Government Pork, Waste and Fraud

How to use biodiesel efficiently: Don't unload it. CBC News | Canada ^ | Dec 20, 2012 | John Nicol and Dave Seglins The mystery of the trainload of biodiesel that crossed back and forth across the SarniaPort Huron border without ever unloading its cargo, as reported by CBC News, has been solved. House Ethics closes Countrywide probe without taking action thehill.com ^ | 12/27/12 | Peter Schroeder The House Ethics Committee has decided to close its investigation into preferential mortgages doled out under a controversial VIP program without taking any action. The panel said it was not taking any action on members who received more affordable mortgages under the program, instituted by the now-defunct Countrywide Financial because while allegations surrounding the program and lawmakers involved "serious matters," they largely fell outside its jurisdiction. For example, many of the allegations pertain to actions outside the Ethics Committee's statute of limitations greater than three Congresses ago and many of those accused are no longer working in Congress... The Worst Green Subsidy Of Them All Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 12/27/2012 | Jarrett Skorup A proposed ethanol plant for Frontier Renewable Resources in the Upper Peninsula has survived a legal challenge filed by the Sierra Club and a Chippewa County resident. But the company building the plant may be one of the biggest green failures in the country. While countless articles have been dedicated to exposing green failures like Solyndra, A123, LG Chem, Energ1 and others, Frontier, which is a part of Mascoma Corp., has received little media attention. In June, Michigan Capitol Confidential reported that Mascoma said it had "no experience in the markets in which we intend to operate." As was documented.. The Obama Green Energy Scam You May Have Missed Townhall.com ^ | December 27, 2012 | Donald Lambro WASHINGTON - Have you seen the latest development in President Obama's wasteridden, clean energy program that's now under federal investigation at the U.S. Treasury Department? Three of the country's biggest residential solar panel installers -- SolarCity, SunRun and Sungevity -- have been subpoenaed by Treasury's Office of Inspector General for their financial records to determine if they had inflated the market value of their costs when they applied for federal reimbursement. The firms have reportedly received more than $500 million in federal grants and tax credits. Officials in two of them, Solar-City and SunRun, have been among some of Obama's..

Ethics Committee Can't Find Anything Wrong With Secret Loan From Fraudster to Rep. Gregory Meeks National Legal & Policy Center ^ | December 20, 2012 | Ken Boehm Today the House Ethics Committee announced that it was taking no action against Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) who secretly took a $40,000 payment from an individual who subsequently pled guilty in a multi-million-dollar mortgage scam. In 2007, Meeks received $40,000 from a "businessman," Edul Ahmad. Under the Ethics in Government Act, Congressmen are required to disclose such financial transactions on their annual Financial Disclosure Reports. Meeks failed to disclose the transaction on his reports for 2007, 2008 and 2009. In 2010, the New York Daily News reported, "Queens Congressman Gregory Meeks made no payments for three years on a.. Hurricane Sandy relief turning into Porkfest 2012 Hotair ^ | 12/19/2012 | Ed Morrissey Mary Katharine Ham wrote last week about the porkfest in the Senate bill authorizing emergency relief spending for Hurricane Sandy, but the Senate hasnt gotten the message yet. David Francis reports on more aspects of the larded-up bill for The Fiscal Times, while noting that this has become business as usual on Capitol Hill especially while the normal budgeting process has been derailed: The Sandy emergency spending package also contains provisions that had previously been rejected or had not yet been considered by Congress. This includes a measure that alters how the federal government manages areas prone to flooding,. Nissan Admits Arrogance in Sales of Taxpayer-Subsidized Leaf National Legal & Policy Center ^ | December 19, 2012 | Paul Chesser A top Nissan official has said the company was arrogant in its marketing and sales approach for the all-electric Leaf, which received a $1.4 billion stimulus loan guarantee fromPresident Obamas Department of Energy. Not that the company is going to return taxpayers their money, since the premise upon which Nissan received the loan were ridiculously high production estimates. Too much in expenses would have to be eaten otherwise. We were a little bit arrogant as a manufacturer when we went to the 50-state rollout,said Al Castignetti, Nissans vice president for sales, to Automotive News in late November. Uncle Sam Books 50% Loss As Government Motors Buys Back 200MM Shares From Tim Geithner zero hedge ^ | 12/19/12 | tyler durden A few days after divesting its stake in the firm that started it all, AIG, and at a profit at that (ignoring that the risk has merely been onboarded by the Fed whose DV01 is now $2+ billion as a result), the US Treasury continues to divest of all its bailout stake, this time proceeding to GM, where the channel stuffing firm just announced it would buyback 200MM shares from the US government at a price of $27.50. More importantly, the "Treasury said it intends to sell its other remaining 300.1 million shares through various means in an orderly fashion..

Postal employees stole millions in federal checks Washington Guardian ^ | December19, 2012 | PHILLIP SWARTS And the Georgia workers aren't alone. Between April and September of this year, 171 Postal Service employees were arrested for theft, willful delay or destruction of mail, according to a new report by the USPS inspector general. The Service has about 546,000 employees. "We have taken two corrupt postal workers, including a supervisor, off the streets who were responsible for stealing thousands of checks worth over $3 million," U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates in Atlanta said. "We will continue to target these theft rings, both those on the inside and their network of check cashers, to address this serious problem. Transparency? EPA Under Investigation for Using 'Alias' Emails to Avoid FOIA Requests CNSNews ^ | December 18, 2012 | Susan Jones (CNSNews.com) - The Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Inspector General says it will investigate whether EPA officials -- including Administrator Lisa Jackson -used alias email accounts to conduct official government business, thereby shielding those communications from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Jackson reportedly used the name "Richard Windsor" on an official email account from which she may have sent messages on the administration's coal policy. Chris Horner of the freemarket Competitive Enterprise Institute says he discovered Jackson's "false identity" while doing research for his book, "The Liberal War on Transparency. Horner said he came across an "obscure" EPA... Conservatives complain Sandy bill includes millions in unrelated spending (loot for American Samoa?) The Hill ^ | 12/17/12 | Erik Wasson, Kevin Bogardus Conservatives complain Sandy bill includes millions in unrelated spendingBy Erik Wasson and Kevin Bogardus - 12/17/12 12:33 PM ET Conservative groups say the Senates $60.4 billion Hurricane Sandy supplemental bill is loaded with millions of dollars in spending unrelated to damage from the devastating storm. The bill includes $2 million to fix museum roofs in Washington, D.C.; $100 million for Head Start centers; $348 million for damage to parks, including the Statue of Libertys island; and $4 million to repair the Kennedy Space Center and other launch sites. It also includes funding for commercial fisheries disasters for as far away. Handpicked Bank Fails Schools' Test (Reparations averted) Rhino Times ^ | 12/13/12 | Paul C. Clark Handpicked Bank Fails Schools' Testby Paul C. Clark Staff Writer December 13, 2012 The administration of Guilford County School Superintendent Mo Green has killed an effort by the Guilford County Board of Education's four black members to divert taxpayer money from the banks Guilford County Schools usually uses to Durham-based Mechanics and Farmers Bank. After pressure from school board members Sandra Alexander, Deena Hayes, Carlvena Foster and Amos Quick, the school board in September voted unanimously to consider overriding the way it invests the taxpayer money it holds to steer money to one bank: the Greensboro branch of the black-owned,

Harry Reid, Jon Corzine and other cronies that got away in 2012 Fox News ^ | 12/12/12 | Peter Schweizer Harry Reid, Jon Corzine and other cronies that got away in 2012By Peter Schweizer Published December 12, 2012 FoxNews.com **SNIP** 2. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) For Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), politics is a family business. And when it comes to doling out the federal goodies to favored friends, few can compete with the Nevada senator. Sen. Reid has sponsored at least $47 million in earmarks that directly benefitted organizations that one of his sons, Key Reid, [RW1] either lobbies for or is affiliated with. Recently, another of Sen. Reids sons, Rory Reid, helped Chinese energy giant ENN Energy Group make.. (Dayton Ohio Imam Scams Federal Food Stamps) Man in $3.8M Food Stamp Fraud Case Sentenced Dayton Daily News ^ | Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012 | Cornelius Frolik Man in $3.8M food stamp fraud case sentenced A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Al-Idu Al-Gaheem to one year and one day in prison for his role in a scheme that bilked $3.8 million from the federal food stamp program. Al-Gaheem, the former owner of two Dayton View businesses and the imam of Masjid At-Taqwa mosque, was the second of four defendants to be sentenced in the case. All four defendants have pleaded guilty. AlGaheem faced as many as four years in prison after he pleaded guilty in August to felony charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy Surprise! Treasury IG probing multi-million-dollar fraud in green-energy grants, tax credits Hot Air ^ | 12:41 pm on December 14, 2012 | Ed Morrissey And the probe doesnt involve some bit players in an obscure program, either. The 1603 Program was one of the centerpieces of Barack Obamas 2009 stimulus, designed to subsidize a transition from hydrocarbon-based energy to renewables in the residential market, and federal government sunk $13 billion into the effort. Now the Inspector General of Treasury has opened a probe of the three largest providers of solar panel installations, who gained the most from the 1603 Program, and who may have fraudulently calculated their bills in order to claim more taxpayer cash: Three of the countrys most prolific installers of.. Commerce secretary: Return $544K in fish fines ap ^ | Dec 14, 2012 | JAY LINDSAY The acting U.S. Commerce Secretary on Friday ordered federal regulators to return about $544,000 in unjust fines collected from 14 fishermen or fishing businesses, most of whom worked Northeast waters. Secretary Rebecca Blank also directed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to forgive two other complainants a combined $150,000 in debt. Her decisions followed the second phase of a lengthy probe into charges by New England fishermen of abusive, unfair treatment by the officers and attorneys who enforce the nation's fishing laws. Blank's decisions mean nearly $1.2 million in unjust penalties has now been ordered returned to fishermen.

Awash in red ink, Detroit pays out nearly $500k in bonuses NBCNews.com ^ | 12/13/2012 | Martha C. White Detroit is dangling at the edge of insolvency, but the city reportedly has enough funds to pay workers nearly $500,000 in bonuses, the Detroit News reported Thursday. The newspaper said the annual longevity bonuses, which went out last Friday to 1,148 workers, ranged from $150 to $750, depending on how long a worker had been employed. The city, which has fewer than 10,000 employees, eliminated longevity bonuses for union employees three years ago, the Detroit News added. But a statement emailed to NBCNews by Mayor Dave Bings spokesman Anthony Neely said the majority of workers 697 of them Govt Scientist Threatens Murderous Rampage- Massive Spending @Secret Junk Science Lab Gateway Pundit/Watchdog.org ^ | 12-12-12 | Jim Hoft COMPLETE TITLE: Government Scientist Threatens Murderous Rampage After Watchdog.org Exposes Massive Spending at Secret Junk Science Lab ~ ~ ~ ~ Nutty Professor Kerrilee Ann Crosby threatened a murderous rampage after a conservative group exposed massive spending at a secret green junk science lab.Watchdog.org reported: A woman angered by a Watchdog investigation into the government lab where she works retaliated by threatening mass murder against this news organization in several Twitter posts. Have you ever felt like going on a murderous rampage? Start at @WatchdogCO s offices. They perpetuate lies like this, Kerrilee Ann Crosby tweeted last month while working.. The $822,000-per-Year Bureaucrat and the Death of California Townhall.com ^ | December 12, 2012 | Daniel J. Mitchell Over the years, Ive shared some outrageous examples of overpaid bureaucrats. The chief bureaucrat of a low-income California city getting almost $800,000 per year.Cops in Oakland getting average compensation of $188,000.A school superintendent in New York raking in more than $500 thousand of annual compensation.A Philadelphia bureaucrat, after working only 2-1/2 years, nailing down a guaranteed pension of $50,000 per year.A New York school bureaucrat simultaneously getting a $225,000 salary and $300,000 pension.California taxpayers being forced to pay a fired bureaucrat $550,000 for unused vacation time.An employee of the New Jersey Turnpike system raking in annual compensation of $320,000. Unpaid intern for Senator Menendez of NJ arrested for being an illegal immigrant NYP ^ | December 12, 2012 U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez employed as an unpaid intern in his Senate office an illegal immigrant who was a registered sex offender, now under arrest by immigration authorities, The Associated Press has learned. The Homeland Security Department instructed federal agents not to arrest him until after Election Day, a U.S. official involved in the case told the AP

An Embarrassing Metric Disappears: Why are gov't stats taxpayer migration being discontinued? National Review ^ | 12/11/2012 | Jim Pettit As the din of Americas falling headfirst over the fiscal cliff reverberates across the nation, the Obama administration is quietly killing a key economic metric that tells how, and how many, people are voting with their feet. Since 1991 the Internal Revenue Service has been compiling statistics on filers addresses, which the agencys Statistics of Income division uses to show who is moving into and out of every county and state in the nation. As youd expect, the IRS also knows the aggregate income levels of those who move. So the movements of the most fundamental productive components of the. Federal Court Hearing Today in Defense of Tulsa Police Captain Punished for Refusing.. americanfreedomlawcenter.org ^ | 11DEC12 | AFLC Today, Robert J. Muise, Co-Founder and Senior Counsel of the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC), is presenting oral argument at a hearing in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma on behalf of Captain Paul Fields, a Tulsa police officer who was summarily punished for refusing to attend a mandated Islamic proselytizing event held at a local mosque. The hearing will be held before Chief Judge Gregory K. Frizzell at 1:30 p.m. CT in Room 411 at the federal courthouse located at 333 West Fourth Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The media and public are welcome to. China's Wanxiang wins auction for U.S. government-backed A123 Chi Trib ^ | December 08, 2012 | Tom Hals WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - China's largest maker of auto parts won a politically sensitive auction for A123 Systems Inc , a bankrupt maker of batteries for electric cars that was funded partly with U.S. government money, A123's investment banker said on Saturday. Timothy Pohl of Lazard Freres said Wanxiang Group Corp's bid of about $260 million topped a joint bid from Johnson Controls Inc of Milwaukee and Japan's NEC Corp <6701.T> for the maker of lithium-ion batteries. Siemens AG of Germany had also qualified to bid, according to two people familiar with the auction, who asked not to be identified... GAO Report Confirms Pigford Designed for Undetectable Fraud Breitbart ^ | 12/8/12 | Lee Stranahan An official government report released Friday admits that the Pigford Black Farmers Settlement was designed with no mechanism for objectively determining fraud but hid that shocking conclusion under pages of bureaucratic doublespeak. Burying the lede is a journalistic term used to describe the act of hiding essential information by putting nonessentials in front of it. On December 7, 2012, the United States Government Accountability Office released report number GAO-13-69R, also known as "Civil Rights: Additional Actions in Pigford II Claims Process Could Reduce Risk of Improper Determinations." Just based on the title, you can already tell the report is needlessly.

U.S. Government Lends $105M to Brazilto Build Aquarium Cybercast News Service ^ | December 7, 2012 | Terence P. Jeffrey The U.S. Export-Import Bank,an agency of the federal government,is lending $105 million to the Brazilian state of Ceara to help build an aquarium in its capital city of Fortaleza. An anticipated tourist attraction,the aquarium will boast four floors housing 25 large tanks containing approximately 15 million liters of water and showcasing 500 marine species and 35,000 individual specimens, the Export- Import Bank said in a press release. The aquarium will also feature interactive exhibits,two 4D cinemas,one 3D cinema, and an educational platform Ex-Dixon official's home: Pool, baby grand, chandelier with pistols (faces 60 felony charges) Chicago Tribune ^ | 12/07/12 Ex-Dixon official's home: Pool, baby grand, chandelier with pistolsAssociated Press 4:15 p.m. CST, December 7, 2012 Rita Crundwell spared no expense when she built and furnished her sprawling home with custom touches like a chandelier made of old revolvers and spurs, an in-ground pool and a baby grand piano in the wood-beamed living room. **SNIP** And she did it all, Crundwell has admitted, by stealing $53 million from the people of Dixon, embezzling the money over two decades while serving as comptroller in the city that was Ronald Reagan's boyhood home. The 59-year-old pleaded guilty last month and will be. Obama Administration Helping Small Businesses--In Latin America CNS News ^ | December 6, 2012 | Penny Starr Ines Bustillo, director of the Washington, D.C. office of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), spoke at an event on Dec. 6, 2012 on Capitol Hill. (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr) (CNSNews.com) At an event on Capitol Hill to discuss how the U.S. State Department is helping small businesses in Latin America, the Washington director of a U.N. economic commission on Latin America said average annual growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in that region in 2011 was 4.3 percent -- almost double the average annual growth rate of the U.S. Ines Bustillo, the Washington director.. Profitable not-for-profits (tax dollars fund high life tax-free) NY POST ^ | 12/7/12 | EDITORIAL New York pols turn non-profits into personal piggy banks with tax dollars. * Queens state Senator Shirley Huntley steered $30,000 to her niece; Huntley was arrested and lost reelection. * Ex Brooklyn councilman Larry Seabrook was convicted of funneling $1.5 million to his mistress, his sister, two brothers and other pals through a network of nonprofits. * Ex Bronx state senator Pedro Espada was convicted of looting $545,000 from his federally funded health clinic for vacations, lavish parties...and $1 million to cover his legal fees. * Ex Queens assemblyman and powerful labor leader Brian McLaughlin stole $3.1 million from public.

Profiting From a Childs Illiteracy New York Times ^ | December 7, 2012 | NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF JACKSON, Ky. THIS is what poverty sometimes looks like in America: parents here in Appalachian hill country pulling their children out of literacy classes. Moms and dads fear that if kids learn to read, they are less likely to qualify for a monthly check for having an intellectual disability. Many people in hillside mobile homes here are poor and desperate, and a $698 monthly check per child from the Supplemental Security Income program goes a long way and those checks continue until the child turns 18. The kids get taken out of the program because the parents are going.. How Corruption Is Strangling U.S. Innovation HBR Blogs ^ | December 7, 2012 | James Allworth If there's been one topic that has entirely dominated the post-election landscape, it's the fiscal cliff. Will taxes be raised? Which programs will be cut? Who will blink first in negotiations? For all the talk of the fiscal cliff, however, I believe the US is facing a much more serious problem, one that has simply not been talked about at all: corruption. But this isn't the overt, "bartering of government favors in return for private kickbacks" corruption. Instead, this type of corruption has actually been legalized. And it is strangling both US competitiveness, and the ability for US firms to. Muslim Brotherhood inherits U.S. war gear Washington Times ^ | 12/07/2012 | Rowan Scarborough For Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government, more battle tanks and jet fighters are on their way from the United States. Cairos military link to Washington has remained intact, meaning the U.S. will continue to modernize the biggest military in Africa even as President Mohammed Morsi has decreed near-absolute power for himself and his supporters and opponents battle outside his palace. Analysts say Egypts military buildup presents risks for Washington and Israel with the growing influence of the Brotherhood, whose overriding goal is to establish Shariah, or Islamic, law worldwide. REPORT: DHS GRANTS USED FOR SNO-CONE MACHINES, UNDERWATER ROBOTS breitbart ^ | december 7, 2012 | mary chastain Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn released a scathing report on wasteful spending at the Department of Homeland Security. The report concentrates mainly on the grant program, Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) which is meant to help at-risk cities strengthen their security against terrorists. DHS has spent almost $7.144 billion in UASI grants this past decade, but there is no hard evidence grant recipient cities are any safer. The program used to include 64 cities, but this was cut down to 31 in 2012. The money is specifically meant for terrorist protection. Officials in Michigan used money to pay for 13 sno-cone..

House Passes Measure Removing Word Lunatic From Federal Law (Good one!) CBS D.C. ^ | 12/06/12 | CBS D.C. Staff WASHINGTON (CBS DC) The word lunatic will be stricken from federal law under legislation that passed the House by a vote of 398-1 on Wednesday. The congressional action is the most recent effort to eliminate language from the U.S. code that has become outdated or demeaning. Two years ago, Congress removed references in federal law to the term mental retardation. Battery maker that received stimulus money could be sold to Chinese company Steven Mufson ^ | 12/5/12 | WaPo A bankrupt battery manufacturer that was a cornerstone of President Obamas effort to make the United States a global leader in clean energy technology could end up in the hands of a Chinese company when it goes on the auction block Thursday. Congressional Republicans call the company, A123 Systems, which received $133 million in federal stimulus grants, a textbook case of how the Obama administration wasted taxpayer money trying to nurture new industries. Administration officials say the stimulus money was used to build a new manufacturing facility in Michigan China bids today on yet another failed Obama energy loan recipient Investors Business Daily ^ | December 6, 2012 | Andrew Malcolm You wont hear much about it elsewhere today. But from some downtown Chicago law offices will come the distinct sound of one more nail being driven into the coffin of Barack Obamas green energy giveaway loans. A123 Systems will be auctioned off. Its a Michigan lithium ion battery maker which declared bankruptcy back in October,the same day it cashed another $1 million check from the crack Obama investment team. A123 is one of those notorious bad bets like Solyndra that the Obama administration poured billions offices taxpayer dollars into. A123, an 11-year-old firm founded to manufacture batteries for electric cars... DHS grants 'like winning the lottery' for state, local officials Washington Examiner ^ | Dec 5, 2012 | Mark Flatten News: Watchdog DHS grants 'like winning the lottery' for state, local officials December 5, 2012 | 11:00 am | Modified: December 5, 2012 at 11:05 am America is prepared if pumpkin-starved zombies that can only be killed with flavored snowballs invade, thanks to billions of dollars in federal grants to harden the homeland against terror attacks. What's not clear is whether the United States is any better protected against more conventional attacks by actual humans using guns, bombs or chemical weapons, according to report on wasteful spending of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) money issued today by Sen. Tom Coburn,...

Battery maker that received stimulus money could be sold to Chinese company Steven Mufson ^ | 12/5/12 | WaPo A bankrupt battery manufacturer that was a cornerstone of President Obamas effort to make the United States a global leader in clean energy technology could end up in the hands of a Chinese company when it goes on the auction block Thursday. Congressional Republicans call the company, A123 Systems, which received $133 million in federal stimulus grants, a textbook case of how the Obama administration wasted taxpayer money trying to nurture new industries. Administration officials say the stimulus money was used to build a new manufacturing facility in Michigan Taxpayers footing the bill for next generation of electric car batteries Fox News ^ | December 5, 2012 | John Brandon Whether you like it or not, you are an investor in the electric vehicle (EV) battery of tomorrow. Late last week, the Department of Energy announced plans to spend $120 million to establish a major battery research center at the Argonne National Lab outside of Chicago. The stated goal: to create a new Manhattan Project that will develop an EV battery in the next five years that lasts five times as long and costs one-fifth as much as current EV batteries. And they say its all in the interest of national security. The Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR).. To What Lengths Did Someone Go to Scapegoat George Zimmerman? The PJ Tattler ^ | December 5, 2012 | Bryan Preston The new photo of George Zimmerman raises some very disturbing issues. Take a look at the black and white version of the photo, which the Florida prosecutor gave to the defense as part of the discovery process shortly after his altercation with Trayvon Martin. ................... The man in the photo above looks somewhat menacing. The misshapen nose suggests a history of brawls, the color having been drained away, taking with it the reds and purples indicating a fresh wound from a very recent attack. The vacant look in his eyes suggests no remorse for the killing of a young man,... CIA Makes History: Please Apply Here If You Are a Member of the LGBT Community CNSNews ^ (CNSNews.com) For the first time in its history, the Central Intelligence Agency is actively seeking recruits from a new demographic the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community.

Taxpayers footing the bill for next generation of electric car batteries Fox News ^ | December 5, 2012 | John Brandon Whether you like it or not, you are an investor in the electric vehicle (EV) battery of tomorrow. Late last week, the Department of Energy announced plans to spend $120 million to establish a major battery research center at the Argonne National Lab outside of Chicago. The stated goal: to create a new Manhattan Project that will develop an EV battery in the next five years that lasts five times as long and costs one-fifth as much as current EV batteries. And they say its all in the interest of national security. The Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR). San Bernardino Will Try to Hammer "Nail House" Loans in 2013 Calwatchdog.com ^ | December 3, 2012 | Wayne Lusvardi Mortgage Resolution Partners is a private mortgage hedge fund manager hired by the county of San Bernardino. It now has vowed to move ahead with its controversial plan to use eminent domain to buy out underwater mortgages from lenders. MRPs plan is to take the mortgages by force of eminent domain law from lenders, reduce the amount owed on each loan and let the homeowners continue to live in their homes while making lower payments. The d'RAT Way To Buy Votes In Seattle: Now that gay and lesbians are allowed to marry each other, or esteemed mayor has a new proposal. He wants to give each gay and lesbian that marries $90.00 a month as retrabution for crimes the city acted upon them for not allowing them to get married in the past. This payment could go on for their lifetime and is taken out of the general fund. In otherwords, taypayer money. My bet is, the new kooky d'RAT governor is going to see this and will think the whole state should be doing this as well. Inspector General Probing FBI/CAIR Interactions www.investigativeproject.org ^ | 30NOV12 | IPT News The Justice Department's Inspector General is investigating contact between FBI field offices and representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a report to Congress first flagged by reporter Ryan Reilly shows. The FBI cut off contact with CAIR in 2008, citing evidence in a Hamas-financing trial that tied the organization to both the Palestinian terrorist group and Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. Internal records of a U.S.-based Hamas support network listed CAIR among the group's member organizations. "[U]ntil we can resolve whether there continues to be a connection between CAIR or its executives and HAMAS," a senior FBI official wrote in.

Koontz case to protect property rights (at Supreme Court; Bureaucrats unfairly charge for permits) Washington Times ^ | Dec 2 2012 | Ilya Shapiro and Timothy Sandefu The right to build a home or a business on your own land is basic to the very concept of property rights. Of course, government can impose reasonable conditions for health and safety, but too often, officials misuse land-use permitting to enrich the public sector rather than for legitimate regulation. In fact, many bureaucrats view the right to develop ones property as a privilege landowners must purchase, sometimes at the cost of their constitutional freedoms. Thankfully, the U.S. Supreme Court recently accepted a Florida case that could force an attitude change on regulators across the country. Koontz v. St. Johns. AAA SAYS CERTAIN ETHANOL FUEL CAN DAMAGE CARS, ASKS EPA TO REMOVE FROM PUMPS Human Events ^ | 11/30/2012 | Audrey Hudson The recently approved use of E15 fuel made from blending gasoline and ethanol could damage vehicles and void warranties says the American Automobile Association (AAA), which is urging the federal government to ban it from the market. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the fuel earlier this summer, but AAA says only five percent of vehicles on the road are approved by the manufacturers to use the special blend they say causes significant problems such as accelerated engine wear and failure, fuel-system damage and false check engine warning lights. Trayvon Martin Case Whoopsie Scheme Team MEGA-Fail: Dee Dee is Keyser Soze Motion to Compel The Conservative Treehouse ^ | December 1, 2012 | Sundance Today the George Zimmerman defense team revealed a bombshell discovery. A discovery that will ultimately deconstruct the entire persecution of George Zimmerman, and lead to serious liability for Fraud against the Scheme Team and Malicious Prosecution against the State of Florida and Special Prosecutor Angela Corey. We have outlined on numerous occasions there was nothing existing on March 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 to law enforcement that would support an arrest of George Zimmerman. The best evidence we have is the testimony of George Zimmerman, and he says the decedent was the primary aggressor in the whole event, ..

Solar firm that got $26M in Miss. loans is closing WLOX 13 ^ | November 29, 2012 JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi taxpayers may have only an empty Senatobia building and some solar panel equipment to show for nearly $26 million in loans provided to Twin Creeks Technologies. The California-based solar technology firm is liquidating, and a company that bought Twin Creeks' assets does not intend to take over its agreement with Mississippi. The contract called for Twin Creeks to invest at least $132 million and create at least 500 jobs. The Mississippi Development Authority's Kathy Gelston says officials are negotiating for Twin Creeks to repay aid above the value of the building and equipment. Lenders sold.. New E15 Gasoline May Damage Vehicles and Cause Consumer Confusion PR Newswire - Yahoo ^ | 11/30/12 | PR Newswire AAA research reveals need for regulators and industry to suspend E15 sales to protect motorists ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A recent survey by AAA finds a strong likelihood of consumer confusion and the potential for voided warranties and vehicle damage as a result of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recent approval of E15 gasoline. An overwhelming 95 percent of consumers surveyed have not heard of E15, a newly approved gasoline blend that contains up to 15 percent ethanol. ... Only about 12 million out of the more than 240 million light-duty vehicles on the roads today are... NEA Awards 832 Art Works Grants Totaling $23.3 million NEA ^ | 11/27/12 Plus, 40 Creative Writing Fellowships totaling $1 million awarded to poets November 27, 2012 Contact: Victoria Hutter 202.682.5570 hutterv@arts.gov Washington, DC -National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman announced today that the NEA will award 832 grants totaling $23.3 million through its Art Works funding category. Not-for-profit arts organizations in 47 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico will receive funding. The supported projects span 13 artistic disciplines and fields and focus primarily on the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing works for the benefit of American audiences. This student-debt crisis is escalating quickly Hotair ^ | 11/30/2012 | Erika Johnsen Throughout his perpetual campaigning, President Obama has made a big point about being the champion of students and young people in helping to make college more accessible and affordable and helping out with student debt --- and yet, miraculously, here we are with student-loan debt and college tuition prices both quickly ballooning, and no end in sight. Could it be that perhaps the government trying to do more to "help" prospective-and-past students is actually what's dramatically worsening the student-debt problem? From the WSJ: Nearly all student loans93% of them last yearare made directly by the government, which asks little or...

Why Is The US Building A Secret $100 Million Underground Facility Outside Tel Aviv? Business Insider ^ | 11/29/12 | Robert Johnson Leave it to legendary Walter Pincus from the Washington Post to flesh out a Request for Proposal construction project planned for Israel called Site 911. The oddly named project will cost up to $100 million, take more than two years to complete, and can only be built by workers from specific countries with proper security clearances. Palestinians need not apply. When complete the well-guarded compound will have five levels buried underground and six additional outbuildings on the above grounds, within the perimeter. At about 127,000 square feet, the first three floors will house classrooms, an auditorium, and a laboratory ... [San Francisco] MTC building price soars to $218 million sfgate.com ^ | Thursday, November 29, 2012 | Michael Cabanatuan and John Cot (11-29) 12:56 PST San Francisco -- Things are looking up for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's controversial plan to transform the old tank factory and postal facility at 390 Main St. into a suitable place for regional agencies to cohabit particularly the price tag. The estimated cost now stands at $218 million, which is $38 million higher than the original estimate from July 2011 but $51 million more than the most recent estimate, adopted in November 2011. (The projected cost fell after the agency bought the building at a lower price.) Federal Student Lending Swells (so are delinquencies) Wallstreetjournal ^ The federal lending program designed to make college education available to everyone is creating a pile of debt so large it is fanning worries that it has become too easy to borrow too much. Student Loan Debt Hits Another New Record: Study CNBC ^ | 18 Oct 2012 | Scott Cohn As costs of college soars (with thanks to absurd union salaries and benefits, as well as absurd administrator salaries and benefits), those attending college have increasing trouble paying back loans. ... a stunning 37.8 percent of recent graduates are working in jobs that do not require a college degree. The study said that means wages are depressed, making the situation for graduates even more difficult.

BORDER CROSSING OPERATES ON HONOR SYSTEM, BORDER PATROL HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY human events ^ | november 28, 2012 | Audrey Hudson The Obama administration is set to reopen a crossing station at the Texas and Mexico border that was closed after the September 11 terrorist attack for security concerns, yet is newly constructed to be monitored by Border agents stationed hundreds of miles away. Federal officials estimate the Boquillas crossing located in the Big Bend National Park will accommodate 20,000 visitors a year, whose entry into the U.S. will by monitored by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers 300 miles away in El Paso through surveillance cameras that will observe kiosks where identification cards are scanned for access. Plastic thefts now a multimillion-dollar criminal business http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_22078208/plastic-thefts-now-multimillion-dollarcriminal-business Thieves steal 1,100 plastic milk crates a day from Rockview Farms dairy costing them $1.4 million a year Thieves cash plastic in for 15 cents a pound Nationwide loss estimated to be $500 million One underground processor ground 20,000 lbs a day 50 people last year charged with possessing stolen property

DOD Wastes Billions on Non Military Projects Judicial Watch ^ | November 27, 2012 The Department of Defense (DOD) is responsible for protecting national security and providing military forces to deter war, yet it blows tens of billions of dollars on preposterous things unrelated to its mission. A variety of unimaginable examples are featured in a baffling report (Department of Everything ) published this month by a Republican U.S. Senator, who asserts the Pentagon could easily save around $70 billion over ten years without cutting any Army brigade combat teams, Navy combat ships or Air Force fighter squadrons. It could be done simply by getting rid of the waste, according to the findings.

