Another Taxpayer Funded Obama-Berkley Solar Plant Shuts Down #NVSen

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Berkley’s Stimulus Wasted Over $6 Million On This Solar Boondoggle

 

WASHINGTON – American taxpayers are seeing $20 million more of their money washed down the tube via the Obama-Berkley stimulus plan, as an Amonix solar energy plant in North Las Vegas – which has received stimulus dollars – closed their doors after being open for just 14 months.

Thanks to President Obama, Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid and embattled Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, Amonix received $6 million in federal tax credits and was also the recipient of a $15.6 million grant from the Department of Energy.

As the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports:

The Amonix solar manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas, heavily financed under an Obama administration energy initiative, has closed its 214,000-square-foot facility 14 months after it opened. … A designer and manufacturer of concentrated photovoltaic solar power systems, Amonix received $6 million in federal tax credits and a $15.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to build the plant in North Las Vegas.  (Hubble Smith, onix closes North Las Vegas solar plant after 14 months, heavy federal subsidies, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 7/18/12)

“It’s another day and another painful reminder for Nevada taxpayers that Shelley Berkley and Barack Obama have spent the last three years wasting their hard earned money on failed programs,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) RSC Spokesman Jahan Wilcox.

BACKGROUND …

 

Since 2010, Berkley Has Supported $5.9 Million In Federal Stimulus Funding Granted To Amonix, Inc., To Construct A Solar Cell Manufacturing Facility In Nevada

Berkley Press Release, January 2010:  “Congresswoman Shelley Berkley today announced that solar cell manufacturer Amonix will receive $5.9 million in federal stimulus funding to create clean energy manufacturing jobs in Nevada. Berkley was notified by the White House about the funding to bring the new solar manufacturing jobs to Nevada this afternoon.

“This funding will be used to create Nevada jobs involved in the manufacturing of highly efficient solar panels that increase the amount of clean energy that can be harnessed from every ray of sunshine.  (Press Release, “$5.9 Million In Stimulus Funding Awarded To Create New Nevada Solar Manuacturing (sic) Jobs,” Office of Rep. Shelley Berkley, Jan. 8, 2010)

Join Kick-off of "Shelley Berkley: Rubber Stamp for Failure" Bus Tour #NVSen

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Our friends at Americans for Prosperity are launching their “Shelley Berkley: A Rubber Stamp for Failure” bus tour this week and hope you will be able to join them as they take it across Nevada.  The following information was forwarded to me by AFP this afternoon. – Chuck Muth

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Congresswoman Shelley Berkley has proven time and time again that she has been nothing but a rubber stamp for the failed policies of Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi.

It is now time for Nevadans to tell Congresswoman Shelley Berkley to begin working for Nevadans and not for liberal special interests.

 

Join us on Thursday, July 19th at 9:00 a.m. at Congresswoman Shelley Berkley’s office:

When:  Thursday July 19th at 9:00am
Where:  The Congressional Office of Shelley Berkley
2340 Paseo Del Prado, Suite D-106
Las Vegas, NV 89102

Under the Fedora: Riding through, Discount Porn & Captain Kirk

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Star_Trek_William_Shatner

If you have read my blog for any length of time you know that I’ve been predicting disaster for the left in general and Obama in particular since last year.  I’ve written dozens of posts tagged  “ride right through them” detailing the evidence of my contention and containing the battle cry:

“Ride right through them, they’re demoralized as hell”!

The general reception to these repeated declarations of the weakness of the Obama message, the sight of democrat after democrat running from Obama and repeated electoral defeats for the left have been a level of disbelief and skepticism from my fellow conservatives tinged with a degree of fatalism so large that I thought I was talking with Red Sox Fans circa 2003.

