Voters Should Definitely Blame Barack Obama For The Economy Says…Joe Biden?

“Right now, understandably — totally legitimate — this is a referendum on Obama and Biden and the nature of the state of the economy,” says Vice President Joe Biden. “Even though fifty-some percent of the American people think that the economy tanked because of the last administration, that’s not relevant.”

“What’s relevant is we’re in charge. And right now we are the ones in charge and it’s gotten better, but it hasn’t gotten good enough.”

I think Biden is exactly correct. This issue of this election isn’t what George W. Bush’s policies did and did not do to the economy. Bush isn’t on the ballot. The issue of this election is whether or not the policies Obama/Biden have put in place have worked.

And, of course, they haven’t.

sayanythingblog.com

Obama DOE Warns: We Can’t Let China Dominate Solar Industry… Then Awards $337 Million to Firm That Uses Chinese Company’s Solar Panels

Obama DOE Warns: We Can’t Let China Dominate Solar Industry…
Then Immediately Awards $337 Million to Firm That Uses Chinese Solar Panels


On September 14, 2011, Jonathan Silver, Executive Director Loan Programs Office, U.S. Department of Energy warned the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Committee on Energy and Commerce that we cannot allow China to dominate the solar industry. This came after US company Solyndra went bankrupt despite blowing $537 million in US stimulus cash.

That’s odd?
If the Department of Energy was so worried about China’s domination of the international solar industry then why did they award Chinese firm Suntech with a major US contract back in February.
The New York Times reported, via Free Republic:

Suntech, the Chinese solar giant, has won a contract to supply photovoltaic panels for a 150-megawatt project in Arizona, marking China’s entry into a lucrative United States power-plant market dominated by American companies.

The project is the first phase of a planned 700-megawatt project called Mesquite Solar to be built about 40 miles west of Phoenix and operated by Sempra Generation, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy. A California utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, will buy the electricity produced by the power plant’s first phase, called Mesquite Solar 1.

…While Chinese companies like Suntech, Yingli Green Energy and Trina Solar have grabbed a significant percentage of the American residential solar market — supplying nearly 40 percent of panels in California — they had shied away from huge utility-scale projects.

And this week the Obama Administration awarded a $337 million loan guarantee to Sempra Energy’s Mesquite Solar I project in Arizona, about 45 miles west of Phoenix.

That 150-megawatt facility will use solar panels made in Arizona by Suntech Power, which is based in China.

thegatewaypundit.com

Obama’s Commerce Secretary: We Can’t Afford Not To Subsidize Green Energy

Given the millions we’re spending per job “kept or created” most reasonable people believe, rightly, that we can’t afford any more of that kind of spending.

But according to President Obama’s commerce secretary, we can’t afford not to spend that money:

(CNSNews.com) – Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank said that in a global race for green technology, the United States “can’t afford” not to spend taxpayer money on such projects, and that the price of that spending is an occasional failure. One of those failures was a $535-million federal loan guarantee to the Solyndra company that makes solar panels but which recently filed for bankruptcy.

“The U.S. can’t afford to not be a major winner in this race,” Blank said Thursday on a conference call with reporters. “That necessarily means that there’s going to be some capital investment by the U.S. government. But it is new technology and that means that there is sometimes risks.”

Blank said that because green technology can sometimes be untested, the risk of failure will always be there when government subsidizes green companies.

“Make no mistake, that when you’re in a new innovation race of the sort that we are with every other advanced country in the world you are always out there on the cutting edge,” she said, “and that involves both big returns but sometimes involves some risks [of failure] as well.”

But why should the taxpayers be subjected to that risk? Why should the government get to play investment games with our tax dollars?

The false assumption here from Blank is that these sort of investments wouldn’t happen if the government didn’t make them. Which in the case of Solyndra is true as most private sector investors, unlike the government, are smart enough to avoid bad investments like that one.

But here’s reality: Reliable, practical, cost-effective energy initiatives will get investment because those sort of investments will work. Most green energy initiatives are unworkable. They’re expensive, unreliable and often have other problems too. That’s why private investors don’t embrace them without the backing of the government.

