Tag: Infrastructure

Our Vulnerable Power Grid

For some time we have been told that our power grid is old and in need of an upgrade for in this condition it is vulnerable to attack….so far no one in DC has taken these warnings to heart and our grid is getting older and weaker.

A recent article points out that if just 9 power stations go down it could take the whole grid with it.

The feature in the New York Times Magazine poses a stark question: “What if America went completely dark?” After interviewing more than two dozen experts on the nation’s power grid, Christopher Cox makes the case that the question isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds. The grid itself, for instance, “is perhaps the most complex machine ever built, but it was created without a master plan,” he writes. It’s more accurate to think of three grids—the Western, Eastern, and Texas Interconnections. Cox reports that a federal analysis once found that disabling as few as nine key substations across those three grids could trigger a coast-to-coast outage. A related problem is that the hardware that makes those substations work—huge, custom-built power transformers—is in critically short supply. Meaning, such a blackout could theoretically last years.

“It is difficult to overstate how completely the loss of the grid would disrupt life as we know it,” writes Cox, whose story explores how the bottleneck, combined with rising physical threats, aging equipment, and long repair timelines could combine for a life-altering catastrophe. As for those threats, Cox revisits a still unresolved 2013 attack in California in which assailants severed underground cables at a substation before snipers expertly knocked out 17 transformers in about 20 minutes. It’s unlikely that a domestic terror group could wipe out nine entire substations, notes Cox, but the feat would not be beyond the scope of a “state actor.” Read the full story, which explores what emerging tech like solid-state transformers and grid-scale batteries might do to blunt the risk.

The admin seems more worried about what name is on a building than the possibility of a nationwide loss of power….at what point does someone start thinking about our aged infrastructure?

My guess is they will wait until it happens then blame the Dems.

This is a concern and yet we vote for idiots that say nothing about a growing problem….matters not which party for they both are as useless as tits on a flashlight.

Now I know there is some opinions out there….let them fly.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Real National Emergency

The news is full of national emergence stories from severe weather too immigrants to ….well you pick one….but there are some true national emergencies that we should address before too long….like our endless wars and our failing infrastructure and a democracy suffering it’s death throes…..those need addressing and instead we are laser focused on things that will not save our republic from doom.

Where shall we begin?

Seventy years after President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned about the cost of a military-industrial complex, America is still stealing from its own people to fund a global empire.

In 2025 alone, the U.S. has launched airstrikes in Yemen, bombed Houthi-controlled ports and radar installations (killing scores of civilians), deployed greater numbers of troops and multiple aircraft carriers to the Middle East, and edged closer to direct war with Iran in support of Israel’s escalating conflict.

Each of these “new” fronts has been sold to the public as national defense. In truth, they are the latest outposts in a decades-long campaign of empire maintenance—one that lines the pockets of defense contractors while schools crumble, bridges collapse, and veterans sleep on the streets at home.

This isn’t about national defense. This is empire maintenance.

It’s about preserving a military-industrial complex that profits from endless war, global policing, and foreign occupations—while the nation’s infrastructure crumbles and its people are neglected.

The United States has spent much of the past half-century policing the globe, occupying other countries, and waging endless wars.

…

The government is destabilizing the economy, destroying the national infrastructure through neglect and a lack of resources, and turning taxpayer dollars into blood money with its endless wars, drone strikes and mounting death tolls.

This isn’t just bad budgeting. It’s moral bankruptcy. A country that can’t care for its own people has no business policing the rest of the world.

Clearly, our national priorities are in desperate need of overhauling.

We are funding our own collapse.

Read On!

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/06/19/the-real-national-emergency-endless-wars-failing-infrastructure-and-a-dying-republic/

As we ignore our failing infrastructure and the need for a vibrant republic and spend our money on protecting those shit wipe countries that cannot flex their international muscle without the US kissing their asses….this must stop….and stop now….the American people do not deserve the screwing they are taking now even with their own consent.

Step forward and be the change you want to see.

Where do you see this nation, if the trajectory continues, in a decade or further down the line?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

That Power Outage

By now most everyone that has a small amount of curiosity has heard about the power disruption in North Carolina….there have been all kinds of theories of who and why this occurred…..

This is what is known as of this writing….

