comment: >
  
  Ice doesn’t take down power lines anywhere but in Texas?  Amazing. Also false. 
  This isn’t a grid failure. It’s broken power lines.
context: Again….the headline forgot the word ‘again’ >
  
  Nobody could've predicted this >
  
  Once in a generation disaster >
  
  Probably the fault of them durned librulls. >
  
  I blame democratic fascism and transsexual windmills. >
  
  I knew!
  Those damn transexual windmills. >
  
  oh is it that time of the year for Ted's cancun trip? >
  
  yeah first thing that came to mind is, "wonder if rafael has a window seat"
  (yes his real name is rafael because this guy comes from big money so he tries to give himself a blue collar image by going with ted, because that's what you do when your career is fleecing money from gullible people. fuck that guy in so many ways!) >
  
  I don’t think he goes by Ted to seem blue collar, he goes by Ted to seem white. >
  
  He could just tell everyone that he's a Canadian immigrant. O, wait. Immigrant. Nevermind. >
  
  Just thank god he can’t be President >
  
  Natural born american. Doesn't matter where he's born so long as he's got that magic American citizen born abroad paper. >
  
  Thats the part I never understood about the whole Obama birth certificate drama. Everyone knew that his mom was a woman from Kansas so it didn't matter who his dad was. >
  
  “Texans would be without electricity for longer than three days to keep the federal government out of their business.”  - Rick Perry >
  
  Maybe they should impeach the people who keep doing this to them. >
  
  Or at least stop voting for them. >
  
  I recently saw that Texas is gerrymandered intentionally so that Republicans can't lose even though most of the state's registered voters are Democrat. >
  
  They'll do everything they can to keep it that way, because if Texas goes blue, there will pretty much never be a republican president again. >
  
  Yup, California is basically always guaranteeing 55 electoral votes towards Dems. with Texas joining them that would jump to 93. A full third of the 270 majority with just two states alone. >
  
  Plus NY and IL and it’s almost time to pack up. >
  
  As a ny resident I'm very worried of the reach Republicans have in the state now, hopefully this Santos shit will remind ppl how awful cons are >
  
  Nah, even if people finally see the problem, the Republicans will just replace Santos with a new person who "promises" to be better than Santos. >
  
  Well, not "better", just less obvious about their shittyness. >
  
  If only they could have foreseen this >
  
  Part of me thought this was a repost from last year.
  Nope! >
  
  This whole year is full of reposts from the 1930s. >
  
  Complete with mumps and measles >
  
  Saw a tiktok the other day of some mom complaining about how her kids have no friends because they don't vaccinate. 
  Not they didn't get the covid vaccine, they don't vaccinate their kids at all, for anything. I mean I know this isn't new I guess... but what?? Like for anything?? Do we not remember polio? Or any of these awful diseases that we've thankfully already dealt with? I just will never get it. >
  
  No, people don't remember polio. I suspect that's a large contributing factor for this idiotic trend. >
  
  My mothers aunt had polio and my mom was an anti-vaxxer in the 90’s. I’m ashamed that I’m mostly unvaccinated, I’ve taken all the ones I can get in my 20s. >
  
  Straight up when I turned 18 I had to go through the gamut of getting all of my vaccines that I missed
  The worst part was trying to get my old vaccine records and none of my family would tell me where they were >
  
  One of the best things about the UK is that we have access to all our vaccination records and medical test results online via Patient Access. You get Patient Access as soon as you sign up to your GP and can order repeat medication, sometimes book appointments, and do some self referrals through the site. I can look at the site and tell you which day I got my first vaccines almost 28 years ago. >
  
  Soooo dumb we don't have a central place to keep medical records... >
  
  “We had hoped to make more progress today,“ said Jackie Sargent, general manager of Austin Energy. ”And that simply has not happened.”
  Yup. Sounds about right. >
  
  Republican politicians should have heckled and name-called the cold weather, isn’t that how they “legislate “? >
  
  They just pass a law banning freezing weather and expect it to happen. >
  
  Nooo that's much too productive. They'd pass a law banning changes to the system. Ignore the problem entirely. >
  
