Calm down. It's all goign to be okay. I live in California so I know how you feel. I like Bush though.

What's amazing is that...they'll get away with it.

It's all going to be okay.

For all of us taxpayers to foot the bill for blatant, premeditated, sociopatic, criminal actions by Enron, and subsequent inaction by Davis and the legislature?

It's all going to be okay.

Oh.

My.

Effing.

God.

Did you read a single link?

Want a good snail mail read? Pick up this week's US News.

The poor energy management by Governor Davis of California not only hurt California, but it also hurt other states in the region as well such as where I live in Montana.

The drought and the fact that energy producing dams were being ripped out without thought didn't help either.

For the good of the west, ditch Davis!

I can't wait to vote against him, but there's no way California is going to elect Bill "Der Furher" Simon.

So it's third party all the way this election for me. That way I get to vote against both of them.

Important clarification: I'd sooner run naked through the biggest Star Trek Convention in history, screaming "LOOK AT ME! I'M ON FIRE!" before I'd vote for Simon, or anyone like him.

Just to clarify :)

A third party candidate can win.

Just look at Minnesota.

Not too closely though. HA HA!

Well,

Government elections can be publicly funded. Elected officials would then be beholden to their voters. Support a flat tax. Outlaw "The Fed banking(secret "tax") monopoly". Question orthodox Socio-sexual religious concepts baised in ancient (flat earth) wisdoms. Pray to the powers that be for intelligent intervention.

Lars

I read every link and I believe it will be okay. By the way it is a democrate in office who really messed things up with the power situation. California will pull itslef together and work things out. It will happen. May take time but it will happen.

Good Lord, that's horrible. I actually didn't know about Enron(et al)'s role in the whole California power outages.

I find it most horrendous that those at the highest levels of power, those most resposible for the whole Enron collapse, will not be punished. All I've heard on the news here lately is that Arthur Anderson is going to get hit and hard. The focus has already shifted away from, not only Enron itself, but those in power there. And when Arthur Anderson dies, what does that do for the Houstonians already out of work? Make them wait longer in the unemployment line with all the lower level accountants.

Only one thing to do.
Fight the powers that be.
and don't worry about the ranting. You never know how much good you can accomplish by yelling "F@*$ you, I won't do what you tell me!"

I live in california too wil, and I am all against deregulizing it. I mean, when the energy companies want to HELP the governemnt create compition for themselves, there must be a reason behind it (maybe because they know that they will continue to be a monoply regardless of regulations?).

However, I don't think Bill Simon is the nazi you percieve him to be. He is a self made millionaire, so he knows things need to be run in a business oriented manner (efficiently, something most democrats don't grasp). Beside that, he is not a politician. He has never run for office before, in any level. I think he is the perfect choice despite a few general issue disagrements I have with him (and I am conservative).

So glad I don't live in California, not that IN is any better.

Why do we even bother electing our government. We should just let the corporations do it. It would save us time and illusions.

He he.
Ironic that the first thing many Screen Savers first-timers are going to see is Wil wishing "slow and agonizing death" upon a bunch of "useless motherfuckers"....
I wonder if they'd show that on TV :)

PS Wil...let me know how that eTrex Vista works out...It looks like it takes input from the MapSource CD and has (gulp) 24 meg!! (dang..mine only has 1.44 meg)

*gnash*

*grind*

This is exactly what made me bite my tongue and run away screaming when a soapboxer whos name escapes me blamed CA's energy crisis on Environmentalists blockading the construction of power plants in CA for the past decade. (its the "ANWAR, a must" thread in Current Events, if you're curious)

Argh.

Let's get Anonymous Donation added to campaign finance reform laws as well.

Not a day goes by that I'm not glad I registered Independent.

~j

Woops, the thread I referenced above is in R&P, not Current Events.

~j

Wil -

Thanks for speaking truth to power!
I'm amazed at the conspiracy of silence (so-called) intelligent Americans have accepted surrounding our latest (s)election debacle.

So the decade of Peace & Prosperity under liberal Democratic leadership just wasn't worth the cost of 'their' pride. So now it's back to Israel, Oil Wars, and deficit spending - so wise! Not to mention the increased 'security'.

Hopefully, the right winger corporate types will learn they're not 'at home' with your values, and leave the ignorant pro-fascist comments off your server!

Thanks again for trumpeting the word! I believe our first & most sacred duty, as thinking beings, is to The Truth!!
Delusions of democracy, based on big business & disenfranchising Black and urban voters, will be this countries undoing.
More Oil Please! Thank You may I have another!

You Rock Wheaton! The best way to fight for the country we love, is to oppose & expose it's illegal leadership -- the world is watching!

Stay Strong!

I am a sad pitiful human being. You have everything Wil. I have nothing. I am lonely. I have no family. I have a couple friends. I get excited cuz a nice guy likes me but I know it will go nowhere. I know this cuz 1. he calls me snapshow and he is very demanding. and 2. he is moving 3 hours away for school in the fall (which is just enough time for us to have the time of our lives, fall madly in love and then have to part to start seperate lives. Plus I find myself madly attracted to him. It busts me up inside knowing we both feel the same way but we are both taking it slow, going the friends route. ARG. I JUST WANT TO THROW SOMETHING AT THIS SCREEN. I am sick and tired of being calm, cool, collected, sane, strong. It's hard work keeping it together!!! Somebody please shoot me and take me out of this juxtaposition we call LIFE.

Wil said:
>>> I'd sooner run naked through the biggest Star Trek Convention in history, screaming "LOOK AT ME! I'M ON FIRE!" before I'd vote for Simon, or anyone like him. Just to clarify

Wil,

Two things. 1) You've got the Enron fiasco nailed, and there's plenty of blood on the hands of the White House from the looks of things. 2) You do some of your best funny when you're really mad, don't you? ;)

P.S. Is anybody else hopping mad that Cheney STILL isn't really telling us much about his secret energy task force meetings, and they're refusing to cooperate with Congress.

Uh. Wil. You seem to forget that Enron was one of the biggest Democrat supporters out there. Many, if not all, of the Democratic leadership (even Billy Boy) took money from Enron.

Now, as for energy. The wacko's out there in California did it to themselves. Here in good ole San Antonio, we have excess power and the rates are dirt cheap.

Andrew is right.

In my ranting, I left out another reason that Enron will skate out of this: They've invested heavily in BOTH parties, buying themselves numerous "screw over the common man for free" cards.

As an Aussie I have bugger all invested in this argument, but I would question the claim that "Enron was one of the biggest Democrat supporters out there".

From what documents that I have seen (and I have read as much as I can on this because currently in australia we have similar situations developing - again involving anderson, but I digress. . .) the donation tally is extremely heavily weighted towards the Republican Party - something in the order of 90%. The donations to the democrats seem to be the usual "bet each way" carried out by corporations asa contingency.