Imagine then my delight when I saw this post at The Other McCain that included this bit in his argument:

 

Obama has already “shot his wad,” as Jennifer Rubin puts it, and the incessant rants about Bain Capital and outsourcing don’t seem to have moved the polls significantly in Obama’s direction. Democrats appear to be apporaching that point at which Pete Da Tech Guy likes to invoke the famous words of General Sheridan yelled to his cavalry: “Ride right through them — they’re demoralized as hell!”

 

The title of his post?  They’re Demoralized as hell

Between his piece, the Rubin piece he referenced and Glenn’s remark in his Instalanche  quoting me…

“They aren’t spending their money in the middle of summer in the hopes of defining Romney to an audience that isn’t paying attention, they are spending the money NOW to keep their poll numbers from collapsing prior to the fall campaign season. This isn’t about getting ahead, it’s about treading water long enough for something ANYTHING to come along and save them.” Perhaps the horse will learn to sing.

 

…I think people might finally be figuring out that the emperor has no clothes.

——————————

 

Jim Geraghty asks why so many pollsters Oversample Democrats?  That’s because the purpose of the poll is not to inform, it’s to create a narrative of victory and frankly it because they have so little confidence in their actual beliefs.

 

Oh and Hotair Headlines calls this the “Latest pollster fad”?  Fad?  This has been going on for years

 

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Some blogger is referring to Kate Upton as “fat Piggie”.

 

Kate_Upton_SI2012-5

Kate_Upton_SI2012-5 (Photo credit: discutivo)

 

 

Hey you don’t know from fat, take it from a Fat guy with two fat sons, I know Fat,  Kate Upton isn’t fat.  I’d still throw her out of bed, if I didn’t the wife would kill me if she didn’t die of shock her last words being: “You’ve GOT to be kidding.”

 

Speaking of beds and throwing out, Saw two rather amazing tangentely connected things.  Comcast has created a whole new “bargain” porn section with a single short scene for less than half the price of a “regular” movie.  Meanwhile according to the sign at Fitchburg’s Porn shop on Lunenburg Street they have  expanded to include a “Smoke shop” in the place.

 

That’s how bad the Obama economy is, Porn shops have to diversify and On Demand Porno is discounting.

 

You know there used to be a real-estate office and the Old Pop’s Pizza in the building where the porn show is now.  Pops sold to a small franchise Parrot Pizza but once the Porn shop was in the other half of the building it was pretty much over for the Pizza place.

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I remember when Comic Con was just a convention for geeks like me.  These days it’s become big and and apparently Carrie Fisher and William Shatner are using the occasion to start feuding again over Star Trek vs Star Wars.  My thought, they are different animals, I prefer Trek to Star Wars, but neither can hold a candle to Doctor Who and I tweeted that out

Imagine my surprise when I got this reply from William Shatner himself

Interviewing congressmen, senators, governors and the next president of the US that’s great, getting tweeted by Shatner, now THAT’s Cool.

As I said that day..Jonah Goldberg eat your heart out.

 

Speaking of Jonah, last week I was on a Blogger Panel with him talking about his new book The Tyranny of Cliches.  Here is a clip from the event

I interviewed him after the fact as well.

You can buy Jonah’s book here

 

My thanks to Michael Graham of 96.9 WTKK for inviting me even though I still owe him a steak dinner.

 

Do you like fun graphics I took this photo of a car in front of me on the way to the Jonah Goldberg blogger event

Either the driver doesn’t read any conservative outlet and is thus unaware of Warren’s indian scandal or some dems simply have no sense of irony.

Oh and I know the shot is blurry, I shot it while driving 50+ MPH on route 2 heading east. Most unhealthy of me.

A Dr. Mercola believes he knows something that is less healthy, those drug ads that we are bombarded with lately

It’s a marketing bonanza that’s turned America into a medicated mass of people who’ve been brain-washed into thinking that taking pills will make everything better―even for ailments you might not have. But it’s a brilliant move for Big Pharma, who has now turned the consumer into their very own sales rep, and a persuasive one at that.

I disagree, when I see those ads it seems that they all contain a list of side effects so horrible and unending that if I had the ailment the advertised drugs were treating I’d still with the aches and pains I’m used to.

