Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez helps raise millions for Texas

[PF5]

AOC, Beto O'Rourke Raise $5 Million for Texas, Dems Staff Houston Food Bank

New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined several Democratic lawmakers at a Houston food bank Saturday as she and former Texas Representative Beto O'Rourke amassed about $5 million in total so far to help Texans struggling amid winter storms.

As of Sunday morning, Ocasio-Cortez has raised $4 million for relief teams across the state of Texas and joined Democratic Representatives Sylvia Garcia, Sheila Jackson and Al Green at a Houston food bank Saturday. Donations from the ActBlue fundraising campaign are set to be split between the Houston Food Bank, Feeding Texas, Family Eldercare, the Bridge Homeless Recovery Center and Ending Community Homeless Coalition (ECHO), Ocasio-Cortez said.

Meanwhile, O'Rourke, who shared the ActBlue donation campaign across social media, commended volunteers for making "over 300,000" phone calls on behalf of senior citizens "who need heat, water, food and shelter (and some basic kindness)."
On early Sunday morning, he announced in another tweet the latest total raised on his part: "Thank you for helping us raise $1 million so far to assist Texans with food, shelter and water!"

 

[PF5]

Powered By People Help Texans by making a donation today

100% of your contribution will go to connecting Texans with water, food, shelter and transportation. 0% of your contribution will go to overhead or administrative costs.

As you know, millions of people in Texas have been without electricity and have struggled to find heat, drinkable water and food. We want to make sure that we do everything we can to help them.
Donations will be distributed to the most effective agencies and organizations within the hardest hit communities of Texas to get help to those in need following the worst storm in our state’s history.
Thank you for helping Texas,
Beto

 

[sc5mu93]

The irony is that it undercuts their argument that gubment is the only good supplier of these things (e.g. socialism). Maybe they should learn from that point, and help the world like this permanently rather than participating in gubment to change the world by force of violence or law.

I love volunteer orgs or non-profits move faster and more efficiently and VOLUNTARILY resolve problems and help people.

 

[cableok]

I’m not a lefty, and I still think you’re crazy (for multiple reasons). The story I read was about an 11 year-old boy in Conroe, TX. His parents checked on him and his 3 yo brother in the middle of the night. They were both fine. The 11 yo was dead when they tried to wake him up in the morning. Turns out, even if you pile blankets on your kids, the cold can come through a thin mattress.

But yes, let’s hold the parents responsible for having no electricity to keep their trailer warm.

Whatever happened to compassionate conservatism? Are we hellbent (literally) to hold individuals responsible for EVERYTHING in order to absolve government and corporations of any accountability?

The story about the 11 year old’s death is sad and tragic. But, unless there is details that have not been revealed, I don’t support their $100M lawsuit. Weather happens and extreme weather sometimes occurs. It is not that unusual that power goes out during extreme weather.

I get the family wants to point fingers, and some lawyers want to get involved, but people need to take responsibility for their own actions...and especially decisions made of their children’s well-being during times of crises.

 

[Birry]

I’m not a lefty, and I still think you’re crazy (for multiple reasons). The story I read was about an 11 year-old boy in Conroe, TX. His parents checked on him and his 3 yo brother in the middle of the night. They were both fine. The 11 yo was dead when they tried to wake him up in the morning. Turns out, even if you pile blankets on your kids, the cold can come through a thin mattress.

But yes, let’s hold the parents responsible for having no electricity to keep their trailer warm.

Whatever happened to compassionate conservatism? Are we hellbent (literally) to hold individuals responsible for EVERYTHING in order to absolve government and corporations of any accountability?

I would be literally insane if I lost a child to this event. They would likely have to lock me up. No amount of money would make it right.

We also experienced some bitter cold in our old, poorly insulated home, and I was really frustrated with the failure of basic utilities (natural gas, water, and electricity). Our house got into the 40's when the rolling blackout hit, and our 3 year old looked at me shivering and said, "Daddy, I'm cold." It was one of the most hopeless, horrible feelings I've ever had. So we got in the car and took a 2 hr drive to warm up after being in a house in the 50's for the better part of 2 days.

That said......as frustrated as we were, it was clear that this event broke the system. It wasn't greed, lack of preparation, negligence, or a single mistake. It was literally a natural disaster that went above the prescribed design parameters of the system. As frustrating as this is and as terrible as the outcomes have been (and continue to be for some), I just don't see how people can blame anyone, here.

Can we prepare our system better for another potential disaster of this magnitude? Maybe. That will depend on what people are willing to pay for such a system.