Money aside, the political connections are very clear, and the failure of the VP to release the documents on the energy meetings is a huge concern - and once again security gets called on to excuse it.

Why is opposition now equal to terrorism in the USA?

All I can say is good luck! I hope that next election the people get the government they really deserve rather than the government the corporations bought.

It will be OK. Consider this a lesson learned. You all out there vote for idiot Democrats and freaky enviornmentalists and this is what you get.

You deregulate prices without allowing supply to be deregulated - not allowing new power plants because some cute little animal may not like it - and you get this mess. You require power plants to be sold off, all in the name of deregulation and you get this.

Enron was able to pull off their shenanigans because no one was able to fill the void with more power supply. Government control and regulation in a supposedly deregulated energy market allowed them to control the distribution of power to their own ends. They were crooks, abetted by a screwy system.

Gray Out, after creating the situation by his horrible policies, then had taxpayers foot the bills for years to come by agreeing to fixed price deals at astronomically high prices. Some deal.

Gray Out Davis deserves to be booted. Replace him with a real Republican -- not some limousine liberal democrat in masquerade -- and this situation can be fixed.

Deregulation works. What Gray Out gave you all in CA, was no deregulation. It was insanity; a perfect setup for some crooks to come in and screw you all.

Wil,

a few days ago you gave us the thought;

"If you sacrifice others for yourself, you will suffer the consequences."

so you have already answered yourself as to what will happen with these people who have angered you so. The world is full of givers and takers; the takers may eat better, but the givers sleep better.. and according to scripture;

"Vengence is Mine!" says the Lord Jehovah, "I shall repay!"

so in due time, those who sacrifice the enviroment, or the animals, or the people of this world, will be taken care of...

so be a giver, sleep well, perhaps to dream, dream
and yet live another day, when you can tell us all what you thought of this "new Geek" Tobias Maguire and his part in Spider-Man.. do you think
it will make any real money? will there be a sequal? and if you have trouble sleeping, get some melatonin, just half a pill, and you will sleep and dream dreams that are like old friends.

Hey, Wil-

You ended your post with, "Sorry. Got off on a bit of a rant there."

You have nothing to be "sorry" about for voicing not only your opinion (on your own site, no less)but also the TRUTH.

I am not going offer my sentiments as they will be repeats of what has been said above.

It's just really sad. That's all.

-B

Hey Wil,

I must say you have developed.
But I ain't sure either to think it's good or not.
Well, at least you have stopped to be a greasy slimeball and say what you think, and this, at least, is great.

But don't you think you overdo it a bit, like all this conspiracy theory shit you're recommending.
We all know that the world is bad, but who the fuck cares.

In reading these books we're probably all getting insane than finding the great epiphany we're looking for.

Everybody should do what he thinks is right because read one of those books and you're dependant on what the authors write next instead of developing own ideas about life.
Listening to others can't be the sense of life...

Mic

EEK!
: mommy, Wil is scaring me :

Lemme first say that I'm not a big fan of Enron. I was listening to a radio talk show the other day, which had some indiders stating that Enron was about to take over the nation's water supply, thank God they never had the chance. I'm from Houston, and yes, there are a lot of people here that are still big fans of Enron and swear Enron did nothing wrong. Of course, I'm ridiculed, and people down here call me 'Communist Liberal.' I feel like I'm the only half way intelligent individual in the city. Anyway, I'm off my soapbox now.

Yes, I realize I spelled 'insiders' wrong.

Andrew L,

"Uh. Wil. You seem to forget that Enron was one of the biggest Democrat supporters out there. Many, if not all, of the Democratic leadership (even Billy Boy) took money from Enron."

I find it sad that such people as you exist. You missed the point entirely. How sad it is that people like you exist.

Hey Bill Clinton was in power when Enron and their goons made all these bad moves i don't know why you blame Bush unless you are a liberal.i hope you aren't one of those because there is no known cure as of yet and they say that they will have a cure for cancer before they ever find a cure for liberalism.

True democrats accepted money from Enron; however, with the democrats, the nation was only 'rented' out, but with the republicans, the nation was totally 'bought' out.

>> You all out there vote for idiot Democrats and freaky enviornmentalists and this is what you get.

Greenpeace brought us Enron?

Okay.

>> not allowing new power plants because some cute little animal may not like it - and you get this mess.

Spotted owl brought us Enron.

Check.

>> You require power plants to be sold off, all in the name of deregulation and you get this.

Voters of California brought us Enron.

Got it.

>> Enron was able to pull off their shenanigans because no one was able to fill the void with more power supply.

Senators opposed to drilling in ANWR brought us Enron.

Noted.

>> Government control and regulation in a supposedly deregulated energy market allowed them to control the distribution of power to their own ends.

Public oversight of private companies brought us Enron.

I'm still with you, bro.

>> They were crooks, abetted by a screwy system.

Who were crooks?

The environmentalists, owls, Senators, or voters?

>> Gray Out, after creating the situation by his horrible policies, then had taxpayers foot the bills for years to come by agreeing to fixed price deals at astronomically high prices.

Gray Davis brought us Enron.

Alright, sir.

>> Gray Out Davis deserves to be booted. Replace him with a real Republican -- not some limousine liberal democrat in masquerade -- and this situation can be fixed.

Fixed by the Bush-led GOP and model private enterprise like Enron?

That's pretty much what I was thinking.

And in other news...

The Vatican is hard at work fixing that whole child molestation thing, so no need to involve the police, victims, or parents who allowed the abuse to take place in the first place.

Fucking limousine liberal altar boys in masquerade.

>> It was insanity; a perfect setup for some crooks to come in and screw you all.

Those crooks happen to be at the very core of the GOP, but hey... why blame the rapist when you can blame the handyman who did a shitty job of installing the screen door?

Now see folks, that's what misinformation does, just look at the last guy's comments. I don't blame this Spudnuts guy for his wrong views, and I'm not gonna argue with anyone; however, intelligent debate I will do. If one reads of true information, one would see the actual reality of it. Only one thing he said was right, price fixing does not work.

wil, can u run nekkid thru a Trek con anyway? would be a nice distraction

spudnuts ... just because you CAN screw somebody over, doesn't mean you SHOULD. You can blame and blame and blame away any wrongdoing, but ENRON is still the one who did the screwing.

I lived in CA until March this year. My family and I finally had it with the prices of everything there. I was born there, my wife was born there and both my kids were born there. I hated leaving, but there aren't enough jobs that pay enough money to allow me to live the kind of life I want there. The power crisis isn't the only problem, but it sure was a BIG one.

For the record, I vote for whoever is going to do the job best, like EVERYBODY should. I don't register democrat OR republican because I like to keep my options open. Too many people blindly vote for "their" party. They assume that because the candidate is in the same party, they must have the same beliefs and ethics that the voter does. Well, Wil's link showing how much money was "donated" to congress proves that's a load of bat guano.