The power was still out Monday afternoon for tens of thousands of people in North Carolina after a rare case of sabotage at two power substations over the weekend. It could be days before electricity is back and even longer before authorities figure out what happened in Moore County. The details:

  • The damage: A person or persons went to two substations in the county on Saturday night, breached the unmanned gates, and opened fire on the equipment. They “knew exactly what they were doing,” says Sheriff Ronnie Fields, per the Pilot. “It wasn’t random.”
  • Investigation: No group has claimed responsibility, and police have not spoken of a motive. The FBI has joined the investigation, reports CNN, and about 40,000 homes and businesses might be without power until Thursday given the extensive damage. “An attack like this on critical infrastructure is a serious, intentional crime and I expect state and federal authorities to thoroughly investigate and bring those responsible to justice,” tweeted Gov. Roy Cooper.
  • The precedent: The Wall Street Journal notes that power facilities in the US have long been vulnerable. In 2013, a coordinated sniper attack knocked out power at an electrical substation in San Jose, California, and threatened to put Silicon Valley in the dark. It was seen as an act of domestic terrorism. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission subsequently required better security at substations, though tens of thousands of smaller facilities were not covered by the rule.
  • The rumors: Police addressed widespread local speculation that the sabotage was connected to a controversial drag show that took place Saturday night, with Sheriff Fields saying no connection has been made. The Raleigh News & Observer reports that one outspoken critic of the show posted online, “The power is out in Moore County and I know why.” Emily Grace Rainey says police later spoke to her, and “I told them that God works in mysterious ways and is responsible for the outage.” The sheriff says this line of investigation “turned out to be nothing.

That is the best we can do right now…..more news as it becomes available.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Mississippi Does It Again!

My state of Mississippi has been in the news lately and not for too many positive things…..Roe decision…..upholds Jim Crow laws….and now the neglect that has come to bite the people of the state in the ass.

Around the capitol city of Jackson is paying a hard price for our politicians neglect….the infrastructure….

For the 150,000 or so residents of Jackson, Miss., the water situation is a mess. The capital city’s main treatment plant was on the brink of collapse, with most households having little or no water pressure. And if residents are lucky enough to have a trickle from their faucets, that water isn’t safe to drink, reports the New York Times. Public schools have switched to virtual learning in the interim, and local businesses were scrambling. Coverage:

  • Emergency: “Until it is fixed, it means we do not have reliable running water at scale,” said Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves in a briefing Monday evening. “It means the city cannot produce enough water to fight fires, to reliably flush toilets, and to meet other critical needs.” Reeves declared an emergency and said the state was mobilizing to provide bottled water for residents and a tanker system for firefighters, but he warned that the logistics of such an effort were “massively complicated.”

Latest trouble: This week, heavy rains caused the Pearl River to flood city streets, and though the flooding itself wasn’t as bad as initially feared, it worsened already existing water problems in the city and affected the OB Curtis treatment plant. The facility had to drastically cut water production because of the flooding’s effect on a nearby reservoir, reports WLBT.

  • Earlier issues: The city already had been under a “boil water” advisory for a month because of poor water quality, reports CNN. In fact, the Curtis plant has been operating on backup pumps for weeks because of unspecified damage to its main pumps. And in February 2021, the city’s entire water system shut down during a winter storm, with aging pipes and mains bursting and leaving residents without water for weeks.
  • ‘Failure’: Gov. Reeves said the state began preparing over the weekend “for a scenario where Jackson would be without running water for an extended period,” per CNN. “All of this was with the prayer that we would have more time before their system ran to failure,” the governor said. “Unfortunately, that failure appears to have begun [Monday].”
  • The mayor: Reeves didn’t invite Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba to his news conference, notes Mississippi Today. Earlier Monday, Lumumba declared a “water system emergency” but suggested the water-pressure issues might be resolved in a few days. Reeves painted a more dire picture. The GOP governor said he hadn’t spoken directly with the Democratic mayor as of Monday evening, but he said the mayor had agreed to cooperate with state officials.

This is for those that would like to know more about the failure of Mississippi government….

As many as 180,000 people in Jackson, Mississippi will not have access to safe running water for the foreseeable future, state officials said Monday night—the latest manifestation of a longstanding crisis in which the city’s residents have been made to suffer the consequences of chronically underfunded infrastructure, compounded by a worsening climate emergency.

