State and local approval processes for new electric transmission line projects are supposed to impartially determine whether a project is needed and provides an acceptable balance between the larger public good and the local detriments caused by the project.  While participating in this legal process is an expensive and time-consuming necessity, it isn't the only area where project opposition should focus their efforts.  When you participate in the public process at the state PSC and/or other agencies, you are an intruder in the utility's play pen and no matter how good your lawyer or how compelling your evidence, you are playing by the utility's rules.  When you play respectably in their venue and by their rules, you're almost certainly destined to failure.  The system is designed for them to succeed and they have been doing it a lot longer than you have.  They also have tremendous financial resources to hire any number of "experts" and/or create any number of "studies" that are designed to produce the desired result.  The utility's financial resources are coming out of your pocket because electric ratepayers reimburse the utility for all costs of the approval process, plus a generous return on equity, over the life of the transmission line.   Transmission line approvals are a very dirty business and you're going to have to roll up your pant legs and jump into the mud if you're going to succeed.

There's another huge effort by the utility going on behind the scenes that you may not notice until it's too late.  While the public approval process is going on, the utility is carrying out a very expensive influencing campaign, intended to hand them the approvals they need, even if your state/local entity is on the verge of denying their application.  It's not about the public legal process going on at all, it's about the schmoozing and inducements going on in private back room meetings with your elected representatives, local Chambers of Commerce, business groups, the press, influential community members and government agencies.  While you're putting your cash and effort toward a lawyer and experts, believing that you can win a respectable victory, the utility is working behind your back ensuring their ultimate victory by any means necessary.  While the decision to approve the project is purportedly made by a PSC or other entity, ultimately it will come down to a political decision and your elected officials will be twisting the arms of the PSC to decide as they are told to decide.

The utility employs the seven common propaganda devices to develop champions for their project, both by applying direct pressure on the individuals and groups mentioned previously, and through a public relations and advertising campaign intended to drum up widespread public support.  The support of "the public," whether real or manufactured, warms the vote-scrounging hearts of your elected officials.  Utilities will create and support third party propaganda front groups pretending to represent "grassroots" support for their project; hold "educational" events in closed groups who have no prior knowledge about the project so that the utility's version of "the facts" is the only one presented; spread donations and "corporate stewardship" funds liberally to Chambers of Commerce and business groups; lobby elected representatives relentlessly (although they call this "education"); hold expensive "media events" where the press is presented with only the utility's cherry-picked version of "the facts"; hire influential, respected community leaders to be a part of their "team" at inflated "salaries" for the amount of make-work produced; and persuade government agencies to drop any opposition to the project by providing them with land, donations, economic development projects or other "inducements."

All of this influence-buying is quite expensive, but unlike any other corporate entity who would be required to cover the cost of approvals in the ultimate cost of their proposed product, the utility will be reimbursed for ALL expenses of their public relations campaign by electric customers through their electric bills.  The total cost of utility influencing initiatives is often reimbursed as it's spent, long before a project is built, thanks to FERC-administered formula rates.  There is no cap on the amount the utility can spend on this effort and PR totals are not considered as a part of project cost estimates, so they are free to spend whatever it takes to win approval.

So, how do you beat them at this game?  No reason you can't run your own influencing campaign -- just be sure you get there first and keep everything out in the sunshine where everyone can see it.  If you need more detail than that, you'll have to email me.  I don't give away all the secrets here ;-)

The blowhard public relations firms, with their well-worn "playbooks" of how to win transmission line siting battles, just keep on tooting their own horns.  Today I came across this waste o' money trip to Calgary in the fall:  "Effective Public Outreach for Transmission Projects: A Course in Fundamentals" will be a colossal waste of resources, but that's okay, the power company PR hacks will have a good time in Calgary in early October and the ratepayers will end up footing the bill for it.

So, these guys think they wrote the "playbook" on effective public outreach for transmission projects, do they?  That's funny... when I went to the website of the PR firm where both of the "instructors" are partners, I came away with the same tired plan PATH tried to use on all of us.  Open houses.  Idiotic advertising.  Front groups.  Shady land agents.  Payoffs.  Increased project cost because of the payoffs...  I saw nothing new or unique, and certainly nothing that I hadn't seen before.  Here's the head moron's "mantra":  “I elect transmission lines, power plants and pipelines to public office.”  Yes, this guy is a real tool.  Click to watch their little movie about their "successful" project.  See anything new that might be effective?  Nah, me neither... I just saw a bunch of stuff that PATH tried, which failed.

