With only 48 hours remaining in which it could hand out poorly-researched business loans, the Department of Energy just gave out another $1 billion in taxpayer money to two solar energy companies.
But there's good reason to believe that this won't be another Solyndra-style debacle. After all, SolarReserve, the company which received most of the money, is associated with one of the members of Solyndra's board of directors...so surely he must have learned something useful from the total collapse of that company, right?
And since there just wasn't time to run a comprehensive (or comprehensible) financial check on SolarReserve before handing over $737,000,000, it's very reassuring to know that its "investment partner" has Nancy Pelosi's brother-in-law in the number two spot.
And the fact that all of this money is being spent in Harry Reid's home state? Pure coincidence! But again, it's comforting to know that the senator (famous for making sure that the federally-funded Cowboy Poetry Festival is efficiently and cost-effectively managed) will be keeping his bitter, hawk-like gaze on how the public's money is being spent.
Of course, all of this looks a lot like Washington's typical game of "crony capitalism" smoke and mirrors...and in this case, that's exactly what it is.
After all, SolarReserve's big idea is to collect solar energy using lots and lots of expensive mirrors.
As for the smoke...we got a lot of it from the Obama administration when the half-billion given to Solyndra disappeared. So imagine how much there will be when this billion goes up in smoke, too.
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20 comments:
There has always been corruption in politics, but has it ever been this widespread? It used to be more surreptitious and not so open. We knew it was there but we believed it could be reined-in and limited in scope. It's almost as if it's a source of pride now. Of course it is entirely party-dependent. Major Democrat corruption: It's all good. Any Republican corruption: Sign of the Apocalypse. Wonder why I hate the effing MSM?
What gets me more than the "widespread" nature of corruption in this particular era is the "blatantly obvious" nature of it. This administration, in particular, but the past 8 or so years are like a Dukes of Hazard episode, only without anything like the Dukes trying to redirect the efforts of Boss Hog and his minions. I mean, where is the outrage? Where is the effort to bring these people to any form of accounting for their actions, let alone justice?
Yeah, I see your point, Hoosier Daddy, above regarding the MSM, but our society in general seems content to look on it and play the victim without taking any action - a yell in a blog or an editorial in a paper, but no investigation at the Congressional level; no effort by any other branch to contain the questionable actions or obvious overreach of another branch. A bunch of sheep and useful idiots - and that's how the MSM gets away with their bias, and how these people get away with robbing the treasury blind.
Now, back to my grazing and baaaaaaing...
(@Stilton: Second day this has happened- when posting from IE, hit preview, and the entire form resets. Trying this one in Chrome. Betting, since Google owns blogspot, there's a "little friendly" sabotage going on...)
(By the way - like this administration: I hated that show. If my little brother wasn't addicted to it, I'd never have caught anything beyond the premiere episode. Also, Chrome worked. Go figure...)
@Angry Hoosier Dad- The big difference between the parties is that when there's corruption amongst the Democrats, they were well intended and so should be forgiven. At least, that's the narrative.
@Emmentaler- It was only a few weeks ago that Obama was out there saying that America couldn't pay its bills (like Social Security checks) unless an emergency loan from China was allowed by raising the debt ceiling. Why? Because there wasn't any money in Washington. So why didn't the media ask where the heck all the money went?! What's IN our "lockboxes" if it can't be used to pay bills? Who are we fooling with IOUs that we use to pay for other IOUs while all the real cash is wasted or given to political cronies?
But the story never grew legs. Another loan was allowed and the news cycle moved on.
At least "Dukes of Hazard" introduced us to Daisy Duke shorts.
Yeah, but have you seen Barbara Bach lately?
Aged well, she has not.
And not "just" the Dukes - remember Love Boat? Fantasy Island? TV, like much of 70s pop culture was vapid pap.
Then again, consider now - Surviving Dancing w/ America's Talented Idol... yeetch
What ever happened to GOOD tv, with, like PLOT, and Character, and stuff? Babylon 5, Firefly - stuff worth watching fer cry-yi...
As for the solar company, it only makes sense to put it in a sunny place. Still not gonna make watts at night, tho. So while any output can be used to supplement current plants (coal, nuke, hydro) we still need a 'conventional' platform able to support full base load in mornings and evenings...
"crony capitalism" - no, crony socialism
Re: the lack of exposure and outrage, particularly in the MSM. This was the topic of a discussion thread elsewhere. One of the points made was that this type of behavior undoubtedly occurred in the past, regardless of party affiliation, but was easier to sweep under the rug in the pre-Internet days. At least now there is some exposure, and some outrage.
It may be at present confined to a self-selecting network, like readers of this blog, but the numbers are increasing and we are making ourselves heard. When is the last time a true grass-roots movement like the Tea Party actually had a measurable impact on politics at the national level?
For those of you old enough to remember, keep in mind the old Frank Sinatra song about "High Hopes."
Pete:
It was Catherine Bach who portrayed Daisy Duke. She's still attractive, but probably can't fit into those shorts anymore.
Yabbut...Bush was worse because...ummm...Halliburton!
@Brewski, ya beat me to it.