CIA Quietly Closes Global Warming Unit (Center on Climate Change and National Security) The Moral Liberal ^ | 11/26/12 CIA Quietly Closes Global Warming UnitCORRUPTION CHRONICLES More than three yearsand no doubt a chunk of changelater, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is quietly shutting down its insignificant center dedicated to climate change. Thats right; the scandal-plagued government agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior U.S. policymakers operated a special unit that focused on global warming. Known as the Center on Climate Change and National Security, it was an exclusive division led by senior specialists. It operated under a cloak of secrecy that rejected all public-records requests, despite President Obamas promise to run a transparent government. Pentagon Spends $1.5 Million To Develop Its Own Jerky (that tastes like a Fruit Roll Up) Washington Guardian ^ | 7:17 EST, November 23, 2012 he Pentagon wins a Hammer for spending money earmarked for weapons and combat gear testing on jerky available at any grocery store UPDATED 7:17 AM EST, November 23, 2012 | BY Phillip Swarts The Defense Department's Foreign Comparative Testing program is supposed to study weapons and combat technology and determine the appropriate gear for U.S. troops. That usually means testing body armor, batteries for battlefield electronics and mine-clearing systems. But the program strayed from its normal work recently to study the culinary skill of turning thin strips of beef into jerky. The goal, officials say, was to make a beef... Getting paid to sit on the couch (Illinois state so-called workers) Chicago Tribune ^ | 11/24/12 Getting paid to sit on the couchWhat a waste of tax money November 24, 2012 Tribune reporters Jared S. Hopkins and Alex Richards recently exposed one of those headscratching how-Illinois-works stories that will drive you crazy. This state is perpetually broke, yet it allows government employees to get paid for doing no work. Between 2007 and September of this year, 2,033 state workers were placed on paid leave at various times, at a cost of more than $23 million. Employees placed on paid administrative leave are typically being investigated for alleged wrongdoing. Maybe an employee has been accused of stealing,

15 members of Joe Berrios' family on county, state payrolls (Chicago, cook county democrat) http://www.suntimes.com ^ | november 16, 2012 | DAN MIHALOPOULOS For Joe Berrios, the Cook County assessor who is also the county Democratic Party chairman, government is the family business. That got him in trouble with the county ethics board, which called for Berrios to fire three family members who are on his staff and fined him $10,000 for violating the county?s anti-nepotism ban by hiring two of them -- his son and sister -- after he was elected assessor in 2010. But the Berrios family's presence on government payrolls goes far beyond that. In September, his nephew Stephen Berrios got a job working for the Cook County judiciary. Alaskan town home to airport with no planes and harbor with no road Yahoo News ^ | 11/12/12 | Eric Pfeiffer Remember Alaska's infamous bridge to nowhere? Well, another town in "Seward's Icebox" has upped the ante after building an unused $75.5 million airport and a $29 million harbor with no roads connecting to the town. SEIU Worker Sought Fake Names To Sabotage LA Pension Switch CBSLA.com) ^ | November 21, 2012 8:18 AM | Bill Polish LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) A former Los Angeles mayor leading an effort to change pensions plans for newly-hired public employees says he has evidence that a lowlevel union member is behind an alleged illegal counter-campaign. KNX 1070s Bill Polish reports Richard Riordan is hoping to amass enough signatures to put a plan to transition newly-hired city workers away from taxpayer-guaranteed pensions and towards 401(k)-style accounts before voters in May. Download: 2-fraud-bpo-w-rick-riordan-fmrla-mayor.mp3 According to an email obtained and released by Riordan, an employee with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 721 sent out an email calling on members to sign. White House Announces $6 Billion to Promote Clean Energy in Asia http://cnsnews.com ^ | november 20, 2012 | fred lucas The White House announced the federal government will spend $6 billion over four years for a sustainable energy future plan with Asian countries that involves loaning tax dollars to other countries to increase their purchasing power for U.S. technology, services and equipment. Recognizing that energy and the environment are among the most pressing issues confronting our region, President Obama, in partnership with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and President of the Republic of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, today proposed the U.S.-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Partnership for a Sustainable Energy Future, the White House announced Tuesday as Obama visits Asian Pacific...

The Latest Taxpayer Housing Bust. With the election over, we now learn that the FHA is insolvent. Wall Street Journal ^ | 11/20/2012 | The editors Vindication is overrated, especially in a losing cause, so it brings no satisfaction to have predicted that the Federal Housing Administration would sooner or later threaten taxpayers. That day has arrived. Safely past the election, the feds announced Friday that the FHA's liabilities exceed its assets by at least $16.3 billionand the gap could reach $93.7 billion in the worst case. Yet it's worth recalling that when we warned about FHA's troubles in September 2009, we got an accounting lecture from HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and a letter from FHA Commissioner at the time, David Stevens, that we were "just Homeland Security promotes welfare to new immigrants in government welcome materials The Daily Caller ^ | 11/18/2012 Homeland Security promotes welfare to new immigrants in government welcome materials Posted By Caroline May On 11:53 PM 11/18/2012 @ 11:53 PM Ask not what you can do for your country, but what your new country can do for you. Welcome to USA.gov, a website maintained by the Department of Homeland Securitys U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), bills itself as the primary gateway for new immigrants to find basic information on how to settle in the United States featuring a prominent section for new immigrants about how to access government benefits. Depending on your immigration status, length of. Surprise: CA Education Tax Hike Will Go to Wall Street Cronies Breitbart ^ California Governor Jerry Brown hailed his signature tax-hike to fund educationknown as Proposition 30as a towering achievement that will ensure educational excellence in higher education and spare those trapped in poor and failing K-12 California public schools from budget cuts. But a new study by five UC Berkeley doctoral students titled Swapping Our Future: How Taxpayers And Students Are Funding Risky UC Borrowing and Wall Street Profits says that millions of dollars of the freshly raised revenues wont go to Californias school children. St. Paul woman, 3 others charged in Social Security fraud (SSA employee) PIONEER PRESS ^ | 11-17-12 | John Welbes Four Twin Cities residents -- including a Social Security Administration employee in St. Paul -- have been indicted in a scheme that generated real Social Security cards with fake identities. The conspiracy's start date was unknown, but it went back to at least May 2001 and ended in 2010, the indictment claimed. Dianne Josephine Chess, 49, of St. Paul, was a service representative for the SSA whose responsibilities included inputting data provided by applicants seeking a number and a card.

Attack Widens on Clinton Staff Practices (Hillary fires WH Usher who called Barbara Bush in '96) NY Times ^ | July, 1996 | NEIL A. LEWIS The Clinton Administration sent detailed questionnaires to longtime White House employees asking them about their finances and their personal and political activities, the Pennsylvania Congressman leading an inquiry into the White House's handling of personnel information said today. It is unclear how many employees received the questionnaires, which were sent to nonpolitical household staff as well as political appointees. But those who did receive them were instructed to return them to Craig Livingstone, who resigned as head of the White House personnel security office last week over his role in that office's improper acquisition of as many as 900confidential F.B.I... Two More Stimulus-Backed Solar Companies Announce Layoffs heritage ^ | 11/16/12 | markay A pair of foreign-owned solar companies that benefited from a combined $84 million in Energy Department tax credits have announced they will lay off employees. One of the companies, German-owned SolarWorld, was integral in the fight for tariffs against the importation of Chinese photovoltaic solar panels. The other, Chinese company SunTech, blamed those tariffs for its own layoffs. Both companies benefited from the Energy Departments stimulus-funded Advanced Energy Manufacturing (48C) Tax Credit. The 48C credit is worth up to 30% of the cost of manufacturing qualifying green energy projects. SolarWorld received a credit worth $82 million, while SunTechs was worth.. A Picture Worth $13 Billion? Personal Liberty Digest ^ | November 16, 2012 | Sam Rolley How do you know when government is broken and rife with incompetence? A good indicator could be when Federally managed workers with the Federal Emergency Management Agency are lining up for food handed out by an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement, Occupy Sandy. Last week, FEMA shut down its New York centers set up to respond the devastation caused by superstorm Sandy because of bad weather. This left a disaster aid void that was filled by independent volunteer groups, including Occupy Sandy. Many residents in the region reported feeling abandoned by the Federal helpers sent to aid them. Exclusive: U.S. gave A123 $1 million as it filed bankruptcy Reuters ^ | Nov. 16, 2012 | Ayesha Rascoe (Reuters) - The Obama administration provided struggling battery maker A123 Systems Inc with nearly $1 million on the day it filed for bankruptcy, the company told lawmakers investigating its government grant. The company, which makes lithium ion batteries for electric cars, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month after a rescue deal with Chinese auto parts supplier Wanxiang Group fell apart. That same day, October 16, A123 received a $946,830 payment as part of its $249 million clean energy grant from the Energy Department, the company said in a letter, obtained by Reuters, to Republican Senators John Thune and...

FEMA: Welfare Masquerading as Disaster Relief Reason ^ | 11/16/2012 | Shikha Dalmia Hurricane Sandy hadn't even touched down when liberals started blowing kisses to FEMA, or Federal Emergency Management Agency, the federal disaster relief agency. A New York Times editorial declared that the impending storm proved that the country needs FEMA-style "Big Government" solutions more than ever. Salon, New Republic and other liberal outfits heartily agreed. Why do liberals love FEMA so much? Certainly not for its glorious track record. Rather, FEMA has been a great vehicle for expanding the welfare state. FEMA's tragic missteps after Katrina earned it well-deserved disgrace. The Times blames those on the Bush administration, whose anti-government philosophy. Prop. 30 Taxes Diverted to Wall Street, Students Get Shafted capoliticalreview.com ^ | 11/16/2012 | Leighton Woodhouse Millions of dollars in new tax revenue earmarked for the University of California system as part of the states recently passed Proposition 30 will instead be routed to major financial firms, because of bad bets made by a Wall Street-influenced UC Board of Regents. Proposition 30 was passed last week by California voters in part to stem the tide of perpetual tuition hikes and the rapid decline of public higher education in the state. But because of the Regents predilection for gambling with student tuition money, much of that new tax revenue will be routed away from tuition relief and. Registry worker accused of promising illegals licenses for cash Boston Herald ^ | November 16, 2012 | Matt Stout A Registry of Motor Vehicles employee who police say promised illegal immigrants drivers licenses at $2,000 a pop and claimed she could their delay deportation proceedings through an inside source at Immigration and Customs Enforcement now faces a 27-count indictment after her arrest today at the registrys Watertown branch, authorities said Sen. Coburn's Report Exposes DOD's Wasteful, Non-Defense Spending The New American ^ | 11/15/2012 | Bob Adelmann Following his offices publishing of his annual Wastebook last month, Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has now released another oversight report, this one exploring waste and non-defense spending in the Department of Defense (DOD), entitled the Department of Everything. In his Wastebook Coburn concluded that all the outrageous and wasteful contents of this report were made possible by either the action or lack of action of Congress, earning it the well-deserved but unwanted distinction as the biggest waste of taxpayer money in 2012. Right behind the Congress, however, is the Department of Defense, which has been spending taxpayer monies on projects,.

Ground Broken For Housing Project Intended For Members Of LGBT Community http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com ^ | 11/14/2012 | By Paul Kurtz, Anne-Marie Green Ground has been broken in the heart of Philadelphias Gayborhood for a housing project that will serve the needs of the LGBT community. Its described as the first urban project of its kind six floors of low income housing for elderly lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders. Its being built with a mixture of local, state and federal funds. And that was reflected by the number of politicians on hand for Fridays ceremony. Mayor Michael Nutter was joined by his predecessors, John Street and Ed Rendell. Once completed, this project will provide 56 units of affordable housing to people 62.. Obama Administration Named Holly Petraeus to $187,605-Per-Year Job CNS News.Com ^ | November 14, 2012 | Penny Starr (CNSNews.com) The Obama administration named Holly Petraeus--wife of retired Gen. David Patraeus, who resigned last week as CIA director after revealing he had had an extra-marital affair--to $187,605-per-yer job in the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). NEW: RI (Democrat) Lobbyist Gave $300,000 Loan to Sister of Jill Kelley GoLocalProv ^ Tuesday, November 13, 2012 GoLocalProv News Team A prominent Rhode Island lobbyist and Democratic fundraiser gave a $300,000 personal loan to the twin sister of Jill Kelley, the woman tied to the love affair that ended CIA Director David Petraeus career, court documents show. Bankruptcy records filed by Natalie Khawam last April list Gerald Harrington, the founder of the Capitol City Group, as an unsecured creditor on the loan. Khawam owes nearly $4 million in total. The loan was first reported by the New York Post. A message left at Harringtons Providence law firm was not immediately returned. Audit: Housing Authority plagued by poor money management - LA Daily News http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_21961032/audit-housing-authority-plaguedby-poor-money-management

Prop. 30 win gives Jerry Brown major boost http://discussions.latimes.com/20/la-me-jerry-brown-20121109/10?sort=asc ulkesh at 8:41 PM November 8, 2012 Form history, where the general fund money is going: Brown appointees are receiving double payments totaling more than $200,000 a year: latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pensions-20110929,0,1750961.story State Senate dines at taxpayers' expense: latimes.com/news/local/la-me-free-food-20111106,0,2300494.story Prosecutors probe water district's payments for spouses' meals: latimes.com/news/local/la-me-central-basin-20110619,0,4976121.story

Caltrans spent millions on unjustified house repairs http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0817-caltrans-audit-20120817,0,3526285.story Caltrans Employees use Taxpayer-Funded Cars For Personal Use shopping at around 100K per month http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/10/25/cbs2-investigates-caltrans-employees-whouse-taxpayer-funded-cars-for-personal-use/ Cal State trustees approve pay increases for incoming presidents http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/07/cal-state-trustees-approve-pay-increasesfor-presidents.html Prison Guards Union contract lifted the cap on unused vacation days guards can cash in when they retire and use to sweeten the amount of their pensions. The current cost of that accumulated time, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office, is $600 million: latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0522-lopez-calprisoncosts-20110522,0,3537849.column

'Meatless Mondays': LA urges residents to turn vegetarian one day a week NBC News ^ | November 10, 2012 | Melissa Pamer Los Angeles is hoping to persuade people to become vegetarian at least one day per week. Under a resolution unanimously approved by the city council this week, all future Mondays in the City of Angels have been declared "Meatless Mondays." It's part of an international campaign to cut down on meat consumption for health and environmental reasons. Both the spiritual home of the hamburger and a haven for the health-obsessed, Los Angeles became the largest city in the nation to support the Meatless Monday campaign. The nonprofit initiative, started in 2003, is associated with Johns Hopkins University's public health. Media Ignore New Emails Detailing Obama Energy Dept. Corruption Big Journalism ^ | Sunday, November 11, 2012 | Kristinn Taylor One week before the presidential election, a Congressional committee released Obama administration emails that showed a pattern of political pressure from President Barack Obama and others in his administration. The emails indicate favoritism toward Democrat politicians and donors in the awarding of federal energy loans. The mainstream media chose not to report on the emails, even though just days before their release, Obama had flatly stated in an interview that politics played no part in awarding the loans. In the old days of hard-nosed journalism, i.e., before the Age of Obama, if the president was caught lying about his involvement..

Broadwell: Petraeus Knew of Benghazi Plea for Help (Classified pillow talk?) israel national news ^ | 11/10/2012 | Gil Ronen Military expert Paula Broadwell, who was allegedly improperly involved with resigned CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus, confirmed in October that the CIA annex in Benghazi asked for reinforcements when the consulate came under attack on September 11 Broadwell was speaking at her alma mater, the University of Denver, on October 26. Her lecture, which is on YouTube under the title "Alumni Symposium 2012 Paula Broadwell," now has added value, because based on the recent disclosures, it can now be assumed that she indeed knew exactly what it was that Petraeus knew about the attack. Broadwell confirmed the reports on Fox... Fox: $120M in FEMA money spent on NY/NJ clean-up lost Fox News Live | 11/9/12 Breaking on Fox. $120M in FEMA money sent to help NY/NJ has disappeared. Bank Pays Woman in Foreclosed Home [Media Celebrate Re-Distribution of Wealth] http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2947067/posts

Watchdog Group: Obama Bundlers Bagged Millions in Auto Bailout Breitbart ^ | November 3, 2012 | Wynton Hall The governments bailout of the automobile industry was rife with cronyism that bagged Obama bundlers and Administration insiders millions and left taxpayers holding the bill. Thats the conclusion Government Accountability Institute President Peter Schweizer reached when he investigated little-known details surrounding the Obama Administrations auto bailout, an action President Barack Obama touts as one of his most sterling presidential achievements. The governments actions involving Chrysler resulted in a net loss to taxpayers of $2.9 billion, and the government is currently sitting on a $14.5 billion loss for its actions involving General Motors. But Mr. Schweizer says few Americans realize the As many as 50 Obama-backed green energy companies bankrupt or troubled dailycaller.com ^ | Michael Bastasch The October bankruptcy of solar company Satcon Technology Corp. puts the number of bankrupt or troubled green energy companies as high as 50, according to one estimate. During the first presidential debate, Republican candidate Mitt Romney said the Obama administration had doled out $90 billion to green energy companies, half of which he said had failed, which sparked a media-wide debate over the accuracy of the claim. The Romney campaign later clarified that he was talking about the DOEs 1705 loan program which doled out $16.1 billion to green energy companies, according to the Washington Post. Of the 33 companies.

Is It Time to Stop Putting Food in Our Cars? The American ^ | October 31, 2012 | Kenneth P. Green and Elizabeth DeMeo The ethanol mandate continues to do more harm than good inflicting environmental damage, raising food prices, and distorting energy markets. Two recent developments warrant a reexamination of the fuel ethanol issue.First, on August 20, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a call for comments on suspending the renewable fuel standard (RFS), sometimes known as the ethanol mandate:EPA is seeking comment on letters requesting a waiver of the renewable fuel standard and matters relevant to EPAs consideration of those requests. Governors of the states of Arkansas and North Carolina submitted separate requests for a waiver. Section 211(o)(7) (A) of the.. As many as 50 Obama-backed green energy companies bankrupt or troubled Daily Caller ^ | 10/30/12 | Michael Bastasch The October bankruptcy of solar company Satcon Technology Corp. puts the number of bankrupt or troubled green energy companies as high as 50, according to one estimate. During the first presidential debate, Republican candidate Mitt Romney said the Obama administration had doled out $90 billion to green energy companies, half of which he said had failed, which sparked a media-wide debate over the accuracy of the claim. The Romney campaign later clarified that he was talking about the DOEs 1705 loan program which doled out $16.1 billion to green energy companies, according to the Washington Post. Of the 33 companies Large-Scale Algae Biofuels Currently Unsustainable, New Report Concludes ScienceInsider ^ | 24 October 2012 | Robert F. Service Enlarge Image Green crude. Harvesting oil produced by algae at Sapphire Energy's Green Crude Farm in Columbus, New Mexico. A new report says such existing technologies will need to use fewer external inputs to become sustainable. Credit: Sapphire Energy A report out today from the National Research Council (NRC) of the U.S. National Academies says that large-scale production of biofuels from algae is untenable with existing technology, as it would require the use of too much water, energy, and fertilizer. To improve matters, the report's authors suggest that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which supports much of the.. Quarter-billion-dollar stimulus grant creates just 400 jobs Washington Times ^ | 10-29-2012 | Jim McElhatton Battery maker A123 Systems vowed thousands of new jobs when it received a nearly quarter-billion-dollar stimulus grant in late 2009, but federal job-tracking figures show only a few hundred positions were created before the company joined a growing list of federally backed energy businesses that ended in bankruptcy.

$1.5B contract in Iraq for Bidens little brother exposes Obama ahead of debate Washington Examiner ^ | October 22, 2012 | 3:00 pm | Joel Gehrke Commentary Writer Mitt Romney has criticized President Obama for giving green energy subsidies to campaign donors, but a new report out ahead of the debate tonight shows that this White Houses crony capitalism has a foreign policy angle. HillStone International won a coveted government contract in part because the company has the little brother of the vice president as a partner, as David Richter, president of HillStones parent company explained to investors in a recent meeting reported on by Fox Business today. Since November 2010, James Biden has been the executive vice president of Hill Internationals housing subsidiary despite little if any... EMAILS SHOW WHITE HOUSE DROVE FAILED GREEN-LOAN IN COLORADO http://completecolorado.com/stories/AboundEmails.html ^ EXCLUSIVE...CompleteColorado.com EMAILS SHOW WHITE HOUSE DROVE FAILED GREEN-LOAN IN COLORADO Leaked Emails Prove Obama Admin Drove Cash to Failed Green Company Breitbart ^ | 10/28/2012 | Breitbart ...CompleteColorado.com has obtained emails that seem to directly contradict Plouffes answer, and also challenge the Presidents notion that the DOEs loan decisions were universally autonomous within the agency. The emails also lend even more credence to the theory that the loan to Abound Solar was political payback to Colorados wealthy Democratic benefactor and Gang-of-Four member, Pat Stryker. Ex-State Dept. worker admits identity theft WTOP ^ | Oct. 26, 2012 | Staff AP - headline only Emails suggest White House involvement in loan to bankrupt Abound Solar Daily Caller ^ | 10/27/2012 | Michael Bastasch Just one day after President Obama went on television saying that politics had nothing to do with the now bankrupt Abound Solar receiving a taxpayer-backed loan guarantee from the Energy Department, emails have surfaced that contradict these claims and suggest White House involvement in the company receiving the loan. And these are decisions, by the way, that are made by the Department of Energy, they have nothing to do with politics, President Obama told KUSAs Kyle Clark. However, emails obtained by COMPLETECOLORADO.COM suggest that the White House was involved in the Energy Department awarding Abound Solar a $400 million loan..

Training for U.S. "green jobs" falls far short of goals-watchdog Yahoo! News ^ | 10/26/12 | Roberta Rampton | Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A $500-million "green jobs" program to train U.S. workers for new jobs and help spark recovery from the great recession has fallen far short of its goals, according to a report from the Labor Department's internal watchdog released on Friday. As of June 30, fewer than 31,000 people who went through training programs got green jobs, only 38 percent of what had been projected, the department's Inspector General said in the report. Of those workers, less than 12,000 kept these jobs for more than six months, a mere 16 percent of what organizations that got grants had. She took federal Katrina relief money, but was living in Minnesota during storm pioneer press ^ | 10-26-12 | john welbes Rena McCarter of Kenner, La., pleaded guilty Friday, Oct. 26, to wrongly taking $8,600 in disaster relief funds from the federal government after Hurricane Katrina. She was residing in Minnesota when the storm hit. McCarter, 62, admitted in her plea deal that in 2005, she told the Federal Emergency Management Agency that her apartment and personal property had been damaged by the disaster in Louisiana, and that she needed emergency help for housing, food and clothing. In fact, McCarter was living in housing subsidized by the Metropolitan Council from October 2004 through September 2009, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office... IRS: The Small Business Bully Real Clear Politics ^ | 10/25/12 | Peter Schweizer President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney continue to tussle over tax rates and deductions. Ignored, however, have been questions about tax collection and enforcement tools presidents use to achieve their economic policy goals. Hit a wall ramming your tax hike or cut through Congress, simply increase or decrease tax enforcement and audits.Under the Obama Administration, the Internal Revenue Service has placed small and medium-size businessesthe engines of job creationin its auditing crosshairs. According to IRS statistics, from 2009 to 2011, the coverage rate (number of audits as a percentage of total returns filed) for corporations with assets between $10 million.. EXCLUSIVE: Sen. McCaskill's Husband's Businesses Benefitted From $20 Million in Stimulus Funds National Legal & Policy Center ^ | October 25, 2012 | Ken Boehm An analysis of public records by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) has found more than $20 million in federal stimulus funds benefitting real estate projects financially tied to Joseph Shepard, husband of Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill. Earlier this month, the Associated Press published an analysis , stating, "businesses affiliated with the husband of Senator Claire McCaskill have received almost $40 million in federal subsidies for low-income housing developments during her first five years in office..." The NLPC analysis released today showed more than $20 million in financial benefits from the federal stimulus law to real estate projects associated... Expert to decide whether killer gets electrolysis

bostonherald.com ^ | 10/25/2012 | John Zaremba The federal judge who last month ordered taxpayer-funded sex-change surgery for transsexual wife-killer Robert Kosilek is now forcing the state prison system to hire an expert to determine whether he needs electrolysis hair-removal treatment. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf issued the order yesterday, telling the Department of Correction to identify the expert by Nov. 2 to evaluate Kosilek to determine whether electrolysis is medically necessary, and/or to provide the electrolysis, if it is ordered to do so. A state prison doctor testified in 2010 that Kosilek doesnt need the treatment; that doctor, Robert Deiner, will be called. GM Invests $450 Million in Argentina Auto News ^ | 10/24/12 | Auto News GM announced its plans to invest $450 million in its Rosario Automotive Complex, Argentina, to manufacture an all-new global Chevy car. We are pleased to be making this investment in Argentina, which remains a very important market for us, GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said. We have a long, proud history here dating to 1925 and our latest investment is certainly good news for our GM Argentina employees, our extensive dealer and supplier network and the local economy. The investment at the Rosario Automotive Complex will be made between 2013 and 2015. Last year the Rosario plant manufactured more... MANY OF OBAMAS GREEN PORK ALTERNATIVE ENERGY PROJECTS ARE VAPORIZING human events ^ | october 24, 2012 | Audrey Hudson The centerpiece of President Barack Obamas plan to jumpstart the economy spending billions of stimulus dollars on alternative energyhas become a flashpoint in the presidential election amid growing evidence that taxpayer dollars have been squandered on numerous green pork projects. Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney and his vice presidential pick Rep. Paul Ryan both leveled the charge during their respective debatesan indictment backed up by dozens of hearings andofficial inquiries on Capitol Hill as well as investigations conducted within Obamas own administration. The past four years of this presidents administration have been defined by bailouts, handouts and copouts, said Rep. Biden's Brother Awarded Lucrative Gov't Contracts: Media Silent NewsBusters ^ The rampant crony capitalism of the federal government simply can't be ignored anymore, but the media has made a habit out of selectively picking and choosing what it wants to report on with this administration. This latest example may ultimately be ignored and denied too however, because it involves the brother of our current vice president. According to Charlie Gasparino of Fox Business, a subsidiary of the construction company called Hill International was handpicked last year to oversee the building of at least 100,000 affordable homes in decimated areas of Iraq. When asked why his company was chosen over all.. GSA purchases Chevy Volts

Sen Bob Casey A while back I read that the Pentagon would be purchasing some Chevy Volts. I asked my Senator and seems it is true. A portion of his reply: "The General Services Administration (GSA) recently purchased 100 Chevrolet Volts for use by federal departments and agencies. The U.S. Air Force is leasing several of these vehicles, including 18 located at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and two located at Travis Air Force Base in California. According to the Air Force, the vehicles are part of the militarys traditional vehicle lease program and will displace replacement-eligible vehicles on a one-for-one basis, primarily. Government-funded battery maker files for bankruptcy (Another "Clean Energy" company down the tubes) nbc ^ | 10/16/2012 | Deepa Seetharaman and Ayesha Rascoe / reuters A123 Systems, which had received a $249 million grant from the U.S. government, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, giving Republicans fresh ammunition to attack the Obama administration's subsidies for green energy. The filing came after the lithium-ion battery maker's $465 million rescue deal with Chinese auto parts supplier Wanxiang Group collapsed, hobbled by "unanticipated and significant challenges," A123 said on its website. A123 has agreed to sell its automotive operations, including two factories in Michigan, for $125 million to Johnson Controls Inc, a leading battery supplier and another recipient of federal green subsidies. The Federal Government's $300-Plus Million Solyndra Bankruptcy Gift to Obama Bundlers NewsBusters ^ Tom Blumer's picture Let's get the easy part out of the way first. The New York Times and the Associated Press are only covering the outrages emerging in Solyndra's bankruptcy in the vaguest of terms. The only related Times item I could find was a sentence at the end of an October 11 Green blog post indicating that "the I.R.S. and the Energy Department argue in court papers" against the company's bankruptcy plan. The AP's Randall Chase was a bit more specific that day, writing that "The plan allows for two private equity funds that control Solyndra to potentially reap.. Report: Taxpayer loss due to Solyndra may be as high as $849 million Washington Examiner ^ | October 22, 2012 | Sean Higgins The cost to taxpayers for the failure of solar panel company Solyndra may be much higher than the $535 million dollar federal loan guarantee the company received. After the company went bankrupt in last August, 2011, the Energy Department, which had given the original loan, okayed an unprecedented deal to attract more private investment to Solyndra. One result of this deal is that it has allowed more than $350 million in tax write-offs to pass to those private creditors, one of which is owned by a major donor to President Obama. The House Oversight Committee now warns the total loss.

Feds Give Welfare to the Dead, Deny Medicare to the Living New American ^ | 10/19/12 | Michael Tennant The federal government has been paying welfare benefits to the dead and withholding Medicare benefits from the living, according to a new report from the Inspector General (IG) of the Social Security Administration (SSA). The report, released October 12, set out to determine whether some individuals were improperly receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments after having their Medicare benefits terminated because they were considered deceased. SSI, which provides income support to needy individuals who are aged, blind, or disabled, is administered directly by the SSA. Medicare, which provides health insurance to the aged and disabled, is administered by the Centers. George Kaiser's Great Big Green Energy Scam (Obama bundler makes out like a bandit at our expense) American Thinker ^ | 10/20/2012 | Michael Iachetta The Wall Street Journal reports that George Kaiser, "a Tulsa oil billionaire who bundled campaign checks for Mr. Obama in 2008," is poised to accomplish one of the great scams of all time. Here is how it works. The "primary investment arm of the George Kaiser Family Foundation" is Argonaut Ventures I LCCC. Argonaut Ventures happens to be the largest shareholder in Solyndra LCC, the California-based solar panel maker that received a $535 million U.S. Energy Department loan guarantee in September 2009 and went bankrupt two years later, laying off nearly 1,000 workers. Now the very same Argonaut Ventures, thanks. President Obamas Taxpayer-Backed Green Energy Failures Heritage Foundation ^ | 10/18/12 | Ashe Schowe It is no secret that President Obamas and green-energy supporters (from both parties) foray into venture capitalism has not gone well. But the extent of its failure has been largely ignored by the press. Sure, single instances garner attention as they happen, but they ignore past failures in order to make it seem like a rare case. The truth is that the problem is widespread. The governments picking winners and losers in the energy market has cost taxpayers billions of dollars, and the rate of failure, cronyism, and corruption at the companies receiving the subsidies is substantial. Whistle-blower audio: Sen. Claire McCaskills husband cut business deals in Senate Dining Room Daily Caller ^ | 10/18/2012 | Matthew Boyle Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskills husband used the U.S. Senate Dining Room to cut business deals selling tax credits tied to stimulus money, a whistle-blowing executive inside his company alleged on an audio recording exclusively obtained by The Daily Caller < snip > He [McCaskills husband] did 4 projects these were rural development deals where he came in and stole from a guy and he did the federal credits and he got Enterprise Bank to invest in those four deals and those have been really iffy, Woods said on the tape. < snip > Woods said those four projects

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2947067/posts CONGRESSMAN COLLUDED IN BILLION DOLLAR SUB-PRIME DEBACLE The Congressional Hispanic Institute, Inc, is an entity organized by Cong Joe Baca (D-Cali) in his capacity as head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Cong Baca created "HOGAR" (Spanish for home) in 2003 to work with the mortgage industry, lender and banks and latino community groups to increase mortgage lending to what savvy observers considered to be unqualified Latinos. "HOGAR" colluded w/ Cong Baca in what was to become a massive bilking of taxpayers. Cong Baca calculatedly hyped the fact that the national Latino homeownership rate was 47%, compared with 68% for the overall population. HOGAR was coached to call the figure "alarming," and to say "a concerted effort was required to ensure that by the end of the decade Latinos will share equally in the American Dream of home ownership." HOGAR and Cong Baca conned the public, failing to note that most of the "dreamers" were illegals, citizens of Third World countries who had violated US borders. Predictably, HOGAR colluded w/ co-conspirators which included: (a) shaky mortgage companies that ran into big trouble; (b) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both now under federal control after billions in taxpayer bailouts; (c) Countrywide Financial Corp., sold to Bank of America Corp; (d) Washington Mutual Inc., taken over by the US government and sold to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.; and, (e) New Century Financial Corp. and Ameriquest Mortgage Corp, both now defunct, killed by defaulted subprime Latino mortgages. HOGAR's ties to the subprime mortgage industry were substantial. Bribery and selfdealing were rampant: <><> Companies that donated $150,000 to Cong Baca got the right to have their own research fellow who would conduct fraudulent studies, which were cunningly used by industry lobbyists to pump lending. <><> Bribery and extortion in the form of $100,000 annual donations to Cong Baca, for which HOGAR provided phony news releases from Cong Baca's Hispanic Caucus promoting a lender's commercial products to the Latino market, <><> The most shocking example of bribery well-substantitated by Hogar's literature..... HOGAR announced it worked with Freddie Mac on a self-serving two-year examination of Latino homeownership in 63 congressional districts. The "study" found Hispanic ownership on the rise thanks to "new flexible mortgage loan products" that the industry was adopting at the urging of Cong Baca's collusive coterie. <><> HOGAR conned lenders into even more lenient down-payment and underwriting standards. <><> As the subprime debacle unfolded, HOGAR declined repeated requests for comment despite the economic havoc their activities precipitated. The mortgage schemes demonstrated the criminal activities of border violators with multiple identities---perhaps violent, terrorist-connected foreigners---colluding and conspiring to defraud private companies and public entities. And mortgage racketeering enterprises which employed sub rosa finance and business practices to carry out deceptions and frauds.

The alleged ring of swindlers---a Congresman, individuals with multiple identities, banks, insurance companies, mortgage nrokers--might be charged with cheating the US govt, taxpayers and bank share holders out of hundreds of millions of dollars via an elaborate web of mortgage and bank frauds. The mortgage Dreamers used multiple phony identities, fraudulent Social Security numbers, purchased from identity forgers in order to obtain govt-subsidized benefits. L/E will find that individuals with multiple identities obtained fraudulent mortgages then flipped the houses at ever-higher prices to family member who then absconded to foreign countries, sticking banks (and taxpayers) with hundreds of millions in fraudulent mortgages. BACKGROUND A Wall Street Journal investigative report related that, according to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council examination of the borrowing spree, uncovered financial schemes by low-income housing groups, Hispanic lawmakers, a congressional Hispanic housing initiative, mortgage lenders and brokers, all colluding in fraduent schemes to increase homeownership among Latinos with forged documents which enabled massive fraud. This was not simply the mortgage market at work. It was fueled by avarice, greed, and Congressional enabling fraudulent practices. In 2005 alone, mortgages to Hispanics jumped by 29%; Latinos with multiple fraudulent identities in low-paying jobs obtained subprime mortgages for prime properties---soaring to 169%. (Research provided by Wall Street Journal. Some material excerpted from the NY Times.