According to the brochure, here's who should attend this fiction-fest:  1)  Utility employees with regulatory, public communications, and local affairs responsibilities; 2) Siting, right of way, and land management professionals;  3)  Transmission project managers; 4)  Regulators and regulatory staff;  5) Utility construction contractors and consultants; and 6)  Environmental and community group representatives.  Wait a minute... they think environmental and community group representatives should spend $1250 on admission, plus travel and expenses to go to Calgary?  Shows how out-of-touch these schmucks are, they think we have money to waste on their tired, old crap when we've been getting a better education for free during the past three years.

So, I hope the utility company guys have a nice vacation in Canada because they're going to be learning a bunch of "technique" that doesn't work anymore.  The opposition has all your stupid tricks; odious buffoonery and underhanded schemes in a little "playbook" of their own, along with tried-and-true methods of neutralization guaranteed to make your project fail and your corporate reputation tank while you run away screaming with your tail between your legs.  And still the opposition presses on... because we have more chapters in our book  :-)

"They noted they were completely dissatisfied with the open house format," she said. "They requested, yet again, a fully open forum in which everyone in attendance is permitted to hear each question and answer." 

Sound familiar, PATH opponents?

FirstEnergy is using the old "Open House" format for meetings designed to manipulate the citizens surrounding their Little Blue Run Poison Pond.

Despite the fact that these kind of "meetings" do nothing but increase opposition to a project, the power companies stubbornly refuse to get any smarter.

And because they're so predictable with their "best practices," they continue to get their butts kicked over and over by citizen grassroots groups.

And that's a good thing!

What is PR?  “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other,” according to the Public Relations Society of America.  Do not confuse PR with advertising, we'll cover that topic in another chapter of "Best Practices."  Good PR is stealthy, invisible and is all about control.  It teaches you what to think, instead of how to think.  Stealth PR is spin.  PR spin corrupts public debate and policy and creates a public perception controlled by corporate interest.  Spin uses deceptive tactics to influence public opinion through fear, distortion and outright lies.  Stealth PR distracts you from the real issue, generates fear, and pumps out rhetoric that splits communities and pits groups and individuals against one another.  PATH's spin encouraged people to believe that there was a looming electricity crisis.  This "crisis" wasn't based in reality or scientific fact, but was entirely manufactured with the goal of warping public understanding to suit power company initiatives.  Those that believed the hype were being emotionally manipulated by PATH's fabricated spin.  PATH's PR campaign also attempted to neutralize and harass opponents (NIMBY, NIMBY, NIMBY), undermine their truth-based counter-campaign, and persuade the public that PATH is "needed".

This isn't to say that all PR is unethical, but because today's corporations will spend whatever it takes to win, many PR companies will sell their soul when the promised financial reward is big enough.  Once they've danced with the devil, their loyalty to the client outweighs the public's right to truth.  Any for-profit corporation that tells you there is no underlying financial self-interest in its agenda is lying to you.  PATH was never about electric grid "reliability", "congestion" or "need", it was always about a huge profit to be made by Allegheny/FirstEnergy and American Electric Power.  Large corporations will spend millions of dollars on PR spin when they stand to garner billions in return, and PATH is no exception.  However, there is one fundamental difference between other corporations undertaking spin campaigns and PATH doing so.  PATH used money that belonged to millions of electric customers in 13 states to finance their great deception, thanks to FERC-granted incentives.  It cost them nothing, and if they had been good at it, they may have gotten away with it.  But PATH hired Charles Ryan Associates for "performance of communications and public relations services relating to the siting and construction of the PATH Allegheny 500 kV transmission line."

Another component of a good spin campaign includes a charm offensive, which attempts to bolster the corporate image.  When they are "charming", they are trustworthy, responsible, public benefactors, doing the "right" thing, contributing to the economy, and are part of the solution to a societal problem.  PATH tried to be charming, but it more closely resembled one of those funny birthday cards where the hot guy/girl on the front turns into a grinning chimpanzee when you open it.  This didn't stop them from trying though.  PATH's "charm" made good use of ratepayer money to practice "corporate stewardship".  They also tossed a mere pittance of the profit they were making from the ratepayers back into our communities by making "donations".  They also promised jobs and increased tax revenue, and then proceeded to have the properties they had purchased for $4.5M in Loudoun County, Va. removed from the tax rolls.

The crooked PR companies use a closely-guarded Playbook to influence legislators and regulators through the manipulation of public opinion, all to benefit the corporations they work for.  Not surprisingly, most of the tricks in the Playbook come from the king of spin, the tobacco industry, who pioneered and developed these techniques over many years.  Because they were so successful, other industries wanted in on tobacco's success and now the business of spin is firmly entrenched in corporate culture.  Other recent examples of corporate-funded spin include BP and climate change.

