My BS-O-Meter is Pegged Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire from the US Senate To California Prop 16

Whenever I hear Mitch McConnell say he's "for" bank regulation, but just can't accept the Democrat version and would rather kill it than make it better, my BS-O-Meter pegs to the far right. What he's really saying in this article, McConnell Criticizes Democrats’ Financial Regulation Plan - NYTimes.com, is that he doesn't want any bank regulation at all. It was, after all, the Republicans who repealed the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 that had banks under control. Once that happened, banks were free to become To-Big-To-Fail. So, when McConnell speaks, I check him out at FactCheck.org or PolitiFact.com. They're understaffed, so there's nothing there yet on McConnell's latest BS. His purpose is to kill any regulation - don't believe him.

Then there is California Propositions on the ballot this year. Anyone who followed our budget problems this past year should know that California is hamstrung by voter approved propositions that amended our state Constitution to the point that Governor Arnie and our Legislature can't manage our budget. So, now we have Proposition 16 and this so-called "Tax Payer Right to Vote" ad (right-click and open in a new tab or window).

The sad part is that nobody disagrees with the ad. Everyone wants democracy and "voter" involvement. Unfortunately, it is for that reason it is likely to pass and modify our State Constitution. And, then we are in deep trouble. Proposition 16, and here, says that a municipality, such as Los Angeles or San Diego, cannot develop its own electrical power source, through a "Community Choice Aggregation Program," for the good of its citizens unless it has an election in its local communities and gets two-thirds voter approval. Otherwise, the city or county must choose Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) or Southern California Edison for any new power it needs. PG&E has spent $28.5 million on the Prop 16 campaign. The ad is not allowed to be played on radio stations because it does not comply with California disclosure law. But, it's on television and most voters will never know what's behind it. It's a bad idea and I think we'll get what we deserve for not being diligent. I think we're past the point of fear of becoming a banana republic; we're already there. Just call us Nicaragua.

The irony is that the proposition will only require 50% plus one voter to pass, but after that it will require 66% to get new power to a community. Go figure out that math. Then there's the math on your electricity bill, such as how much are "you" paying for this ad?

Dave