Biden Rushes To Protect the Power Grid as Hacking Threats Grow (bloomberg.com) 109
A White House plan to rapidly shore up the security of the U.S. power grid will begin with a 100-day sprint, but take years more to transform utilities' ability to fight off hackers, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing a draft version of the plan confirmed by two people. From the report: The plan is the policy equivalent of a high-wire act: it provides incentives for electric companies to dramatically change the way they protect themselves against cyber-attacks while trying to avoid political tripwires that have stalled previous efforts, the details suggest. Among its core tenets, the Biden administration's so-called "action plan" will incentivize power utilities to install sophisticated new monitoring equipment to more quickly detect hackers, and to share that information widely with the U.S. government. It will ask utilities to identify critical sites which, if attacked, could have an outsized impact across the grid, according to a six-page draft of the plan, which was drawn up by the National Security Council and described in detail to Bloomberg News. And it will expand a partially classified Energy Department program to identify flaws in grid components that could be exploited by the country's cyber-adversaries, including Russia, Iran and China.
the power grid needs rebuilds just to keep up with (Score:4, Insightful)
the power grid needs rebuilds just to keep up with demand and stop an other TX meltdown.
Look at SA there reserve margin is so low that they have an lot of load shedding
If we really have an lot more Electric cars the grid may have an hard time powering that.
Also an lot of the nuke plans are getting old and we need rebuild them / build new ones.
And say if it came down to coal or nukes what is better?
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ERCOT is just looking to apply fresh Flexseal over the duct tape and bailing wire they used a couple of months ago before they are slammed with massive air conditioning use and whatever levels of renewed consumer and industrial ramp up happen as the pandemic winds down.
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Maybe they need more microgrids? [gamasutra.com]
Re:the power grid needs rebuilds just to keep up w (Score:5, Informative)
Sorry,correct link [sciencedirect.com].
Re:the power grid needs rebuilds just to keep up w (Score:4, Informative)
Some electric car makers allow for smart charging, where they will charge when demand is low, Also just basic policy that allows for Solar Panels with a battery backup to be added to peoples homes and offer tax credit, or payback for extra energy generated, can help offset a large percentage of the power demand.
It isn't going to replace the need for the Grid and Power plants in the near future, but what it can do is reduce its reliance.
Putting aside Green Energy and the Environment which seem to be a left wing political statement. Solar Power is a wonderful way for individuals to generate their own power and reduce their reliance on a highly regulated infrastructure.
Many problems in Texas from that Snow Storm could had been greatly reduced if most people had solar with battery backup on their house. It would be enough to keep their pipes from freezing and powering a heatpump and their refrigerators and stoves and water pressure (if they have a well) to keep their homes livable.
Texas is a good location for Solar, Hydroelectric and Wind power, if you offset it with energy storage (Batteries, Flywheels etc...) plus allow for Individual Responsibility for handling energy for the bulk of their power (Solar Cells on their home) You are going to have the pieces in place for a robust infrastructure.
Coal is a crappy source of power, My Apologies to the people who live in Coal Mining Areas, this isn't a judgement as you as a person, just that technology is just outdated unnecessarily dirty, and expensive overall. Nuclear is just too political, you are going to have to deal with a conflict of one group trying to expand it and make it as available as possible (probably at the expense of safety), and an other group trying to stop it because it seems scary, thus cutting its funding and reducing if effectiveness.
Natural Gas isn't great, but it is better option than Coal or Nuclear at the time. However Solar, Hydro and Wind for Texas is probably a really good solution. It may not be a good solution in other areas. But for Texas if the population can get past the idea that these are the Technology of LiBeRaLs
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If only there was a way to store electricity for later use...
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Coal Trucks and Trains will not deliver coal to power plants if the roads and tracks are closed.
If you read my comment.
"if you offset it with energy storage (Batteries, Flywheels etc...) " 5th line down.
Besides the Sun does indeed shine when they are snow storms, rain storms, during the day. It may not be a good power generation day. But that is why need to supplement these energy sources with storage solutions, that will help balance out the power generation curve.
