Keep The Stolen Loot, Just Try Not To Let It Happen Again

That apparently is what the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is telling the nation's largest power companies as they "today rejected a request by California to invalidate more than $12 billion in energy contracts signed at the height of the state's electricity crisis, even though they have determined that widespread manipulation helped drive prices higher. "

The reasoning?

The two commissioners who voted to sustain the contracts, Patrick Wood III and Nora Brownell, both appointees of President Bush, said the state had failed to meet a high standard of proof that would allow for such drastic action.

Mr. Wood said that voiding the contracts was not in the public interest and noted that California officials had said at the time the contracts were signed that they were good deals for the state.

Yeah, well if someone had a knife to my throat, saying "Your money or your life," I'd probably consider it a very "good deal" to give him my wallet. But that doesn't mean that the thief doesn't have to give it back when he's caught.

In addition, the Commission

found that while manipulation helped drive prices higher, the root cause of the crisis was the state's deeply flawed deregulation plan and a severe shortage of electricity. Taken together, the two factors made possible many of the abuses that later occurred, commission officials have said.

So if I accidentally leave my back door open and someone robs me, they don't have to return the loot when they get caught?

I remember when Republicans wanted to be known as the law and order party. That must have been back when they thought the sky would fall if we didn't balance the federal budget.