George Dubya Enron

“The government is corrupt. Republicans are evil. Corporate Amerika is evil. Time to clean house.”

“I would be equally true to say:

"The liberals are corrupt. Democrats are evil. The environmental movement is evil. Time to clean house."”

“I haven't voted for an incumbent since 1980 (at least), *G*.”

“This just in... It's only a 29-page pdf! Those folks at Public Citizen loooooooooove those pdf files. Enjoy!

Blind Faith: How Deregulation and Enron's Influence Over Government Looted Billions from Americans (pdf)”

“You are constantly trying to make a favourable impression and endeavouring to be considered as that someone "special". You are pretty good at using various tactics and strategies that give the impression that you are in control. Maybe you are ... but you are constantly watching to see whether or not your endeavours are truly appreciated. Be careful.... Just as "you" may be endeavouring to influence others, "they" may indeed be influencing you ....

You are lazy ... You dream of a peaceful, calm, uncluttered and uncomplicated life. Your ideal would be to share a permanent base with some person or persons who would be able to demonstrate on-goinglove, peace and security.

Your confidence has been shattered... There are so many things that you would like to do with your life, so many dreams to be fulfilled, and you know that your hopes and dreams are not just figments of your imagination... they are real, and you are looking for reassurance from someone. Basically your fears are such that you may be prevented in attaining your hopes and dreams. Even now you would like to broaden your fields of endeavour...but in order to develop your "inner- self" you need peace and solace. You are distressed by the fear that you may be prevented from attaining your goals.. What you really need at this particular moment in time is quiet reassurance from someone close to you to restore your confidence.

You are being unduly influenced by the situation that is all around you. You do not like the feeling of loneliness and whatever it is that seems to separate you from others. You know that life can be wonderful and you are anxious to experience life in all its aspects, to live it to the full. You therefore resent any restriction or limitations that are being imposed on you and you insist on going it alone.

You don't like conflict and you endeavour to avoid criticism. You want to do your own thing and to be able to decide what is right for you. You have considerable personable charm - and this is used with considerable effect on those that keep your company..”

“Deja Vu.”

“what exactly is Enron shredding? Hanging chads?”

“WASHINGTON — A confidential Enron document released by federal energy regulators shows how Enron traders drove up power prices during California's energy crisis.


The memorandum, written by Enron lawyers in December 2000, outlined practices similar to those described by California officials who allege that the energy trading company created phantom congestion on electricity transmission lines and engaged in sham sales among its affiliates to increase electricity prices.

Describing one such strategy used by Enron energy traders and called "Death Star," the lawyers wrote: "The net effect of these transactions is that Enron gets paid for moving energy to relieve congestion without actually moving any energy or relieving any congestion."

Another practice, called "ricochet," allowed Enron to send power out of California and then resell it back into the state to avoid price caps that applied to transactions solely within California.

"To us, this is really the smoking-gun memo," said Sean Gallagher, a staff attorney with the California Public Utilities Commission. "It's Enron's own attorneys admitting that Enron is manipulating the California market."

Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for California Gov. Gray Davis, said the memos are more evidence that federal energy regulators should order power companies to refund billions of dollars in exorbitant electricity sales.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into Enron's possible manipulation of the state's electricity market.”

“Those nice conservative fellows from "Texas" wouldn't do that to a liberal state like "The PR of California".Wait until the Gas guys start getting looked into.Don't worry that nice conservative fellow that lives in the white house will make sure that wasn't the last time it will happen.”

“My question: what did Cheney know and when did he know it?”

“I guess I don't understand how the Liberals in California got screwed.

The rednecks in my State have not approved deregulation.”

“I may be stupid but Ive never heard o this?? What is it?”

“Once upon a time it was determined that things like electrical power, telephones, and radio frequencies needed to be controlled by a government agency.

It was necessary to establish standards and rules for the public safety. As technology evolved safety, became less of an issue and profit changed the rules.

Some local governments decided that they weren't getting enough of the profit pie so they passed laws that opened up the power industry.

Well supply and demand and greed and crooks got involved and Enron screwed lots of folks.

and everyone lived warily ever after. Except the liberals who needed someone to blame for their own stupidity.”

“Bacpac thinks he's being sly with the title of that last post.”

“I don't see my pipe here.”

“pass it cliff, ya bogart!”

“(CBS) When a forest fire shut down a major transmission line into California, cutting power supplies and raising prices, Enron energy traders celebrated, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports.

"Burn, baby, burn. That's a beautiful thing," a trader sang about the massive fire.

Four years after California's disastrous experiment with energy deregulation, Enron energy traders can be heard – on audiotapes obtained by CBS News – gloating and praising each other as they helped bring on, and cash-in on, the Western power crisis.

"He just f---s California," says one Enron employee. "He steals money from California to the tune of about a million."

