This Afternoon In Clarkland: 'Sparkle Ponies Like Me!...They Really, Really Like Me!'

ShowUsTheReal
MoneyVille


Premier Clark and friends are apparently drinking their own bathwater at some sort of in-house LNG conference in downtown Lotusland today.

The (nolongerso)Giant '98's Laura Baziuk has this report:

The BC government is hosting its third international Liquefied Natural Gas conference on Wednesday in downtown Vancouver, but there is still no word on a start date for operations.

Premier Christy Clark is talking up B.C.’s foray into the LNG market.

If it goes to plan, it will return $9 billion in the first 10 years.

Clark says foreign investors see a profit to be made here.

“I look at it and I see a way to create thousands of good jobs for the people here, I see a way to create the revenue that we need to support the social programs, hospitals and schools.”...


No word yet on how much the 'conference' is costing you and me who are increasingly being asked to pay more than our fair share for social programs, hospitals and schools so that Ms. Clark and company can give away all our natural resources for (often less than) free.

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And, yes...The header just might be making you think of....This.


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#Elxn42: Strategic Voting....Oooooooooooh Scary!

Dr.Tongue'sMonsterChillerHorrorTheatre
CountFloydVille


At least that's the story according to the-above-the-fold front page headline in today's Vancouver Sun.

To wit:

Analysis: Strategic voting can be confusing and can easily backfire.

Now.

As you might expect, the actual story by Peter O'Neil is not nearly so 'scary'.

But still there is this bit, wherein Mr. O'Neil focuses on one of the most muddled ridings in all of British Columbia:

...The new riding of Vancouver Granville, for example, might turn out to be the subject of an academic thesis on the risks of strategic voting.

An organization called Leadnow had two polls done by the firm Environics, one in August and one in September, suggesting that the NDP’s Mira Oreck had a modest lead and was in a better position than Liberal Jody Wilson-Raybould to defeat the Conservative candidate.

For months Leadnow has done door-to-door canvassing, while providing voters with that data.

But things became murky on Tuesday when Leadnow issued a new Environics poll for that riding showing the Liberals at 35 per cent, the NDP at 33 per cent, the Conservatives under candidate Erinn Broshko at 28 per cent and the Greens’ Michael Barkusky at four per cent. That poll of 505 respondents, done Oct. 9 through 11 and using automated voice technology, had an error margin of 4.4 percentage points, putting the Liberals and NDP at a statistical tie.

But another poll, sponsored by Friends of Canadian broadcasting and conducted by Mainstreet Research on Oct. 8, had the Liberals way ahead there. It used similar technology but with a larger sample size (665) and resulting lower error margin (3.7 percentage points). That poll put 44 per cent of decided and leaning voters with the Liberals, 28 per cent with the NDP, 20 per cent with the Conservatives, and nine per cent with the Greens...


Mr. O'Neil then goes on to confuse the issue further by treating aggreators and riding-specific polls equally. The problem with that is that even the best of the aggegators, Eric Grenier, makes it clear that the aggregators become, essentially, only marginally better than chance when things are really close (scroll down).

And, as we noted yesterday, Vancouver Granville is one of the true exceptions in that it really is just too close to call for either the Dipper or the Liberal at this point. Regardless, it is still very, very clear that a vote for the Green candidate in that riding is a vote for the Stealth-Con.

Of course,  the thing that Mr. O'Neil does not delve into in any depth is the fact that there are numerous  other ridings in British Columbia where the Strategic Voting choice is already pretty much crystal clear, as we and others have also pointed out recently.

So.

What is this really all about Alfie?

I mean, honestly, are the fine folks running the VSun actually suggesting that the seventy percent of us who want our country back should just roll over and play dead?

Because...

You know...

Paying attention is just too damned hard or something.

Sheesh.


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Interestingly, in his kicker, Mr. O'Neil quotes political scientist Richard Johnston as saying that no one should trust polling info that is more than a few days old when making their ultimate decision...I agree with that, especially in ridings where things are close...Perhaps more interestingly Mr. O'Neil failed to mention how a riding specific-poll in very close race helped save Esquimalt from the Cons in 2011...Imagine that!


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#Elxn42: Hookers & Heroin....Mr. Harper's Final Smear?