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the power grid needs rebuilds just to keep up with demand
Demand is declining.
If we really have a lot more Electric cars, the grid may have a hard time powering that.
Americans drive about 3 trillion miles per year. An EV uses about 0.3 kwh per mile. So if 100% of cars switch to electricity, they will consume about one trillion kwh per year.
America generates about 4 trillion kwh annually. So the extra demand from 100% EV adoption would be about 25%.
The transition to EVs will happen over a few decades, and EVs mostly charge at night when demand is otherwise low, so the grid should have no problem adapting.
And say if it came down to coal or nukes what is better?
Those are not, and never will be, the only t
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America generates about 4 trillion kwh annually. So the extra demand from 100% EV adoption would be about 25%.
Note that at least part of this would be offset by the reduction in consumption used by petroleum extraction and refining. From this EIA doc [eia.gov] we can compute the energy used by refineries, to about 6% of the total energy consumption of the USA. I couldn't find the energy cost of oil extraction and transportation, but I expect it's on the same order of magnitude.
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Yes, they were reaching 100% renewable generation on some days. So when Texas gets close to 100% peak renewable generation (what are they at now?), they should think about installing a Tesla battery like South Australia's, or connecting to one or both of the other two nationwide grids and sell some of their excess power.
Re:the power grid needs rebuilds just to keep up w (Score:4, Informative)
While the power grid may need a rebuild, the grid per se has little to do with Texas's electricity reliability problem, aside possibly from the fact it is not interconnected with the regional grid. The problem with the system was that generation stations weren't winterized and the system didn't have enough excess generation capacity to make up for the lost capacity.
And *those things* happened because it's the economically optimal way to run the system *for the producers*. It makes no sense for them to tie up capital in things they only need occasionally, like winterization or replacement generating capacity.
The Texas system is an experiment in libertarian economics; the reason it isn't connected to the regional grid is to avoid federal regulations. But power generation is the worst case for that kind of experiment, because it has to be coordinated for the entire system to work. What you end up is less like a free market and more like a cartel. And when that cartel can't keep the system running, it's as safe as can be because its customers literally can't buy from anyone else.
But not actually biden (Score:1)
Unless this is part of that "infrastructure bill" (spoiler: it isn't) then Biden is almost definitely not driving this. Give credit to his administration by all means, but lets not pretend this is Biden's doing.
Re:But not actually biden (Score:5, Insightful)
I mean giving credit to his administration and the people he put's in positions to run the executive branch responsibilities is as good as giving the man himself the credit. Presidents are always enacting plans brought to them via aids and staff, that's their jobs. How much direct input do you think Biden actually has on the actual text of the infrastructure bill? Maybe some, but it's likely all broad strokes, that's usually how executive management functions.
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Presidents are always enacting plans brought to them via aids and staff, that's their jobs. How much direct input do you think Biden actually has on the actual text of the infrastructure bill
Bill? I thought Biden himself had tactical gear on and rushed to defend the infrastructure himself, probably with a glock and sunglasses. What, that’s not how leaders do it?
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Obviously you send out a tweet about what you'd like to happen. Then you put your feet up, say "job well done" and wait for it to happen.
Re:But not actually biden (Score:5, Insightful)
During the Trump Administration, Trump and his minions made Trump out to be this master strategist. It was, of course, untrue, probably less true of any President since probably Woodrow Wilson after his stroke. Governments much above small hunter gatherer groups cannot function as the whims and actions of one person. Chieftains, kings and emperors all had advisers of one form or another, and the evolution of councils of state where confidantes of the ruler acted in specific capacities, was an inevitable requirement of any society much beyond a few dozen individuals.
