Sunday, June 27, 2010

GASLAND is Your Land, GASLAND is My Land. Why You Need To See this HBO Doc.

Greetings from Deep In The Heart of GASLAND!

I came across this Trailer for the HBO Documentary "Gasland" on YouTube.

As I understand it, this stunning Documentary is also available via On Demand.

Now, I don't have HBO nor On Demand (that I know of), but I am determined to find a means of seeing this documentary and I sincerely hope that you do as well.

I'd watched a terrific interview with director Josh Fox on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart before seeing the Trailer on YouTube.

When I glanced down into the Comments Section under the GASLAND Trailer, one of them caught my eye... and the attention of my insta-rage...

Some dork-among-us had whined on and on about Gasland's director, Josh Fox, being a "... an ultra left-wing, eco-extremist who wants to bring our reliance on fossil fuels to a complete halt and replace them with environmentally-sound, renewable energy sources." (or something to that effect).

Considering that such actions are not, in any way, a bad idea - particularly in the face of the continuing BP/DWH eco-pocalypse in the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding states ...

Here is my response to that dorky comment(er) and the GASLAND Trailer is below it.

Enjoy!

"It doesn't matter where Gasland's Josh Fox is on some dumb scale of L-to-R. If companies like Halliburton are are offering large payouts to lease land w/out informing people that they'll leave a toxic wasteland with indoor plumbing that's highly-flammable behind and they're using methods of natural gas extraction which poison the air we breathe & our precious, finite, potable water sources... Then, not only must they be stopped, they must clean the messes they've left and pay for damages."

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Rachel Maddow's President Obama Oval Office Speech Re: BP/DWH Gulf Oil Disaster

God... I Love Rachel Maddow!

Here's what she wished President Obama had said in his Oval Office Speech:
(And, I agree with her 1000%!)

President Obama: Enough rhetoric. Enough blah blah blah. It's time for Effective, Lifestyle-Changing, Planet-Saving ACTION.
I hope to God that You are Listening to This!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Monday, June 14, 2010

BP's 8 Dumbest Mistakes,,, So Far.

(From: theweek.com.)

The List
Best Opinion: AP, WSJ, New York Times...


BP's 8 Dumbest Mistakes

The Oil Giant Is Being Widely Criticized For Its Handling Of The Massive Gulf Spill - B0th Before And After The Blowout.

Here's Why...

It is now clear that the disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil spill was eminently preventable. And even since the April 20 rig fire, experts have cited many examples of how poor choices by BP have worsened an already dire situation.

Here are eight particularly unfortunate errors that experts say contributed to the biggest oil spill in U.S. history:

1. BP never had a realistic plan to deal with a spill
The oil giant's official plan for dealing with a potential Deepwater Horizon spill, and its more general plan for any spill in the Gulf, both wildly overestimated its preparedness and seriously lowballed the potential damage, according to an AP analysis. The plan — approved by the Interior Department in 2009 — lists a dead scientist among its wildlife experts and a defunct Japanese home-shopping website among its equipment suppliers. Portions of it are written in pencil.

2. BP went with a risky type of blowout preventer — and then didn't maintain it
The blowout preventer is a giant valve that is supposed to be the last line of defense against a damaged well becoming an ecological catastrophe. But for the Deepwater Horizon project, BP chose a model — made by U.S.-based Cameron International — with well-documented design flaws. To make matters worse, according to a congressional investigation, the Deepwater's blowout preventer was in terrible shape: It had a dead battery, debilitating hydraulic-system leaks, and "shutoff shears" that weren't strong enough to seal the well. BP also opted not to install a voluntary $500,000 acoustic shutoff switch that could have sealed the well by remote control in the event the blowout preventer failed, reports the WSJ.

3. The well's critical plumbing was shoddy and poorly designed
Days before the blowout, BP decided to use a type of single-wall well casing that it knew increased the risk of gas leaks like the one that ultimately caused the deadly fire on the rig, according to The New York Times. Why? To save money. Drilling experts also say that BP's design for the casing pipe from the sea floor to the oil reservoir has a baffling design flaw that made it essentially impossible to create effective cement seals, the primary guards against natural gas leaks.