SomeFordsAreNotLikeThe
OthersVille


It was a smear strate(r)gy that we saw the minions take out for a test drive a couple of weeks ago when they had Jason Kenney come to town and tell us that a vote for Justin Trudeau was a vote for hookers and heroin in your neighbourhood.

And, no, I'm not making that up:

...“He (Trudeau) wants to force communities to accept brothels,” (Jason) Kenney said. “We don’t think the values of most Canadians include having to put up with heroin injection sites imposed on their communities against their will, or to have brothels operating in their neighbourhoods against their will.”...

****

Now.

Why did they first trot this out briefly a couple of weeks ago and then let it go?

Well, it would seem that it gave them time to focus group/test it in the pocket markets (otherwise known as 'ridings' to the rest of us) where certain groups of 'new stock' Canadians live in Lotusland.

And, no, I'm not making that up either.

How do I know that?

Well, the following showed up in the print edition of Vancouver's Ming Pao newspaper yesterday:

Need more proof?

Well, how about a translation of the despicable, clearly Conservative-branded, ad courtesy the Globe's Mike Hager and his compatriot Andrea Woo's Dad:

Enough said?


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There is also, of course, something that the minions count on...Which is the fact that the proMedia have a terrible, terrible time calling a spade a spade...Thus, pretty much everywhere you see whispered reports on this it will be about the 'anti-pot ad' which doesn't sound near as bad as what it actually is, right?
A wee digression....When I'm in full-on bloggodome mode as I have been over the last few days, I try to read and make notes at night so that I can then line up the posts on a timer the following morning before I go to work...This morning I was going to hold off  because I'v got an early meeting before teaching day (which run Mon/Wed/Fri in the fall)...But when the clock radio flickered to life this a.m. the first thing I heard was the latest audio ad from 'Mr. Reasonable and Modulated' which made me so damn mad that I got up immediately and started pounding keys...Sheesh...Now I'm going to have to cut the shower short....Again.
Hey!...For all of us amongst the 70% who need a bit of an energizer this last week before the polls open for real...Head on over and read Merv Adey's latest....It's a good one.
I'll talk to you again (way before) tomorrow.....Ha!

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#Elxn42....Has Mr. Harper's (Un)Fair Elections Act Created Two Classes Of Citizens At The Polling Station?

SomeConsequencesAreMoreIntendedThanOthers
UnCanadianVille


It would appear to be thus.

How else to explain...

This:

Sheesh



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#Elxn42: Ewwwwwwwwww, What's That Smell....

...Desperation Perhaps?

Tondra MacCharles of the TorStar has the story. Here is her lede and a wee bit more:

Conservative leader Stephen Harper drew on the populist appeal of Rob and Doug Ford to shore up two GTA battleground ridings Tuesday as his campaign moved along at a snail’s pace compared those of his rivals.

Harper didn’t shake the Ford brothers’ hands, acknowledge their presence or hail their support publicly.

Yet Doug Ford vigorously defended the federal Conservative campaign, said he wouldn’t change a thing about it, and declared the large crowds at Liberal political events do not show the Liberal leader Justin Trudeau has momentum.

Just before Harper’s event got underway, Ford told reporters to pay no attention to the small crowds at Harper’s campaign stops in the past two days, which have not featured rallies...

{snip}

...The Ford brothers’ appearance sparked more cheers from the gathering of little more than 100 partisan volunteers and organizers than the introduction of Etobicoke Centre MP Ted Opitz....


Gosh.

Is it possible that Mr. Harper has come to the realization that, while he desperately needs all of it, his base just may not be enough to hold on to Southern Ontario?

Otherwise....

Why not just go all in with Robbie 'n Doug?

Heckfire, I bet they would both be great fun to have on the campaign plane 24/7 for the next week or so.



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And, ya...The earworm (not to mention a good chunk of the lyrical hook) in the header is...Skynyrd.


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Last Week In Clarkland...In Which Ron's Obviousness Demonstrates Why BC Liberal Government Malfeasance Never Ends In Lotusland.

CallingASpadeAPseudonym
UtterNonsenseVille


Gary Mason wrote a column in the Globe last week about the official opposition's and the youth and child advocate's efforts to hold the Liberal/Clark government's feet to the fire over their egregious repeated, longterm bungling of the Ministry of Child and Family Development file.

And in so doing Mr. Mason demonstrated precisely why the local proMedia never holds this government responsible for any (and I mean any) of its words, deeds and/or actions.