Also for the record ... I miss CA, but I have a good paying job here in VA and we'll be able to buy a house (in about a year) - something I would NOT have been able to do in Silicon Valley...

The problem is that you californians don't build any new power plants.

Just check up on a similar incident which got virtually no press.... Global Crossing Inc. goes belly-up.... Democrat National Chairman Terry McAuliffe caught with his hands in the cookie jar http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/2/4/160911.shtml

Gosh, I'm so incredibly surprised that the whole "energy crunch" was an artificially created situation...not.

Actually, it -wasn't- deregulated. The problem was there was only partial deregulation. There were still price controls on the power company selling power.

So they couldn't sell for more than a certain amount, but they were forced to pay market prices for it.

Wil, before you go blaming Bush for this mess, simply because he knows someone at Enron, keep in mind that this was all happening well before Bush came to power. Don't believe that Clinton didn't know what was going on. It also happened on Davis's watch, a democrat governor.

The rants are often times what I come here for, bra. Don't apologize!

Two words: Third Party.

That's all we need to remember when in the voting booth this coming June (primaries) and November.

Nuff said.

Fuck Enron. Fuck Republicans. Fuck Democrats. Then, fuck Enron some more. Okay, so not a particularly intelligent & well-written statement, but I think you get my point. I don't know of any elected (or in certain case(s)selected) official who really cares about the people. They are all bought by corporations like Enron. Some are worse than others. So screw them all b/c thats what they're doing to us. I'm on the east coast & we have our own set of problems. But I feel for CA & the nearby states that are also hurt by this. Its just wrong.

PS: Spudnuts is the Coolest. Well, just after Wil, of course.

For anyone who may have thought Wil was overreacting... just read the frontpage of today's (Tuesday) Wall Street Journal. Quotes like the following, made by an Enron document, will probably give you all you need to understand his outrage:

[these documents reference] their goals...usually getting paid to move often-nonexistent energy without actually moving it...[and] "the public relations risk" because one strategy "may have contributed to California's declaration of a Stage 2 Emergency yesterday."

So elderly people are dropping from heat exhaustion and Enron is counting the money. Disgusting.

Hey Wil,
fro your four or five entries yesterday, this is what I gather:
Your week end was good.
Work was good.
Something about the government pissed you off!
Hey take the bad with the good!
2 things out of three make you happy!!!
Anyways, I think I know what you mean, even though I'm a Canadian citzen whos too young to vote, i kinda understand the goverment and all.
Don't worry about raving and ranting, thats what we're here for! to listen and stuff!!!
Anwyas, at least your feeling better... another thing to add to the list of good things!
DONT THINK ME LAME PLS! im just trying to cheer my fav actor up!!!!
Lily

Thanks for the enlightenment. I never realized the depth of the Enron corruption. In fact, I had no idea that they were a factor in the Ca. energy crisis. Now that I am informed, I have to agree with you about being pissed. We all need to unite to get a REAL third party effectively running!

Wil, don't you live in LA? They were smart and kept their public power authority... you don't have to worry.

re: Third Parties.

America is a TWO party system... there are a thousand reasons why it will remain that way for as far down the road as political scientists can see. For one thing, this is the ultimate "winner take all" society.

Look at the 2000 election, Gore WON the popular vote by almost 3/4 of a MILLION votes, he won the electoral vote too (but that's another story). Even so, because Bush ultimately ascended to the Presidency, look at the perception of the two men. Winner takes all in the U.S.

Third parties are generally destructive to the political process in our country. You can make a HUGE difference in politics by joining the Democratic or Republican party and pushing them in the direction you want to see them go. Voting third party however, only relegates you to the role of (at best) a spoiler in the real election. (other than the 1 in 100 times that the 3rd party candidate actually wins- if you're happy with 1% success rates- then I guess you can vote Green)

Finally, the Greens (for example) are a mess! I wouldn't want to associate with them for anything.

Spudnuts, you rawk man.

And Wil, I agree with everything you say man. We have 2 WONDERFUL candidates to choose from this November. Talk about the lesser of 2 evils. I'm voting for Jimmy Buffett for governor. Or maybe Wesley Crusher.

I am one of the fortunate few who didn't have huge electric bills. I've lived here for 14 months now and I've never had an electric bill over $20. I also live in an apartment and not a house, so maybe that's why. I had one rolling blackout.

Do I think Enron is a scam? Hell yeah. I heard rumors that Dubbya sold off all his Enron stock right before it started to plummet - made himself $20 million or so. Does Enron have Congress in it's pocket? Most of them. Will Kenny boy go unpunished? He'll get a slap on the wrist if anything.

This is such bullshit. And DaleJr, you are such a sweetie and almost always have a positive attitude, but this is not going to be ok. Raping the taxpayers is NEVER ok. Doesn't matter about working itself out. This kind of crap doesn't fly.

And Rant On, Uncle Willy.

*Ahem*
You know a good way to effect change is to get into a position where you have the power to have a say in these matters. Things like this and much more happen daily and our government does nothing because the people running it are there to stuff their pockets and nothing more! If we had a few more politicians with fire like yours, maybe these things would not happen. (Then again maybe it's just wishful thinking, but we don't know until we try)
It is truly messed up and that is putting it mildly!

That's not the worst of it Wil. The whole shitstorm over power in California had farther-reaching consequences than you might think.

All those nifty power companies that went under last year left BC Hydro (British Columbia's powerco) with $500 million in unpaid power consumption (many of the California power companies bought power from BC).

They couldn't get the money from the Californians, obviously, so they jacked our power bills up instead, to cover the cost... I know people whose utility bills went from $100 / month to $900-1000... What made it worse was that natural gas costs went up at the same time - a nice little double-whammy.

I hate to break it to you but it wasn't all Enron's fault. There were real life issues that caused the prices of electricity to go that high and they are going to happen again real soon all across the United States.

So get ready for it, we've lived with electricty that was much too cheap for too long.

I really wish that people wouldn't refer to bad guys as "mouthbreathers". I am a mouthbreather and I'm nice and cute. I can't help it, I have deformed adenoids. *sigh*

You have every right to be pissed off and angry. I would be too, even thought I may only be indirectly affected (living near Washington, DC), but I'm about to fall over from a bad onslaught of my allergies.

