Archive for August, 2011

THE USUAL OBAMA GOLDEN TOUCH: Solyndra to Declare Bankruptcy: President Obama touted the facility only a year ago. “Solyndra, a major manufacturer of solar technology in Fremont, has shut its doors, according to employees at the campus. . . . Solyndra was touted by the Obama administration as a prime example of how green technology could deliver jobs. The President visited the facility in May of last year and said ‘it is just a testament to American ingenuity and dynamism and the fact that we continue to have the best universities in the world, the best technology in the world, and most importantly the best workers in the world. And you guys all represent that.’ The federal government offered $535 million in low cost loan guarantees from the Department of Energy. NBC Bay Area has contacted the White House asking for a statement.”

HE’S GETTING KIND OF PISSY, ISN’T HE? Minutes after his Sept. 8 address to Congress is set, Obama bashes both houses. “This evening’s email is likely revealing of the strategy this White House intends to follow for the 2012 presidential election, blaming Congress for what hasn’t happened in the economy and employment sectors.”

As a campaign slogan, don’t blame me, it’s their fault doesn’t inspire. Plus this: “Other than the chief executive’s threats and the lousy job performance review of both parties, it looks like Obama and Congress are in for a really nice working relationship in coming months.”

AMERICA GIVES CHINA a mineral monopoly. “Complaints from the Congo are growing about the U.S. legislation intended to stop illegal mineral sales. The Dodd-Frank bill (also called the Obama Law) has a clause that prohibits the sale of so-called conflict minerals may have been well-intentioned but it was not well-thought out. Rather than run the risk of buying any minerals that might have been smuggled from the Congo, many major mining companies are simply refusing to buy minerals from central Africa. The result is a de facto embargo. There are few buyers for Congo’s valuable minerals, especially tantalum and tungsten which have many hi-tech uses. This has damaged the Congo’s economy, because the nation relies on mineral exports. According to some sources, China, which does not have to meet Dodd-Frank standards, is snapping up many minerals at very cheap prices.” More like a monopsony, really.

THE “COLD CREEPINESS” OF FLUORESCENT BULBS. The newer ones aren’t as good as incandescents, but they’re not as bad as the old ones. On the other hand, they don’t last anything like as long as promised, and they’re expensive.

IGNORE THEM — LOOK AT ME! Obama schedules jobs address to coincide with GOP 2012 debate. It’ll be embarrassing for him, though, if his ratings come in lower.

Which is why he might want to take up Boehner’s suggestion instead. He’s got more to lose in that department than the GOP does. If a president outdraws a political debate, it’s no big deal. If a political debate outdraws the President, though . . . .

UPDATE: Peace In Our Time: Obama To Address Congress On Jobs The Day After GOP Debate. Somebody smarter than Obama must have figured the angles on this and realized a Wednesday address was a no-win proposition.

GIRL USES GADGET BLOG to make fun of nerds. That plays badly.

HURRICANE IRENE: “It makes you think a lot about physics.” “It’s just water, earth, and gravity … a combination of an astonishing amount of rain, steeply sloped hillsides, and ground that was more-or-less completely saturated even before the storm hit. To give you an idea of how much water we’re talking about, take another look at that video of the stream behind our house. This little brook — much too small to even have a name — would, ordinarily, in late August, have a trickle of water in it, at most. The watershed that feeds it covers an area of around 5 square miles — one of thousands of such little watersheds feeding into little streams in southern Vermont (all of which feed larger streams, which feed larger streams, etc.). Five square miles is about 22 billion square inches. Eight inches of rain (which is about what we got) falling on that one little watershed makes for around 175 billion cubic inches (around 100 million cubic feet) of water. All of that water has to make its way behind our house.”

A DECEPTIVE PRESS REPORT ON A NONEXISTENT “MUSLIM HEADSCARF BAN” THAT WAS ACTUALLY A SAFETY BAN ON ALL HEADGEAR: “I’d say they were the opposite of an easy target. It was, in fact, very difficult to hold them to a rule that applies to everyone. They demanded a special exception, caused a scene when the didn’t get it, extracted refunds, and brought some terrible press to the park and the police.”

They should be ashamed, and so should the New York Daily News.

PRIVACY? Ohio Paper Outs CCW-Holding Politicians. “On the plus side, the article does highlight the clear double standard whereby some politicians want the right to carry in public meetings, many of which are designated off limits to concealed weapons. They want to be like you and me, only better. Or safer.”