Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The Powerless Power Crowd

This liberal columnist in the Washington Post finally wrote something worth reading. The topic is the recent "el derecho" storm that brought the D.C. area to its knees. Many folks are still without power. What's funny is that many of the elite ruling class are sweating it out. From the article:
Suddenly, the nation’s legislators, regulators, litigators and officiators are left helpless, sweating in their underpants, surrounded by their rotting food and blank-screened BlackBerrys.

“Someone must be held accountable for this!” they say.

But how can you drag a historic thunderstorm before a congressional subcommittee? Would it be possible to handcuff 70 mph winds? Indict a jet stream hovering above a hot air mass?

There is no Washington-style redress for the rare and devastating thunderstorm that whomped the region Friday night and has left a good chunk of its ruling class without electricity.

[...]

Meanwhile, the sweaty multitudes couldn’t even tweet their misery. Their iPads and iPhones were dead.


Although plenty of ordinary people were affected by the power outages, the damage was most apparent when I drove through the toniest parts of Northwest Washington late Sunday, past darkened baroque-style embassies, seven-bedroom colonials and humongous Cape Cods with matching air-conditioned dog houses.

Just before midnight, I saw packs of grown-ups — not teens — hanging out at a Connecticut Avenue 7-Eleven. Men in the kind of clothes they’d usually save for St. Barth’s — linen shorts, Tommy Bahama shirts — were taking way too long to select Slurpee flavors, every cell of their pale, sweaty, hot skin sucking off that cold AC as long as possible.

[...]

In fact, it’s almost as though there was some underclass justice being played out when you saw the way power outages and home prices were strangely intertwined. The mighty trees that shade those beautiful homes so well were devastating in the storms. While the chain-link-and-asphalt territory of the poor was less affected.

“We don’t lose power in da hood,” one of my friends in a less wealthy neighborhood bragged online.

And sure enough, our Capitol Hill rowhouse — not the “hood,” but definitely not the place of circular driveways and rolling lawns — didn’t lose power.
The same is true in many parts of the D.C. suburbs too. We got power back, and Mclean, home of the wealthiest in Northern Virginia, was dark and without a single grocery store open.

8 comments:

Woodsterman (Odie) said...

Is this a reap what you sow story?

Ducky's here said...

Man, what happens if you have to run out for some cold India Pale Ale?

First world problems.

Always On Watch said...

No grocery stores are open in the affected areas.

No gas stations either.

Anonymous said...

You are cordially invited to join my friends list as I have yours. We have some disabled vets already, including myself and would enjoy hearing from you. the rat

Trekkie4Ever said...

These people aren't used to hardship and don't have a clue on how to survive.

I feel sorry for those that truly don't have the money to replace all the food that was spoiled, and they are usually more resourceful than the spoiled rich.

And they want to hold some accountable nature accountable? Yeah, that's real intelligent.

Always On Watch said...

Leticia,
Get this! Some folks without generators were complaining about the noise from folks who had been resourceful to get generators. This was happening in well-to-do sections! Those in the less-well-to-do sections were sharing generators.

Mike's America said...

And it didn't take long for the usual suspects in the media to trot out GLOBAL WARMING as the cause of the great storm.

Frankly, if they can make up lame excuses like that I feel fully justified in blaming Obama. After all, he promised that his election in 2008 would mean the planet would beging to heal!

Brooke said...

AOW: I believe it.

When I pulled up from work and heard the neighbor's generator still on, I wasn't irked by the noise; rather, it was because I had hoped the power would be back on!

One neighbor with a pool opened it up to all the children on the block so they could stay cool. My dad stored our food. Everyone pretty much pulled together.

A far cry from the elitist 'all about me' attitude!