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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (122681)	1/26/2012 9:07:06 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	1 Recommendation Respond to of 224757

Battery Maker Ener1 in Chapter 11 Despite US Grant : community organizer has 50% cut ??? Published: Thursday, 26 Jan 2012 \| 8:04 PM ET By: Reuters Ener1, which received a $118.5 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to make lithium-ion and other batteries for electric cars, filed for bankruptcy protection amid heavy competition and after the demise of a large customer. Getty Images The Chapter 11 filing with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan came 4-1/2 months after Solyndra LLC, a solar panel company that obtained $535 million of government loan guarantees, filed for protection from its own creditors. It comes amid persistent criticism of U.S. President Barack Obama from Republican lawmakers about whether his administration is properly assessing "clean energy" companies before authorizing government support. The Energy Department had in 2009 awarded the $118.5 million grant to Ener1's EnerDel unit, as part of a government stimulus package to bolster the U.S. electric car industry. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden hailed the grant in a visit to an Ener1 plant in Indiana exactly one year prior to the bankruptcy filing, on Jan. 26, 2011. EnerDel has used about $55 million of the grant through Sept. 23, a court filing shows. Alex Sorokin, Ener1's interim chief executive, in a court filing said his company faced "intense competition" from other battery makers such as Toyota Motor [TM 74.59 0.37 (+0.5%) ] , as well as Chinese and Korean rivals that have lower manufacturing costs. He also said Ener1 was hurt by the June 2011 bankruptcy of Norway's Think Global, which had been a major customer and whose problems led to a planned Ener1 financial restatement, and slower-than-expected acceptance of electric cars by consumers. Electric cars have also faced increased scrutiny in Washington amid worries that General Motors [GM 24.72 -0.20 (-0.8%) ] Chevrolet Volt might catch fire. A probe completed last week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found no defects in the Volt. 45-DAY BANKRUPTCY SOUGHT Ener1 has $73.9 million of assets and $90.5 million of debts, according to its bankruptcy petition. It filed a "prepackaged" reorganization plan that it said has support from enough creditors, and expects to emerge from Chapter 11 within 45 days. It said the plan would slash long-term debt, provide up to $81 million of new equity financing, and allow it to honor its commitments, which it said include the provision of backup storage systems for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Unsecured creditors would be paid in full, but holders of its 186.9 million shares would receive nothing, Ener1 said. No jobs would be lost because of the filing, it added. Jen Stutsman, an Energy Department spokeswoman, called the bankruptcy "unfortunate," but said the proposed equity infusion "demonstrates that the technology has merit." In the Solyndra case, Republican lawmakers are examining whether political favoritism played a role in the $535 million loan guarantee to that company, which has ties to an Obama fundraiser. Solyndra is selling assets after failing to draw bids to buy the company. Beacon Power, an energy storage company that got a $43 million loan guarantee from the Energy Department, filed for bankruptcy in October. The White House in October appointed former investment banker Herb Allison to review Energy Department loans. Republicans in the House of Representatives pledged on Thursday to continue their own investigation. "One bankruptcy may be a fluke, two could be coincidence, but three is a trend," said Cliff Stearns, a Florida Republican leading that probe. The case is In re: Ener1 Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-10299.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (122681)	1/26/2012 9:08:56 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	1 Recommendation Respond to of 224757

kennytroll skips this post: To: Carolyn who wrote (122590) 1/26/2012 4:28:43 PM From: Ann Corrigan 2 Recommendations of 122689 Obama WH staffers owe over $800,000 in back taxes hotair.com Thx for the video link - will put it to good use.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (122681)	1/26/2012 9:13:31 PM
From: FJB	2 Recommendations Respond to of 224757