4. BP and rig workers ignored or misread clear warning signs
As Halliburton contractors were lowering the final cement plug down the well, rig workers conducted several tests for gas leaks — and in what an internal BP postmortem calls a "fundamental mistake" — they misinterpreted a "very large abnormality." When they decided, wrongly, that the test results were acceptable, they replaced the heavy drilling mud in the well with lighter seawater, allowing the pockets of natural gas below to explode upward and, ultimately, set the rig ablaze.

5. A "company man" overrode explosion concerns of well cementers
BP sent home the contractor it had hired to test the cement plug inside the well 11 hours before the explosion, without ever having him conduct the "gold standard" test on whether the seal was secure, according to the testing firm. A BP "company man" also overruled other safety concerns, including replacing the drilling mud with seawater, says another partner company.

6. BP hasn't fessed up about how much oil is really spilling
Experts tend to agree that, in order to prepare for containment and cleanup efforts, federal and state officials need to know how much oil they're dealing with. But the oil company has been slippery on that point: BP said two days after the explosion that no oil was leaking; three days later, it said 1,000 barrels per day (bpd) were leaking; three days after that, it was 5,000 bpd — even after a "confidential" company memo said that up to 14,266 bpd was gushing out. BP no longer gives estimates, but government scientists Thursday said the true leak rate is has been between 20,000 to 40,000 bpd.

7. BP's "solutions" may be making the spill much, much worse
The company's string of failed attempts to seal or contain the leak — top hat, top kill, junk shot — may, in fact, be intensifying the problem. A flow-rate expert on the government panel looking into the leak rate, Dr. Ira Leifer of the University of California at Santa Barbara, says that both the top kill and containment cap strategies have damaged the well and dramatically increased the amount of oil spurting into the ocean. He suggests that, following BP's decision to install a containment cap, the leak may now be 100,000 barrels per day.

8. BP needs a bigger boat
While the containment cap strategy may have made the overall situation worse, the company is finally collecting sizable quantities of oil from the wellhead. The problem? There's no place to store it all, reports the WSJ. The tanker now floating above the wellhead can process about 18,000 barrels per day, while BP has a stated goal of collecting 50,000 bpd. The company is scrambling to bring in more ships, and will begin burning off as much as possible.

Friday, June 11, 2010

BP Has $9 Billion In Contracts With US? De-Fund BP Now!

Several months ago, following Fox News's barrage of reports on those ACORN "pimp-and-ho sting" videos by some far-right wingers... the GOP's impassioned, indignant cries to "De-fund ACORN" could be heard echoing throughout the halls of Congress. One after another, Republican Congressmen stood at the podium and demanded that the US government end all contracts with ACORN. That, basically, since ACORN had some employees who looked to be (in the heavily-edited video) breaking the law by helping law-breakers, ACORN should not receive any government funding... not any American taxpayers' money. Some GOP Governors and Mayors even jumped on the bandwagon, ordering their people to stop all funding of ACORN... even though none of them had anything to do with funding ACORN.
(Everybody's gotta get into the act...)

The result of the Republican fire and brimstone brouhaha?

Although we now know that the sting videos were very-heavily edited and, therefore misleading, as of April 1st of 2010, ACORN no longer existed as a business entity. ACORN wasn't a perfect organization but, it helped a lot of people after the nation-wide housing disaster. And, besides, there's no such thing as a "perfect organization".

That was on April Fool's Day...

Nineteen days later, BP's oil rig, the Deepwater Horizon, exploded - killing 11 workers - and sank to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

Keeping in mind the above-mentioned, media-frenzied, witch-hunt aimed at all things ACORN by the GOP, here's a run-down on BP's known and verified"sins":

Despite the fact that BP's cost-cutting measures meant that they consistently chose to use parts and materials in the design and building of the oil rig which were known to have flaws and/or be unsafe (BP not only went with a risky type of blowout-preventer — they didn't maintain it).

Despite
BP's initial claims that the disaster was no big deal and the amount of oil leaking out - if any - was negligible (a big, fat, ludicrous lie).

