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OF COURSE: MSNBC Blames GOP Policies for Texas Power Outages

MSNBC Live host Stephanie Ruhle asked correspondent Morgan Chesky the question that was on a lot of people’s minds Wednesday morning: "why is this power grid failing so badly" in Texas? According to both of them, it’s because Texas’ conservative energy policies led to companies putting profits over people, which resulted in the failure to properly winterize equipment.
According to Chesky, the attempts to blame wind turbines that have stopped working in the low temperatures are misguided because, "that only makes up a small portion of the massive sources of energy that Texas has at its disposal."
 
 
Chesky, instead pointed to the "natural gas pipelines that froze up because they’re being built without any insulation. And we saw a nuclear plant that provides energy have to temporarily shut down due to a safeguard caused by the cold."
At this point it would have been useful for Chesky to point out that Texas has not only seen very cold weather, but has shattered temperature records that are in some cases well over 100 years old.  
Instead, Chesky blamed policies that were passed in the ’90s under George W. Bush:
The equipment that provides so much of the power to so many Texans was not properly winterized and some people would point to the fact Texas had its power supply deregulated back in the ’90s and you would say critics say because of these businesses we’re focusing on profits, they were not necessarily concerned with maintenance to prepare for a worse-case scenarios like we’re experiencing right now. In all, it was not built to sustain this many people turning to heat their homes and try to heat up water at the same time simultaneously.
Chesky then sort-of acknowledged the historical nature of the situation, "This winter storm caused the first winter storm warning over the entire state of Texas, all 254 counties, the first time in history," but did not say how a more regulated system would have made life any better for those currently without power.
Ruhle then concluded the segment by also blaming GOP policies, "It’s an important reminder it’s not regulation good or bad, it’s about smart regulation. The reason regulation is put in place is to protect everyday individuals. When you have mass deregulation in an emergency situation like this, you have millions and millions of individuals not protected."
This segment was sponsored by Vicks.
Here is a transcript for the February 17 show:
MSNBC
MSNBC Live with Stephanie Ruhle
9:23 AM ET
STEPHANIE RUHLE: But that same governor is blaming the Green New Deal and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and let’s remind our audience, the Green New Deal was never passed federally or in Texas. AOC has nothing to do with that state. What in the world is he talking about, and why is this power grid failing so badly? 
MORGAN CHESKY: want to make a couple of key clarifications here, Steph. So, one of the things that’s come under fire recently the last several days is the renewable energy here in Texas, particularly the one driven by the wind. The massive turbines out in West Texas, they did suffer issues due to the cold. Those massive turbine blades had ice build up on them and because of incredibly cold temperatures, the batteries that store power there to be dispersed whenever we do have events like this actually drain faster than anticipated because of the incredibly cold weather. Now, that having been said, that only makes up a small portion of the massive sources of energy that Texas has at its disposal. Also we saw natural gas pipelines that froze up because they’re being built without any insulation. And we saw a nuclear plant that provides energy have to temporarily shut down due to a safeguard caused by the cold. It depends who you ask but as stands now, the equipment that provides so much of the power to so many Texans was not properly winterized and some people would point to the fact Texas had its power supply deregulated back in the ’90s and you would say critics say because of these businesses we’re focusing on profits, they were not necessarily concerned with maintenance to prepare for a worse-case scenarios like we’re experiencing right now. In all, it was not built to sustain this many people turning to heat their homes and try to heat up water at the same time simultaneously. This winter storm caused the first winter storm warning over the entire state of Texas, all 254 counties, the first time in history. Steph. 
RUHLE: It’s an important reminder it’s not regulation good or bad, it’s about smart regulation. The reason regulation is put in place is to protect everyday individuals. When you have mass deregulation in an emergency situation like this, you have millions and millions of individuals not protected. 

via NewsBusters – Exposing Liberal Media Bias

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Texas Democrat Mayor Urges Biden to Stop Releasing Migrants During Power Grid Outage


The mayor of a small Texas city along the border between the United States and Mexico is “pleading” with the Biden administration to stop releasing illegal aliens into his city while the state’s power grid remains down.