“Do not drink the water,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said at a press conference. “In too many cases, it is raw water from the reservoir being pushed through the pipes. Be smart, protect yourself, protect your family, preserve water, look out for your fellow man, and look out for your neighbors.”

Reeves, a Republican who has refused to prioritize upgrading Jackson’s failing infrastructure throughout his two years in office, declared a state of emergency and announced, “We need to provide water for up to 180,000 people for an unknown period of time.”

“This is a very different situation from a boil-water notice,” Reeves continued. “Until it is fixed, we do not have reliable running water at scale. The city cannot produce enough water to fight fires, to flush toilets, and to meet other critical needs. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency will take the state’s lead on distributing drinking water and non-drinking water to residents of the City of Jackson.”

https://www.salon.com/2022/08/31/repeatedly-opposed-infrastructure-upgrades-now-mississippis-capital-has-no-safe-water_partner/

As usual the state government can only react to a disaster for they are not smart enough to foresee any disaster approaching.

As bad as their governing is the voter will buy into their nonsense and re-elect the dullards to continue to screw the people of this state.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

All In The Name Of The “Deal”

This year has been a bust for the Dems in Congress….they failed on police reform and voting rights (2 bills) and as the midterms are quickly becoming a thing and the Dems need something to run on the president is willng to gut his famous infrastructure bill to try and help Dem candidates win their re-election.

The answer is as it always is to gut the great legislation to grab that elusive deal between the parties and to pass a bill.

Same as it ever was.

This time around the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill is being gutted to the tune of 50%……

President Biden declared Thursday he has reached a “historic economic framework” with Democrats in Congress on his sweeping domestic policy package, a dramatically scaled-back deal announced hours before he departs for overseas summits, per the AP. Biden’s remarks at the White House came after he traveled to Capitol Hill to make the case to House Democrats for the still robust domestic package—$1.75 trillion of social services and climate change programs the White House believes can pass the 50-50 Senate. “It will fundamentally change the lives of millions of people for the better,” Biden said at the White House.

Together with a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill heading for final votes as soon as Thursday, Biden told lawmakers it would be a domestic achievement greater than those from Franklin Roosevelt or Lyndon Johnson. “I need your votes,” Biden told the lawmakers earlier, according to a person who requested anonymity to discuss the private remarks. Biden was eager to have a deal in hand before departing later in the day for global summits. But the revised package has lost some of the Democrats’ top priorities as the president’s ambitions make way for the political realities of the narrowly divided Congress.

  • Out: Paid family leave and efforts to lower prescription drug pricing are now gone entirely from the package, according to senior administration officials.
  • Still in the mix: Free prekindergarten for all youngsters, expanded health care programs—including the launch of a $35 billion new hearing aid benefit for people with Medicare—and $555 billion to tackle climate change. There’s also a one-year extension of a child care tax credit that was put in place during the COVID-19 rescue and new child care subsidies. An additional $100 billion to bolster the immigration and border processing system could boost the overall package to $1.85 trillion if it clears Senate rules.
  • The Hill has a comprehensive look at what’s in and what’s out.

This is not a done deal but it is close….but it ain’t over til the fat white guys vote.

I guess the old political saying still rings true….”something is better than nothing”…..unfortunately I do not think this will be the vote getter that the Dems think it will….2022 will be a bad year for Dems.

I am not disappointed for this is typical legislative drama that is in there for the optics these days.

And you wonder why the country has not moved forward….look no further than the legislative process and the unwillingness of the players to ‘stick tom their guns’.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Congress Does What It Does Best–Nothing

As this year’s session draws to a close…The Congress does what it always does….waits until it is a certainty that nothing or little gets done.

Like the whole ‘Building America Back’ scam……

Biden’s ambitious economic plan for the nation was just what all politicians do….promise and fail to deliver….but most are not disappointed because they have fail safe that will protect their Centrist BS…..Biden’s fail safe has been Manchin and Sinema in the Senate……

As Biden’s modest economic plan crumbles, brought asunder from within by members of his own party, the fate of the Democrats in the midterm elections seems as firmly sealed as that of poor Fortunato in Poe’s “A Cask of Amontillado.” Yet, I can’t help thinking this collapse was inevitable and was secretly, if not desired at least planned for by Biden. Losing Democratic control of the Congress would leave him in Clinton’s position after the rout of 94–both as the last defense against the Republican Visigoths and able to freely wheel-and-deal unfettered by the demands of his party’s progressive wing. Bill was adept at triangulation politics. But then he was a much nimbler politician than Biden, able to screw over his electoral base and still seduce them into voting for him again two years later.

