Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
The Washington Post reports:
The Obama White House tried to rush federal reviewers for a decision on a nearly half-billion-dollar loan to the solar panel manufacturer Solyndra so Vice President Biden could announce the approval at a September 2009 groundbreaking for the company’s new factory, newly obtained e-mails show. ...
In response, OMB officials expressed concern that they were being rushed to approve the company’s project without adequate time to assess the risk to taxpayers, according to the e-mails, which were provided by Republican congressional investigators.
Solyndra collapsed two weeks ago, leaving taxpayers liable for the $535 million loan.
It gets worse. As you might recall having heard, the Obama administration restructured the loan so that we won't be the first creditors to get paid. That honor goes to two investors who poured in extra cash last January. And one of them is Obama campaign bundler, billionaire George Kaiser.
Do folks still think that Congress needs to rush its decision to pass this jobs bill?
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Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.:
Do folks still think that Congress needs to rush its decision to pass this jobs bill? ·
Ha. I don't think we folks ever believed that Congress needed to pass the jobs bill at all!
But as for the "folks" in general? I don't think anyone is really paying attention to this story. I've seen it reported on by ABC a little, but it's just not getting the attention it deserves. Why aren't our candidates (apart from Newt, maybe) bringing this up every chance they get?
Jul '10
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.:
Do folks still think that Congress needs to rush its decision to pass this jobs bill? ·
How else could congress find out what's in the bill?
No two ways about it, running the country is a tough gig and I have some empathy for those in that spotlight. But this administration can't even withstand the scrutiny of its friends at the bar right before close.
Jun '10
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
Hey, I could've built a factory and gone bankrupt for half that much money. They should've shopped around a little more.
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
Oh look who just backed out of testifying about the matter tomorrow!
Aug '11
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of of Solyndra's panels were installed on the roofs of state and federal offices, because businesses and consumers in the private sector knew that solar would never pay for itself.
Jun '10
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
Backed out? How long does it take to learn how to invoke your 5th amendment rights? Just a few minutes, I would think.
May '10
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
On a related topic, does anyone have the latest sales figures for the Chevy Volt?
Jun '10
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
So I guess the "green" in "green jobs" refers to all the greenbacks funneled to rich campaign donors...
Apr '11
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
On a completely superficial note, the name "Solyndra" sounds like the perfect Hollywood name for a corrupt corporation. The scandal is in the phonemes AND the photons.
Jun '10
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
You heard it here first, folks, I asked in a previous comment about shareholder loans being paid off when the first news came out. It's not because I'm smart folks. It's because there is nothing, absolutely nothing, new under the sun. If the Obama administration had a clue about business they would have tubed the whole deal when they were moved into second place. Babes in the proverbial woods. Anyone, and I do mean anyone with a jot of business acumen, would have seen this coming in a New York minute. The wages of arrogance is to be taken to the cleaners. This could not have happened to a nicer group of chumps. I am only sorry for the taxpayers. Next question, What are the odds that the money is even in the country anymore?
Edited on Sep 13, 2011 at 7:40pmOct '10
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
Scandals include the Pigford settlement, Fast and Furious for a start and have much larger price tags, including human lives.
Solyndra will just boil down to fraud and money laundering, if proveable.
Have to add, perhaps when the feel good folks gather around the lefty campfire and sing that tired song. The Forest Rangers will impound the guitar.
The real truth is, no one is listening,
Edited on Sep 13, 2011 at 7:54pmJun '10
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
I don't know the circumstances of the transaction, but if the loan payouts were passed by the board of directors and the government voluntarily put itself behind the shareholder loans, it could be cryin' time again.
Jul '10
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
Matthew Gilley
On a related topic, does anyone have the latest sales figures for the Chevy Volt? · Sep 13 at 7:12pm
I'm pretty sure I saw one on the road... in the lefty industrial town in Michigan, where I live.
Prii abound though.
Oct '10
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
Cas Balicki
I don't know the circumstances of the transaction, but if the loan payouts were passed by the board of directors and the government voluntarily put itself behind the shareholder loans, it could be cryin' time again. · Sep 13 at 7:55pm
The details of these transactions will be slow and muddied and the reality is, Yes. It will be cryin' time again. Sorry bout that.
May '10
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
Rushing the OMB study and ignoring the PWC opinion (and common industry knowledge) could perhaps be put down to truly colossal incompetence. Agreeing to put taxpayers creditor ranking behind the group headed by an Obama bundler for no offsetting benefit, in complete violation of fiduciary responsibility, simply has to be corruption. No one in a position to make that kind of agreement could possibly be that incompetent.
Congress should insist on a Special Prosecutor and take away the DOE checkbook until this matter is both investigated and brought to a successful conclusion. While there have been numerous instances of gangster or corrupt looking actions by this administration (some mentioned above), this is simply to blatant and to far over the line to let pass. watergate anyone?
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
Steve MacDonald:
Congress should insist on a Special Prosecutor and take away the DOE checkbook until this matter is both investigated and brought to a successful conclusion. While there have been numerous instances of gangster or corrupt looking actions by this administration (some mentioned above), this is simply to blatant and to far over the line to let pass. watergate anyone? · Sep 13 at 8:38pm
You're really not going to like this news, then.
Aug '10
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
I look forward to hearing exactly why Solyndra failed. However, from what I can understand from the Wikipedia article on the company, the principle behind their invention makes no sense to this electronics engineer, and their claims of greater efficiency than ordinary flat panels sounds entirely bogus.
Oct '10
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.
Steve MacDonald:
Congress should insist on a Special Prosecutor and take away the DOE checkbook until this matter is both investigated and brought to a successful conclusion. While there have been numerous instances of gangster or corrupt looking actions by this administration (some mentioned above), this is simply to blatant and to far over the line to let pass. watergate anyone? · Sep 13 at 8:38pm
You're really not going to like this news, then. · Sep 13 at 8:41pm
To quote. The Department.. DOE.. has issued loans, loan guarantees or offered conditional commitments for loan guarantees totaling nearly $40 billion to support more than 40 clean energy projects across the United States.
In short, if any of these efforts were real and produced results, there would be venture investments.
Save, we know this...
Aug '10
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.
You're really not going to like this news, then.
That type of solar farm at least has the virtue of basically working. Wind is only practical in a few places where the geography creates a funnel effect, and is too intermittent anyway, but out in the desert solar farms can be built on any flat piece of land, and produce energy practically every day of the year. That said, solar electric generation is still a little more expensive than oil or gas, and kept afloat largely by state regulations that require the electric utilities to derive a certain percentage of their power from renewables. Given that California is roughly in the same economic boat as Greece, it's entirely possible that reality may force a sudden U-turn on that policy, leaving the renewable energy companies in the lurch.
Aug '11
Re: Solyndra Has Officially Turned Into A Scandal
Paul DeRocco
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.
You're really not going to like this news, then.
That type of solar farm at least has the virtue of basically working. Wind is only practical in a few places where the geography creates a funnel effect, and is too intermittent anyway, but out in the desert solar farms can be built on any flat piece of land, and produce energy practically every day of the year. That said, solar electric generation is still a little more expensive than oil or gas, and kept afloat largely by state regulations that require the electric utilities to derive a certain percentage of their power from renewables. Given that California is roughly in the same economic boat as Greece, it's entirely possible that reality may force a sudden U-turn on that policy, leaving the renewable energy companies in the lurch. · Sep 13 at 10:03pm
Being form the northwest, I am amazed that hydro hasn't progressed. I don't know the science all that well but it seems that salmon spawns and habitat preservation are the main concerns. There must be a way to harness all of that potential energy in a clean manner.