Rant and growl as much as you want. The Enron memo must have been released to fire up the angry wolves growling at Enron's door.

so did i read just recently that good ol' kenny boy is gonna open up a antique store somewhere, maybe kick back and just take things easy?

kick back?

er...yeah, right, in more ways than one. futhermucker.

wil, your infrequent rants inspire me towards action and movement against those who carelessly wrong others. i only wish i had superpowers and could squash the bums between my mighty fists. alas, i'm just human but i do have something just as strong as steel -- the power to vote.

wil's right, folks. use your power to vote to hold those we elect to office accountable to their constituents, not their political action committees run by corporate boards of directors and wall street insiders.

keep up the rants, wil...piss us off, make us so damned angry, smoke comes out of our ears, provoke us towards action, inspire us with your passion.

keep on keeping on, dude.
portland, or

by the way, blue skies and a perfect morning for a commute on a motor scooter *grin*

Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to leave this planet and start all over again.

What's sad is there are even scarier atrocities in our country that this entire Enron scandal.

Oh, here is a charming bedtime story:

http://www.soaw.org/

Wow, what do you mean we have our own terrorist training organization in the states?!

Something tells me the "war on people different than us" oh -- I mean the "war on terrorism" will not direct it's weapons on itself.

I'm sorry, but did I actually read a message from someone who said they liked Bush?? Like not in the "he's funny cuz he looks like a monkey" way, but as a president?? Good lord. A moron with too much power and insidious advisors.

Honestly though, I don't even think he *wanted* to be president, I think he felt family pressure to run and figured he didn't have much chance to win anyways so he ran. Then he won and he's waaaay over his head.

Got a little off topic there ;) My favourite piece about the Enron affair was the Onion article about how "Americans would be outraged if they understood the Enron scandal". Awesome.

Sorry if this has been posted already, didn't have the time to read what's up already! :o(

From the Denver Rocky Mountain News:

Bar patrons take pity, stuff tip jar for 'poor' Kenneth Lay.

A tip jar soliciting donations for former Enron executive Kenneth Lay's retirement sits on the bar at the Woody Creek Tavern just outside of Aspen.

"It's been a great worry here about how we are going to help this poor man," bar patron Jimmy Ibbotson said Monday.

Sadly, Lay won't be able to retire on the contents of the jar.

"There's a Lifestyles black condom, several dog biscuts, a loaded .440-caliber rifle cartridge... a blue pacifier for a whiney boy and screws," said Ibbotson.

Read the rest of the article here....

http://insidedenver.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_1076758,00.html

More proof that the crooks are running the country now. Bend over baby, it's Bush and Dick time.

Sometimes, the only way to stay sane is to believe in karma. As in, those lousy, no good, slimeball, lying, smarmy, glad-handing, grinning, fat mofo asswipes will eventually, someday, get what's coming to them.

I personally can't really understand what drives some people to do what they do. I comprehend stuff like this less than I do many other crimes. Purposely screwing with people's money, with the health and wellbeing of millions, with people's lives? I do. not. get. it.

Karmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.....

Enron..and those that caused it SUCK.
In reference to someone's comment that"wil
you live in LA so don't worry"..or something
similar. I beleive that Wil is concerned about
the BIG picture here people!
Spudnuts..you rock!

Glad to hear that there are other people as pissed off as I am about this.

Shocked as all hell that anyone would defend it, though.

And for the record, I never once blamed this on Bush. Read it again, and tell me where I blame this on Bush.

Believe me, there are plenty of very good, valid reasons to dislike Bush, and he will screw us many, many times before he finally leaves office at the end of his first term...but this isn't his fault, entirely. However, if you really think that his hands are completely clean in relation to Enron, we have nothing to talk about.

I really wish people would stop bringing words like "Republican" and "Democrat" into this whole mix.

Political affiliation has nothing to do with it. In this situation, a crook is a crook, whether it's a donkey crook or an elephant crook.

And currently, both my state (CA) and my nation is practically run by crooks.

Gah.

I sent this to Wil in an email, and he asked me to post it here...

-------

They should all be ejected into space.

But, take a bit of solace in the following: it seems clear that the
whole deregulation fiasco was specifically designed to set California up
for the "power crisis" - to set us up to be raped and gouged by these
assholes when the "crisis" became acute. You'll recall that the entire
Bush administration supported the notion that in order to tide us over
through the "crisis," CA should buy power from Enron - Cheney even said
outright that conservation wasn't a realistic answer, and that it
wouldn't help much. Basically, the energy cartel was telling us "Oh,
well, you people have a big problem, you're going to run out of power,
and deregulation will solve that," and then we "ran out of power," and
they said, "Well, now you're going to have to pay for your past
foolishness in not deregulating, and you're going to pay through the
nose!"

So where's the solace?

What actually happened is that we, the people of California, cut our
electricity use by FIFTY PERCENT through conservation. FIFTY percent.
And we were able to continue life as usual, pretty much; rolling
blackouts were few and far between, and I don't think many people were
inconvenienced by it. I think I cut my own usage by around 80%; I took
down 3 of my 5 computers on my home network, and stopped leaving the
other two on 24 hours a day, turned my fridge down a notch, stopped
using the microwave... plus I bought all new 5-year compact fluorescent
bulbs for my lights. Just the bulbs alone went from using about 1150
watts down to only 200!! Usually I've only got a couple lights on in my
place now - about 40 watts used (used to be more like 300). I'm not the
only one I know who did this sort of thing.

And what happened after we cut that power use? Enron COLLAPSED.

Hmm, cause & effect, a wonderful thing. Just a hunch on my part, but my
take is that the whole Enron thing was that they tried to set us up to
steal our money, tried to convince us that we should do things their
way... and we DIDN'T. We went ahead and did the SMART thing, and cut
back on our energy consumption, DESPITE our leaders telling us we
shouldn't bother. And lo and behold, the ripoff artists, the frauds, the
con men, find themselves NOT receiving the huge windfall profits that
they expected to gouge out of us... and their front corporation goes
down the drain.

OK, so the Enron collapse is going to hurt us all. So they screwed us,
and they should be hung off the yardarm... but we didn't let them have
their way! We actually WON, believe it or not. Believe me, the pain of
this collapse will hurt a lot less than what would have happened in the
long run - being held hostage for our power, being forced to pay them
whatever they demanded for it.

The little people actually won this round. :)

Jeff Z.

-------

Now, looking at this, and how our President
and
his buddies are intricately tied up in it, can ANYONE think that we don't
have a bunch of criminals running this country now - who got into office
through criminal manipulation of the system? What do they have to do to
make
it more obvious? Start wearing Jolly Rogers and calling the Defense
Department the "Ministry of Peace"?

AMEN JEFF Z! Awesome. Pure genius.

You rawk man.

*bowing down before Jeff Z*

Ok, I'm in Toronto, Ont (yeah, the hated North Hollywood), so I cannot contribute much to the California issue, but we're about to face the same thing here. Our great new Premier, Ernie Eves, is planning to privatise what's left of the Ontario's hydro operations... (The gas distribution is already in the hands of private companies and the rates are beginning to soar).