Despite BP's refusal for (days and days) to allow access to the live footage - and later, the HD live footage - of what was going on at the broken well head to government scientists and other experts, so that the scope of the disaster could be assessed and the urgency of the necessary response could be known (BP wasn't saying).

Despite
not only BP's pitiful - if not criminal - foot-dragging, "Aww... do I have to?", piss-poor response to the disaster, but also BP's utter criminal negligence as shown in their absolute refusal to have invested any of their $Billions in profits in researching and developing effective, state-of-the-art means, methods and technologies to minimize ecological destruction or to in any way deal with such a huge disaster.

Despite BP (in Alaska) having recently been fined $200 Million by the DOJ.

Despite BP's being fined many millions of dollars in recent years by government agencies for repeatedly breaking the law.

Despite BP CEO Tony Hayward's impatient, unconscionable and whiny declaration: "I want my life back.". (Want some cheese with that whine, Tony?)

Despite the fact that all those thousands of feet of "absorbent booms" (which BP crows about putting on the water on the website's homepage) are utterly ineffective and useless when put out on open water due to winds and waves - particularly if they aren't constantly tended and maintained by people.

Despite BP currently holding over $9 Billion (Billion with a "B") in lucrative government contracts with the US government.

Despite the fact that BP has been repeatedly evasive and has repeatedly lied both to the US government and to the American people about everything:
BP fabricated their Gulf of Mexico "Emergency Response" plan. It acknowledges that walruses and sea otters - arctic sea mammals - are in the area (The Gulf of Mexico?).
BP lied and continues to lie about the amount of oil spewing out:

"BP said two days after the explosion that no oil was leaking; three days later, it said 1,000 barrels per day (bpd) were leaking; three days after that, it was 5,000 bpd — even after a "confidential" company memo said that up to 14,266 bpd was gushing out. BP no longer gives estimates, but government scientists Thursday said the true leak rate is has been between 20,000 to 40,000 bpd." (From: theweek.com.)

Despite the fact that...
Eleven people lost their lives in the completely-preventable explosion. Their families lost their loved ones. Their children lost their fathers. Thousands of fishermen have lost their livelihoods. All of those businesses/restaurants/seafood markets who were dependent upon the fishermen are likely going to lose theirs as well. The Gulf states will now be losing their marshlands and outer islands (the ones which protect them from the deadly storm-surges of hurricanes) at a much greater rate. Countless fish, crustaceans, sea birds have died/are dying. The (only-recently off the Endangered Species List) brown pelican's sole nesting sites are getting oil-soaked... and so are the brown pelicans.

Despite the fact that we are all facing what is and will be (hopefully none worse will follow) the single-greatest, man-made environmental disaster of all time. All courtesy of British Petroleum.

(I say "hopefully", because Shell Oil - in spite of this ecological, economic and ongoing disaster - has been issuing self-congratulatory announcements about it's "Perdido" oil rig project, located 200 miles off the coast of Texas, in 8000 feet of water. Apparently, Shell Oil is unaware that the word "Perdido" translates to: "lost; in trouble; done for; hopeless".)

In spite of all of this, I haven't heard any of that good old, Grand Ol' Party Fire and Brimstone.

Hmm... Aren't they angry with BP? With Tony Hayward? With being lied to?

Aren't you angry? Haven't you been angry? I'm angry. I've been getting angrier and angrier.

Surely, all of those brave Republican Senators and Representatives who took ACORN to task, withdrew all funding and brought about it's swift demise... Surely they, too, are mad as hell and are taking their outrage to the podium in both Houses of Congress. Surely, they are demanding that we "De-Fund BP Effective Immediately!"

(If I could wield their power, I would.)

But, this is the "Drill, Baby Drill!" Party. The GOP?... Punish Big Oil?

Yeah, right. "Dream, Baby Dream." And, whilst dreaming, enjoy this great TRMS clip on the topic.

(From: The Rachel Maddow Show.)


Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Really Good Tuesday, Bleary-Eyed Happy Wednesday: PG&E's Prop.16 Defeated

Greeting From The Golden State!