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The online site Digg sold for $500,000 a huge drop from the amount invested in the company.  I’ve noticed it has been on the receiving end of a lot of grief over this drop in revenue ,but let me give you two graphics that can put this in perspective

That graphic represents the number of Burger King franchises you can buy for the price Digg was sold for while this graphic represents the number of fries you can buy for the price Newsweek was sold for.

Success is relative.

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In Fl-9 Mark Oxner is running an ad that deals with Success:

If Florida chooses Alan Grayson over Oxner it deserves all it gets from him.

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Had an amazing guest this week. I interviewed author Eugene Walton author of African Immigrants & African Americans community or conflict which talks about the rift between Blacks who came from Africa in the last 50 years who he refers to as immigrants and black American descended from slaves who he refers to as “descendants”.   There is an incredible quote from the volume:

African immigrants want no “community” with African Americans because their attitudes toward the Descendants are so negative as to make such a relationship incompatible and highly unlikely. After all, who wants “community” with “lazy losers who didn‘t take advantage of opportunities,” who are unpredictable and violent– whose association represents only downward assimilation?

Apparently this is an issue slowing boiling in the Black community that nobody is talking about.

 

On a related subject there was an interesting quote from a Buzzfeed piece about Obama’s non visit to the NAACP convention

 

Alvin Chambliss, a retired law professor at Texas Southern University and lifelong members of the NAACP, blamed Obama’s advisers — particularly Valerie Jarrett — for his decision not to show up, echoing a common complaint here about the people in the president’s inner circle. Chambliss, who called the president’s absence “a downer,” said Jarrett is too afraid of Obama becoming defined by his race, and has led him to take his African-American supporters for granted.

 

“I don’t think there’s anyone around the president who’s really, truly from the black community,”

 

Hey Obama’s father is from Kenya, just sayin…

 

DaTechGuy on DaRadio was the first radio show to host Dr. Walton as he promotes his book.  It must be a popular destination since I can’t go 24 hours without several e-mails offering to provide me with authors, experts and assorted guests to appear on the show. 

 

I guess that’s a sign I’m making it.  Of course when I can’t go a day without a call asking me to carry ads on the show then I’ll KNOW I’ve made it…

…As if  the Shatner tweet wasn’t evidence  enough.

 

NV Company Proof of Failed Stimulus Spending #NVSen

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 Time for Shelley Berkley to Explain Exactly How Stimulus is Helping Nevada

 

(Las Vegas, NV) – In yet another account of how Shelley Berkley’s stimulus has failed Nevada, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that “Amonix closes North Las Vegas solar plant after 14 months, heavy federal subsidies.” The news today highlights how Shelley Berkley’s big-government spending solutions are failing at a time when Nevadans can least afford it.

 

“Congresswoman Berkley, when you voted for the trillion dollar stimulus, you promised it would create 34,000 jobs in Nevada. Nevada lost jobs. Congresswoman Berkley, you pushed $6 million in funding to a company that has created zero long-term jobs for Nevada. Congresswoman, it’s time. It’s time for you to admit the stimulus – and your policies – aren’t working,” said Chandler Smith, Heller for Senate spokeswoman.

Since 2010, Berkley supported $5.9 Million in federal stimulus funding granted to Amonix, Inc.

 

  •  “Congresswoman Shelley Berkley today announced that solar cell manufacturer Amonix will receive $5.9 million in federal stimulus funding to create clean energy manufacturing jobs in Nevada…This funding will be used to create Nevada jobs involved in the manufacturing of highly efficient solar panels that increase the amount of clean energy that can be harnessed from every ray of sunshine.” (Press Release, “$5.9 Million In Stimulus Funding Awarded To Create New Nevada Solar Manuacturing (sic) Jobs,” Office of Rep. Shelley Berkley, Jan. 8, 2010)

Dems Running From Sen. Murray’s Cliff Plan?