If other countries want to squander the tax dollars of their citizens chasing these green energy boondoggles they’re welcome to it. Here in America we ought to trust the free flow of capital in a free market to guide us to our energy future.

sayanythingblog.com

Flashback: Obama Blames US Guns For Mexican Violence… Then Runs at Least 2,000 Guns to Mexico

In April 2009 Barack Obama traveled to Mexico and blamed US gun sellers for “This war being waged with guns purchased not here but in the United States.” Just to be sure, a few months later the Obama Administration started running their own guns to Mexico, at least 2,000.

Barack Obama, April 16, 2009:

“This war is being waged with guns purchased not here but in the United States… more than 90 percent of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the United States, many from gun shops that lay in our shared border. So we have responsibilities as well.”

Also today… Mexican Attorney General told reporters that Obama is more involved with Operation Fast and Furious than he is admitting.
The Cypress Times reported:

President Barack Obama appears to be getting it from all sides regarding a government snafu dubbed Operation Fast and Furious. Besides both houses of the U.S. Congress and a number of public-interest groups investigating what is being characterized as a rogue federal law enforcement operation, Mexico’s attorney general is infuriated over the allegations that the U.S. was behind the smuggling of weapons into Mexico that ended up killing her countrymen.

In a statement released by Mexican Attorney General Marisela Morales, she called Operation Fast and Furious “an attack on Mexicans’ security.”

Morales told Mexican reporters that she is demanding a full and honest explanation from the United States government especially since evidence is being gathered that reveals the Obama administration was more involved in Operation Fast and Furious than top officials admitted in their sworn statements.

If what is being reported is true, U.S. Attorney General and other government officials may have committed perjury and/or obstruction of justice if it’s proven they lied when testifying before House and Senate committees.

Operation Fast and Furious was a botched Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives covert operation initiated in order to track more than 2,000 smuggled guns to Mexican drug cartels by allowing gang members to purchase them illegally from U.S. gun stores then take them back to their leaders.

However, according to Congressional reports by both Rep. Darryl Issa (R-CA) and Senator Charles Grassley (R-NE), the federal agency lost track of many of the guns. Some later were traced to murders of police and civilians in Mexico and the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent, Brian Terry.

thegatewaypundit.com

Obama Mocks Texas Fires at Fundraiser But Refused to Offer Emergency Assistance Back in April

Barack Obama mocked Governor Rick Perry and Texas last night in a fundraiser speech for the recent fires.

He said it was climate change.
The LA Times reported:

“You’ve got a governor whose state is on fire denying climate change. It’s true.”

Because we all know global warming climate change is real!

This is the same president who refused to declare a national emergency disaster zone in the Lone Star state in April despite wildfires raging across 2 million acres that month… Even after federal employees started one of the fires.

thegatewaypundit.com

Obama Mixes Up Jews With Janitors

Maybe President Obama has Jews on the mind after the NY-09 special election in which Jewish voters through their support behind a Republican.

Via Andrew Malcolm, here’s an excerpt from the official White House transcript of the President’s comments before the Congressional Black Caucus.

When you start saying, at a time when the top one-tenth of 1 percent has seen their incomes go up four or five times over the last 20 years, and folks at the bottom have seen their incomes decline — and your response is that you want poor folks to pay more?

Give me a break.

If asking a billionaire to pay the same tax rate as a janitor makes me a warrior for the working class, I wear that with a badge of honor. I have no problem with that.

Now here’s video of what the President actually said, in which he said “Jews” initially instead of “janitors.”

Whoops.

Meanwhile, it doesn’t sound like President Obama made a very good impression with the CBC with Maxine Waters suggesting that the President wouldn’t have told other groups – like Jews or gays – to stop griping.

sayanythingblog.com

Governor Gary Johnson: My Neighbor’s Dogs Have Created More Shovel-Ready Jobs Than Barack Obama

Best line of the night–
At the FOX News-Google GOP Debate Governor Gary Johnson says his neighbor’s two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than Barack Obama.
Obviously, the crowd loves it.

thegatewaypundit.com

Obama pitches jobs bill in front of bridge that won’t benefit from jobs bill

Go figure. Remember, this is the same guy who was surprised to learn there’s no such thing as “shovel-ready projects” for public works after he signed a nearly $800 billion stimulus.

Although some press accounts have described Brent Spence as “crumbling,” and the White House says it’s an example of “ur gently needed” repairs, the bridge isn’t falling apart. In fact, it’s designed to last for decades more.

It is, however, “functionally obsolete,” which in this case means it’s too small to handle the daily traffic load. While designed to handle 85,000 cars and trucks, it now carries more than 150,000, leading to regular backups.

