The finger-pointing escalated this week as some Republicans argued that a major utility company run by Democratic appointees has “woke” policies on diversity and tree-trimming that are the causes of customers’ woes.
There’s bipartisan and widespread consensus that Nashville Electric Service, which serves the city as well as surrounding counties, mishandled the storm, struggling to mobilize enough workers and equipment to quickly clear fallen trees and restore service.
Electricity is such a gay concept. Why would any conservative care for thar?
Fuck, when did late stage capitalism become woke?
Oh so Republicans are woke now?
Clearly all those gay bars and drag shows used up too much electricity.
The extreme nature of the storm is the direct result of climate change, but that’s probably too “woke” for them to understand as well.
Trees are woke. Let that sink in.
JJ902 said so himself.
Without knowing anything about the issue, I can guarantee Tennessee energy policies are to blame. And if I had to guess, it’s probably the fault of favoring “free market” over “reasonable regulation” and consumer protection type policies.
“It’s certainly not a conservative value to leave the trees hanging around power lines that will fall during a storm,” he said.
He seems to be saying it’s a Democrat value to do things wrong on purpose?
It’s a terrible terrible sign that tree trimming is being viewed through this partisan lens.
Why the hell would Tennessee’s electrical grid be all woke, anyway? Are these people totally powerless before the might of the treehuggers? I cannot believe their shameless victim bleating.
And it most definitely is a Republican value. That is the result of tax cuts, you get worse public services.
Why don’t you guys, you know, bury the power lines?
Hanging electric wires from wooden poles is wild to me. They do that in some rural parts of Europe.
Cost, because distances involved with how spread out the US is. And because Capitalism of course.
It’s about priorities, not cost. And to an extent I suspect it’s about culture, too.
I’m not talking about how to connect distant towns to each other, that’s done with power lines. But in one-family home suburbia it’s easy to provide underground power as a utility. You’ve already got your plumbing underground, just add a pipe for wires.
These people are mentally broken.
I do not understand it.
They’re in a cult.
Specifically, an outright death cult.
Juat think of them like a deranged hivemind.
They aren’t. They know exactly what they’re doing. They know it’s bullshit, but every other MAGA will treat it like gospel.
They’re just opportunists using any means they can to score political brownie points.
This Democratic mayor would be better served pointing out the fallacies in Republican arguments than kowtowing to Republican pressure and blaming the limited number of utility workers for not completing this monumental task fast enough. He could point out that Blackburn and Co. have been sitting on this ‘DEI training’ and ‘tree trimming cutback’ nonsense waiting for something like this to happen rather than acting upon it if they truly believed it was a risk to the grid. How else would she and her cronies have this information to pull out of their ass the instant something bad happens?
No, he’s complaining that Democrats value trimming trees right (to maintain the long-term health of the tree) instead of indiscriminately butchering them to get them clear of the power lines as quickly and cheaply as possible.
Tree trimmers are not thinking to themselves “is this how a Republican or a Democrat would trim a tree?” They’re cutting like they were trained to do. Politics could not be less involved.
I’ve trimmed trees on federal land, this exactly.
Yes, except that training to care about tree health instead of only cost/efficiency is a thing Democrats do.
The training isn’t political, but which training gets chosen is.
My blue ass state is constantly trimming trees around power lines. I’ve worked cutting trees on state land, but the electric company itself does the power lines, the state makes certain they maintain it. They’ll prep for storms like this well in advance. I’ve been sad for some of the trees I’ve seen taken (gorgeous old trees have a place in my heart), but it’s for the best sometimes.
Historically blue state, We don’t get power outages often, and if it occurs they are resolved quickly. “Which training gets chosen” it’s the one that maintains the grid, thats the training that gets chosen.
Nobody does trainings on tree health. That’s not how any of this works. They do apprenticeships. Once they finish they’re basically free to do whatever they want.
Certified arborists aren’t real? You ever got a quote from an arborist versus a redneck with a chainsaw? Guess who the cities will hire if there’s no oversight?
Seems like it’s different in about half the country. Interesting.
You’re the one who doesn’t know how any of this works. Haven’t you ever heard of an arborist? They even have a professional standards organization that offers certifications and everything.
More to the point, the article references this interview where somebody from the electric company apparently describes their pruning standards. If you think such standards don’t exist, explain WTF you think is going on in the interview!
That’s someone describing an occupation that they have no idea about. Arborist is the step above journeyman tree trimmer. There are specific rules about what an Arborist is allowed to do vs. what a regular tree trimmer is allowed to do. Mainly working within certain distances of powerlines. Kinda like how EMT Paramedic is the step above EMT Basic. There isn’t anything “woke” going on in tree trimming. Just like there isn’t anything “woke” happening at paramedic school.
Okay, I don’t think you understand the point I was making.
I’m not saying I think there’s anything “woke” about tree trimming, or that having certified arborists who know what the fuck they’re doing is somehow a bad thing – the notion is ludicrous.
What I’m doing is explaining why they (Republican morons) claim there’s something “woke” about tree trimming (i.e. explaining the kernel of truth that they’re twisting out of proportion to form the basis of their lie), and how they’re wrong.
Going back to the beginning, you wrote…
“He seems to be saying it’s a Democrat value to do things wrong on purpose?”
…and I was explaining how, although that’s what the Republican moron might claim, it’s ass-backwards compared to factual reality.
What he’s actually saying is that it’s a Democrat value to do things right on purpose, and complaining about it. That’s an even more insane and broken mentality than you gave him credit for.
To continue your EMT analogy, it’s like if Republican morons were bitching and moaning that trained paramedics were a thing, and wanted ambulances to be staffed by quacks doing bloodletting and trying to balance bodily humours instead. (Which, with RFK Jr. in charge, probably isn’t far off!)
The only saving grace to that quote is it is from a Michael Lotfi, the deputy state director of Americans for Prosperity Tennessee, a conservative group. A man of no office or consequence.
A little statement like that will travel to Twitter, and get picked up by Fox News, where it will be adopted by a sitting president or senator
Who do you think finances and writes legislation for the people in power? Usually little right wing think tanks.
The same party that blamed the texas blackout on the only sources of power that actually stayed operational.
Must really suck donkey ass to be infected with the broke mind virus.
You mean lead poisoning? Possibly also PFAS, alcohol and/or FAS, tobacco, broken epigenetics, etc.
Republicans are great at avoiding blame in situations they are the direct cause .
If you cause the problem, it’s easy to have well thought out excuses prepared in advance.
It’s definitely easier to blame others than to actually fix problems.
Even more so when you are an expert at blaming others and incapable of actually solving problems.
They can’t even manage to do that lol
It’s like literally all they do.
Tell 'em propane and charcoal grills are the best way to heat your home in a power outage. That also keeps money out of the woke electric companies hands.
Propane and charcoal are too woke. We cook our burgers with Pennsylvania coal.
Clearly ICE is to blame here, but reality is too woke, better stay in slumber.
