The Random Politics Thread

[Cooked Crack]

 

Libertarians wilding

[China]

On 2/17/2021 at 11:01 PM, China said:

I’m Freezing Cold and Burning Mad in Texas

 

The great winter storm of 2021 has terrorized Texans, overwhelmed our energy grid, and made a mockery of our politicians and our much-vaunted independence.

 

Major cities across the state have opened “warming centers,” and churches and schools have opened their doors, but when the roads are so treacherous, one wonders how the vulnerable are supposed to reach shelter. The entirety of North Texas has just 30 snowplows—or about as many as you would expect to see deployed in a single neighborhood in Chicago.

 

The biggest story for Texans, however, is the failure of our state’s electrical grid, managed by the inaccurately named Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT. Texas, as part of its regular and continuing efforts to distance itself from federal oversight, maintains its own electrical grid—unique in the nation—which has been overwhelmed by the storm’s effects.

 

You might be surprised to learn that Texas is the Saudi Arabia of wind energy, and that wind turbines in the panhandle generate much of our power. Many of those turbines have failed in the low temperatures, and conservatives both in Texas and across the country have gleefully claimed as a result that renewables cannot be trusted to provide power in emergencies. There is, as ever, a very small grain of truth to that.

 

But the data—forever inconvenient to those looking to confirm their priors—suggest the failure goes well beyond renewables. If anything, wind and solar have overperformed in this crisis relative to fossil fuels, and to natural-gas-fired generation in particular. The irony of Texas—the natural-gas capital of the Western Hemisphere, where technological advances in hydraulic fracturing have remade the world’s energy map over the past decade—failing to generate enough natural-gas-fired power is lost on none of the state’s 29 million citizens.

 

Well, almost none of its 29 million citizens.

 

There is a certain kind of conservative politician here in Texas who spends a sizable part of his day obsessing about the state of California. Such politicians have spent much of the past few years mercilessly teasing the progressive leadership of California for the failures of the state’s power grid.

 

These politicians have been, for the most part, conspicuously quiet since the crisis began here. The state’s governor, Greg Abbott, has mostly popped up on reliably friendly media outlets—local news stations, the evening shows on Fox News—where he knows he will not face hard questions.

 

But hard questions will be asked, because the failures of ERCOT ultimately belong to the leaders of a state who insisted that, by design, the buck must stop with them and not with the federal government. “The ERCOT grid has collapsed in exactly the same manner as the old Soviet Union,” one expert told the Houston Chronicle. “It limped along on underinvestment and neglect until it finally broke under predictable circumstances.”

 

Fixing ERCOT will require actual governance, as opposed to performative governance, and that is something the state’s leadership has struggled with of late. Rather than address the challenges associated with rapid growth, the state’s elected leaders have preferred to focus on various lib-owning initiatives such as the menace of transgender athletes, whether or not NBA games feature the national anthem, and—in a triumph of a certain brand of contemporary “conservatism”—legislating how local municipalities can allocate their own funds.

 

I’m anxious to see how our governor, in particular, will respond to this crisis, because I have never witnessed a more cowardly politician. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

On 2/17/2021 at 11:56 PM, China said:

 

 

Texas governor says power grid fixed; experts cite problems

 

Despite experts who say Texas’ power grid remains vulnerable, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott declared Tuesday that new reforms “fix all of the flaws” that caused February’s deadly winter blackout that left more than 4 million people without power in subfreezing weather.

 

He was joined by Republicans who defended it as a good deal for consumers, even though they gave no direct financial relief to families who were stuck with high energy bills or lost income as the lights and heat stayed off for days.

 

Signing into law two sweeping overhauls in response to one of the largest power outages in U.S. history, Abbott asserted that he and the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature had delivered following one of the worst crises in his six years as governor. But even members of his own party say there is work still to be done.

 

More than 4 million people lost power when temperatures plunged into single digits over Valentine Day’s weekend, icing power generators and buckling the state’s electric grid. State officials say they have confirmed at least 151 deaths blamed on the freeze and resulting outages, but the real toll is believed to be higher.

 

“The legislature passed comprehensive reforms to fix all of the flaws that led to the power failure,” Abbott said. He went on to add, “Bottom line is that everything that needed to be done was done to fix the power grid in Texas.”

 

Energy experts disagree, saying that although lawmakers made significant changes that include mandates to “weatherize” power plants for extreme temperatures and new processes to avert communication failures, the reforms do not go far enough to assure a similar catastrophe won’t happen again in one of America’s most booming states.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

The Congressional Black Caucus Is Blocking A Black Republican From Joining The Group

 

The Congressional Black Caucus is blocking membership to Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida who has tried to join the organization, a source familiar with the CBC's plans told BuzzFeed News.

 

It’s been six months since the members who won election in 2020 were inducted into the CBC, a powerful and nominally nonpartisan group of Black lawmakers in Congress. Donalds, who won election for the first time last year, has not been included in that group.