Bruno Lozano, the Democratic mayor of the city of Del Rio, Texas, made the request on Wednesday via a video uploaded to his municipality’s YouTube page. In the video, which is meant to be a candid and direct appeal to President Joe Biden, Lozano argues that his city cannot accommodate further illegal aliens.

“I am pleading and requesting with you to please put a halt to any measures regarding the release of immigrants awaiting court dates into the city of Del Rio and surrounding areas,” the mayor states. “We do not have the resources available to house and accommodate these migrants within our community.”

“If you do send these individuals into our community, we will be forced to make a decision to leave them without resources under these dire circumstances,” Lozano adds. “I am asking to please stop, please make another plan for this federal issue.”

The mayor’s plea comes as below-average winter temperature across the Southwest have impacted Texas’s power grid. As such, most of the state has been dealing with power outages that have affected everything from grocery stores to municipal water services. Nowhere has the impact been more felt than in rural communities, especially those along the Rio Grande River.

In Del Rio, alone, the power has remained out since at least Tuesday. The outage has prevented the city from being able to replenish its water system, leaving most residents without not only power but also running water.

Texas’s power outage has only exacerbated the immigration issues that have long plagued the towns on the U.S.-Mexico border. One particular issue that became most notable during the Obama era was the practice of “catch and release.” The practice essentially means that captured illegal immigrants are released into U.S. communities while they await a hearing in immigration court. The concept has long been favored by many on the left as an alternative to immigration detention and deportation.

With border communities already under immense strain, mayors like Lozano are calling for a pause in the practice.

“If you’re going to allow these individuals into our community, I respectfully ask that you provide the means and the supplies necessary to accommodate them safely under these extreme circumstances,” Lozano said Wednesday. “Do to the crisis we can not provide these supplies.”

It is unclear if the Biden administration, however, will comply with the request. The White House did not return requests for comment on this story.

Lozano’s plea comes as the president and his staff have begun preparing their immigration agenda for congressional action. On Thursday, the White House unveiled the final version of its comprehensive immigration bill, which includes a pathway to citizenship for the more than 11 million illegal immigrants currently residing within the U.S.

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Florida Lawmaker Requests Gov. Ron DeSantis Lower Flags to Honor Rush Limbaugh


A Florida lawmaker has requested Gov. Ron DeSantis order the state’s flags be lowered to half-staff to honor Rush Limbaugh’s passing.

Limbaugh lived in Palm Beach, Florida, and died Wednesday from complications of advanced lung cancer.

State Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R-Lake County), who has been a member of Florida’s House of Representatives since 2018, made the request in a letter to DeSantis Wednesday, calling Limbaugh a “true American patriot.”

DeSantis has yet to respond to or publicly acknowledge the letter.

DeSantis did release a statement Wednesday about the passing of the conservative radio legend, calling him “the greatest of all time” who could not be replaced.

Sabatini is the same lawmaker who proposed renaming a major Florida highway after former President Donald Trump last month.

The Florida lawmaker said he would be sponsoring a bill that would rename U.S. Highway 27 to “President Donald J. Trump Highway” in the next legislative session.

“Looking forward to working on this important designation honoring one of the greatest Presidents in American History,” Sabatini said.

The Florida legislature meets yearly for a 60-day period. This year, Florida lawmakers will convene on March 2.

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Planned Parenthood Sues After South Carolina Governor Signs ‘Heartbeat’ Bill

Planned Parenthood filed a federal lawsuit against South Carolina in light of new abortion restrictions that Governor Henry McMaster (R) signed into law on Thursday. The lawsuit, jointly filed by Planned Parenthood and Greenville Women’s Clinic, seeks to challenge the South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act, which prohibits abortions once a fetal […]

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LA school board cuts one-third of police and replaces them with ‘climate coaches’

The Los Angeles Unified School Board unanimously approved a plan on Tuesday to cut one-third of its school police force and divert millions in funding towards the hire of social workers, restorative justice advisors, and "climate coaches."