And how is it that NONE of the scandals coming out of this administration are getting any legs at all in the media. Nothing. Zip. Nada. I'm telling you, the duplicity gets my blood pressure up. A conservative would have been dragged over the coals, tarred and feathered, and run out of town on a rail by now!
They are now beginning to accept that 2012 is going to be a disaster for most of them, so there's little left to lose. Expect more of this monkey business for the next 12 months as they rake in what spoils they can before getting ejected.
The fun part is that we get to sit and collect indisputable examples of the follies of crony capitalism and big government.
Surely there must be more than this coming Pelosi's way..after all, as I understand what I've read, as Speaker of the House, it would have to have been Pelosi's office that made sure the proper, one, state got the proper, one, different version of the eligibility document that left out the certification that "The It" met the eligibility requirements to become, as he has, the disgrace of the Free World. Surely, that was an aid, or possibly an abet, worthy of notice.
You guys are (obviously) correct. As lousy as I am w/ actor/ess names, you'd think I would have imdb first... >sigh< (Barbara Bach was a Bond girl, who had a brief career in action and gore type movies - "Alligator!" etc and eventually married Ringo Starr!)
@Readers- I have to chuckle that the fact of this administration's corruption and profligate misuse of taxpayer money has become such second-nature to us that the conversation has drifted to the more-interesting topic of Barbara Bach versus Catherine Bach.
On the other hand, now that Barack Obama is using drones to kill Americans who blog, maybe I should be glad that we're into less controversial territory.
Editorial note: Americans or not, I fully support the drone strikes that took out the radical Islamic traitors.
I just watched a documentary last night about Eliot Spitzer. It was called "Client 9". I am puzzled by the fact that Spitzer is a Demo_rat who somehow didn't receive the protection by the MSM from scandals the same as Slick Willie Clinton and Barack Hussein do. Were they simply confused by the fact that Spitzer resigned as soon as the story came out? Barack Hussein gets cover for anything; why not Spitzer? What's the deal?
Better move to your "undisclosed location" @Stilton. As you well know, anyone who supports Tea Party values is now regarded as a "terrorist" by this administration.
@JustaJeepGuy- Spitzer wasn't protected by the MSM because they wanted him out of office as quickly as possible... so they could give him his own show. Someone so hate-filled, untruthful, and self-aggrandizing shouldn't be wasted on politics.
@John the Econ- You mean it wasn't Domino's Pizza that called last night asking if I'd ordered a "Bunker Buster?"
Stilt - not much of a discussion, I put bad info out, got called on it, copped to it... but yes, interesting to note that vintage TnA trumps current financial perfidy.
Also interesting - in the category of '70's hotties' Love Boat division, the guys (not that *I* thought they were hotties, Jim H is certainly entitles to his own opinion) have all had persistent "entertainment" careers, (one even making it into politics) and the women, Lauren Tewes (Julie) and Jill Whelan (Vikki - capt's daughter) have done NOTHING else - per IMDB (as always, I reserve the right to be wrong)
Not even any bios.. hell, both Dawn Wells and Tina Louise (Maryanne, and Ginger, DUH) fared better - including appearances on BOTH LBoat and FIsland...
As for spattering those DBags in Yemin, I'm glad they're no longer breathing my air. Do I think the protesters (including loon-bag Ron Paul) have a point? Yes. Was the time to speak up 18 mo ago, when he was put on the 'kill on sight list'? YES.
As of now, he's an enemy combatant, targeted for splattage, so stfd and stfu - too little, too late.
That being said, I *do* tend to get a bit nervous when I hear (traffic, I hope) heli's hovering in the hood...
{shudder}
@Pete(Detroit)- It's a sad truth that a lot of actresses disappear when the bloom of youth is gone (of course, it's also true that quite a few of them only got their brief flirtation with stardom because of their looks).
Regarding the "spattering in Yemin," you and I are on the same page (and spoiler alert: this is the topic of tomorrow's cartoon). I do worry just a bit about the precedent of the CIA killing Americans...though I'm certainly not going to shed any tears over the two who were killed in the recent drone attack (quite the contrary, I'm delighted they're gone). But slippery slopes and immoral politicians are a dangerous mix...and I think the topic needs more discussion for the future.
"But slippery slopes and immoral politicians are a dangerous mix."
Aye, Stilt, Eye... (spelling intentional)
Speaking of actresses and youthful good looks...
Watched "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (David Bowie) a bit ago - man, what a whacked up movie THAT was - a significant portion of the opening bit involved a college prof shagging various students - to no ready advancement of plot. Turns out, he wasn't even a major (merely persistent) character. Now, I'm as big a fan of naked nubiles as anyone, but really I *do* prefer my 'gratuitous nudity / sex' scenes to at least pretend to advance the plot...
Or, worst case scenario, not DETRACT from it..
Take the recent "Conan" remake - he liberates a slaver camp, and there are a few 'wagons' of 'slave girls' all fetchingly topless - perfectly appropriate, and VERY watchable.
But this parade of co-eds through the prof's bed to NO point was rather odd...
Just sayin'... Ah, the 70's... and Indy Film...
(no, NOT going to discuss the stupidity of guns and sex play - even firing 'blanks' at close range can easily kill you - ask Brandon Lee)
(Not to mention permanent hearing loss - I mean, wtf people?!??!)
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