thanks Greg. i have a lifetime of feelings about Texas and many of my buddies call the state home. my maternal line hails from the Lone Star state. poor white dirt farmers that talked trash on anyone to make them all feel a bit better about their sorry selves. my grandmother, one of the youngest got out during WWII. The Texas cowboy myth is emblematic of the state, so is the fact that it was the basis for the first over the top prime-time soap: Dallas . . . The Who Shot JR approach to governance doesn't seem to serve the citizens well. Look at El Paso--the only functioning city in Texas that is a minority-majority city. Rich people are OK in this mess, but it's always the same suffering group of humans suffering so people could make bucks. how much money do rich people need? BTW--the podcast is fire!
For me the real question is this: How is a state so sophisticated and patriotic that it rears, weans and sends out into the world great leaders and cutting edge thinkers like Beto O Rourke, Ann Richards and Dan Rather but so hillbilly backward that it elects for itself the dregs of Crenshaw, Cruz and Abbott?
Maybe it will take a blistering freeze and the insult of Ted On The Run to raise awareness that the rest of us can't wrap our arms around the Lone Star state, grant it a star on the flag and save it any longer. Redemption must come from within.
Texans, we love you: we stand by in this immediate crisis and the overwhelming one of lack of competent and empathetic leadership. How can we help?
Thanks, Greg. I am a Cheesehead by birth, and now hide out somewhere in the ADKs of upstate NY. Therefore, the glaring error of the 1824 map leapt off the page at me. Wisconsin didn't become a state until 1848. Michigan not until 1837. They were both still territories in 1824 and at least Wisconsin's boundaries at that time looked much different from the current state boundaries which are depicted.
I generally hate nit pickers, but couldn't let this "disinformation" slide. Forgive me.
Your post's content other than this map is very interesting. And spot on for present day consumption. Thanks again for all your great efforts to help us better understand our world.
Friday morning "breaking news" ~ Houston mayor Sylvester Turner has NOT heard from TX Gov. Gregg Abbott on how he/state can help to address cities' challenges. Pretty much says it all. Born a Jersey girl and though I love my adopted state, remember the same clusterf**k happening during an ice storm about 10 years ago. Nothing has changed except the rich keep getting richer. Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, John Cornyn (who at least has the good sense to shut up), Dan Patrick, and Abbott can all go to hell, but I'll stay in TX pining for a Beto/Wendy Davis governorship.
Texan here. Thank you as always for your articles. These GOPQs will be reminded of this week as often as possible. Cruz is a lying pos.
Thankful for Beto! He had mobilized a volunteer phone bank to help check on the elderly. That is a true leader. I am one of the luckier ones. I can't even process all of this. I live rural. If it wasn't for power on for 40min then off for 6+ hours, I wouldn't be here. Well pump froze due to power outages. I had started storing water last Friday but lessons learned it was not enough. I'm using melted ice/snow for water. A Lowes bucket as a portable toilet on my back patio. I wrote a will Monday night, placed in a ziplock bag, gathered my dog and 2 cats, snuggled under the layers of blankets and cried. I couldn't get a phone signal to call out. Roads w ice/snow, no one in the county came to check on us. My neighbor down the road has a 4wheeler and did check on folks.
Again, thank you for taking the time to write about the mess in Texas. Prayers to those who continue to suffer, lost loved ones and the first responders.
(1) Any jerk who cannot stop blaming green power is in the back pocket of the fossil fuel industry. Whenever you hear a politician blaming green power or unctuously loving fossil fuel power, think “ this person is fueled and funded by the fossil fuel industry.“
(2) Why am I the only person reporting the oxymoron that is “Electric Reliability Council of Texas.” This contradiction in terms needs to be ridiculed so that the leadership is laughed right out of their jobs.
"the rugged, white Marlboro Man sort of cowboy is a myth, bolstered over a century by {...} cigarette ads"
When my utterly beloved husband lay dying of lung canceer, the single time he complained about what was happening to him was when I heard him say, quietly, "Those fucking Marlboro ads, when I was a boy .."
Greg, another home run. This piece of yours is easily, and I do mean easily, the very best article on the subject of the Texas weather issue out there on the Internet. If anybody else has anything even remotely close I would love to read it, although at this point there’s no need to, I think Greg covered it all.
This is brilliant. I'm constantly learning from your posts. I know you have many talents but I would love to see you develop a web series in which you explain history the way you do in your posts. I think young people would really enjoy it. You have a focus group of one in your family! Put him to work!
As usual, brilliant article, Greg! "Polk and his mullet" - - lmfaoooo!! So, I now know a whole lot more about TX generally and its cabal of Grand Ol' Pharty grifters specifically. I heard the main cause of the energy fail was frozen natural gas lines, because they've never been winterized when lain. But sure, blame wind power! The fox "news" watchers will fall for it!