WH Lists Prisoner Re-Entry Programs as Budget Priority--for Black Families Only CNSNews ^ | 10/16/2012 The White Houses fiscal year 2013 budget includes $831 million for Department of Justice prisoner re-entry programs, which are designed to help inmates who have been released from prison find a job and to reduce recidivism rate. Take a look at the Obama White Houses Office of Management and Budget, and youll find the program is mentioned under the fact sheet on key issues titled, An Economy Built to Last and Security for African American Families. However, there is no mention of prisoner reentry programs under any other header not under the fact sheet on middle class families,

U.S. Spent $27 Million on Ineffective Pottery Classes--in Morocco CNS News ^ | October 18, 2012 | Elizabeth Harrington (CNSNews.com) - The federal government spent $27 million teaching Moroccans how to make pottery, a project that yielded less than stellar results, according to Sen. Tom Coburns recently released Waste Book 2012. Some pottery students showed up just to get the free lunches, and one pottery class reported just 10 regular students, according to information compiled by Coburn. The Oklahoma Republicans annual catalogue of frivolous government spending says the pottery program began in 2009 as part of an attempt to improve the economic competitiveness of Morocco. Coburn said a review by the Inspector General for the U.S. Agency for International... LA County Assessor John Noguez arrested amid corruption probe KABC News ^ | 10/17/2012 | KABC Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez has been arrested amid an on-going corruption investigation. (snip) Assessor's office employees had complained they were pressured to lower property taxes for clients who were prominent contributors to Noguez's campaign . Calif. throws subsidy at Tesla Motors http://www.calwatchdog.com ^ | 10-12-12 | Joseph Perkins Calif. throws subsidy at Tesla MotorsCalif. throws subsidy at Tesla Motors Oct. 12, 2012 By Joseph Perkins Memo to Occupy San Jose: Ive got a ripe target for you on Santana Row, playpen for the Silicon Valley wealthy. Not Gucci, Burberry, Ferragamo or the other upscale stores along the Row. But Tesla Motors, the electric carmaker, whose cofounder and CEO, Elon Musk, boasts a $2.4 billion net worth. Musk is not merely a member of Americas 1 percent, for which Occupy has much contempt. Hes a member of the 1 percent of 1 percent Port official blows $4,500 at strip club sfgate.com ^ | 10/16/12 | Matier and Ross A high-ranking Port of Oakland official is in hot water for throwing down $4,500 in public funds for a party at a Houston strip club. "Port commissioners take this matter very seriously," board President Gilda Gonzales said in a statement after their meeting. Kwon's strip-club spending spree didn't come to port officials' attention until just recently. The timing is especially terrible for the port, which is in the midst of a protracted labor fight with maintenance and other workers over terms of a new contract. Now, officials are scrambling to get a handle on the strip-club visit and to determine...

Coburn's 'Waste Book' details $19 billion in eye-opening government expenses Fox News ^ | October 16, 2012 | Fox News Staff What do robotic squirrels, menus for Martian meals and a musical about climate change have in common? They've all been made possible with taxpayer assistance, according to the latest survey of government waste put out by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. Known simply as the Waste Book, the report is a watchlist of eye-opening expenditures, which Coburn blames on a "let them eat caviar" attitude in Washington -- at a time when "23 million of our fellow Americans do not have good jobs," Coburn notes. Coburn, while chiding the agencies that spend this money for their "lack of judgment," said Congress. Inspectors generals ...piecing together criminal and civil cases into stimulus money Washington Guardian ^ | 15 Oct 2012 | John Solomon The governments chief spending watchdogs have already secured nearly 600 convictions and judgments against people and companies accused of misusing stimulus funds and have a whopping 1,900 investigations currently open into possible wrongdoing, officials say. The wave of scrutiny more than three years after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed by Congress early in the Obama administration means the question of how money was managed early in the program is certain to extend well into the next year as many of the current investigations come to conclusion. The Recovery Board charged with coordinating efforts among than inspectors generals... Politicians caught collecting Albany per diems when they're not there NY Post ^ | october 14, 2012 | LAURA NAHMIAS and SUSAN EDELMAN Claiming she spent a marathon 12 consecutive days in Albany on legislative business, Queens Assemblywoman Vivian Cook pocketed $171 for each reported overnight stay a total $2,197 in taxpayer money from March 21 to April 1, 2010. The Legislature was in session just three of those days and Cook was absent for all three, records show. Me? Youre kidding! No! I didnt do that, she told The Post. I dont lie, I dont cheat, and I dont steal, said Cook, whose nonprofit Rockaway Boulevard Local Development Corp. prompted an investigation for allegedly misusing taxpayer funds. In 2010 and. All-You-Can-Eat Food Forests: Coming to a City Near You TakePart.com ^ | October 8, 2012 | Megan Bedard Consider it a modern take on the legendary tale of Johnny Appleseed. Vancouver, B.C., has announced plans to plant 150,000 fruit and nut trees on city streets, in parks, and on city-owned lands in the next eight years, reports the Vancouver Sun. At the moment, the city has about 600 fruit and nut trees on city streets, and another 425 can be found in the city's parks, community gardens, and pocket orchards. "Street trees play an important role in helping Vancouver adapt to climate change, manage stormwater run-off, support biodiversity, and even provide food," Mayor Gregor Robertson said in a...

OBAMA HAS TAXPAYERS FUNDING GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN UGANDA WND ^ | 10/13/2012 | STEVE PEACOCK The Obama administration wants U.S. taxpayers to finance the creation of energymanagement doctorate and masters degree programs at a university in the East African nation of Uganda. Obama, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, wants to help current and future Ugandan professionals and others to develop expertise in sound environmental management and biodiversity conservation in relation to oil and gas development. Ads by Google Under US$1000 Used cars. Japanese Cars for Sale. Various Japanese used cars here. www.tradecarview.com Win a 2 lb. Silver Coin Valued at More Than $1,200, This 99% Pure Silver Coin Can Be Yours! IndependentLivingBullion.com Before... GARY KNELL - CEO SESAME ST. MADE $684,144 IN 2009 - 1% IN TAX PAYER FUNDED NON-PROFITS Christian Science Monitor ^ | Peter Grier "Did you know the president of Sesame Workshop makes more than the president of the United States? We noticed that while combing through the 2009 Form 990. That year, Sesame Workshop president and CEO Gary Knell got $684,144 in reportable compensation from his job. The salary of the US president is fixed by law at $400,000, though the job does come with use of a house, Camp David, and Air Force One...." VIDEO: Woman hoards "30" Government Life line phones or Obama phones FOX-TV Baltimore ^ | Sept. 30, 2012 | FOX-TV Baltimore Maryland woman has 6 "Obama phones" in her purse, and claims to have have obtained a total of 30 of them... http://www.youtube.com/watch? feature=player_embedded&v=aTYiKjFnMos The DOE Restructured Its Loan to Tesla [Elon Musk's green car] National Review Online [Planet Gore] ^ | October 10, 2012 | Greg Pollowitz Imagine that. Weeks to go before the election and the Department of Energy has restructured its $465 million loan to the electric-car company to make sure it didnt run out of cash. The New York Times reports:(Emphasis mine)"As it ramps up sales of its sleek electric sedan, Tesla doesnt appear to be much of a loser right now. But a closer look at companys cash flows suggests it is hardly out of the woods.For young companies like Tesla, calibrating cash flows is critical. Customer demand may be high for a companys product,but mistimed spending can lead to a cash crunch....

Another Obama green-tech subsidy recipient begins furloughs for workers Hotair ^ | 10/09/2012 | Ed Morrissey When Barack Obama arrived in Holland, Michigan to break ground for the new Compact Power plant in July 2010, he promised that the $150 million in subsidies that prompted the construction of the new facility would result in more than 300 jobs and an assembly line producing batteries for the Chevy Volt and the Ford Focus electric vehicles. He told workers that these batteries and jobs would not have been possible without his massive stimulus package, which funded his green-tech subsidy program at the Department of Energy (via Nexis): So for years, you've heard about manufacturing jobs disappearing overseas. USDA DIVERSITY WORKSHOP INSTRUCTED ATTENDEES TO CHANT 'OUR FOREFATHERS WERE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS' breitbart.com ^ | 10/09/2012 | Tony Lee The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) paid Chicago consultants over $200,000 in taxpayer money to put on diversity training workshops that included activities in which employees were instructed to chant "our forefathers were illegal immigrants." The government watchdog group Judicial Watch alleged in documents released this week that these programs only served to promote and enforce left-wing political agendas. A USDA department official said the statements were not reflective of USDA policy, and the consultants merely had "participants repeat provocative and potentially offensive phrases as part of an exercise to examine stereotypes." According to Judicial Watch, the USDA has. State: More than $2M in unemployment benefits went to inmates Chicago Tribune ^ | October 9, 2012 | Ray Long SPRINGFIELD More than 1,100 people have collected nearly $2 million in unemployment benefits while they were in county jails or state prisons, including $43,000 that went to a person in the Cook County Jail, a state agency said Tuesday. In Cook County alone, there were 296 inmates tied to $722,689 in wrongful payments. In Will County, 21 inmates collected $85,159. Lake County was another leader with 20 inmates collecting $84,533, the agency said. Plant that got $150M in taxpayer money to make Volt batteries furloughs workers Fox News ^ | October 08, 2012 | Perry Chiaramonte President Obama touted it in 2010 as evidence "manufacturing jobs are coming back to the United States, but two years later, a Michigan hybrid battery plant built with $150 million in taxpayer funds is putting workers on furlough before a single battery has been produced.

2 officers fired for checking dead felons, more may be involved WKRN-TV Nashville ^ | October 4, 2012 | Chris Bundgaard, Reporter NASHVILLE, Tenn. - At a hearing Wednesday on Tennessee's Capitol Hill, it was revealed that two parole officers lost their jobs after a state audit said they were claiming to monitor dead parolees. Afterwards, the Department of Correction commissioner responsible for the Board of Parole indicated more may be involved. "I find it hard to believe it was just two people," Derrick Schofield said. The hearing before a joint meeting of the House and Senate Government Operations Committee examined a state audit released Monday that "found 82 offenders were still actively monitored after their death. Those cement bubbles on sidewalk corners are costing you a lot of money! (858 Million) Philadelphia Daily News ^ | 10/08/2012 | Stu Bykofsky First time hearing those words? The little bumps under your feet are picking the city's pocket. Truncated domes - also known as "tactile warning strips" - are those bumps the size of elevator call buttons that blister the surface of recently installed ramps at street corners, by order of the feds. The cost to the city - meaning you, the taxpayer - is astronomical. The outlay is required by changing federal regulations, according to Terry Gillen, director of federal affairs for the city of Philadelphia. She is, in effect, the liaison to President Obama from Mayor Nutter, who has been Cops Nab Alleged TSA Thief, Hundreds Already Fired ABC News ^ | October 06, 2012 | LEE FERRAN, MEGAN CHUCHMACH , RANDY KREIDER and BRIAN ROSS Cops Nab Alleged TSA Thief, Hundreds Already Fired By LEE FERRAN, MEGAN CHUCHMACH , RANDY KREIDER and BRIAN ROSS Oct. 6, 2012 A TSA employee working in a Los Angeles airport could become the 382nd worker fired from the security agency for allegedly stealing from travelers, a years-long problem highlighted in a recent ABC News investigation. Los Angeles police released a statement late Friday saying a passenger came to the authorities after he said money had been taken out of his wallet while he was going through airport security at Los Angeles International Airport. Doctors Accused in Nationwide $432 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme Uncovered Newsmax.com ^ | Thursday, 04 Oct 2012 01:53 PM | Newsmax Wires Federal authorities have charged more than 90 people in one of the largest Medicare fraud schemes ever uncovered, they revealed Thursday. The scheme defrauded the national healthcare scheme for the elderly of some $432 million, CNBC reported. "Those charged today not only broke the law -- but also violated their professional obligations and sacred oaths as medical practitioners," Attorney General Eric Holder said, as he announced the result of the crackdown. Holder said one doctor is accused of writing 30,000 prescriptions for 2,000 patients, leading to $100 million in fraud. The accused include "doctors, nurses and other medical professionals," Reuters.

Medicare Fraud Strike Force Charges 91 Individuals for Approximately $430 Million in False Billing Deptartment of Justice ^ | 10/4/12 | Staff Medicare Fraud Strike Force Charges 91 Individuals for Approximately $430 Million in False Billing Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in seven cities have led to charges against 91 individuals including doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals for their alleged participation in Medicare fraud schemes involving approximately $429.2 million in false billing, Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today. (SNIP) Dozens of charged individuals were arrested or surrendered in the last 24 hours as indictments were unsealed across the country. Together, those indictments charge more than $230 million in home. Sources, documents suggest government-subsidized Abound Solar was selling faulty product thedailycaller.com ^ | 10/2/12 | Michael Bastasch Internal documentation and testimony from sources within Abound show that the company was selling a faulty, underperforming product, and may have mislead lenders at one point in order to keep itself afloat. Our solar modules worked as long as you didnt put them in the sun, an internal source told The Daily Caller News Foundation. The company knew its panels were faulty prior to obtaining taxpayer dollars, according to sources, but kept pushing product out the door in order to meet Department of Energy goals required for their $400 million loan guarantee. Solar power company banks on loan, but skeptics question government investment in industry Fox News ^ | September 30, 2012 | Dan Springer The federal government is making another big bet on solar panel manufacturing with taxpayer money, hoping the third time will be the charm. SoloPower held its grand opening Thursday in Portland, Ore., with speeches from local politicians and a ribboncutting. "It really revolutionizes rooftop applications, and it makes solar both easy and cost effective for nearly any commercial and industrial building worldwide," CEO Tim Harris said. SoloPower closed on a guaranteed government loan of $197 million last August, about the time another solar panel manufacturer, Solyndra, filed for bankruptcy. The failure of Solyndra cost U.S. taxpayers more than a half-billion...

Good news: Fed govt making yet another solar investment on our behalf Hotair ^ | 09/29/2012 | Erika Johnsen Because the Obama Department of Energy's loan-guarantee program for renewable energy startups and technologies has been such an unmitigated and resounding success, most particularly their well-trumpeted "investments" in solar-panel manufacturers, the federal government's good common sense and dispassionate judgment have proved it to be a leading force in encouraging the research and development that has made these environmentalist-preferred technologies such viable and competitive substitutes for traditional energies. What's more, these promising new industries have created untold productive, private-sector jobs, and the taxpayer has seen a healthy and enriching return on their initial "investments.""Just kidding ... that didn't happen. Multiple of... Los Angeles greenlights $1.2 billion football stadium Reuters ^ | 9-28-12 | Ronald Grover The Los Angeles City Council on Friday approved a $1.2 billion plan to build a downtown football stadium, moving America's second most populous city closer than it's been in nearly two decades to having a professional football team. Council members voted unanimously in favor of the Anschutz Entertainment Group's proposal to erect the 72,000-seat stadium in the city's downtown core. It will be named "Farmer's Field." AEG, controlled by billionaire Phil Anschutz, is up for sale but an agreement with the city will require its new owners to take up the stadium project. Fisker Karma earns a failing grade from Consumer Reports ($200 MM down the rat hole) Consumer Reports ^ | September 25, 2012 | Staff The striking Fisker Karma extended-range electric car has turned heads for months in our test program, from its distinctive design to its sci-fi hum soundtrack. During that time we've experienced far more than our share of frustrations. And in the final tally, the Karma scores a failing grade. The Karma ranks as our lowest-rated luxury sedan. Of all sedans, only three have lower overall scores: Chrysler 200, Dodge Avenger, and Nissan Versa SV. (Learn how we test cars.) U.S. poised to hand over $197 million to San Jose solar panel startup Mercury News ^ | 9/24/12 | Nichola Groom - Reuters LOS ANGELES -- A tiny San Jose solar company named SoloPower will flip the switch on production at a U.S. factory Thursday, a major step toward allowing it to tap a $197 million government loan guarantee awarded under the same controversial program that supported failed panel maker Solyndra. SoloPower has initiated a strategy to differentiate it from struggling commodity players in the solar panel industry. Still, there are several similarities between SoloPower and Fremont-based Solyndra -- which became a lightning rod in the U.S. Presidential campaign this year after taking in more than $500 million in government loans and then..

Florida: Court Approves Detaining Motorists at Toll Booth theNewspaper.com ^ | September 24, 2012 Florida: Court Approves Detaining Motorists at Toll Booth US Court of Appeals upholds right of toll road operators to detain drivers for using large denomination currency. Motorists can be held indefinitely at toll booths if they pay with large denomination bills, according to a federal appeals court ruling handed down Wednesday. A family of drivers -- Joel, Deborah and Robert Chandler -- filed suit last year arguing they were effectively being held hostage by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the private contractor in charge of the state's toll road, Faneuil, Inc. Under FDOT policies in place at the.. Senate defeats bill to condition foreign aid to cooperation in investigating embassy attacks washington Post ^ | 9/21/2012 | ap The Senate has defeated a bill that would have conditioned foreign aid on a countrys cooperation in investigating attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities. The bill also would have denied aid to Pakistan unless that country releases Dr. Shakil Afridi. Pakistan arrested the doctor, who allegedly helped the United States track down Osama bin Laden by running a fake vaccination program for the CIA to collect DNA. The objective was to verify bin Ladens presence at the compound where the al-Qaida leader was later killed. Afridi was convicted of high treason and sentenced to 33 years in prison. Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA) Earns Dishonorable Mention in CREWs Annual Most Corrupt Report Crew Blog ^ | September 2012 | Staff Washington, D.C. Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) named Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA) as a Dishonorable Mention in its Most Corrupt Members of Congress report, an annual, bipartisan look at Washingtons worst. Rep. Dicks used his position as chairman of a powerful House Appropriations subcommittee to direct millions of dollars in public funds to the Puget Sound Partnership, a Washington state environmental agency headed by his son, earning him a spot in CREWs latest report. Forty L.A. County Probation Officers Arrested Over The Past 12 Months - FBI Now Nabs Division Chief L.A. Times ^ | September 18, 2012 | Richard Winton and Jason Song Probation department division chief arrested in fraud case Former Assemblyman Carl Edward Washington is accused of filing false identity theft claims, the latest in a series of arrests at the troubled agency. The arrests seem to be piling up at an unusual pace. Two weeks ago, a six-year employee of the Los Angeles County Probation Department was charged with persistently filing false workers' compensation claims. Earlier this month, police arrested a probation officer for allegedly shooting a man in a Covina bar. Those cases came on top of the dozens of drunk driving, drug possession and theft arrests that seemed...

Former Calif. assemblyman charged with bank fraud AP via SacBee ^ | 9/17/12 LOS ANGELES -- A former state assemblyman was arrested Monday on charges he committed bank fraud while working for the Los Angeles County Probation Department, marking the 39th arrest of a department employee in nine months, authorities said. With $33.6 Billion Cash, If GM Cant Tell the Truth They Can Give Us Our Money Back Townhall.com ^ | September 17, 2012 | John Ransom Over the weekend General Motors fought back against critics who have been all over the company after published reports say that the government-subsidized car company is spending as much as $90,000 to produce the breakthrough electric car, the Chevy Volt. The Volt retails for only $40,000. Although the company refused to release figures regarding Volt production costs, UPI quotes the company as saying that critics have "allocated product development costs across the number of Volts sold instead of allocating across the lifetime of the program, which is how business operates."The UPI whines that the Volt has become a political football. Busted! State Department Scrubs Damning Memo From Website Following Deadly 9-11 Consulate Attacks GateWay Pundit ^ | 091512 | Jim Hoft On Wednesday September 12, 2012 blogger Speak With Authority discovered that five days before 9-11, the US State Department sent out a memo announcing no credible security threats against the United States on the anniversary of 9-11. The Overseas Security Advisory Council, who posted the memo, is part of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security under the U.S. Department of State. The OSAC memo said: Terrorism and Important Dates Global 9/6/2012 OSAC currently has no credible information to suggest that al-Qaida or any other terrorist group is plotting any kind of attack overseas to coincide with the upcoming anniversary of September. Gold Star Family: SEAL Team 6 Killed by Rules of Enogagement Breitbart News ^ | 14 September 2012 | by Breitbart News "Rep. Gohmert stated that the press conference was scheduled weeks ago, but emphasized how timely this discussion was in light of the attacks on the US embassy in Libya and Cairo. Billy Vaughn spoke about his son Aaron, who was killed along with 29 others when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter in which he was riding was shot down. The mission was so risky it had to be approved outside of theater. When the chopper went down, the air support did not fire to take out the enemy because there might be friendlies in the building and the ROE made no..

EPA: Staff-wide Che Guevara email an inadvertent error Daily Caller ^ | September 14, 2012 | Caroline May Environmental Protection Agency staff opened their inboxes Thursday to find an agencywide Hispanic Heritage Month email featuring a prominent picture of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, and largely plagiarized from the website Buzzle.com. According to the EPA, the email which heralded the beginning Hispanic Heritage Month on Saturday and offered cultural details about Hispanics was an accident and the employee responsible has apologized. The email was drafted and sent by an individual employee, and without official clearance. Shortly after sending the email in question the individual apologized to her colleagues for the inadvertent error, an EPA spokesman emailed TheDC.. Indefinite Detention Provisions Struck Down by Fed Judge The New American ^ | 14 September 2012 | Raven Clabough Judge Katherine Forrest, a New York federal judge, struck down a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act that allows Americans to be indefinitely detained just for being accused of supporting terrorist groups. The ruling was in response to a lawsuit brought by journalists and scholars who were concerned that the NDAA would allow them to be indefinitely detained for speaking their minds. Judge Forrests ruling reaffirms a ruling she issued back in May against the indefinite detention provision.The National Defense Authorization Act has been quite controversial because it includes provisions that permit the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens. Mosque Makeovers With Your Tax Dollars WSB Atlanta ^ | July 26, 2011 | WSB News. Uncredited Excerpted. Article and video at source. WASHINGTON, D.C A Channel 2 Action News investigation found that the State Department is sending millions of dollars to save mosques overseas. This investment has received criticism as the United States makes an effort to slash nearly $4 trillion in government spending.Plenty of outrage following the announcement made Thursday afternoon by a government commission that suggested huge cuts to the budget, including eliminating the interest education for home mortgage. This juxtaposed with United States investing millions to refurbish mosques as a good-will effort in Muslim countries has upset many taxpayer groups. White House: Aid to Egypt will continue (Obama continues to aid our enemies) washington times ^ | 9/13/2012 | By Susan Crabtree The White House is flatly rejecting calls from House conservatives to halt U.S. aid to Egypt after a slow response from Cairo in rebuking violent attacks on the U.S. Embassy there Tuesday night. A group of House conservatives, led by freshman Rep. Jeffrey M. Landry, Louisiana Republican, is calling for foreign aid to both Libya and Egypt to be stripped from a six-month federal funding bill up for a vote Thursday. Egypt is second only to Israel in the amount of assistance it receives from the U.S., an estimated $2 billion a year, but the White House has no plans...

Obama EPA Honors Hispanic Heritage Month By Promoting Marxist Killer [Che Guevara] The Getaway Pundit ^ | September 13, 2012 | Jim Hoft Is anyone really surprised by this? Really? The EPA honored Hispanic Heritage Month by promoting a Marxist mass murderer. Because theyre more than just a business killing agency. Buzzfeed reported, via All American Blogger: The Environmental Protection Agency commemorated the start of Hispanic Heritage Month with a picture of Che Guevara and a bit of plagiarism. An internal email obtained by BuzzFeed and distributed to agency employees marking the start of the celebration of Hispanic culture this Saturday, featured the above image of a horse and buggy passing a billboard of the Marxist revolutionary, in addition to a listing of. Pentagon Plans to Buy 1,500 Chevy Volts The New American ^ | September 12, 2012 | Brian Koenig General Motors, the financially-strained U.S. automaker that absorbed billions of taxpayer dollars through the auto bailout, has secured a new deep-pocketed customer for its purportedly failed electric vehicle the Chevy Volt. That customer is the Pentagon, which plans to make the federal governments military operation more environmentallyfriendly by reducing its use of fossil fuels with a conversion to electric vehicles. The Department of Defense (DOD) plans to purchase 1,500 models of the Volt, which has been burdened with lethargic sales and mounting losses since the automaker launched it in 2010. Another U.S. Solar Manufacturer Shuts Down Forbes ^ | 9/12/2012 | Todd Woody After raising more than $100 million over the past seven years, GreenVolts, a California startup that makes concentrating photovoltaic systems, has closed its doors after a major investor abruptly withdrew financial support for the company. A sudden, and unexpected, change in direction from a major strategic investor has affected GreenVolts access to funding, the company said Wednesday in a statement, referring to ABB, the Swiss power and automation giant. The impact was at the last minute and so severe that GreenVolts cannot continue normal operation and has reduced its workforce to a small team to provide customer support and engage. Calif. Law Would Permit Midwives, Other Non-Physicians to Perform Abortions The New American ^ | 10Sep 2012 | Dave Bohon The California Senate passed a bill September 6 that would make it legal for nonphysician medical professionals such as midwives to perform abortions under a statewide training program. The measure now awaits Democratic Governor Jerry Brown's signature. (Gov. Brown pictured to the left of the state seal, Sen. Christine Kehoe to the right.) According to LifeSiteNews.com, the bill (S.B. 623), introduced by Democratic State Senator Christine Kehoe, extends a program run by the University of California at San Francisco [UCSF], in which nurse practitioners, midwives, and doctors assistants are trained to perform abortions without any further training in medicine. Kehoe..

West Hollywood to make rainbow crosswalks permanent in honor of gay pride LGBTQNation ^ | Sep 11 2012 | Staff WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA The city of West Hollywood has announced that it will make permanent the temporary rainbow crosswalks installed back in June in honor of gay pride month. Steve Campbell, the citys facilities and field services manager, told LGBTQ Nation that the colored thermoplastic markings and specialized paint for the crosswalks are being custom made to match the six colors of the gay pride rainbow flag. Campbell acknowledged that the estimated cost to upgrade the rainbow crosswalks is around $67,364. He said the cost for the initial temporary installation in June ran $13,000. Sanctuary State: Library Cards May Soon Be Used as Illegal Alien ID Cards in Los Angeles Stand With Arizona ^ | 09-12-2012 | John Hill by John HillStand with ArizonaIllegal aliens in California's largest city could soon use library cards to open bank accounts and access an array of "city services" under a plan being considered by city officials. Under the plan, anyone with "proof" of Los Angeles residency could get a library card. "The idea is to provide a form of ID to those who cannot get a driver's license because of their immigration status." The City Council unanimously voted recently to consider the proposal, which would have Los Angeles join cities like San Francisco, Oakland, and New Haven, CT to offer various forms of. Dem lawmaker (Cummings) slams Issa for sending US Marshals to serve subpoenas (green energy loans) http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/248699-rep-issa-accused-of-politicsintimidation-in-energy-loan-probe ^ | 9/11/12 | Ben Geman Dem lawmaker slams Issa for sending US Marshals to serve subpoenasBy Ben Geman 09/11/12 10:08 AM ET Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) says House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is conducting his probe of federal green energy project loans with bullying tactics and Novembers elections in mind. Cummings, the panels top Democrat, sent Issa a letter Monday slamming a dozen subpoenas issued last week to current and former Energy Department employees and contractors, which included use of armed U.S. Marshals to serve subpoenas at the Energy Department (DOE). The Maryland Democrat called it Exclusive: Senior MF Global Executive Said Corzine Knew About Misuse of Funds (Jail-time Jonny?) Fox Business ^ | 9/11/12 | Charlie Gasparino Exclusive: Senior MF Global Executive Said Corzine Knew About Misuse of FundsBy Charlie Gasparino Published September 11, 2012 FOXBusiness In the days following MF Globals stunning implosion last year, a senior executive at the firm made a startling concession to investigators looking into both the companys demise and the loss of more than $1 billion in customer money, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. MF Globals chief financial officer for North America, Christine Serwinski, told investigators that her boss, MF Globals chief executive, Jon Corzine, was well aware of the use and possible misuse of the customer..

L.A. To Consider Multi-Use Library Cards For Illegal Immigrants LATimes ^ | September 10, 2012 | Catherine Saillant L.A. To Consider Multi-Use Library Cards For Illegal Immigrants The cards, under study now, would provide a form of identification for those without driver's licenses and could be used to open bank accounts, transfer funds and access cash. By Catherine Saillant September 10 Los Angeles officials are considering a plan to turn the library card into a form of identification that the city's large illegal immigrant population could use to open bank accounts and access an array of city services. The City Council last month voted unanimously to study the plan, which would have Los Angeles join the growing number Obama aids Egypt as it tries to buy U-boats, Daily Caller ^ | Septembe 10, 2012 | Neil Munro President Barack Obamas deputies are negotiating a $1 billion aid package with Egypts new Islamist government, even as Egypts cash-strapped military revealed that it is trying to buy $1 billion worth of German submarines that could threat Israels fast-growing offshore energy projects. The Germans government has pointedly declined to deny the incendiary revelation about Egypts request to buy the two submarines. Instead, the German government offered vague support for Israel, which is facing renewed threats from Irans nuclear program and the Muslim Brotherhoods rise to power in Egypt GM's Volt - The ugly math of low sales, high costs Reuters ^ | September 10, 2012 | Bernie Woodall and Paul Lienert and Ben Klayman Nearly two years after the introduction of the path-breaking plug-in hybrid, GM is still losing as much as $49,000 on each Volt it builds, according to estimates provided to Reuters by industry analysts and manufacturing experts. Cheap Volt lease offers meant to drive more customers to Chevy showrooms this summer may have pushed that loss even higher. There are some Americans paying just $5,050 to drive around for two years in a vehicle that cost as much as $89,000 to produce California Realtors Slam FHFA Over 'Highly Secretive' REO Program Mortgage Orb ^ | 23 August 2012 The California Association of Realtors (CAR) has criticized the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) for moving ahead with its real estate owned (REO) bulk sales pilot initiative in a manner that the trade group refers to as a "highly secretive manner, despite vehement opposition from California congressional members, the negative economic impact to the states housing market, and cost to taxpayers." CAR adds that it is filing a request for details through the Freedom of Information Act. The REO bulk sales pilot program calls for the sale of nearly 500 Fannie Mae-owned foreclosed homes in the Los Angeles and Inland.

Non-unionized Delphi retirees rally over 'theft of our pensions' caused by auto bailout Daily Caller ^ | September 10, 2012 | Matthew Boyle DAYTON, Ohio From the bed of a Ford pickup truck outside a now-dilapidated former Delphi auto parts plant here, Mary Miller called for transparency from President Barack Obama over the theft of our pensions. Miller, a self-described divorced mother of four young adults, and about 200 Delphi salaried retirees gathered at the shuttered auto plant in Dayton last Thursday morning to ask President Obama to right the wrongs they believe his administration inflicted upon them during the 2009 auto industry bailout. The Obama administration terminated the pensions, health care and life insurance of more than 20,000 Delphi retirees during. Report: Solyndra backers could get more tax breaks thehill.com ^ | 09/07/12 | Zack Colman Bankrupt solar panel maker Solyndra said Friday it could get $23 million in additional tax breaks, a development that angered Republicans who have said the firm got a federal loan guarantee as a political favor. Reuters reported that a bankruptcy judge said on Friday that Solyndras creditors could vote on the bankruptcy plan with the additional tax breaks. A final decision would come Oct. 17 -- just weeks before the Nov. 6 election. Solyndra already had disclosed it could be eligible for $341 million-worth of tax breaks. The revelation that more tax breaks could be in the offing bought charges Quit the outrage over Solyndra: Massive Obama scandal? There's no there there NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ^ | Sunday, September 9, 2012 | Michael Grunwald http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/quit-outrage-solyndra-article-1.1154467 Obama gave this company a $535 million federal loan. They had already gone thru $1 billion from investors and they still went belly up. The feds had written the contracts up so that the investors were paid off first, before the government. One of the investors was George Kaiser, an Obama bundler, The New York Daily News even said so in its story.

Otter Tail sells wind tower business; jobs remain uncertain pioneer press ^ | 9-7-12 | Leslie Brooks Suzukamo Otter Tail Corp. said Thursday that it has sold its wind tower manufacturing business, DMI Industries, to Trinity Industries of Dallas for $20 million. The Fergus Falls, Minn.based conglomerate, which also owns Otter Tail Power Co., said it closed on the sale of the property, plant and equipment at its Fort Erie, Ontario, plant on Thursday, Sept.6. The sale of its DMI plants in West Fargo, N.D. and Tulsa, Okla., plants will close in November and December respectively. Trinity Industries makes wind towers, rail cars and other products that require heavy metal fabrication, Otter Tail spokesman Michael Olsen said.

Solar Power assets up for sale Tribune-Review ^ | Thursday, September 6, 2012 | Kim Leonard The assets of a solar panel manufacturer that employed more than 200 workers in Westmoreland County a few years ago will be auctioned off starting Sept. 18. Solar Power Industries Inc. has said it fell victim to competition from Chinese companies that could make cheaper silicon wafers and solar cells used to generate electricity, and to a drop in demand for its products. The Rostraver-based company manufactured wafers and cells in plants there, and in part of the former Sony Corp. plant in East Huntingdon. Auction servicer Heritage Global Partners said in an announcement Wednesday that it first will consider.. Justice Dept. Gallup lawsuit came after Axelrod criticized pollsters Daily Caller ^ | September 6, 2012 | Matthew Boyle Internal emails between senior officials at The Gallup Organization, obtained by The Daily Caller, show senior Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod attempting to subtly intimidate the respected polling firm when its numbers were unfavorable to the president. After Gallup declined to change its polling methodology, Obamas Department of Justice hit it with an unrelated lawsuit that appears damning on its face. TheDC is withholding the identities of the Gallup officials to protect them from potential retaliation from Obamas campaign and his administration. In April, Axelrod tweeted that a poll showing Mitt Romney with a 48-43 percent lead over Obama was. U.S. funds Fortune 500 high-tech mission to Vietnam Patriot Update ^ | Sept. 5, 2012 | Steve Peacock Potential opportunities in Vietnam for U.S. information and communications technology (ICT) companies are plentifuland yet the Obama administration will force U.S. taxpayers to shoulder the burden of exploring those possibilities on behalf of that thriving industry, which comprises several Fortune 500 companies. Indeed, a Patriot Update review of recent federal contracting records shows how one particular federal entity, the U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA), taps into the Treasury to fund exploratory missions for the ICT sector and a multitude of other industries... USTDA is pursuing this endeavor despite explicitly acknowledging in that same planning document that U.S. technology behemoths. Solar energy company missed state payments over Iron Range plant pioneer press ^ | 9-5-12 | Leslie Brooks Suzukamo The solar energy systems manufacturer has missed the first two payments of a $1.5 million state loan to build a factory on the Iron Range last year, but state and company officials say they're optimistic the business can still thrive if a state rebate program are extended. Silicon Energy failed to make $80,000 in schedule quarterly payments earlier this year, and it has reduced its workforce at its Mountain Iron, Minn., assembly plant from 15 employees to 11, Tony Sertich, commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board, said Wednesday, Sept. 5. Silicon Energy, based in Washington State, has.

