[Nathaniel Firethorn]

Just saw the Bush secretary of energy (Abraham) on the box with the Clinton secretary of energy (Richardson.)

Indistinguishable from one another. Both pushing Beltway-centric agendas that have nothing to do with getting the real problem fixed.

Buy lamp oil, propane, and batteries, folx...

- pdmoderator

[greyhound]

You just knew it was going to happen. Republicans say Clinton was too busy screwing around to fix things, the Democrats say somehow the Bush oil cronies are behind it all.

Nothing in this country is going to get solved until we throw out the career politicians on both sides and start using common sense.

The blame game makes good politics, unfortunately. "BUSH KNEW!" "CLINTON BOMBED IRAQ TO TAKE THE HEAT OFF!".

I think it all hit rock bottom when the Democrats politicized 9/11 by trying to blame it on Bush. I believe its the way political SYSTEM works thats broke, not the political PARTY. Wasn't there supposed to be a term limits bill for members of Congress? Obviously they aren't going to pass it themselves but isn't there some way to let the states/people decide?

What we need is some good ole Whigs and Know Nothings. Yeah, thats the ticket!

[Iain]

It has been decided it wasn't the Canadians then?

[Malone LaVeigh]

Not to get too partisan, but you gotta love the title of this (http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0815-07.htm) article.

[El Tejon]

Ummm, do we know how this happened? Maybe it was just a family of raccoons or something? Or maybe, "Dagnabit, Earl Ray Bob, I done tole you twicet not to push that there button.":D

[SIGarmed]

According to billary it was Bush's fault. :rolleyes:

[ReadyontheRight]

It's quite a bit of effort to make this sort of thing NOT happen more often. The system acted as it should and basically big "circuit breakers" went off to protect generation assets. If the power hadn't gone out so fast, it would take weeks to replace blown-up systems and get the generation back online.

The way politicians and the media talk, you'd think that electricity was some kind of basic human right. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of television programming."

Electricity is a miracle of technology supported by lots of smart, hard-working folks -- who will now have to justify why they can't run a system at 100% perfection with decades-old generation and transmission equipment whose improvements the so-called "environmentalists" fight every step of the way.

[Art Eatman]

No mechanical part ever broke on a gun, car or plane, right? Nothing ever goes wrong with electrical switchgear or electronic warning equipment, right?

:barf:

The latest report I've seen indicated that a faulty warning system at an Ohio location precluded somebody from isolating the overloaded circuits from the grid. Ergo, dominos fell...

But maybe the politicians will pass a law that will keep equipment from malfunctioning, and raises taxes to support the enforcement...

:barf: again.

Art

[Sisco]

The cause will be discovered. Everything that happens in a modern generating plant and the trasmission lines is recorded by computer, sequence, exact times, and in some newer control systems what was done, when and by whom.
We don't call 'em "Tattle-Tale" printers for nothing!

[Waitone]

Any effort at improving the energy supply in this country is a policial smackdown. NIMBY's vs utilities vs greenweenies vs bureaucrats vs local pols vs federal pols vs wall street vs stockholders vs anyone else who wants to pay for the ticket. Congress (both parties) were warned for years it will happen again and congress did nothing. Now that everyone sees the problem and can clearly identify the problem (congress) it will be addressed quickly and quietly. There is enough blame to go around several times.

Now while congress has just grown a spine which allows it to do the right thing, they better start looking at natural gas transmission. Natural gas has the same infrastructure problems as does electricity. Fact is the problem may be a bit more touchy. Then when natural gas is off the plate congress ought to look at our oil refining capacity. We have no excess capacity. . .zero, zip, nada. One refinery going down for whatever the reason will wreck havoc on transportation.

We as a country have screwed around with energy far too long. It is insane for the US to grow at a rate of 5% annually and do nothing to increase the supply. At some point we will run up against the physical infrastructure and then the price goes through the roof. Thank you politicians, greenweenies, yuppies, utilities, wall street and stockholders. You got just exactly what you asked for. Now deal with it.

[Mike Irwin]

What about the reports of the black helicopters circling the power plants just before the went down?

[CMichael]

I heard it was the fault of the Patriot Act and the vast government conspiracy :p