And so the public property is being transferred to the big corporations. Don't get me wrong, I am not a socialist, but it's like George Carlin said, bend over and let the corporations do their thing...

Ernie should take notes from what is happening in California. But he is a Bay Street (equivalent to Wall Street) lawyer and a corporate goon, and so why bother with the welfare of the little people...

/end rant

Just another quick note: I, too, live in LA, so I live on the public power grid - so you might think that conservation efforts by LA residents wouldn't help. However, the exact opposite is true! When we cut our use here in LA, the LA public power grid can sell the power that we don't use to other utilities here in California - at reasonable rates that are capped by CA law (which is mentioned in the article, see the "ricochet" tactic). So, by cutting our use, we are increasing the amount of IN-STATE generated power that can be distributed throughout the net at economical prices - thus also taking money out of the gougers' potential windfall.

WE can make a difference - by NOT being stupid, as the ripoff artists and con men depend on us to be.

So..... when are tickets for this ST convention going to be available? ;)

Borg389 said:

>> Wil, before you go blaming Bush for this mess, simply because he knows someone at Enron.

Yeah.

He "knows someone" at Enron.

Hey.

I "know someone" at Nike.

Occasionally, I can get 50% off sneakers.

And if Kenny Boy set up Bush Jr. with some cheap skippies then I'd say it was all kosher. But a couple million in exchange for unlimited freedom to draft national energy policy, in my mind, is more significant than cheap sneaks (though... they ARE really nice shoes).

Or a jizz-covered dress.

>> keep in mind that this was all happening well before Bush came to power.

Bush didn't just instantaneously spawn from a damp slice of Wonder Bread. He and his family have never left power. You DO know he was the Governor of Texas, right? You DO know Enron was headquartered in Houston, right?

Houston is in Texas.

Odd coincidence that.

>> Don't believe that Clinton didn't know what was going on.

And Hillary.

And the gays.

Also the makers of Grand Theft Auto III.

And rap "gangsta" Ice Tea.

>> It also happened on Davis's watch, a democrat governor.

And the Northridge earthquake happened during the tenure of Pete Wilson.

A Republican governor!

Addition to "The Coolest" list: Jeff Z.

Spudnuts - you kick ass! Seriously dude, your comments are often hilarious, almost always insightful and generally brilliant.

Whose with me for starting a Cult of Spudnuts, eh? :)

Oh my. I can really see why your upset. And I thought my government sucked. This is what I'm afraid is going to happen to us. I'm so sick of politicians getting away with this. Of course no one will do anything because all the other politicans are just as bad. This is tickin me off,
and I'm not from California.

I'm curious Wil.. if Reardon had managed to get the Gop nod, would you have considered voting for him?

Re the Enron memos. If the written smoking gun equivalent had been found concerning Al-Qaida and 9-11, you just know Bush would have been on national TV in prime time trumpeting the news.

For all y'all out there blindly supporting the prez and jimmy-rigging flags to your pickup trucks, please keep in mind that Bush bankrolled the 9-11 tragedy. And since then has succeeding in bombing UN workers, Red Cross workers, and Canadians. We not only have an incompetant president, but possibly an evil one. I'm very sad for our country right about now.

P. S. Please don't bombard me with "Clinton sucks" messages. Weigh one blow job vs. thousands dead.

Hey Wil. One would guess from reading this entry that you were a tad bit irritated when you wrote it. Right?

You're late if you're trying to start the "cult of Spudnuts."

Ain't nobody touching our 'nuts! NOBODY!

Hi Wil;
Firstly on Enron, the entire Bush administration should be hung from the highest yardarm by the short hairs, it's an Enron/Big Oil 'government' that is corrupt to the core of it's being like perhaps no other administration in U.S. history. The sooner these people are in jail where they belong, the better for the U.S., the better for *the entire planet*. If there is a way to exploit and kill the disenfranchised they will do it. I also agree with the Aussie posters commentary on the Repub Enron contributions, it *was* 90% Repubs, 10% dems, and even then in relatively small amounts.
Second, on the GPS thang, I bought the Garmin E-Map http://www.garmin.com/products/emap/ because I wanted a GPS that was not only good for Geocaching, it's also got expandable memory cards, which means I can stuff up to 128 megs of data in there vs. the 20+ that the Vista does. The E-Map is only a little larger, plus it makes a fantastic road trip GPS, I used mine from WA to Roswell, NM and back. I can also load road maps, contour maps and nautical charts into it. The display's also a bit bigger too. Just something to think about. Either way you're getting a winner. (^_^)

Hey, Wil!

I'm a government price economist in DC...unfortunately, my work doesn't relate directly to Enron or the energy sector, but I have benefitted from discussions with some of the nation's top economists (government and academic). I am NOT an expert on the California energy crisis, but I am happy to see that so many of your visitors are! It is an extremely complicated issue that has even left Nobel-Prize-winning economists horribly confused ( http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_11/b3774026.htm ).

Many of the comments from visitors on your site are partially correct; for instance, it is true that wholesale trade was deregulated but retail pricing was not. What is NOT clear, by any means, is that this is the root of the problem. It is unquestionable that retail utilities (PG&E, Edison, etc.) got squeezed by rising wholesale prices and regulated resale prices (and abandonment by their parent companies), but it is not clear that deregulation of retail trade would have helped much. It *might* have prevented the blackouts, but the end consumers would have been paying increased prices (if not, deregulation could not have helped). What you are now paying in bail-out taxes and long-term contract rates you would have been paying in higher service prices. This, when deregulation was ushered in on promises of increased competition and lower prices! It is difficult to judge what long-term effects deregulation would/will have on the energy market before the dust has finished settling, but early evidence suggests that benefits will be slow to accrue. Afterall, you were promised lower prices and increased competition; upon deregulation the (wholesale) market consolidated and prices soared under the most dramatic increases the industry has ever seen. Others seem to point to supply shortfalls as the root of the problem, but the evidence here is very weak and hinges on some misreporting on the development of new plants in recent years. According to the California Energy Commission ( http://www.energy.ca.gov/database/index.html#powerplants ), the claim that Cali didn't build any power plants in the ninties is blatantly false. It also seems that excess demand was greatly overstated (and may not have existed at all) ( http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/utilities/rp/rp002193.pdf ).

Enron's involvement in the California energy crunch is rather troubling, but has been misrepresented in journalistic reports and is at any rate negligible when compared to Enron's fraudulence and manipulation of the American political system. It is understandable that people might be confused about the ethics (and simply the practice) of trading energy futures and other derivatives, which made up the bulk of Enron's business operations. Derivatives are difficult to understand! The truth is, as far as we can tell, that in an appropriately operating market, options trading allows firms (both wholesale and retail, in the energy markets) to hedge against "volatility risk" and smooth their operating costs and revenues over time. Enron has been represented as a company that reaps billions by simply moving other firms' money around—but this is a highly valuable service! The real trouble with Enron's involvement in California's recent difficulties lies in its subsidiaries' incestuous dealings and the influence the company has enjoyed with Federal regulatory agencies. Other energy companies seem to have had more direct influence in the California energy markets, i.e., your local wholesalers (Enron is a minor player in production), who jacked up prices to unprecedented levels (unwarranted by increases in input costs, including natural gas) and without warning took plants offline at peak usage periods.