So the plan isn’t to do extensive repairs on the bridge, but to build an entirely new one right next to it and keep the old one in use.

The problem is that construction work on the $2.3 billion bridge isn’t scheduled to start for three or four years, according to the project’s official website.

That would appear to put it outside the “immediate” timetable in Obama’s jobs bill, which requires the Transportation secretary to “obligate” all the highway funds “not later than two years after enactment” of the bill.

Here’s video of him in front of the bridge today, following Maxine Waters’s advice to “fight” by stuttering his way to class-warrior glory. Speaking of things that are crumbling: His approval’s at 39/57 in Florida, which not long ago was a swing state if you can believe it, and a new Democratic poll of 60 battleground congressional districts held by Republicans finds that 50 percent support the GOP incumbent compared to 41 percent who support a Democratic challenger — a slight increase since the midterms last year. The One’s approval rating in those districts? Just 41 percent. Good luck, progressives. Exit quotation from a House Democrat who wanted to be anonymous for obvious reasons: “It didn’t have to be this way. Obama’s presidency has fizzled. It’s going to be every person for himself in 2012. There just won’t be any coattails, and any effect he does have on the ballot will hurt us.”



hotair.com

Obama Ag Secretary: Americans Must “Adjust” To What The Government Wants Them To Eat

Remember, according to the Obama administration, Americans do not have a fundamental right to obtain whatever food they wish (video at the link).

(CNSNews.com) – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told members of the National Restaurant Association on Monday that Americans need to “adjust” their tastes so that they like the kind of food the government believes they should eat—and “we have to make sure that what we do is create the appropriate transition.”

“You know, as we deal with this issue of reducing sodium and sugar, it sounds simple to do, but you all know better than I do, it’s not as simple as it sounds,” said Vilsack.

“It’s going to take time for people’s taste to adjust and they will adjust over time, but it will take some time,” he said. “So, we have to make sure that what we do is create the appropriate transition.

“At the end of the day, though, we’ve got to deal with this,” said Vilsack.

Or, we could just let people eat what they want and expect that they deal with the consequences of their lifestyle choices.

Because how can we say that we live in a free country if we have to “adjust” our food tastes to what the government wants?

sayanythingblog.com

Obama Administration Protecting Teachers Who Can’t Speak English

America has no official language, but predominantly we are an English-speaking nation. Thus, it makes sense that our teachers should speak English fluently for the sake of removing any barriers to our children grasping the instruction offered.

But the Obama administration doesn’t want teachers who can’t speak English fluently to be fired, arguing that it’s discriminatory to Hispanics and other non-English speakers. Which makes me wonder, what about the students who do speak English? They don’t matter?

Public school teachers with unacceptable English pronunciation and grammar are being protected by the Obama Administration, which has forced one state to eliminate a fluency monitoring program created to comply with a 2002 federal education law.

Singling out teachers who can’t speak proper English in American schools—funded by taxpayers, no less—discriminates against Hispanics and others who are not native English speakers, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). As a result it violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the teachers must remain in their current position.

Unbelievable as this may seem, it’s a true story reported this week by Arizona’s largest newspaper. Ironically, the state launched the fluency monitoring program to comply with the bipartisan-backed No Child Left Behind Act, which requires states to create standardized tests that show public school students are reaching proficiency in core subjects like English, math and science.

With only a small proportion of low-English proficiency students (reading between the lines they are referring to illegal immigrants) passing the state’s standardized reading test, Arizona education officials started to look at the teachers in those classrooms. They found a common thread in dozens of districts throughout the state; many instructors don’t speak proper English and, in fact, teach in Spanish, using Spanish-language materials. Some have “unacceptably heavy accents” that causes them to mispronounce words. Others use poor English grammar.

I’ve no particular love for No Child Left Behind. I’d argue that the one-size-fits-all federal policy is an affront to state’s rights. Education ought to be a local issue, governed by parents and school boards.

That said, one of the objectives of that policy is proficiency in the English language. How can we expect that students be proficient in English if their teachers aren’t proficient in English? The Obama administration is fighting, expending our tax dollars along the way, to saddle our kids with teachers who can’t speak properly.

