Marc Perkel Rantz

Media Coverage of Enron Ripoff

I want to thank CBS for airing the Enron tapes - but I can't help to notice that the rest of the media is virtually ignoring the issue. I remember the coverage of President Clinton where the employment of a 5th cousin was front page news for 2 months - but under Bush when they have tape recordings of Enron employees bragging about shuting down power to the entire west coast - and then doing so - and bragging about what a friend they have in Bush - well - Bush and his buddy "Kenny-boy" barely gets talked about.

This is what happens when Republicans own the press. Thankfully there is the Inernet where you can read the trurh from people like me.

Here's some of what Enron Employees said about California:

"He just fucks 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 fucking 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 fucking money back for all the power you've charged right up, jammed right up her asshole for fucking $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 fucking whack this shit, man. He won't play this price-cap bullshit."

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.

Employee 1: "All the money you guys stole from those poor grandmothers in California?

Employee 2: "Yeah, Grandma Millie man.

Employee 1: "Yeah, now she wants her fucking money back for all the power you've charged right up, jammed right up her ass for fucking $250 a megawatt hour."

Employee 3: "This guy from the Wall Street Journal calls me up a little bit ago…"

Employee 4: "I wouldn't do it, because first of all you'd have to tell 'em a lot of lies because if you told the truth…"

Employee 3: "I'd get in trouble."

Employee 4: "You'd get in trouble."

"I'm just -- fuck -- I'm just trying to be an honest camper so I only go to jail once," says one employee.

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Ashcroft is investigating Enron - but Enron gave $50,000 to Ashcroft in 2000 when he was running for US Senate in Missouri. Ashcroft got the money in the Republican Primary to defeat his Republican challenger and win the Republican primary and go on to lose the race to a dead man - Gov. Mel Carnahan - and his widow became the Senator.

For 100 brownie points and the "attaboy" award - name the republican challenger who lost to Ashcroft in the Missouri Republican Primary! Be the first to leave a comment naming that person! Who did Enron donate $57,000 to Ashcroft to defeat?

Posted by marc at June 2, 2004 10:32 PM | TrackBack