The Senate ENRON hearings, subsidized by our equally hopeful  American mainstream media, was working overtime during the merry month of May.  Their objective, beyond trying to find a way to hang this political albatross around President Bush's neck, was to bail California Governor Davis out of the mess he has created.

If they fail, this fall he may take some other liberal Democrats with him as he mounts his jackass and rides off into Sunset Boulevard -- including the one who will be trying to retake the White House in 2004.  Never forget that  California has more electoral votes than any other state in America. 

That's why Loretta Lynch, the president of the California Public Utilities Commission, is trying to pin all of California's problems on the defunct Texas energy brokerage.  Her message is, "We want our money back." 

It was her PUC, however, combined with her governor and her liberal legislature that created the California power problem.  ENRON may have profited from California stupidity, but it didn't create it.  Like all liberals sooner or later, she has found herself in a mess of her own creation and is trying to spin her way out.  ENRON is one of those "any old port in a storm" available targets.  If she and her cahoots cohorts had acted responsibly, ENRON  or no ENRON there would have been no power interruptions in California. (And no gigantic rise in the cost of energy -- there or here in Oregon.)

California could have built low-sulphur coal generating facilities, and fueled them from the gigantic deposits in nearby Utah but for two problems.  California Democrats have made it damn near impossible to build such a plant, and Bill Clinton, standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon while campaigning for his second term, announced that he had turned that deposit into a park.  (The reason for that is wonderful, and combines both illegal foreign campaign donations and a new power plant in southern China.)

Even with the coal option off the table, they could have built a bunch of  plants that utilized natural gas. It is very available in the West, and even cleaner than low-sulphur coal.  The greenies wouldn't have it. (Plant siting regs, again, as well as a PC demand that all California power generation development efforts focus on much more expensive "renewable" types of energy.)

They could have built nuclear plants. Very Politically Correct Europe has hundreds of them and not one has exploded in weeks.  Besides, people who glow in the dark are quite common in California.  A few extra ones won't be noticed.  Five nuclear facilities like California's Diablo plant would be equal to five Bonneville Dams.

 But, no, not in California.  You see, even renewable sources have a taint about them to the pure greenie.  The only proper solution to the energy problem is to force you to move into a cave and eat wild grass seeds. That, combined with government-funded abortions will get the population down to where the number of caves equals the housing need.  (Only existing, natural caves will do.  Digging any new ones would offend Wanda the Wood Witch Goddess.)

The price went up on energy?  That's because eighty skillion people, half of them illegal Mexican immigrants, have moved into California since the firm of Davis, Lynch and Legislature took over the government down there!  Forget the drought that reduced hydroelectric potential.  They haven't built a big new generating plant down there since the Emperor Justinian became a Roman Catholic! The demand for energy went up while the capacity to make it remained the same. 

ENRON's contribution to California's problem was miniscule, but Davis and Lynch are thanking God that company happened.  If it hadn't there would be nobody to blame but the people who actually caused the problem.

If the people of California don't wake up and get rid of the liberals that they have put in power, they'll have nobody to blame but themselves when their lights go out.  But, they won't and they won't.   Things won't change down there.  Their population will continue to grow, continue to elect liberals and continue to block the creation of new energy facilities that use standard fuels.

And you, my Oregon friends, are going to pay through the nose, as a result.  The present price caps are due to go off in October.  The hungry sockets of California are going to be demanding ever more power.  Either your federal taxes will be used to subsidize their energy needs, or the price of power here will go through the roof. (Probably both.)

I'll tell you what.  Why don't you vote in more Oregon liberals like Kitzhaber, Wyden and Wu?  That way our liberals can join California's liberals and find you a subsidized cave to live in.  (LL)

© 2002 Oregon Magazine