It boils down to two questions.
1. Do you believe the system failed as the result of negligence or other mistakes? Or a more nuanced take.... Do you believe there were deficiencies in the system (didn't meet regulations) OR do you believe the regulations themselves were too lax for some reason? If so, why?
2. Do you believe that finding someone to blame will make any of it better?

 

[TheMonkey]

That said......as frustrated as we were, it was clear that this event broke the system. It wasn't greed, lack of preparation, negligence, or a single mistake.

I’m not sure you can make this statement definitively.
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/17/texas-power-grid-failures/amp/
“Energy and policy experts said Texas’ decision not to require equipment upgrades to better withstand extreme winter temperatures, and choice to operate mostly isolated from other grids in the U.S. left power system unprepared for the winter crisis.”

It boils down to two questions.
1. Do you believe the system failed as the result of negligence or other mistakes? Or a more nuanced take.... Do you believe there were deficiencies in the system (didn't meet regulations) OR do you believe the regulations themselves were too lax for some reason? If so, why?
2. Do you believe that finding someone to blame will make any of it better?

1. Yes. See article above
2. Yes. It may keep others from needlessly suffering and possibly dying in the future. Lawsuits don’t just make restitution, they also are punitive to avoid future harm.

 

[drbwh]

I know this sounds crazy to lefties, but unless their parents or guardians froze to death with them, I blame them. Honestly, even If they did, I still blame them. I can assure you, I could be homeless and I would have found a way to keep my children warm enough not to freeze to death, or I would have died trying, including giving them every single piece of my clothing. They would have found me frozen buck naked. I haven’t looked, but I don’t need to to know this is not what happened.


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I’m not a lefty, and I still think you’re crazy (for multiple reasons). The story I read was about an 11 year-old boy in Conroe, TX. His parents checked on him and his 3 yo brother in the middle of the night. They were both fine. The 11 yo was dead when they tried to wake him up in the morning. Turns out, even if you pile blankets on your kids, the cold can come through a thin mattress.

But yes, let’s hold the parents responsible for having no electricity to keep their trailer warm.

Whatever happened to compassionate conservatism? Are we hellbent (literally) to hold individuals responsible for EVERYTHING in order to absolve government and corporations of any accountability?

I am not a conservative. I am libertarian. I think the parents should be held accountable. Like I keep saying, apparently I am old fashion. It’s called personal accountability.


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[cableok]

I’m not sure you can make this statement definitively.
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/17/texas-power-grid-failures/amp/
“Energy and policy experts said Texas’ decision not to require equipment upgrades to better withstand extreme winter temperatures, and choice to operate mostly isolated from other grids in the U.S. left power system unprepared for the winter crisis.”


1. Yes. See article above
2. Yes. It may keep others from needlessly suffering and possibly dying in the future. Lawsuits don’t just make restitution, they also are punitive to avoid future harm.

You mention compassionate conservatism. Compassionate is having empathy to the situation of the family ..and reaching out for charity to help them.

It is horrible what happened to the young boy. Autopsy has not been complete so we don’t know why he died. We do know that the family had ample warning about a historic cold-front. It was no secret that there would be cold temperatures of historic proportions. People need to prepare for severe weather. And those living in a trailer home even more so. In many cases, severe warning for weather is measured in minutes, in the case it was measured in almost a full week.

I imagine many families prepared for the worst before and during the storm. I know I went and filled my generator in anticipation I might need to power my cell phone and the gas line was the longest I have seen at Costco. My wife bought groceries for many days and the shelves at our local grocery store were pretty bare.

My hope is that people keep contributing to this family. But I hope they understand personal responsibility and drop the lawsuit.
I would assume if you believe the ERCOT is at fault for the death that you believe the family is even at more fault. I hope you don’t think the family should be charged with child negligence (I know I don’t).

 

[TheMonkey]

You mention compassionate conservatism. Compassionate is having empathy to the situation of the family ..and reaching out for charity to help them.

It is horrible what happened to the young boy. Autopsy has not been complete so we don’t know why he died. We do know that the family had ample warning about a historic cold-front. It was no secret that there would be cold temperatures of historic proportions. People need to prepare for severe weather. And those living in a trailer home even more so. In many cases, severe warning for weather is measured in minutes, in the case it was measured in almost a full week.

I imagine many families prepared for the worst before and during the storm. I know I went and filled my generator in anticipation I might need to power my cell phone and the gas line was the longest I have seen at Costco. My wife bought groceries for many days and the shelves at our local grocery store were pretty bare.

My hope is that people keep contributing to this family. But I hope they understand personal responsibility and drop the lawsuit.
I would assume if you believe the ERCOT is at fault for the death that you believe the family is even at more fault. I hope you don’t think the family should be charged with child negligence (I know I don’t).

