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Politics : The Solyndra Scandal -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greatplains_guy who wrote (331)	12/28/2011 10:14:14 AM
From: joseffy	1 Recommendation Respond to of 1400

Obama's cronies get rich as the Soros/Obama administration hands them TAXPAYER'S MONEY.

To: greatplains_guy who wrote (331)	1/4/2012 12:29:44 PM
From: joseffy	2 Recommendations Respond to of 1400

Chevy Volt Gets "Worst Product" Award by Mark Modica 01/03/2012 http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-worst-product-flops-of-2011.html General Motors' much-hyped Chevy Volt has yet another distinction to add to its long list of commendations. We had all heard repeatedly about Motor Trends' Car of the Year award, Consumer Reports' recommendation and Jay Leno's love affair with the car, but the Volt now gets a less publicized, more deserved distinction from Yahoo Finance's 24/7 Wall Street site. The Volt has made the list of "The Worst Product Flops of 2011" and apologists for the vehicle are sure to, once again, attack the credibility of those issuing the opinion. The Obama Administrations' favorite car has had a rough time of late with sales goals not being met, exploding cars at NHTSA and media exposure of the high cost to taxpayers regarding Chevy Volt subsidies and federal funding of township purchases. Considering all the money spent by GM to hype the vehicle, the Worst Flop award is well-deserved. The piece made mention of the GM deception that Volt supply could not keep up with demand ( something I disproved months ago) stating, "GM spokeswoman Michelle Bunker was quoted as saying that the Volt was "virtually sold out" due to its popularity - a statement later shown to be misguided." Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, was pulled into the Volt fray when asked his opinion on the vehicle. Romney responded that the Volt was "An idea whose time has not come." This mild criticism, as well as an analyst's report that the Volt has cost taxpayers $250,000 per vehicle, did not go unanswered by supporters of GM. The vitriolic response gives insight to the mindset of those that support all that GM does, regardless of evidence that vehicles like the Volt are costing taxpayers billions of dollars while offering little benefits in return. UAW Local 22 President, George McGregor, responded to Romney's suggestion that the Volt was not quite ready for prime time. MLive.com quotes McGregor as saying, "It's not an idea that is ahead of its time, it's behind its time. It should have been here (years ago) so we wouldn't be dependent on foreign oil." Democratic Michigan Congressman, Hansen Clarke, chimed in, "We want to promote innovation like the Chevy Volt," he added, "We want to promote manufacturing and innovation. We don't want to look at ways to criticize it and stifle it." I wonder if Rep. Clarke knows about GM's plans to move Volt technology to China. Another telling quote on the philosophy of those like Clarke who feel our government (i.e., the taxpayer) needs to be heavily involved in the private sector came when he stated, "Throughout history, the government has been behind the innovation of great products and technology. Government support is key." Once again, defenders of the Chevy Volt and EV subsidies in general, do not give specifics as to what the vehicles are doing to benefit America. How will a tiny percentage of cars like the Volt, which go about 30 miles on an electric charge before getting approximately 30 miles per gallon of fuel, significantly lessen foreign oil dependence? More importantly, are the negligible benefits worth billions of taxpayer dollars? The lack of a credible defense with specifics leads supporters of Government Motors to resort to the type of ugly attacks that are often seen from those that can not substantiate their argument. GMInsideNews.com gives the best examples of how GM defenders make their case. From the site's forum come these comments: Regarding the report that the Volt costs taxpayers $250,000 per vehicle, "A moron with a calculator and bias is still a moron." And, "Assume for a moment that this bogus figure is actually correct. With each sale, the cost drops, so even if it were true when this ass-clown did his study, it's certainly lower now, as more Volts have been sold." Slightly more civil, "James Hohman, Anne Coulter, Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh - a rose by any other name. Man, people will say anything to make President Obama's administration look bad." I made the list at GMInsideNews as well as one fan stated, "Mark Modica is an uneducated, manipulative, lying moron." The ugly politics continues at General Motors. The Chevy Volt continues to costs taxpayers huge amounts of money while offering little in return. Cronies that are politically connected at companies like Fisker, Tesla and GE benefit as well as wealthy purchasers of the vehicles who receive $7,500 supplied by taxpayers who are average Americans that can not afford the car, much less the subsidies. All the while supporters of the vehicle imply that the Volt is benefiting society in some great way (with no substantiation) and is worth the billions of dollars purloined from taxpayers. And if you don't like it, prepare to be attacked. http://nlpc.org/stories/2011/12/29/chevy-volt-gets-another-award-gm-supporters-attack

To: greatplains_guy who wrote (331)	1/13/2012 11:32:27 AM
From: joseffy	1 Recommendation Respond to of 1400

The Solar thing just got a little more interesting.......REALLY! The Tonopah Solar company in Harry Reid's Nevada is getting a $737 million loan from Obama's Dept Of Energy. The project will produce a 110 megawatt power system and employ 45 permanent workers. That's costing -US- just $16 million per job. One of the investment partners in this endeavor is Pacific Corporate Group (PCG). So The PCG executive director is Ron Pelosi, who is the brother to Nancy 's husband. Just move along folks.....nuthin goin on here........... Message 27879054 To: Honey_bee who wrote ( 64163)1/13/2012 11:07:27 AM From: Oblivious of 64166

To: greatplains_guy who wrote (331)	1/14/2012 6:47:10 PM
From: joseffy	1 Recommendation Respond to of 1400

