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SCENE: A small, tidy kitchen, with a wide shot of AN ELDERLY WOMAN pulling fresh cookies out of the oven and placing them on a cooling rack on the countertop. She turns toward the camera . . .
ELDERLY WOMAN:
Remember Enron and the rolling blackouts here in California about a decade ago? I sure do.
ELDERLY WOMAN sets down empty cookie sheet, wipes hands on apron.
ELDERLY WOMAN smiles — an evil smile.
ELDERLY WOMAN:
Now’s our chance for revenge: defeat Proposition 23.
Oil billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch have donated over a million dollars to try to derail our greenhouse gas laws, joining with two big Texas energy companies to try to stick it to Californians.
Again.
Just like the Texas energy companies did a decade ago.
ELDERLY WOMAN turns to her computer, clicks the mouse, and two male voices are heard:
Enron Trader in CA: So,
Enron Trader in TX: (laughing)
CA: So the rumor’s true? They’re fuckin’ takin’ all the money back from you guys? All those money you guys stole from those poor grandmothers in California?
TX: Yeah, grandma Millie, man. But she’s the one who couldn’t figure out how to fuckin’ vote on the butterfly ballot.
CA: Yeah, now she wants her fuckin’ money back for all the power you’ve charged right up – jammed right up her ass for fuckin’ 250 dollars a megawatt hour.
ELDERLY WOMAN clicks mouse to stop the voices. ELDERLY WOMAN smiles sweetly.
ELDERLY WOMAN:
I’m Grandma Millie . . .
ELDERLY WOMAN smiles not-so-sweetly.
I know how to vote, fellas, and I’m voting no on Prop 23.
ELDERLY WOMAN smiles malevolently into the camera as the shot pulls in tight.
And I f****** approve this message.
23 Comments
i forking love it peter.
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Dontcha just love shrill Grandmas?
I’ve served more than a few congregations where SGs are a delightful presence.
Now that I think about it, they probably inspired this post . . .
Please tell me this is a real commercial or at least its on U tube. If not can you get some local pups together to help put it on u tube? I want to see your vision on film!
Being from California, I have no idea what you are talking about.
*cough*
Nicely done, Peterr.
If California passes its green house laws and the rest of the nation follows suit just how much would that cost the Koch Brothers? That number would make a great closer.
Wait the number of pollution related deaths and sickness that would be prevented if California’s green house laws were passed in every state list them plus the cost of the death and disease use that as the closer
A perfect follow up to the depressing book salon…let’s all get busy. Thanks
This is so cool.
And lest we forget, when California’s Democratic governor went to Washington D.C. in early 2001 as Enron’s on-line traders started gaming the West Coast energy grid to ask the Bush/Cheney administration to have the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) check into what was happening, the pro-Enron pro-corporations pro-deregulation Bush/Cheney administration thumbed their collective upturned noses at him, refusing to have FERC look into what was happening along the West Coast, for many months, allowing the on-line Enron energy traders to do even more harm to grandmas and children out West.
If Enron, and it’s criminal, heartless on-line traders, had been caught near the beginning, then not only Californians (as well as other U.S. citizens along the West Coast) would have been saved double or even tripled utility bills, but Enron itself might have survived, being slapped with some fines maybe and with any of it’s scam-artist on-line energy traders being charged.
So, let’s not forget that George W. Bush and his administration played a major role in what happened in 2001 out West (to say nothing of all the disasters that followed, with Enron just an early warning sign of what was to come over the next eight, torturous years of the worst president and worst vice-president in American history).
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Love the Post, and yes I remember the rip off back then. Why I went Solar so I know how much I will pay each month not these wildly increasing rates that have never been lowered… Just Fucking Raised and raised yearly!
Next year they pay me for my excess electricity! My pay back!
Never a fan of the Gray, but in this instance, he both did all that could be done (given the Enron-compliant BushCo in place at the time), and provided the perfect model of Democratic ineptitude (that has characterized the CA Dems for as long as I can recall) for the Republicans to run out of town.
READY to see that one on TV!!
It would work even with bleeps replacing the f-bombs. maybe even better.
Thank you, Peterr, let’s get this on the air in California.
My thanks to the folks who found the YouTube of the recording of the Enron traders visible on the FDL front page.
One of those on the you tube post, Kevin McGowan, was the director of coal and emissions trading, Enron Corp. According to this article http://www.masterresource.org/2009/05/cap-and-trade-the-temple-of-enron-james-hansen-makes-an-important-political-point/
Just confirms my view that cap-and-trade is a fraud that will do little but transfer money to the already-wealthy. (Edit: whoops, botched the link but it should work).
Dean Baker is upstairs!
Front Page Post Editorial Tells Readers that Dems Would Face Better Prospects With 11 Percent Unemployment
I love it! Can we get Conan to play Grandma Millie?
I think Shrill Grandma and Pouting Baby would make a great team.
He’d do it!
I was all set to beat the drums for raising money to get this on the air, but I agree with TCU: make it, and put it up on YouTube. It will get far greater distribution and at no cost.
Please, round up the creative folks here at the Lake and get it done!!! [Ha! HuffPo might even steal it, as is their wont.]
Incidentally, the utilities in CA won court judgment against Enron for theft by fraud, but there was not much left in assets to settle claims.
And this should go on the screen after the video goes dark.
I remember sitting with five grandmas including me at a tea house when the owner suggested we leave soon because they were doing rolling blackouts and we needed to get home before the traffic lights cut off. We paid enormous electrical bills that no doubt went to the energy company executives and our local GOP politicians who set up the scam in CA law. When I returned home and turned on the tv, some kid in DC was lecturing Californians about becoming more efficient with our use of energy. Gov. Gray Davis began filing court cases against some of the companies. Soon we were told that Gray was just “too Gray” and ASS (guess who) was the better choice in the recall right after Gray had been elected. Supposedly ASS agreed to leave the issue alone and to my knowledge that is exactly what he has done.