Not only are we paying for unemployment, were paying for half of their salary if they find a job. Me We have a small Land Surveying business in Oklahoma and I received a call today from a person seeking employment. He has been out of work since February and in the course of our conversation he told me that the unemployment office had told him that if he found a job, they would pay for half of his salary. I didnt ask for how long they would pay it (it kind of shocked me), but dot.gov must be getting desperate. Has anyone else heard of this program? Convicted wife-murderer gets taxpayer-funded sex change [per Boston Federal Judge] The Washington Examiner ^ | September 5, 2012 | Timothy P. Carney Robert Kosilek was married to a woman. Then he murdered her and went to prison, where he changed his name to Michelle and began identifying as a woman. Now a federal judge in Boston has ruled that Kosilek is entitled to a taxpayer-funded sex-change operation because he has gender-identity disorder. Everybody has the right to have their health care needs met, whether they are in prison or out on the streets, the AP quotes Kosilek as saying. People in the prisons who have bad hearts, hips or knees have surgery to repair those things. My medical needs are no less U.S. nears deal for $1 billion in Egypt debt relief -source Reuters ^ | 9/4/2012 | Unattributed WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is close to a deal with Egypt's new government for $1 billion in debt relief, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.. Harry Reid's Son Representing Chinese Solar Panel Plant in $5 Billion Nevada Deal briebart ^ | 09-04-2012 | Wynton Hall The son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Rory Reid, is the primary representative for ENN Energy Group, a Chinese energy company seeking to build a $5 billion solar panel plant on a 9,000-acre Clark County desert plot in Laughlin, Nevada. ENN scored big when Clark County commissioners unanimously voted to sell the Chinese company the public land for just $4.5 million, despite the fact that it was appraised at $38.6 million. http://www.calwatchdog.com/2012/09/02/encouraging-signs-from-todd-spitzer/? utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook Spitzer harshly criticizes the law enforcement unions and lawyers who tried to set up Costa Mesa Councilman Jim Righeimer. Righeimer, a pension reformer who has taken on the police unions, was subject to a despicable tactic by union operatives. He went to a pub after a community meeting and a private eye who had worked for a union law firm called in a false police report claiming inaccurately that Righeimer was drunk and weaving all over the road as he drove home. The Costa Mesa cops came to Righeimers door after he arrived home and demanded that he take a sobriety test.

Debtors' Prison Is Back -- and Just as Cruel as Ever Daily Finance.com ^ | 8/30/2012 | Ross Kenneth Urken To most of us, "debtors' prison" sounds like an archaic institution, something straight out of a Dickens novel. But the idea of jailing people who can't pay what they owe is alive and well in 21st-century America. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, debt collectors in Missouri, Illinois, Alabama and other states are using a legal loophole to justify jailing poor citizens who legitimately cannot pay their debts. Here's how clever payday lenders work the system in Missouri -- where, it should be noted, jailing someone for unpaid debts is illegal under the state constitution.

Feds fail to catch 117,000 collecting disability and unemployment www.washingtonguardian.com ^ | August 30, 2012 | Phillip Swarts As many as 117,000 Americans simultaneously collect unemployment benefits and federal disability each year, a form of double-dipping that investigators say costs taxpayers $850 million annually and should be ended. The reason for the doublespending, investigators at the Government Accountability Office reported this week, is good old-fashioned lack of communication. Put simply, the Labor Department that funds unemployment benefits and the Social Security Administration that funds disability payments don't compare notes, leavings tens of thousands of Americans each month to collect two checks from a stretched-thin government treasury. "The government is replacing a portion of their lost earnings not once, GM to close Volt plant four weeks reuters ^ (Reuters) - General Motors Co will idle the Michigan assembly plant that makes the Chevrolet Volt for four weeks from the middle of September to the middle of October, plant suppliers and union sources said on Monday. It will be the second time this year that the plant, which straddles the border of Detroit and the city of Hamtramck, has stopped making Volts. GM confirmed the plant idling, saying it will continue to "match supply with demand" for both the Volt and the Chevrolet Malibu sedan that is also made at the plant. The automaker declined to specify how long.

Costa Mesa councilman says unions behind DUI check (DUI caller former Riverside cop) THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER ^ | 8/27/2012 | ELYSSE JAMES and TONY SAAVEDRA Councilman Jim Righeimer said Friday at a news conference that political enemies set him up for an accusation of driving drunk. Righeimer was given a sobriety test outside his home Wednesday evening after a caller told Costa Mesa police that the councilman had been driving recklessly. "I have no doubt in my mind the labor unions fighting in this city are behind this," said Righeimer, who has been under fire by the city's unions and some residents for backing outsourcing of city services and for leading the charge for a November charter city ballot proposal. UC Berkeley healthcare plan provides up to $75,000 for sex-change operations, documents reveal Campus Reform ^ The University of California (UC) Berkeley student healthcare plan includes coverage of up to $75,000 for students who wish to undergo a sex-change operation, a trove of documents obtained on Monday by Campus Reform reveals. According to the 2012-13 UC Berkeley Student Health Insurance Plan Benefits Booklet, the public university will fund 90 percent of the controversial operation or up to $75,000. UC Berkeleys healthcare plan covers up to $75,000 for students who would like to undergo a sexchange operation. The school will also fund hormone therapy and gender confirmation (reassignment) surgery as well as well as certain travel (Louisiana Sheriff's Ambush Murder) 'They decide which laws to obey and to ignore http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2191108/Sovereign-citizens-Alleged-copkillers-linked-far-right-extremist-group.html#ixzz24B0qxNY1 ^ | 8/21/2012 'They decide which laws to obey and to ignore - and they don't pay their taxes': Inside the anarchist sovereign citizens movement blamed for murder of two police officers Group is listed on FBI's domestic terror watchlist Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols linked to group Other members were involved in the death of two police officers in Arkansas in May 2010 Four men and a woman charged with attempted first degree murder of a police officer last week Suspects appear to be from the same LaPlace family All arrests are in relation to wounded officer Michael Boyington

For some reason, the city of Detroit still employs a horseshoer MSNBC ^ | August 21, 2012 | Unkown Here's a riddle for you: What do you call a horseshoer that doesn't shoe any horses? An employee of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. No, you're not supposed to laugh, but the perpetually cash-strapped city somehow still employs a horseshoer, even though the department does not own horses, nor does the former employee of the Police Department work with any of the city's four-legged equines. The horseshoer's position was revealed as part of an independent report that concluded that the DWSD could "trim more than 80% of its workforce," a suggestion that union leaders say isn't possible. Federal Auditor: 2,527 DHS Employees and Co-Conspirators Convicted of Crimes CNS ^ | August 20, 2012 | Edwin Mora There have been 2,527 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees and coconspirators convicted of corruption and other criminal misconduct since 2004, according to a federal auditor. Charles Edwards, the acting inspector general (IG) at DHS, made that revelation in written testimony prepared for an Aug. 1 hearing held by the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency, and Financial Management. In his remarks, Edwards added that as of July 15, the DHS OIG (Office of the Inspector General) was dealing with 1,591 open criminal cases involving DHS employees and some accomplices. Some cases date back to fiscal. D'oh! U.S. Postal Service stuck with 682 million Simpsons stamps By Bloomberg News ^ | August 21, 2012 The money-losing U.S. Postal Service guessed that TV cartoon character Homer Simpson and his family were twice as popular as Elvis Presley when it came to sales of commemorative stamps. As Homer would say, Doh! In a move that wasted $1.2 million in printing costs, the service produced 1 billion of The Simpsons stamps and sold 318 million. Jersey City residents go a week without mail because of vacationing mail carrier Jersey Journal ^ | August 21, 2012 The United States Postal Service is apologizing to the residents of a Jersey City apartment building after a city post office didnt deliver mail to them for an entire week. The Vroom Street apartment building, home to about 60 units, went for the week without mail because its regular letter carrier was on vacation and the Bergen Avenue post office couldnt find its key to get into the building. A 36-year-old resident, who asked not to be named, said one of his paychecks was supposed to be delivered to him last week, but it sat instead inside the Bergen Avenue

Mexican Cartels Increasingly Corrupting DHS Employees to Smuggle Aliens CNSNews ^ (CNSNews.com) Mexican cartels increasingly are involved in the systemic corruption of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) workers as the cartels attempt to expand their drug and human smuggling operations -- including the trafficking of aliens from terrorism-linked countries into the U.S., the DHS acting inspector general told lawmakers earlier this month Illegal immigrants could reap more than $7B in tax credits this year, senator says FoxNews.com ^ | August 22, 2012 | unattributed Illegal immigrants could receive more than $7 billion this year in federal tax credits, according to one estimate, thanks to a loophole in the law that allows people not authorized to work to reap the government payments with no questions asked. Sen. Jeff Sessions' office calculated that, based on recent trends, illegal immigrants could receive roughly $7.4 billion through a provision known as the Additional Child Tax Credit. That's more than quadruple what the payout was four years ago, but the payments have been steadily increasing over the past decade. Though illegal immigrants are prohibited from receiving similar tax credits TSA Reaches Out at Paul Ryan Event The Shark Tank ^ | August. 22, 2012 | Javier Manjarres Upon arriving at Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryans first Florida stop in The Villages, Florida, we could help but notice that alongside Secret Service and the local Sumter County Sheriffs Office, were members of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checking peoples belongings. A big WTF is in order here Wanna a Free Car? Be a Congressman Townhall.com ^ | August 23, 2012 | John Ransom Maybe 15 terms in Congress is enough. In at least one case, we now have proof that its more than enough. California Rep. Darrell Issa finally confirmed today what has been generally known for a long while: Even as Democrats were promised to get to the bottom of the scandal surrounding sup-prime mortgage loans, a least one top Democrat was working hard to cover-up the names of Democrats who got favors from Countrywide Financial Corp. Countrywide was the biggest abuser of sub-prime mortgages and was one of the main culprits in the housing collapse that eventually infected the rest of

Labor Department spent $500G in stimulus on green-job ad blitz on Olbermann, Maddow Fox News.com ^ | August 22, 2012 | Judson Berger Labor Department spent $500G in stimulus on green-job ad blitz on Olbermann, MaddowThe Obama administration paid a PR firm nearly $500,000 in stimulus funds to run a barrage of ads on White House-friendly cable programs promoting its green job training program. According to government records, the Labor Department paid the money in late 2009 to a company that negotiated a media buy on MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" and "The Rachel Maddow Show." The ad was set to run more than 100 times -- 14 times a week for two months. It's unclear how many people might have gotten involved. Store owner convicted in $612,000 food stamp fraud (Foodstamps-For-Cash) Ventra County Star ^ | 8-21-12 | AP FLINT, Mich. (AP) - A federal jury has reached a guilty verdict against a Flint store owner accused of participating in a $612,000 food stamp fraud scheme. U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade says 55-year-old Noha Fofana was convicted of conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud. Fofana owns Mandingo African market. McQuade says he redeemed $750,000 in food stamp benefits from February 2009 to July 2011, and $612,000 came from "food stamps-for-cash" exchange Illegals to Receive over $7 Billion in Tax Credits Breitbart ^ A loophole in the US tax code, whose revision Harry Reid deliberately prevented, resulted in over $4 billion going to illegal immigrants in one year. That number is poised to top $7 billion this year, based on analysis from the office of Senator Jeff Sessions. 'Fast and Furious' ATF Official Granted Paid Leave to Take 6-Figure Job at JP Morgan CNS News ^ | August 23, 2012 | Susan Jones (CNSNews.com) - The long-awaited inspector general's report on the Justice Department's botched gun-running scheme is finished, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said on Wednesday. But along with that news comes more questions: Issa and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) are demanding to know why a top ATF official involved in Operation Fast and Furious remains on paid leave from ATF -- while simultaneously drawing a sixfigure salary from J.P. Morgan, a major investment bank.

US moves to arm Indonesia's growing F-16 fighter fleet (Obama handing over 24 F16's for free) Reuters ^ | Fri Aug 24, 2012 8:40pm EDT | Jim Wolf President Barack Obama's administration has proposed to sell air-to-surface guided missiles and related gear to equip Indonesia's growing fleet of U.S.-built F-16 fighter aircraft. The sale, valued at $25 million, would be the latest U.S. move to boost security ties with friends and allies in a region stirred by China's growing military clout and territorial assertiveness. Indonesia has requested 18 AGM-65K2 "Maverick All-UpRound" missiles, 36 "captive air training missiles" and three maintenance training missiles, plus spares, test equipment and personnel training, the administration told the U.S. Congress in a notice dated Wednesday. The AGM-65 Maverick, built by Raytheon Co, is. Corzine gets the New Black Panther treatment American Thinker ^ | 8/25/12 | Bruce Johnson Corzine gets the New Black Panther treatmentBruce Johnson August 25, 2012 **SNIP** Jon Corzine is accused of using segregated customer funds for backing his bad trading decisions at the firm MF Global. The funds were indeed used for that purpose. People know who made the call. Immunity to them was not offered. Testimony of those who know what occurred and at whose hand, not wanted. Why? The referee doesn't really want to know Busted: Republican woman in Obama ad has been a registered Democrat since 2006 Hotair ^ | 08/25/2012 | Ed Morrissey Via Drudge, the inevitable finish for an ad for a President whose track record on vetting and research has been all too vividly featured in our Obamateurism series. Earlier this week, Team Obama stepped up its War On Wimminses strategy with this ad, featuring women who identify as Republican but who intend to vote for Barack Obama in 2012. However, as the old Sesame Street song used to go, at least one of these women are not like the other: CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO OF THE AD: "REPUBLICAN WOMEN FOR OBAMA" Maria Ciano who is featured in the LAPD probes alleged sale of guns by SWAT officers http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_21399862/lapd-probes-alleged-sale-guns-byswat-officers ^ LOS ANGELESThe Los Angeles Police Department is investigating allegations that SWAT officers bought specially-made handguns and resold them at a significant profit. It is the department's second probe since 2010 into the whereabouts of the .45-caliber guns, which featured an 'LAPD SWAT' insignia, the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/R9dFwK) reported. An initial investigation was deemed "deficient" in a report by Inspector General Alex Bustamante. Investigators want to know how many officers were involved, the number of guns sold and when the sales were carried out. The allegations, if proven, could be a violation of federal firearm statutes and city ethics rules.

Solyndra's glass tubes find second life as modern art San Jose Mercury News ^ | Aug 23, 2012 | Dana Hull BERKELEY -- When Solyndra filed for bankruptcy last year, thousands of employees were let go, dozens of vendors were left high and dry, hundreds of millions of dollars were lost -- and millions of glass tubes were abandoned in a San Jose warehouse. Now some of those tubes, a signature design element of the company's cylindrical solar panels, have found a second life as modern art. Yet like so much about Solyndra, they've become another flash point in the controversy surrounding the Fremont company. Oakland architects Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello used 1,368 of the glass tubes to create. Obama's Dirty Energy List Townhall,com ^ | August 13, 2012 | Marita Noon During a recent trip to Washington DC, I heard that by the end of his second term, President Obama wants 40% of our natural resources to be imported. Like Harry Reids Bain Capital investor, my source is reliable: a Capitol Hill staffer. While I do not have a secret White House memo to validate the premise, it explains a lot. OilDuring his 2008 campaign, candidate Obama made it clear that he doesnt have a problem with $4-agallon gas. His Energy Secretary is on record as having said that he thinks our gasoline prices should be more in line with those NYC, Safest Big City, Systematically Falsifying Crime Statistics thetruthaboutguns.com ^ | 13 August, 2012 | Dan Zimmerman Every gun controllers favorite Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, is awfully proud of his citys crimefighting record. He never misses a chance to tell someone holding a mic that New York is the safest big city in the country. And he usually trots this claim out following a gang-related shooting or when a cop takes a bullet in the line of duty. Right after first decrying the prevalence of guns in America, that is . . . In fact, Hizzoner practically busted his buttons during last weekends National Night Out, blowing the New York safety horn yet again. nypost.com has the quote Hermosa Beach Police Chief Defends $100,000 Union Meter Maids Townhall.com ^ | August 13, 2012 | Mike Schedlock No price of labor is too high if you are a supporter of public unions. Here is a case in point: In Hermosa Beach California, Police Chief Steve Johnson and Councilman Howard Fishman defended $100,000 meter maid positions on the grounds When you outsource, you take away union jobs. Note that meter maid positions do not require much more than the ability to drive a standard transmission car and have a high school diploma. Please consider Hermosa Beach Meter Maids Make Nearly $100K When contemplating the many reasons cities in California and elsewhere are venturing closer to bankruptcy, look

Dirty Harrys Clean Energy Cronyism (Pushes Chinese Solar Company) Free Beacon ^ | August 13, 2012 | Andrew Stiles Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) has been working to secure sweetheart deals for Chinese green energy firms, according to reports. Reid, who last week hosted the fifth annual National Clean Energy Summit at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, has been pulling strings behind the scenes for months on behalf of ENN Mojave Energy, a Nevada subsidiary of the Chinese-owned ENN Group. After more than two years of secret negotiations beginning in 2009, lawmakers in Clark County, Nevada, unanimously agreed to sell 9,000 acres of public land to ENN for the bargain price of just $4.5. Poland begins uncovering story of secret US detention center Christian Science Monitor ^ | August 14, 2012 | Roy Gutman, McClatchy Newspapers On an idyllic lake surrounded by woods and a double row of mesh-and-razor-wire fences about 100 miles north of Warsaw, there stands a secluded villa that the CIA once used to interrogateand allegedly torturetop Al Qaeda suspects. On the grounds of the Polish intelligence-training academy and nicknamed Markus Wolf for the former East German spy chief, its the focal point for a top-secret probe that Polish prosecutors have launched into how their government tolerated rampant violations of international and Polish law. If former officials are brought to trial, or if the stacks of classified files in the prosecutors offices are. Davidson College suspends Chick-fil-A from student events News14 ^ | 8/14/12 | News 14 Web Staff DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Davidson College is giving Chick-fil-A the boot. The school is suspending the restaurant chain from serving meals at student events. The union board will decide early in the semester whether or not to permanently ban the chain from campus. The suspension came after the chain's president sparked a national debate by speaking out against same-sex marriage Ill. state workers forced to attend Pelosi, Jesse Jackson Jr. event on taxpayer dime The Daily Caller ^ | 08/14/2012 | Matthew Boyle Documents and a whistle-blower affidavit obtained by The Daily Caller charge that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Illinois Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., and Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., participated in an unethical and possibly illegal effort to force 76 employees of an Illinois state agency to engage in political activity on the taxpayers dime. According to the whistle-blower, Rev. Jackson also encouraged the government employees to load first-generation and low-income college students up with student loan debt because Democrats in Congress, he allegedly promised, would eventually pass laws to forgive that debt later.

U.S. Will Spend $43 Million Cleaning 47 Acres at Vietnamese Military Base CNS News ^ | 8-9-12 | MIKE IVES DANANG, Vietnam (AP) The United States began a landmark project Thursday to clean up a dangerous chemical left from the defoliant Agent Orange 50 years after American planes first sprayed it on Vietnam's jungles to destroy enemy cover. Dioxin, which has been linked to cancer, birth defects and other disabilities, will be removed from the site of a former U.S. air base in Danang in central Vietnam. The effort is seen as a long-overdue step toward removing a thorn in relations between the former foes nearly four decades after the Vietnam War ended. White House, NASA, Defend Comments About NASA Outreach to Muslim World Criticized by Conservatives ABC News ^ | July 6, 2012 The White House and NASA today defended comments by National Aeronautic Space Administration administrator Charles Bolden about reaching out to the Muslim world comments that conservatives criticized as undermining NASAs mission. A few days ago, in Cairo, Bolden told Al Jazeera that when he became the NASA administrator, President Obama charged him with three things: "One, he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math; he wanted me to expand our international relationships; and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and.. IRS told employees to ignore potential fraud in program used by immigrants Washington Times ^ | 8 Aug 2012 | Stephen Dinan IRS supervisors ignored employees who tried to warn agency higher-ups of fraud in a program designed to collect taxes from immigrants, resulting in the agency paying out potentially bogus refunds, according to an official audit released Wednesday. The Treasurys inspector general for tax administration (TIGTA) said the IRS is too focused on getting out refunds quickly rather than getting them only to qualified taxpayers. Auditors also said the agency eliminated some methods employees had used to figure out questionable refund requests and doesnt have the right training or tools to screen out bogus identity documents when immigrants apply for taxpayer.

Report finds widespread fraud in taxpayer ID program FoxNews.com ^ | 8-9-12 | Mike Emanuel A recently released report shows widespread tax fraud in connection with the federal governments Individual Taxpayer Identification Number program. The U.S. Treasury inspector general report accuses the IRS of discouraging employees from reviewing applications for the ID numbers, which are generally from non-resident workers. The inspector general specifically said there were 154 mailing addresses that were used 1,000 or more times on applications, including 15,795 numbers assigned to a Phoenix address. The report, which evaluated the processing year 2011, also found inadequate controls can result in the numbers being assigned to people who have not proved their identity or foreign. Insolvent US Postal Service Loses Whopping $5.2 Billion In Third Quarter, 70% Higher Than Year Ago Zero Hedge ^ | August 9, 2012 | Tyler Durden The epic collapse of one of the most bloated government institutions continues at a ridiculous pace. From Bloomberg: U.S. POSTAL SERVICE LOST $5.2 BILLION IN THIRD QUARTERPOSTAL SERVICE LOSS Q3 COMPARES WITH $3.1 BILLION LOSS YEAR AGOPOSTAL SERVICE 3Q REVENUE FALLS TO $15.6 BILLION FROM $15.8B POSTAL SERVICE `LIQUIDITY CHALLENGES' REMAIN IN 2013POSTAL SERVICE MAIL VOLUME FALLS 3.5 PERCENT IN THIRD QUARTER POSTAL SERVICE WILL CONTINUE TO PAY EMPLPOYEES, SUPPLIERS And it gets better: POSTAL SERVICE LOSS INCLUDES SKIPPED PAYMENT TO TREASURY - in other words the taxpayer bailouts of the USPS have begun... and the loss would have been China's New Target: Batteries Wall Street Journal ^ | 09 August 2012 | Mike Ramsey A company that was one of the most promising U.S. innovators in the clean-fuel auto industry was rescued from collapse Wednesday. Its buyer: A Chinese auto-parts company. Wanxiang Group Corp., one of China's biggest parts makers, offered a $450 million lifeline to A123 Systems Inc., AONE +12.98%a maker of advanced batteries for electric vehicles that received U.S.-government backing. Waltham, Mass.-based A123's recent losses and a high-profile battery recall were a sharp reversal for a start-up that attracted big-name investors and a $2.6 billion market value just a few years ago.

Oops--California Audit Finds Tons of Lost Cash Townhall.com ^ | August 5, 2012 | Ann-Marie Murrell Last May, Governor Jerry Brown threatened to close 70 state parks in order to help balance the budget and plug the holes of the sinking ship that is California. Immediately, park-loving activists went to work and through bake sales and donations, the public helped save 69 of the 70 parks. But then, oops---California auditors recently looked under their government couch cushions and located over $286 million in misplaced funds. From the L.A. Times (emphasis added): Gov. Jerry Brown's administration on Friday announced that $119 million more in untapped money was found in a sweeping audit of state accounts, bringing. Why is the Pentagon spending billions on breast-cancer research? Miami Herald ^ | 8/5/2012 | John Morris July was a tough month for the Pentagon. The Washington Post revealed that three U.S. special-operations soldiers died in Mali when their vehicle plunged off a bridge with three Moroccan prostitutes in the vehicle at the time. The special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction issued one of his final reports on U.S. reconstruction efforts in that country and estimated that $6 billion to $8 billion of the $51 billion spent on reconstruction was likely wasted, embezzled or misplaced. The inspector generals investigations have produced 90 indictments, 72 convictions and $177 million in fines and other penalties, with the highest percentage. GSA employees paid lavish salaries, generous bonuses, excessive overtime Washington Free Beacon ^ | Aug 6, 2012 | Andrew Stiles Rep. John Mica (R., Fla.), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, revealed last week that the General Services Administration (GSA), the government agency at the center of a luxury spending scandal, had awarded $44 million in taxpayer-funded bonuses last year, far more than previously reported. Though GSA staff constitute just one percent of the federal workforce, agency bonuses made up 10 percent of government bonuses paid out in 2011. Micas analysis of GSA compensation data found a number of bonuses worth as much as $50,000 or more. One employee received an $80,000 bonus, in addition to $180,000 in Tax Scam: IRS Pays Out $3.3 Million To One Lansing Address Last Year WILX News 10 ^ | Aug 3, 2012 The IRS pays out billions in fraudulent tax refunds, and Lansing is at the top of the list. The IRS paid out more than $3 million in refunds to one address in Lansing. The IRS has not disclosed that address, but according to a new report issued by the IRS Inspector General, someone filed more than 2100 separate tax returns using that address, and received $3.3 million in fraudulent refunds. The inspector general says identity thieves filing bogus tax returns got more than $5 billion in refunds last year. The inspector general also says the problem is so rampant.,

Hundreds of Millions in Taxpayer Losses Are Just 'Minor Blips' Townhall.com ^ | August 7, 2012 | David Limbaugh President Obama's disgracefully corrupt policies on green energy alone should be enough to ensure his defeat in November -- even apart from his war on reliable energy sources, which is unspeakably outrageous. Recently revealed emails show the extent of the abject corruption and reckless waste surrounding Obama's Solyndra project. The Heritage Foundation has compiled a list of the 10 most revealing emails referred to in the House Energy and Commerce Committee's investigative report, many of which I wrote about in my book "The Great Destroyer." A number of these will make your blood boil. General Services Administration with the Blessing of the Obama White House Tells Law... Judicial Watch ^ | August 7, 2012 Full title: General Services Administration with the Blessing of the Obama White House Tells Law Enforcement to Stand Down and Not Enforce the Law Against Occupy Protestors According to Records Uncovered by Judicial Watch (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch announced today that it has obtained records from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) indicating that the General Services Administration (GSA), with the blessing of the Obama White House, instructed law enforcement officers to stand down and not arrest Occupy Portland protestors who were in violation of the law. The records, obtained pursuant to a November 11, 2011, Freedom. $1.3 billion in clean energy subsidies produce 288 permanent jobs, ...... Nevada Journal ^ | Monday, August 6, 2012 | Kyle Gillis Full Title:**********************$1.3 billion in clean energy subsidies produce 288 permanent jobs, quadruple cost of electricity in Nevada Reid-sponsored National Clean Energy Summit pushes more subsidies as key to Nevadas futureLAS VEGAS As U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid prepares to host his fifth annual National Clean Energy Summit on Aug. 7, a Nevada Journal examination of Nevadas renewable energy sector shows that over $1.3 billion in federal funds funneled into geothermal, solar and wind projects since 2009 has yielded and is projected to yield just 288 permanent, fulltime jobs. Thats an initial cost of over $4.6 million per job.

Obamas DOE Doles Out $43M For Green Energy Projects Deemed Too Risky For The Private Sector CNS News ^ | 8-13-12 | penny starr The Department of Energy announced the distribution of $43 million in funding for the development of energy storage technology that is too risky for private-sector investment. The Aug. 2 press release said the recipients were chosen through two programs of DOEs Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy the Advanced Management and Protection of Energy Storage Devices (AMPED) and Small Business Innovation Research (STTR). ARPA-E was launched in 2009 to seek out transformational, breakthrough technologies that are too risky for private-sector investment but have the potential to translate science into quantum leaps in energy technology, form the foundation for entirely new industries,.. Fisker Automotive shake-up: Former Chevy Volt chief named new CEO http://www.siliconvalley.com/ ^ | 8/14/12 | Dana Hull Struggling hybrid carmaker Fisker Automotive named Tony Posawatz, a General Motors veteran who oversaw production of the Chevy Volt, its new CEO on Tuesday, making him the third executive to helm the startup in a year. Lead Fisker board director Ray Lane of Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the auto company's largest investor, said Tuesday he has known Posawatz for a couple of years and recruited him to replace Tom LaSorda, who was named CEO in February. LaSorda, a veteran of Chrysler and GM, had replaced company founder Henrik Fisker. Lane said Fisker originally envisioned.. Some California Meter Maids Are Making Nearly $100K a Year The Blaze ^ | August 14, 2012 | Erica Ritz Back in July, experts said California only saw the tip of the iceberg after three of its cities were forced to declare bankruptcy. Though the budget is as large as a number of small countries, lawmakers in the state have made a habit of spending everything they have, and then some. With Governor Jerry Brown proposing to raise taxes even higher to bridge the gap, some are wondering how the state is spending its existing funds. Though it is merely a fraction of the total budget, Brian Calle at the Orange County Register notes that for just 10 Hermosa

100 New Jobs to be Created by the City of LA: Porn Shoot Inspectors LA Times ^ | 8/16/12 | David Zahniser Faced with a new law requiring condoms during porn shoots, Los Angeles officials have recommended that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council begin searching for a medical professional to conduct inspections of adult film performances. In a report issued Wednesday, a working group focused on ways to enforce the new condom ordinance said Film L.A. Inc., the office that processes film permits, should rework its applications so passages that discuss hazardous working conditions and dangerous special effects also mention the "transmission of blood and infectious materials." Those applications also should include a check box in which film companies explain. FBI: Court Clerk Sold Secret Info To L.A. Hoodlums The Smoking Gun ^ | August 16, 2012 In a shocking security breach, a federal court clerk in Los Angeles has been charged with selling information from sealed court documents detailing upcoming arrests and law enforcement raids targeting affiliates of an organized crime syndicate. Investigators discovered the alleged scheme earlier this year after a leader of the Armenian Power gang began cooperating with federal agents and prosecutors Bidens good friend, donor receives $20M federal loan... Daily Caller ^ | August 17, 2012 | Christopher Bedford ...to open foreign luxury car dealership in Ukraine (Title) According to a public summary document, the loan, from the federal governments Overseas Private Investment Corporation, is for [u]p to $20.0 million, and is designed to expand Winner Import Ukraines automobile business, [and] construct and operate Winner Autocity, which will have two new, state-of-the-art dealership facilities for Porsche and Land Rover/Jaguar automobiles. ...snip... Under U.S. Economic Impact, the summary document says, This project will have a positive developmental impact on the host country, Ukraine. The project will generate a significant number of new local jobs. Running a dealership for premium automobile.. Obama's DOL Gives Away $100 Million to Stop State Layoffs Townhall.com ^ | August 17, 2012 | Mike Shedlock $100 million sounds like a lot of money, but it does not go very far these days. It is less than .01% of the deficit. The problem with such thinking is government programs start out "small" then end up costing tens of billions of dollars as each party tries to outdo the other in an attempt to buy voters. Please consider Labor Dept. Attempts to Stop Layoffs by Giving $100 Million to States to Subsidize Payrolls The Labor Department announced on Monday that it will be awarding almost $100 million in grant funding to states to prevent layoffs by allowing.

Never assume [A nobama email from John Kerry] email | August 17, 2012 | John F'ing Kerry (who served in Viet Nam) Friend -- It's easy to look at the attacks, smears, and lies being told about President Obama and his record and say, "Come on, that's ridiculous. No one could possibly believe that." Trust me: You and I learned the hard way eight years ago this August that in the new world we're living in -- one with 24-hour news cycles, the internet, blogs, the echo chamber, and now the new Citizens United-fueled Republican money machine -even completely baseless attacks can stick if people don't call them out quickly enough. No matter how self-evidently false the attacks are, or how Gone with the Wind (Our Money) The Washington Free Beacon ^ | August 16,2012 | BY: CJ Ciaramella Green energy firm sacks two-thirds of American workforce days after receiving $32 million government loan ust days after the Export-Import Bank approved a multi-million dollar federal loan guarantee to benefit a mostly foreign-based wind-energy outfit, the company pink-slipped more than 200 American workers. The Export-Import Bank, a federal agency that promotes and finances sales of U.S. exports to foreign buyers, approved a $32 million loan guarantee on Aug. 2 for a Brazilian firm to purchase wind turbines from LM Wind Power. According to its website, LM Wind Power is headquartered in Denmark. Ex-Im Banks financing, which guarantees a Bank of Illinois House expels Rep. Derrick Smith over bribery charge Clout Street ^ | 2:17 p.m. CDT, August 17, 2012 | Ray Long and Annie Sweeney State lawmakers today kicked out a West Side Democrat accused of taking a $7,000 bribe, marking the first expulsion from the Illinois House since 1905. Rep. Derrick Smith failed to show up to defend himself or hear his fellow House lawmakers condemn his alleged actions before the 100-6 vote was taken. Three lawmakers voted present (see roll call here). [...] The disciplinary action against Smith required the votes of 79 members of the 118-member House. Smith was arrested March 13 by federal agents who alleged he used his office stationery to push for a $50,000 grant for a fictitious operator. Social Security Administration Explains Plan to Buy 174,000 Hollow-Point Bullets (CNSNews.com) The Social Security Administration posted a blog on Thursday to explain why it was planning to purchase 174,000 hollow point bullets. SSA posted a "Request for Quote for Ammunition" on the FedBizOps.gov website on Aug. 7. The request listed the commodity that SSA desired as ".357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacketed hollow point pistol ammunition." The quantity listed was "174 TH." The SSAs Office of the Inspector Generals said it posted a new blog on the agencys website, Beyond the Numbers, as we strive to be a transparent and accountable government organization for all of our stakeholders.

