Enron helps TX out. It will work wonders. And Raindrop can be CEO.

35

It's not just Texas. Northern Mexico and 12 other states, including those in the south where temperatures are in the 80s, have their power cut because the Mexican government contracts with ERCOT.

36

@3, @9, @12, @19 & @20: Wow, Rainy. I'm now referring to you as Elmer Fudd, Jr., in all comment threads. Your idiotic rambling epitomizes a film quote from Good Morning, Vietnam, by the late, great Robin Williams, in a fitting U.S. Armed Forces Radio tribute to the bumbling Warner Bros. cartoon character:
"Thank you, Amerwica, it was fun being Pwesident."

@13 Professor Hiztory: And let's not soon forget that it was the Texas State Attorney General and proud Tea Party goon, Ken Paxton, angrily suing Georgia, demanding excessive recounts, yelling "Stop the Steal!" in a failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.

@14 Brent Gumbo: Oh, I'm well aware that Elmer Fudd, Jr. is one deck shy of a card table. His gross sugar over-consumption has made him particularly delirious over the last few years.

@25 Urgutha Forka: Agreed and seconded. Thank you and Texas journalist Kurt Eichenwald for sharing.

@33 dvs99: re Texas: BINGO for the WIN, baybee!

@24 RonK, Seattle, and @35 Garb Garbler: I am worried about some friends in Texas and Louisiana, among those in the Southern states and Northern Mexico with no power, no heat, electricity, or running water in frigid single digit temperatures.
That's one hell of a way to turn red states blue!

37

BTW---@14 Brent Gumbo: I'm not being smug at all, and please forgive me, as I'm elaborating further on a statement I made in another Stranger comment thread. But Rich's reporting here of a 300% (!!!!) increase in reported winter car crashes in Washington State, along with 5-1-1's recent WADOT traffic report highway closure update on Snoqualmie Pass on I-90 from North Bend to Ellensburg until further notice due to spinouts, collisions, and avalanche danger further validate my tucking my beloved VW safely away in hibernation during the bad weather months.

Everyone stay warm, healthy, and safe!

38

@37: I-90 Snoqualmie Pass and USR2 Stevens Pass updates: Both highways have reopened in both directions. Avalanche dangers have apparently cleared, but chains on all vehicles except AWDs may still be advised.
Temperatures are going to drop again sometime next week. Everyone stay healthy, warm, safe, and smart!


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