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The grids in the rest of the country are not particularly more robust than those of Texas or the south, so it's wrong to look to local political factors to unde

The grids in the rest of the country are not particularly more robust than those of Texas or the south, so it's wrong to look to local political factors to understand the situation. The poor preparedness of the US grid is well known. The only reason to start talking about peculiar conservative beliefs is to drive partisanship enthusiasm and to sow division. It's a dishonest, cowardly act, and detracts from public dialogue.

mannykannot 6y ago
Firstly, widening the scope does not alter the fact that the failure of many does not excuse the failure of any one of them. Secondly, none of them failed as badly as Texas. Most importantly, many other areas of the country have solved the biggest problems that occurred in the Texas debacle, those solutions are well-known in the industry, and experts have been telling Texas for a long time that it is not properly prepared. And when politicians start saying things like the debacle being preferable to federal regulation, it absolutely is reasonable to ask whether Texas' failure to heed the warnings of experts was overly influenced by ideological concerns, and that question clearly belongs in the public dialogue. As for calling this a "dishonest, cowardly act", that's the sort of rhetoric that most people give up after childhood. It is that, rather than the substantive issues that many knowledgeable people have been raising, which does not belong in public dialogue. You seem to be annoyed that this thread has demonstrated a complete failure of critical analysis on your part (a situation that your latest reply has done nothing to repair), but it is entirely of your own doing.
- solidsnack9000 6y ago
  Almost none of what you're saying is true, here -- it's generalizations and false implication. Notice how you don't say which problems or which experts. Dishonesty is the sort of rhetoric... There are northern states with better winterization, but that is easily explainable with reference to the obvious difference in weather. Even given that, significant blackouts -- like the northeast blackout of 2003 -- have occurred in areas with quite a different political climate than Texas. The US grid has overall shown a low level of preparedness. And when politicians start saying things like the debacle being preferable to federal regulation, it absolutely is reasonable to ask whether Texas' failure to heed the warnings of experts was overly influenced by ideological concerns... The only winterization recommendations that would have made a difference for Texas came from within the Texas energy sector itself. What are you talking about, here?
  - mannykannot 6y ago
    You started your responses to me in this thread by arguing that because "Texas's separate grid dates back decades, and was driven by a conscious desire to optimize for the needs of manufacturing", the mere suggestion that it could have done something to prepare for the recent situation was nonsense. Now you are saying that "the only winterization recommendations that would have made a difference for Texas came from within the Texas energy sector itself", so, whether or not these were in fact the only recommendations made, your belated acceptance that such recommendations were made represents complete capitulation on that point, and tacitly acknowledges that your response to my original post was the only nonsense to be found at that time. It is, of course, irrelevant where the criticism of the existing infrastructure came from, what is relevant is that it was not acted on, and therefore, the question of why it was not acted on is very pertinent, just as I have been saying from the beginning. And, for the third or fourth time, you are trying a slightly different version of the nonsensical notion that if other jurisdictions' infrastructure is not perfect, then what led to Texas' debacle is a question that should not be asked. Furthermore, your newly-found claim that Texas' infrastructure was criticized from within can only raise additional questions of why such recommendations were ignored - was the Texas energy sector prevented from implementing its own recommendations? >Dishonesty is the sort of rhetoric... This is just a continuation of the childish outburst in your previous post, which does nothing to rehabilitate your reputation for critical thinking, which has been thoroughly trashed, by your own hand, in this thread.
    - solidsnack9000 6y ago
      What is telling here is that you're no longer arguing on the basis of the governor's conservatism, or trends in conservative politics -- but that was the whole substance of your initial reply to me. Furthermore, your newly-found claim that Texas' infrastructure was criticized from within... You are not being truthful, here. Consider the comment of mine that you first replied to, where I wrote: ...the national winterization standards are neither stricter than those of Texas nor strict enough to address the events of recent days.
      - mannykannot 6y ago

mannykannot 6y ago

Firstly, widening the scope does not alter the fact that the failure of many does not excuse the failure of any one of them. Secondly, none of them failed as badly as Texas. Most importantly, many other areas of the country have solved the biggest problems that occurred in the Texas debacle, those solutions are well-known in the industry, and experts have been telling Texas for a long time that it is not properly prepared. And when politicians start saying things like the debacle being preferable to federal regulation, it absolutely is reasonable to ask whether Texas' failure to heed the warnings of experts was overly influenced by ideological concerns, and that question clearly belongs in the public dialogue. As for calling this a "dishonest, cowardly act", that's the sort of rhetoric that most people give up after childhood. It is that, rather than the substantive issues that many knowledgeable people have been raising, which does not belong in public dialogue. You seem to be annoyed that this thread has demonstrated a complete failure of critical analysis on your part (a situation that your latest reply has done nothing to repair), but it is entirely of your own doing.

solidsnack9000 6y ago
Almost none of what you're saying is true, here -- it's generalizations and false implication. Notice how you don't say which problems or which experts. Dishonesty is the sort of rhetoric... There are northern states with better winterization, but that is easily explainable with reference to the obvious difference in weather. Even given that, significant blackouts -- like the northeast blackout of 2003 -- have occurred in areas with quite a different political climate than Texas. The US grid has overall shown a low level of preparedness. And when politicians start saying things like the debacle being preferable to federal regulation, it absolutely is reasonable to ask whether Texas' failure to heed the warnings of experts was overly influenced by ideological concerns... The only winterization recommendations that would have made a difference for Texas came from within the Texas energy sector itself. What are you talking about, here?
- mannykannot 6y ago
  You started your responses to me in this thread by arguing that because "Texas's separate grid dates back decades, and was driven by a conscious desire to optimize for the needs of manufacturing", the mere suggestion that it could have done something to prepare for the recent situation was nonsense. Now you are saying that "the only winterization recommendations that would have made a difference for Texas came from within the Texas energy sector itself", so, whether or not these were in fact the only recommendations made, your belated acceptance that such recommendations were made represents complete capitulation on that point, and tacitly acknowledges that your response to my original post was the only nonsense to be found at that time. It is, of course, irrelevant where the criticism of the existing infrastructure came from, what is relevant is that it was not acted on, and therefore, the question of why it was not acted on is very pertinent, just as I have been saying from the beginning. And, for the third or fourth time, you are trying a slightly different version of the nonsensical notion that if other jurisdictions' infrastructure is not perfect, then what led to Texas' debacle is a question that should not be asked. Furthermore, your newly-found claim that Texas' infrastructure was criticized from within can only raise additional questions of why such recommendations were ignored - was the Texas energy sector prevented from implementing its own recommendations? >Dishonesty is the sort of rhetoric... This is just a continuation of the childish outburst in your previous post, which does nothing to rehabilitate your reputation for critical thinking, which has been thoroughly trashed, by your own hand, in this thread.
  - solidsnack9000 6y ago
    What is telling here is that you're no longer arguing on the basis of the governor's conservatism, or trends in conservative politics -- but that was the whole substance of your initial reply to me. Furthermore, your newly-found claim that Texas' infrastructure was criticized from within... You are not being truthful, here. Consider the comment of mine that you first replied to, where I wrote: ...the national winterization standards are neither stricter than those of Texas nor strict enough to address the events of recent days.
    - mannykannot 6y ago