Pete Stark defends Social Security payments to his kids, delinquent dues SFGate: Politics Blog ^ | 8/17/12 | Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau The campaign of Rep. Pete Stark, the East Bay Democrat in a contested re-election race against fellow Democrat Eric Swalwell of Dublin, confirmed to the Chronicle that Starks children do receive Social Security benefits as allowed under the law, and that he has stopped paying his dues to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Stark campaign consultant Michael Terris wrote in an email that Stark fought his entire career to protect Social Security from those who would dismantle it. Congressman Stark has been paying into the system for many years. And yes, like all Americans, he and his family intend to Whistle-blower let go as reserve deputy San Francisco Chronicle ^ | August 17, 2012 | Justin Berton A law enforcement whistle-blower who told investigators he witnessed a Contra Costa County sheriff's deputy conduct a "dirty DUI" arrest has been relieved from duty in what he said was retaliation for breaking the police code of silence. William Howard of Danville worked as a reserve in the Sheriff's Department for 19 years until he was dismissed Tuesday without explanation and ordered to turn in his uniform and weapon. A department spokesman, Jimmy Lee, described Howard's release as an internal matter and declined to discuss it. Reserves are "at will" employees and are subject to dismissal without cause, according to. Robin Hood mayor vows to occupy banks [encourages people to steal from supermarkets] FinancialTimes ^ | August 17, 2012 | Miles Johnson Juan Manuel Snchez Gordillo, the mayor of Marinaleda, a southern town with a population of 2,600, has been catapulted to cult hero status in Spain after setting out this week on an anti-austerity march across Andalucia occupying banks and stealing food, and enraging the government of Mariano Rajoy.Earlier this month Mr Snchez Gordillo stood outside a supermarket with cheering supporters as trade unionists piled food into shopping trolleys and left without paying, later donating the items to food banks for the poor. The raid resulted in seven arrests.The 59-year-old is also a member of the regional parliament, and enjoys

California parks officials were looking to spend while shortchanging parks, documents show Sacramento Bee ^ | August 19, 2012 | Kevin Yamamura The state Department of Parks and Recreation routinely searched for ways to spend extra money each June despite facing the threat of park closures and forgoing upkeep at its 278 properties, based on newly released transcripts from an internal investigation. Testimony from 30 interviews with state employees portrays parks administrators who appeared to have the opposite problem from one long described by Gov. Jerry Brown excess cash left over and not enough ways to spend it. ....The documents depict a department that wanted to keep secret a reserve of its own special funds to hedge against future financial problems. Illegal IRS Rule to Increase Taxes & Spending under Obamacare Townhall.com ^ | August 19, 2012 | Michael F. Cannon The written testimony that Jonathan Adler and I submitted for the House Oversight Committee hearing on the Internal Revenue Services unlawful attempt to increase taxes and spending under Obamacare is now online. An excerpt: Contrary to the clear language of the statute and congressional intent, this [IRS] rule issues tax credits in health insurance exchanges established by the federal government. It thus triggers a $2,000per-employee tax on employers and appropriates billions of dollars to private health insurance companies in states with a federal Exchange, also contrary to the clear language of the statute and congressional intent. Since those illegal expenditures will exceed.. Coming Soon: Higher Energy Prices, Shortages Townhall.com ^ | August 19, 2012 | Marita Noon Once real numbers have come out about renewable energy costs, people are having second thoughts, reported Maureen Masten, Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources and Senior Advisor on Energy to Governor Bob McDonnell, VA, while addressing his all of the above energy strategy to meet the states energy needs. The real costs of renewable energy are coming outboth in dollars and daily impacts. After years of hearing about free energy from the sun and wind, people are discovering that theyve been lied to.On Tuesday, August 14, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) approved a new renewable energy rate rider that..

Wall Street warns against using eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages The Hill ^ | 8/19/12 | Peter Schroeder Wall Street warns against using eminent domain to seize underwater mortgagesBy Peter Schroeder - 08/19/12 05:00 PM ET Heavy hitters in the financial industry are lining up against a new idea brewing among local government officials to help struggling homeowners by seizing control of their mortgages through eminent domain. With many areas of the country still digging out from the housing crisis, some local governments are considering taking on the underwater mortgages at a substantially lower price, thus making them more affordable for the borrower. With policymakers at the federal, state and local level struggling to find a way to Stressed? Are You Disabled? Townhall.com ^ | August 20, 2012 | Katie Kieffer Government worker: Do you have a disability? Man: No. Mans wife: What does he get if hes disabled? Government worker: His monthly payments will [double]. Mans wife: Well, then hes disabled. Government worker (to man): Whats your disability? Man: Im stressed. An attorney friend of mine recently overheard the above conversation in a Florida government building. The man, who had just turned 65, was signing up for retirement benefits while his wife stood over his shoulder. I relay the story to illustrate how our government is expanding the definition of the term disability. Howard Rich explains in his recent Wall Irregular Order Puts Taxpayers in Jeopardy Townhall.com ^ | August 20, 2012 | Brian Darling In making law, process matters. A lot. When lawmakers eschew regular order to craft legislation, it usually means theres dirty work afoot. Thats what happened earlier this year, when Congress finagled an extension of federal highway programs and gas taxes. Lawmakers ignored the regular way of doing business, and taxpayers got hosed. Now, conservatives worry that lawmakers are prepping to employ the same sorry shenanigans to pass an uber-expensive farm bill. The regular order passing a bill is simple. The House passes its notion of a good bill; the Senate passes a version it likes, and then representatives from both Ex-beau's bombshell: Bronx pol looted tax-funded nonprofit (latina beds down on taxpayers' dime) NY POST ^ | 8/19/12 | Candice Giove. w/ Isabel Vince. NY state Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera (D-Bronx) allegedly used a tax-funded nonprofit as her personal ATM, establishing a pattern of racketeering, installing her lovers in tax-paid jobs: (1) to wine and dine her, (2) to bed her down, (3) to sign off on payments to her relatives, and, (4) to siphon off tax dollars for her campaigns.

CEO of Gibson Guitar a Republican donor; Democrat competitor uses same wood Landmark Report ^ | August 27, 2011 | Andrew Lawton On Thursday, the iconic Gibson Guitar Corporation issued a press release stating that government officials raided their Tennessee manufacturing facility over warrants concerning the legality of the importation of wood purchased from India that they use in their world famous guitars. The woodwhich is certified and regulated by the Forest Stewardship Councilis not illegal, but rather subject to a domestic law in India frowns upon the processing of this wood by non-Indians. (Gibson uses American labor for the processing.) Gibsons press release claims that, while this incident marks the second raid of their facility in around two years, this is. How the White House Delivered a Crushing Economic Blow to the Gulf pjmedia ^ | 20AUG12 | by Sen. David Vitter PJM EXCLUSIVE: Louisiana's GOP senator on how the cover-up to trump sound science in favor of political ideology keeps growing with each chapter. Heres the bookjacket teaser: A major U.S. environmental disaster strikes. As Coast Guard and other heroes struggle to contain the unprecedented damage, a different scene unfolds in a dimly lit conference room in Washington. A small group of high-ranking political hacks and overzealous ideologues see an opportunity to manipulate the situation to advance their agenda. They doctor a key report on the disaster by experts in order to justify shutting down all exploration and new production.

Doug McIntyre: Councilman Richard Alarcn's bad-neighbor ways are a crime - LA Daily News http://www.dailynews.com/columnists/ci_21315146/doug-mcintyre-councilman-richardalarc-ns-bad-neighbor

Emails: Geithner, Treasury drove cutoff of non-union Delphi workers pensions Dailycaller ^ Emails obtained by The Daily Caller show that the U.S. Treasury Department, led by Timothy Geithner, was the driving force behind terminating the pensions of 20,000 salaried retirees at the Delphi auto parts manufacturing company. The move, made in 2009 while the Obama administration implemented its auto bailout plan, appears to have been made solely because those retirees were not members of labor unions. The internal government emails contradict sworn testimony, in federal court and before Congress, given by several Obama administration figures. They also indicate that the administration misled lawmakers and the courts about the sequence of events surrounding.

Poway Unified to Pay Nearly 10 Times What it Borrowed (CA District to Pay $1B for $105M School Bond) NBC San Diego ^ | August 7, 2012 | Rory Devine and Lauren Steussy Poway Unified to Pay Nearly 10 Times What it Borrowed: Report District will begin financing the 40-year loan beginning in 2050 New school, new library, new technology just a few examples of the renovations and repairs made to Poway Unified School Districts 24 aging schools starting in 2001 under Proposition U. To finish the job, Poway taxpayers passed Proposition C in 2008. Last year, as part of that bond, the district borrowed $105 million. It wont begin paying it back until 20 years from now. With interest, that $105 million loan will end up costing taxpayers almost $1 billion. Investigation finds 741 tax returns filed from single Belle Glade home (South Florida) Sun Sentinel ^ | August 6, 2012 | Donna Gehrke-White A small South Florida city has attracted the attention of federal investigators looking into tax refund fraud and identity theft, according to an independent watchdog agency that oversees the Internal Revenue Service. In Belle Glade, nestled along Lake Okeechobee, 741 tax returns worth more than $1 million in refunds were filed from a single address last year, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The Belle Glade address ranked third nationally for number of returns filed. Investigators would not release the address, citing confidentiality rules on tax returns. But House Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Charles Boustany Jr., R-La., referred A123 Goes Chinese -- Will Washington Learn It Can't Mandate A Market? Forbes ^ | August 8, 2012 | by Bob Lutz A Chinese auto parts company, Wanxiang, has come to the rescue of cash-strapped A123 Systems, an American high-tech lithium-ion battery maker and centerpiece of the Obama administrations green jobs revolution. Wanxiang can acquire up to an 80% of the company in return for an investment of up to $450 million. The recipient of a $249 million green technology grant from our federal government, A123, believing their own (and everyone elses) hype about the millions of electric vehicles that would soon be filling the nations highways (it will happen, but not soon) set about proving an old adage: stupidity and waste

White House, NASA, Defend Comments About NASA Outreach to Muslim World Criticized by Conservatives ABC News ^ | July 6, 2012 The White House and NASA today defended comments by National Aeronautic Space Administration administrator Charles Bolden about reaching out to the Muslim world comments that conservatives criticized as undermining NASAs mission. A few days ago, in Cairo, Bolden told Al Jazeera that when he became the NASA administrator, President Obama charged him with three things: "One, he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math; he wanted me to expand our international relationships; and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and California reaches deep into special funds to pay for schools, prisons, social services Sacramento Bee ^ | 8/3/12 | Dan Walters California drivers pay fees for smog checks, vehicle registrations and new tires, all supposedly for programs that benefit roadway use. Consumers pay fees to recycle beverage containers, televisions and computers. Doctors and accountants pay license fees to regulate their industries. But for more than a decade, the special funds collecting these dollars have served a second purpose: helping California pay for schools, social services and prisons that are supposed to be funded by general taxes. California has 560 funds deemed "special" because in theory they're walled off from general state expenditures. In the face of two recessions, however, California reached.. TAXPAYER-FUNDED AMTRAK LAUNCHES RIDE WITH PRIDE CAMPAIGN TO ATTRACT GAY CUSTOMERS theblaze.com ^ | 08/03/2012 | Billy Hallowell While instances of outrage and support continue to rage for the fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A, Amtrak is also capturing some attention for its Ride With Pride initiative, a new campaign aimed at gay customers. While homosexual rights groups are already praising the targeted efforts, some conservatives will likely express disdain and concern, seeing as the company is tax-payer funded and clearly taking a stance on the issue. To fully push the efforts, special ads that show same-sex couples riding the train system have been released by Amtrak, as has a gay-friendly web-site encouraging individuals to head to popular

Emails Show Solyndra Push Was Rahm Emanuel's Idea IBD Editorials ^ | August 3, 2012 Scandal: The sunlight continues to expose the machinations behind the White House's support of failed solar panel manufacturer Solyndra with our tax dollars, including the false claim by former White House chief of staff. In a batch of White House emails released in a report on Solyndra by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday, there's this gem: White House aide Aditya Kumar wrote to Jacob Levine of the Office of Energy and Climate Change on Aug. 19, 2009: "Feels like Rahm wants this too (barring any concerns) POTUS (President Of The United States) Involvement (in pushing Solyndra).. Oregon criminalizes permaculture; claims state ownership over all rainwater http://www.naturalnews.com/036615_Oregon_rainwater_permaculture.html ^ Jackson County, Oregon says it owns YOUR rainwater, and the county has sentenced a man to 30 days in jail and fined him over $1500, for the supposed "crime" of collecting rainwater on his own property. The man's name is Gary Harrington, and he owns over 170 acres of land in Jackson County. On that land, he has three ponds, and those ponds collect rainwater that falls on his land. Common sense would say Gary has every right to have ponds with water on his 170 acres of land, but common sense has been all but abandoned in the state

Ex-leader of major California union faces theft, tax charges Los Angeles Times ^ | 8/1/12 | Paul Pringle and Richard Winton Not long ago, Tyrone Freeman was a rising star in the national labor movement, already the head of California's biggest union local and a force in Democratic politics from Los Angeles toWashington, D.C. Freeman's quick climb up the ranks of the powerful Service Employees International Union burnished his reputation as an advocate for the disadvantaged, a man who helped improve the lot of some 190,000 workers paid about $9 an hour to care for the infirm. On Tuesday, though, Freeman was indicted on federal charges of stealing from those workers to enrich himself even billing the union for costs

Postal Service could run out of cash in October CNN ^ | August 1, 2012 | Jennifer Liberto Without help from Congress, the Postal Service will not only default on payments for retiree health care benefits, but it could lack cash for operations by mid-October. As of midnight Wednesday, the Postal Service will be in default -- for the first time in its history -- on a $5.5 billion payment owed the federal government to prepay health care benefits for retirees. While the Postal Service is in big financial trouble due to fewer people sending mail and the mandate to prepay retiree benefits, the default is largely symbolic. The agency will skip that payment and another $5.6 billion. Bankrupt city paying $204K per year in retirement for police chief who served for eight months Hotair ^ | 08/02/2012 | Ed Morrissey Want to know how California finds itself in debt at the state level by tens of billions each budget cycle? Why three of their cities have already declared bankruptcy this year, and more may be on the way? Here's a cautionary tale from Stockton, one of the three Golden State cities to shield itself from its creditors this year, where they pay a retired police chief in pension slightly more than half of what the President of the United States makes. That's a fine reward for devoted service of --- eight months? Stockton, California, Police Chief Tom Morris was supposed.. Obamas 'Bank of Washington' applauded by Solyndra CEO in email The Daily Caller ^ | 8/2/12 | Neil Munro Solyndras CEO labeled President Barack Obamas administration The Bank of Washington. Chris Gronet offered the description in an internal email one year before the company collapsed in 2010, costing taxpayers roughly $500 million. The Bank of Washington continues to help us! he wrote in the October 2009 e-mail, which described several government programs and incentives. The email bolsters GOP claims that Obamas support of green-tech companies amounted to crony capitalism. Several White House officials had close ties to green-tech companies, and many green-tech executives have donated to Obamas political campaigns. Amtrak lost $800M on cheeseburgers and soda Washington Examiner ^ Taxpayers lost $833 million over the last decade on the food and beverages supplied by Amtrak, which managed to spend $1.70 for every dollar that received in revenue. Over the last ten years, these losses have amounted to a staggering $833.8 million, said Rep.John Mica, R-Fla., in a statement previewing a House hearing today. It costs passengers $9.50 to buy a cheeseburger on Amtrak, but the cost to taxpayers is $16.15. Riders pay $2.00 for a Pepsi, but each of these sodas costs the U.S. Treasury $3.40.

VANITY - Did Sen. Harry Reid commit a felony by releasing information on a citizens taxes? http://www.patentofficelawsuit.info ^ | August 2 2012 | NLZ Section 6103. - Confidentiality and disclosure of returns and return information (a) General rule Returns and return information shall be confidential, and except as authorized by this title - (1) no officer or employee of the United States, ... shall disclose any return or return information obtained by him in any manner in connection with his service as such an officer or an employee or otherwise or under the provisions of this section. For purposes of this subsection, the term ''officer or employee'' includes a former officer or employee. (b) Definitions For purposes of this section - (1) Return. Probe into Los Angeles County Assessor's Office Expands [Dem John Noguez] Los Angeles Times Newspaper ^ | 8-2-12 | By Jack Dolan and Ruben Vives For months, prosecutors have been investigating allegations that a former county appraiser lowered tax bills for wealthy Westside property owners in a bid to drum up campaign cash for his boss, Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez. Now, that corruption probe has expanded to include tax reductions allegedly made by the appraiser long before Noguez was elected assessor in November 2010. In fact, the appraiser, Scott Schenter, is suspected of engineering improper tax breaks for nearly a decade, according to documents obtained by The Times and interviews with former co-workers.
Taxpayers Help Fund Chevy Volt Village (This is outrageous) National Legal & Policy Center ^ | July 31, 2012 | Mark Modica Well, I really have to hand it to the Obama Administration and General Motors when it comes to promoting green energy initiatives and the Chevy Volt; if nothing else, they are persistent. Unfortunately, that persistence continues to come at the expense of US taxpayers. The latest folly, as reported by Edmunds Inside Line , involves a $10.4 million grant from the Energy Department to create what Edmunds calls "Chevrolet Volt-ville." GM and OnStar have joined a partnership (which includes GE Energy, of course) that had been formed to create a community in Texas called Pecan Street Inc. GM says the...

Obama Touts GM as Success While Market Share, Stock Price Decline Breitbart ^ | 7/31/12 | Tony Lee Obama and his campaign have gone all-in in running on what they have spun as the successful turnaround of General Motors (GM), which received nearly $50 billion in taxpayer bailout money. The Obama campaign wants to use GM to prove not only Obamas managerial skills and instincts but to contrast Obama with Romney, whose past successes in the private sector give him a considerable advantage over Obama when it comes to economic issues. Since Romney did not support the GM bailout, Obamas team is betting on GM to neutralize the advantage Romney has over Obama on the economy.

 U.S. Troops in Iraq Are Gone, But Embassy Costs Go On and On U.S. Trade & AId Monitor ^ | July 31, 2012 | Steve Peacock A $348 million contract to maintain the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was awarded this week by the U.S. Department of State to PAE Government Services, which will be tasked with delivering operations and maintenance services for the 104-acre compound. An unspecified portion of that amount will be devoted to providing a residence manager, two cooks, two waiters, and four housekeepers to serve the U.S. ambassador and deputy chief of mission. It also remains unclear how much will be spent on lawn maintenance, though The Peacock Report -- U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor's predecessor site

Why Is Fauquier County, Virginia, Waging War Against Small Farmers? The Other McCain ^ | July 29th, 2012 | Stacy McCain Why Is Fauquier County, Virginia, Waging War Against Small Farmers? Posted on | July 29, 2012 | 23 Comments and 24 Reactions Zoning is the closest thing to fascism most Americans will ever know, and its remarkable how local governments use zoning laws to limit the rights of the little guy while rewarding the wealthy and well-connected. Big developers who know how to work the system can almost always get whatever they want from zoning boards, while the small property owner is at the mercy of politicians and bureaucrats. Property rights of small farmers are under assault in Fauquier County,...

GM Stock Hits New Lows, Company in Turmoil Breitbart ^ | 7/30/12 | Ben Shapiro Remember that vaunted General Motors recovery ushered in by President Obamas bold bailout program? Well, not so much. In June 2009, GM filed for Obama-managed bankruptcy, costing the taxpayer some $50 billion. The vast majority of that cash was never paid back by GM. In November 2010, GM issued a new initial public offering at a price of $33 per share. Today, GM stock is trading at approximately $19.36, down about 40% from its initial price. And the executive turmoil in the company is reaching fever pitch. Opel, a majority-owned subsidiary of GM, dumped CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke about two weeks...

Up to $2.3 billion in California public funds hiding in plain sight San Jose Mercury News ^ | 7/27/2012 06:23:51 AM PDT | By Mike Rosenberg Finance officials are now trying to piece together why the balance sheets for "special funds" are off by $2.3 billion -- money that appeared to be right under their noses amid California's financial meltdown. The fund that gives restitution to violent crime victims was off by $29 million. The one that provides children with low-cost health insurance was $30 million out of balance. The fund that rewards people for recycling bottles and cans was $113 million off. "Where are these dollars?" asked state Senate budget chairman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who said it was a "big problem" that the special...

GM Invests $600 Million in English Soccer Team Breitbart ^ | 7/30/12 | Mike Flynn Yes, General Motors really is giving $600 million to an English soccer club. Actually, as the team involved, Manchester United, is the most valuable team in sports, an investment in the club wouldn't be a bad idea, considering how everything else is going at General Motors. No, the $600 million GM is giving to Man United over the next 7 years is a sponsorship deal. In return, Man United will wear "Chevrolet" on their jerseys and GM will be able to call itself Man United's "global automobile partner." It will immediately have the edge with all those consumers who look...

WH Fast-Tracks Solar Energy Zone (Fed public land) Sierra Club ^ | 7-27-2012 | Reed McManus This week the Obama administration released its final blueprint for expediting utilityscale solar energy development in six southwestern states. The plan encompasses 285,000 acres of public land in 17 solar energy zones in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. With an additional 19 million acres of land identified as variance areas available for solar development (but without the fast-tracking allowed in the 17 zones), the administration estimates that it is laying the groundwork for the development of 23,700 megawatts, enough energy to power 7 million homes. The process has been contentious, as environmental groups supportive of renewable energy...

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/07/realignment-has-shifted-38000-felonsto-local-control.html July 25, 2012 'Realignment' has shifted 38,000 felons to local control The "realignment" of California's criminal justice system, implemented in response to a Supreme Court decree to reduce overcrowding in state prisons, has shifted 38,000 felons from the state to local authorities so far, according to an initial study. The study, conducted by the Chief Probation Officers of California with a foundation grant, says that 23,000 prison inmates have been released into supervision by local probation officers, rather than by state parole agents, and an additional 15,000 felons have been diverted into local jails and probation rather than being sent to state prison. Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/07/realignment-hasshifted-38000-felons-to-local-control.html#storylink=cpy

 Early-Release Felon Tied To San Fernando Valley Robberies CBS) ^ | July 27, 2012 11:30 PM MISSION HILLS {california} (CBS) A career criminal who allegedly robbed six businesses in the San Fernando Valley was part of Californias early release prison program, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Francisco Gonzalez Jr., 39, was arrested Tuesday for evading police, car theft and robbery in Panorama City. This was not (his) first pursuit, first robbery, nor first brush with the law, said Lt. Paul Vernon of the Mission Detective Division. And since this arrest, we have tied (him) to five other recent store robberies across the San Fernando Valley, he said. Vernon said the frustrating part was...

President Obama repays donors in tax dollars Politico ^ | July 27, 2012 | REINCE PRIEBUS President Barack Obama, since taking office, has showered his donors and allies with billions in federal dollars. A steady stream of grants and loans flows from the administration to Obama's political cronies. And taxpayers foot the bill. Obama treats taxpayer money as his personal piggy bank -- using government checks as multimilliondollar thank you notes to campaign donors. Taxpayers get nothing in return. Factories close. Jobs go overseas. The unemployment rate remains painfully high. Government debt stands at over $15.8 trillion. A 2011 investigation found that nearly 200 of Obama's biggest political donors received jobs, advisory posts or federal contracts....

George Soros gets free advertising Soros Open Society Institute an American Destination? Canada free press ^ | 7/26/12 | Mcleod ....breathtaking scenes with the Discover Americas signature song Land of Dreams written and sung by Roseanne Cash, viewers dont get a raincheck on the campaigns multicultural theme and the spiral in the sand that builds the Open Society Logo in opening scenes. Such is the power of subliminal. Discover America is $12.3 million dollars worth of free advertising for Soros. Blame Brand USA for the Open Societys free advertising ride. Brand USA is governed by an 11-member Board of Directors appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, with headquarters based in Wa, DC. Brand USA was established by the Travel...

 Calif mental health dollars bypassing mentally ill {Prop 63 Millionaire's tax} AP via SacBee ^ | 7/28/12 | HANNAH DREIER SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- As state mental health services have crumbled under budget cuts, tens of millions of dollars raised through a tax designed to help the mentally ill have gone to "wellness" programs like horseback riding for teens and yoga classes for city workers. And that's by design.Voters approved Proposition 63, the so-called "millionaire's tax," in 2004 to make up for decades of mental health cuts. The ballot summary said it would "expand services and develop innovative programs" for the mentally ill and the text of the measure stipulated 20 percent of the funds would go to programs "effective in...

Donors who bailed out California state parks want their money back San Jose Mercury News ^ | 07/26/2012 05:43:29 PM PDT | By Paul Rogers Betrayed by the discovery of $54 million hidden in two state parks accounts, groups that donated money to keep California state parks from closing this year now say they want a refund -- or at least a binding promise from lawmakers to spend the extra money on parks. "They sort of came to us under false pretenses. They cried wolf, and we responded," said Reed Holderman, executive director of the Sempervirens Fund. "An elegant solution would be for them to refund the nonprofits, and put whatever is left into parks." State Parks Director Ruth Coleman resigned Friday and her top...

Union Boss Says Green Jobs Are Bull**** [Project Veritas] National Legal and Policy Center ^ | July 28, 2012 | Staff Another undercover operation by Project Veritas, which is led by investigative video specialist James O'Keefe, has revealed what labor unions truly believe about the billions of dollars that go toward the alleged "greening" of our energy usage.They're "bull****" http://www.theprojectveritas.org/node/138Those were the words that came out of the mouth of John Hutchings, a legislator for New York's Broome County, who is also a construction market representative for the Laborers International Union for upstate New York. He is also an executive officer of the Central New York Labor Federation, AFLCIO, according to his bio....Project Veritas actors, who portrayed leaders of a makebelieve...

State (MI) Gives Company $1.65 Million, Creates Zero Jobs and Goes Out of Business MiCapCon ^ | 7/27/12 | Matthew Needham and Jarrett Skorup The state of Michigan gave one company $1.65 million, with which zero jobs were created or retained after the business went bankrupt. This is one of several instances where projections fell short for a state fund designed to support select businesses. The money was given through the Michigan Strategic Fund, a state program that administers the 21st Century Investments program to strengthen and diversify Michigans economy by investing in venture capital, private equity, and mezzanine funds as a method to create jobs and provide financial assistance for the creation of new businesses or industries.

Is Salazar the New Holder? PJ Media ^ | July 26, 2012 Charges of cover-ups, data manipulation, and junk science; noncompliance with congressional requests and mandates; putting a chokehold on energy: Interior scandals stack up. ... Scandal-wise, congressional spotlight-wise, and perhaps soon headline-wise, is Interior Secretary Ken Salazar the new Holder? The Interior Department has become synonymous with evading congressional requests in the investigation of how the Obama administration bent scientific reports to support its drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP oil spill. The departments inspector general who was supposed to ensure oversight of that process is even being investigated herself on allegations that she tampered with a...

Oregon Man Sentenced to 30 Days in Jail -- for Collecting Rainwater on His Property cnsnews.com ^ | 7-26-12 | Kendra Alleyne A rural Oregon man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in jail and over $1,500 in fines because he had three reservoirs on his property to collect and use rainwater. Gary Harrington of Eagle Point, Ore., says he plans to appeal his conviction in Jackson County (Ore.) Circuit Court on nine misdemeanor charges under a 1925 law for having what state water managers called three illegal reservoirs on his property and for filling the reservoirs with rainwater and snow runoff. The government is bullying, Harrington told CNSNews.com in an interview Thursday. Theyve just gotten to be big bullies

Nepotism prevalent at Justice Department, says IG report The Hill ^ | July 26, 2012 | Jordy Yager The Justice Departments inspector general found at least seven instances of federal employees engaging in illegal attempts to hire family members at the agency, according to a report issued Thursday. The report is the third investigation in less than a decade that has found numerous examples of illegal hiring practices, amounting to nepotism, within the DOJ.

 REVEALED: Corzine's MF Global Was Client of Eric Holder's Law Firm Breitbart ^ | July 26, 2012 | Wynton Hall Those wondering why the Department of Justice has refused to go after Jon Corzine for the vaporization of $1.6 billion in MF Global client funds need look no further than the documents uncovered by the Government Accountability Institute that reveal that the now-defunct MF Global was a client of Attorney General Eric Holder and Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuers former law firm, Covington & Burling. Theres more. Records also reveal that MF Globals trustee for the Chapter 11 bankruptcy retained as its general bankruptcy counsel Morrison & Foerester--the very law firm from which Associate Attorney General Tony West came to...

US general accused of Afghan hospital scandal cover-up (to Protect Obama) France 24 ^ | July 25, 2012 | France 24 US military officers accused one of the highest-ranking US commanders in Afghanistan of trying to cover up a scandal at a US-funded hospital in Kabul to limit bad news in an election year. The problems date back to 2010, when US officers expressed concerns about the possible embezzlement of funds from the Afghan-run Dawood National Military Hospital and the lack of treatment provided to wounded Afghan soldiers. Some Afghan soldiers died of malnutrition at the hospital, in conditions that one retired Army colonel described as "Auschwitz-like." Several officers told US lawmakers on Tuesday that they were encouraged by Lieutenant General...

Jobs Program Spent $76,000 Per Person To Help Youth Find Minimum Wage Jobs Breitbart ^ | 7/25/12 | Wynton Hall A new jobs training oversight report by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) found that a federallyfunded Oklahoma Job Corps program spent around $76,000 per person to help youth secure minimum wage jobs. The report, released Tuesday, comes 18 months after a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that found that billions of taxpayer dollars are being poured into job training programs that benefit those who run them, not the unemployed workers they are supposed to assist. "Taxpayers should be appalled Congress has done nothing to reform these programs for more than 18 months," said Sen. Coburn. Sen. Coburn said he wanted to...

IRS wants $29 million in estate taxes for bald-eagle sculpture that cant legally be sold Hotair ^ | 07/24/2012 | AllahPundit That's one way to increase tax revenue from the rich. If you can't get Congress to pass the Buffett Rule, why not just start taxing phantom income instead?They want their money, even if you don't get yours. The object under discussion is Canyon, a masterwork of 20th-century art created by Robert Rauschenberg that Sonnabends children inherited when she died in 2007.Because the work, a sculptural combine, includes a stuffed bald eagle, a bird under federal protection, the heirs would be committing a felony if they ever tried to sell it. So their appraisers have valued the work at zero.

The Green Graveyard of Taxpayer-Funded Failures Heritage Foundation ^ | July 24, 2012 | Amy Payne Solar-cell manufacturer Solyndra became a household name when it collapsed, taking $627 million in American taxpayer dollars with it. Its the poster company for the government picking winners and losersor really, just losersin the energy market. But there are 12 more green energy losers that have declared bankruptcy despite attempts to prop them up with taxpayer moneyand the list is growing.Theres a reason why these companies could not rely solely on private financing and needed help from the government. They couldnt make it on their own; they couldnt even make it with extra taxpayer help.These green government investments take from...

General Motors pledges $833M research investment in Canada through 2016 [ UAW built that ! ] washingtonpost.com ^ | July 24 2012 | AP DETROIT General Motors says it plans to invest $833 million in Canada for research and development. The company says it began spending the money in 2009 and will invest at least $150 million per year through 2016. Much of the money will go to a research center in Oshawa, Ontario.
GM Trying to Limit Tax Credit Abuse on Chevy Volt Returns National Legal & Policy Center ^ | July 25, 2012 | Mark Modica When General Motors announced its 60 day return policy for the Chevy Volt over a week ago, I contacted them to make them aware of the potential for tax credit abuse on returned vehicles that qualify for federal and state subsidies. At the time, GM spokesman Jim Cain did not think that it would be an issue and it was up to purchasers to decide if they would submit for tax credits on Volts that they returned for refunds. I spoke with Mr. Cain to follow up on the story. Mr. Cain has informed me that GM is working on...

 Obama Fundraises With Players in Solyndra Scandal ABC News ^ | July 23, 2012 | Devin Dwyer SAN FRANCISCO At an exclusive re-election fundraiser tonight, President Obama hobnobbed with 60 of his wealthiest supporters, including two figures at the center of the Solyndra loan controversy. Steve Westly, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, was one of the first to raise red flags about the administrations support for a $500 million loan to Solyndra, the solar energy start-up that later went bankrupt. He wrote directly to senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett in 2010 to raise concerns about the companys viability ahead of the presidents high-profile visit that year. Matt Rogers, a former senior adviser at the Department of...

The Special Inspector General for Tarp Issues a Wakeup Call Lambasts the Government and the Banks ZeroHedge ^ | 7/23/12 | George Washington The governments special inspector general in charge of oversight of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (the TARP bank bailouts) Neil M. Barofsky wrote a stunning editorial for Bloomberg yesterday, concluding: Americans should lose faith in their government. They should deplore the captured politicians and regulators who distributed tax dollars to the banks without insisting that they be accountable. The American people should be revolted by a financial system that rewards failure and protects those who drove it to the point of collapse and will undoubtedly do so again. Only with this appropriate and justified rage can we hope...
Reports Of Fraud, Abuse Surround Federal Free Phone Program CBS Minnesota ^ | July 19, 2012 | Liz Collin MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) A federal program is giving away thousands of free cell phones and minutes in Minnesota, and youre paying for it. Helping low-income people connect to services they need, the program gives free phones with hundreds of free minutes each month to people in need to land jobs, make appointments and stay in touch with family. But the program has come under fire for its $1 billion price tag and reports of fraud. . . Odell Hilson sold his phone for $20 because he needed the money.