Now that you know why they create front groups as part of a PR spin campaign, let's examine the way these front groups operate.  Front groups are the most prevalent form of the third party propaganda technique.  When a corporation is not held in high esteem and the public's trust in them ranks low, as is the case with AEP and FirstEnergy, the corporations revert to creation of front groups to manipulate favorable opinion they cannot create honestly.  The industry lacks true grassroots support.  Front groups give the illusion that disinterested individuals have thrown their support behind a project.  But why would any citizens enthusiastically support a corporate initiative that is going to cost them more money?  The front group attempts to drum up a massive amount of support for the corporate initiative.  Even if they fail, they still try to create at least the appearance of immense support.  The front group carries out a disinformation campaign with the goal of defusing or deflecting negative commentary and discrediting opponents.

In the Playbook, any public opinion counter to corporate goals is dealt with by creating front groups.  PR firm Burson-Marsteller is responsible for many of the tobacco industry front groups.  It should come as no surprise that PATH partner Allegheny Energy used Burson-Marsteller to create front groups for the TrAIL project.  PATH admitted in discovery, "Burson-Marsteller was originally contracted to perform these services for the TrAIL Project and once the PATH Project was initiated, it was determined that since the coalitions promote energy infrastructure development in general, the PATH Project should also contribute to the coalitions."  Unfortunately for the power companies, the front groups were subsequently transferred over to Charles Ryan Associates, under whose poor management they were exposed during the PATH fight.

From the Playbook, here are the steps corporations take to set up a successful front group:

1.  Hire a big, well-connected PR firm known for deception and spin.

2.  Throw the PRSA Code of Ethics out the window.  The speed with which ethics are abandoned can be directly correlated to the amount of money offered.

3.  The PR company sets up front groups, choosing a name that also works as a message, such as "Coalition for Reliable Power", in the case of PATH.  The best name will be misleading and make the public feel good about their choosing to join the coalition.  Obviously, "Shills for Increased Corporate Profit" wouldn't be a good name, although it describes a front group's purpose correctly.

4.  The PR company coerces and coordinates allies by recruiting third party "members" from business groups, unions, and Chambers of Commerce (who have a long history of cooperating with stealth PR initiatives on behalf of corporations).  These business and political allies are used as shills to spread the front group's message and to help recruit even more members from their business contacts.  Ideally, recruited members will be a mix of different types:  small businesses, citizens, other corporations, other front groups and paid "experts."  As the newly recruited members get further and further from the original "grasstops", the coalition members are being manipulated just as much as the public.  The majority of "members" have no idea who funds their "coalition" or why.

5.  The PR company creates messages for the group based on propaganda and manipulation of public opinion.  This tactic is right out of Mein Kampf.

6.  The corporation launders money through the PR firm so funding of front group activities cannot be traced back to the corporation.  A front group never mentions the source of their funding!  Corporations must keep their financial support of front groups hidden or else the credibility of the coalition tanks and public knowledge of the deception causes even more public backlash and distrust of the corporation.  PATH took it one step further, creating two degrees of separation by having their PR contractor, CRA, hire a local sub-contracting PR company to run the front group in each state.

In the case of PATH's front groups, the three sub-contractors managed by CRA were:

Note:  Read the complete contracts and purchase orders for additional tasks involved in running these front groups.

1.  For the Marylanders for Reliable Power, The Artemis Group, who was contracted to:  develop and implement a public advocacy campaign; develop third party support and champions; develop "grasstops" (a few key friends who are in on the scheme); and coalition development and recruitment.

2.  For the West Virginians for Reliable Power (or Energy), Brown Communications (note how they are "proud members of the PRSA"!), who was contracted to:  assist PATH-WV grow and promote the West Virginians for Reliable Power (WVRP) coalition in order to build support for rebuilding and expanding West Virginia and the nation’s aging electric infrastructure.  The extensive list of tasks is footnoted as follows:  *These tactics and activities would be timed around key dates associated with the approval process for the PATH-WV project.

3.  For the Virginians for Reliable Energy, Charles Ryan Associates, who was directed to sub-contract with  McGuireWoods Consulting to:  coordinate efforts to facilitate PATH Allegheny’s involvement and activity in Virginia regarding the PATH project and the management of a Reliable Power Coalition in Virginia.  Subcontractors, including McGuireWoods Consulting will be utilized in this effort.

If you want to have a little fun, here are a couple of ways to spot a front group:

1.  Their website domain name is owned by a PR company.  Real grassroots groups are short on funding and are never represented by PR professionals.  Real grassroots websites are a "do it yourself" job.

2.  Their website doesn't provide a physical address or phone number, or if there is a phone number, it's a cell phone or a phone number belonging to a PR company.  If an address is provided, it may be a mail drop or the office address of the PR firm.

3.  The "spokesperson" for the front group is employed by a PR firm.  Check the name of the spokesperson against employee rosters of suspect PR firms.

