Posted on 06/02/2004 11:05:35 AM PDT by ijcr
When a forest fire shut down a major transmission line into California, cutting power supplies and raising prices, Enron energy traders celebrated, CBS News Correspondent reports.
"Burn, baby, burn. That's a beautiful thing," a trader sang about the massive fire.
Four years after California's disastrous experiment with energy deregulation, Enron energy traders can be heard – on audiotapes obtained by CBS News – gloating and praising each other as they helped bring on, and cash-in on, the Western power crisis.
"He just f---s 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 f------g 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 f------g money back for all the power you've charged right up, jammed right up her a------ for f------g $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 f------g whack this s--t, man. He won't play this price-cap b------t."
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.
Both the Justice Department and Enron tried to prevent the release of these tapes. Enron's lawyers argued they merely prove "that people at Enron sometimes talked like Barnacle Bill the Sailor."
Enough said.
about?
It's Bushes fault. Listen! You can hear him speaking on the tape. Really! /sarcasm off
How much glee and celebration would a tape in a mainstream media newsroom have recorded when the stories broke about Abu Ghraib, terror bombings, and increased US troop deaths?
WTH ... who taped this??
I did not hear this in the account on CBS radio news:
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 f------g whack this s--t, man. He won't play this price-cap b------t."
Hat off to the media. I didn't think they could resurrect this dead issue before the election but they did. I guess they need a reminder that for every Republican they shot at with this, they also hit two Democrats. Plus President Bushes people have been going after the crooks. I guess the press will find out the hard way as to why they dropped this story.
This portion will undoubtedly be prominently featured in each and every report.
Before the 2000 election, Enron employees pondered the possibilities of a Bush win.
In other words, all this crap was going on under the Clinton/Gore Administration and had absolutely nothing to do with the as-yet-unelected Bush Administration.
As usual, Janet Reno was asleep at the twitch.
"Four years after California's disastrous experiment with energy deregulation..."
That is simply a lie.
"Energy deregulation" was simply alternate regulation of energy. It was heavily regulated at all times.
"When this election comes Bush will f------g whack this s--t, man. He won't play this price-cap b------t."
That's because price caps cause SHORTAGES.
Someone should send the media to Microeconomics 101.
While BILL CLINTON was GOLFING with Ken Lay and he was taking "business" trips with RON BROWN. Oh yeah, it's all Pres. Bush's fault.
"WTH ... who taped this??"
Trading floor phones are recorded in most any market. People who do illegal things and then talk about it on recorded lines are exceptionally stupid.
What and ruin a perfectly good "scandal" manufactured by them? I would hate for them to check their facts before they print something but that would be too much work and not on their agenda to smear Pres. Bush.
BTW, they are sure getting a big break under this administration. His Justice Dept. is the one prosecuting them.
I don't know specifics, I but I certainly could believe they would shout with glee:
Rush takes responsibility -- but will he learn forgiveness? (BARRRRRFFFFFF!!!!!)
"I'm going to tell you something most of Limbaugh's opponents will probably never admit. The dark truth is, a lot of us grinned from ear to ear when we learned Limbaugh might have some kind of substance-abuse problem."
Certainly some DUmmies have bragged about liking the rising body count. The 800+ list is an indication that the media likes the rising body count too.
When you realize that some of the names on that list cleary cannot be blamed on George W. Bush (heart attack, someone being hit crossing US-69 in Kansas, someone hit by a forklift in Kuwait; 33% can be summed up as industrial or vehicular accidents), it becomes obvious where the media stands on dead soldiers.
Sure, the Enron people are a lot better off now than they were four years ago.
Right?
You must be a DUer.
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 f------g whack this s--t, man. He won't play this price-cap b------t."
Crude, but true.
Why is this author writing a running commentary between quotes from the tape? Just report the news ya CBS twerp.
Bill and Hillary said the same thing as the Sandia Labs went up in smoke during the ChiCom nuclear secrets scandal. Wen Ho Lee also breathed a sigh of relief.
Did they think this would happen because Lay had permanent dibs on the Lincoln Bedroom during the Mr & Mrs xlinton administration? Sheesh.
Reread that quote. The traders knew that they would not be able to play their game with Bush as President.
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