California parks director resigns amid scandal Sacramento Bee ^ | 7/20/12 | Matt Weiser State Parks Director Ruth Coleman resigned this morning and her second in command has been fired after officials learned the department has been sitting on nearly $54 million in surplus money for as long as 12 years. The moves come in the wake of a scandal, revealed by The Bee on Sunday, in which a deputy director at State Parks carried out a secret vacation buyout program for employees at department headquarters last year. That buyout cost the state more than $271,000. The Bee began inquiring about rumors of a surplus when it learned about the buyout, and submitted a...

 James O'Keefe's shocking new undercover video bust BizPacReview.com ^ | July 20, 2012 | Michele Kirk James O'Keefe, known for his undercover work that brought national attention to the scandalous ACORN organization, continues his work to expose corruption. In his latest endeavor, investigators from O'Keefe's organization, Project Veritas, get top officials at the Laborers' International Union (LIUNA) to agree to help secure funding for a fake company that does nothing but dig up holes and then refill them. According to the video and O'keefe, "they loved the idea!"

The First Solar Swindle Townhall.com ^ | July 21, 2012 | Marita Noon Snip Last week, we wrapped up Senator Harry Reids connection to four firmsrepresenting billions in taxpayer moneyalso part of the green-energy, crony-corruption story. Three of the four are in Reids home state: Nevada Geothermal, Ormat Nevada, and SolarReserve; while both SolarReserve and BrightSource Energy have multiple and significant ties to the President.

Now, we move on to the next three of our Special Seven seriesthose that received the Department of Energy loans (even though the companies were rated as non-investment grade) and grants, as a part of the stimulus spending spree. Additionally, these seven companies received special Department of Interior (DOI) treatment through a March 11, 2009 Secretarial Order, which the Washington Free Beacon described as a means To fast track the siting of renewable energy projects on public lands managed by the agency. This chapter exposes First Solar. From the introduction of this serialized book, the thumbnail says: First Solar manufacturers thin film solar modules and is now moving into project development. While First Solar is not in the junk bond list, they do hold the unique distinction of being the single worst performer in the SPX in 2011. Additionally, they are linked to three junk-bond projects: Aqua Caliente (AZ), BB+; Antelope Valley Solar Ranch (CA), BBB-; and Desert Sunlight (CA), BBB-. First Solar was an early green investment of Goldman Sachswhich gave more than $1 million to the 2008 Obama campaign. Goldman Sachs executives sat on Obamas 2008 Finance Committee and others were bundlers. In Throw Them All Out, Peter Schweizer reports on First Solar investor Paul Tudor Jones, who was a 2008 Obama bundler, and First Solar CEO Michael Ahearn, who gives generously (and exclusively) to Democrats. First Solar Swindle cast of characters: Goldman Sachs Investor and Top 2008 Obama Donor

First Solar was an early investment of Goldman Sachs, the number two Top Obama Donor that gave more than $1 million dollars to his 2008 campaignplus, the Obama administration is infested with Goldman Sachs executives. Bruce Heyman and David Heller sat on Obamas 2008 Finance Committee Bruce Heyman and Jennifer Scully were 2008 Obama bundlers Two Goldman executives sat on Obama's 2008 Finance Committee, Bruce Heyman and David Heller, while Heyman, along with Jennifer Scully, was also a 2008 Obama bundler. According to the Wall Street Journal, Ms. Scully raised $100,000, but didnt make any large donations personally; Mr. Heyman bundled $50,000 in donations, including a $10,000 contribution he made and Goldman executive, David Heller, donated $25,000. Michael Ahearn CEO First Solar Pages 91-92 of Peter Switzers book Throw Them All Out says: Ahearn gives generously (and exclusively) to Democrats. Ted Turner Billionaire Investor From Throw Them All Out: The biggest investors [in First Solar] include billionaire Ted Turner, a big financial backer of Obamas 2008 campaign. Paul Tudor Jones Billionaire Investor Another Obama bundler, also owns a stake in First Solar. Whitney Tilson Ultra-wealthy Obama Supporter Obama ally and a member of Patriotic Millionaires (a group of wealthy Obama supporters backing the presidents effort to raise taxes on high-earners), is Ultra-wealthy Obama supporter Whitney Tilson, reports the Washington Free Beacon. It turns out that One of the few winners in Tilsons portfolio was his short position in First Solar, a company on the brink of collapse, despite receiving more than $3 billion in federal loan guarantees from the Obama administration. Former Vice President Al Gore Generation Investment Management co-founder Other Wealthy First Solar Investors who are heavily involved in clean-energy include: Generation Investment Management (GIM) co-founded in 2004 by former chief executive of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Former Vice President Al Gore. David Shaw Obama bundler

Founder of D. E. Shaw, an Obama bundler and one of the top 3 donors to the Democratic Party, who happens to be the largest shareholder of First Wind that received $232 million in stimulus funds. Jose Villarreal First Solar board member Also a board member for the Center for American Progress, a left-wing think tank, closely tied to the administration, which lobbied for green energy loans. Kathleen Weiss Vice President of Government Relations The lead lobbyist for First Solar, Kathleen Weiss, Heritages Scribe reports, has had numerous meetings at the White House, according to visitor logs. She has met with senior White House official Valerie Jarrett, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Heather Zichal, among others. First Solar Swindle scene outline: The First Solar Swindle takes place in several locations as they have three distinct projects. Exelon Corp. Antelope Valley Solar Ranch, CaliforniaRating BBB- by Fitch, September 2011, DOE loan for $646 millionwas purchased by Exelon Corp, yet First Solar, which developed the project, will build, operate, and maintain the project. Exelon Corp. was another 2008 Obama donor, and the Antelope Valley Solar Ranch project has a 25-year purchase power agreement from PG&E as well. During Obamas run for the presidency, Exelons employees continued to give, contributing at least $200,000 during Obamas 2008 campaign. Exelon board member John Rogers Jr. was a top Obama bundler, hauling in at least $500,000. Bloomberg reported that former Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel worked on the $8.2 billion merger that created Exelon in 2000, and former senior adviser David Axelrod had ownership in a consulting business that had Exelon as a client. NextEra Energy Desert Sunlight, CaliforniaRating BBB, by Fitch; September 2011, DOE loan for $1.2 billionwas sold to NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, the competitive energy subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. and GE Energy Financial Services. Yet, the September announcement also states that First Solar will continue to build and subsequently operate and maintain the project under separate agreements. Both CEO's are on President Obama's Job Council, Lewis Hay of NextEra Energy and Jeffrey Immelt of GE (another top Obama donor, donating $529,855 to his 2008 campaign). GE has raked in over $3 billion of stimulus money, and counting.

Sherry Barrat, a director at NextEra, is also Vice Chairman of Northern Trust, the company that once owned the Obamas house. NRG Energy Agua Caliente, ArizonaRating BB+ by Fitch, August 2011, DOE loan for $967 millionwas purchased from First Solar by NRG Solar, LLC, and a subsidiary of NRG Energy. The plant would supply power to PG&E, and be made with panels from the Tempe-based First Solar Inc. Billionaire George Soros, a 2008 Obama donor, who gave advice and direction on how President Obama should allocate so-called stimulus money in a series of regular private meetings and consultations with White House senior advisers, owns more than half a million shares of NRG Energy. First Solar Swindle synopsis: First Solar sought to create turnkey projects with the assistance of DOE loan guarantees and direct loans. Favoritism A Government Accountability Office report found that the Energy Department loan program skipped steps in its review process when evaluating loans, while in some cases it was impossible to determine if the review steps were even completed. The DOE apparently manipulated its analysis and strategically modified evaluations in order to issue loans to First Solar. Through the funding of First Solars projects, favoritism was shown, as regulations may have been violated that required innovativeness and that allows for only one technology per project sponsorwhich may have been why the projects were sold as soon as the loans were funded. (Did they think we wouldnt notice?) Layoffs and Outsourcing Since DOE finalized First Solars three loan guarantees (for over $3 billion), First Solar has encountered serious financial problems that put the DOE funded projects in jeopardy. First Solars stock declined the greatest compared to any S&P 500 companies in 2011 and has lost more than $100 per share over the past year. First Solar has cut production of its solar panels worldwide. Based upon the companys financial troubles, First Solar fired its CEO in October 2011. In April 2012, First Solar laid off 2000 workers and closed factories. In May, a massive round of furloughs was announced. In a May 16, 2012 hearing, CEO Michael Ahern admitted: in sheer numbers, most of our full-time employees are outside the US. Delay, as listed below, means that the indirect jobs that the White House wanted to create with the three loan guarantees will likely never materialize. Inferior Quality and Lawsuits

Problems that directly impact First Solars DOE loan guarantee projects have been revealed. It was announced in late February that First Solar would postpone manufacturing solar panels at its Mesa Arizona plant, which is still under construction, because of financial problems. First Solar intended for the Mesa facility to provide panels to the First Solar projects. This delay raises questions about whether First Solar will have problems supplying solar panels to its DOE loan guarantee projects. Additionally, millions of dollars worth of its solar panels have had to be replaced under warranty because they did not last in hot climates. All three of First Solars DOE-based solar generation projects are located in hot desert climateswhich raises serious concerns about whether the panels will work properly long term. According to the Phoenix Business Journal, First Solar Inc. has been hit with an investor lawsuit in federal court, alleging the solar panel manufacturer misled investors over how much it would cost to replace defective panels. Reports indicate that manufacturing flaws cost $253 million in replacement costs. Corporate Welfare First Solar received a US Taxpayer loan guarantee to sell solar panels to itself! The subsidy came from the Import-Export Bank. In 2011, First Solar received $455.7 million to subsidize the sale of solar panels to two solar farms in Canadaowned by a small corporation called St. Clair Solar. But St. Clair Solar was a wholly owned subsidiary of First Solar. First Solars CEO has admitted to selling more than 700,000 shares of his own stock netting him $68.5 millionthough claiming that the company remains financially strong and well positioned to execute through the current market environment. HumanEvents.com reports between 2008 and 2012a period when First Solars stock value dropped by almost 95 percentAhearn sold over $450 million of his own companys stock. Obamas insistence on green-energy subsidies manifests itself as rank corporate welfare. Threats and exaggeration First Solar came under extreme heat in the House Oversight InvestigationThe First Solar Scheme (pp. 29-38), noting a series of violations and application misrepresentation as well as persistent pressure, with even documents of a threatening letter to Jonathan Silver. A First Solar investor puffed up the potential of these green projects: Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to channel investments totaling $40 billion over the next decade into renewable energy projects, an area the investment bank called one of the biggest profit opportunities since its economists got excited about emerging markets in 2001. A Romantic Dalliance

Every movie needs some love. This is provided in the First Solar Swindle through senior DOE official Steve Black who leads the Renewable Energy Policy Group and NextEra Lobbyist Manal Yamoutwho are in a romantic relationship. An application that should otherwise fail, but instead passes under improper influence and through the manipulation of analysis, results in the defrauding of taxpayers and misappropriation of assets. As the reporter for the First Solar Swindle, Id like to be played by Cameron Diaz or Renee Zellweger. As the investigator, Christine Lakatos pictures Julia Roberts of the Pelican Brief playing her part. Yes, the First Solar Swindle will be a blockbusteror should I say, it is a bank buster? Authors note: Thanks to Christine Lakatos, the Green Corruption blogger, for research assistance.
Robbing retirees: The dirty little secret of Os student-loan fix NY Post ^ | July 18, 2012 | Nathan Harden Robin Hood robbed the rich to pay the poor; now Uncle Sam is robbing the old to pay the young raiding pension funds to keep student-loan rates artificially low. President Obamas much-touted plan to put a one-year freeze on student interest rates was signed into law with great fanfare this month. But the bills supporters hadnt said where the money to subsidize the lower rates would come from. Columnist Daniel Indiviglio of Reuters dug up the details this week, calling the bill financial hocus-pocus. The student-loan scheme was buried in a transportation bill. In it, the government raided its...

Blockbuster: OKeefe exposes Union bosses admitting green jobs are just (bleep) http://www.therightscoop.com/blockbuster-okeefe-exposes-union-bosses-admittinggreen-jobs-are-just-b ^ | 7-18-2012 | The Right Scoop Not only that, but these Union bosses are seeking taxpayer funding for jobs that simply require someone to dig a hole and another person to fill it back in. They know its bullsh-t and even admit it on tape. James OKeefe and Project Veritas keep hitting it out of the park with these fantastic reports:

Dept. Of Energy Official Can't Answer Why Abound Solar Got Loan Despite Warnings YouTube ^ | 7/18/12 | goprapidresponse Department of Energy Official before the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee can't answer Rep. Jordan's questions on why Abound Solar got loan despite warnings before hand (July 18, 2012)

Government Program Gives $30 Million To Seven Universities, Creates Less Than Half of Projected Jobs Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 7/14/2012 | Matthew Needham A state program that awarded nearly $30 million to Michigan universities for job creation in Competitive Edge Technology sectors has created 153 jobs, a little more than a third of what was projected. The Competitive Edge Technology Grants and Loans program awarded over $100 million to various universities, companies and research firms "to encourage the development of competitive edge technologies to create jobs in the state." Twenty-nine grants totaling over $29 million went to seven Michigan universities in 2006 and were projected to create 411 jobs. A 2011 progress report states that 209 jobs have been created, but 56 jobs...

Americans on no-fly list over terror concerns still allowed to enroll in flight school http://www.foxnews.com ^ | Published July 18, 2012 U.S. citizens who are on the government's list of people banned from flying because they're considered terror threats are not prevented from learning how to fly in schools around the country, according to government regulation.
Video: James OKeefes Project Veritas Strikes Union Corruption Townhall.com ^ | July 18, 2012 | Townhall.com Staff Watch the video below and see the unbelievable disregard for tax payers money by union bosses looking to secure a paycheck. OKeefes fake company, Earth Supply and Renewal, creates jobs by, literally, digging dirt holes and then filling them back in. It truly offers a whole new meaning to Obamas shovel ready stimulusProject Veritas: Legislators, Union Bosses Seek Funding for Digging Holes and Filling Them Back In

TSA Let 25 Illegal Aliens Attend Flight School Owned by Illegal Alien CNSNews ^ TSA Let 25 Illegal Aliens Attend Flight School Owned by Illegal Alien By Edwin Mora July 18, 2012 (CNSNews.com) -- The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) approved flight training for 25 illegal aliens at a Boston-area flight school that was owned by yet another illegal alien, according to the Government Accountability Office. The illegal-alien flight-school attendees included eight who had entered the country illegally and 17 who had overstayed their allowed period of admission into the United States, according to an audit by the GAO. Six of the illegal aliens were actually able to get pilots licenses. Discovery of the trouble...

 Post Office Nears First Default in Its History The Wall Street Journal ^ | July 18, 2012 | JENNIFER LEVITZ While lawmakers continue to fight over how to fix the ailing U.S. Postal Service, the agency's money problems are only growing worse. The Postal Service repeated on Wednesday that without congressional action, it will defaulta first in its long history, a spokesman saidon a legally required annual $5.5 billion payment, due Aug. 1, into a health-benefits fund for future retirees. Action in Congress isn't likely, as the House prepares to leave for its August recess. The agency said a default on the payment, for 2011, wouldn't directly affect service or its ability to pay employees and suppliers.

Stimulus-Backed Solar Facility Touted By Harry Reid Shuts Down The Foundry/Heritage Foundation ^ | July 18, 2012 at 4:31 pm | Lachlan Markay A federally-funded solar production facility in Nevada has ceased operations, according to a former employee at the facility. The closure could prove troublesome for the companys political allies. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the North Las Vegas production facility for solar panel manufacturer Amonix has not operated since May. The plant was backed by $21.5 million in federal green energy investment in the form of a grant and a package of tax credits and touted at length by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The Review-Journal reports: Rene Kenerly, a former material and supply manager at Amonix, said...

USDA partnering with Mexico to boost food stamp participation Daily Caller ^ | July 19, 2012 | Staff The Mexican government has been working with the United States Department of Agriculture to increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps. USDA has an agreement with Mexico to promote American food assistance programs, including food stamps, among Mexican Americans, Mexican nationals and migrant communities in America. USDA and the government of Mexico have entered into a partnership to help educate eligible Mexican nationals living in the United States about available nutrition assistance, the USDA explains in a brief paragraph on their Reaching Low-Income Hispanics With Nutrition Assistance web page. Mexico will help disseminate this information...
New Video from James OKeefes Project Veritas (Dig a hole, fill a hole!) Project Veritas ^ | July 18, 2012 | James OKeefe WASHINGTON, DC - Project Veritas, the group headed by James O'Keefe and known for their undercover video operations on ACORN, NPR and voter fraud, has released a new video that exposes waste and corruption behind stimulus-funded "Green jobs." "The purpose of our investigation is to illustrate that many of the jobs being championed -- and funded -- by the Obama administration are merely paper positions that come at great expense to the American taxpayer," says O'Keefe. "Digging holes just to fill them up again is not meaningful work, nor does it produce economic output for a recovery.

 Making Sense Of The LIBOR Mess, A Free Market Perspective Forbes ^ | 07/18/2012 | Bill Flax America has a serious problem. The integrity of interest rates has been compromised. Free enterprise requires fidelity and trust. A banking cabal regularly conspires to rig rates benefiting large banks and their political allies. These actions almost certainly harm others. Collusion and market manipulation are reprehensible, but enough about Ben Bernanke and his merry price fixing elves at the Federal Reserve, lets delve into the LIBOR scandal. For disclosure, Im a bank underwriter. My employer has not been implicated (and almost certainly wont be) and my department doesnt use LIBOR. Nonetheless, note, the following observations are mine alone.

Should-Have-Known File: Big-Time Obama Fundraiser in Mortgage Seizure Scheme Townhall.com ^ | July 17, 2012 | John Ransom Municipalities in California are considering a scheme whereby they seize home mortgages that are underwater through the process known as eminent domain, pay off investors at reduced rates, and allow new investors to refinance the underlying homes at current value. The eminent-domain gambit is being advocated by Steven Gluckstern, reports the Wall Street Journal, the chairman of Mortgage Resolution Partners, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that has been the guiding force behind three California municipalities that are considering the approach. And like all schemes weird and wacky in this Occupy Anything country we have become, its the brainchild of...

State worker accused of drivers license, Social Security fraud (MN SOS's office) http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/19039429/state-worker-accused-of-driverslicense-social-security-fraud?clienttype=printable ^ | 7-16-12 | tom lyden & shelby capacio MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - One day after the FOX 9 Investigators reported that as many as 24,000 Minnesota drivers licenses may be frauds, a state employee working in Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's department appeared in court to face charges that she fraudulently obtained a drivers license and housing assistance. A federal indictment was unsealed on Monday, revealing that a 53-year-old Woodbury woman who works as an administrative assistant in the Secretary of State's Office has been accused of using an alternate identity to receive more than $18,000 in low-income housing help from the United States Department of Housing and Urban...

 Obama extends health coverage to temporary firefighters politico ^ | 7/17/12 | politico President Obama directed the Office of Personnel Management to approve a rule change allowing temporary firefighters and other personnel battling wildfires to access health insurance provided to fulltime federal employees. "Starting today, the brave men and women of our nation's federal firefighting forces, as well as their families, will have access to the health coverage they deserve," the president said in a statement. "

U.S. Failing to Track Schools in Visa Process, Report Says New York Times ^ | July 16, 2012 | MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT More than one-third of the flight schools in the United States that cater to foreigners are not certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to the Government Accountability Office, raising concerns that the schools are illegally backing student visas although they have no intention of teaching the students to fly. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which oversees the student visa program, keeps such sloppy records that it does not know how many of the 10,000 schools that can submit paperwork for such visas are accredited by the states where they do business, according to a new G.A.O. report. It...

No More Subsidies to the OECD from American Taxpayers Townhall.com ^ | July 17, 2012 | Daniel Mitchell I realize its a bold assertion, but the $100 million that American taxpayers send to Paris every year to subsidize the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is on a per-dollar basis the most destructively wasteful part in the federal budget. The video below will give you some evidence.But the video also is a couple of years old, so it doesnt even include some of the more recent and most outrageous examples of OECD perfidy. The OECD has allied itself with the nutjobs from the so-called Occupy movement to push for bigger government and higher taxes. The OECD

Govt to supervise credit reporting for first time AP ^ | July 16, 2012 The companies that determine Americans' credit scores are about to come under government oversight for the first time. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday that it will start supervising the 30 largest firms that make up 94 percent of the industry. That includes the three big credit reporting firms: Equifax Inc., Experian and TransUnion. In remarks prepared for a speech Monday, Richard Cordray, the government agency's director, said that scorekeeping by credit bureaus plays such a large role in Americans' financial lives, it requires scrutiny.

Gasparino at NY Post on 'Lie-bor' Scandal: 'Geithner Yawned at Epic Fraud'; NewsBusters.org ^ | July 16, 2012 | Tom Blumer Here's how a "Business Highlights" item at the Associated Press summarized the situation between Timothy Geithner and London banks whose officials had admitted to rigging the London Interbank Offered Rate ("Libor") on Friday evening: "The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released documents Friday that show it learned five years ago of big banks understating their borrowing costs to manipulate a key interest rate. The documents also show Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who was then president of the New York Fed, urged the Bank of England to make the rate-setting process more transparent." Today, Charles Gasparino at the New York...
Former ICE Official Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for Fraud Dept Of Justice ^ | July 13, 2012 | U.S. Attorneys Office District of Columbia WASHINGTONJames M. Woosley, 48, the former Acting Director of Intelligence for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was sentenced today to 20 months in prison for defrauding the government of more than $180,000 in a scheme involving fraudulent travel vouchers and time and attendance claims. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen, Jr.; Charles K. Edwards, Acting Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBIs Washington Field Office; and Timothy Moynihan, Assistant Director of the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility. Woosley,...

Calif. cities eye plan to seize mortgages AP via YahooNews ^ | 7/16/12 | AMY TAXIN and CHRISTINA REXRODE In the foreclosure-battered inland stretches of California, local government officials desperate for change are weighing a controversial but inventive way to fix troubled mortgages: Condemn them. Officials from San Bernardino County and two of its cities have formed a local agency to consider the plan. But investors who stand to lose money on their mortgage investments have been quick to register their displeasure. Discussion of the idea is taking place in one of the epicenters of the housing crisis, a working-class region east of Los Angeles where housing prices have plummeted. Last week brought another sharp reminder of the crisis...

 Possible fraud involving 24,000 Minnesota drivers licenses Free Beacon ^ | 7/16/12 | Staff The state of Minnesota has found nearly 24,000 possible cases of fraud involving drivers licenses issued in the state, Fox Minneapolis reports. A facial recognition scan of the states 11 million photo database found nearly 1.3 million duplicates. There was about 23,000 records that we think are a good chance of being fraud, (Doug Neville, communications director for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety) said. 23,705 cases of possible fraud to be exact. People like Pedro Chavez, aka Jose Cisneros, or Carlos Santiago, or Antonia Ledesma four separate Minnesota drivers licenses. Detectives say the Albert Lea man was illegally...

California cities eye plan to seize mortgages Associated Press ^ | July 16, 2012 | AMY TAXIN and CHRISTINA REXRODE In the foreclosure-battered inland stretches of California, local government officials desperate for change are weighing a controversial but inventive way to fix troubled mortgages: Condemn them. Typically, eminent domain has been used to clear property for infrastructure projects like highways, schools and sewage plants. But supporters say that giving help to struggling borrowers is also a legitimate use of eminent domain, because it's in the public interest. Under the proposal, a city or county would sign on as a client of Mortgage Resolution Partners, then condemn certain mortgages. The mortgages are typically owned by private investors like hedge funds and...

Treasury probe cites officials for soliciting prostitutes, accepting industry gifts, FOIA docs the hill ^ | 7 15 12 Treasury Department officials have been cited for soliciting prostitutes, breaking conflictof-interest rules and accepting gifts from corporate executives, according to the findings of official government investigations. The revelations of unethical behavior at Treasury are detailed in little-noticed documents posted this month on governmentattic.org, which publishes agency responses to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. While it is not uncommon for departments within the executive branch to have personnel issues, it is unusual for these types of documents to become public. They provide a rare glimpse of internal probes within the Treasury Department, exposing different episodes of misconduct. Investigators at the...

San Fernando City Councilman Mario Hernandez resigns - LA Daily News http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_21046377/san-fernando-sun-citycouncilman-mario-hernandez-resigns

That Home Is Worth What? FOX 11 Investigates LA County Assessors - Los Angeles Local News, Weather, and Traffic http://www.myfoxla.com/story/19009783/that-home-is-worth-what-fox-11-investigatesthe-la-county-assessors-office
Rep. Adams: [Federal] Agency spent $3-$5M on Disney world conference Washington Examiner ^ | July 12, 2012 | Joel Gehrke Rep. Sandy Adams, R-Fla., announced a whistle blower report that an obscure agency in the Commerce Department, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), spent millions of taxpayer dollars on a conference near Disney World. According to the information I have received, the NIST MEP most recently spent anywhere between three and five million dollars on an annual conference at a resort near Walt Disney World in Florida, Adams wrote in a letter to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Fla., in which she requested a hearing into the matter.

Ooops! Government Overpays $14 billion in unemployment benefits American Thinker ^ | 07/09/2012 | Rick Moran Make sure you've taken your blood pressure meds before reading this. CNN Money: _______________________ Overpayments are a rampant problem in the unemployment insurance system. The federal government and states overpaid an estimated $14 billion in benefits in fiscal 2011, or roughly 11% of all the jobless benefits paid out, according to reports from the U.S. Labor Department. Of the states, Indiana was the worst offender, making more improper payments than it did correct ones. Now, the U.S. Department of Labor and the states are in the midst of a massive effort to try to recoup some of their lost funds...

House Ethics Committee Unanimously Votes To Investigate Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) breitbart.com ^ In a stunning blow to the Senatorial hopes of Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), the House Ethics Committee today unanimously voted to open an investigative subcommittee into conflict of interest charges stemming from her alleged attempts to direct cash toward the kidney health care industry and, in particular, toward her husband, who runs the Kidney Specialists of Southern Nevada. Breitbart News led the charge in demanding investigation into Berkley's activities. The House Ethics Committee, chaired by Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL) and ranking member Rep. Linda T. Chavez (D-CA), released the following statement:

Interior Dept. IG to be Investigated in Alleged White House Drilling Moratorium Cover-Up The PJ Tatler ^ | July 6, 2012 | Bridget Johnson A trio of senators have won their request for an investigation into Interior Secretary Ken Salazars inspector general regarding a potential cover-up of documents that led to the drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico following the BP oil spill. Sens. David Vitter (R-La.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) asked the Integrity Committee of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency in a May 24 letter to investigate the Interior Departments Acting Inspector General Mary Kendall, whom they say failed to ensure an independent, impartial and complete investigation into the Administrations offshore drilling moratorium and...

Federally-Funded Study Finds Firework Injuries Occur Most Around 4th of July CBS Charlotte ^ | July 2, 2012 | Syndicated Local . . The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission a federally-funded organization conducted a special survey last year from June 17- July 17 and found that 65 percent of all fireworks injuries occurred within the month of the July 4th holiday. The report also found that four people were killed . . For thousands of consumers, last years 4th of July celebration ended with a visit to the emergency room, CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said in a press release. CPSC wants you to understand the risks with legal and illegal fireworks, in order to prevent an injury, or worse,...
Farm payments hit as report lays out abuse washingtontimes ^ | 7/3/12 | Stephen Dinan The federal government paid out $10 billion in direct farm payments over the past decade to farmers who in a given year didnt grow the crop they were being paid to grow, according to a government audit released Tuesday. Worse still, 2,300 farms that received federal taxpayer money didnt grow any crops for five continuous years on land they were being paid for, according to the report by the Government Accountability Office, which comes as Congress is debating the latest version of the farm bill. The system, known as direct payments, was created in the 1990s as a temporary measure...

 Most Outrageous Government Waste (1996) http://www.thefreemanonline.org/features/most-outrageous-government-waste/ ^ Without authorization, for instance, the feds spent $19.6 million annually on the International Fund for Ireland. Sounds like a noble cause, but the money went for projects like pony-trekking centers and golf videos. Congressional budget-cutters spared the $440,000 spent annually to have attendants push buttons on the fully automated Capitol Hill elevators used by Representatives and Senators. Last year, the National Endowment for the Humanities spent $4.2 million to conduct a nebulous National Conversation on Pluralism and Identity. Obviously, talk radio wasnt considered good enough. The Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency channeled some $11 million to psychics who might provide...

Fraud Case Shows Holes in Exchange of Fuel Credits NYT ^ | 7-4-12 | Theo Emery WHITE MARSH, Md. Gary L. Miller knew something was afoot in the garage rented out behind his auto equipment business. Through an open door, Mr. Miller glimpsed piles of pipes, polyethylene tanks and pumps. But nothing was hooked up. Nothing was being made. So it came as a surprise to say the least when he learned that the tenant, Rodney R. Hailey, had told a federal agency that he would produce millions of gallons of biodiesel fuel there. Not out of here. Not out of a few plastic tubes, Mr. Miller said, standing outside the tiny ramshackle...

Austin IRS hit with audit for mismanagement and fraud, Illegals get large tax refund checks KLBJ ^ | 07/05/2012 The IRS is now the focus of a year-long audit, thanks to federal employees who are blowing the whistle. Howard Antelis is a tax examiner at the IRS's ITIN processing center in Austin, Texas. The large, unmarked building in south Austin is where the IRS decides whether to issue an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number to the millions of illegal immigrants who apply for them. An ITIN allows undocumented workers to file tax returns and pay taxes, a legal requirement for those who earn income in the United States even those who come to the country illegally. But 13 Investigates...
State Program Awards $67 Million, Creates One-Third of Projected Jobs Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 7/2/2012 | Jarrett Skorup A state program awarding 12 grants totaling $67 million in taxpayer dollars created only a third of the projected jobs. The Centers of Energy Excellence (COEE) program was supposed to create 1,746 jobs by the end of 2012. Yet according to the latest 21st Century Jobs Fund Annual Report, only 588 of these jobs had been created as of February 29, 2012. "The definition of insanity is having our state government continue to selectively fund areas of the private economy and be surprised that the outcomes arent good," said Wendy Day, president of Common Sense in Government. Former Gov. Jennifer...

Yet Another Obama-backed energy firm nears insolvency. Hey, is there an echo in here? Hotair ^ | 07/05/2012 | ERIKA JOHNSEN Breaking news: The Obama administration has once again demonstrated a phenomenal knack for trying to pick economic winners and losers, and invariably picking losers. It's shocking, I know. (Hint: If the government feels the need to "invest" in a venture, because the private sector hasn't or won't ... right away, wrong.)This time, it isn't solar, but rather a Department of Energy-backed geothermal company that's having trouble keeping its head above water. A geothermal energy company with a $98.5 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration for an alternative energy project in Nevada which received hearty endorsements from Energy Secretary...

Company Awarded $120 Million: 'We have no experience in the markets in which we intend to operate' Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 6/28/2012 | Jarrett Skorup and Matt Neeham A "green" energy company that received tens of millions of dollars from taxpayers while promising 70 jobs by the end of this year has created only three and received strong criticism from environmental and fiscal groups across the political spectrum. Mascoma Corp., a New Hampshire-based business, was awarded a grant of $20 million from the state of Michigan as part of the Centers of Energy Excellence program in 2008 and amounts totaling up to $100 million from the federal government over the last few years to build a plant in Kinross, a small town in the Upper Peninsula.

Galway strongly warned of plan for statue of Che Guevara by top American politician Irish Central ^ | July 1, 2012 | JAMES O'SHEA, Galway city has been warned a proposed statue of revolutionary Che Guevara will be a deep insult to many Americans by the influential head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida. ... Galways beautiful beaches and vibrant arts festival will be marred with a memorial to a man who wished to end their way of life and violently replace it with tyranny. Che, full name Ernesto Guevara Lynch, had Irish links. A festival in his honor was arranged for nearby County Clare earlier this year. Guevara's Irish links have been traced to Galway, and one Patricio

 Republicans critical of Navy's 'Great Green Fleet', $26 a gallon fuel FoxNews ^ | uly 02, 2012 | FoxNews The Navy is steaming ahead with an initiative to power ships with biofuel, despite criticism the so-called green fuel costs nearly seven times more than conventional fuel. This month marks the first time the Navy is using biofuel in an operational setting -sending five ships to a multi-nation exercise off the coast of Hawaii. A Navy official told FoxNews.com on Monday that sailing the so-called Great Green Fleet this month on the 50-50 blend of alternative and conventional fuel is part of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus plan to have half the Navy fleet on alternative fuel by 2020.

Another DOE-backed solar panel company collapses The Hill ^ | June 28, 2012 | By Ben Geman Abound Solar, a company that won a $400 million Energy Department (DOE) loan guarantee in 2010 to manufacture advanced solar panels, is closing and filing for bankruptcy, according to DOE. Abounds collapse follows last years demise of the solar company Solyndra and is sure to feed Republican attacks on White House green energy programs despite support for Abounds loan from several GOP lawmakers ahead of its approval. The Colorado-based Abound had drawn $70 million of the loan, according to DOE. Abound will close its doors and file for bankruptcy next week, the department said.

Emails: White House worked with health industry to send business to Axelrods firm Daily Caller ^ | June 26, 2012 | Alex Pappas The charge that the Obama administration coordinated with the health-care industry in 2009 during the Obamacare fight to send a good chunk of business to the consulting firm founded by presidential adviser David Axelrod has resurfaced in the news media. At issue is whether the White House worked with officials inside the industry to form the outside group, Healthy Economy Now, which ran pro-Obamacare ads with the help of Axelrods former political consulting firm, AKPD Message and Media. In 2009, the firm not only still employed Axelrods son, but it still owed the presidential adviser money as part of his...

