They Said It Would Never Happen: Rolling Blackouts In Texas

Rolling blackouts? That only happens in Commie California, right? They recalled a governor based on Enron's manipulation of the power grids, didn't they? I was in San Diego during those rolling blackouts that year. Everyone panicked.

Now...

Dallas. Fort Worth. Arlington. Richardson. Time to panic, Texas. Whatever you do, don't vote for anyone this year who can't influence those in power. (Bad pun? Translated: You'd better keep Republicans in power, or you'll lose control over your home heating and cooling.)

"Freeze A Yankee" used to be one of the favorite sayings of Texas families when turning up the heat on a cold (50°-32° F) Texas night. I wonder how they feel today.

TXU began shutting down different neighborhoods for 15 minutes at a time. Company officials say the move avoided cutting off critical grids that feed hospitals and nursing homes.

Along with residential homes, street lights were temporarily shut down in cities such as Arlington, Fort Worth, Richardson and Dallas.

ERCOT Spokesman Paul Wattles said the typical power usage for Texas in April is roughly 40,000 megawatts a day. On Monday the state pushed 52,000 megawatts.

They say this was just a drill. They say this is a common occurrence. Oh, right. Sure.

When Robert Bryce called Texas a superstate, this was his justification:

In Texas, you have the concentration of cronies in a very small network of people whose names and who keep changing chairs, but not authority. For instance, James Baker III. This man has been at the forefront of American politics for the last 30 years, whether in the Ford administration, the Reagan administration, the first Bush administration, or in this one. That Cronyism involves not only Baker, but his law firm Baker Botts, which perhaps more than any other law firm in America has profited from its close ties to George W. Bush’s administration. What makes the Texas crony network different is that it is small and virtually everyone of these high-profile cronies are involved in some way or another with the energy business.

Want to bet that electric and gas bills skyrocket this year? I'll eat my tin foil Stetson if they don't. At 6:52 this morning, Texas looked like this:


And it's still April.

Alas, Texas!


So you think you know Delilah?
Judges 16:19-- And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head.