Joe Manchin: “I’ve never been a liberal in any way, shape, or form, so if progressives want a bigger reconciliation bill elect more liberals…I cannot accept our economy, or basically our society, moving towards an entitlement mentality.”

Of course, Manchin’s never hesitated to demand entitlements for banks and corporations…

Biden always knew he had three failsafes against having to fulfill any of the big ticket promises he made during the campaign: the Senate parliamentarian, Sinema and Manchin. He didn’t even need Mitch.

(Jeffrey St. Clair)

I say do nothing because the infratstructure plan is widely popular with the people of this country….

Despite Republican opposition in Congress, majorities of Americans favor every key aspect of President Biden’s infrastructure plan, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

The survey of 1,649 U.S. adults, which was conducted from April 6 to April 8, found that most (51 percent) say they would support “another big legislative package to invest in America’s infrastructure and combat climate change”; far fewer (30 percent) say they would oppose it.

Both Democrats (80 percent to 8 percent) and independents (48 percent to 36 percent) favor such a package. Republicans are opposed, 58 percent to 22 percent.

(yahoo news)

And yet nothing from the Congress….but what’s new?

Real Progressives have seldom thought the Congress was on their side….the nation is stuck in 1950 and Dems are NO help in moving this country forward…..cash has made the Congress a do-nothing institution which is crippling the country and its people.

And yet the voter turns a blind eye to the BS making them as worthless as tits on a flashlight.

We could change all this stagnation….but sadly we will not.

Turn The Page~!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Who Needs Infrastructure?

There has been a wealth of back and forth debate on the amount of money needed for infrastructure……some even think it is not needed…..but maybe Mississippi could use a bit of that federal cash….

Two people were killed and 10 others hurt after heavy rain likely related to Hurricane Ida washed away part of a highway near the town of Lucedale, Miss., on Monday night. A hole about 50 feet long and 20 feet deep was created, and several vehicles went in, CNN reports. “I’ve never seen anything in my 23 years in law enforcement like this,” a trooper says. Three of those injured were in critical condition.

Ailing highways and bridges need repair or replacement….but it is more important to chase damn silly issues like abortion and prayer in school than to see to the safety of the residents as they go about their mundane lives.

To answer the original question….Mississippi that is who!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Infrastructure Update

WE have a deal on the infrastructure bill…..it will take om our rail system, roads and bridges, and climate change and that is where I want to pick up this post.

Granted we need to bring our rail, roads and bridges into the 21st century….but this bill offers very spurious solution to the climate problem…..

…

publication of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report whose findings United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called “a code red for humanity,” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) said in a statement that the infrastructure bill does not adequately fund measures to address the climate emergency.

“Not even close,” he said. “Though it includes important investments in hard infrastructure like our roads and bridges, it vastly underfunds public transit, [electrical vehicle], and grid infrastructure.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/08/10/bipartisan-infrastructure-bill-rebuked-funding-false-climate-solutions

To get bi-partisan support the good parts of the bill have been gutted to make the concern for the climate just words not action.

I agree with those that state that polluters need to pay for their part in the destruction of the climate…..

Amid unrelenting heatwaves, droughts, fires, and floods, congressional Democrats are seeking to tax roughly two dozen oil, gas, and coal corporations to ensure that the carbon polluters most responsible for the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency pay for some of the destruction.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that a draft bill from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) “directs the Treasury Department and the Environmental Protection Agency to identify the companies that released the most greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from 2000 to 2019 and assess a fee based on the amounts they emitted.”

Van Hollen estimates that the legislation could raise up to $500 billion over the next decade, with the biggest polluters facing annual bills of $6 billion over 10 years. The funds would be used to pay for renewable energy research and development as well as to assist communities in responding to and preparing for extreme weather disasters that climate scientists say are increasing in frequency, duration, and intensity due to planet-warming emissions.