To wit:

"...Many in the Liberals see (child and youth advocate) Ms. Turpel-Lafond as an extension of the provincial NDP; as a member of the opposition. While it is certainly not true, if you are a partisan inside the government ranks I understand the sentiment. The representative does not appear to be a fan of quiet, back-channel negotiating to get results, likely because she doesn’t believe it would accomplish anything. And she is likely right; sadly, governments often only react to stories they feel are damaging them in the eyes of the public..."


Now.

How, precisely, does this demonstrate that the real problem here is Mr. Mason and his ilk?

Well...

Firstly, Mr. Mason clearly indicates that the truth (i.e. reality) is that Ms. Turpel-Lafond is NOT an extension of the opposition and then, in the same sentence, he lets the Clark government off the hook for pretending she is.

And then, in (in same bloody paragraph!) he slags Ms. Turpel-Lafond for not working behind the scenes to make things better while simultaneously acknowledging that the Clark government will NOT work behind the scenes to make things better.

In other words Mr. Mason is acknowledging that Mr. Turpel-Lafond is doing her job and that the Clark government is most definitely NOT doing its job.

And yet, still, he writes as if they are both at fault.

You think I'm cherry-picking here?

Well then...

Let's move a little further down Mr. Mason's column, shall we:

"...Personally, I can appreciate the frustration on both sides of this divide. For instance, I can see why an incredibly smart, no-nonsense advocate such as Ms. Turpel-Lafond would grow tired with the often dawdling pace at which government moves and its preoccupation with balancing budgets at the expense of protecting vulnerable children.

At the same time, I can understand the Liberal government’s weariness with a children’s advocate who has bludgeoned it, at every opportunity, for nine years. There are many senior Liberals who believe her reports are as much about politics as anything else. Yes, they say, there are serious issues in this ministry that need to be addressed. But constantly trying to shame the government into action is the wrong approach, they argue in private..."


I mean, it's almost as if there are absolutely no black cards in Mr. Mason's mental deck despite the fact that, in reality (as he himself has pointed out), they are everywhere to be found.

In addition, it would appear that Mr. Mason has completely forgotten the work, words and deeds of a fellow named Ted Hughes that dates back to the first days of the BC Liberal government of Gordon Campbell and everything that has come since.

So.

Now do you see where the real problem lies around here?


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And, not to put too fine a point on it, but....Why the heckfire does Mr. Mason care what the Clarklandians argue 'in private'?....Hmmmmmmmm...Is it possible that he, like so many of his compatriots in the 'Club' has become beholden to the evils of 'insider access' for all of his 'important' information?


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#Elxn42...Making The Hard (Anti-Con) Choice In North Burnaby Seymour.

AnyOtherElectionBut
ThisOneVille


Some of the folks that worked hardest to fight the pipeline on Burnaby Mountain have made the tough decision to go Dipper.

That includes well known Lotuslandian environmentalist Ben West, quoted here by the Burnaby Now's Jennifer Moreau:

..."(The NDP's Carol Baird Ellan) probably has the best chance of beating the Conservatives in that riding, but I got to say I find this election pretty stressful. I have a lot of love for (anti-pipeline activist and Green Party candidate) Lynne (Quarmby), and as a former Green organizer, I definitely don’t take it lightly to overlook Green candidates,” he (West) said, adding vote splitting is a concern...


Look.

It all comes down to riding-specific numbers.

Because the key here in Lotusland is going to be delivering non-CPC seats, regardless whose running in a particular riding which, it would appear, even the Keef now (kinda/sorta) seems to understand.

OK?



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The last set of riding-specific numbers for Burnaby North Seymour which essentially show that a vote for the Green Party candidate in that riding is a vote for the Conservatives can be found here (scroll down)...Now...Should your non-Green vote really go Dipper given the rising fortunes of the Liberals...I think we'll need one last riding-specific poll before that call can be made... 


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I'm Thankful That... We Still Have A (Kinda/Sorta) Progressive Tax System.

My thankfulness was aroused a few days before the Turkey and Pumpkin Pie long weekend arrived when I saw the somewhat bizarre Tweet, above, from one of the self-annointed 'protectors' of Canadian taxpayers in Lotusland.

Why bizarre?

Well, clearly, the Tweet was supposed to invoke some sort of outrage amongst a certain segment of our population.

But all I could think was...

