Yeah, alcohol in gasoline is such a bad idea. Besides being hygroscopic It diminishes the power and reduces gas mileage.
As for pizzaguy's message on sta-bil and the like, it is my understanding that alcohol in the fuel de-activates it and here's why:

Fuel preservative additives such as sta-bil "float" on the surface of the fuel. Effectively sealing the surface and preventing the evaporation of the contained aerosols. Aerosols are the explosive components of gasoline. 30 percent of gasoline is additives from the supplier. Once the aerosols are gone you are left with something that smells and eventually looks like varnish; the solidified additives.. In effect, alcohol breaks down the floating substance designed to prevent evaporation and exposes the aerosols to the atmosphere within the container.
Please correct me where I am wrong on this..