 

The Florida representative’s office said Donalds has talked to at least three members of the CBC about joining the group, whose members are now at the forefront of police reform talks and responsible for highlighting the racial inequities around COVID-19. He’s not received an answer and the likelihood of that happening a quarter way into the 117th Congress looks bleak.

 

“Congressman Donalds has expressed interest in joining the CBC, but has yet to receive an official invitation,” said a Donalds aide. “If given, he’d gladly accept.” The CBC did not respond to questions about the status of Donalds’ membership, or why he was not being let in.

 

The snub highlights the divide between Democrats and their Republican counterparts since Jan. 6, when a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol during the certification of Joe Biden’s presidency.

 

Some Democrats have refused to partner with Republicans on legislation since the mob attack, especially if they voted against accepting the election results. Donalds was one of the Republicans who voted to deny Biden’s win.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Closed cold case murder tied to ousted Tennessee governor

 

A former Tennessee governor’s administration helped fund a contract murder of a key federal witness decades ago while embroiled in the state’s largest political scandal, law enforcement officials announced Wednesday.

 

The new details revealed for the first time Wednesday have elements that ring of a movie: a trusted ally of union boss Jimmy Hoffa gunned down after testifying about a corrupt governor selling prison pardons and a gunman who donned a wig and blackface to throw authorities off the scent.

 

Investigators in Hamilton County, which encompasses Chattanooga, have been chipping away at the 42-year-old cold case of Samuel Pettyjohn since they renewed their investigation in 2015. No new charges will be filed because all of the major players involved are now dead, but authorities say closing the case provides closure to one aspect of a complicated piece of Tennessee history.

 

Pettyjohn, a Chattanooga businessman and close friend of Hoffa, was fatally shot in 1979 in downtown Chattanooga after testifying before a federal grand jury during the early phases of Tennessee’s notorious “cash-for-clemency” scandal.

 

“Essentially, Mr. Pettyjohn cooperated with authorities and knew too much about what was going on locally, as well as the state level, and individuals didn’t like that and so individuals hired someone to murder him,” Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston said. “Here we are some 42 years later.”

 

The scandal ultimately led to the ousting of Democratic Gov. Ray Blanton, who was never indicted in the investigation — but three of his aides were. However, questions have lingered about the extent to which the governor’s administration actively worked to thwart the investigation. Officials say at least five witnesses in the case were murdered or killed themselves.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[LadySkinsFan]

2 hours ago, Cooked Crack said:

 

 

 

That was fast. We need to take a lesson here. Especially with domestic terrorists.

 

 

Edited June 10, 2021 by LadySkinsFan

[Chew]

Jeffrey Toobin just spent an entire 10-minute segment  on CNN addressing his "fapgate" from earlier this year, when he accidentally masturbated on camera during a Zoom call while his New Yorker colleagues could see him.  Ugh, this is so friggin' cringe.  Worst nightmare kinda ****.  

I've always enjoyed his commentary and hopefully Toobin is back on TV after this.

[China]

The end of the Trump presidency brought the US one of its biggest spikes in global approval ratings on record

 

The global image of the United States has vastly improved since President Joe Biden took office compared to all-time low ratings under former President Donald Trump's leadership, new data released by Pew Research Center on Thursday shows.

 

Pew Research Center polled people in 16 countries and the results show a major shift in public attitudes after Trump left the White House.

 

The US' average favorability rating increased by 28 percentage points this year - one of the biggest spikes on record since Pew started polling more than two decades ago. The number jumped from 34% in 2020 to 62% this year.

 

In six countries - France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands and Canada - positive opinions of the US grew by at least 25 percentage points, returning to the high ratings seen during the Obama era.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[skinsmarydu]

Just saw a pic of the G-7 roundtable...everyone was smiling.  What a difference from the last 4 years. 

 

Chris Matthews sighting on MSNBC right now. 

[LD0506]

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[China]

On 6/9/2021 at 7:51 PM, China said:

 

 

Texas governor says power grid fixed; experts cite problems

 

Despite experts who say Texas’ power grid remains vulnerable, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott declared Tuesday that new reforms “fix all of the flaws” that caused February’s deadly winter blackout that left more than 4 million people without power in subfreezing weather.

 

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Meanwhile...

 

'Unplanned' outages hit Texas power plants in soaring temperatures

[China]

 

[LD0506]

[China]

On 6/15/2021 at 9:50 AM, China said:

 

Meanwhile...

 

'Unplanned' outages hit Texas power plants in soaring temperatures

 

Sweltering Texans urged to reduce cooking and cleaning to ease grid strain

[skinsmarydu]

Just got this. 

Please help us if you can. 

 

 

[PleaseBlitz]

18 hours ago, China said:

 

Might want to actually read that 10th Amendment Slappy. No resolutions necessary. 