Biden's job, as with any chief executive officer, isn't to produce policy, but rather to give shape and direction to subordinates who shape policy. He functions, as the Truman-onian sense, as the place where the buck stops. The illusion that Presidents are somehow Kings, or that even Kings somehow rule by personal decree, has often been invoked, but no government, not even the governments of rulers like the Kim Dynasty in North Korea, could ever really function that way. It is literally impossible, and I'd argue putting someone of that level of conceit and self-delusion in charge of any enterprise, whether a company or a country, would inevitably lead to a general breakdown of governance.
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... made Trump out to be this master strategist. It was, of course, untrue, probably less true of any President since probably Woodrow Wilson
Spot on about most of what you posed but you miss spelled "Barack Obama." Easy fix.
That makes no sense. He was accused of being a community organizer (an insult I'll never understand), a junior senator (again ...), and there's all the hopey changey new messiah stuff followed by realization that miracles wouldn't be happening.
Nobody ever accused the man of being a master strategist, playing 4D chess, or that hope and change was some grand strategy. He was most famously criticized for doing nothing, minus all the communist stuff. Oh Christ, is that the strategy he's being accused of now,
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Some
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FTFY
Re:But not actually biden (Score:4, Insightful)
One thing I will give Trump is that he did call out the problems we have in the country. Broken immigration system, endless wars, loss of manufacturing capability, China's rising power on the world stage, NATO over-reliance on US military, bad trade deals, crumbling infrastructure, middle America's languish, etc.
The issue was his solutions to those problems were childlike and ineffective nor did he have the will or work ethic to do the behind the scenes struggle that makes policy actually materialize. He really did a great job showing how the conservative policy positions are either non-existent or counter-productive.
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I always wonder what would have happened if Trump had been chaotic good instead of chaotic evil and had actually tried to fix the issues he called out.
It seemed like once he got elected he got slammed so hard the only option left for him was to sell out to the Wall St/Tea Party/Jesus nexus of Republicans. Any interest he had in his original campaign issues kind of evaporated.
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For that you have to assume that he had any interest in those issues beyond winning and his own ego. This is a man who supported the Democratic party until it was not profitable to align himself to them anymore. Trump's entire brand is "selling out". He's not necessarily evil, he's a textbook example of narcissistic personality disorder. That and just lazy. Chaotic neutral may be more apt.
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I don't disagree, but I guess I'm baking into my question the idea that he did care about those issues and wasn't using them for self-aggrandizement.
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Peak cringe & cope.
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Who said this? Trump or Biden?
“Look, having nuclear — my uncle was a great professor and scientist and engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT; good genes, very good genes, OK, very smart, the Wharton School of Finance, very good, very smart — you know, if you’re a conservative Republican, if I were a liberal, if, like, OK, if I ran as a liberal Democrat, they would say I’m one of the smartest people anywhere in the world — it’s true! — but when you’re a conserv
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While I completely agree with you, I think it would be useful to separate the man from the administration. Journalists love these headlines "Biden rushes to protect ..." well, really it is "Biden Administration rushes to ...".
There are cases where Biden could actually rush places. In a natural disaster situation you could expect the president to literally rush to the site.
I would be happy if headlines were less confusing...
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Well the media knows no-one cares about the boring policy wonks behind the scenes of any administration. One reason they loved Trump because he had an ever rotating gallery of clowns in his admin. I doubt many in the public would know the name Ron Klain or any of the other movers and shakers in this admin. The media is always going to err on the side of laziness and sensationalism.
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I mean giving credit to his administration and the people he put's in positions to run the executive branch responsibilities is as good as giving the man himself the credit. Presidents are always enacting plans brought to them via aids and staff, that's their jobs. How much direct input do you think Biden actually has on the actual text of the infrastructure bill? Maybe some, but it's likely all broad strokes, that's usually how executive management functions.
Biden is an orchestra leader, Composers bring him works, and he determines if the works are to be pursued. He and the "Cabinet", determine priorities. He also is not a dictator, in that he must live with constraints on spending. Nothing frivolous. In regards to waste. What did it cost the country to fly Trump to Mara-logo for weekends? Was it under a million per trip? 4*52 million that Trump spent to and fro. Biden does not go back to Scranton every weekend. And in the same way, he is also watching ov
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He is a President, not an Engineer!