“It’s based on a simple but powerful idea that polluters should pay to help clean up the mess they caused, and that those who polluted the most should pay the most,” Van Hollen told the Times. “Those who have profited the most should help now pay the damages that they’ve already caused.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/08/04/polluters-should-pay-draft-bill-could-raise-half-trillion-big-oils-climate-wreckers

Keep it simple, stupid!

You pollute you pay.

It is not rocket science….just good solutions.

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I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“A Huge Victory”

That is how the MSM is selling the ‘bi-partisan’ deal to move forward with the work on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill in the Senate.

Before I give my thoughts on this groundbreaking deal…..

Senators of both parties voted Wednesday night to get started on President Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan. The 67-32 vote puts the Senate on schedule to begin debate on the package this week, the Washington Post reports, a full month after Biden had announced that a deal had been reached. “We are prepared to move forward,” lead GOP negotiator Sen. Rob Portman said Wednesday before the vote, per CNBC, but after a few big issues had been resolved. Democratic negotiator Sen. Kyrsten Sinema also said earlier in the day that most of the bill’s text had been completed. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised that the Senate will pass the bipartisan bill before the August recess, Politico reports.

Wednesday’s test vote does not necessarily mean the Senate will approve the package in the end, per the AP. Passing the deal will require the support of all 50 Democratic senators and at least 10 Republicans. Portman announced the deal alongside four other GOP negotiators, but it’s not clear how many other Republicans will vote for the plan. Sources tell the AP that at a closed-door lunch Tuesday, some GOP senators spoke in favor of the plan while others argued against doing anything that would clear the way for Biden’s wider $3.5 billion “human infrastructure plan,” which would expand social services. Although cost is an issue, many senators have projects they want to add to the infrastructure package. “It’s very popular,” Portman said.

As I stated the MSM is all over this ‘deal’ as some sort of indication that the Trump support is waning….I disagree.

I believe that since infrastructure is wildly popular with the voter this is just an attempt to garner votes for the 2022 election.

Senators will use this ‘deal’ in their campaigns….but Trump still has their hearts and butts.

It is a political decision for votes not what is best or needed by this country.

Ask yourself why now?

I do hope that I am wrong….but I seriously doubt it.

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I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“We Have A Deal”!

Well not really…..what the Dems and Repubs have is an agreement……oh boy bi-partisanship is alive and well…..a laughable premise at best.

The two sides have reached an agreement on infrastructure……

President Biden has his long-sought bipartisan deal on infrastructure. Whether it becomes legislative reality is a trickier question. “We have a deal,” Biden announced at the White House on Thursday, flanked by Democratic and Republican senators who crafted the compromise, reports the Hill. The nearly $1 trillion plan includes about $550 billion in new spending on roads, bridges, and other infrastructure projects, per Politico. However, it wasn’t immediately clear whether Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer or Minority Leader Mitch McConnell would back the plan. And Nancy Pelosi added a wrinkle of her own. As the AP describes it, she “warned that it must be paired with the president’s bigger goals now being prepared by Congress under a process that could push them through the Senate with only Democratic votes.”

“This is important,” Pelosi said. “There ain’t going to be a bipartisan bill without a reconciliation bill.” Meaning getting all this passed “promises to be a heavy lift for Democrats,” per the Times. On Thursday, however, Biden and senators who worked on the deal were emphasizing their breakthrough on the size, scope, and price of the infrastructure deal. “I clearly didn’t get all I wanted,” said Biden. “They gave more than I think maybe they were inclined to give in the first place.” GOP Sen. Rob Portman added that “we didn’t get everything we wanted but we came up with a compromise that is going to help the American people.” The talks have been ongoing for weeks, to the chagrin of more progressive Democrats who fear that the deal will prevent a larger package from emerging.

I see Sen. Manchin is on-board with this agreement…..does that mean he has seen the his media spotlight is dimming so he decides to play ball with the Dems.

This is an agreement that could fall apart at any moment with McConnell in the background sabotaging every attempt the Dems try to more this country forward.

All he needs to do to torpedo this agreement is pull or threaten 2 GOPers to leave the deal…..

Do not hold your breath for something positive…..that is always the biggest obstructor, McConnell…..

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I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”