The move will result in 133 positions being removed from the Los Angeles School Police Department — including 70 sworn officers, 62 non-sworn officers, and one support staff member, leaving the department with a total of 211 officers, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The "climate coaches" set to replace police officers in secondary schools will be members from the community who, according to the Times, "will work to promote positive school culture and address implicit bias."

According to the LAist, police will no longer patrol school campuses, but will only be called to respond during emergencies.

The union representing school police blasted the move in a statement Wednesday, warning the board’s decision "will place our children and staff in harm’s way."

https://t.co/OB4Nsd7Nds

— LA School Police (@LA School Police)1613591049.0

The decision followed months of protesting by community activists who called on the board to completely defund the school’s police force. Critics claimed that the police presence had a disproportionately negative effect on the district’s black and latino students.

During the protests, the student advocacy group, "Students Deserve," proposed the idea of a climate coach position as a way to prevent violence on the campuses without the use of force.

The group’s director, Joseph Williams, told the LAist: "We don’t need police and handcuffs. I speak from personal experience as somebody who was criminalized at 13 years old and spent time in a juvenile detention center and was charged with assault and battery for getting in a fight with another kid."

According to Williams, the coaches will prevent fights on campus by forging friendships with students and understanding the social environment.

"Student safety is everyone’s responsibility and starts with creating a school environment that is centered in students’ social-emotional wellbeing," LAUSD Board President Kelly Gonez said in a press release announcing the plan’s approval. "The Board’s investment in the Black Student Achievement Plan ensures we are actively working to promote equity across the District."

"I believe that today we are taking an important step in the right direction to provide Black students with vital investments in their success — with millions of dollars going toward academic support, social-emotional resources, and a new approach to school climate and safety," added board member, Nick Melvoin. "This student and community driven action was long overdue, and we will continue working toward our District’s goal of providing every child with the opportunity to succeed and meeting the unique needs of our local school communities."

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Harvard Docs Say Trillions in Reparations Needed to Address COVID

Researchers at Harvard Medical School say they’ve found the key to reducing coronavirus infections in the black community: trillions of dollars’ worth of reparations.

A study published last week in the Social Science & Medicine journal found that paying $250,000 in reparations to individual descendants of slaves, or $800,000 per family, could have mitigated coronavirus transmission rates among black Americans. The Harvard study analyzes the effects of "pre-intervention" reparations—or payments if they had existed before the coronavirus pandemic—on COVID-19 contact rates and transmission of the virus.

Dr. Michelle Morse—one of the Harvard Medical School assistant professors who led the study—told the Harvard Crimson that reparations "could have been as effective" at combating the coronavirus in African-American communities as a vaccine. Duke University professor William Darity, an economist and reparations advocate who co-authored the Harvard study, recently estimated that such payments would cost up to $12 trillion.

The Harvard team’s research was conducted as part of the Lancet Commission on Reparations and Redistributive Justice, which is expected to release a full report on worldwide reparations this summer.

The study was published days before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held a hearing on H.R. 40, a bill that would establish a reparations task force to study the lasting effects of slavery and segregation and "recommend appropriate remedies." More than 170 Democrats have cosponsored the bill, which has gained traction since Democrats took control of Congress in January.

The Harvard researchers picked Louisiana—which has one of the highest income distribution inequality rates in the country—to represent racial disparities across the United States. The scientists compared rates of coronavirus transmission in the Bayou State with those in South Korea and hypothesized that rates of coronavirus transmission among black Louisianans would have been lower if reparations had already been in place. The study also notes that "wealth redistribution would decrease the ability of affluent whites to cloister themselves in a setting of relative exclusivity."

Reparations would have reduced overcrowded housing within the black community and provided black Americans with more access to personal protective equipment. Payments would also have kept black Americans from being forced to take jobs as frontline workers, the study said.

The White House on Wednesday said President Joe Biden would support creating a commission to study reparations. Last fall, Biden tapped reparations advocate Mehrsa Baradaran to work on his Treasury Department transition team.

Some localities have already taken steps to institute reparations: Asheville, N.C., passed one form of reparations that would help boost home ownership and career opportunities for black citizens in July. And the California state legislature established a reparations task force to analyze the effects of slavery on black residents in September.

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