His staff who has staff, may find look there is a problem, these are our proposed solutions, will get pushed up or stopped, while it goes up the chain of command. To the final point where the President will say, Yes lets do it, or No lets not (at least for now)
After giving approval, he will then probably put his weight behind it and push it for an agenda item.
The president cannot fix it alone. No president can, the job of President of the United States is too big to engin
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No an Engineer would make a really bad president.
A president job isn't to solve the problems, and Engineer would want to be involved in all the details, so they would only be working on one problem at a time. Where a good president would bring aboard engineers and experts to work on the problems then bring it up to them to evaluate and see how it fits in the big picture.
We had 4 years of a President trying to be The I can do it alone president, so he can take all the Glory... It was 4 years of very bad pl
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100 day sprint eh? (Score:2)
Put a treadmill and a dynamo under him first. Then he'll really help the power grid.
junk (Score:2)
/facepalm
I like how they put focus on sophisticated technical countermeasures. This probably won't do much beyond make software vendors happy. They need a complete cybersecurity program, which not only will include technical measures but also very non-technical things like phishing/vishing awareness campaigns.
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Sprint? (Score:1)
A White House plan to rapidly shore up the security of the U.S. power grid will begin with a 100-day sprint,
"Sprint"? Oh dear. Won't that disadvantage the differently abled?
Can the Grid Survive EMP or Carrington Event? (Score:3)
Or coordinated truck bombs near power stations? Physical damage could take years to fix.
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Can the Grid Survive EMP or Carrington Event?
More than likely, yes. There are circuit breakers throughout the system.
Or coordinated truck bombs near power stations? Physical damage could take years to fix.
That's much much harder to handle. The grid depends on obscurity more than anything. Fortunately the global program to corral ambitious psychopaths is functioning well—most of them are CEOs. The less ambitious psychopaths are being contained in retail middle management. So far they're too busy to make a Tyler Durden-scale effort to disrupt national grids.
This is all nothing new (Score:3, Informative)
Re:This is all nothing new (Score:4, Informative)
I work in this industry this is a joke and everything listed is already required.
I also work in this industry, and that is more of a "yes and no" sort of deal. Yes, most of what is listed in the Bloomberg article is already required, with the cyber security aspects particularly covered under NERC CIP. However (this is the "no" part), the caveat is that that stuff is only required if you must comply with NERC CIP. CIP compliance, or at least various parts of it (again cyber security in particular) is only required of utilities and service providers above a certain size, or certain number of assets, or coverage area, etc. There's several types of qualifications. Smaller utilities, and especially rural ones (rural cooperatives in particular), which the Bloomberg article mentions explicitly, are often CIP exempt.
I say this with first-hand knowledge, as I work for one of said rural cooperatives. The main company (which serves the members of the coop) falls under CIP, as it is a sizable generation and transmission provider. However, most of our individual member utilities do not fall under CIP, or many parts of it, and thus aren't required to have/do a lot of this stuff.
I think the U.S. grid would do well to simply remove that loophole entirely.
Like the fourth? (Score:2)
Isn't Biden the fourth president in a row to sign good (but ultimately inadequate) executive acts to fix the power grid? I think since the Bush era we've probably needed Congress to do something.
I thought most of these were "White House acts to try to help Department of Energy, but not much happens", repeat every couple years.
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Probably, issue is this type of stuff really needs funding and thus congressional legislation. EO's can redirect some funds or change enforcement but can't generate new funds. It's why this new infrastructure bill is front and center now.
Pics or it didn't happen (Score:1)
Some useful sites to monitor real-time US grid (Score:3)
This one is nice for sources and sinks of power: https://www.eia.gov/realtime_g... [eia.gov]
This is handy to see outages: https://poweroutage.us/ [poweroutage.us]
And this one is interesting since it shows phasing differences between grids: http://fnetpublic.utk.edu/freq... [utk.edu]
A bit of back and forth... (Score:2)
For those not interested in reading the full EOs, there is a FAQ [energy.gov] on the DOE website.
