[snopercod]

Maviglio said, Enron and other companies "took advantage of a flawed law illegally." BWAAAHAHAHAHAH!

This from a man who purchased a still-undisclosed number of Calpine shares in June, 2001 while he was busy giving them contracts.

One can only hope that he hung onto them...

[snopercod]

At least there are a couple of small papers telling the truth.

[Enterprise]

Well, ok. Let's be fair here. Put Davis and Ken Lay in the same prison cell with Bubba.

[drypowder]

California left itself vulnerable to exploitation by Enron and other energy companies by creating an unsound electricity system. This sounds analogous to the answer a young thug gave to Richard Prior during an interview at a youth detention center outside Detroit during the 1980s. Prior was interviewing young black prisoners to try to find out why there are so many behind bars. Prior asked the young thug, "you stold from your victim only $60.00, he was old and you're a teenager, why did you have shoot the the guy? The young thug answered, "It was his fault, he was stupid, he shouldn't have been there."

[marron]

Californians hate power plants. A major power plant near my home was denied permission to build, until just before the blackouts hit. Another plant has been held up until they can "prove" they have enough water, as if someone would invest hundreds of millions in a plant without being sure.

Enviros have tried to stop construction of a large plant in Blythe, and have been actively trying to shut down plants in the Bay area, and in the LA basin. In the middle of the blackouts, they were doing this.

Despite the fact that they propose wind farms everytime a real plant is proposed, enviros oppose wind energy, and have fought to stop every wind project.

When a plant is going down for maintenance, power companies buy replacement power through brokers, usually at very high prices, for the few hours or days the plant is going to be down. The high cost normally doesn't matter, as it is only a short-term expense. But in California, due to its own silliness, they were forced to buy large amounts of power at short-term prices, and then blamed the brokers for their own incompetence.

They can sell this story to their constituents, who want to believe. But in the real world where energy is produced, plants built, or not built, their whining is just embarrassing.

[My2Cents]

But, he said, Enron and other companies "took advantage of a flawed law illegally."

Excuse me, but it occurs to me that every contract the State of California enters into is checked, and rechecked, with Legal Counsel to avoid the kind of thing Davis' spokesman is charging here. I don't know whether Enron illegal ripped off California on energy prices, but it's fair to say that California authorities (principally in the Governor's office) were grossly negligent to enter into a contract that ripped the state off.

[NormsRevenge]

DUMP DAVI$



GO SIMON

[Colombia59]

California proves in every election that the majority of people living there are idiots, by the politicians they elect to give political power. Let them dig their own grave, just as long as they don't bother the rest of the country for a handout.

[Colombia59]

California proves in every election that the majority of people living there are idiots, by the politicians they elect to give political power. Let them dig their own grave, just as long as they don't bother the rest of the country for a handout.

[Robert357]

Murkowski spokesman Joe Brenckle said his boss was not using blame-the-victim tactics.

It still sounds like it and that is a democratic party rallying cry. I think a better approach would be that California when faced with the fact that its energy market was not working (i.e. when the republicans in the state legislature called for an extra summer session to deal with the problem and when FERC imposed penalties---that they later forgave--on Cal to stop underscheduling day ahead power) those leading California (i.e. Gov Davis and the legislature) took no action that when they were repeatedly urged to take action. A doctor can not be held responsible for the health of a patient that will not take his or her medicine. California Democratic party controlled , beside repeated explainations and attempts by others to get them to make changes in the State's energy policy, acted like a deer in the headlights of a car and would not move to save itself.

[monkeyshine]

Even politicians can be victicrats. The California politicians are sick in the head to blame other people. This is their responsibility, they should own up to their faults and fix the flawed laws (which, I might add, they haven't even attempted to do since all this shook out). Davis and the state were asking for it, first with the insane attempt at deregulation, and then by trying to negotiate with the energy suppliers using strong arm tactics.

No matter what, the politicians will never be as smart as the businessmen. Never. They shouldn't even try to outsmart the businessmen. The businessmen are 100% focused on their businesses. The politicians are 100% focused on getting reelected. This puts the pols at a severe disadvantage in almost every scenario. And long after the pols are gone, the businessmen will still be there plugging away.