EDITED: Late breaking news: Rush Limbaugh, and so it goes. Do let the door kick you in the ass on the way out, Rush.
Who needs regulation? "A devastating winter storm that has plunged Texas into an electricity crisis offers warning signs for the U.S. as the Biden administration seeks to prepare for a future in which extreme weather is a greater risk and America is almost entirely powered by renewable energy… Wind and solar, still fairly small slices of the state's energy mix, played only a minimal role in the sudden power shortage, utility officials said — contrary to a wave of conservative critics who tried to falsely pin blame for the situation on renewable energy." Most of Texas's power grid is isolated from the rest of the US because Texas didn't want to follow federal regulations. They apparently had hardly any regulation on their operation, including no mandate to cold-weather proof their systems. So as the rest of the country had to deal with broken power lines from the storm, Texas also is dealing with the fact their their gas, coal, and nuclear power production had to shut down because temperatures were too cold to safely produce power. And while, yes, we need to modernize all 3 major power grids in the US and increase our ability to store generated power, this is not a tale about how terrible everything is. The wind turbines in Iowa (and Norway) and working just fine, thank you. This is the Texas government's (conservative lead for over 2 decades) fault, totally, 100%.
And they had warnings… "Still, Magness said ERCOT could not offer a firm timetable for when power might be fully restored. The outages are the widest Texas' grid has suffered but hardly a first in winter. A decade ago, another deep February freeze created power shortages in Texas the same week the Super Bowl was played in Arlington. A federal report later flagged failures in the system, including power plants that are unable to stand up to extreme cold."
"The mayor of a Texas city resigned after telling people it was their own fault if they were suffering from the vast loss of electricity in the state this week amid a historic cold snap… Tim Boyd, the mayor of Colorado City, accused his constituents of looking for a 'handout' as power went out across the state. He encouraged residents with no water to 'think outside the box to survive.'" What an asshole.
"At certain levels, just five minutes of carbon monoxide exposure is enough to be fatal. The colorless, odorless gas is produced wherever fuel is burned and can build to deadly levels especially quickly in enclosed spaces. Portable generators, whose engines each emit as much carbon monoxide as approximately 450 cars, are especially common culprits."
"The apparent uptick in MIS-C cases coincides with a decrease in COVID-19 cases nationwide, in the wake of a post-holiday surge. But experts interviewed by ABC News explained that there is often a lag -- sometimes three to four weeks -- between COVID-19 infections and the onset of MIS-C symptoms."
"The U.K. is set to be the first country in the world to run a Covid-19 'human challenge' study, following approval from the country’s clinical trials ethics body." Uh, yeah, Bob. Imma going to put my marker down on "this study is too dangerous."
"Fully vaccinated people can now skip quarantine even if they've been exposed to Covid-19, according to new guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But at the same time, the agency also acknowledges there's a lot researchers don't know about how vaccines impact transmission… The new guidance only applies if it has been at least two weeks since your final dose, no more than three months since that dose, and provided you don't develop symptoms." That's a lot of caveats. But, again, new disease, it's only been a little over a year that we've recognized the disease, yada yada yada.
And in England… "People with learning disabilities have been given do not resuscitate orders during the second wave of the pandemic, in spite of widespread condemnation of the practice last year and an urgent investigation by the care watchdog." The patients did not ask for them, or consent, they were just assigned. That's criminal and the people responsible should be held accountable for their actions (which are tantamount to murder).
"After last Friday night's unprecedented COVID-19 press briefing addressing the return of students to schools around the state, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday doubled down on his request to prioritize getting kids back into the classroom… During his Tuesday afternoon COVID-19 briefing, the Governor once again stressed the importance of vaccinating teachers and school employees and the hard deadline of getting kids back in schools by March 1."
"President Biden said Tuesday night that teachers should move up in priority for getting vaccines, although he didn't say whether he thinks teachers should be vaccinated before returning to the classroom. Mr. Biden's own Centers for Disease Control has said teacher vaccinations are not a prerequisite for school reopenings."
"For months, Nicholas Atencio and his girlfriend, Heather Surovik, spent nearly every minute of their lives together in a 2000 Cadillac Escalade… After Atencio, 33, lost his job as a plumber in May, he and Surovik, 36, delivered for Grubhub by day and at night curled up with their puppy on an air bed in the back of their car parked in a lot in Longmont, Colorado… Americans are being driven into their vehicles by COVID-19 pandemic-fueled woes. And their ranks are likely to grow as the government safety net frays and evictions and foreclosures rise."
"The benchmark Treasury yield rose again on Wednesday as U.S. retail sales easily topped expectations, adding to fears of potential inflation during the post-Covid economic recovery… The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.316 at roughly 8:35 a.m. ET, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond slipped to 2.073%. Yields move inversely to prices."
"Consumers flocked to spend their stimulus checks in January, sending retail sales for the month up 5.3% in a blockbuster start to 2021, according to a government report Wednesday… Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting a rise of just 1.2%."
"New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Amazon on Tuesday, claiming the massive e-commerce company's 'flagrant disregard for health and safety requirements' during the coronavirus pandemic put the lives of workers and the general public at risk."
"Gunmen from a suspected criminal gang stormed a school in central Nigeria, killing one student and kidnapping dozens of other pupils, teachers and relatives, the local government said Wednesday, in the country's latest mass abduction."
"The princess-daughter of Dubai's ruler is being held captive by her family and fears for her life after a foiled attempt to flee the wealthy emirate in 2018, according to new video evidence in a case that has been highlighted by USA TODAY."
"Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Tuesday she knows her vote to convict former President Donald Trump during his recent Senate impeachment trial could have political consequences, 'but I can’t be afraid of that.'"
"Former President Donald Trump went after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday, calling him 'a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack' in a broadside attack just days after the Kentucky Republican voted to acquit Trump in his second impeachment trial." How do you feel about your vote now, Mitchell?
"Leo Brent Bozell IV, the son of a prominent conservative activist and media critic, has been charged for his alleged involvement in the Capitol insurrection… His father, Leo Brent Bozell III, is the founder and president of the nonprofit Media Research Center, which describes its mission as working 'to expose and neutralize the propaganda arm of the Left: the national news media.' The organization runs the NewsBusters website, which frequently accuses mainstream media organizations — including NPR — of liberal bias."
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