You’re still focused on restitution. If we simply rely on charity to support this family, what keeps this from occurring again?

The government is responsible for providing for the general safety and well-being of their citizens. “Protect and serve.”

What happened to Texans last week was tragic, horrific, nearly more catastrophic than what occurred, and it was preventable. My daughter is 200 miles away at college near Houston. She was without power and water for days. If anything had happened to her, I would have been devastated. For people to shrug their shoulders and say we should have been more prepared would have infuriated me.

Individuals can only prepare so much. Maybe the people in charge of the electricity grid should also have been prepared instead of cutting corners to make a profit.

 

[cableok]

You’re still focused on restitution. If we simply rely on charity to support this family, what keeps this from occurring again?

The government is responsible for providing for the general safety and well-being of their citizens. “Protect and serve.”

What happened to Texans last week was tragic, horrific, nearly more catastrophic than what occurred, and it was preventable. My daughter is 200 miles away at college near Houston. She was without power and water for days. If anything had happened to her, I would have been devastated. For people to shrug their shoulders and say we should have been more prepared would have infuriated me.

Individuals can only prepare so much. Maybe the people in charge of the electricity grid should also have been prepared instead of cutting corners to make a profit.

It is tragic and extremely sad. Not one person is disputing that.

Both of my daughters are away at college. They are typical young adults who forget to do things. But both got food beforehand. One actually went out and bought de-icer and an ice scraper for her car. And one of my daughters was out of power for 36 hours. It sucks, but nature is sometimes very severe.

Making a statement that someone does not think a $100M lawsuit is valid is not “shrugging shoulders”. Although absolving personal responsibility sure seems like it.

A lawsuit will not keep another historic storm or cold-front from occurring again. You will need to take that up with the man upstairs. To suggest otherwise is beyond ludicrous. It was a HISTORIC cold front!

Since you seem intent on point fingers and stating blame, I will ask again, do you blame the family and should they be charged with child negligence?

 

[TheMonkey]

It is tragic and extremely sad. Not one person is disputing that.

Both of my daughters are away at college. They are typical young adults who forget to do things. But both got food beforehand. One actually went out and bought de-icer and an ice scraper for her car. And one of my daughters was out of power for 36 hours. It sucks, but nature is sometimes very severe.

Making a statement that someone does not think a $100M lawsuit is valid is not “shrugging shoulders”. Although absolving personal responsibility sure seems like it.

A lawsuit will not keep another historic storm or cold-front from occurring again. You will need to take that up with the man upstairs. To suggest otherwise is beyond ludicrous. It was a HISTORIC cold front!

Since you seem intent on point fingers and stating blame, I will ask again, do you blame the family and should they be charged with child negligence?

You’re creating a straw man argument. The details of the family’s situation would determine whether or not they were negligent, but I doubt it would rise to meet that criteria. That is beside the point.

You seem to be ignoring the warnings the state and ERCOT had and the weatherizing they could have done to prevent the outage. They chose to not require providers weatherize their equipment in order to save money. People paid with their lives. I am fully aware this was a historic storm. I live in DFW. I have been inundated with reports. I also know that individual preparedness in the midst of people frantically buying all the groceries and materials is not as easy as you make it sound. Especially for those without resources.

It’s not about assigning blame. It’s about justice for citizens and making changes so this doesn’t happen again. Or, I guess we can leave things as is and hope this never happens again. That would be the definition of foolishness.

Obviously, you and I are at an impasse on this topic and we will not change each other’s minds. It’s even less likely we will change the outcome of this situation. I’ll give everyone else a break and let it go.

 

[cableok]

You’re creating a straw man argument. The details of the family’s situation would determine whether or not they were negligent, but I doubt it would rise to meet that criteria. That is beside the point.

You seem to be ignoring the warnings the state and ERCOT had and the weatherizing they could have done to prevent the outage. They chose to not require providers weatherize their equipment in order to save money. People paid with their lives. I am fully aware this was a historic storm. I live in DFW. I have been inundated with reports. I also know that individual preparedness in the midst of people frantically buying all the groceries and materials is not as easy as you make it sound. Especially for those without resources.

It’s not about assigning blame. It’s about justice for citizens and making changes so this doesn’t happen again. Or, I guess we can leave things as is and hope this never happens again. That would be the definition of foolishness.

Obviously, you and I are at an impasse on this topic and we will not change each other’s minds. It’s even less likely we will change the outcome of this situation. I’ll give everyone else a break and let it go.