  Our freedom grid is performing exactly as expected after operators did absolutely nothing to fix the problems we knew about from the last storm.
  EDIT: For those pointing out the difference between this and previous storms, one of the recommendations from ERCOT after the near grid failure 2 years ago was improving redundancies in substations to prevent widespread outages and keep them localized.
  Literally nobody did this, Austin Energy indicated only 5% of that work has been completed, which has driven the current outage situation with people being without power for 2 days now.
  30% of Austin has been without power for 2 days now, including me.
  People in areas which experience regular icing have redundancies and systems in place to prevent long outages.  Those people also tend to have generators available. >
  
  Dont worry, this is only the third year in a row with a "Once in a lifetime" storm.
  There's no way its happening again next year. >
  
  I don't get why people are complaining. Just take a few days off work and hang out in Cancun. >
  
  Ah yes, the Cruz Escape Plan. It is a classic. >
  
  The Cruz Cruise, as it were. >
  
  If Tom went it would be the Cruz Cruise Cruise. >
  
  Send Terry, you can have the Cruz Cruise Crews Cruise. >
  
  The people that work there? The Cruz Cruise Crews Cruise Crew >
  
  I love a good homonym thread >
  
  What did you just call me? >
  
  Governor Abbott - Sorry there's no power, we spent the money for upgrades to the grid shipping migrants around the country. >
  
  How can they not feel warm after a burn like that? >
  
  Texas:
  
  29M Citizens
  24M Elligible Voters
  17M Registered Voters
  9M Voted in 2022
  only 15% of those under the age of 35 Voted.
  
  Texans are used to fucking themselves over and over again. >
  
  Im in Texas and people voted for Abbott again this past year. I’m honestly tired of being upset that people vote for the same people that keep things messed up. It sucks for the rest of us, but the majority that voted obviously was happy with the status quo, and those who didn’t vote were, by default, also happy with the status quo. We as Texans have nothing to complain about. >
  
  I live in Texas and vote dem. Im in the Texas subreddits and was trying to figure out why the hell people aren't voting. 
  So many of these little shitd are like BoTh PaRtIeS sUcK aNd VoTiNg eNaBleS tHe TwO pArTy SySteM ThAt I dOnT LiKe. 
  Excuse me, what now? What two party system? Republicans have owned the system for almost 30 years now. You not voting enables a single party system to screw us all over. 
  There's no getting through to these people. I dont understand. Somehow, republicans have become successful in capturing some of the minority votes as well. Makes absolutely no sense with the white hatred in this state. Its exhausting. >
  
  Those same people are doing extreme mental gymnastics to try and convince themselves that this is normal and every northern state just goes without electricity during winter storms. One guy vehemently tried to claim there’s literally no way to prevent trees from falling on power lines. >
  
  I do know a number of people who left Illinois for Texas to escape the cold. It's a bit ironic right now. >
  
  You think florida is getting too weird for people the other way now? Like, before it was weird crazy. Now it just seems like it’s getting asshole red state crazy. 
  They don’t have power grid type problems like texas but they definitely have a voter base problem >
  
  It isn't too surprising to me that Florida is getting more conservative. It's always been a place people go to retire. And when it comes to young people, climate change deniers are probably more likely to want to live there with everyone else realizing that hurricane season is only getting worse. Florida's geography is starting to reshape its voter base. >
  
  There was an influx after they became a coroana virus rules haven too. It’s no longer a swing state at all >
  
  But they owned the libs by electing Abbot again. >
  
  Sure.  Look at how many thousands of Texans died unnecessarily from Covid after Abbot squashed things like mask mandates. Losing a few hundred to freezing temperatures and preventable power loss won’t even get noticed. >
  
  They will never learn, at this point they see their own suffering as a badge of honour, they wear it with pride. I'm not even joking, they see their own self-inflicted struggles as evidence they are fighting the good fight. >
  
  Ah yes the old “I didn’t have X and I turned out just fine.” No, Bobby, you lack critical thinking skills and self awareness. You did not turn out just fine. >
  
  That boy ain't right. >
  
  Thank God Abbot spent tax payer money on humanitarian human trafficking to send illegal immigrants to DC to protect them from the cold winters hitting Texas now since the Texas grid is pretty crappy and totally not vulnerable due to climate change. >
  
  A fair number of them were here legally as refugees. >
  
  I'd wager most were documented asylum seekers, otherwise Abbott committed human trafficking. >
  
  Still did that regardless of legal status.  Transported them under false pretenses. >
  
  Texas has more important things to do, like making sure women are not getting abortions in the state. A functioning power grid is something that can wait. >
  