[LD0506]

In secret recording, Florida Republican threatens to send Russian-Ukrainian ‘hit squad’ after rival

 

 

https://news.yahoo.com/secret-recording-florida-republican-threatens-033055617.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=fb&tsrc=fb

[China]

‘It was exhaustion, it was sadness, it was fatigue’: America’s mayors call it quits

 

enny Durkan survived death threats as a federal prosecutor before becoming the first woman in nearly a century to lead the city of Seattle. Two-plus years into her first term as mayor, Durkan — the daughter of one of Washington state’s most powerful political players — was laying the groundwork for a reelection bid and thinking about her political future.

Then Covid-19 arrived.

 

Washington state was hit first and hit hard. There was no playbook and little help from the feds. Running a city, already a marathon in the best of times, suddenly felt to Durkan like running an Ironman — at a sprint. Ten months, several pandemic surges and an unexpected summer of protests over police brutality later, Durkan decided not to seek a second term after all.

 

“When you’re in the cauldron, making those tough decisions, it becomes much more clear,” Durkan said. “I could either do the job they elected me to do or run to keep the job. But I couldn’t do both.”

 

Durkan is far from the only mayor calling it quits after an exhausting year navigating the front lines of an unprecedented confluence of crises that touched nearly every aspect of human life. Across the country, mayors in cities big and small, urban and rural, are giving up — for now — on their political careers. In the process, they’re shaking up the municipal landscape, creating a brain drain in city halls and upsetting the political pipeline all over America.

 

Covid-19 changed the calculus for mayors mulling reelection, but the public health crisis was only a fraction of a much larger equation. The associated economic downturn “decimated” city budgets, leading to months of fiscal headaches before federal aid helped ease the problem. George Floyd’s killing last May sparked protests that grew into a national reckoning on racism and policing that’s still ongoing. And all of that kindling turned an already fiery presidential election into an inferno.

 

Many city leaders did not want to stick around to stamp out the flames.

 

Not unlike the current exodus from Congress, mayors across the country are stepping down en masse after years and even decades of public service. Their reasons range from personal to professional, but many share common threads spun from a year of unparalleled tumult and a recognition that what might be best for their city’s future might not be what they envisioned for their own.

 

“It is time to pass the baton,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said last month when she announced she wouldn’t seek a second term, a surprising move for one of the Democratic Party’s biggest rising stars.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[skinsmarydu]

Not sure where this goes...RIP, Champ.

 

[TheGreatBuzz]

7 hours ago, skinsmarydu said:

Not sure where this goes...RIP, Champ.

 

We were at a bike rally today when we saw this.  Went home shortly after.  Totally ruined our day.

[China]

Manhattan City Council candidate caught with dominatrix in leaked video

 

It’s a late-breaking case of electoral bondage.

 

Zack Weiner, 26, a City Council candidate running in Manhattan, has found his campaign tied up after video of him enjoying a sadomasochism session found its way onto Twitter.

 

What a Weiner in bondage may look like

 

“My magnificent domme friend played with Upper West Side city council candidate Zack Weiner and I’m the only one who has the footage,” reads a tweet from the anonymous account which posted the video last week.

 

The footage — flagged to The Post by Weiner’s own campaign manager — shows a gagged Weiner, unable to speak, subjecting himself to various abuses by a leather-bound woman who pours wax on him and clips his nipples with clothespins.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[PokerPacker]

18 minutes ago, China said:

Manhattan City Council candidate caught with dominatrix in leaked video

 

It’s a late-breaking case of electoral bondage.

 

Zack Weiner, 26, a City Council candidate running in Manhattan, has found his campaign tied up after video of him enjoying a sadomasochism session found its way onto Twitter.

 

What a Weiner in bondage may look like

 

“My magnificent domme friend played with Upper West Side city council candidate Zack Weiner and I’m the only one who has the footage,” reads a tweet from the anonymous account which posted the video last week.

 

The footage — flagged to The Post by Weiner’s own campaign manager — shows a gagged Weiner, unable to speak, subjecting himself to various abuses by a leather-bound woman who pours wax on him and clips his nipples with clothespins.

 

Click on the link for the full article

Don't kink-shame

[hail2skins]

Regarding Champ Biden......in reaction to the news, National Review writer Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank on Twitter) tweeted out a comment that could be read as comparing Champ's death to the "good son" Beau's death, making the comparison of Major (the dog who has the biting issue) to Hunter (who has his documented issues). McLaughlin has been raked over the coals on Twitter all day, so what does National Review do?  Publishes a column by McLaughlin in which he basically confirms what people were reading into the tweet.

 

Instead of taking the tweet down and making an apology, this is where we're at.

[PleaseBlitz]

9 hours ago, hail2skins said:

Regarding Champ Biden......in reaction to the news, National Review writer Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank on Twitter) tweeted out a comment that could be read as comparing Champ's death to the "good son" Beau's death, making the comparison of Major (the dog who has the biting issue) to Hunter (who has his documented issues). McLaughlin has been raked over the coals on Twitter all day, so what does National Review do?  Publishes a column by McLaughlin in which he basically confirms what people were reading into the tweet.

 

Instead of taking the tweet down and making an apology, this is where we're at.

That may become the most ratioed tweet of all time, and it should.