“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.”
-Oscar Wilde
(Of course, the above quote is slightly inapplicable to the subject matter because, in addition to knowing the value of nothing, cable news economists also often fail to grasp basic economics. See: perennial failure Jim Cramer)
In the context of effectively urging the government to seize private property, including a Christmas tree farm, in order to construct an AI power line through Maryland, Fox Business host Dagen McDowell recently admonished viewers to opt for plastic trees this holiday season instead of real ones.
Via Futurism:
“Dagen McDowell, a co-host of the “The Big Money Show” on Fox Business, recently flaunted her zeal for AI — and her distaste for holiday cheer — by declaring that a beloved local Christmas tree farm should be sacrificed to make way for data center infrastructure.
McDowell was defending a proposed plan for a 67-mile long transmission line running through Maryland that would bring more power to the booming AI data centers in northern Virginia. The $424 million Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project is facing opposition from farmers and other property owners whose land is in its path, including the owners of a Maryland Christmas tree farm. Critics argue that Maryland would be acting as an “extension cord” for the AI data centers, seeing no real benefits from the infrastructure while enduring a massive eyesore…
“I think that the United States of America would gladly just saw off Maryland and kick it into the Atlantic Ocean if you don’t like it,” McDowell said. “If there is a need for electricity generation and a conduit like power lines to bring electricity to a densely populated area of business and growth like northern Virginia, then it’s not about AI, it’s actually about economic growth for the United States.”
“Number two, it’s a tree farm! Not growing food,” McDowell continued. “The alternative would be some liberal’s gonna put some giant solar panels on that land, and you’re not gonna be growing any Christmas trees either.”
Amid McDowell’s Scrooge-esque screed — which seems stunningly hypocritical coming from a network that has long accused liberals of waging a “war on Christmas” — the poor tree farm had at least one sympathetic voice among the Fox co-hosts. “This farm is going to lose all of its aesthetic appeal as a result of this,” Brian Brenberg argued, saying he’s seen the “gross-looking” transmission towers in person.
“There will be transmission lines that have to go through developments and farms,” McDowell decreed. “That’s the very nature of a growing economy. Everybody needs to get on board.”
“You know what?” she said, eliciting groans from her co-hosts. “Buy a fake tree!””
These data centers being built all over the country create a lot construction jobs and building supply jobs while being built. However their main objective is to store every call we make, every web site we search, everything we watch on tv, every Alexis interaction, every time we use our GPS, every picture we take and store in the “CLOUD”, every text we send, ” etc, including this one. These massive data centers are the “Clould” and Big Brother is watching and storing everything we do. And now they are subjecting us to rolling black outs and brown outs to supply these data centers with our electricity so they can know every move we make. The bottom line is, we have lost all of our privacy in lew of convenience, and that’s called progress and there is no turning the clock back. Some will say they have nothing to hide and that’s fine, until more laws are created restrictions what YOU think is ok. Then what? You will be in same position as our us freedom loving patriots. It’s a great time to be old, I have lived and seen the best times of this great country.
Buy all means purchase a plastic tree made from petroleum products and decorate it with lights made by Chinese slaves. You KNOW these “experts” are smarter than we are!