 'Good on Canucks' goalie Ryan Miller!'

Because folks who are doing really well helping our least privileged citizens is the way things are supposed to work around here, right?

Not according to the good Mr. Bateman and friends, apparently:

VANCOUVER, BC: As the puck drops on another Vancouver Canucks season, so does another year of collecting income tax from the players. A new joint Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) and Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) study, Major Penalty for High Taxes, shows last year’s Canuck players paid $39.7 million in income taxes to the federal and BC governments...

{snip}

...The 25 players on last year’s Canuck roster earned a combined $88 million CDN, meaning more than 45 per cent of their salaries would have gone to income taxes...


So...

Good on the Canucks for helping out, eh!

Put another way, you fill find absolutely no outrage regarding that 45 per cent in this quarter.

Except, perhaps, to question why the marginal tax rate on our biggest earners isn't still at the level it was when the Neander (en)Thralls figure we were at our mighiest.

OK?


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Why Would A Country's Leader Order Never Ending Sorties Knowing They Wouldn't Work?

Thirty-ThreePlusOneDoesNotARealBodyPoliticMake
StraussianismWritLargeVille


Because, well....

The base:

President Richard Nixon believed that years of aerial bombing in Southeast Asia to pressure North Vietnam achieved “zilch” even as he publicly declared it was effective and ordered more bombing while running for reelection in 1972...

If you get my drift.



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What Would Be The Greatest Election Campaign Song Of All Time?

IfAnyoneDoesn'tLikeTheCoronasTheyCan
BlameTheLadsVille


As I mentioned previously, we were at the Mulcair rally in Victoria yesterday and, as these things go, it seemed like everybody had a pretty good time.

And while I like Sam Roberts, and his tune called 'We're All In This Together', I'm not sure I wanted to hear it non-stop for the 20 minutes it took us to get out of the old Crystal Gardens on Douglas Street.

Regardless, as you might imagine, this got me to thinking about what makes a great 'campaign' song.

And, after much rumination about tunes like Clinton's 'Don't Stop (Thinking About...)', Obama's 'Don't Stop (Believin'...) and, of course, Reagan's aborted attempt to steal 'Born In The USA' without Springsteen's permission, in the end I came up with the tune at the top of the post.

It was written by Glen Hansard's (i.e. that 'Guy') former busking partner-in-crime, Mic Christopher.

It's about, as Mr. Christopher himself once said, trying to make every single day be our best day.

Which seems like a helluva theme for a campaign that puts people first.

Especially the 'people' that Mr. Beer 'N Hockey has been speaking to while he's been out knocking on doors (careful...Beer's missives are not for the faint of heart).



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I honestly had a hard time coming up with other memorable campaign songs used in the country formerly known as Canuckistan...You all probably have a few.
And just in case you are looking for a lower keyed version of 'Heyday' shown at the top of the post, E and I have one for you...Here.


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We Went To See Tommy Mulcair Today And...

...A Carole James Rally Broke Out.

A long, long time ago my Dad used to take us to the Crystal Gardens in downtown Victoria every Wednesday after school.

To actually swim.

Which tells you how long ago that was.

Anyway...

Last night we took the ferry over to the Island to visit Pops for Thanksgiving weekend.

And, as we were waiting for the boat, the two E's and I got to talking politics just before we noticed Mr. Mulcair's campaign bus on the other side of the terminal.

Which is how we ended up inside the very same Crystal Gardens earlier this afternoon for Tommy and company's big rally.

****

The first thing I noticed when we got in the place was that I couldn't smell any chlorine.

The next thing I noticed was how scripted everything was and how much all the young kids running the show looked like they had just stepped off the set of Veep.

The best part?

When the teleprompter had been shut off Mulcair could speak without a script.

But for me it was Ms. James, the best Premier we never had, who stole the show with her simple introduction.

For all kinds of reasons, but most importantly because she managed to say simply and clearly what is most important on Vancouver Island, which is not to split the vote.

And she did so without mentioning she who must not be named with the National press present.

Pretty impressive I'd say.

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Pops came with us...We spent most of the time reminiscing about what a creaky old place the Gardens was back when my brothers and I were kids...As for when Pops was a kid?....Well...He remembers when saltwater was piped into the pool...Imagine that!

And yes, there really were 1,200 people there...They had to turn folks away at the door on account of that pesky little red tape peddlar known as the Fire Marshall.

