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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Now that it's clear that the United States has no Commander-in-Chief (owing to the more pressing need for him to serve as Campaign Fundraiser-in-Chief), America's enemies are looking forward to really enjoying the next 14 months.
The Palestinians have already decided that Barack Obama has abandoned Israel, which is why they feel comfortable in making their case to the U.N. that they should be given their own state and, by the way, a wink-wink nudge-nudge on wiping Israel off the map. This despite Obama's wise counsel that the Palestinians should just try wearing the other side's shoes, so that they "know how it feels to be a janitor. Oops...jew."
Meanwhile, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, after visiting the U.N., trashing the United States, and getting no significant pushback from the president (who was attending critical fundraisers), has decided to up the ante a bit by threatening to send warships to our Atlantic coast.
Clearly, this is a threat that Barack Obama does not take lightly...which is why he's moved his increasingly desperate fundraising dinners to the Pacific coast, seeking not only safety, but a little Hollywood mojo to add to his floundering campaign. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be that many celebrities who are eager to cough up the usual $38,500 per plate for leftovers with the president, which is why to guarantee "sellout" crowds (in several senses), access to the president is now available at the Unhappy Meal price of just $250.
Obama blames his declining ability to raise funds on the inconvenient need to occasionally be in Washington, though he's doing his best to avoid any actual decision making, leadership, or defense of our allies or borders until after the 2012 elections.
And until then, well, quit your complainin', grumblin', and cryin'. It's just going to be Iran's navy with (possibly) short-range nuclear missiles floating off the coasts of Washington DC and New York. What's the worst that could happen...?
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Democrat Harry Reid once famously observed that Barack Obama's popularity is partially based on the fact that he is "light-skinned" and "has no Negro dialect unless he wants to have one." A skill which was amply demonstrated when the president recently addressed an awards ceremony for the Black Congressional Caucus, and did everything except whip out a banjo and sing "Mammy."
The Harvard-educated president was suddenly dropping g's at the ends of words, and using the term "y'all," no doubt reflecting his early upbringing in the Deep South...of Indonesia.
And while Barack Obama's condescending style of presentation was troubling, his actual message was flat out racially offensive. According to the president, the reason Black employment numbers are so bad is that Black people are complainin', grumblin', cryin' and lounging around in bedroom slippers rather than putting on their "marching shoes."
And just who should these allegedly whiny layabouts be marching on? Why, the people in Washington "who are fighting us!" Like those obvious racists in the Tea Party who, according to one member of Obama's audience, would like to see Black citizens "hanging on a tree."
Except there's a little problem with the president's tent revival speechifyin'. Specifically, Tea Party favorite Herman Cain (who has twice as many Black parents as Barack Obama) just won the GOP Florida straw poll by a landslide... collecting more votes than runner-ups Perry and Romney combined.
Barack Obama's shuck-and-jive race-baiting not only demeans the Black demographic whose vote he so covets, but also demeans the struggles of the Civil Rights movement and the office of the presidency itself. This being the case, Hope n' Change will be delighted if it turns out to be Herman Cain who eventually throws Obama out of the Whitehouse and slams the door afterward.
And Mr. Cain? Don't forget to change the locks.-