As for Enron's crimes, these have been discussed by people more intelligent than me. I leave a link or two of interest, but I might first note to a few of the commenters that to chalk up the problems, either in the Federal government or in California, as blatant failures of one political party and to herald the other party as our only hope for salvation is to ignore a tremendous amount of information. Things just aren't that easy.

http://www.counterpunch.org/enron.html (written in 1998!)
http://truthout.com/12.16E.Enron.Outrage.htm
http://www.michaelmoore.com/2002_0129.html

BTW, all the guys at http://www.natalieportman.com think you're cool. I'm with 'em on that. Rant on.

—Scarlet

P.S. >>I'd sooner run naked through the biggest Star Trek Convention in history, screaming "LOOK AT ME! I'M ON FIRE!"

I think you should do that anyway. It would sure liven things up, no?

Keep the faith, Wil. And when it comes to rants, darlin', just remember -- you pay the server bills. Keep 'em coming.

And ScarletP, thank you for all the links -- I've been trying to convince some libertarian, "no, no, it's the free-market economy meeting stupid over-liberal Californians, stupid," friends of the behind-the-scenes crap going on in re: the manufactured CA energy "crisis" for a long time.

Pax,
HB

Wil, Wil, Wil, the anger. So ribald! Hmm, you need to calm down. I know, how about a short trip to Australia; if you know what I mean!

JSc said:

>> You're late if you're trying to start the "cult of Spudnuts."

Let's skip the Cult of Spudnuts and go straight to the "Let's set up a PayPal button for Spudnuts to give him money because he so dang smart."

Some films to help better understand our current (CIA) Gov't & it's righteous 'War on Terror';

Swordfish
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Wag The Dog
Bob Roberts
JFK

Happy Viewing -

Wil, sorry to realize you've been living in the dreamland of your youth... that world where we vote for representatives to represent us. Corporations essentially run the government now and we apparently like it that way. No one will vote for a third-party candidate (you know, the ones who have not yet sold their souls). Oh well.

We all need to get off the grid anyway.

NAH!!! No PLAYPAL button for you!

OUR CULT LIKE ADULATION IS ALL YOU GET FOR FREE!!!

OFcourse if you EVER get around to having your
OWN site..you WOULD give Wil a run for Site
of the year! GUARANTEED!!

Or better yet WRITE A BOOK!!!!!!!!!!

NO PAYPAL EITHER!

That's why I voted for Nader. Hey, Will, it's great to see that you're a steadfast progressive! -- buzz

Nopaypalfohyou!

If someone wants to give me a couple mill or indeed six bucks to buy some sushi, I'll gladly allow you to write the entire energy policy for the Spudnuts household.

Right now it's...

"Don't stick eating utensils into outlets."

Needs a little work.

So does this mean you just got your power bill?

Am I the only one that realizes that electricity deregulation in California became law when Pete Wilson was Governor?

Last time I checked deregulation passed in 1996, Gray Davis did not become Governor until January 1999.

Something to think about. Perhaps we need to go back and dig into Pete Wilson's past.

This would have never happened if people hadn't voted for DEregulation. The only people to blame are the Californians who were stupid enough to vote for it. DEREGULATION doesn't work. We should have learned that by now.
And as for Bill Simon, he will NEVER get elected governor. He is too conservative for this state.

ack!
I decide to take a nap before algebra and I miss this much?
damn.
anyways...
Politics definately blow.
That's all I really gotta say about that.
We're being lead by a bunch of morons and I forgot to vote so I guess I'm partly to blame.
Sorry...[/innocent apology]
So once again I'll campaign my idea:
Wil for President... when you're old enough of course.

love and kisses,

This happened in the 70's, and the solution agreed upon worked great. Why not do it again.

Wil:

I dont blame you for being very upset. I just hate
to ask what you have to pay in Electric Bills each month because of politics. Perhaps you should visit Mississippi...where the cost of living is pretty low. We can share a pitcher of lemonade in my back yard and talk about my low southern electric bills.

Marc from Jackson

HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU FORGET TO VOTE?!

Mmm, the great energy debate. What if energy were free?

http://www.msoft.no/meg/
http://cheniere.org/
http://www.icehouse.net/john1/

I'm sorry for yelling.

...

...

...

...

...

No, I'm not.

>>Let's skip the Cult of Spudnuts and go straight to the "Let's set up a PayPal button for Spudnuts to give him money because he so dang smart."

The only problem with this plan it that you haven't TRIED it yet, Spud.

No.

The only problem with the plan, Bobby the Mat, is that I'm not that fucking smart to begin with.

Wil, you run for Governor. Come on, take a stand and fix it! :)

*ding*

Spuds is smarter than most of the government officials.

*ding*

Spuds has a devoted following who miiiiight buy him some sushi if they had the chance, and weren't mercilessly made fun of in the process.

*ding*

Spuds does all this whilst sitting on the toilet. Imagine what he could do in a real chair.

-----

As for the energy crap here in CA - as a member of the generation that will soon be in charge (or rather, in a few years, but still, the 20somethings are getting there), I'm getting the sense that not only will we be bailing out our parent's and grandparent's mistakes in terms of foreign relations and spending, but we'll be feeling the effects of this energy fiasco for a long time.

~If you do not learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it.~

It's situations like these that emphasize the choice a person must make between hiding in a corner and shutting out the world, and trying to do something about it.

I have often prided myself on inaction, but now, well, I find that is harder to do. I'm taking a class on Middle Eastern culture right now, taught by a man who went to school there and has made the region's politics his life's work.
That class has forced me to reevaluate what I've assumed and been told, and it makes me realize that a person should try and learn as much as possible.

So thanks, Uncle Wil, for putting those links up there.

And Spuds? Je pense que votre "rants" sont superb. If you're ever in the Golden State, I'll buy you a beer and some sushi.

Wil, you're absolutely right about these bastards. They should be strung up by the testicles and shipped to Afghanistan.

SPimpernel, you rock! Thanks for a great post and some dandy links.

[bandwagon]

Spudnuts, you da man!