You are correct in stating we don’t know the details of the family situation. But it is not just a straw man argument. If you believe the power company is at fault enough to be sued for $100M because they didn’t prepare for a natural disaster. And you feel like punishing the ERCOT will make sure “this doesn’t happen again”.
Then it is definitely a fair ask as to your beliefs if the family bears responsibility and if so, should they be punished ...so “this doesn’t happen again”? If you don’t think so, but continue to feel this is only on the power company....why?

Plus, no one is saying “leave things as is”. I am confident there will be learnings that will help for the future. No doubt that many power companies will study, along with governments, to see what they could do better. Happens with just about every natural disaster, and guess what, we get better and become more prepared for what natural disasters may cause.

 

[TheMonkey]

I don’t have the patience to explain it any further. I’m done.

 

[drbwh]

You’re creating a straw man argument. The details of the family’s situation would determine whether or not they were negligent, but I doubt it would rise to meet that criteria. That is beside the point.

You seem to be ignoring the warnings the state and ERCOT had and the weatherizing they could have done to prevent the outage. They chose to not require providers weatherize their equipment in order to save money. People paid with their lives. I am fully aware this was a historic storm. I live in DFW. I have been inundated with reports. I also know that individual preparedness in the midst of people frantically buying all the groceries and materials is not as easy as you make it sound. Especially for those without resources.

It’s not about assigning blame. It’s about justice for citizens and making changes so this doesn’t happen again. Or, I guess we can leave things as is and hope this never happens again. That would be the definition of foolishness.

Obviously, you and I are at an impasse on this topic and we will not change each other’s minds. It’s even less likely we will change the outcome of this situation. I’ll give everyone else a break and let it go.

You are correct in stating we don’t know the details of the family situation. But it is not just a straw man argument. If you believe the power company is at fault enough to be sued for $100M because they didn’t prepare for a natural disaster. And you feel like punishing the ERCOT will make sure “this doesn’t happen again”.
Then it is definitely a fair ask as to your beliefs if the family bears responsibility and if so, should they be punished ...so “this doesn’t happen again”? If you don’t think so, but continue to feel this is only on the power company....why?

Plus, no one is saying “leave things as is”. I am confident there will be learnings that will help for the future. No doubt that many power companies will study, along with governments, to see what they could do better. Happens with just about every natural disaster, and guess what, we get better and become more prepared for what natural disasters may cause.

Yep, if the company is negligent then so are the parents and they should be charged. Can’t have it both ways. The company has no responsibility to some random kid. THE PARENTS BIRTHED THE KID. That are responsible for him. To believe that some company owes them anything is so bizarre to me. That is what’s so wrong with this world. No personal responsibility. I’m telling you. We employ over 100 people and this is the real epidemic, screw covid.


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[CowboyJD]

I don’t have the patience to explain it any further. I’m done.

Sometimes conceding to the pigeon is the best thing you can do for yourself.

 

[drbwh]

I don’t have the patience to explain it any further. I’m done.

Sometimes conceding to the pigeon is the best thing you can do for yourself.

Sometimes people are just ignorant and can’t have a logical debate. What a shocker an attorney that thinks companies should be sued by stupid parents. Saying that you’re conceding to the pigeon means you know you have been beaten by a pigeon. What does that make you?


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[CowboyJD]

Sometimes people are just ignorant and can’t have a logical debate. What a shocker an attorney that thinks companies should be sued by stupid parents. Saying that you’re conceding to the pigeon means you know you have been beaten by a pigeon. What does that make you?


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You don't have a clue what I think, you mope.

It makes me a sane individual that realizes no good can come from trying to have a rational discussion with an insane pigeon. It only encourages the pigeon and attracts the rest of the flock.

Arguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon.

They don't understand the rules, strut around the board *&^(ing all over the place, and no matter how badly you beat them, they flying off convinced they won.

 

[drbwh]

Sometimes people are just ignorant and can’t have a logical debate. What a shocker an attorney that thinks companies should be sued by stupid parents. Saying that you’re conceding to the pigeon means you know you have been beaten by a pigeon. What does that make you?


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You don't have a clue what I think, you mope.

It makes me a sane individual that realizes no good can come from trying to have a rational discussion with an insane pigeon. It only encourages the pigeon and attracts the rest of the flock.

Arguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon.

They don't understand the rules, strut around the board *&^(ing all over the place, and no matter how badly you beat them, they flying off convinced they won.

So you say. Interesting.


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[olderschool]

Quack

 

[drbwh]

Quack

Bless your heart. The king of 5 word or less responses has spoken again. Such intellectual prowess.


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