Biden rushes to protect the power grid - ye wah' (Score:1)
How about you not connect your power grid to the Internet. Besides which installing ‘’sophisticated new monitoring equipmen
Smart Meter Hacking (Score:1)
Smart meter (Score:2)
My meter just got changed to a "smart meter". One of the advantages they mentioned was power can be shut off remotely without sending anyone out. I don't request my power be turned off, well, pretty much ever. I don't see it as an advantage at all.
How long until someone hacks the power company, switches everyone's power off, and encrypts the system for ransom.
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Re:"Biden Rushes" (Score:5, Insightful)
Does it comfort you to imagine Biden as a doddering fool? Does that somehow sweeten the sour taste of the vast and unimaginable incompetence of his predecessor, a man so lacking in maturity and intelligence that even members of his own cabinet thought him a moron.
And really, Biden is the President, the senior manager of the government. Beneath him is the cabinet and various officials in departments. He and his advisers give overall instructions to those below him, and they action them. The President, no matter how some Presidents have liked to pose themselves, is not intended to be an all-powerful entity, and historically, a number of Presidents have relied upon subordinates to a greater or lesser degree. I'd say the worst kind of President is the one that imagines he has the ability to run everything from the Oval Office. It didn't work that way under the first Presidents, and as the government has grown more complex over the intervening 232 years, it's become less, not more practical for government to be literally embodied in one person.
mod parent up (Score:1)
Wish I had points.... wish even more parent didn't have to state what should be obvious.
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Does it comfort you to imagine Biden as a doddering fool?
No. I'm terrified.
I'd say the worst kind of President is the one that imagines he has the ability to run everything from the Oval Office.
Just pile up those executive orders for signature.
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Grid experience - here are the facts (Score:1)
- The grid is ancient by technology standards with most lines, switching stations, generators decades old with a few computers here and there and ancient too
- The grid will take decades to rebuild and the longer lived assets have a 60 year lifespan
- The President can announce 'we are rewriting our war plan' all he wants but it is just talk
- Replacement systems come from outside the USA and will definitely be made by companies less friendly to the USA and more friendly to governments unfriendly to the USA
The
Why not kill innocent people? (Score:2)
It's an interesting thing, but yes, it does comfort him. He hates his enemies much more than he loves the country or his fellow citizens. Actually, I suspect such haters don't love anyone or anything. Couldn't even define the word "love".
But who cares? He's AC and not accountable. I'd prefer that people didn't feed the troll, but can't you at least take away his Subject if you do? (You can't take away his birthday or wits, since AC has none.)
However it reminds me of Tucker the FAUX Prophet of Profit killing
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Funny how Trump is accused of being racist when Biden says and does things that are directly racist, liberals just ignore it like CNN. Barely anyone understands the fact that Biden was directly responsible for the crime bill that likely put hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of minority people in jail - some for life. For non-violent crimes. That is probably the 1 single "greatest" achievement Biden made in his political career, and it is one of the WORST for the people of this country. Trump was the first president to actually come along and change that with the First Step Act in 2018. That is just one item. Trump did a lot of good, regardless of those with TDS say here.
Trump had his moments. They just don't want to admit that. The problem with Trump is he just didn't know when to stop running his mouth. I call him Buffoon because in public he acted like one.
The really sad part is there where a lot of good candidates out there and the democratic party went with the worst of the lot.
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Biden has admitted that he was wrong supporting that legislation. https://www.delawareonline.com... [delawareonline.com]
When has Trump ever admitted that he was in error?
Re:"Biden Rushes" (Score:5, Insightful)
He is just the front man and his handlers behind the scenes are the ones doing all the work.
That is the way a presidency is supposed to work: Hire good people, and then delegate.
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Normally, you are correct. But the problem here is they are not hiring good people. They are playing identity politics and bringing people that have no clue what they are doing. The second problem is Biden is such a fool that he can't delegate correctly.