[/bandwagon]

;)

~j

Did anyone else notice that the price gouging shenanigans started just a week after the supreme court negated the constitution and apointed a
shadow president?
I saw on the corporate owned news(tm) channels
that it was all due to the tree hugging deregulating fairies and their oh so festive christmas lights.
let me bash a few really stupid lies that the trillionaires would have you believe:
If you give a rich man money he will give a poor man a job.
Bullshit he will send it to a bank in allied country and pay no tax on it while earning interest.
#2 I am wealthy and you work for the minimum wage
because you are hopeless sinner and GOD loves me more!
Bullshit! I dont recall one chapter or verse where
that was in the Bible,do you?
#3 Liberals are anti-military and Anti-coorporation.
B.S! It is just that the rightwingers are pro military contractor,notice that our fighting men
only got the summary 7% raise they get anually
not the relief that our AWOL in the national guard
prez promised.Also note that the bush empire owns
substantial holdings in the major defense contractors.(Go go gadget star wars!:)
These are just a few.how many more can you think of? Discuss!

Spud,

You set up the paypal site and I bet you a dollar you'll make a dollar.

(of course, there's no way I can lose this one.)

KJB said:

>> Spuds is smarter than most of the government officials.

We are so fucked.

>>Wil, you're absolutely right about these bastards. They should be strung up by the testicles and shipped to Afghanistan.

I like the testicles part, but shipping them to Afghanistan... I guess it depends on who finds them first. Hopefully the innocent civilians that we've been bombing to hell and starving the rest will find them and eat them. But they could manage to make connections with ex-Taliban people (Afghanistan is currently ruled by various crime bosses, since there's no peace-keeping force policing anything; some Al-Qaida and Taliban types have surely hooked up with these gangs). In which case they'd be treated just swell I imagine.

Some questions keep arising in my aching head: is it coincidence that our government trained the Al Qaida leadership? That our government has given millions in aid to the oppressive Taliban, somewhat-allies of Al Qaida, as long as they suppressed opium production in War Against Drugs(TM)? That a group of representatives of American oil interests were in discussions with Taliban officials mere days before 9/11 about constructing oil pipelines through Afghanistan? That our own Vice-President is CEO of a major oil company that was almost certainly represented at these meetings, and that he, Cheney, has refused to hand over minutes from these meetings? Is it coincidence that the Bush and Bin Laden families (the latter of which is huge, and should not be connected so easily with the doings of one crazed family member) have been investment buddies for decades? And that the day after 9/11, no planes were allowed to fly in the US, except for one - by Dubya's order, a US government plane which flew about the country picking up Bin Laden family members, for their own protection supposedly, and allowing them to leave the country, before they could be questioned.

Kenny Boy, who suddenly became "that Mr. Lay" had an office in the Dubya White House. Michael Moore did some excellent research on his odd position there, as basically an unofficial cabinet member with veto power over potential appointments unfriendly to what he was doing - and this was long before any of the Enron scandal blew up. With all this crap being shot about, and it all having to do with the oil industry, and the private interests of our elected leaders, and the corporations which elected them... it's not hard to get suspicious and realize that, even though we might not have the details we'd like, some major poo has been going down. And still, ordinary people in the U.S. will be the ones unwittingly stuck holding the plunger.

For tons about Enron, definitely read Michael Moore's book "Stupid White Men," as well as his website, which others here have mentioned.

Is there a big difference between the Democrats and Republicans? In my mind the rhetoric of the Democrats is more lefty, but their actions are generally all the same; heck, Gore is a great example - his senatorial environmental record is among the worst, and under Clinton, they friggin' wrecked environmental laws even more than Reagan/Bush. They're all bought and paid for by the same corporations. Maybe the Republicans are more brazen in trying to get away with such massive bs, while Clinton was more slick and only got nailed for lovin' da oralizing.

Someone mentioned mock-shock at the thought that we train terrorists here in the US... hey, we're the only country in the world to ever be officially accused of and condemned for terrorism by the United Nations. The United States government is the single greatest terrorist organization on the planet by far, by our own definition of terrorism. We've been killing innocent Afghanis (as well as some not-so-innocent ones) and creating conditions to basically make thousands into starving refugees that are trapped in their own borders, at the mercy of horrible weather/lack of shelter and food/merciless gangs. Meanwhile the Pentagon insanely announces they're hoping to begin an invasion of Iraq this summer. It's a lot like a big movie franchise: the US public liked the first one so much (gauged by supposedly high numbers for Bush's approval ratings), let's do another! It only costs $30 billion a day. Think of how much expendable military wares we'll be able to order from Lockheed Martin. With all the stock we own in them, we'll be billionaires ourselves soon!

Unless we're dead of course - how amazing that the Pentagon, center of military intelligence (insert classic well-worn funny here), rules against the element of surprise and announces well in advance the impending invasion of Iraq. If I was the leader of Iraq, I'd consider it as: hm, well they seem set on invading, what to do? Guess I might as well attack! Gee, think we'll get any more terrorist attacks in the near future?

My advice: become a shut-in. Wear a gas mask 24/7. Shoot on sight all mail carriers that attempt to deliver you things. Board up your windows! Hide in the bathtub with a loaded rifle pointed at the door, and take No-Doz so you don't have to sleep! When the men in white show up, remember! They are potentially food!

Oh man... did I go off on a rant again? Sorry.

More swearing! Less politics!

That's all I have to say.

Well, actually, I was going to say something about Wil being the new Eminem, but on hindsight I'm glad I didn't.

The real problem was that it was RE-regulation, and not truly DE-regulation.

Oh... and while I didn't vote for Bush (http://www.harrybrowne2000.org/) he really did win the election. Even if Gore had had his way, and all the hanging, dimpled, beaten, maimed, and riduculed 'chads' had been counted, Bush still would have won the election - even the most Liberal of newspapers' studies said so. He may not be a very GOOD President, but he is President.

Hey Bob, what about all the illegally / wrongfully removed names from the voter rolls [nation wide]. Plus, I always (innocently) considered elections to be about "one man, one vote". Leave it to good ol' GW to remind us against that delusion. Hopefully, next time Blacks will be allowed to vote - and guaranteed, the elderly Jews will bring their magnifying glasses to the polls next time.

>>Oh... and while I didn't vote for Bush he really did win the election... even the most Liberal of newspapers' studies said so.

Liberal papers like the Washington Post, NY Times, Newsweek etc.? They said otherwise - if all votes were counted, Gore would have won. Even if you count the totally suspect Bush votes (which were indeed counted, against Florida state law) that were mailed in without the proper signatures originally requesting the absentee voting cards. Even if you ignore the many people who were intimidated away from even voting.

Katherine Harris and the Supreme Court handed the election to Bush. The Bush camp knew they might lose if the recount was allowed to continue; only the power of the Court could save him. Bush didn't win the popular vote, and he shouldn't have won the electoral vote if things were done fairly. But there were a whole variety of unfair factors in play in Florida, the crucial one being that Bush had the connections.