  Doctors can’t perform abortions if there is no electricity. >
  
  Checkmate, libs >
  
  A Classic Maneuver you might say. >
  
  Just go to cancun bro >
  
  ~angry Ted Cruz packing noises~ >
  
  Followed by: Sad dog being left behind noises. >
  
  We've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas! >
  
  Hilarious—sadly true but hilarious >
  
  This was not a grid failure, it was a local thing.  I'm near Austin and we had an huge amount of ice buildup overnight, the place looks like a war zone with all the downed trees.  There were places that never lost power and others who were down for two days (some are still down).  I was only out for about 10 hours.
  The grid is in exactly the same shape it was two years ago but the temps only got to about 30 degrees and it only lasted a few days, not single digits like it did two years ago.  We also just got ice, no snow but everything and I mean everything is covered in a 1/2 inch of ice.  It took me 15 minutes to break off enough ice on my wife's car to just open the door.  
  If you don't believe in climate change, you just don't want to.  The freeze two years ago was the longest time below freezing in record history.  This time, I saw 30 - 40 year old trees split in half.  This shit just didn't happen in this part of the country. >
  
  Ice storms are extremly destructive. It'll rip the grid to bits. It genuinely takes a few days I'm sure the state of the road was diabolical. Has Austin ever had an ice storm like that before? >
  
  I've been here almost 30 years.  We used to get them about every 10 years, generally icy in the morning and gone the next day.  Two years ago were were snowed in for several days, most of us without power or water.  This time it was short but very destructive. >
  
  Did Cruz see the frost in his shadow and hide in Cancun again? >
  
  Like a shitty high school football coach, Texas just keeps running the same play over and over again and expecting different results. Fuck ‘em. >
  
  Considering that the only viable alternative is to face reality, I don't have very high expectations. >
  
  They're just secreting hoping global warming is real so they don't need to waste money. >
  
  Problem is climate CHANGE is real. Texas winters will continue to get colder. >
  
  This is a once in a lifetime crisis for Texans - for the 3rd time in a year and a half. >
  
  This will be fixed if they elect Abbott again, surely, >
  
  That reminds me of a video I saw interviewing some redneck in Mississippi.  He was asked why he repeatedly votes republican when they never actually do anything for him his response was "they could one day". >
  
  Why are you cheering Fry, you aren't rich
  True, but someday I might be, and then people like me better watch their step >
  
  This encapsulates today's republican base better than anything. >
  
  Today's? It's pretty much always been that way >
  
  This was not a grid problem, this was an ice storm that took out a lot of trees which took down power lines, a very unusual extremely rare storm,  I live here, I see it and I see the great workers clearing things out, there are tree branches everywhere, huge trees came down , >
  
  As much as i would love to blame the government this time...
  The amount of trees that came down with this storm is not typical. 
  People are going around with chainsaws in communities to help their neighbors. 
  It's a completely different situation than a couple years ago. 
  Now, if only the electric company kept the trees properly trimmed around the power lines... >
  
  So I guess that means Ted Cruz is in Cabo? >
  
  If you want basic necessities like working infrastructure, stop voting Republican. >
  
  But I can either vote to make my life better or vote to upset the libs, it's no contest. >
  
  "But I can either vote to make my life continue or vote to upset the libs, it's no contest." >
  
  This is due to frozen lines and trees knocking over power lines. 
  
  Unlike the 2021 blackouts in Texas, when hundreds of people died after the state’s grid was pushed to the brink of total failure because of a lack of generation, the outages in Austin this time were largely the result of frozen equipment and ice-burdened trees and limbs falling on power lines. *
  
  Just wanted to point that out. >
  
  I live in Waco. The driveway to my work was blocked by a downed power line this morning, it looked like a frozen tree branch fell on it or something, took about 3 hours to get back up and open again.
  Weirdly enough, our building was the only one to lose power >
  
  Have they tried shooting at the cold? >
  
  haha abbot's sipping whiskey in his mansion with all the lights on like "what are y'all talking about I'm fine" >
  
  I hope everyone in Texas is safe and can find a way to stay warm during this difficult time. It's heartbreaking to hear about all the people without power and heat. Stay strong Texas! >
  
  Thank you for having a basic level of human decency. You can't win as a blue/minority in Texas most of the time. Blue voters in other states just shit on us for "not doing enough" or whatever. >
  
  So there's plenty to crap on Texas about, especially with their power grid fiasco, but:
  
  Unlike the 2021 blackouts in Texas, when hundreds of people died after the state’s grid was pushed to the brink of total failure because of a lack of generation, the outages in Austin this time were largely the result of frozen equipment and ice-burdened trees and limbs falling on power lines. The city’s utility warned all power may not be restored until Friday as ice continued causing outages even as repairs were finished elsewhere.
  