4.  The front group is not a legal entity.  Check with the state entity responsible for corporate registration.  PR firms cannot create legal entities for front groups because that leaves a money trail. 

Back to the Playbook - here are the next steps once the group is created and has a "membership":

7.  The PR firm writes Letters to the Editor and op-ed pieces and places them in local newspapers, using a member's name as the author.  The member doesn't have to do a thing except allow their name to be used!  The letter or editorial conveys a message that the corporation cannot without appearing self-serving.

8.  To make this work, the PR firm must have connections/relationships with editors, publishers and newspaper staff. 

9.  Because the PR firm has connections, they can also influence tone and content of articles.

This part didn't work for PATH because their main PR firm, Charles Ryan Associates, didn't have the connections to pull it off.  The PATH battle for the public's ear took place in the local news sources for communities affected by the project.  Even CRA's sub-contractors didn't have the right connections because they were based in Charleston, Annapolis and Richmond, far removed from the majority of the opposition and area of concern.

However, the Playbook tactics do work when applied correctly.  This is because credible news sources are declining while corporate spending on PR spin initiatives is rising dramatically.  It is hard for the public to decipher truth from spin.  Objective news is fact based and essential to democracy.  PR spin is advocacy based and is the enemy of democracy.  But, because newspaper advertising revenue is declining, staff and salaries have decreased.  Investigative reporting is all but dead due to the amount of time it requires.  Instead of independent, original and credible reporting, the "news" is increasingly dependent on PR spinners and corporate press releases.  It requires almost no time to create "news" using these sources and it's often used without fact checking.  The PR firms have learned how to manipulate the media.  As long as corporate profits created by multi-million dollar PR spin campaigns continue to rise, and traditional news sources are squeezed for funding, the threat to democracy remains.  Support your local newspaper!

One last item in the Playbook worth mentioning here:

8.  To reinforce the corporate point-of-view, conduct a bogus "survey".  Slice and dice the data so you can lie with statistics.  You can also use junk science "studies".  Utilize paid "experts" to lend your coalition or spin initiative authority and credibility.  PATH spent generously on former regulators and influential members of the business community to act as their "expert" shills.

Let's talk about the "seven common propaganda devices" made famous by the ill-fated Institute for Propaganda Analysis:

1.  Glittering generalities - PATH used these to create positive emotions.  The PATH project is "needed" to support your way of life!  Heavy use of euphemisms to disguise negative effects, for example, "we will work with property owners to negotiate prices paid" when "we will take your property by eminent domain if you don't cooperate" was closer to the truth.

2.  Testimonials - PATH utilized the business community in their advertisements to produce these.

3.  Name-calling - NIMBY, need I say more?

4.  Plain folks - PATH ads featured landowners, business people, and power company employees claiming, "we live in your communities."  No, they don't.

5.  Bandwagon - Everyone else supports PATH, and so should you!

6.  Transfer - PATH's paid "experts" from industry and the regulatory community were used to transfer respect for these individuals to something undeserving of respect -- the PATH project!  Transfer also discredits legitimate groups, spreads misinformation, distorts the truth, and instills fear.

7.  Card stacking - PATH held their front group and PEAT "educational forums" only before private, invitation-only audiences so they could emphasize their point-of-view and repress the point-of-view of the opposition.

PATH also used fear (standard of living, blackouts, public health and safety, jobs, economy) to vilify the opposition as "self-centered NIMBYS concerned about their scenic views".

PATH's public relations contractors failed in their mission.   There are many ways in which we countered their spin campaign, but obviously I'm not going to give away all my secrets here.  Email me if you're fighting a transmission project and need to know more.  Throwing money at a public relations contractor who can't perform isn't really "best" after all.

The real grassroots opposition made PATH's "just a statistic" victims come alive with names, faces, and personal stories.  We're just like you!  And until people like us demand corporate responsibility, corporate power will continue to rise until democracy becomes a faded memory... and propaganda wins.

The 20th century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: The growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.
-- Alex Carey, Australian social scientist who pioneered the study of corporate propaganda

 

"Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow." - William G. Pollard (1911 - 1989), American Physicist

Let's examine the "Best Practice" that was singly responsible for the slow, but certain, death of the PATH project over the past three years... shameless, blind arrogance.

It started with their "Open House" public information meetings.  Instead of opening a respectful dialogue with the public, the meetings were designed to frighten, intimidate, divide and conquer affected landowners and concerned citizens.  The meetings also initiated their sometimes amusing and sometimes infuriating practice of what I call "peeing on my leg and telling me it's raining."   Basically, their message to the public was, "We're smarter than you are and can easily deceive you."  The glaring flaw in their plan is the reality that they are NOT smarter than the vast majority of the public, who saw right through their sham.