Just prior to this Tuesday's Primary in Cali, I'd been blogging and posting items around the 'net to emphasize the importance that voters in our beloved California understand the Truth behind Proposition 16 and, hopefully, upon learning said Truth... vote against it.

CA Proposition 16 was framed, written and financially-sponsored - to the tune of $46 Million (In the words of sarah palin: "I kid you not.") - by that big ol' monopolizing, corporate parasite: PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric).

And, although the shockingly expensive campaign's goal - with it's targeted, shiny & colorful mailings that resembled Green Party mailings and contained references to "Green Energy" (which PG&E has shown virtually no genuine interest in developing voluntarily) and it's endless barrage of TV commercials with their over-the-top sense of urgency and indignant cries from the actors, babbling about "... government taking away our rights!" - was to sell Prop. 16 as (get this): "The Voter's Right To Choose Act"... This legislation, if passed, would have actually taken away Californians Right To Choose/opt for Public-Owned Power/Green Energy suppliers instead of PG&E by changing the CA State Constitution so that it would require a 2/3 majority ballot vote - something PG&E well knew would have been impossible to achieve - and thereby cementing their fossil fuel-focused, power-supplying monopoly across the state for perpetuity.

Recent events in our beloved Marin County undoubtedly contributed to lighting a fierce fire under PG&E's sizable buttocks and motivating them to do whatever was necessary to achieve their goal of maintaining their monopoly of supplying energy in California.

Thousands of those fine folks unceremoniously dumped PG&E... Opting, instead, to answer the door when Opportunity came a'knocking.

My Warmest Welcome and Greetings to: "Marin Clean Energy", California's First Public Power Agency.

"Marin Clean Energy, a Community Choice Aggregation Program, is an alternative to PG&E and other utility companies. It allows electricity consumers to choose nonpolluting, renewable energy.

The Community Choice Aggregation program was established by the State Legislature in 2002 to give cities and counties the ability to procure electricity on behalf of its customers."

(From:ktvu.com)

Despite Marin County's achievement, needless to say, fighting Prop. 16 looked to be an uphill battle from the start...

It was going be PG&E's not just deep, but bottomless pockets VS a truly rag-tag pseudo-assemblage of citizens across California, many of whom immediately - upon hearing the "Yes on 16" TV ad for the first time - smelled a big, fossil-fueled, money-lusting rat... namely PG&E.

The No On Prop. 16 Campaign wasn't nearly as well-organized as the mega-bucks corporate monopoly... Still, there were countless individuals and small groups of Californians whom passionately spread the Good Word/The Real Truth about Prop. 16.

And, as it turned out, the "No on 16" Campaign utilized the proven tools of the internet effectively: Groups of concerned citizens of many sizes posted videos on YouTube: Groups like: "BayLocalize" - a rocking group whom posted the Fabulous Music Video you'll find below, which they'd filmed on the steps of the PUC (Public Utilities Commission) - it's a catchy "NO on Prop. 16" message in song and an adaptation of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive") and "NoOnProp16" - whom posted a number of videos with footage of local and network news attention... my favorite of theirs being the $30-Budgeted Mash-up video of "man-on-the-street" real people conversations about Prop. 16, which is also below.

Some groups built pages on Facebook... "Vote No On Prop 16" for example, and they soon discovered that someone had hacked into their Facebook account, commandeered their Facebook ID's and then falsely and fraudulently posted their individual names followed by the statement: "Likes Prop. 16". (Those Bastards!).

And a variety of people - myself included - posted the Truth About Prop. 16 whenever and wherever the opportunity arose.

BayLocalize's "I Will Survive - No On Prop 16":



NoOnProp16's "Mash-Up People On The Streets Interview":



All of You Guys and Grrls Against Prop. 16 Rocked... and You Rocked The Vote!

Heading towards the Finish Line, the "No on 16" Campaign had raised a total of no more than $90,000 to fight the evil, entrenched, energy empire. Unlike PG&E, they couldn't afford a barrage of slick TV ads all across California. Nor could they afford to print and send out many thousands of targeted, shiny, multi-colored mailings on photographic paper.

But the No On 16 Campaign had The Truth on its side.

Thankfully, those against Prop. 16 had a healthy amount of internet access/savvy and know-how.