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Will The Faux-Earthen CPC Levee Finally Break?

CigarTubeBlues
Ennui-In-ExtremisVille


Took a thirty-six hour trip to the Center of the Universe last week.

Which meant I had to spend ten of those hours in the bloody cigar tube going back and forth.

Anyway...

When I got there late Wednesday the cab driver wasn't paying attention when he swooped down off the Gardiner Expressway and plunged us into a sea of stone-faced Leafs' fans exiting the ACC after their team's opening night loss to the Canadiens.

As a result, it dook him another half hour to travel the 15 blocks up the street to get us close to where the old Gardens used to be so that he could drop me off at what I consider to be just about the worst hotel in the Western hemisphere.

Why?

Well, for starters, I'm pretty sure they haven't steam-cleaned the carpets since Ms. Mitchell sang about some lug sitting in that particular hotel's bar (in my mind at least) who had 'a little money riding on the Maple Leafs'.

****

I spent all day Thursday running a meeting a stone's and/or a Joe Cannonish throw from the Skydome with a bunch of fellow science geeks whose job it is to give strategic advice to a non-profit group that, like so many others, is doing its very best to pick up the slack for all that the extremist currently running our fair country has wrought.

And normally this group is very conservative, not in the ideological sense but rather in the truly Canadian 'let's-not-rock-the-boat-so-that-we-can-do-our-best-to-spread-things-around-as-much-as-possible-to-help-the-most-folks-we-can'  sense.

But not this time.

Because on this particular day just about everyone around the table began to really pound it while voices rose to a fever pitch with the well-founded concern that it is very possible that we could lose an entire generation of young, up-and-coming fundamental/basic scientists given the Harper government's never ending ratcheting up of a policy that is clearly designed to kill 'curiosity-driven' research in favour of a 'pick-the-winners' approach in certain applied fields that can be commercialized.

Put another way, it's a 'Crony-Capitalism Hijacks Science' approach to doing things which probably comes as no surprise to anyone who is actually paying attention.

Now.

Don't get me wrong.

I'm all for trying to move good, important and useful discoveries towards something that can be used by everyone for the collective, or even the commercial, good (and, no, I don't think those two things are necessarily mutually exclusive).

But when you go all in down that road at the expense of the actual discovery-based research, which is what that curiosity-driven stuff is all about at it's core...

Well...

Then you snuff out the ability of all the young punks with all the great new ideas and all the drive to do the real thing.

Which, of course, is what Mr. deAdder's cartoon at the top of the post is all about.

So, forget all about that voice modulated-reasonableness coming from the Extremist's ad-buys these last few days before the election.

Because the key for the entire country is to break the House-of-Cards Levee that has been carefully constructed by the Extremist and his henchmen on Oct 19th.

OK?

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Spent the cigar tube ride home smack-dab in the middle of a gaggle of young middle school musical bandish-type kids on their way to Australia...For the first half-hour I was the dour old 'Get off my lawn!' guy in their midst...But by the time the drink cart came down the aisle their good natured-enthusiasm was infectious enough that I abandoned the thesis I was trying to read and watched the fantasmagoric 'Love and Mercy'...The movie itself was great, but watching Brian Wilson himself sing the title track as the credits began to roll was truly spine tingle-inducing. 
Sure, the song above is from Mr. Zimmerman...But my favourite footloose, fancy-free/buskerized version is....Here (wait for the incredible cameo due at the end).


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Horgan Speaks...If This Is 'Prickly', Bring More Pears Such As These By The Bushelful Please.

ThereIsAClub
AndIt'sForMembersOnlyVille


It would appear that the Dean of the legislative press gallery, Vaughn Palmer, was taken aback as he watched ('from the sidelines') an exchange between opposition leader John Horgan and the Province's Michael Smyth:

...Horgan has been mostly cool and methodical since assuming the New Democratic Party leadership last year. But he confesses to having a quick temper and sometimes in the past he’s lost it when dealing with reporters on what he regards as unfair coverage.

Witness what happened Monday when the scrum moved on to asking him about that bit of political performance art the B.C. Liberals staged in the legislature last week on the hydroelectric dam at Site C on the Peace River.

Horgan was not in the house for the debate on the motion — which the NDP opposed — claiming he had business elsewhere. Nor was he present the following day when Premier Christy Clark taunted the Opposition by rattling off a long list of similar projects the party had also opposed.

