Worst Mayor in America

[DocWatts]

Imaging posting this on a public forum, after learning that your city's residents are without water and electricity due to a Winter Storm damaging infrastructure across the state.

From the Mayor of Colorado City, Texas, who was shamed into resigning shortly after posting this on Facebook.

Edited February 17, 2021 by DocWatts

[Leo Gura]

Sums up the right-wing worldview perfectly. Be tough, suck it up. Unless it's me who is suffering, in which case, come save me because I'm me and I'm important.

[Stomatopod]

Somebody should ask him, why is he in the government if he believes the government shouldn't govern?

The answer probably is, as Chomsky observed (even before the Trump era), the Republicans have abandoned the pretense of functioning as a normal parliamentary party and have become more of a "radical insurgency". They scarcely have policies anymore, only anti-policy; obstruction, deregulation and the dismantlement of government itself.

Beautifully expressed in Trump's executive order 13771 to "eliminate two regulations for every new one enacted". Or in other words, as the glorious Saint Reagan proclaimed: "Government doing stuff for you is bad".

 

[Leo Gura]

7 minutes ago, Stomatopod said:

why is he in the government

In order to deconstruct government for personal and private profit, of course

Republicans are leeches sucking on the underbelly of a mother cow while telling each other that the mother cow shouldn't be so fat and strong. Which is perfectly convenient for the leeching.

[DocWatts]

Interesting how residents expecting Utilities that they've paid for to be functional is somehow twisted into asking for a Handout. The amount of Mental Gymnastics to get to that one is beyond my comprehension.

Amazing how this guy wasn't even putting up a pretense of at least pretending to care that the people who put him into Office are freezing in thier Homes.

Vote for Stupid Politicians, win Stupid Prizes.

Edited February 17, 2021 by DocWatts

[DocWatts]

More context for what's going on in Texas right now:

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by DocWatts

[Jodistrict]

When I lived in Mexico, the electricity would go off several times a year, usually during a rain storm.  But it usually wasn’t off for more than 12 hours.  Also, the houses don’t have any central heating.  When it was cold, I had a portable gas heater.  One winter was very cold, and it was miserable even with a gas heater.  Having to live for days without heat when it gets below zero sounds incomprehensible.   I actually think there is a lot to be said for the use of low technology like in Mexico.   It is decentralized and robust.   Having everyone 100 percent dependent on a centralized electrical grid is vulnerable to catastrophic failure.  

[Stomatopod]

3 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

In order to deconstruct government for personal and private profit, of course

Republicans are leeches sucking on the underbelly of a mother cow while telling each other that the mother cow shouldn't be so fat and strong.

It's funny how the wealthy "small government" advocates also have an almost religious devotion to state power as long as it serves the rich. Like how they fetishize the military and the police, or how they are totally dependent on the government to protect them from the free market. Any instrument of power that helps facilitate the funneling of wealth from the bottom to the top is good. And they just want to vomit at the thought of the government doing anything that benifits the general population.

[Lyubov]

How does this idiot have a job if he isn't providing these basic necessities that are common in modern society that people pay taxes/bills for? Isn't this basically his job?

[Ves]

I currently live in Austin and have bad no power for 48 hours so far (I assume I will have no power until Friday). Luckily my house insulation is fairly good, and it never got below 45⁰ inside — which happened at the lowest point, 7⁰ outside. Some people have below freezing temperatures INSIDE their house.

I've been trying to save battery power so I haven't been able to read much news, but apparently Texas was told to winterize their power grid in the 80s and 2011 when similar events (though less bad) happened. Maybe they will do it this time; Governor Abbot has been putting on a big show, at least. Unfortunately, apparently a lot of our elected officials are tweeting nonsense like, "It was our increased reliance on wind turbines, which froze over, that caused this!" When the problem is their current natural gas and coal power systems simply don't work in below freezing temperatures.

Carports have been collapsing on people's cars in some apartment complexes, I've seen lots of videos on /r/Austin of pipes bursting in the ceilings of apartments, flooding the apartment of the people below (with cold water, too — on top of the fact that they have no power and below freezing temperatures outside). It's hilarious to say "Damn, that sucks. You're just being a big baby about being unable to leave your flooding apartment because your car was destroyed by a carport (and the roads were too icy to drive on anyway)" What, exactly, is the point of forming utility companies if not to provide us power? What is the point of forming a government if it is not going to regulate any of the utility companies, nor help us after their unregulated power grid collapses? 

[DocWatts]

Republican Politicians lecturing the ignorant plebs on the merits of defunding the government while thier state's infrastructure and emergency services are crippled by a snowstorm.

Edited February 17, 2021 by DocWatts

[Carl-Richard]

I live in southern Norway and we've had tons of snow lately, but we ait  

Edited February 17, 2021 by Carl-Richard

[Lyubov]

 

 

 

[Leo Gura]

I once bumped into Carl Rove on a flight out of Austin. He sat a few seats away from me. I was surprised he didn't take private planes.

[hoodrow trillson]

14 minutes ago, Lyubov said:

 

 

 

No way.... while people are freezing to death and hungry in Texas?

That’s just heinous.  Texas is stupid enough to elect these idiots again though.  

[Bando]

Humans only learn through suffering sigh....

[Jennjenn]

Regardless of the size of the humanitarian crisis, republicans will still call you lazy. It could be a once-in-100years global pandemic. Or a first-time-in-history winter storm that’s leaving you without electricity and water, and they would still say, “you’re on your own and figure it out yourself.”

Cruel, cruel people.

[Stomatopod]

A perfect example of what Leo talked about in his "Why Libertarianism Is Nonsense" video.

[Jodistrict]

Conservative groups driven by Real Estate agents have been spreading the meme that California is a failed state and encouraging Californians to move to Texas.  I wonder what some of these transplant conservatives are thinking now that they are trying to survive in a house with no heat when the temperature in the night dips below zero.   The negligence is so huge and the consequences so tragic.  What do people do who have babies or small children?   I am surprised there aren´t more casualties.   They can´t be allowed to get away with this through their media propaganda.  Don´t people know that Denmark has windmills that operate in winter?

[DocWatts]

It's incredible how most of the Republican Party can't even be bothered anymore to at least put up a pretense of caring about anyone or anything but their narrow self interest.

If you want an great analogue of the modern Republican Party, look no further than the carnivorous short sighted Greed of the Skeksis from Dark Crystal. 
 

Edited February 18, 2021 by DocWatts