Republicans are the party of NO, as in “No change from the 1800s.“
Republicans are the party of Ted Cruz and Greg Abbott, craven self-serving pols who only care about lining their pockets, padding their resumes and making themselves look good on paper.
Republicans are the party of big business billionaires.
Republicans are the party of Donald Trump.
Donald Trump is the man who let himself be used by Vladimir Putin to shake down the Ukrainian president, obstruct Congress on January 6, and much more. He is the single most corrupt president in US history, and I dare anyone to refute that statement.
Republicans are the party of racism.
Republicans are the party of sexism and misogyny.
Republicans are the party of fighting against gay and lesbian rights.
Republicans are the party of QAnon.
Republicans are the party of David Duke and the KKK.
Nine times out of 10 Republican politicians are the ones investigated and indicted for corruption.
Republicans are the party of members of Congress who oppose the people’s election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Republicans are the party of the attack on Congress, the first time in our nation’s history that has ever happened.
Republicans are not the party of Lincoln anymore, that’s for sure.
What party affiliation would Lincoln have today? Where would he fit in?
Republicans are the party of voter suppression, because their inherent racism forces them to target non-white voters. When do you ever hear of Democratic state and county officials targeting mostly white Republican towns and districts to suppress votes?
Republicans are the party of self service over public service.
Republicans are the party of union busting, because broken unions and non-unionized work forces make it even easier for corporations to exploit their workers with impunity than they already do. Remember Wisconsin?
The Republican Party has become such a reactionary group of extremists, so radical and off-the-reservation, that Joe Biden, a center right politician, looks like Fidel Castro to them.
Donald Trump, a lifelong New York Democrat, joined the Republican Party before making his run for the presidency. Why? Why would he do that?
The best nationally known Republicans are no longer George Bush and his family, Dick Cheney (what is it about the name Dick?), John McCain, Mitt Romney, and John Boehner.
The best nationally known Republicans are now Donald Trump and his family, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Kevin McCarthy, Marjorie Taylor Greene. Now you can include Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley.
If the Republican Party were not turning into an extremist and terrorist organization which looks more and more like the IRA and the apartheid South African National Party of F.W. de Klerk, it would be Larry Hogan on everybody’s lips, not Rafael Edward Cruz.
Another very informative and interesting article filled with facts. Thank you, Greg
thanks Greg. i have a lifetime of feelings about Texas and many of my buddies call the state home. my maternal line hails from the Lone Star state. poor white dirt farmers that talked trash on anyone to make them all feel a bit better about their sorry selves. my grandmother, one of the youngest got out during WWII. The Texas cowboy myth is emblematic of the state, so is the fact that it was the basis for the first over the top prime-time soap: Dallas . . . The Who Shot JR approach to governance doesn't seem to serve the citizens well. Look at El Paso--the only functioning city in Texas that is a minority-majority city. Rich people are OK in this mess, but it's always the same suffering group of humans suffering so people could make bucks. how much money do rich people need? BTW--the podcast is fire!
Another author mic drop!!
For me the real question is this: How is a state so sophisticated and patriotic that it rears, weans and sends out into the world great leaders and cutting edge thinkers like Beto O Rourke, Ann Richards and Dan Rather but so hillbilly backward that it elects for itself the dregs of Crenshaw, Cruz and Abbott?
Maybe it will take a blistering freeze and the insult of Ted On The Run to raise awareness that the rest of us can't wrap our arms around the Lone Star state, grant it a star on the flag and save it any longer. Redemption must come from within.
Texans, we love you: we stand by in this immediate crisis and the overwhelming one of lack of competent and empathetic leadership. How can we help?
Thanks, Greg. I am a Cheesehead by birth, and now hide out somewhere in the ADKs of upstate NY. Therefore, the glaring error of the 1824 map leapt off the page at me. Wisconsin didn't become a state until 1848. Michigan not until 1837. They were both still territories in 1824 and at least Wisconsin's boundaries at that time looked much different from the current state boundaries which are depicted.
I generally hate nit pickers, but couldn't let this "disinformation" slide. Forgive me.
Your post's content other than this map is very interesting. And spot on for present day consumption. Thanks again for all your great efforts to help us better understand our world.
Friday morning "breaking news" ~ Houston mayor Sylvester Turner has NOT heard from TX Gov. Gregg Abbott on how he/state can help to address cities' challenges. Pretty much says it all. Born a Jersey girl and though I love my adopted state, remember the same clusterf**k happening during an ice storm about 10 years ago. Nothing has changed except the rich keep getting richer. Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, John Cornyn (who at least has the good sense to shut up), Dan Patrick, and Abbott can all go to hell, but I'll stay in TX pining for a Beto/Wendy Davis governorship.
Texan here. Thank you as always for your articles. These GOPQs will be reminded of this week as often as possible. Cruz is a lying pos.