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As ‘Concerns About The Fiscal Cliff Are Reaching New Heights,’ Some Dems Are Splitting With Their Leadership’s Threat To Go Over It

 

Senate Dem: ‘Cliff Is So Ominous And So Potentially Destructive That We Need To Avoid It’

 

“If faced with a choice to extend or expire tax cuts for all, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) tells CNN’s Soledad O’Brien he would vote to extend. Sen. Blumenthal says, ‘My preference is to extend tax cuts because I think that fiscal cliff is so ominous and so potentially destructive that we need to avoid it.’” (“Sen. Blumenthal: Extend Tax Cuts If Faced With A Choice To Extend Or Expire For All,” CNN, 7/18/12)

 

“Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) said Thursday he’s opposed to President Barack Obama’s plan to extend the Bush-era tax cuts to household income under $250,000 for one year… ‘That’s a no,’ Webb told Reuters when asked if he’d vote for the plan.” (“Webb ‘A No’ On Obama Tax Plan,” Politico, 7/12/12)

 

“Count Sen. Joe Lieberman as a ‘no’ on President Barack Obama’s tax plan. The Connecticut independent has just decided he will vote against the plan, saying it’s ‘not what we need now,’ especially since it stands virtually no chance of becoming law before November.” (“Joe Lieberman To Oppose Obama Tax Plan,” Politico, 7/11/12)

 

Dem Leadership: ‘Prepared To Go Over The So-Called Fiscal Cliff’

 

“Democrats say they are prepared to go over the so-called fiscal cliff at the end of the year …” (“Democrats Risk Fiscal Cliff By Targeting Top Earners’ Break,” Bloomberg News, 7/10/12)

 

·         SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D-WA): “So if we can’t get a good deal… then I will absolutely continue this debate into 2013… our country is going to have to face the consequences…” (Sen. Murray, Remarks At The Brookings Institute, 7/16/12)

 

·         Q: “Do you agree with Senator Murray that if you do not get a balanced deal, you’ll fight this into 2013?” SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “…Patty Murray knows what she’s talking about.” (Sen. Reid, Press Briefing, 7/17/12)

 

Expert Warns: Going Over Cliff Would ‘Drive A Worldwide Recession’

 

“Morgan Stanley said this week that concerns about the fiscal cliff are reaching new heights across a wide range of industries. It is already seeing reductions in business orders and hiring, among other areas.” (“U.S. Economic Fears Shift From Europe Toward ‘Fiscal Cliff,’” The Washington Post, 7/17/12)

 

·         “’While our analysts are somewhat less worried about the impact of European bank strains,’ a Morgan Stanley report said Monday, ‘the negative impact of fiscal cliff uncertainty is becoming more widespread.’ The potential economic impact could smother the flickering recovery and further stifle job creation, analysts warn.” (“U.S. Economic Fears Shift From Europe Toward ‘Fiscal Cliff,’” The Washington Post, 7/17/12)

 

“Honeywell CEO David M. Cote, who also served on the Bowles-Simpson commission. … ‘there’s a lot of us that are a little scared about’ the $600 billion cliff looming in January. Going over that cliff would ‘drive a worldwide recession. You can’t let that happen,’ Cote said.” (“Coalition Urges Tax Hikes, Entitlement Cuts To Tame National Debt,” The Washington Post, 7/17/12)

 

UNIVERSITY STUDY: “A new economic impact analysis concludes that 2.14 million American jobs could be lost if the Budget Control Act’s sequestration mandate takes effect on January 2, 2013.” (“Sequestration Puts 2.14 Million Total Jobs At Risk,” George Mason University, 7/17/12)

#TXSen: David Dewhurst Signs Coalition to Reduce Spending's Pledge to 'Reject the Debt'

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Texas Senate candidate joins fellow Senate candidate Ted Cruz and House candidates Wes Riddle (TX-25) and Jessica Puente Bradshaw (TX-34) in pledging to “never vote for an unbalanced budget.”