  This isn't a Texas power grid problem. This is VERY common throughout the south with winter storms where they are more commonly ice than snow. Ice causes lines to fall and equipment to freeze over. >
  
  To be fair - this one seems to be an Austin energy thing. Roughly half the power outages are in Austin. >
  
  Austin has a lot of trees. >
  
  Austin also doesn't like it when Utilities come by to trim their trees near the power lines to prevent this from happening >
  
  Reddit proving its illiteracy and lack of any knowledge once again. >
  
  oil and gas people with marie-antoinette's voice: "give them gas generators" >
  
  Man they wish not having power or heat was going to be the biggest problem. They are about to get slammed with a large bill for it as well lol. >
  
  "Bless their hearts."
  Translation: LOL, get fucked. >
  
  a lot, maybe the majority, are from downed power lines. there are trees falling over all across town, my neighborhood looks like a tornado hit it. there are lines down in my yard lol. it has nothing to do with what happened last time and Im not sure exactly what could be done to prevent it, this kind of thing doesnt happen often. I was born in texas and have lived in austin like 30 years. This is the only time this has happened on this level, usually its like a tornado taking out a neighborhood lines or something, not all across the area at the same time. >
  
  Fucking owning the Libs, errrrryday! >
  
  I’m fully on board with dumping on Texas state government for embracing deregulation to the point that allowed that catastrophe in February two years ago. But this week is not that. The grid remained functional. This was ice causing damage to trees and power lines. As far as I know, that isn’t something Texas voters can change at the ballot box. Your disdain for all Texans is not helpful, nor is it funny. >
  
  Thank you for having a shred of decency. It's like people here have never been to a major city in Texas, looked at a demographic map, or seen voting trends the past decade. >
  
  "That's what they get for electing Abbott!" like every Texas city hasn't been reliably blue for the last decade. >
  
  The majority of people without power right now didn't even vote for Abbot! The county with the most power outages is Travis by far, and Travis votes were like 80% for Beto. >
  
  Not too frustrated to get rid of Greg Abbott and vote for Beto, though. Maybe they should just bootstrap that cold.
  I feel bad for the people who tried to change their asinine governor, but for those who didn't. Well... bundle up, I guess. >
  
  Does not having income tax partially lead to stuff like this? I just always assume if you are living in a place with lower taxes, you run the risk of having things like shitty roads, rolling power outages, etc.
  Then couple this with bad leadership and this is what you get? >
  
  You can really tell who in this thread actually read the article and/or live near or in Austin lol. So much misinformation >
  
  I wonder how many people got to the bottom of the article where it stated that it wasn’t a power grid problem this time. It was trees covered in ice knocking down power lines. >
  
  No one here read the article. Reddit would only read it if they wanted to dismantle the headline. This one fits groupthink well. >
  
  Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice you might be a Texan in a winter storm. >
  
  It's not the grid, it's all local from the ice. It's interesting how many folks are giddy when they hear a Texan is without power. Lame! >
  
  Big FYI to everyone: this is not caused by ercot or the faulty grid, as was the outage in 2021. This time it was completely unavoidable. A cold front blew in and a thick coating of ice on lines and trees caused tree limbs to fall on lines, etc.
  There are trees down all over Austin. Austin Energy is burning the midnight oil, trying to get everyone's power back up. To be clear, not everyone's power went out. I live in an area just outside of Austin that has younger trees than in some areas and we have power. I did have a small limb dangle on my car. No damage. But in older, more established neighborhoods, tons of trees and debris are on the roads. I work in south Austin and some people and businesses have power and some don't. There was nothing that could have been done to prevent this damage. I'm from the northeast (PA) and went through a similar thing in 2010. >
  
  Yep, show us exactly how giving the same guy, the same job and expecting a different outcome. Just remember, they are only about the money that they can extract. People are just fodder that they can squeeze cash out of.
  I bet Abbott's home has electricity and heat,  so why would he have any incentive to fix anything when it is working as intended?