Forget about Economic Recovery: Obama Is Toast January 24, 2012 - 10:43 am - by David P. Goldman Posted by Nadine President Obama thinks that the improving economy will win him a second term, the New York Times reports today. Whatever he’s drinking, order me a double. His poll numbers look a little better because the Republicans have spent the past several months in a fratricidal bloodbath. Fortunately, the memory of the American electorate for such antics is short. Once we choose a candidate (and I am happy with Romney, Santorum, or Gingrich) and unite behind him, we will win, unless, of course, we find a way to sabotage ourselves. People are hurting, and badly. The official unemployment rate may have fallen, slightly, but the real unemployment rate — the number of working-age Americans who aren’t working — rose from about 12% before the 2008 crisis, to about 23%, and hasn’t come down. That includes people who have retired early because they can’t find work, spouses who used to earn a second income but have gone back to homemaking because work isn’t available, self-employed people whose businesses have collapsed, young people who live in their parents’ basement because they can’t afford tuition and can’t find work. The chart below, courtesy of the Shadow Government Statistics website, shows (in the blue line labelled “SGS alternative”) the way unemployment feels to Americans: one in four Americans who could be working, isn’t. That’s roughly twice the pre-recession level. Another way to gauge the pain factor is the so-called Civilian Employment-Population Ratio. Prior to the recession, nearly 65 percent of working-age Americans (not in the military or in prison) had jobs. Now it’s down to 58%. The difference is 16 million people who should be working, but aren’t — about the same as the entire working-age population of Australia. The slight increase in employment during the past few months barely tracks the natural increase in population. Roughly one out of eight Americans who presumably want to work, and were working before 2007, can’t find work today. On top of this, the great American nest egg was crushed by the collapse of home prices. The real estate assets of American households have lost a quarter of their value since the crash and show little sign of recovery. More than a fifth of American mortgages are underwater. But no-one has suffered more from Obama’s mishandling of the economy than African-Americans. The unemployment rate for black teenagers doubled during the recession and shows no sign of improvement: It’s hard to imagine that African-Americans, college students, and other constituencies who hailed Obama as a savior in 2008 will provide the same enthusiasm, not to mention turnout, in 2012. Update: Gov. Mitch Daniels made a similar argument in his response to Obama’s State of the Union address: ” The percentage of Americans with a job is at the lowest in decades. One in five men of prime working age, and nearly half of all persons under 30, did not go to work today.”

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (122681)	1/27/2012 9:54:48 AM
From: locogringo	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224757

THANK YOU, Mr Obama (you TOTAL FAILURE) Food Stamps Up 45%; Federal Handouts Up 32%... REAL GDP COLLAPSE: 1.7% FOR YEAR (Now your best apologist will say that the market likes your policies, and then he will hide)

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (122681)	1/27/2012 12:42:32 PM
From: JakeStraw	6 Recommendations Respond to of 224757

Obama’s crony capitalism washingtontimes.com Friends of the president are given billions in government largesse President Obama said in his State of the Union address that one of the American values that must be reclaimed is “an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.” For three years, he and his political allies have been undermining this vision. They see government as a means of rewarding their friends and punishing their enemies. For the Obama circle, rules apply only to other people. Obamacare is a growing burden to American businesses, but not if you have friends in high places. Mr. Obama’s signature and highly unpopular legislative achievement was sold as a measure that would require shared sacrifice but bring lasting benefits to all Americans. Yet as soon as the law was implemented, hundreds of waivers were issued that allowed the recipients to duck under Obamacare requirements. The vast majority of recipients were labor-union chapters, large corporations, financial firms and local governments with strong Democratic connections. One in 5 waivers issued in April 2011 went to upscale nightclubs, bars and hotels in Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco district. In his speech, Mr. Obama made the case for bigger government energy programs, claiming “government support is critical in helping businesses get new energy ideas off the ground.” It certainly helps if you have given money to the Obama campaign. A CBS News investigation found that 80 percent of the $20.5 billion in Energy Department loans for “green” energy went to Mr. Obama’s top donors. The half-billion-dollar government loan guarantee to the bankrupt solar-panel company Solyndra is a model of Obama-style crony capitalism. At the center of this sweetheart deal was oil billionaire and major Obama backer George Kaiser, whose family-foundation investment fund was a major stakeholder in Solyndra. The loan was rushed through despite warning flags that it was a risky investment. When failing Solyndra sought to restructure the loan, investors such as Mr. Kaiser were put ahead of taxpayers for recouping their investments. But unlike this insider, most taxpayers don’t enjoy “intoxicating” two-hour dinners in Las Vegas with Mr. Obama to discuss energy policy. During the 2008 campaign, Mr. Obama promised to “end the abuse of no-bid contracts once and for all.” Don’t tell that to his friends. In May 2011, the pharmaceutical firm Siga Technologies, headed by Obama intimate Ronald Perelman, received a $443 million sole-source, no-bid, no-questions-asked government contract for an unnecessary anti-smallpox pill. Siga previously had been awarded a $3 billion contract after placing former Service Employees International Union boss and frequent White House visitor Andy Stern on its board. Never in modern history has the U.S. government been used so extensively as a vehicle for benefiting political cronies at the expense of the rest of us. In his speech, Mr. Obama said America shouldn’t “settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by.” Given this administration’s rampant favoritism, special treatment and backroom deals, restoring fairness is a major argument against Mr. Obama’s re-election. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Maybe if Obama stop throwing all the taxpayers money down the sewer he could then stop with all the raising taxes BS! Cut the waste! Cut spending!