 

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Amid campaigning before a pivotal July 31 runoff, Texas Senate candidates David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz have signed the “Reject the Debt” spending pledge put out by the nonpartisan Coalition to Reduce Spending.

David Dewhurst released the following statement to coincide with his signature:

“Washington is driving this country into bankruptcy …. and we are putting the American Dream at risk. We need to balance our budget, slash spending and put all programs on the table in order to get our fiscal house in order, just like we’ve done in Texas. As a result of our state’s commitment to conservative principles, Texas has created the best business climate in America. I want to take that successful model to Washington.”

David Dewhurst joins Ted Cruz in his commitment to spending reduction. Wes Riddle, candidate for Congress in Texas’s 25th congressional district, and Jessica Puente Bradshaw, candidate in Texas’s 34th district, who are also facing runoff elections, have signed the spending pledge as well.

Regarding his commitment to the ‘Reject the Debt’ pledge and balanced budgets, Ted Cruz stated:

“America’s debt is the single greatest threat to our nation’s long term security. Right now, we’re on the same road that Greece is on, but there are countries that can bail out Greece. There is no one who can bail out America. I emphatically support a Balanced Budget Amendment, have publicly fought for it, and in the Senate will do everything humanly possible to help pass it.”

Jonathan Bydlak, head of the Coalition to Reduce Spending and former Director of Fundraising for Ron Paul’s 2008 Presidential Campaign, offered the following comment:

“The Texas Senate race has become a bellwether in ushering in a new era of fiscal responsibility, and the Coalition to Reduce Spending is leading the way in crafting this new paradigm. Dewhurst, Cruz, Riddle, and Bradshaw are taking the lead nationally with their commitment to cut spending in order to balance the budget.”

Corie Whalen, a Houston based Political Consultant and member of the Coalition to Reduce Spending’s Board of Directors said:

“It’s heartening to see Texas candidates, particularly in a race as crucial as our Republican US Senate runoff, leading in an effort to truly reform Washington. Too few politicians currently in DC are willing to address reducing the size of a federal government that has grown too large for Texans.

The ‘Reject the Debt’ pledge, the signature program of the Coalition to Reduce Spending, secures three commitments from candidates:

(1) to vote only for balanced budgets; (2) to vote only for new spending programs whose costs are offset elsewhere in the budget; and (3) to not vote to increase federal borrowing. The full text of the pledge can be read at: http://www.ReduceSpending.org/Reject-the-Debt.

The Coalition to Reduce Spending is the only national organization to advocate exclusively for reduced federal spending to balance the budget and is led by a team of professionals in their mid to late-20s who are concerned about how the rising federal debt will affect their future.

More information about the Coalition to Reduce Spending and the Reject the Debt spending pledge can be found online at http://www.ReduceSpending.org.

###

About the Coalition to Reduce Spending: The Coalition is the only national organization that advocates exclusively for reducing federal spending to balance the budget. We believe that our country’s national debt is the challenge of our generation, and that we must reduce government spending to make future prosperity possible.

About Reject the Debt:  The Reject the Debt pledge asks candidates for public office to go on the record with a commitment to reduce federal spending. The Coalition to Reduce Spending believes it is important that elected officials promise to never vote for unbalanced budgets or unnecessary increases in off-budget spending.

Paul Ryan: Taxpayers and the Troops Deserve Answers from the President – The Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012

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WASHINGTON – Today, the House of Representatives voted 414-2 to pass on a bipartisan basis H.R. 5872, the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012.

The Sequestration Transparency Act requires President Obama to detail how the administration plans to implement the budget sequestration cuts scheduled to take place in January 2013 under current law. The legislation recently passed the House Budget Committee on a bipartisan, unanimous vote.