They continued by bullying and lying to landowners.  Instead of treating them fairly and honestly, it was all about getting them to sign legal agreements that were not in their best interests as quickly as possible and without proper legal advice.  They also utilized intimidation, lies and outright trespassing to complete their "surveys" on private property.  Why was it all about swindling the landowner at every turn?  It's not like they were trying to save themselves money by acquiring land as cheaply as possible -- all costs were being picked up by the ratepayers.  In fact, the more they spent, the bigger their profit.  I can only conclude that the disrespectful way they treated the landowners was derived from sheer arrogance, the "thrill" of getting over on someone they considered less intelligent, and pure spite.  I've heard a lot of stories from frustrated landowners over the past three years, none of them good.

Although there will be more detail about this in an upcoming Best Practices chapter, let's briefly examine their public relations/marketing strategy.  These idiots go around to industry conferences making bragging presentations about past "success".  Instead of "success", the rest of the world only sees the misery of people mistreated and robbed by other projects that the power companies managed to ram through approvals.  Their presentations are accompanied by really stupid, arrogant power points that get uploaded to the internet for anyone to find:  Allegheny Energy's presentation and AEP's presentation.  A quick read of these presentations confirms that these corporations don't give a damn about the people they run over with their projects; it's all about corporate profit and success... and arrogance.

The companies also utilize front groups, shills, very well-paid "spokesmen" who are supposed to lend authority to their project, "donation" bribes, propaganda advertising, and inappropriate lobbying in an attempt to influence public opinion and approvals.  All of the above are financed by the very same ratepayers who they are attempting to deceive with these practices.  PATH would never consider actually earning respect through honest communication, trust and responsible actions.  Why would they when their basic instinct is that of dishonest predator who thinks they can bully and buy their way to corporate riches?

PATH's arrogance was also shared generously with the news media, many of whom developed a secret hatred for the companies because of PATH's heavy-handed, deceptive treatment.  PATH's PR flacks need a refresher course in basic human respect.  Overworked and underpaid reporters don't really give a damn about your corporate schemes, especially when the schemes cause them daily grief.  Almost all reporters are highly intelligent, well read, and see right through your smarmy crap.  And they resent you.  A lot.

PATH's arrogance was also readily apparent in their quarterly earnings calls, where they put on another face for their investors and lied to them.  Not only has the opposition seen this, but now PATH's investors see it as well.

PATH failed to realize that all their lies were easily debunked by public information that was just sitting around waiting to be discovered.  Their arrogance told them that the "stupid" opposition would never question them, let alone become educated and conquer complex concepts.  PATH also hid behind PJM's skirts, using PJM as an "authority".  However, PJM has also been outed as a biased, industry cartel and is now being scrutinized by FERC.

Here are three specific examples of PATH's arrogant actions coming back to bite them:

1.  The federal EIS meetings -- PATH's arrogant treatment of the whole EIS process and the citizen stakeholders these meetings were designed to solicit input from really opened the eyes of the NPS & NFS officials.  These federal employees do their jobs with honesty and integrity and do not subscribe to PATH's corporate agenda of deceiving, denigrating and intimidating the public.  PATH screwed up here.

2.  Frederick County, Maryland -- PATH's arrogant trivializing of Frederick County's government and democratic processes paved the road to complete and utter failure to site their substation, and a hefty helping of public embarrassment.  But yet they still arrogantly persist in trying to neutralize local government authority.  PATH really screwed up here.

3.  FERC -- PATH's (and more specifically Randy Palmer's) arrogance gave them the deluded notion that FERC processes were too complicated for the opposition and resulted in the Formal Challenge to PATH's 2010 Formula Rate Annual Update.  This has had and will continue to have a significant negative effect on their silly, little project because it effectively exposed their dirty secrets and dishonesty.  It also opened the door to all things FERC.  It's really not that complicated.  If PATH had been following the rules honestly instead of treating recovery from ratepayers like a gravy train, none of this would have happened.  PATH really, really screwed up here.

And one last glaring example... hiring arrogant lawyers like Phil Melick.  His gleeful haranguing of PATH's citizen intervenors in WV has reflected very poorly on the PATH project.  This guy seems to have some serious mental issues and is not a good "public face" for a company attempting to be granted the power of eminent domain.

PATH's arrogance has also been telling them way too many West Virginia jokes. PATH needs to admit to themselves that those jokes just aren't true.  The citizens of West Virginia came out strong and easily showed PATH to be the true ignorant fool.  They may think we talk funny and some of us may lack a college degree, but West Virginians have proven over and over again that they possess some things that PATH is sorely lacking:  common sense, honesty, an innate intelligence, basic human decency and the will to fight for what's right.  I guess the joke is on PATH after all.

