# Reluctantly — Fuck Texas **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 19, 2021, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289 "2021-02-19T14:59:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 39
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/761 "2023-12-15T13:38:19Z")
@kaylasdad99 was totally serious. For years, he has been saying that Republicans should never be allowed in office ever, in every thread he could say it. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/762 "2023-12-15T13:49:14Z")
I stand cheerfully corrected! Whoooooooaaaaaaaaaa, kaylasdad99! 💯 ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2023, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/763 "2023-12-15T21:19:25Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > Just for the hell of it (pun kinda intended) I did a search on “catholic” and “trisomy 18.” The first page I got was [this one](https://www.sju.edu/centers/icb/blog/my-wife-was-told-that-her-fetus-in-the-16th-week-of-pregnancy-has-trisomy-18-the-obgyn-is-recommending-an-elective-abortion-because-the-condition-of-trisomy-18-is-not-compatible-with-life-what-is-y), which includes the following: Reading that link in its entirity it seems pretty clear to me that they are saying that abortion is not acceptable in this situation. They harp on the claim that there is as much as a 10% (choosing the maximum of the 5-10% range) chance that the child could live one year, and possibly into their teens (very rare), and berate the genetic counselors and ethicists for using ‘lethal language’ So its pretty clear to me that the author of this page probably supports the Texas decision. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/764 "2023-12-17T13:42:52Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > But as I sit here wrapped in blankets with no power for four days, I’m increasingly enraged by the fundamental governing philosophy of this state — “Go get yours. You didn’t or can’t? Fuck you then.” The entire state is built around rewarding rapaciousness, and anything that stands in the way is red tape and needless bureaucracy. Sure seems so: Full Title: **Texas power plants have no responsibility to provide electricity in emergencies, judges rule** > **[Texas power plants have no responsibility to provide electricity in...](https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2023-12-15/texas-power-plants-have-no-responsibility-to-provide-electricity-in-emergencies-judges-rule)** > > A panel of judges has said that big power companies cannot be held liable for failure to provide electricity during the 2021 blackout. The reason is Texas’ deregulated energy market. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/765 "2023-12-17T14:35:36Z")
It still amazes me that the entire state lost power for a full week and exactly nobody in a position of authority suffered any electoral consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/766 "2023-12-17T16:15:13Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > > [@OttoDaFe](#): > > > > Just for the hell of it (pun kinda intended) I did a search on “catholic” and “trisomy 18.” The first page I got was [this one](https://www.sju.edu/centers/icb/blog/my-wife-was-told-that-her-fetus-in-the-16th-week-of-pregnancy-has-trisomy-18-the-obgyn-is-recommending-an-elective-abortion-because-the-condition-of-trisomy-18-is-not-compatible-with-life-what-is-y), which includes the following: > > Reading that link in its entirity it seems pretty clear to me that they are saying that abortion is not acceptable in this situation. They harp on the claim that there is as much as a 10% (choosing the maximum of the 5-10% range) chance that the child could live one year, and possibly into their teens (very rare), and berate the genetic counselors and ethicists for using ‘lethal language’ > > So its pretty clear to me that the author of this page probably supports the Texas decision. It does, and it’s also disingenuous af. From the article -emphasis mine— _However, 5% to 10% of infants with trisomy 18, **most of whom possess an extra copy of chromosome 18 only in few cells of the body** , live longer than one year and survive to the teenage years in spite of serious medical and development problems._ Kate Cox had full trisomy 18. Fetuses who possess an extra copy of chromosome 18 only in few cells of the body, have a related but less serious condition, called mosaic trisomy 18. With both conditions, the effects are highly variable and there are tests and procedures that can be used to determine the severity in utero. If testing determines that there are abnormalities such as the intestines forming outside of the body, that fetus is not compatible with life and the problem isn’t doctors using “lethal language”, like the article implies. But there is a balancing act for prospective parents, as the further along the pregnancy, the more accurate the tests and scans……but waiting can complicate the abortion procedure. And let’s not forget that every family has a different tolerance level and, like it or not, logistics and finances can also play a role, low income families with two working parents and no or shitty insurance just may not have the resources to deal with a seriously disabled child. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/767 "2023-12-17T16:40:43Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > **Texas power plants have no responsibility to provide electricity in emergencies, judges rule** Holy guacamole! That would never fly in Massachusetts. Heck, one utility company was massively fined and forced to divest its gas division to a more responsible company after causing a [disaster (including one death) through overpressurization of the distribution lines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrimack_Valley_gas_explosions). The state regulatory agency regularly holds hearings to assess the utility companies’ responses to natural disasters, point out deficiencies in their handling, and require detailed disaster response plans for future events. It can also disallow repair costs if it finds the utility screwed up. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/768 "2023-12-17T16:56:08Z")
Transgendered people using the “wrong” bathroom or no electricity? Seems Texans have weird priorities. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/769 "2023-12-17T17:00:36Z")
My brother who was pissing himself with fear of freezing to death back then is cheering this decision. His position is that he has saved thousands on his electric bills in the last three years. I asked him why he didn’t just decamp to Cancun like the other economic winners did back then? He complained to my 85 year old mother that I was being mean. I’m not kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/770 "2023-12-17T17:09:16Z")