Upon passage of this bipartisan, common-sense legislation, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin issued the following statement:

“The Obama Administration has yet to specify how they would implement current law, while refusing to demonstrate leadership in replacing the arbitrary cuts to core priorities. Today’s legislation marks a bipartisan call for transparency and action from an Administration that appears to have given up on governing. Congress and the American people need a full and complete picture from the President’s Office of Management and Budget on how it will implement these deep reductions called for under the sequestration process.

“The arbitrary, across-the-board sequester cuts would have a devastating impact on our national security and key domestic priorities. That is why Republicans in the House passed legislation earlier this year to replace the across-the-board cuts under sequestration with common-sense reforms and spending reductions.

“Unfortunately, we have not seen the same effort from the Senate or the Administration when it comes to responsible budgeting. The White House refuses to answer basic questions about the law, while the Democrat-controlled Senate has refused to budget in over three years. Senate Majority Leader Reid and other leading Senate Democrats, unwilling to advance solutions, have effectively endorsed crippling cuts to our national defense and massive tax increases that will crush small businesses and families already struggling in this dismal economy. Americans deserve answers from our chief executive on the consequences of the deep reductions from the sequestration process and the specific steps that he will take to address these concerns.”

A Letter to the Administration, From a Small Business Owner Who Did it Himself

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Via Ginny

 

A letter to the President, from a small business owner who did it on his own:

So, this morning was a salient example of why my father [the owner of a small family bakery] hates this Administration, especially after this weekend’s speech.

While we were working on other things, our donut fryer caught fire (nothing serious, sort of).

Apparently a bad welding job from a couple years ago caused shortening to drip into the heating jets, thereby causing a nice little self sustaining fire.

Dad and I just kind of looked at each other with a “now what” expression.  Dad tried smothering it with towels, but after the towels nearly caught fire, he broke down and pulled out the fire extinguisher.

At first, dad was resigned to the idea of scrapping every single donut for the day (which he had already cut out).  So not only would we lose all that labor, we’d essentially lose our entire day’s profit, and that is not taking into account having to fix something we had already paid to fix.

Where was the government?  Where were the roads, teachers, whatever that the President chided us about?

The reality of the situation is, it is the small business owner that takes all the risk.  If it costs you nothing, or if there is absolutely no risk, can you really take credit for “helping” someone?

My dad and I had to decide if we were going to try to re-light the fryer and basically pray it didn’t flash over in my face while frying donuts.  That, or watch the entire day go straight to hell.

*We* pay the price of failure, but the government loses nothing.  If we succeed, the government gets to take half.

Why?  Because they built some damn roads with *our* tax money?  Because they hired some teachers I never saw, with *our* tax money?  The hell you say!  Where’s the risk?  Where’s the sacrifice?

The government risks *nothing* because any and every investment they make *we* pay for. When Solyndra fails, no one in the government loses, The People do.

The small businessman risks his savings, his house, his livelihood, his health, and sometimes his life, and when he actually succeeds (through hard work, massive hours, and pain) the government takes half or more after risking *nothing*.

So yes, Mr. President, we did it on our own and you can basically screw the hell off.

p.s. we fried the donuts.  #customerservice

#INSen Video: Mourdock Pledges to Repeal Obamacare In New Ad

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Last week in the US House, Congressman Joe Donnelly voted again to support ObamaCare. Congressman Joe Donnelly double downed on his support for all aspects of ObamaCare. No wonder it’s an issue he doesn’t want to talk about. Treasurer Mourdock has stated his opposition to this disastrous piece of legislation and will vote to repeal it.

MOURDOCK: “The Supreme Court made one thing clear. Obamacare will raise our taxes. But President Obama and Congressman Donnelly weren’t honest with us. Obamacare cuts Medicare services to seniors by five hundred billion dollars, and causes businesses to drop millions of workers from their health care coverage. We didn’t ask for this. I’m Richard Mourdock, and I approve this message because I’ll vote to repeal the Obamacare tax and Congressman Donnelly won’t”

Learn more at http://www.RichardMourdock.com.