It really didn't have to end with the general public's utter disgust for American Electric Power and FirstEnergy.  The world is not your oyster.  Arrogance is never "best" when trying to win trust and approval from others.

When you're attempting to foist a 275-mile, high voltage transmission line onto the populations of three states, you'd want to hire the best public relations firm the ratepayers' money can buy.  However, PATH hired Charles Ryan Associates instead.

Peeing on an informed public's leg and telling them it's raining is an insurmountable task for any public relations firm.  But with Charles Ryan Assoc. at the wheel, the past three years have been a series of blunders and dumb ideas that has ended with a failed project.  Not only has PATH failed to gain acceptance, it's actually ruined the reputations of its parent companies.  Due to CRA's continual screw-ups and vapid ad campaigns that couldn't convince a 5-year old that PATH is beneficial, the PATH opposition's basic PR strategy worked like a charm.  We simply told people the truth. 

The only thing CRA is good at selling is themselves to their clients.  Unfortunately, their foolish client in this case was funded by millions of ratepayers in 13 states who will be paying higher electric bills for years to finance the PATH PR fiasco.

CRA was dubbed "The Clown College" by the PATH opposition because making a mockery of their continual gaffes has been funnier than 52 clowns pouring out of a garishly decorated VW Beetle.

Let's take a look at some of their stellar moments in the life of PATH:

1.  The "Green-shirted Goons" Open Houses - These CRA-engineered capital expenditures (on which we'll be paying 14.3% ROE for years until they depreciate) set the PATH project off on the wrong foot with the public.  CRA staffed these PR disasters with a bunch of young kids from a temp agency who were still wet behind the ears and couldn't answer any questions that weren't on the script they were handed for preparation.  Their subsequent directing of any hard questions to arrogant PATH employees with no social skills, or even more arrogant hired "doctors" from Exponent, spelled F-A-I-L-U-R-E from the word "go".  Guess what?  It was a green-shirted goon at one of these open houses who privately first suggested to me that citizen opposition could vanquish the project and gave me the generalized strategy I've been following for nearly three years.  He thought PATH was a bunch of crap and obviously wasn't comfortable lying to people.  These open houses provided the opposition with the perfect venue to meet and gather like-minded individuals for their campaign.  It's just too bad that PATH's attempt to have me hauled off by the cops at one of them back in 2008 failed miserably.  How many hard-working police officers' back yards had PATH routed its line through?  Answer:  one too many!  CRA's strategy to overwhelm, divide and conquer frightened landowners was successfully countered by a small handful of sympathetic, knowledgeable, confident opponents hanging around the exit (even when PATH made the hotel take our table away in Frederick).  The open houses also provided us with our first meetings of other local opposition group leaders, and our coalition began to grow.  The open house technique reached a pinnacle at the Mt. Airy Charlie Foxtrot in 2010.  Good job, CRA!

2.  The astroturf front groups - Giving management control of PATH's "reliable power coalition" front groups in all three states, including management of their websites, to CRA's inept Clown College was a costly mistake.  CRA's lack of internet knowledge and web design skill blew up in PATH's face last year when a quick investigation of domain ownership revealed CRA had publicly registered all the domain names and/or left enough information public to connect them all to CRA.  Real "grassroots" coalitions are not owned/managed by expensive PR firms!  CRA also didn't bother to create the actual legal entities to back up these "coalitions", enabling the opposition to legally claim and control them at will.  One of my favorite "mistakes" was the claim that "Marylanders for Reliable Power is 501(c)3 corporation."  Not only weren't they an IRS-registered 501(c)3 non-profit, they weren't even a corporation!  That was a purposeful, illegal falsification that opened PATH up to a host of legal liabilities.  When the front group farce was exposed, CRA took a hit with a huge layoff.  But, PATH still continued pouring ratepayer money down the CRA rathole.

3.  PEAT - The "PATH Education Awareness Team" got off on the wrong foot when their debut media campaign got panned by a bunch of reporters who didn't buy the bullsh*t.  Not only were their "spokesmen" asked if they were paid and by whom, one of them actually gave it all away and made himself look like a greedy fool by admitting that CRA was paying him to "get out the real facts about PATH."  CRA's "media event helicopter tours" that immediately preceded PEAT's debut and the public's reaction to them soured the media on being dupes for anymore of CRA's stupid PR games.  One poor, scared reporter was afraid to leave the office after work and the newspaper took a huge credibility hit for falling for that one.  It was a disaster for them, but fortunately the reporter recovered and is still among my friends.  I only wish that CRA had come up with this concept during TrAIL so we could have been treated to a TEAT that actually sucked on us (or more precisely, on our wallets)!

