Posted on 09/12/2005 6:17:48 PM PDT by WayneLusvardi
Another L.A. blackout by Pure Coincidence - Blackouts or Blackmail?
Link for cartoon NOT SHOWN: http://cagle.msnbc.com/news/Blackout/blackoutgifs/wright.gif
An electricity blackout was reported today Monday Sept. 12 affecting major portions of the City of Los Angeles. The blackout was attributed to a hook-up error by L.A. Department of Water and Power utility crews http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050912/ap_on_re_us/la_power_outage
Curiously, the blackout occurred exactly one week after a Field Opinion Poll was released on Sept. 5 showing that public opinion was divided on Proposition 80, which would re-monopolize electricity in California. About one third would vote yes, one third no, and another third are undecided on the proposition http://field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/RLS2168.pdf#search='prop%2080%20against'
Coming right after the failure of public infrastructures in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina, the L.A. blackout couldn't have been timed better to get the attention of the public in solving California's perpetual energy crises. The blackout also occurred just as the Los Angeles City Council is considering lucrative wage increase demands by LADWP employees who are threatening a strike by October 1 (http://www2.dailynews.com/news/ci_3009404)
Prop 80 is dubbed the "Anti-Blackout" proposition by its supporters, which include the So Cal Edison Company, the Democratic Party, municipal utilities, and government employee unions. Oddly, the only areas in the state that have thus far experienced major blackouts involve Los Angeles DWP and Edison customers. The proponents of Prop 80 are still riding on a bandwagon effect that Enron and deregulation caused the California electricity crisis of 2001 http://www.allianceforabetterca.org/repeal_of_electricity_deregulation.asp
But today there is no Enron gaming electricity prices and deregulation was really re-regulation. The last rolling blackouts to hit California came on August 25 when again a "false alarm" occurred at an L.A. DWP substation in Sylmar, curiously resulting in blackouts to Edison customers http://www.chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=16483&catcode=33
Although supporters of Prop 80 seek to re-monopolize electricity in California, curiously the recent major blackouts have only been experienced in areas serviced by municipal utilities, which already have a monopoly on supplying electricity; and the Edison Company. The L.A. DWP exclusively operates its own power utility for 1.4 million customers. How re-monopolization would solve the electricity reliability problem remains a question to be answered because, thus far, only already existing monopoly utilities have experienced blackouts. Competition seems to offer a way out of the state's perpetual energy crises http://www.techcentralstation.com/080904B.html.
In his book The Devil's Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce euphemistically defined electricity as "the power that causes all natural phenomena not known to be caused by something else." Likewise, electrical blackouts always seem to be mysteriously or accidentally caused by something else other than the utilities themselves. The Pasadena Pundit
(See.. still Bush's fault...)
Didn't someone plug the toaster into the wrong outlet?
Gee, I heard it was Dick Cheney...
;)
Only an idiot would think the blackout was anything other than a screw up.
All the safety systems worked perfectly.
Hurricane generator overheated.
A major portion of Los Angeles lost power Monday afternoon and officials said early indications were that a power line was accidentally cut.
Lesseee... Most of the people in that part of LA are black or Hispanic.... RACISM!!!!
a quick word of warning -- DO NOT sign in at cagle using your real email address!!!
It took me 2 weeks of twice daily spam from that web site to get them to stop! And that was after 2 direct mails to the owners.
That's not like grabbing 110v.
Spicoli's shotgun?
Sounds racist......
I can't believe these guys were union members. The union loving freepers I have been arguing with keep telling me they are worth a lot more money because they are so well trained and safety conscious. Surely this is a misprint.
Labor contracts are up for renegotiating. Coincidence?
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