Pacific Gas & Electric Co. sole contributor to-- & main beneficiary of-- Prop. 16

By GottaLaff

This is one example of how an uninformed electorate can make (potentially) an uninformed decision that would negatively impact my own very state of California:

Under Prop. 16, a one-third minority of voters could thwart the vast majority of disgruntled consumers who want to switch electricity providers and get a rate cut.

And because public entities are barred from spending money to advocate their side but a private utility can fork out unlimited millions, the two-thirds hurdle would be nearly insurmountable.

"The more competition in the electricity industry the better," says Jack Stewart, president of the California Manufacturers and Technology Assn., which opposes Prop. 16. "There's no reason to make it harder for local utility districts to get started if they can provide electricity at a lower cost than investor-run utilities."

PG&E's two allies in its brazen move are the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Taxpayers' Assn. The utility sits on the board of each group.

The two-thirds vote, they note, is what's required for local special tax increases and bond issues. (School bonds need only 55%.) But that's irrelevant. Taxes aren't an issue in electricity service.

And city or school bonds generally are repaid by all residents through sales or property taxes. Utility borrowing is financed by revenue bonds tied to electricity rates.

PG&E's clever campaign consultants are trying to exploit the public's current mistrust of government and anger about budget deficits.

Unlimited funding, misleading talking points: Yep, all the ingredients for a lopsided campaign. This will, and has, become all too commonplace.

As a people, we better learn to read, educate others, and fight back. Stat.

Squeamish

By GottaLaff

Just now on MSNBC, David Shuster was interviewing Jonathan Alter. Alter brought up how voters who are later to the game are often the more uninformed ones. That means they could be more susceptible to Gramm-pa McCain's lies and smears.

He also reiterated, for those who haven't yet heard, that most people start paying attention to the election after the World Series is over.

Put these two points together and we may see the race tightening, which is what so many have predicted.

Alter went on to say that he still believes Obama is the likely winner, but that these are factors to watch.

"If you are totally ignorant, please don't vote"

By GottaLaff

I can't link to it yet, because the L.A. Times letters-to-the-editors page hasn't yet updated, so I'll just type it out (the author lives in Washington):

...If you are totally ignorant, please don't vote.

I had a scary encounter this morning. The tenant in my front unit asked me what the sign in my window-- Obama/Biden-- meant. My jaw dropped and I looked at him to see if he was serious. He was!

I explained that they were running for president and vice president, then went in the house, shaking my head. This guy is a single dad, about 35 years old, born and raised in the good old U.S.A. I wonder if he's registered to vote? That would be even scarier.

And they say Obama is scary? No. Here's scary (h/t Alec):