Individually and in groups, we were all committed to working - when we could - to get the word out about PG&E's lies.

To tell our friends and neighbors and communities about how PG&E was blowing the equivalent of the Gross National Product of a small country to spread their lies and deceit... to incessantly hammer their B.S. across the airwaves.

And, do you know WHY they dumped so much damn money into Prop. 16?

PG&E sank $47 Million into Prop. 16 because that mega-bucks, money-grubbing monopoly thinks so little of all of their hard-working customers that they are convinced that we Californians are Stupid.

PG&E thinks we Californians are so stupid, in fact, that they were sure that if they constantly flashed their lies at our eyes and blasted them at our ears enough times... that we'd start to believe that the lies they were telling were the truth.

Kinda makes one a bit... I dunno... Angry?

Many citizens also began to pressure some better-known CA elected officials to get them to speak out against Prop. 16 (which, in some cases, finally worked - although they sent their representatives... but, hey, they're busy people, too.)

And, heck, at this point... I'd even say we had The Force on our side.

These were only "Primaries" and only being held in 12 states, so many talking heads on TV repeatedly mentioned "low voter turnout" as a real possibility... which might not bode well for the "NO on 16" Campaign.

And, it wasn't really what some mis-labeled as a "Super Tuesday", a term historically used for Presidential Elections.

Pointing this out, Rachel Maddow (Love Her), instead, called it "Really Good/Pretty Good Tuesday" throughout her coverage.

I voted. (Hope you did, too!)

Then, I stayed up late watching Rachel's election results coverage. The last local mention I'd seen was that Prop. 16 was losing... though not by much.

The next morning, on "Bleary-Eyed Wednesday"... I hopped out of bed and onto the internet in search of the Prop. 16 Official Results...

Strangely enough... the results of the vote didn't pop-out right away. They weren't on the homepages for a few local news station websites - well, at least not the Propositions.

And then, I found it...

Oh Beautiful, Happy Day!

Somewhat remarkably, PG&E's deceitful, democracy-damaging, $46 Million Proposition 16 Campaign had gone down in Flames of Defeat!

Approximately... The No Votes: 52%. The Yes Votes: 48%.

(I later found out that the vast majority of the more TV ad gullible folks live in Southern and Central CA. ie - San Bernardino County. Thanks, CA Dept. of Elections website.)

This, my fellow Californians, was an upset of Biblical Proportions!

"David Slays Goliath... Again!"

That said, in the Republican Primary for the Governor's Race, the choice was, unfortunately, between two evils.

And, one of those two evils, Meg Whitman - unqualified, unsuitable, inexperienced and unPR-savy as she could be - sank $71 Million (not a typo) of her own fortune into a barrage of attack ads against her opponent, Steve Poizner, the CA State Insurance Commissioner.

And, Whitman won. (Ugh.)

But, hey... No worries whatsoever!

November's a long way's away.

And, the Honorable Mr. Jerry Brown will be the Democratic Party's candidate for Governor.

He's experienced... Heck, he's already been Governor of California... you can't get more qualified/better experience for the office than that!

Also... Let's remember: One battle at a time.

In the big picture, in This Battle... Californians Won!

As I had stated in a variety of items that I posted:

"PG&E can take their $46 Million and shove it!"

"You (PG&E and anyone else) cannot buy our Democracy!"*

*Unless you're Meg Whitman, have $100's of Millions in a vast personal fortune, are bound and determined to buy your way into elected office and are damn lucky.

Albeit such an unfortunate result is only a one-time thing.

And, putting all her eggs (and her $71 Million) into this Primary was Meg's one-shot, Thankfully.

We can all hope...

We can also actively organize; volunteer; contact friends, family, neighbors; form groups in our communities; post videos; create webpages; dig up dirt on ol' Meg...

We can do Everything we Californians did to Successfully Defeat PG&E, Defend our State Constitution and our Democracy from a corrupt, corporate take-over, and then some.

We defeated PG&E, people.

We Can Do Anything!

Peace.
L.

Friday, June 04, 2010

Vote 2010: California Proposition 16 and Proposition 17: Just Say No Way!