'Green' Company Awarded Up to $120 Million Promised 70 Jobs Creates Just Three Jobs in Three Years Capitol Confidential ^ | 6/25/2012 | Jarrett Skorup and Matt Needham A "green" energy company that received tens of millions of dollars from taxpayers while promising 70 jobs by the end of this year has created only three and received strong criticism from environmental and fiscal groups across the political spectrum. In the company's filing with the SEC, Mascoma lists as a risk factor that it has "no experience in the markets in which we intend to operate." Sound like a good investment? Your state and federal government thought so

 Egyptian Terror Group Member Met With Senior Obama Officials Conservative Nation News/AP ^ | June 22, 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department said Friday it is looking into how a selfprofessed member of a banned Egyptian terrorist organization was issued a U.S. visa and traveled to Washington this week for meetings with senior Obama administration officials. Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the "circumstances of this particular case" were being reviewed.

Worldcom convict gets $7.5 (Million) loan guarantee from Obamas stimulus [Tax Dollars for Crooks] Washington Examiner ^ | 6/21/12 | Joel Gehrke David Myers, a former Worldcom executive who served 11 months in prison after being convicted of fraud, received a $7.5 million loan that was guaranteed by the federal government with money from the 2009 stimulus. Worldcom filed the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. history 2002, after three years of falsely professing financial growth and profitability to increase the price of WorldComs stock. As Worldcom controller, Myers was one of the three executives most intimately involved in perpetrating the fraud, which exaggerated that companys value by $11 billion.

Obama's Green-Jobs Fraud Exposed IBD Editorials ^ | June 21, 2012 | Editor Industrial Policy: For a $9 billion investment, the administration created just over 900 new, permanent jobs. We could've had 20,000 jobs building a pipeline with not a dollar of taxpayer money being wasted. According to the report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which is part of the U.S. Department of Energy, Section 1503 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (aka the stimulus), the part that covers green energy projects got some $9 billion in stimulus cash for 2009-11 and created a whopping 910 direct jobs those involved in the ongoing operation of the wind and solar projects...

US sues Ind. egg producer Rose Acre Farms for requiring more documentation from non-citizens Daily Reporter ^ | 06/21/2012 | AP INDIANAPOLIS The Justice Department is suing a southern Indiana-based egg producer to stop alleged discrimination against non-U.S. citizens in the hiring process. The complaint against Rose Acre Farms Inc. alleges the Seymour-based company required non-citizens to produce more, different or specific documents issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to verify their eligibility for work, while U.S. citizens were permitted to present their choice of documents. It says federal law prohibits employers from placing additional burdens for documentation on non-citizens. A person answering the phone at the company's Seymour headquarters after business hours Tuesday said no one was...

Obama's spending grows 'exponentially' in Kenya! WND ^ | 6/20/2012 | Steve Peacock Barack Obama administration spending and projects in Kenya have become so voluminous that the U.S. Agency for International Development must hire more contractors to oversee endeavors other providers already carry out across the African nation.
GREEN ENERGY GULAG The Washington Free Beacon ^ | June 20,2012 | Andrew Stiles The Obama administration is using prison labor to advance its green energy agenda, enriching foreign companies and some of the presidents largest campaign donors in the process. Hundreds of federal inmates earn between $0.23 and $1.15 per hour manufacturing solar panels at UNICOR facilities in New York and Oregon. The panels are then sold to a variety of government agencies, which are obligated by law to purchase them. UNICOR typically partners with private companies to install the panels and help the agencies put in place other energy-saving measures. Major beneficiaries of this system include Constellation Energy, which was recently acquired...

America vs. the Sugar Lobby [call to action] RedState ^ | June 20 2012 | Senator Pat Toomey Its not often conservatives and liberals, Democrats and Republicans, pro-growth conservative groups and the Teamsters agree on something. In fact, its almost unheard of.But when it comes to the federal governments sugar program one of the most egregious corporate welfare handouts in a long list of wasteful programs these strange bedfellows have found common ground.For years, the federal government has kept the price of sugar high by capping domestic production, imposing a de facto government price floor, and mandating that USDA buy excess sugar to sell to ethanol producers at a loss. The U.S. government also places exorbitant...
Native Americans to get millions after 'big victory' in Supreme Court msnbc.com ^ | 6/19/12 | msnbc.com staff and news services The Supreme Court has ruled that the government must fully reimburse Native American tribes for millions of dollars they spent on federal programs. The federal government had agreed to fully reimburse money tribes spent on programs like law enforcement, environmental protection and agricultural assistance, but Congress capped the amount of money earmarked for that reimbursement. The tribes sued, and the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver said the money must be fully reimbursed.

Federal Reserve Board Members Gave Their Own Banks $4 Trillion in Bailouts AllGov News ^ | Thursday, June 14, 2012 | Noel Brinkerhoff Following the 2008 financial crisis, the Federal Reserve provided more than $4 trillion in near zero-interest loans and other help to banks and businesses whose executives also served as directors for the national bank. At least 18 current and former Fed regional bank directors had a direct stake in the trillion-dollar bailout given to teetering institutions, according to a report produced by the Government Accountability Office, but released by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). "Snip" To bolster his case, Sanders cited the example of Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase. A director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New...

Obama Energy Dept. awards $2 million grant to solar company linked with Van Jones The Daily Caller ^ | 06/14/2012 | Hal Libby On Wednesday the Department of Energy began financing solar power installation research with a $2 million award to Solar Mosaic. The solar energy research company has former Obama green jobs czar Van Jones listed as an advisor. It also employed Rebuild the Dream, Jones firm, to do its public relations work. The DOEs grant money will be distributed to nine companies in four states. Solar Mosaic received the most money, four times the amount of most other grants. Jones resigned his post in the Obama administration three years ago amid controversy stemming from his past remarks. Before working in the...

State Spent $2.3 Million to Train 200 in Renewable Energy Only a Few Got Jobs Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 6/15/2012 | Tom Gantert In September 2009 with the state reeling and an unemployment rate of 14.1 percent, then Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced a green jobs training program that she said would help make Michigan "a center for renewable energy and green jobs" by training people in eight of Michigans most economically depressed cities. Almost three years later, the Energy Conservation Apprenticeship Readiness Program (ECAR) had just 200 people apply statewide, cost $2.3 million in federal stimulus money and yielded few jobs for the enrollees who were trained. For example, of the 24 students who enrolled in the city of Detroits program, only one...

Hundreds of police officers in crime-ridden Chicago protecting wedding Valerie Jarrett's daughter The Daily Mail UK ^ | June 15, 2012 | Daily Mail Reporter Up to 200 police officers are expected to be taken off the crime-ridden streets of Chicago to provide security at the wedding of a senior White House adviser as President Barack Obama flies in to attend. The First Family will jet into Chicago this evening as Valerie Jarretts daughter Laura Jarrett, a former Harvard Law student, prepares to wed fellow graduate Tony Balkissoon on Saturday. The wedding will take place in the backyard of the Jarrett family home in Kenwood, with some gatherings planned at the nearby Obama mansion. Between 100 to 200 police officers will be drafted in to...

The Farm Bill and Broadband Access Digital Liberty ^ | 2012-06-13 | [Staff] I know what youre thinking: what does a piece of legislation guiding American agriculture programs have to do with broadband access? And youre right to be asking that question since the answer should be: nothing. As weve frequently written, the USDA has long run a program to hand out taxpayer-subsidized loans to rural broadband companies. This time, however, some lawmakers are finally questioning the programs value. Little positive can be said about USDAs Rural Utilities Service broadband loans. With a budget that hovers around $800 million, the program has a long history of waste, fraud, and abuse.

Oklahoma, New Mexico horse-racing tracks linked to Mexican drug cartel, Feds say. Fox News ^ | June 13, 2012 RUIDOSO, N.M. In the stables at a prominent quarter horse track in New Mexico, workers quietly nicknamed Jose Trevino Morales's stables as the "Zetas' stables" and say they often saw people show up with bags of cash to buy the horses. On Tuesday, authorities raided those stables and a horse ranch in Oklahoma accusing Trevino and others of running a sophisticated money-laundering operation connected to one of Mexico's most powerful and ruthless drug cartels. Federal authorities accuse Trevino's older brother, Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, a key figure in the Zetas drug operation, of setting up the horse operation that...

 Obama Gives Half a $BILLION of Our Money to ACORN Crony moonbattery.com ^ | 06/11/2012 | Dave Blount [An] ACORN official (Joe McGavin) will go from operating a corrupt leftist community group thats banned by Congress from receiving federal funding to controlling over $445 million in U.S. taxpayer funds. The money is part of a $7.6 billion Treasury Department program to help the unemployed or substantially underemployed make their mortgage payments. McGavin is director of the Illinois Hardest Hit Program, which funnels our money to Obamas homies back in Chicago. Before that he was director of counseling for ACORN Housing in Chicago and operations manager for a Chicago ACORN offshoot called Affordable Housing Centers of America (AHCOA). His...

Republicans Join Democrats to Save Corporate Welfare (Again) Cato @ Liberty ^ | June 8, 2012 | Tad DeHaven Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) introduced three amendments to the recently passed Energy & Water appropriations bill that would have eliminated a slew of business subsidies at the Department of Energy. Unfortunately, House Republicans once again teamed up with their Democratic colleagues to keep the corporate welfare spigot flowing.
Great Moments in Government Waste Tuesday, June 12, 2012 6:24:55 AM by Kaslin 3 replies Townhall.com ^ | June 12, 2012 | Daniel J. Mitchell Every time some class-warfare Democrat or Charlie Brown Republican says we need higher taxes, I think of all the ways the government wastes money and I get angry because the political elite is ripping off the American people. Should we send more money to Washington when the federal government is: Forcing taxpayers to pay millions of dollars for pro-Obamacare and pro-IRS propaganda.Doing interviews about erectile dysfunction for $6,000 each and sticking the tab on us.Hiring bureaucrats to monitor school lunches and replace healthy turkey sandwiches with processed chicken nuggets. And those are just examples of nickel-and-dime programs. The bigger outrage...

City Pays Public Safety Officers Nearly Twice Residents' Incomes, Repeatedly Requests Tax Hikes Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 6/10/2012 | Tom Gantert The average salary of Oak Park Public Safety employees was $86,050 in fiscal year 2010-11, far more than the median household income of $48,476. To help pay those salaries, residents in the city of about 29,000 have twice in the last two years approved tax increases for the Public Safety department. Voters were told previously that the overall city work force was "cut by about a third in the last four years," but an analysis by Capitol Confidential showed that to be false. Yet, 11 of the 63 members of the public safety department made $100,000 or more in the

Pittsburgh City Council Honors Drag Queen With Sharon Needles Day Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | June 12, 2012 | Benjamin Mueller Sharon Needles, the spooky drag queen who vaulted to national cult celebrity as the winner of Season 4 of "RuPaul's Drag Race," was presented with an official proclamation declaring today "Sharon Needles Day in Pittsburgh" at a City Council meeting this morning. "This is a city of champions in many regards," Councilman Patrick Dowd said, mentioning the Steelers and first-place Pirates. "We have a real champion in the room today." Mr. Dowd praised the Bloomfield resident for her fearlessness as an artist and for speaking out against bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. "A win for Sharon Needles...

PRC Sold Mobile ICBM Transport Vehicles to N. Korea; Obama Admin. Covered It Up (Breaking) JNN News Network, Tokyo, Japan (in Japanese) ^ | 14 Junwe 2012 | JNN News Network (Freeper Translation) The news report is HERE:LINK.This is from Japanese TV news today, it reports that the sale occured in August last year (4 mobile transporters used in North Korea's massive military parade showcasing the mobile nature of their ICBM program, including modified Scud, Nodong, etc.). Japan caught wind of this dangerous, nefarious PRC-DPRK deal in October. The United States also came to know this material fact.The sale marks a complete violation of UN embargoes on such material and equipment for export to the DPRK for thier intermediate and long range missile program. Japanese news notes the US kept silent about...
State Department Pays $6,600 per Kindle for 2,500 Kindles Economic Policy Journal ^ | 6-12-12 | Economic Policy Journal Yup, the State Department has awarded a $16.5 million contract to Amazon to stock designated libraries and U.S.-friendly educational centers around the world with 2,500 Kindle e-Readers, procurement databases show, according to Nextgov.com. The contract includes 50 titles, a secure central management system and round-the-clock help desk service. The purchase works out to a cost of $6,600 per reader. No doubt there may be extra support and software that comes with these Kindles, but $6,000 plus worth? Kindle's on Amazon's web page now sell for between $79 and $379. Is this a procurement horror story reminiscent of years past that...

 MPD staff routinely changed crime codes Milwaukee J-S ^ | 13 june 2012 | Ben Posten Milwaukee police record clerks have routinely changed computer codes by hand in a way that removes serious assaults from the city's violent crime rate, a Journal Sentinel investigation has found. This is done even when the department's computer system flags the incidents as cases where an aggravated assault classification is warranted because a dangerous weapon was used. Instead of correcting the report to put the incident in the proper crime category, in hundreds of cases clerks or supervisors changed the weapon listing to generic codes that avoided triggering additional scrutiny by state and FBI crime analysts. That allowed the incidents...

Solyndra layoffs larger than previously reported Baycitizen.org ^ | 6/13/12 | Aaron Glantz On the day it closed, Solyndra said it was laying off 1,100 full-time and temporary employees. But 1,861 workers lost their jobs as the solar panel manufacturer shut its doors, according to U.S. Labor Department documents provided to The Bay Citizen under the Freedom of Information Act. The documents also show the Fremont-based company increased production in 2011, even though it failed to sell all the panels it made the previous year. By the time it closed last August, Solyndra had an unsold inventory of more than 23 megawatts enough solar panels to power about 23,000 homes. Analysts said...
See No Evil, Speak No Truth, And Us The Daily Rant ^ | June 8, 2012 | Mychal Massie I freely admit to being rigid and borderline inflexible pursuant to my low opinion of those elected or appointed to political office. But even using that as a high bar of contempt, Obama, Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton, and Janet Napolitano fail to come even close to exceeding it. The overwhelming majority of Americans have no idea how incestuously corrupt and self-serving politicians can be, and that the majority of those in the Executive Branch and Legislative Branch of the Federal Government, in fact, are. Specific to that point, Fast and Furious, the illegal international gun-smuggling operation, is a case study...

Navys Green Fleet Runs Into Fiscal Storm (Algae Based Bio-Fuels Cost 4X More Than Petroleum Fuels) San Diego U-T ^ | June 9, 2012 | Jeanette Steele Navys green fleet runs into fiscal storm Demo still on for next month, includes San Diego ship Republicans in Congress are blocking the Navys march toward a future in which jets and ships run on biofuels, saying the green most in question is whether the United States has the money, with a shrinking military budget, to invest in a pricey fuel experiment. The Navy will demonstrate its great green fleet concept next month, a toe in the water toward easing the country away from dependence on unfriendly foreign oil. But opposition in Congress could push the effort onto the rocks...

Farm Bill 'Reform' Stuffed With Pork Townhall.com ^ | June 10, 2012 | Debra J. Saunders Every once in a while, Democrats and Republicans can work together. Witness Thursday's 90-8 vote to bring a "bipartisan reform" farm bill before the Senate. In the expectation that the bill will garner the necessary 60 votes, the House Agriculture Committee has changed its schedule to allow a floor debate on the measure in July. The White House applauded. This is Washington's version of the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. There's just one little problem. Somehow, whenever the two parties work together, they end up spending a lot of other people's money. The Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act...
Solar Company Hired Biden Staffer to Help Secure $1.6 Billion Federal Loan Heritage ^ | 6//6/12 | Lachlan Markay Internal emails show that BrightSource Energy, which received the largest federal loan for a solar energy project under President Obamas stimulus package, leveraged its considerable political connections with top Democratic policymakers to secure its $1.6 billion in taxpayer backing. BrightSource energy faced a do-or-die moment, according to a report in Tuesdays Wall Street Journal, as the Energy Department weighed a federal loan for its massive Ivanpah solar farm in the California Mojave Desert. To spur the administration to approve the loan, BrightSource beefed up its lobbying presence, most notably by hiring Bernie Toon, former chief of staff for then-Senator Joe...

Obama Green-Tech Program That Backed Solyndra Struggles To Create Jobs Washington Post ^ | September 14, 2011 | Carol D. Leonnig and Steven Mufson Obama green-tech program that backed Solyndra struggles to create jobs A $38.6 billion loan guarantee program that the Obama administration promised would create or save 65,000 jobs has created just a few thousand jobs two years after it began, government records show. The program designed to jump-start the nations clean technology industry by giving energy companies access to low-cost, government-backed loans has directly created 3,545 new, permanent jobs after giving out almost half the allocated amount, according to Energy Department tallies. President Obama has made green jobs a showcase of his recovery plan, vowing to foster new jobs,...

Gitmo detainees treated to pricey improvements costing tax-payers $800,000 PER prisoner annually dailymail.co.uk ^ | 6/8/12 | Meghan Keneally Cable TV, painting classes, DVDs and a brand-new soccer pitch: Gitmo detainees treated to pricey improvements costing tax-payers $800,000 PER prisoner annuallyFull Title Prisoners at Guantanemo Bay prison are being treated to cable television, a new sports center, painting 'life enrichment' classes, and extensive library with a wide selection of DVDs, newspapers, and best-selling books like Harry Potter in a number of languages. Rather than closing the controversial detention center for terrorist, as he said he would on his first day in office, President Obama approved millions of dollars in improvements to the facility. All told, the prison costs $140million...
ACORN Official Grabs $445 Million Grant From Obama Admin Breitbart.com ^ | 6/8/12 | Breitbart News ACORN, the supposedly defunct organization defunded by Congress in the aftermath of James OKeefes video exposing ACORN employees willingness to help out pimps and prostitutes attain government benefits, is back. As Judicial Watch has uncovered, the Obama administration offered $445 million to a former ACORN official as part of a $7.6 billion government program designed to help unemployed or substantially underemployed Americans make their mortgage payments. The ACORN official, Joe McGavin, is director of Hardest Hit, an Illinois program that received that massive Treasury infusion. Prior to his time at Hardest Hit, McGaven was director of counseling for ACORN Housing...

 Former I.C.E. Employee Sentenced for Fraud Against Government Dept Of Justice ^ | June 07, 2012 | U.S. Attorneys Office District of Columbia WASHINGTONLateisha M. Rollerson, 38, a former assistant to an acting intelligence chief for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was sentenced today to 10 months in prison for taking part in a fraud scheme involving more than $500,000 in government money. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen, Jr., Charles K. Edwards, Acting Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBIs Washington Field Office; and Timothy Moynihan, Assistant Director of the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility. Rollerson, of Bowie, Maryland, pled...

Reining in runaway regulators . . . And clawing back powers intended for Congress Jewsih World Review ^ | June 7, 2012 | George Will All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress ... The Constitution Article I, Section 1 Having cleared its throat with the Preamble, the Constitution buckles down to business with those words, which Rep. Geoff Davis (RKy.) takes seriously. He is retiring from Congress, leaving behind excellent legislation that could claw back from the executive-branch responsibilities that the Founders intended for the governments first branch. Daviss Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act would redress constitutional imbalance and buttress the rule of law by compelling Congress to take responsibility for the substance that executive rulemaking...
Issa: Obama administration classifies jobs with political purpose. FoxNews.com ^ | June 6, 2012 | Fox News The Obama administration on Wednesday acknowledged a wide-ranging definition of green jobs that includes bus driver, bicycle-shop clerk and other unexpected lines of employment, which the chairman of the GOP-led House oversight committee said is being done for clearly political purposes. GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, made the assertion during a hearing on how the administration counts so-called green jobs and the Labor Departments recent change to how reporters can access key unemployment reports and other information. The Labor Department "has jeopardized the integrity of employment data in some cases for...

 Criminal charges filed against D.C. Council chairman The Washington Times ^ | June 6, 2012 | Tom Howell Jr. & Andrea Noble D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown was charged Wednesday with one count of bank fraud for lying on a loan application between 2005 and 2007, delivering a historic blow to a city government that has seen unprecedented legal woes and eroded the publics trust. A criminal information filed in U.S. District Court for the District states that Mr. Brown, who has seen mounting scrutiny over a federal probe into his 2008 reelection campaign, falsified documents in 2005 in order to inflate his income to qualify for loans on his Ward 7 Hillcrest neighborhood home and boat. Mr. Brown overstated his...

Biggest DoE solar-power loan guarantee went to firm that hired former Biden chief of staff Hot Air ^ How does one go about getting a federally-guaranteed loan for solar-power technology in the era of Hope and Change? Well, you have to show that your company has solid fundamentals, competes on price, and can attract private financing based on oh, sorry, I didnt mean to laugh out loud. While Barack Obama tries to defend his green-tech stimulus spending and public-equity decisions, the Wall Street Journal exposes yet another political machination from the Obama administration.

Pastor Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison For Teaching That Parents Should Spank Their Children The American Dream ^ | May 25, 2012 | The American Dream Pastor Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison For Teaching That Parents Should Spank Their Children Do you believe that parents should be able to spank their children? Do you ever express that opinion to others? If so, then you could be sent to prison. Sadly, that is exactly what happened to one pastor up in Wisconsin recently. A minister named Philip Caminiti was sentenced to 2 years in prison for simply teaching that parents should spank their children when they misbehave. Please note that Caminiti was not accused of spanking anyone or of physically hurting anyone.

Homeland Security Is Supporting a Gay Pride Celebration & Janet Napolitano Is Getting an Award The Blaze ^ | June 4, 2012 at 7:40am | Billy Halowell On June 7, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is holding a gay-themed event called the June Pride Ceremony. The hour-long gathering, scheduled to take place from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., will feature DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano as a guest speaker, among others. The purpose of the event is to commemorate June Pride Month, while also marking a year of significant progress for DHS Pride and for the LGBT community. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) web site, DHS Pride, the group behind the event, is an employee association that represents gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgendered individuals...
LI cops demoted for being Republicans?! nypost.com ^ | 6/3/12 | KATHIANNE BONIELLO Six Long Island cops claim their commissioner is putting politics before the badge. The Long Beach crime fighters say theyve been targeted by the seaside towns Democratic machine for supporting GOP candidates in local elections last year. Long Beach Police Commissioner Michael Tangney, a longtime Democrat, demoted the cops, cut their overtime, switched them to midnight tours and even filed false internal charges against them for political payback, the veteran officers claim in a $39 million lawsuit. Its just demoting him.

Politically Connected Bank Gets a Dodd-Frank Waiver Townhall.com ^ | June 3, 2012 | Helen Whalen Cohen Bloomberg News reports that Emigrant Bank in New York will be the sole recipient of a Dodd-Frank exemption. The bank asked legislators on the House Financial Services Committee to change the language of the financial regulations slightly, exempting Emigrant from having to comply and saving the bank $300 million. A New York City bank with $10.5 billion in assets would be the sole beneficiary of a Dodd-Frank Act exemption approved today by the House Financial Services Committee. Emigrant Bank asked lawmakers on the committee to approve a change to the 2010 financial-regulation overhaul law that will save the institution $300...

Government spend $2.8 million on free internet in low income homes...and NOBODY is using it! ABC Action News ^ Millions of federal and local tax dollars have been paying for free internet access and computers for thousands of Tampa residents. Its a federal stimulus program unique to Tampa that some people are calling government waste.

Did We Just Bail-Out GM with $80B Only to For Them to Move Most of the Company to Communist China? Reaganite Republican ^ | May 30, 2012 | Reaganite Republican Regardless of how much of your money Obama throws at them, Government Motors clearly has NO interest in working with his UAW pals over the long-run- and why should they? GM executives were left to do pretty much as they please... You can be forgiven for thinking that the serially-incompetent Obama Administration might have placed some restraints upon the $80B TARP bailout- but they didn't. The result? GM has been aggressively expanding not only sales networks but manufacturing and R-n-D work to the People's Republic of China, where Buick is their leading brand. Since the TARP bailout of GM, almost...

Fisker May Never Build Electric Cars in US [Obama Stimulus] ABC News ^ | May 30, 2012 | By MATTHEW MOSK The luxury carmaker Fisker Automotive continues to signal it could ditch plans to build its next generation hybrid electric vehicle in the United States, despite the nearly $200 million in Obama administration loan money it has already received. Fisker received federal funds in part to help purchase a shuttered General Motors plant in Delaware, where it predicted it would one day employ 2,000 auto workers to assemble the cleanburning gas-electric family car, known as the Atlantic. But company executives began hinting in February that it would reconsider that plan and look for a cheaper place to build the car after...
$335,310 Per Job: The Cost of the Obama Stimulus in New Mexico New Mexico Watchdog.org ^ | May 28, 2012 | By Jim Scarantino The billions have been spent. The data has been released. How efficiently did President Obamas controversial stimulus package create or retain jobs in New Mexico? Based on the governments own data, the Obama stimulus required $335,310 on average for each of the jobs it claims to have created or retained in New Mexico. This figure has been calculated directly from the records President Obama pledged would provide unprecedented transparency in accounting for how every dime of the stimulus would be spent.

California raids 9/11 fund to cover deficits and other govt expenditures Hotair ^ | 05/30/2012 | Erika Johnsen After the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001, the Californian government created a program through which residents could purchase "We Will Never Forget" memorial license plates in the understanding that they would be making a contribution toward helping 9/11 victims' families and law enforcement. 15 percent of the proceeds were to be allotted to scholarship funds for Californian victims' children, while the other 85 percent was to go to anti-terrorism efforts.Unfortunately, bureaucracies have an uncanny knack for messing up even the most well-meaning of ideas. I'm pretty sure that, in private-sector circumstances, this would fall solidly under the category of...

A123 Systems 8K filing says substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern Green Car Congress ^ | 31 May 2012 | Green Car Congress In its most recent 8K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Li-ion battery maker A123 Systems said a number of circumstances have raised substantial doubt on [its] ability to continue as a going concern. On 26 March, A123 launched a field campaign estimated to cost US$51.6 million to replace battery modules and packs that may contain defective prismatic cells produced at A123s Livonia, Michigan manufacturing facility. The defect could have resulted in premature failure of the battery module or pack, including a decrease in performance and reduced battery life. (Earlier post.)

$3M of California's 9/11 license plate fund meant for victim's families raided.. AP ^ | May 29, 2012 | Staff After the 2001 terrorist attacks, California lawmakers sought a way to channel the patriotic fervour and use it to help victims' families and law enforcement. Their answer: specialty memorial license plates emblazoned with the words, 'We Will Never Forget.' Part of the money raised through the sale of the plates was to fund scholarships for the children of California residents who perished in the attacks, while the majority - 85 per cent - was to help fund anti-terrorism efforts. But an Associated Press review of the $15 million collected since lawmakers approved the 'California Memorial Scholarship Program' shows only a...

3 Years After Taxpayer Bailout, Bank of America Ships Jobs Overseas[Philippines] Mother Jones ^ | 29 May 2012 | Josh Harkinson Your account information will now be accessible to call center workers in the Philippines. Bank of America, which last fall announced plans to lay off 30,000 workers, is about to go on a hiring spreeoverseas.America's second-largest bank is relocating its business-support operations to the Philippines, according to a high-ranking Filipino government official recently quoted in the Filipino press. The move, which includes a portion of the bank's customer service unit, comes less than three years after Bank of America received a $45 billion federal bailout.Roman Romulo, deputy majority leader of the Philippine House of Representatives, bragged to the Manila Standard...

Chicago man gets 3 years in insurance fraud case [illegals aliens collecting unemployment $] WSOCTV.com ^ | May 17, 2012 | Associated Press CHICAGO A federal judge has sentenced a Chicago man to three years in prison for a nearly half-million dollar fraud scheme involving the Illinois Department of Employment Insurance. Federal officials say 34-year-old Robert Cisneros was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to mail fraud in January. Prosecutors say because of Cisneros the department paid the insurance money to about 57 ineligible claimants who weren't legally allowed to work in the U.S. Cisneros also was ordered to pay restitution to the department. Department Director Jay Rowell says "every resident of Illinois" is harmed by insurance fraud. He says his department worked...
D.C. Mayors Top Aide Charged In Corruption Scheme Judicial Watch ^ | May 23, 2012 How appropriate that the District of Columbias scandal-plagued mayor, Vincent Gray, was in Sin City when his close friend and top aide got criminally charged for destroying records to cover up a corruption scheme that took place during his 2010 campaign. Gray has been embroiled in a variety of controversies throughout his political career, which includes a lengthy tenure on the D.C. council before taking over as mayor last year. As council chairman he got busted for using official stationery to solicit donations for the Democratic Party and for having a politically-connected contractor renovate his house.

Government-Backed Green Energy Company Sweetens Package For Top Executives Despite Mounting Problems Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 5/23/2012 | Tom Gantert One of the showcase companies of the green energy movement propped up by the federal stimulus questioned in recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission whether it can survive with its mounting debt and problems with defective batteries. Yet, even with its struggles, its top executives were awarded sweetened severance packages that would give them an extra six-figures in payout if they lose their jobs. A123 Systems, which opened a Livonia lithium-ion battery plant that is to supply electric cars, has an accumulated deficit of $774 million, according to SEC filings, and stated in its quarterly report that its...

 Climategate Continues National Review Online ^ | May 24, 2012 | Andrew Montford & Harold Ambler Climategate, the 2009 exposure of misconduct at the University of East Anglia, was a terrible blow to the reputation of climatology, and indeed to that of British and American science. Although that story hasnt been in the news in recent months, new evidence of similar scientific wrongdoing continues to emerge, with a new scandal hitting the climate blogosphere just a few days ago.And central to the newest story is one of the Climategate scientists: Keith Briffa, an expert in reconstructing historical temperature records from tree rings. More particularly, the recent scandal involves a tree-ring record Briffa prepared for a...

Another Magnificent Moment in the World of Government Stimulus Townhall.com ^ | May 21, 2012 | Daniel J. Mitchell Most of my work on government stimulus focuses on economic theory and evidence. But every so often its a good idea to remind ourselves of the ridiculous ways that government wastes money.Here are some details from a boondoggle in West Virginia.Nobody told Hurricane librarian Rebecca Elliot that the $22,600 Internet router in the branch librarys storage closet was powerful enough to serve an entire college campus. Nobody told Elliot how much the router cost or who paid for it. Workers just showed up and installed the device. They left behind no instructions, no user manual. The high-end router serves four...
Exclusive: U.S. lets China bypass Wall Street for Treasury orders Reuters ^ | 5/21/2012 | Emily Flitter (Reuters) - China can now bypass Wall Street when buying U.S. government debt and go straight to the U.S. Treasury, in what is the Treasury's first-ever direct relationship with a foreign government, according to documents viewed by Reuters. The relationship means the People's Bank of China buys U.S. debt using a different method than any other central bank in the world. The other central banks, including the Bank of Japan, which has a large appetite for Treasuries, place orders for U.S. debt with major Wall Street banks designated by the government as primary dealers. Those dealers then bid on their...

Gay couples and women over 40 to get free IVF treatment on NHS (abomination on top of abomination) The Telegraph ^ | 5/22/12 | Stephen Adams Same-sex couples will be given the same rights as heterosexual couples under guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. The NHS will also extend the upper age limit for IVF by three years to 42, following advice that suggests many women in their late 30s and early 40s could conceive after treatment. The move will see thousands of women a year given the chance to become mothers without having to pay up to 8,000 to private clinics. Fertility experts also questioned whether health authorities could afford to widen eligibility criteria, when only a quarter currently fund...

IRS Gives Billions in Tax Refunds to Illegals Townhall.com ^ | May 22, 2012 | Chuck Norris WTHR, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis, recently reported about how millions of illegal aliens are getting billions of dollars in U.S. tax refunds without having paid a dime in income taxes. The story instantly went viral because it's true. You won't believe what illegals are getting away with, and our government is enabling them. Here's how it works. Illegal immigrants cannot qualify for legitimate Social Security numbers, which would entitle them to work legally in the U.S. and file income tax returns, but the Internal Revenue Service allows them to apply for nine-digit individual taxpayer identification numbers, or ITINs, which...
Arizona Blows $125M in Taxpayer Money on Ghost Students Fox Business ^ | May 22, 2012 | Elizabeth MacDonald Taxpayers in Arizona spend $125 million each school year funding more than 13,000 students who dont exist at public schools. Thats because the state school system uses an antique budget approach that causes taxpayers to overpay, says a new report, Ghost Busters: How to Save $125 Million a Year in Arizonas Education Budget, by Goldwater Institute education director Jonathan Butcher. The system pays for some students twice, Butcher says. Heres how it happens. Arizona schools are funded based on the number of students who attend each school in the prior school year, Butchers report says. However, when a student transfers...

Arizona Democrat, Illegal Alien Advocate Charged With Bribery, Fraud Eurasia Review ^ | May 19, 2012 | Jim Kouri A Democrat member of Arizonas House of Representatives who fights for illegal aliens rights, Paul Ben Arredondo, was charged on Wednesday by a federal grand jury with bribery, fraud, attempted extortion and false statements he made to the FBI in connection with receiving more than $6,000 in tickets to sporting and special events while he was a Tempe, Arizona, council member and a member-elect of the Arizona House, according to a federal law enforcement official. The indictment charges the 63-year-old liberal with one count of federal programs bribery, two counts of honest services mail fraud, one count of attempted Hobbs...

 Otisville prison a "castle behind bars"<br> It's rated among US '10 cushiest' Times Herald-Record Middletown, NY ^ | 5/20/12 | NewsCore OTISVILLE That's the sound of the men working on the gold-chain gang. Whitecollar criminals and crooked politicians are banging down the door to get into Otisville Federal Correctional Facility in New York described by some as a castle behind bars. "You could do about anything you wanted there," claimed former inmate John Altman. "It's not just good. It's sweet. That's why you request to go there." Disgraced former state Sen. Carl Kruger will serve out his seven-year corruption sentence in the suburban Orange County lockup. His boyfriend, Michael Turano, has requested to stay there too, and with good...

Cuomo Pushing City to End Food-Stamp Fingerprinting The New York Times ^ | 5-17-12 | JOHN ELIGON ALBANY New York City would have to stop requiring the electronic fingerprinting of food stamp applicants under regulations proposed on Thursday by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who has sided with advocates for the hungry who say it discourages people from seeking benefits.
GOP probe uncovers deal between Obama and drug cos The Examiner ^ | May 16, 2012 | Phillip Klein Three years ago, President Obama cut a secret deal with pharmaceutical company lobbyists to secure the industrys support for his national health care law. Despite Obamas promises during his campaign to run a transparent administration, the deal has been shrouded in mystery ever since. But internal emails obtained by House Republicans now provide evidence that a deal was struck and GOP investigators are promising to release more details in the coming weeks.What the hell? White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, who is now Obamas campaign manager, complained to a lobbyist for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of...