Thankful for Beto! He had mobilized a volunteer phone bank to help check on the elderly. That is a true leader. I am one of the luckier ones. I can't even process all of this. I live rural. If it wasn't for power on for 40min then off for 6+ hours, I wouldn't be here. Well pump froze due to power outages. I had started storing water last Friday but lessons learned it was not enough. I'm using melted ice/snow for water. A Lowes bucket as a portable toilet on my back patio. I wrote a will Monday night, placed in a ziplock bag, gathered my dog and 2 cats, snuggled under the layers of blankets and cried. I couldn't get a phone signal to call out. Roads w ice/snow, no one in the county came to check on us. My neighbor down the road has a 4wheeler and did check on folks.
Again, thank you for taking the time to write about the mess in Texas. Prayers to those who continue to suffer, lost loved ones and the first responders.
The only difference between capitalism and piracy is government regulation. Texas has opted for piracy.
I haven’t even finished the article, and already I had to post:
“At the current rate of diminishing returns, Abbott will be succeeded by a decommissioned oil derrick.”
😂😂😂
Two points:
(1) Any jerk who cannot stop blaming green power is in the back pocket of the fossil fuel industry. Whenever you hear a politician blaming green power or unctuously loving fossil fuel power, think “ this person is fueled and funded by the fossil fuel industry.“
(2) Why am I the only person reporting the oxymoron that is “Electric Reliability Council of Texas.” This contradiction in terms needs to be ridiculed so that the leadership is laughed right out of their jobs.
"the rugged, white Marlboro Man sort of cowboy is a myth, bolstered over a century by {...} cigarette ads"
When my utterly beloved husband lay dying of lung canceer, the single time he complained about what was happening to him was when I heard him say, quietly, "Those fucking Marlboro ads, when I was a boy .."
Seems like the lonestar state is dying, too ..
Greg, another home run. This piece of yours is easily, and I do mean easily, the very best article on the subject of the Texas weather issue out there on the Internet. If anybody else has anything even remotely close I would love to read it, although at this point there’s no need to, I think Greg covered it all.
This is brilliant. I'm constantly learning from your posts. I know you have many talents but I would love to see you develop a web series in which you explain history the way you do in your posts. I think young people would really enjoy it. You have a focus group of one in your family! Put him to work!
As usual, brilliant article, Greg! "Polk and his mullet" - - lmfaoooo!! So, I now know a whole lot more about TX generally and its cabal of Grand Ol' Pharty grifters specifically. I heard the main cause of the energy fail was frozen natural gas lines, because they've never been winterized when lain. But sure, blame wind power! The fox "news" watchers will fall for it!
“What’s wrong with Texas? Easy: Republicans.”
Republicans are the party of NO, as in “No change from the 1800s.“
Republicans are the party of Ted Cruz and Greg Abbott, craven self-serving pols who only care about lining their pockets, padding their resumes and making themselves look good on paper.
Republicans are the party of big business billionaires.
Republicans are the party of Donald Trump.
Donald Trump is the man who let himself be used by Vladimir Putin to shake down the Ukrainian president, obstruct Congress on January 6, and much more. He is the single most corrupt president in US history, and I dare anyone to refute that statement.
Republicans are the party of racism.
Republicans are the party of sexism and misogyny.
Republicans are the party of fighting against gay and lesbian rights.
Republicans are the party of QAnon.
Republicans are the party of David Duke and the KKK.
Nine times out of 10 Republican politicians are the ones investigated and indicted for corruption.
Republicans are the party of members of Congress who oppose the people’s election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Republicans are the party of the attack on Congress, the first time in our nation’s history that has ever happened.
Republicans are not the party of Lincoln anymore, that’s for sure.
What party affiliation would Lincoln have today? Where would he fit in?
Republicans are the party of voter suppression, because their inherent racism forces them to target non-white voters. When do you ever hear of Democratic state and county officials targeting mostly white Republican towns and districts to suppress votes?
Republicans are the party of self service over public service.
Republicans are the party of union busting, because broken unions and non-unionized work forces make it even easier for corporations to exploit their workers with impunity than they already do. Remember Wisconsin?
The Republican Party has become such a reactionary group of extremists, so radical and off-the-reservation, that Joe Biden, a center right politician, looks like Fidel Castro to them.
Donald Trump, a lifelong New York Democrat, joined the Republican Party before making his run for the presidency. Why? Why would he do that?
The best nationally known Republicans are no longer George Bush and his family, Dick Cheney (what is it about the name Dick?), John McCain, Mitt Romney, and John Boehner.
The best nationally known Republicans are now Donald Trump and his family, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Kevin McCarthy, Marjorie Taylor Greene. Now you can include Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley.
If the Republican Party were not turning into an extremist and terrorist organization which looks more and more like the IRA and the apartheid South African National Party of F.W. de Klerk, it would be Larry Hogan on everybody’s lips, not Rafael Edward Cruz.
A terrific article on the never-ending corruption and stupidity of the GOP. And the astonishing gullibility of Texas voters. *Godzilla Facepalm*