... Surprise!
Yes, I'm back.
I do apologize for being MIA for however long it's been.

And, because You're Worth It, rather than offering an explanation...
I prefer to offer something much more worth your time and attention...

The Truth, The Whole Truth & Nothing But The Truth.
And, What A Timely... Nay... What An Urgent Truth At That.

And what is The Truth, you might ask?

The Truth, dear friends and neighbors is this...

PG&E is at it... Again!

And, as hard as it may be to believe... this time, it's even worse.

In the past, when the visionary concept of "Public-Owned/Locally-Produced Power" had successfully reached inclusion on the list of Propositions to be voted on by Californians... In the months prior to the day when people would be heading to their polling places, PG&E would spend tens of millions of dollars on a perpetual barrage of slick TV-ad campaigns and glossy mass-mailings - all of which had been finely-tuned and choreographed by PG&E's well-paid sound-bite/spin-meisters.

Without hesitation, PG&E spent truckloads of money on these guileful commercials.
Their self-serving goal being this: to convince California's Public-at-Large that "Public Power" was "Public Enemy #1".

And sadly, at each of those times, their mega-million dollar mis-information campaigns worked.

You'd think PG&E would be content with that kind of record.

They're not.

Nope... Not PG&E ("Pathological Greed & Exaction").

In this, their most recent Anti-Competition Campaign, the monstrous power-monopoly has actually spent $35-$45 million in an attempt to convince Californians to vote In Favor a Proposition... Proposition 16, to be exact.

The difference between then and now is this:
Proposition 16 - referred to as "The Taxpayer's Right To Vote Act" in the TV spots - was written and created by PG&E!

Please don't be fooled by the indignant cries - not coming from concerned Californians, but from Paid Actors - of:
"And, we don't even have the right to vote on it!".

Hooey!

I've studied the situation.
I've done my due diligence of Following The Money:
Finding out who paid to saturate the airwaves with the ads.
Figuring out who has the most to gain if Prop. 16 passes.

And, yes, there is a conspiracy going on here.
But, it's not the government power-grab conspiracy that PG&E wants you to believe.
It's actually just another PG&E Power-Grab.
A Corporate Conspiracy to change California's State Constitution to fend off the threat that the increasingly popular public power-option and green-energy will likely be to their monopoly and their mind-boggling profits.

My fellow Californians:
Please don't let PG&E get away with pulling the wool over people's eyes again.

Please talk with your friends and neighbors about The Truth.
Prop. 16 was written by PG&E.
Passing Prop. 16 would only serve PG&E by re-writing California's State Constitution to prevent the utility having to face competition from other energy providers and (gasp!) offer more competitive rates to customers.
It would perpetuate their massive fossil fuel-based energy monopoly, their virtually non-existent green-energy development and their perpetually rubber-stamped rate increases.

Spread The Good Word:
PG&E Can Take Their $35-$45 Million and Shove It...
Our Democracy Is Not For Sale!

Vote NO On Proposition 16!

Peace,
L.

Enjoy this great article on the issue from The San Francisco Bay Guardian:

From: The San Francisco Bay Guardian Newspaper

The Danger Of Propositions 16 and 17
04.20.10 - 1:28 pm
Guardian Staff Writers

"The problem here is not just two awful laws - it's the idea that a single company, with loads of cash, can utterly subvert the basic premise of Democracy."

EDITORIAL:

The California Democratic Party voted at its statewide convention April 17 to oppose Propositions 16 and 17.

The San Francisco Chronicle — no friend of public power and consumer rights — endorsed strongly against both measures April 18.

In fact, most major newspapers and civic groups have come out against what amounts to the most blatant attempt in California history by a pair of big corporations to buy favorable legislation at the ballot box.

And for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and Mercury Insurance, none of that matters much.

This campaign is all about money — big gobs of money — and PG&E and Mercury have it and their opponents, so far, don't.

And if that doesn't change in the next few weeks — if Democratic Party leaders, starting with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer — don't immediately start making the defeat of these two measures a priority, California will send a signal to every big corporate interest in the world that its laws and policies are for sale.