4.  "Pinky" Sutton - I don't know how much they were paying this clown-kid to "observe" the opposition at public events and come up with an appropriate "strategy" to defuse them but, in retrospect, it wasn't money well-spent.  We're still here and Pinky has "strategized" himself out of a job.  Not only did Pinky tell an opponent who he worked for, but Randy Palmer compounded the problem by arrogantly informing the same opponent that the ratepayers were picking up Pinky's tab through PATH's Formula Rate.  That's just one of many intimidation attempts by Randy that backfired right in his face!  The last time I saw Pinky (purposefully NOT wearing pink for a change, but a suit that looked like it came out of Goodwill's dumpster) he was bloviating about "the opposition" to an eager crowd of power company sycophants at the Purcellville Public Hearing.  I thought I was going to lose it in guffaws of rude laughter as I walked by!  :-)  I wonder if CRA and Pinky also sold PATH a weekend get-away Snipe Hunt package?

5.  Charles Ryan has a secret!  Not really, because it's no secret that CRA sucks at web design.  CRA proved that it's not PATH's best interests they have in mind, but covering up their own ineptitude.  The "secret" campaign caused opposition website traffic to skyrocket; and fans, both old and new, were glued to their computers waiting to find out Charles Ryan's secret.  That was one of our best tools ever to raise public awareness.  CRA's incompetence coupled with our creativity was pure gold! It also provided Bill, Shelly and I with days of fun & laughter watching it unfold.  CRA still has another "secret" related to their poor web design skills that we're just not ready to hand over quite yet.  However, if I was PATH, I wouldn't pay for that last internet advertising campaign with the website videos that CRA did in 2011.  It was completely worthless and not one representative of the targeted audience watched any of the videos.  PATH got ripped off, big time!

Thank you, CRA Clown College, for all you did to assist the opposition's PR counter-campaign!  We're going to miss you, especially if PATH hires a competent PR company when they rise from the dead next year.

Being webmaster of a PATH opposition website is a lot of work, but it has it's moments.  In addition to a host of other activities, the webmaster has to keep everything updated (not easy when PATH is continually asking for tolls and trying to change the game).  The webmaster is also tasked with providing news about activities and events.  Sometimes, it's like walking a tightrope.  Just enough information for the public, and not too much, because you know "they" are snooping.  For some strange reason, PATH thinks they're going to come across some huge, juicy secret if they scour our websites.  Never going to happen.  I've been working on the internet for a long, long time, and I realize everything on here is public.  That's how it should be.  PATH can and does visit whenever it likes, just like the opposition. 

PATH "Best Practice" #3 is their hired surveillance of the opposition.  This is best exemplified by their little cyber-pet, Cyveillance.  Cyveillance provides its client with "intelligence" scoured from the internet all neatly wrapped up in daily reports.  Cyveillance accomplishes this by sending robots to suck down entire websites.  These guys don't come cheap.  However, they are quite easily thwarted by the webmaster.  Why would PATH need to waste the ratepayers' money on a cyber-surveillance company when opposition websites are open access?  We have nothing to hide.  We aren't doing anything illegal.  PATH is simply afraid of us and the damage we can cause to their ridicufarce by telling the truth.

I have gotten to know some of my fellow PATH opposition webmasters very well.  Imagine our cynicism when comparing notes and finding that we were all being hit by the same Cyveillance bot that would suck up page after page in mere seconds.  Who would want to do that to multiple, unrelated websites whose only common thread was opposition to the PATH project?  PATH, of course!  Randy Palmer denied that they had anything to do with Cyveillance, and if you believe that, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.  It will all come out in the wash on June 1st, won't it?

Being a webmaster also has its fun moments.  A blog is your own personal bully pulpit and it was a fun afternoon when I conspired with another webmaster and TPL and StopPATH posted these blog entries within minutes of each other.  Whoopsy, PATH, your paid spy has been outed!

PATH has an unlimited supply of money subsequently recovered from ratepayers and the resources and power of two huge corporations behind it.  The citizens have mere truth and determination on their side.  But yet they fear ordinary citizens so much that they feel the need to hire people to spy on us.

A company asking for public utility status and the state-granted power of eminent domain should be a little more circumspect than to pay a third party to perform surveillance and intelligence gathering on their citizen opponents, the same people they will be exercising their "power" over.  There's always a money trail and reams of evidence left behind.  This "Best Practice" could get PATH into a little bit of trouble.  So maybe it's not "Best" after all.


 

Since taking photos of opposition vehicles is a part of PATH's "Best Practice" #1, that leads us directly to "Best Practice #2" -- The "Company Policy" on photographs at public meetings.