Absurd, and exactly why we need school choice in this country.

sayanythingblog.com

Obama’s new Snitch Central: AttackWatch

In 2009, the White House launched an effort to get people to snitch on those who expressed opposition to President Obama through a new official e-mail, flag@whitehouse.gov, and a web page on the official White House site. It didn’t quite last a fortnight, thanks to an outcry of anger over the idea that a President would be so petty and so paranoid as to need an official informant bureau in the White House. They dropped this about the same time that Obama finally dropped his war on Fox News, having lost on all fronts to control opinion.

Did they learn a lesson? Apparently not, or at least they learned the wrong lesson. The “flag” program is back, but this time it’s being run out of the Obama re-election campaign:

This is, at least, not nearly as offensive as running a Snitch Central out of the White House. It’s just as silly, though, and every bit as petty. The categories for passing along an “attack” include significant events like a TV interview or broadcast ad, but also include such trivial categories as “forwarded e-mail” and “rumor.” Presumably, the campaign would then debunk the “rumor,” which would then give it a lot more attention and oxygen than it otherwise might receive. In fact, it’s not inconceivable that people who really wanted to spread “rumors” would do so by reporting them through AttackWatch and waiting for the campaign to publicize rumors through their response.

This President and his team still haven’t learned the problems that come with punching below one’s weight. Besides, their big problems don’t come from rumors; they come from the record of abject failure that Barack Obama carries into this campaign. They’d do better to spend the money to hire better economists to consult the President than the coterie of academics that keep pushing the same Obamanomics that have flopped for the better part of three years. In the meantime, this serves as a good reminder as to just how thin-skinned and paranoid this President has been.

Update: Why wait to be reported? Send your picture to Bill Whittle and he’ll create your entry in the Gallery of Unrepentant Enemies of Dear Leader’s Glorious Worker’s Paradise.

hotair.com

A fun fact about Michelle Obama’s chummy fries police

In her latest flexing of federal “Let’s Move” muscle, First Lady Michelle Obama has strong-armed several major restaurant chains into re-designing their menus to her exacting healthy standards.

Move it or lose it!

Michelle Obama said Thursday that a pledge by the Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants and their sister chains to serve healthier meals is a “breakthrough moment” for the industry.

Darden Restaurants Inc. is pledging to cut calories and sodium in its meals by 10 percent by 2016, and 20 percent over a decade. Among promised changes for children: no more french fries. A fruit or vegetable side will become standard with kids’ meals. One percent milk also will be served, including free refills, unless an alternative drink is ordered.

“With this new commitment, Darden is doing what no restaurant company has done before,” said the first lady, who joined executives of Orlando, Fla.-based Darden for the announcement at an Olive Garden restaurant in Hyattsville, Md., just outside Washington.

…The kids’ menu changes have begun and are to be in place by July at Darden’s 1,900 restaurants in 49 states. Its other brands are LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze and Seasons 52. The Capital Grille and Seasons 52 do not have children’s menus. The children’s menu will also include at least one 600-calorie or less option with reduced fat and sodium.

“We want to ensure that those who dine with us find the choices that they desire,” said Clarence Otis Jr., Darden’s chief executive officer.

In a normal, free-market environment, of course, business executives take their cue from customers — not from the East Wing.

But this is no normal, free-market environment.

And, I might add, Darden Restaurants is no normal restaurant chain.

At a time when most food service providers are struggling under the weight of increased taxes, health care mandates, and regulations, Darden Restaurants just happens to be one of the few and fortunate businesses to obtain one of those coveted Obamacare waivers.

Remember? I do. Flashback November 2010:

In early October, the Obama administration announced it had granted waivers not only to McDonald’s, but also to several other firms and labor unions.

Now comes word that Torquemada HHS Secretay Kathleen Sebelius has approved a whopping 111 waivers for businesses of all sizes, along with more unions and other providers of health insurance. The escapees include employers of many low-wage and part-time workers whose health insurance plans would otherwise be dropped, including Darden Restaurants — the parent company of the Olive Garden and Red Lobster and other chains, which employ some 34,000 people.

Among the waivers recently granted were for employers like Darden Restaurants, which operates the Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurants, for 34,000 of its workers. Federal officials have granted 111 waivers to employers, insurers and union plans, who are responsible for covering about 1.2 million people.

Darden said the waiver would allow it to offer employees access to affordable coverage as the health care law is started.

Quid pro quo: It’s what’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

michellemalkin.com