So the reporters’ questions were valid. But, as I watched from the sidelines, Horgan betrayed increasing exasperation as each one, no matter how politely phrased, came his way.

What did Horgan think of the premier’s pitch for Site C? “If I could read her mind I would be horrified,” he returned. “If you are just playing a game, which is what she is doing, then you are wasting time and you are wasting energy.”

Did Horgan dispute the premier’s list of projects his party opposed?

“What’s to dispute? Mike,” he fired back at Mike Smyth, the Province columnist. “I appear to be responsible for every sin of every New Democrat who’s walked the earth and she’s not responsible for what came out of her mouth yesterday.”

Horgan named projects he did support, including two mines and adding new turbines on the existing Revelstoke and Mica dams.

“This isn’t an ideological divide,” he continued. “It’s her making politics and mischief and I know that suits well with your column and go ahead.”

Voice rising, the NDP leader challenged the columnist to write about Hydro repeatedly missing the mark in forecasting energy needs. “Don’t you think that is more interesting to readers of your column?”...

Mr. Palmer then goes on state that challenging a journalist to 'change the subject' is rarely an 'effective technique in news management'.

To which I reply, most emphatically....

Hogwash.

And/or who gives a flying fiddle-faddle.

Because, I for one, do want Mess'rs Palmer and Smyth and their ilk to actually do their bloody jobs and write about the substance of these matters rather than the faux-swordplay of Ms. Clark and her minions that is taking place on bedding sprinkled with sparkle pony toe nail clippings that litters the fainting couch where no journalist shall ever be called out by a 'prickly' politician.

Specifically....

I want them to find out, as Merv Adey asked on the Twittmachine this morning, what the actual business case for Site C is?

And...

I want them to find out why, exactly, that case, and others of import not being put before the BCUC?

And, while we're at it, what, exactly, will our Hydro rates be over the next five years as our future obligations to the very finest of the fine folks holding all those IPP contracts approach $100 billion?

****

Now.

Why do I want the proMedia club members to actually write about stuff that matters?

Because stuff that matters actually does.

To all British Columbians, whether they know it or not.

(and how can they know it if folks like Palmer, Smyth and Baldrey et al. don't tell them about it)

OK?


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The 'Club'?....Ian Reid, back when he was still kickin' and givin' 'em a lickin', wrote about it awhile back.


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#Elxn42...Why Stealth-Cons Should Be (Not) Seen And Not Heard.

CreditingTheTotallyDiscreditedWheneverPossible
NonsenseVille


Jennifer Ditchburn of the CP has the story.

All you need is her lede:

A Conservative candidate in suburban Toronto is defending therapies that attempt to turn gays straight, having penned an editorial that referred to homosexuality as "unnatural behaviour" and heterosexuals as "normal."...

Just to be clear here...

An editorial is still not considered to be the same thing as errant tweet.

Right?



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This Afternoon In Clarkland...Independent Power Producer Tax Haven Blues.

AllYourBillions'RUs
GrandCaymenA-Go-GoVille


First, a quote from a post by Norm Farrell noting the prescience of the good folks from the Wilderness Committee speaking way back in 2009:

...“Private power coming from so-called ‘run of river’ projects comes mostly at the wrong time of year for British Columbians, is costing us far above market rates, and threatens our rivers and streams. Ratepayers are already on the hook for $31 billion [$56 billion as of March 2015] in energy agreements to the likes of General Electric. The BC government’s decision to order Hydro to buy even more of this power is irrational and unacceptable,” said Wilderness Committee campaign director Joe Foy...

Next, this wee bit from 'Citizens For Tax Justice' via Reuters, published today:

The 500 largest American companies hold more than $2.1 trillion in accumulated profits offshore to avoid U.S. taxes and would collectively owe an estimated $620 billion in U.S. taxes if they repatriated the funds, according to a study released on Tuesday...

{snip}

...The conglomerate General Electric has booked $119 billion offshore in 18 tax havens, software firm Microsoft is holding $108.3 billion in five tax haven subsidiaries and drug company Pfizer is holding $74 billion in 151 subsidiaries, the study said...

Aren't you glad we destroying our public utility, not to mention our rivers and streams to privatize the profits for a massive hydra-headed-tax-scofflaw that is 'independent?

Sheesh.


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