Tag Archives: Texas freeze

State news

Ted Cruz: serial idiot

Ted Cruz just cannot seem to resist making an ass of himself while pretending to serve as a Republican U.S. senator from Texas.

I watched a snippet of his confrontation with Attorney General Merrick Garland today and came away thinking: What in the name of idiocy keeps this clown in office?

He was questioning the AG on whether he — Garland — had the authority to issue warrants to prosecute those who threatened federal judges. Garland sought to answer the question. Cruz wouldn’t let him answer the question.

He hectored, harangued and hassled the attorney general, accusing him of lying, of failing to do his job, of being a toadie for the left.

Good grief. The Cruz Missile simply is not to be trusted as a spokesman for anything or anyone other than himself.

Cruz says he will run for a third term in the Senate in 2024 and will forgo another run for the White House. That doesn’t make me feel one little bit better about the state of Texas politics.

Let’s remember at least this thing about Cruz: When hundreds of Texans were freezing to death in February 2021, Cruz decided to jet off to sunny — and warm — Cancun, only to blame his daughter for talking him into taking the family there when he got busted.

The guy is an utter ass.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

environmental news

Fix the damn grid!

Hey, didn’t Texas Gov. Greg Abbott promise to fix the electrical grid after it nearly failed during the February 2021 deep freeze that killed all those Texans?

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas wasn’t very “reliable” then. Abbott made the grand promise to ensure the grid wouldn’t fail.

Well, that was then.

Now we keep getting these advisories from ERCOT asking us to turn the air conditioners up to 78 or80 degrees … even though the summer heat is cooking us crispy. The temp hit 107 degrees today in our North Texas home in Princeton. There is no long-term relief in sight!

Now comes the question: When will we get the grid fixed to avoid the potential for electrical failure … Gov. Abbott?

We do not yet have a totally “reliable” electrical grid in Texas. It came close to collapsing nearly two years ago during the Texas deep freeze. Now we are getting warnings of potential failure as temperatures set records for summer heat.

We all should stand up and take a bow, though, by saving ERCOT from dealing with demand eclipsing the supply of electricity. ERCOT’s initial hot-weather conservation request helped the grid managers from having to implement rolling blackouts to conserve energy; the success came because Texans responded by shutting down non-essential use of electricity. Good job, y’all!

Back to the point …

Greg Abbott told us when we came out of that February 2021 deep freeze that he would ensure the grid is fixed, that ERCOT would live up to its “reliability” promise.

I am not yet convinced that the governor has kept that promise.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

environmental news

Remember the chill? Me neither!

Memories are too short, given that we rarely remember what we bitched about when the weather outside was the extreme opposite of what it is at this moment.

I am complaining a lot these days about the North Texas blast furnace that has brought us record heat, with no relief in short-term sight … although I heard a TV weather forecaster this morning say something about a “cold front” that might be heading our way.

It wasn’t that long ago when my complaints concerned winter’s grip over North Texas and how it wouldn’t let go. We had daily temps at or near freezing. Oh, and then we remembered what it was like around here a year ago, when the killer freeze swept in over the entire state. It killed hundreds of Texans and forced our junior U.S. senator, Republican Ted Cruz, to flee to Cancun while the rest of us were shivering.

The winter of 2021-22 did let go. Boy, did it ever!

We are just now entering summer. This is Day Two? Holy smokes, man! What is gonna happen when the dog days arrive?

This much is certain. I won’t wish for winter to clamp its icy grip on us. I also will refrain from complaining about “climate change,” because I know that today’s weather has little do with Earth’s climate.

Stay cool, folks.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com