Proposition 16 is being sold — in slick TV ads and mailers so deceptive they can only be called intentional lies — as giving the voters the right to have a say before local government gets into the business of selling electricity. The proposition, one PG&E flyer notes, "is our best protection against government spending your money to get into a business they [sic] know nothing about."

Actually, government knows a lot about the electricity business.

All over California, public power agencies offer better service and lower rates than the private utilities (see: PG&E).

Nationwide, residents of more than 2,000 communities have public power — and few want to give it up and return to buying electricity from private utilities.

But that's not the point. Prop. 16 exists entirely because PG&E wanted to stop competition.

PG&E has spent at least $35 million of its money to pass a law that would require a two-thirds vote (a nearly insurmountable obstacle) before any local agency can offer or expand local electricity service.

The Chronicle, which has always opposed public power in San Francisco, argues that "Californians should be skeptical of any local government's claim that it can deliver cheaper and cleaner power than an established utility. But they should be at least as wary when that monopoly utility wants to deprive them of that choice."

Proposition 17 is another blatant single-interest measure, sponsored and underwritten entirely by one giant insurance company, to change the way car insurance is regulated in California.

It would, among other things, allow insurers to raise rates for people who don't already have coverage. Give up your car for a year (because you lost your job and couldn't afford it, or decided that you could commute just as well by bicycle, or for any other reason) and the next time you buy insurance, your rates could soar — even if your driving record was clean.

The problem here is not just two awful laws — it's the idea that a single company, with loads of cash, can utterly subvert not only the intent of California's initiative law but the basic premise of Democracy.

PG&E and Mercury were unable to get the state Legislature to do what they wanted, so they hired campaign consultants, paid millions for people to gather signatures on petitions, put the self-serving measures on the ballot, and are now flooding airwaves and mailboxes with well-crafted, effective lies.

If they succeed, what's going to stop every other sleazy big-money interest from doing the same?

Well, right now, nothing.

It's absolutely critical, both for the issues of public power and consumer rights and for the fundamental notion that you can't simply buy a new law, that Props. 16 and 17 are defeated.

But we're not seeing a lot of evidence that any of the most influential people in California are taking this seriously.

State Sen. Mark Leno has done tremendous work in getting the state party to oppose Prop. 16. Assembly Member Tom Ammiano has been working nonstop in Sacramento to try to get some money into the No on 16 coffers. San Francisco Sup. Ross Mirkarimi has led the statewide organizing efforts. And San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera joined a lawsuit to invalidate the law.

But in all the speeches and public statements that Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, Attorney General Jerry Brown, Lt. Gov. candidates Janice Hahn and Gavin Newsom, party chair John Burton, and others delivered at the state party convention, there was nary a mention of the fundamental importance of voting NO on 16 and 17. None of the people who are capable of raising millions of dollars, the sort of money needed to defeat these measures, is making much of an effort to do it.

Propositions 16 and 17 can be defeated.

All it takes is a massive campaign to educate voters in a low turnout election about what these two measures actually are.

But if the state's political leaders allow these two measures to pass, California in 2010 will go down in history as the most corrupt and ungovernable state in America.

And it's very close to happening."

San Francisco's/California's Brilliant & Influential Movers & Shakers:

* Speaker Of The House, Nancy Pelosi's, San Francisco Congressional Office Address:
90 7th Street, Suite 2-800, San Francisco, California 94103.
The phone number: 415-556-4862.

* Office of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein:
One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: (415) 393-0707
Fax: (415) 393-0710

* Office of U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 403-0100
(202) 224-0454 fax

* Attorney General Jerry Brown:
California Department of Justice
Attn: Public Inquiry Unit
P.O. Box 944255
Sacramento, CA 94244-2550
(916) 322-3360 or (Toll-free in California) (800) 952-5225
Fax: (916) 323-5341

* Mayor Gavin Newsom
City Hall, Room 200
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102
Telephone: (415) 554-6141
Fax: (415) 554-6160
Email: gavin.newsom@sfgov.org

* Janice Hahn
Lieutenant Governor 2010 Committee
5353 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 109
Los Angeles, CA 90036
email: janicehahnforlg@gmail.com