"Will you rephrase that?" asks a second employee.

"OK, he, um, he arbitrages the California market to the tune of a million bucks or two a day," replies the first.

The tapes, from Enron's West Coast trading desk, also confirm what CBS reported years ago: that in secret deals with power producers, traders deliberately drove up prices by ordering power plants shut down.

"If you took down the steamer, how long would it take to get it back up?" an Enron worker is heard saying.

"Oh, it's not something you want to just be turning on and off every hour. Let's put it that way," another says.

"Well, why don't you just go ahead and shut her down."

Officials with the Snohomish Public Utility District near Seattle received the tapes from the Justice Department.

"This is the evidence we've all been waiting for. This proves they manipulated the market," said Eric Christensen, a spokesman for the utility.

That utility, like many others, is trying to get its money back from Enron.

"They're f------g taking all the money back from you guys?" complains an Enron employee on the tapes. "All the money you guys stole from those poor grandmothers in California?"

"Yeah, grandma Millie, man"

"Yeah, now she wants her f------g money back for all the power you've charged right up, jammed right up her a------ for f------g $250 a megawatt hour."

And the tapes appear to link top Enron officials Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling to schemes that fueled the crisis.

"Government Affairs has to prove how valuable it is to Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling," says one trader.

"Ok."

"Do you know when you started over-scheduling load and making buckets of money on that?

Before the 2000 election, Enron employees pondered the possibilities of a Bush win.

"It'd be great. I'd love to see Ken Lay Secretary of Energy," says one Enron worker.

That didn't happen, but they were sure President Bush would fight any limits on sky-high energy prices.

"When this election comes Bush will f------g whack this s--t, man. He won't play this price-cap b------t."

Crude, but true.

"We will not take any action that makes California's problems worse and that's why I oppose price caps," said Mr. Bush on May 29, 2001.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/01/eveningnews/main620626.shtml”

“If Enron hadn’t imploded, the Bushies would still be blaming environmental regulations for the market manipulation in California’s under regulated electricity market. Kind of like they are doing now with the oil market.”

“I was thinking yesterday how that line sounded awfully familiar.”

“The Conservatives in the western coal producing states wanted to gut the environmental regs for coal mining based on that trumped up "energy crisis" as well.”

“Welcome! sulphur dioxide
Hello! carbon monoxide
The air, the air
Is everywhere

Breath deep, while you sleep
Breath deep”

“Hey I remember that one! Catchy tune!”

“It's got a good beat and it's easy to dance to --- I'll give it an 85!

and now, Paul Revere and the Raiders....”

“(CBS) During California's rolling blackouts, when streets were lit only by head lights and families were trapped in elevators, Enron Energy traders laughed, reports CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales.

One trader is heard on tapes obtained by CBS News saying, "Just cut 'em off. They're so f----d. They should just bring back f-----g horses and carriages, f-----g lamps, f-----g kerosene lamps."


Bet Bushies friends in the oil industry are making the same jokes. "Let the middle class ride horses and carriages, only fat cat republicans deserve to afford gas."”

“December 21, 2000
Las Vegas Review-Journal

(Clinton administration) Energy Secretary Bill Richardson on Wednesday extended for a week an order requiring Western generators to sell electricity to power-strapped California.

Richardson, who supports a regionwide cap on wholesale electricity prices, also urged Western governors to work together to solve problems that have created power shortages in California and tripled prices for some consumers.

----------------------------------


From the recently released Enron tapes:

"When this election comes Bush will f------g whack this s--t, man. He won't play this price-cap b------t."

----------------------------------


"We will not take any action that makes California's problems worse. And that's why I oppose price caps. Price caps do nothing to reduce demand, and they do nothing to increase supply. This is not only my administration's position, this was the position of the prior administration*."

- George W Bush, May 29, 2001

* denotes outright lie”

“Republican Ideology hurts the vast majority of the country.”

“Violin - Get your facts straight, only Bill Richardson supported price caps, just because he was a member of the Clinton administration doesn't mean that he had the final say on policy, many other members of the administration opposed price caps (Larry Summers for instance)and the actual policy of the Clinton administration was to oppose price caps.

Yet another liberal telling you that someone lied when they didn't.”

“Whoa!

Chit like this gives fuel to the fire. It's gonna be real tough to blow off the "aww, yer just being too paranoid" thing.

Another "non-move", Bush move. Let's all see in a few years what they say about this oil stuff.”

“Why don't you try and post indisputable facts to back your opinion. Right now, I don't believe what you posted, because you have no evidence to back it up.”

“Bison - Do you think Spence Abraham is doing a goot job?”

“BB- FERC has the power to impose price caps - did they ever impose those caps under the Clinton Administration? NO! You can't get much better evidence than that.”

“Funny, I don't hear Republicans blaming the whole thing on environmental regulations and the California legislature now.