It's okay for PATH to take photos of the opposition at public meetings for the express purpose of having a "trophy" and to be used as some sort of funny joke where these arrogant fools ridicule the opposition.  However, what happens when the opposition turns the tables on PATH and begins collecting photos of THEM at public meetings and using the photos to give the opposition a chance to heap on the ridicule?  PATH doesn't like it very much!  So, what do they do about it?  They develop a "Company Policy" on the spot at a public meeting that prohibits photography.  Riiiiiiiiight....

At the Charlie Foxtrot "public information meeting" in Frederick last fall, they developed their "policy" during the meeting because Pinky, from Charles Ryan Assoc., didn't want his picture taken while he was goofing off playing games on his iPhone.  Pinky went running to Randy Palmer and, after a group crying session that would make Dr. Phil proud, a "Company Policy" was developed.  Poor ol' Puddin' drew the short straw and got tasked with notifying us of the "policy".  Just because I'm not tall enough to see over the heads of others across a crowded room and I was busy talking with someone else doesn't mean I don't know how the "policy" was developed.  Someone tall enough to see over the crowd was watching it transpire.

Since when is the opposition under any obligation to observe PATH-dictated "Company Policy"?  We don't work for you -- your gun is loaded with blanks!  And it's not like we were sneaking through your backyards and peeking through your windows taking photographs (no, PATH, that's not a suggestion for a new "best practice").  You all were appearing as representatives of PATH at public meetings/hearings/functions.  We can take all the photos we wish!  And we did.

While PATH's interactions with the citizens were on behalf of a corporation, the citizens' interactions with PATH were entirely personal.  Not quite a level playing field, was it?

Next time, don't start a battle that you don't want to fight.  Lesson learned?

Let's take a look at some of the power company "Best Practices" that PATH has used on their opposition over the past 2 1/2 years.  "Best practices" is a business buzzword used to designate a technique, method, process, activity, incentive, or reward which is regarded as more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc. when applied to a particular condition or circumstance. The idea is that with proper processes, checks, and testing, a desired outcome can be delivered with fewer problems and unforeseen complications. Best practices can also be defined as the most efficient (least amount of effort) and effective (best results) way of accomplishing a task, based on repeatable procedures that have proven themselves over time for large numbers of people.

The first "best practice" we're going to examine in this series is The Trophy Case.  This particular "best practice" belongs to Allegheny Energy, although for all I know AEP does it too, they're just better at not getting caught.  It became quite evident to me over time that Allegheny was the PATH partner that got dropped on its collective head a time or two too many, resulting in a distinctively diminished mental capacity (okay, these guys are just DUMB!)

The existence of a "trophy case" was revealed by PATH/
Allegheny Energy Assistant General Counsel Randy Palmer at the Harpers Ferry federal EIS meeting in July of 2010.  After he made some snide remark about one opponent's StopPATH t-shirt, we decided he must be jealous because he didn't have a great group of friends with their own special t-shirts like we have.  We decided to heal his bruised "fee-fees" by giving him a t-shirt of his own so he could pretend to be a part of our cool club.  He told the people who presented it to him that he "collects this stuff" and had a trophy case for it.  Whether it's a personal trophy case or a corporate trophy case, I don't know, but that's just sick, dude!  Trophies are things that serial killers collect!  The serial killer often takes something known as a trophy or souvenir, of no obvious value except to him in his fantasy world. The item is known as a trophy if it is seen as a symbol of achievement and a souvenir if it is to remind the killer of the crime.  Randy also made off with one of our StopPATH hand fans at the meeting and although I told him he could have one of our "Oh no, we won't glow!" bracelets, I don't think he had the nerve to go ask the people minding the information table for one.

So, it's an Allegheny Energy "best practice" to collect trophies from the citizens they victimize so they can gloat, laugh, feel good about themselves, pave the road to hell, or whatever it is they do with their booty after they get their project built.  Wow!  That's one of the dumbest "best practices" I've ever encountered!

The next instance of trophy collection by an Allegheny Energy employee occurred two nights later at the Frederick EIS meeting crime scene.  Senior Attorney Jeff Trout collected a photograph of a protest sign taped in the back window of an opponent's vehicle.  Trout needs to work on his technique -- he walked right past me and did his collecting in plain sight and in broad daylight.  Duh, Jeff, sloppiness is how serial killers get caught!  Although he didn't mention that the photograph was for a trophy case (I think he was probably concentrating on not wetting his pants instead, after being confronted about his actions), I can't imagine what else he could have been planning to do with it.

"Best Practices", Allegheny Energy style!  These guys have so much to teach their new co-workers at FirstEnergy!

Jeff's little photography spree kicked off a bit of "what's good for the goose is good for the gander" that resulted in "Best Practice" #2 - The Company Policy on photographs at meetings.  Up next -- stay tuned!