VOTE OBAMA and this is what you are going to get. Issues Beyond Palo Alto, posted by What's Next, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Aug 17, 2008 at 10:09 pm
This is despicable.
California's Proposition 10 & T. Boone Pickens is using the power of the government to make his (and Pelosi's) investments better.
On the one hand we have a businessman doing what businessmen do - make sure that their company makes as much money as possible; by playing with the government. On the other hand we have one of the democrat's most important leaders, a woman who was supposed to usher in a new way for America when her party took over congress, who is financially benefiting from the government's intervention with the free market.
Here's what Mrs. Pelosi and Mr. Pickens have to gain:
Pelosi could have purchased around 20,000 shares at $3.86, or $50,000 to $100,000 worth, which are now worth 300% more than their original value.
Nancy Pelosi says that she is trying to save the planet and prevent global warming, but the reality is that, according to disclosure statements, in May 2007 she invested in T. Boone Picken’s clean energy fuels corp., CLNE, which is the sole sponsor of a proposal in California to funnel $5 billion in state funds and $5 billion in Federal funs to this corporation which will indirectly help them create a giant wind farm in the Texas panhandle.
An overlooked story in November of 2007 shows that the T. Boone Pickens plan involves the private control of water, which Pickens wants to be able to sell to big cities via giant water pipelines which will be built on land seized under eminent domain.
So Pelosi and Pickens are going to make a bundle off of this if the people will go along. Hell, folks, this is a lot bigger than I thought it was. I just thought it was about wind farms and the Texas panhandle. It's not. It's about fundamentally altering our nation's energy policy around the investment portfolio of a few people.
It's not just about wind or water or even plain old energy anymore. It is about using the government to boost a few people's (Pickens and Pelosi) investments.
Posted by namnam, a resident of the Embarcadero Oaks/Leland neighborhood, on Aug 17, 2008 at 10:14 pm
No surprises. Warren Buffet has been buying up TX Panhandle water rights for some time. War criminal Bush' daughter has made an investment in a massive fresh water aquifer in South America, one of the world's largest. I say put the lot of these sicko capitalists in prison. We need a capitalist cultural revolution.
Posted by O no, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Aug 18, 2008 at 7:58 am
obama reminds me of EST and Werner Erhart, but with a snake oil twist.
Last night he was warmly received by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called him "a leader that God has blessed us with at this time."
obama echoed some of the themes he discussed when he described Pennsylvanians as "bitter" and stoked controversy three months ago, but did so much more adroitly.
Posted by Chuck P., a resident of the Palo Alto Hills neighborhood, on Aug 18, 2008 at 9:44 am
Obama was in the senate just 555 days before he started running for president.
Seems to me that's two years of education. Not enough time to know much of anything.
And certainly not enough time to figure out the slippery, slick ways of Naughty Nancy Pelosi
Obama is just another tool of the white man. And Nancy and her gang will be taking down the American taxpayer the old fashion way. One scam deal at a time. And this is a scam, that will cost the American consumer a bundle. You will be paying higher costs for crops grown with this Pickens & Pelosi water.
Posted by pam, a resident of the Charleston Gardens neighborhood, on Aug 18, 2008 at 11:50 am
"Thanks entirely to the Repub devils who led us into the pointless, costly, unwinnable Iraq Nightmare,"
and who promised to get us out of iraq when they won the congress two years ago...and who helped enable every single one of bush's efforts? the democrats. you are one naive voter. btw, please add your fawning liberal press to that, because they let bush get away with his madness without hardly a peep
Posted by OhlonePar, a resident of the Duveneck/St. Francis neighborhood, on Aug 18, 2008 at 1:27 pm
And Pelosi's investment is more outrageous than Halliburton's no-bid contracts because . . . or Enron's contracts?
Yeah, it would be better if our legislators all had blind investment trusts--but beyond that, I don't see the reason for the outrage. Pelosi's politics are aligned with her pocketbook in this case. It would be more hypocritical if she were invested in oil.
As for Obama, does he have a personal financial stake in Picken's company?
We are a capitalist system--which means we only get real change if somebody stands to make money from it. It's not pretty, but that's the reality.
I would like to see some public rights protected--such as water--but we seem to be a very long way from that kind of attitude about the public good. You can blame constant government-bashing for that, by the way.
Posted by Joan, a resident of the Professorville neighborhood, on Aug 18, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Pelosi’s financial stake smacks of an extraordinary conflict of interest at a critical time in the debate about the direction of our country’s energy policy.
Two points–at least–require further exploration.
First, what is the specific financial stake that Pelosi has in this company? Number of shares, current fair market value per share, and approximate annual dividends.
Second, how is that a member of Congress–let alone the Speaker of the House–ends up in the pool of investors who are able to purchase shares in an initial public offering?
We should be very suspicious of the circumstances surrounding her purchase of her shares because it, again, smacks of an extraordinary conflict of interest.
Posted by Sharon, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Aug 18, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Barack Obama's (Peace be upon his name) poor performance on Saturday will embolden the Clintons.
Hillary and the Hillraisers are not going quietly. Latest interview by American Lynn Forester in the Times of London.Web Link
"At the Democratic national convention next week, Lynn Forester, Lady de Rothschild, one of Britain’s most influential political hostesses, will be contemplating treachery. She poured her heart and money into Hillary Clinton’s campaign and she is thinking of voting for John McCain, the Republican candidate, for president.
She is not impressed by Barack Obama and doubts he will reach the White House. “My loyalty is to the Democrats winning. Barack Obama is going to have a serious problem getting elected, for good reason,” she said in an interview.
“The party needs to face the fact that without Hillary Clinton on the ticket, the Democrats will probably lose.”
Sounds like a potent threat to me. Hillary wants veep, at least.
View in an RSS Reader
E-mail this topic.
Print this topic.