In fact, those excuses became really scarce when all this criminal behavior came to light in the Energy Committee hearings.... nearly two years ago?

Energy industry hacks vehemently denied that criminals were at work as the allegations surfaced but REALITY has caught up with them.

WHY was it allowed to continue? Were the Republicans punishing California for voting for Democrats? Was Bush, Inc. in the energy companies' back pockets?”

“Why did it happen in the first place Tilt? Who was President at the time? Clinton! Who was governor of California? Davis!

Was it allowed to continue?
Who busted these people?
Funny how they never got busted under Clinton, but they didn't last long under Bush. When did FERC finally impose price controls?
Under Bush (Dumbass move by the way it just made the situation worse). Only one thing will ever stop this situation from happening again, building more powerplants, but those numbskulls in California won't do that. And let's not go around blaming Enron for the energy crisis in California, they took advantage of it, they didn't create it.”

“"And let's not go around blaming Enron for the energy crisis in California, they took advantage of it, they didn't create it......."


So it's OK to rob a dead man? You didn't shoot him, but his wallet was right there, ya know. And he was gonna need it anymore....”

“Sorry, Bison, the price hikes and rolling blackouts started almost immediately after Bush was sworn into office. I'm not blaming Bush for the failed policy, by any means, but your assertion that this happened under clinton is false.

The deregulation that allowed this to happen was pushed through under a democrat, though. You've got that right.”

“Here's a newsflash for you: Republicans controlled FERC and the Justice Department, LOL

And The Last I Heard... former presidents can't call up the current Attorney General (ASHCROFT) and light a fire under his ass.

It looks to me as if the Bush left California to twist in the wind out of spite.

Imagine if the state in question was seen as being 'up for grabs' in the 2004 election and consider how quickly George would've called the cavalry.


(yes, that's the CAVALRY --- LOL)”

“I didn't say it was OK laqtis, my point was that blaming people who steal the dead man's wallet isn't going to keep the guy who shot the dead man from shooting someone else. This seems to be the modus operandi for many libs. Nothing gets fixed by blaming Enron for "creating" the energy crisis because they didn't create it. They took advantage of it illegally and for that they are being punished. But if people continue to believe that Enron caused it, they're never going to come up with a solution to the actual problem.

Phaedrus - The energy shortage in California began in the Summer of 2000, Bush wasn't sworn in until January 2001. Yes the rolling blackouts didn't start till afterwards but the problem was evident long before that, and Enron was manipulating the market well before Bush became president.”

“Tilt -
A former President wouldn't have had to call up the attorney general... The Attorney General was Janet Reno and the President was Clinton.”

“Also Republicans didn't control FERC under the Clinton administration, and I'm still pretty sure I'm right about Janet Reno being Clinton's AG, not Ashcroft ( could I be wrong about that hmmmm...)”

“Nope I looked it up do you need me to post you a link to prove that John Ashcroft was not Clinton's AG. heee heee, ha ha.”

“Pheadrus, you gonna take that crap?”

“The energy shortage in California began in the Summer of 2000, Bush wasn't sworn in until January 2001. Yes the rolling blackouts didn't start till afterwards but the problem was evident long before that, and Enron was manipulating the market well before Bush became president."
Bison
09:03:08 AM
06/03/04

Well, I' was wrong. I just looked it up. I moved out here in November of 2000, so the mistake was on my part.

Bison's right - Enron was manipulating the energy market the whole time Bush was riding around in their private jet during the election campaign.”

“"my point was that blaming people who steal the dead man's wallet isn't going to keep the guy who shot the dead man from shooting someone else........"

I agree. Both pigs should pay, but one pig ain't here no mo. That's too bad for the second pig.”

“"Enron was manipulating the energy market the whole time Bush was riding around in their private jet during the election campaign."

That's a certainly a fair point, we just have to keep it balanced with the knowledge that the Clinton Administration (with the exception, already stated, of Bill Richardson) was snuggling up pretty cozy with them in the same bed.”

“Clinton was too business-friendly, you're right.”

“They took advantage of it illegally and for that they are being punished.

Bison
09:03:08 AM


Ken Lay is being punished??????”

“Where's strat?”

“So Clinton just wasn't as good at being crooked? LOL

Bush should be in prison.”

“Treebeard - Ken Lay will be punished assuming he is guilty. Unfortuneatly rich people, even if they got their riches illegally, can afford lots of good lawyers who can put things off seemingly forever. And you have to add to that the fact that prosecutors are extremely cautious when going after such a big fish (because they know what quality of lawyers they'll be going up against) that they make absolutely sure that they have everything investigated before bringing an indictment. The other problem is of course that Lay wasn't subject to the laws that were passed in response to the scandal, so the investigators have to find evidenced that he (personally)knowingly commited a criminal act.”

“How many years could George get under RICO, we wonder?”