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They are playing identity politics and bringing people that have no clue what they are doing
Evidence please, post some proof of your claim. Is there some verification of this or are you just running your mouth?
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Border is for sure a problem but Texas/Ken Paxton also sued Pennsylvania and 3 other states over the election, a move that was pretty wildly panned and where obviously they had no standing so the presence of the lawsuit itself I would not amount to evidence. It seems to be Paxtons thing he likes to do to feel like a cowboy.
Also shows the key problem with doing such actions by EO, the next guy can just undo it. The decision in the Republican House to kill the 2013 S.744 "Gang of 8" immigration reform bill
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That article didn't mention any single Biden appointee, all it mentions is a change in policy. and the texas Atty general suing the biden administration. where's the "playing identity politics" where is the "no clue what they are doing" part?
In other words you have NO actual evidence of your claim, even in your own link. Good job!
Maybe you're the one who got a participation prize for being a loser and this is the result? You can't even support a simple declaration with evidence. it's almost like you just ma
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Well truth be told. It's good enough for me, so it's good enough for you.
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It's not good enough for me because I'm not an idiot.
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That remains to be seen. The conversation ended but you kept talking.
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>>They are playing identity politics and bringing people that have no clue what they are doing
>Evidence please, post some proof of your claim. Is there some verification of this or are you just running your mouth?
Seriously? They announced Biden's VP would be a woman, and be of color. Basically they disregarded more qualified men and Caucasians for identity politics.
If Kamala was so admired, how do you explain her presidential run?
https://www.breitbart.com/poli... [breitbart.com]
"Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) emerged
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So your contention is that there is no black woman who could possibly be qualified to be the vice president?
He said he wanted to hire a black chick, There are millions to choose from, and your reaction is that's it's impossible to find a qualified one?
You think that yet more "men and Caucasians" are only qualified and that all of them are more qualified than any black chick?
the claim was elevating unqualified people based solely on identity politics:
"bringing people that have no clue what they are doing" wa
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Are you a comedian? If not, prove you mean it and put your real name on your crap.
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This conversation does not concern you. Kindly mind your own business in the future. This discussion was already closed anyway.
Public masturbation of 584315 (Score:2)
Z^-1
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Because of the incompetence of the Biden administration we have a large humanitarian crises along our southern boarder. As much of a buffoon that Trump was he was spot on about this. He said this would happen and that is exactly what happened.
Because of the incompetence of the Trump administration, American aid to these asylum seekers' countries all but stopped. Because of the incompetence of the Trump administration, these people are here at our border, because their ability to request asylum from their own country was removed. Because of the incompetence of the Trump administration, our ability to house and process asylum seekers was demolished and operationally we are struggling to handle what should be simple processes. Because of the incomp
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I'm already awfully tired of talking about Trump.
If you are tried of talking about Trump then shut the fuck up about him. I don't have any great love for Trump and I'm glad he is gone but I'm not gong to let TDS cloud my view of reality. You should get help on that if it bothers you that much.
Now then for the correction.
Wrong. The current boarder crises is because the current administration dismantled all the policies that the previous administration put in place in one day. The system that Trump put in place was a good one and it was the corre
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Does it comfort you to imagine Biden as a doddering fool?
I don't have to imagine Biden as a doddering old fool. There are plenty of videos out there that show him to be exactly that. He is just the front man and his handlers behind the scenes are the ones doing all the work. The problem with that is the handlers don't know what they are doing. They are making policy purely on popular option and identity politics. Not thinking anything through about what the consequences are going to be. Because of the incompetence of the Biden administration we have a large humanitarian crises along our southern boarder. As much of a buffoon that Trump was he was spot on about this. He said this would happen and that is exactly what happened.
Re posted to counter mod abuse.
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We did, and what we got was Gary Johnson.
Go ahead and ask us how well that went.
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At least he can drink water with one hand, and walk down a gentle incline ramp.