De facto control of power distribution regulation in Texas lies with–of all things–the Railroad Commission. (Which, by the way, no longer regulates railroads–that’s been shifted to the transportation department.) The Railroad Commission also had a lot of control over appointees to the “Texas Energy Reliability Council”, which was the legislature’s pacifying gesticulation in the wake of the storm and blackouts. Understandably, most Texans don’t really understand the power the RRC holds (because it’s bizarre and counterintuitive), so the elections tend to be lower in profile than they should be. They’re easily bought, resulting in a Commission that’s basically a wholly owned subsidiary of the fossil fuels companies. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/771 "2023-12-17T17:10:19Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > His position is that he has saved thousands on his electric bills in the last three years. It’s less expensive except when it isn’t…which is when you want it most (of course). Power prices spiked 800% last summer during a heatwave. It’s not just when it is cold. And they can expect more heatwaves in the future. But sure…power is cheap when he has little demand for it. > Texans were paying about $275 per megawatt-hour for power on Saturday then the cost rose more than 800% to a whopping $2,500 per megawatt-hour on Sunday, Bloomberg [reported](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-05/texas-power-prices-to-surge-800-on-sunday-amid-searing-heat), citing data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Prices so far on Monday have topped off at $915 per megawatt-hour. - [SOURCE](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ercot-prices-texas-heat-wave-electricity/) ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/772 "2023-12-17T17:35:10Z")
Last month I paid $42.87 (production & delivery) for 513 kWh, which I figure works out to approximately $83.57 per mWh. Either something’s wonky with my math — entirely possible — or Texans are getting ripped off even in “good” times. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/773 "2023-12-17T19:39:12Z")
That’s the spot price during the heat wave back in August (daily hundred degree days across much of the state). If you don’t have a term contract, that’d would have been the price at that time but most of the rest of the time it’s cheaper. And that’s the problem. It’s exactly when you really _need_ power, that it gets really expensive. The theory is that such high prices will have people making more conscious decisions about their usage and/or the power companies will decide to simply build a plant (like it’s something you can just do overnight) if there’s money to be made. That theory runs into some issues when it’s either 10 degrees or 120 degrees outside and the grid can’t handle it and power providers don’t want to build excess capacity for something that happens a handful of days a year. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2023, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/774 "2023-12-17T19:41:35Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > He complained to my 85 year old mother that I was being mean. I’m not kidding. I hope you gave him a wedgie as soon as she left the room. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/775 "2023-12-18T00:15:14Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > The theory is that such high prices will have people making more conscious decisions about their usage and/or the power companies will decide to simply build a plant (like it’s something you can just do overnight) if there’s money to be made. Another aspect of the theory is that you will be incentivized to insulate your house which will pay for itself very quickly on those price spike days when you avoid buying much super-expensive energy and your uninsulated neighbors are buying lots of it. It remains the case that residential insulation is a huge win economically that is generally overlooked because builders and landlords don’t benefit, and they’re the ones controlling much of the construction or retrofit. Renters have no influence even if they have desire, and short-term owner-residents don’t see it as a money-gaining investment in the short term. Only long term owner-residents can both benefit _and_ control whether their residence gets insulated. And that’s not a big slice of the total housing stock. An economic incentive logic that’s inapplicable to WAG 80% of the participants in the situation is kinda worthless. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/776 "2023-12-18T03:03:26Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > An economic incentive logic that’s inapplicable to WAG 80% of the participants in the situation is kinda worthless. Well, our state leaders have been more than kinda worthless for a while. Changing that has been the work of years with no real end in sight ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/777 "2023-12-18T03:30:57Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > Understandably, most Texans don’t really understand the power the RRC holds (because it’s bizarre and counterintuitive), so the elections tend to be lower in profile than they should be. They’re easily bought, resulting in a Commission that’s basically a wholly owned subsidiary of the fossil fuels companies. The Texas utility regulators are elected? Good grief. No wonder things are screwed up. Ours are appointed by the governor. So are our judges, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/778 "2023-12-18T03:50:02Z")
You know how you can really save money on your electric bill? Just don’t have electricity. Because, you know, in Texas, you won’t have it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/779 "2023-12-18T04:11:02Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > The Texas utility regulators are elected? Good grief. No wonder things are screwed up. Not quite - it’s simultaneously better and worse One of the main groups involved is ERCOT (Energy Reliability Council of Texas) - the organization that operates the Texas grid. It is semi-private and appoints its own directors. You can easily imagine how that can be abused. ERCOT is subject to oversight by the Legislature and by the PUC - the Public Utilities Commission of Texas. The PUC commissioners are appointed by the governor. And since our governor and Legislature are full of fine, upstanding people, you can see how that can be an issue as well. Where the Railroad Commission gets directly involved is more recently, the Legislature formally established a “Texas Energy Reliability Council” (distinct from a similar body that existed before and not the same as ERCOT) in the wake of the winter outage. And the RRC has control over oil/gas, which means the natural gas lines feeding many of the plants. So they have de facto control over a lot of power distribution. And the members of the RRC ARE elected in statewide elections and have been for a few decades now. It’s basically a big corrupt mess at pretty much every level as you’d expect from Texas, with unavoidable conflicts of interest pretty much built right in. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289/780 "2023-12-18T04:26:36Z")
Deleted, @Great_Antibob beat me to it. One thing I’ll update in his excellent post – ERCOT no longer appoints its own directors. One of the reforms from the blackout is that a committee composed for representatives from the Governor, Lt. Governor and House Speaker now appoints the directors. This was changed after it was discovered that a majority of the directors didn’t even live in Texas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289.md?page=38) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reluctantly-fuck-texas/933289.md?page=40)