Wil --

The problem lies not with Enron in this case, but with the clowns in the legislature that set up the deregulation scheme. They put caps on how much the companies could charge. As costs of production went up, they were stuck charging the consumer the same rate. They were fucked from the beginning.

If anyone in the California Legislature knew anything about market economics, they could have predicted the debacle.

I'm not saying that Enron is not guilty of anything -- by all means, they're scumbags. But in this case, I'd point the finger (the middle one) at Grey Davis and the Legislature. What fucktards.

If you don't like what Enron did in California, go dig up what they've been doing in India. Raised the price of energy so much on a state contract (I forget which state) that it was cheaper for the state to generate its own energy AND pay exorbitant fees to Enron for the privelege of NOT buying their energy. WOW.

Dan Gillmor's current column addresses this issue quite well:
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/columnists/dan_gillmor/3218620.htm

"For all this, it's vital to remember that the fleecing of California in 2000 and 2001 didn't just happen because of some corporate malfeasance and federal nonfeasance, no matter how much we might like to think so. California itself bears much of the responsibility, starting with the bogus but ballyhooed deregulation."

For yet another business/government scandal in California, see this link:

http://216.26.163.62/2002/mc05_08.html

Down Here on the Gulf Coast Power is Cheap, We drill for Oil around Here.

You dont mind burning up the fuel out there but dont want to drill for it in your own back yard.

If you worked in a marble factory, wouldnt your kids have plenty of marbles?

Unfortunately, Enron has done a few things lately that would cause for suspicion of MASS LUNACY among other things. For instance, their corporate management decided it would be "cost effective" to make all of its employees trade their 401K for Enron stock. Employees were insured that they'd make more money once the stocks went up however most of those employees were "let go" before they had the chance to get back even half of what was traded. From what I seem to recall there are a few law suits being filed but nothing is for certain. I have a feeling that Enron will eventually sink into its own (giggle) "debts" and before too long there will be no need for concern with the company getting what it deserves. Their largest and most critical pains will more than likely be self inflicted anyway (Karma isn't a very forgiving soul especially with those who tempt her more than once.)

~*§hanna*~

PS: I am a California Taxpayer as well and I do relate to your concerns. ☺

♫ "In the glories of the 80's
I may not have to die
I'll clone myself
like that blonde chick
that sings Bette Davis Eyes" ♫
~Tori Amos 'Glory of the 80's'

Oh! and Xorro... Dude... Lay off fairies! OK? =) Love those winged creatures! (I know what you meant.)

I want to respond to the often-heard complaint "oh, it wasn't *real* deregulation, *real* deregulation would have gotten us all milk and cookies."The price caps were included in the deregulation plan by request of the power companies themselves, as part of a temporary transition to open pricing. They were intended as a floor, to guarantee a continuous level of profit, since they were afraid of their margins disappearing entirely in the newly competitive environment. In effect, they were a contract with the people of California to provide energy at a certain price. The fact that it there will always be a distribution bottleneck in energy at various strategic points is the fact that an Enron can then manipulate the ensuing energy markets.

Public energy has a very good history of being efficient and affordable. Los Angeles does not have a history of expensive power or blackouts - indeed, the lights stayed on in those parts of the state that had local public power. Free markets work great for consumer electronics and in other markets of desireable non-essentials with few externalities and without controllable bottlenecks, where delivery of service is less time urgent. One of the many elements that is always left out by the "free market will solve it all" crowd is time. Time to respond to increases in demand, time between investment and profit, time for all the irregularities to work out. (Plus the fact that a rational agent in a market has a geometrically decreasing interest in long-term profits versus short-term profits, if they can achieve any liquidity - this is why an unregulated market will not protect the environment.) There's a couple Keynes quotes that are appropriate: "markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent," and "in the long run, we're all dead."

1) Dereg was only a bad idea becuase the pols in California only went part way. They dereg'd the wholesale side, but wouldn't let the market determine consumer prices.
2) Enron may be guilty, but what does Bush have to do with it? Clinton certainly gave them more favors than the Bush Admin (the India deal, etc.) Seems to me the Enron collapse thing went public in large part to the Bush Admin's position on the issue. And the California debacle was not primarilly on Jorge's watch.
3) "President"? The major news outlets in the country concluded that Bush won FLorida. And lest you forget, tens of thousands of people were shown to have voted in BOTH New York and Florida in 2000 -- the vast, vast majority from Democratic strongholds.

Wil, I agree with you that the Enron boys probably need top get strung up. I agree that CA was reamed by it's own Governor and legislature -- GOP and DEM alike.

But hey, keep your eye on the ball. When you start dragging your other perceived "bogeymen" into the mix, you make your argument a whole lot weaker.

All that being said, the Blog is always a good read. Keep it up.

Hi, David Johnson - you sound like a nice enough chap, but you're just wrong about the Calif. dereg. In fact, the "limit" on consumer prices was an agreement made by the power companies to provide power at that rate. Essentially, it was a contract, for a fixed amount of time. Just like it's possible in virtually any private contract, their costs rose (due to Enron's kibbitzing, largely) after the ink was signed. What happened was that Enron engineered good old-fashioned price-fixing with a high-tech twist - which is something that even Adam Smith warned against.

Wil, I liked you as Wesley Crusher and as a person you seem very bright. But I know you've been through the Hollywood system, and it's not exactly an unbiased arena to work in, politically. So I forgive you for sounding "left-of-center" on a number of things, especially when it comes to energy policy and environmentalism.

I do like the fact that you seem more independent-minded (saying you won't vote for Davis), but saying you won't give Bill Simon a chance is pretty much a waste of your vote. Third parties are useless, in my opinion. I think Bush has done better than the media thought he could.

Can't wait to see you in Nemesis!
Your conservative Trekker fan, Jacob

melodyca, you moron. Californians did not vote for energy deregulation. Corporations used their puppets (politicians) to pass it through the legislature and good ol' former Gov. Pete Wilson signed it into law. The thanks go to our corporate masters and their puppets (the Democratic and Republican parties).

You are not alone.

Http://www.democraticunderground.com/

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety"

Benjamin Franklin

Nice Post.

It is the same story in Ontario Canada which is following in California's footsteps.

You can get the latest Canadian information on a site's Ontario Hydro electricity page

http://www.geocities.com/torontotenants/ontariohydro.html

To date I have proposed, and must be asserted during the time (1946-63) of President Truman, ab uptly aborted. My unique successes as a situation of great urgency, we do, protectionist system of sovereign nation-state economies from that I sincerely respect your life will be transformed. FOREV!

The crux of the matter to be secure against global tyranny of the original intention of many of the planet into a general, global economic breakdown - crisis, affectin every single time. I've worked hard and struggled all the similar things I've thrown in the name to the world has now entered the terminal phase of that presently doomed world economy.

Mark V. Shaney