WHITE HOUSE DENIES DELAYING DISCLOSURE OF VOLT FIRE NHTSA: White House had no role in Volt fire disclosures By David Shepardson Detroit News Washington Bureau January 13, 2012 detroitnews.com The White House had no role in the decision to delay disclosure of a firethat broke out ina crash-tested Chevrolet Volt, the Obama administration told Congress on Friday. National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator David Strickland said the White House had been informed in September of the June fire, but didn't ask the agency to keep the information secret. NHTSA briefed Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Strickland told three House Republicans in letters released Friday. TheTransportation Department "shortly thereafter informed the Executive Office of the Presidentregarding the June fire and NHTSA's test plans to determine if the fire indicated that there is arisk of post-crash fires in Chevrolet Volts. No one from theExecutive Office ofthe President requested orin any way suggested that NHTSA delaypublic release of information related to the Volt fire," said thefour-page letter dated Thursday. NHTSA didn't publicly disclose the fire took place until November, when Bloomberg News first reported it had occurred. It opened a formal defect investigation later that month when a second Volt battery pack caught fire seven days following another government test. General Motors Co., which received a $49.5 billion government bailout, is still 26 percent owned by the Treasury Department. The Obama administration has heavily touted EVs and the Volt. President Barack Obama even drove a Volt 10 feet in July 2010 on a trip to see it assembled at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant. Last month, three House Republicans asked GM and the Obama administration to answer detailed questions about why they didn't disclose a fire in a crash-tested extended-range electric Chevrolet Volt for several months — and whether the White House asked to delay the release. A House panel plans a hearing on the Volt later this month. "We are deeply troubled by the fact that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has deliberately suppressed public knowledge of the safety risk posed by the Chevrolet Volt," said the letter from Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Mike Kelly, R-Pa., to Strickland. A spokesman for Issa declined to comment Friday. NHTSA said it rarely opens an investigation after just one incident. "Because the Volt incident involved a potential risk in newly emerging technology, NHTSA proceeded to open this investigation based only upon the results of limited test data and without waiting for data from real-world incidents," Strickland's letter said. Earlier this month, GM unveiled a comprehensive fix to its extended-range Chevrolet Volt to address post-crash fire risks. The fix upgrades the battery containment and coolant systems. The Detroit automaker will strengthen an existing portion of the Volt's vehicle safety structure to further protect the battery pack in a severe side collision, adding a new steel structure to guard against severe side crashes. GM will also add a sensor in the reservoir of the battery coolant system to monitor coolant levels and a new a tamper-resistant bracket to the top of the battery coolant reservoir to help prevent potential coolant overfill. "NHTSA is now wrapping up its defect investigation of the Volt," Strickland said. GM's remedy "appears to eliminate the risk of fire from real-world crashes," Strickland added. On Dec. 22, NHTSA ran a new crash test on a Volt with the safety upgrades, and there was no fire or battery pack intrusion. NHTSA will monitor that Volt for one more week. GM announced a customer satisfaction campaign, but didn't announce a formal recall to fix the vehicles. NHTSA plans to issue a formal report on its investigation into the Volt battery pack fire investigation in the coming weeks. NHTSA allows automakers to stop short of recalls in some instances, if they take other steps. The fix applies to the 12,400 Volts GM has already built. GM halted production of the Volt in late December and hasn't yet restarted production. But dealers — which won't get parts to fix Volts on the road until "theFebruary timeframe"— are free to sell Volts to customers before they get the upgrades, GM said. GM had its best ever sales month for the Volt in December, selling 1,529, including nearly 1,000 to retail customers. But it fell short of its 2011 goal of 10,000 sales, selling 7,671 for the year. GM officials said based on its investigation, it is extremely unlikely that the fire could have been replicated in a real-world incident. The automaker's investigation found that the fire sparked three weeks after a government crash test in June was result of a minor penetration from a portion of the vehicle into a side section of the battery pack. That resulted in a small coolant leak inside the battery, approximately one-quarter cup of fluid. As part of the government's test procedure, the vehicle was put through a "slow roll," where it's rotated at 90-degree increments, holding in each position for about five minutes. During the "slow roll," an additional quart of coolant leaked. While upside-down, the coolant came in contact with the printed circuit board electronics at the top of the battery pack. NHTSA denied that the government's push for higher fuel economy standards was related to the Volt safety investigation. "We do not require manufacturers to do anything that has a negative effect on safety," Strickland wrote. Strickland said NHTSA was reviewing the requests for documents, but said it will take some time for NHTSA to complete its review."

To: greatplains_guy who wrote (331)	1/23/2012 9:56:22 PM
From: joseffy	Respond to of 1400

10 Wasteful Stimulus Projects usnews.com Anyone who still thinks the Obama stimulus was a good idea and helped the U.S. economy up off its back would do well to take a look at a new report--titled "Summertime Blues"--documenting just how wasteful and mismanaged it is. Prepared by Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and John McCain of Arizona, the report highlights 100 projects funded through the economic stimulus package that run counter to its stated purpose as investments in "long-term priorities to create and sustain economic growth." Here are ten such projects.

To: greatplains_guy who wrote (331)	1/26/2012 8:25:46 PM
From: joseffy	Respond to of 1400

Hundreds of employees laid off at solar power manufacturing plant By Rikki Cheese Jan. 25, 2012 ktnv.com North Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- Hundreds of people have been laid off by a local company that was supposed to create new jobs in the Valley. Amonix officially opened in North Las Vegas in May of 2011. 200 of it's 300 employees got pink slips this week. The company makes solar panels and was expected to create new jobs and nearly $600 million in economic development. Eric Culberson, the director of Global Manufacturing Operations tells Action News the layoffs are temporary while the plant is re-tooled to produce new products. "We're anticipating the second half of this year we will start ramping the production of the 8700 system," Culberson said. However, there is no guarantee those workers who were laid off will get their jobs back.