Terror Leader's Release Stirs Uproar FOXNEWS ^ | 05/16/12 | FOX Republicans on Capitol Hill are furious over the Obama administrations handling of a purported Hezbollah commander, who was connected to the killing of five U.S. soldiers in 2007 and now is set for release by an Iraqi court. The most recent GOP lawmaker to express frustration and to demand answers from the administration is Florida Rep. Allen West, who on Wednesday sent a letter to President Obama questioning why Ali Musa Daqduq was turned over to Iraq in December 2011. West dismissed the argument by Obama officials that they were forced under a Bush administration agreement to release Iraqi citizens...

Federal 'Stimulus' Spent $34.5 Million In Michigan For Only 183 Total Jobs Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 5/14/2012 | Anne Schieber If jobs are any measure, 14 Michigan "green" companies that were awarded $34.5 million in taxpayer funded grants and loans aren't generating much heat. According to the Michigan Economic Development Corp., the companies have reported a total of 183 jobs. While a final report will not be issued until June, calls and emails to the companies indicate the total number will not be much higher. The state awarded the grants and loans in 2009 and 2010 under its Clean Energy Advanced Manufacturing Program. The money came from federal stimulus funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The federal government...

A123 Systems Reports More Bad News (Another Obama Stimulooser Success) MIT Technology Review ^ | 05-15-2012 | Kevin Bullis Based on this morning's quarterly earnings call, the financial numbers are pointing in the wrong direction for lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, a company founded 10 years ago based on technology developed at an MIT lab. A123 posted a net loss of $125 million, $40 million more than it lost in the previous quarter. It only brought in $11 million in revenue, down from $40 million in the previous quarter and $18 million a year ago. Meanwhile, its cash is dwindling, down from $187 million at the end of last year to $113 million at the end of the first...

Michelle Obama's Hospital Colleague Who Offered Rev.Wright Bribe Gets HHS Grant The Lid ^ | May 14, 2012 | The Lid Before she became first Lady Michelle Obama was had a $317,000 job as Vice President of the University of Chicago Medical Center. At her job she helped to create a program where the uninsured get sent to a different hospital. Imagine that, while her husband was pushing universal healthcare Michelle was doing her utmost to make sure the poor didn't come to her hospital. It seems as if the FLOTUS got more than a salary for her work denying health care to the poor. According to The Amateur author Edward Klein, Dr. Eric Whitaker vice president of the University of...
Presidents illegal alien uncle gets his license back bostonherald.com ^ | May 15, 2012 | John Zaremba President Obamas illegal-alien uncle is once again a fully legal Massachusetts driver, reclaiming his license this afternoon after serving a 45-day suspension he agreed to as part of a plea deal in a drunken-driving rap. Onyango Obama, 67, walked into the Registry of Motor Vehicles Worcester branch about 2:30 this afternoon and walked out moments later with a new license, according to RMV spokeswoman Sara Lavoie. Obama had been driving for about a month and a half on a hardship license, which allowed him to get behind the wheel only during certain hours. The hardship restriction was lifted today as...

New book: Jarretts Chicago connections led to Obamas Solyndra visit The Daily Caller. ^ | May 14, 2012 | Matt K. Lewis many of Obamas most liberal and costly political mistakes stemmed from Jarretts advice. Jarrett reportedly hatched the idea of Obama flying to Copenhagen to make a dramatic presentation to the International Olympic Committee for Chicagos Olympic bid and also encouraged Obamas visit to the Bay area solar company Solyndra despite the protestations of Lawrence Summers (who in 2009 warned against the loan guarantee) and others. Klein implies Jarretts pro-Solyndra position was a result of her Chicago connections and -- especially her close ties to the George Kaiser Family Foundation, which controlled 35.7 percent of Solyndra.
How TV Brought Gay People Into Our Homes NPR ^ | May 12, 2012 | NPR Staff In one of the most talked-about moments from the hit TV show Glee, Blaine declared his love for Kurt and then they kissed. Glee is just one of many popular shows on television right now that feature gay characters. Those characters aren't just entertaining us, they're changing Americans' attitudes toward homosexuality. In five separate studies, professor Edward Schiappa and his colleagues at the University of Minnesota have found that the presence of gay characters on television programs decreases prejudices among viewers. "These attitude changes are not huge," he says. "They don't change bigots into saints. But they can snowball."...

Illegal immigrant tax cheats? Time to simplify tax code BizPacReview.com ^ | May 14, 2012 | Michael Dorstewitz Barely a day goes by that President Barack Obama doesnt harangue us with complaints that were not all paying our fair share. Considering the fact that 47 percent of American households pay no federal income tax whatsoever, and that the top 5 percent of wage earners pay almost 59 percent of the total tax revenue, I agree with the president: There are those who are taking advantage of the Internal Revenue Codes complexity. But its not the people the president has in mind each time he delivers his class warfare address. Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR recently uncovered a growing segment...

High-speed spending: Bullet train may need $3.5 million a day (California Craziness) Los Angeles Times ^ | May 13, 2012 | Ralph Vartabedian If California starts building a 130-mile segment of high-speed rail late this year as planned, it will enter into a risky race against a deadline set up under federal law. The bullet train track through the Central Valley would cost $6 billion and have to be completed by September 2017, or else potentially lose some of its federal funding. It would mean spending as much as $3.5 million every calendar day, holidays and weekends included the fastest rate of transportation construction known in U.S. history, according to industry and academic experts.

BREAKING - LightSquared to file for bankruptcy (Another Obama Porkulus Crony!) CNN ^ | 5-14-12 | David Goodman Unable to reach a deal with its lenders, upstart wireless carrier LightSquared will file for bankruptcy Monday, according to two sources with knowledge of the company's plans. The move has been widely expected, since the company's options for appeasing its creditors were running out. LightSquare's lenders claim that it has been in default on its debt since its $9 billion partnership with Sprint Nextel

Canadian firm will receive up to 50 million stimulus dollars for NV solar plant with two employees Nevada Journal ^ | May 10, 2012 | Kyle Gillis LAS VEGAS The company behind the recently opened Silver State North solar plant is eligible to receive up to $50 million in federal tax credits under the Obama administrations stimulus legislation, even though the plant created only two full-time jobs. According to a Department of Interior memo, Enbridge Energy Partners, a Canadian-based company with extensive energy holdings in the U.S. that purchased the Southern Nevada plant from Arizona-based First Solar, can apply for payments of up to 30 percent of the eligible costs of the project approximately $50 million. The payments are available through the 1603 Program, a...
Got controversy? No smooth sailing for U.S.S. Harvey Milk idea SFGate: City Insider ^ | 5/14/12 | Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer San Francisco wouldnt be San Francisco if not for robust political debate, even over a seemingly feel-good request to the U.S. Secretary of the Navy to name a ship after gay civil rights leader Harvey Milk, the assassinated city supervisor who served as a Navy officer during the Korean War. Critics of the idea, led by Supervisor Christina Olague and a contingent from the San Francisco gay Democrat club named in Milks honor, dont think he would have wanted his name associated with a military ship. Milk was against the Vietnam War and war in general,

Here are 79 examples of Barack Obamas corruption, lying, lawbreaking, and cronyism. wordpress.com ^ | May 12, 2012 | Dan from Squirrel Hill 1) In April 2009, antiwar activists who helped elect Obama accused him of using the same off the books funding as his predecessor George W. Bush when Obama requested an additional $83.4 billion from Congress for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan a provision which Obama had voted against when he was a Senator. 2) In May 2010, it was reported that the Obama administration had selected KBR, a former subsidiary of Halliburton, for a no-bid contract worth as much as $568 million through 2011 for military support services in Iraq, just hours after the Justice Department had said...

Federal 'Stimulus' Spent $8.5 Million For 11 Wind Energy Jobs Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 5/10/2012 | Anne Schieber If jobs are any measure, 14 Michigan "green" companies that were awarded $34.5 million in taxpayer funded grants and loans aren't generating much heat. According to the Michigan Economic Development Corp., the companies have reported a total of 183 jobs. While a final report will not be issued until June, calls and emails to the companies indicate the total number will not be much higher. The state awarded the grants and loans in 2009 and 2010 under its Clean Energy Advanced Manufacturing Program. The money came from federal stimulus funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The federal government...
This Is Not a Joke: Government Issues Study of a Study About Studies ABC News ^ This Is Not a Joke: Government Issues Study of a Study About Studies The Pentagon was inundated with so many studies in 2010 that it commissioned a study to determined how much it cost to produce all those studies. Now the Governments Accounting Office has reviewed the Pentagons study and concluded in a report this week that its a flop. The study of a study of studies began in 2010 when Defense Secretary Robert Gates complained that his department was awash in taskings for reports and studies. He wanted to know how much they cost. Two years later, the Pentagon...

 New rules authorize government to destroy Obama's draft records Times 247 ^ | 7 may 2010 | Alan Jones Changes in the wording of Selective Service System record-keeping requirements, made days after the opening of an investigation into the alleged forgery of President Barack Obamas Selective Service registration form, raise serious questions about U.S. government intentions. ... The Selective Service Systems new privacy rules were published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, September 20, 2011, four days after the September 16 announcement by World Net Daily that the Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriffs Office Cold Case Posse was opening an inquiry with full subpoena power into alleged forgery of several documents concerning Obamas birth and draft registration. ... Changing the...

Jerry Brown tells unions to brace for California state worker pay cuts SacBee: The State Worker ^ | 5/9/12 | Jon Ortiz State workers' compensation is back on the budget chopping block. Brown administration officials met with the state employee union leaders last week, according to sources familiar with the meetings, to warn them that the next version of the governor's budget will include an unspecified cut in employee costs up to 10 percent. The administration in January estimated that California is confronting a $9.2 billion deficit through 2012-13, but a recent state analysis concluded the actual gap is considerably more. The sources, who declined to talk on the record because the administration asked all involved to keep the discussions secret, said...

IRS may issue $26 billion in fraudulent tax refunds, watchdog tells Congress The Washington Post ^ | 5/8/12 | Ed O'Keefe The Internal Revenue Service doesnt know how many identity thieves are filing fraudulent tax returns, and the agency risks issuing approximately $26 billion in fraudulent tax refunds tied to identity theft in the next five years, a watchdog told lawmakers Tuesday. The IRS received 2.2 million fraudulent tax returns in 2011 and found that 940,000 of the returns, with $6.5 billion in associated fraudulent refunds, involved identity theft, according to J. Russell George, head of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). George told lawmakers that the IRS cannot definitively say how many identity thieves are filing fraudulent returns...

 New Haven Kidnapping Suspect Has 55 Convictions, Officials Say The Hartford Courant ^ The man accused of kidnapping a 26-year-old Wallingford woman in New Haven on Saturday has 55 convictions, including 15 for felonies, court officials said Monday. Albert Leclaire, 43, of Massachusetts Avenue in East Haven, is wanted for a similar incident that took place earlier in the week and involved a Yale student, officials said. He was held with bail set at $1 million. Leclaire was arrested on Saturday, after a girlfriend's desperate text messages to her boyfriend, indicating she had been kidnapped led cops to rescue her in New Haven. Leclaire was naked from the waist down when he was...

The Chicago Way: Justice for Sale at Holder's DOJ www.breitbart.com ^ | 5/7/12 | Wynton Hall In an explosive Newsweek article set to rock official Washington, reporter Peter Boyer and Breitbart contributing editor and Government Accountability Institute President Peter Schweizer reveal how Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice are operating under a justice for sale strategy by forgoing criminal prosecution of Wall Street executives at big financial institutions who just so happen to be clients of the white-shoe law firms where Holder and his top DOJ lieutenants worked.

Investigating the IRS: Why it gives billions to illegal immigrants (Tax loophole cost billions) wthr.com ^ | April 26, 2012 | wthr.com Investigating the IRS: Why it gives billions to illegal immigrants INDIANAPOLIS Why are many illegal immigrants getting a bigger tax refund than you? Blame it on the IRS and a massive tax loophole that's now being exposed by Eyewitness News. 13 Investigates has found the IRS is giving away your tax dollars to illegal workers and people who don't even live in the United States - and the problem is costing billions! We want you to see exactly where your money is going and why the IRS is allowing it to happen.

Amazing. Eric Holders DOJ funds a (most wanted terrorist) Bernadine Dohrn-connected organization Tammy Bruce ^ | 5/07/12 | Tammy Amazing. Eric Holders DOJ funds a Bernadine Dohrn-connected organizationby Tammy on May 7, 2012 The craven, distructive arrogance of these people never ceases to amaze. Great investigation here by National Review Online. Bernardine Dohrn has a history with the Justice Department. More specifically, in the early 1970s, she was one of the FBIs most wanted fugitives because of her actions with the Weather Underground, a violent radical organization. Times have changed. In 2010 and 2011, the Justice Department saw fit to give $400,000 in grants to an organization that lists Dohrn as a member of its board of directors:

 General Motors is becoming China Motors Youtube ^ | 5/6/12 | vincewadeusa1 General Motors is becoming China Motors. Forget the spin. The evidence is clear and convincing. Did U.S. taxpayers save GM for China? Listen to the candid comments of GM's CEO.

'Julia': Cradle to grave under Obama rule washington times ^ | 5-4-12 | Rich Lowry In the competition for the creepiest campaign material of 2012, we may already have a winner. It is The Life of Julia, the Obama reelection teams cartoon chronicle of a fictional woman who is dependent on government at every step of her life. The Obama campaign revives the concept of cradle to grave as it highlights Obama-supported programs that take care of Julia from age 3 to her retirement at age 67.

Illegal alien workers getting tax deductions for kids living in Mexico RadioVice Online ^ | May 2, 2012 at 7:57 am | Steve M Illegal aliens working in the United States are technically required to fill out a tax return and pay their income taxes. We all laugh about claiming a additional deduction here or there for some neighborhood kid who eats the food out of your fridge and hangs out at your house all the time, but many of these workers are claiming deductions for children living in Mexico. Each spring, at tax preparation offices all across the nation, many illegal immigrants are now eagerly filing tax returns to take advantage of a tax loophole, using their ITIN numbers to get huge refunds...

News Video: IRS ignores scam.$4 billion tax credits to illegal aliens&#8207; http://www.wthr.com/video?clipId=7054149&autostart=true ^ Watch the newscast video and stay calm! TV investigation uncovers.....2 million illegal aliens collecting 4 billion in tax credits for dependent children living in Mexico

Web put off-limits to Social Security claims judges The Washington Times ^ | Thursday, May 3, 2012 | Stephen Dinan The Social Security Administration last month told its disability-claims judges they are no longer to seek out information from websites when deciding cases taking away a tool some of those judges say would help in uncovering fraud. Agency officials said reviewers can't trust information posted online, and also said the mere act of typing in queries could compromise protected private information, so they shouldn't try to access anything. Social Security's ban covers all Internet sites, including social media such as Facebook. But Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican and a top taxpayer watchdog, said avoiding the Internet means giving up...

D.C. proposes more money for illegal immigrant care The Washington Post ^ | May 3,2012 | Tim Craig D.C. Council member David A. Catania has found an additional $20 million in the budget to continue offering free health insurance to 19,000 undocumented immigrants, reversing a proposal by Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) that could have restricted them from receiving emergency care. Catania (I-At Large), chairman of the councils Health Committee, has made full funding of the Alliance Insurance program a chief priority as the council prepares for final budget deliberations.

NBC: Tax loophole costs billions (Obama IRS refunds 'Illegals' $4.2 billion for kids--in Mexico) NBC ^ | 4/26/2012 | Bob Segall Millions of illegal immigrants are getting a bigger tax refund than you. Eyewitness News shows a massive tax loophole that provides billions of dollars in tax credits to undocumented workers and, in many cases, people who have never stepped foot in the United States. And you are paying for it! Note: This is part one in a two-part series. Read part two here. INDIANAPOLIS - Inside his central Indiana office, a longtime tax consultant sits at his desk, shaking his head in disbelief. "There is not a doubt in my mind there's huge fraud taking place here," he said, slowly...

Forest Service Demands $80,000 to Turn Over Public Records to Non-profit Group Goldwater Institute ^ | May 1, 2012 | Press Release Phoenix, AZ -- Transparency in the Obama Administration has a price. The U.S. Forest Service wants $78,935.80 before it will share public records the Goldwater Institute has requested under the Freedom of Information Act. Not only is the U.S. Forest Service blocking emergency repairs to the City of Tombstones Huachuca Mountain water supply, it is now hiding the documents that might explain its outrageous conduct. In a showdown with the town too tough to die, the U.S. Forest Service blocked Tombstone from repairing its mountain spring aqueduct after it was destroyed in the 2011 Monument Fire. The Forest Service is...

Secret files missing at National Archives The Washington Times ^ | May 1, 2012 | Jim McElhatton The National Archives and Records Administration has lost track of dozens of boxes of confidential and secret government files at its records center just outside of Washington, the latest in a series of such incidents spanning more than a decade. The missing classified materials include four boxes of top-secret restricted files from the Office of the Secretary of Defense as well as records from several U.S. Navy offices, documents obtained by The Washington Times show. The problems came to light after a three-year investigation by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Office of Inspector General. While the investigation ended...

Former finance official 'stole $53 million from city funds in Illinois' (no one noticed?) telagraph ^ | 5 2 12 A former finance official stole more than $53 million in city funds from former President Ronald Reagan's boyhood hometown in Illinois in a fraud that spanned more than two decades, US prosecutors said on Tuesday. Rita Crundwell, 59, who had served as comptroller of Dixon, Illinois since 1983, used the money to buy three homes, more than a dozen cars, trucks and other vehicles, and to invest in a horse farm that has 311 quarter horses, the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago said. Crundwell was arrested in mid-April and charged with stealing $30 million...

U.S. Department Of Labor Gives Aid To Laid-Off SolarWorld Workers Solar Industry ^ | 5-1-12 | SI staff The U.S. Department of Labor has determined that all manufacturing employees laid off from SolarWorld Industries America Inc. as a result of the company's shutdown of its solar module production plant in Camarillo, Calif., in September are eligible for federal trade-adjustment assistance, including grants for education to retrain them for new work.

Illegal Immigrants Getting Bigger Tax Refunds WBIW.com ^ | April 27, 2012 | WBIW.com (INDIANAPOLIS) - Millions of illegal immigrants are getting a bigger tax refund than you. Bob Segall, of WTHI reports finding a massive tax loophole that provides billions of dollars in tax credits to undocumented workers and, in many cases, people who have never stepped foot in the United States. And you are paying for it. I nside his central Indiana office, a longtime tax consultant sits at his desk, shaking his head in disbelief. "There is not a doubt in my mind there's huge fraud taking place here," he said, slowly flipping through the pages of a tax return.

AFRICOM Transport No-Bid Contract-Extension Awarded U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor ^ | May 1, 2012 | Steve Peacock Transportation of U.S. troops and cargo between Germany and Africa just became more lucrative for Cartersville, Ga.-based Phoenix Air Group, which yesterdaywithout needing to compete for the endeavorreceived a six-month contract extension to provide such services. The U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) in 2009 initially selected Phoenix Air to provide Fixed Wing Airlift Services through March 31, 2012. The Firm Fixed Price Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract, thenvalued at $26 million, has been modified to reflect the new delivery date through September 30. It did not disclose the cost of the contract modification. TRANSCOM explained in A Justification For Other Than...

Solar firm's use of state aid questioned toledoblade.com ^ | 29 April 2012 | Kris Turner After being fired in 2009 as the top executive of Willard & Kelsey Solar Group, a Perrysburg start-up that has received millions in state loans, William Mitchell made a decision that he wasn't going to go away quietly. Before the company's chief executive officer left his job, he copied company records onto his computer's external hard drive -months of financial transactions, banking records, and detailed expense reports showing the firm spent thousands on travel and entertainment, including trips to Detroit Tigers games and Pittsburgh Steelers events. Emails from Mr. Mitchell also show that he took a keen interest in...
Solyndra Was Not The Only Failure The American Thinker ^ | April 30, 2012 | Warren Beatty ....Obama was emphatic about how recovery money was to be spent......Eighty percent of the Department of Energy's (DOE) green loans, loan guarantees, and grants went to Obama backers.... ...In March 2011, for example, the GAO examined the first 18 loans that were approved and found that none were properly documented. ... No notes were kept during the review process..... Schweizer concludes, "DOE Inspector General Gregory Friedman......testified that contracts have been steered to "friends and family." So with all that in mind, let's turn our attention to what has actually happened since Obama took office. * SunPower, after receiving $1.5 billion from DOE, is reorganizing, cutting jobs. * First Solar, after receiving $1.46 billion from DOE, is reorganizing, cutting jobs. * Solyndra, after receiving $535 million from DOE, filed for bankruptcy protection. * Ener1, after receiving $118.5 million from DOE, filed for bankruptcy protection. * Evergreen Solar, after receiving millions of dollars from the state of Massachusetts, filed for bankruptcy protection. * SpectraWatt, backed by Intel and Goldman Sachs, filed for bankruptcy protection. * Beacon Power, after receiving $43 million from DOE, filed for bankruptcy protection. * Abound Solar, after receiving $400 million from DOE, filed for bankruptcy protection. * Amonix, after receiving $5.9 million from DOE, filed for bankruptcy protection. * Babcock & Brown (an Australian company), after receiving $178 million from DOE, filed for bankruptcy protection. * A123 Systems, after receiving $279 million from DOE, shipped some bad batteries and is barely operating. It cut jobs. * Solar Trust for America, after receiving $2.1 billion loan guarantee from DOE, filed for bankruptcy protection. * Nevada Geothermal, after receiving $98.5 million from DOE, warns of potential defaults in new SEC filings.

 Lehman Elite Stood To Get $700 Million [Economic Treason!] LATimes ^ | April 27, 2012 | Walter Hamilton, Andrew Tangel and Stuart Pfeifer Lehman Elite Stood To Get $700 Million Bankruptcy case reveals pre-crash pay for 50 employees that shocks even Wall Street veterans. Lehman filed for Chapter 11 protection in September 2008 in what would become the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Rich rewards The money promised to 10 of Lehman Bros. top earners in 2007, as revealed in bankruptcy documents: Name Payment* Robert B. Millard $51.3 Marvin C. Schwartz 31.1 Jonathan Hoffman 30.9 John A. Cassarini 18.5 Henry Klein 18.2 Paul A. Penkett 18 Benoit C. Savoret 18 Mark A. Walsh 17.5 Alex Kirk 17 Richard J. Glasebrook II 16.8 *...

Nugent Reveals Details to Beck About the Alaskan Hunting Trip That Made Him a Target of the Feds The Blaze ^ | April 26, 2012 | Billy Hallowell Over the past few weeks, rocker Ted Nugent has been making headlines. From his controversial speech at the National Rifle Association conference to his recent drama over hunting missteps with the U.S. government, Nugent has had a busy month. In a radio interview with Glenn Beck this morning, the musician delved into the details surrounding his recent guilty plea for illegally killing a black bear in Alaska details that appear to show hes being targeted by the Feds.

Senator Carl Kruger Gets 7 Years; His Gynecologist Boyfriend Gets 2 Years Friends of Ours ^ | 04/26/12 | Friends of Ours New York State Senator Carl Kruger and his doctor boyfriend Michael Turano were sentenced to 7 and 2 years, respectively, for their roles in a bribery scheme which shook down the politician's constituents and laundered the funds through dummy corporations to finance their lavish lifestyle as reported by the New York Post: In the "pay-to-play" scheme, the then-senator directed illicit payments from representatives of the real-estate, hospital, supermarket and beverage industries to shell companies set up by Turano. In return, Kruger, 63, sponsored legislation beneficial to to the bribe-payers, tried to steer millions of dollars in pork-barrel funds to, and...

Villaraigosa boasted that this company is moving to Los Angeles, in his State of the City Address Buffett-backed Chinese carmaker hit by slowdown and solar woes Reuters ^ | April 25, 2012 | by Alison Leung and Kelvin Soh (Reuters) - BYD Co Ltd , a Chinese carmaker backed by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett, posted a 90 percent slide in quarterly profit as it was hit by a slowdown in the world's largest car market and losses in its solar business. China's once-sizzling auto industry has succumbed to softening economic growth, further exasperated by new vehicle offerings in the fiercely competitive market. BYD, which attracted investment from Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway because of its battery technology, has started selling pure electric cars and buses in China. BYD, which debuted its new generation of plug-in sedans at the Beijing auto show...

Feds: Crooked TSA Screeners Arrested in Drug Trafficking Scheme ABCNews ^ | April 25, 2012 | JASON RYAN and LEE FERRAN Feds: Crooked TSA Screeners Arrested in Drug Trafficking Scheme By JASON RYAN and LEE FERRAN | ABC News Multiple airport screeners have been arrested for allegedly taking handsome bribes to look the other way while loads of illegal drugs slipped through security at Los Angeles International Airport, federal officials announced today. Two current and two former officials at the Transportation Security Administration were arrested in the last 48 hours in connection with at least five incidents from February 2011 to July 2011 in which on duty screeners took payments of up to $2,400 to allow suitcases filled with drugs to...

Report: LA County Assessor John Noguez Targeted In Corruption Probe CBS) ^ | April 25, 2012 2:27 PM | Claudia Peschiutta reports LOS ANGELES (CBS) Investigators on Wednesday searched the home and offices of the Los Angeles County assessor amid allegations that his department was involved in influence-peddling. KNX 1070s Claudia Peschiutta reports at least one neighbor was left stunned after seeing about a dozen investigators at the residence of John Noguez. Its a shock to see that cause hes a really, really nice guy, said the resident. Prosecutors are reviewing the assessed values of over 100 properties that may have been improperly reduced after Noguez was elected. Former employee Scott Shenter who reportedly told the Los Angeles Times he...

 An $8 billion trick? New York Post ^ | April 22, 2012 | BENJAMIN E. SASSE & CHARLES HURT Call it President Obamas Committee for the Re-Election of the President a political slush fund at the Health and Human Services Department. Only this isnt some little fund from shadowy private sources; this is taxpayer money, redirected to help Obama win another term. A massive amount of it, too $8.3 billion. Yes, thats billion, with a B. Here is how it works. The most oppressive aspects of the ObamaCare law dont kick in until after the 2012 election, when the president will no longer be answerable to voters. More flexibility, he recently explained to the Russians. But certain...

Arizona immigration case arrives at Supreme Court, again pits feds against state foxnews.com ^ | 4/23/12 | foxnews.com For the second time in less than a month, the Supreme Court is taking up a case that puts the Obama administration's legal credibility on the line in a hot-button battle against state government. The high court this Wednesday plans to hear oral arguments in the case of the 2010 Arizona immigration law. Lower courts have already halted key parts of that law, but all parties are looking to the nine Supreme Court justices for a final ruling. The stand-off echoes the epic legal battle just weeks ago over the administration's health care overhaul.

Shift on executive power lets Obama bypass rivals MSNBC.com ^ | 4.23.12 | Charlie Savage One Saturday last fall, President Obama interrupted a White House strategy meeting to raise an issue not on the agenda. He declared, aides recalled, that the administration needed to more aggressively use executive power to govern in the face of Congressional obstructionism. snip Aides say many more such moves are coming. Not just a short-term shift in governing style and a re-election strategy, Mr. Obamas increasingly assertive use of executive action could foreshadow pitched battles over the separation of powers in his second term, should he win and Republicans consolidate their power in Congress. snip The unilateralist strategy carries political...

Now why would this be? Reuters bleats that new state laws against voter fraud will hurt Obama coachisright.com ^ | April 23, 2012 | Kevin "Coach" Collins Reuters is worried that new tough anti voter fraud laws will hurt Barack Obamas chances of reelection next November. Complaining that such laws could reduce Obamas supporters by hundreds of thousands the media outlet apparently sees no irony in its own position. Reuters doesnt feel at all self-conscious about the implication that only fraudulent applicants have to be concerned about these new laws and honest people would not be disadvantaged in the least. Republican led Legislatures Further exposing its support for voter fraud the media giant cites Republican-led legislatures in 12 states as the culprits who are sharply restricting fraudulent...
Carney: Keystone Pipeline Would 'Sacrifice American Sovereignty' breitbart.com/biggovernment ^ | 4/23/12 | Whitney Pitcher In a press conference on Friday, White House press secretary Jay Carney responded to the recent new Keystone pipeline bill passed by Congress earlier this week, as theWashington Examiner reports: "It would be preemptively sacrificing American sovereignty" to approve the pipeline, White Hosue [sic] Press Secretary Jay Carney said, because a route for the northern portion of the pipeline has not been established. "The United States Congress -- a very important body, takes American security and sovereignty very seriously, or should -- is saying that we will, in advance -- blind -approve a proposal for a pipeline, a proposal...

Localities Get Up to $33,000 in Subsidies per Chevy Volt (Outrageous tax dollar waste) National Legal & Policy Center ^ | April 23, 2012 | Mark Modica A Jacksonville.com report gives a good explanation for why some Florida localities are purchasing Chevy Volts. When Jacksonville's chief of fleet management, Karim Kurji, was asked what the advantage of going green by purchasing Volts was he hit the nail on the head when he replied, "Federal money." The story goes on to reveal that the total federal taxpayer money used to subsidize one Chevy Volt purchased by Atlantic Beach was over $33,000. It now appears obvious that the Obama Administration and General Motors are willing to pay just about any price, even if the taxpayers are footing the...

 UPDATE 2-SEC charges former Calpers CEO with fraud scheme Reuters.com ^ | 4/23/12 | Reuters * SEC says ex-CEO, ex-board member fabricated documents * Two charged with scheming to defraud a firm of $20 mln (Reuters) - A former chief executive of Calpers, the biggest U.S. public pension fund, and a former board member were charged by federal regulators on Monday with scheming to defraud Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm, of more than $20 million in placement fees. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said that Federico Buenrostro, a former chief executive of the California Public Employees' Retirement system, and Alfred Villalobos, a friend and former board member who became a placement agent,...

Has someone else heard about this solar company thing? The Solar thing just got a little more interesting.......REALLY! The Tonopah Solar company in Harry Reid's Nevada is getting a $737 million loan from Obama's DOE. The project will produce a 110 megawatt power system and employ 45 permanent workers. That's costing us just $16 million per job. One of the investment partners in this endeavor is Pacific Corporate Group (PCG). The PCG executive director is Ron Pelosi who is the brother to Nancy's husband. Just move along folks.....nuthin goin on here. EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD KNOW HOW THEIR MONEY IS BEING STOLEN SO FORWARD THIS TO EVERYBODY.

The Real GSA Scandal: Job-Killing Big Labor Payoffs Townhall.com ^ | April 18, 2012 | Michelle Malkin Stop the presses: Big-spending Democrats are finally up in arms over a federal boondoggle. Details of the U.S. General Services Administration bacchanalia get worse by the day. We've graduated from overpriced breakfasts in Vegas, friends-and-family junkets galore and in-house videos mocking their own profligacy to extravagant bonuses, alleged kickbacks, obstructionism and bribes. But the scandal is still small potatoes compared to the potential billions GSA is pouring down the Big Labor drain. Whistleblowers and an independent inspector general investigation estimate that the GSA's Sin City conference cost taxpayers an estimated $1 million in 2010. Washington bureaucrats squandered another $234,000...

Can President Obama Name ONE Clean (Green) Energy Success? Heritage Action for America ^ | 04/10/2012 | Ashe Schow For those who only hear about these failing companies one by one, the following is a list of all the clean energy companies supported by President Obamas stimulus that are now failing or have filed for bankruptcy. The liberal media hopes youve forgotten about all of them except Solyndra, but we havent. Evergreen Solar SpectraWatt Solyndra (received $535 million) Beacon Power (received $43 million) AES subsidiary Eastern Energy Nevada Geothermal (received $98.5 million) SunPower (received $1.5 billion) First Solar (received $3 billion) Babcock & Brown (an Australian company which received $178 million) Ener1 (subsidiary EnerDel received $118.5 million) Amonix (received 5.9 million) The National Renewable Energy Lab Fisker Automotive Abound Solar (received $400 million) Chevy Volt (taxpayers basically own GM) Solar Trust of America A123 Systems (received $279 million) Willard & Kelsey Solar Group (received $6 million) Thats 17 (that we know of so far). We also know that loans went to foreign clean energy companies (Fisker sent money to their overseas plant to develop an electric car), and that 80% of these loans went to President Obamas campaign donors. The President is trying to claim in his first official campaign ad that hes created 2.7 million clean energy jobs. When you look at all the companies going bankrupt, some of those jobs might have been paid for by the stimulus, but they are gone now. You cant claim were up 2.7 million jobs if so many of those jobs have been subsequently lost. Keep this list in mind the next time the media pretends that Solyndra was the only failure.
Massachusetts Loses $90 Million in Unemployment Fraud golocalworcester.com ^ | 04/18/2012 | n/a Massachusetts has lost more than $90 Million paying out unemployment benefits to people cheating the system. Since 2008, the Bay State has written checks to unemployed residents, totaling $6.5 Billion. This does not include the extended benefits from the Federal Government. Michelle Amante, Acting Director of Labor and Workforce Development said, We have the lowest overpayment rate in the country, meaning we shouldnt have made a payment to them or overpaid them. Amante said Massachusetts overpayment rate is 1.4%, while the National average is 2.51%. But even that small percentage of six billion dollars works out to be about 90...

DOEs Vehicle Fleet Roughly The Size of Its 15,000+ Staff The Blaze ^ | 04-18-12 | Becket Adams Full Title: DOEs Vehicle Fleet Roughly The Size of Its 15,000+ Staff, Inspector General Calls The $60M it Spends Annually on Travel a Paltry Sum During a hearing before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee Wednesday, Department of Energy Inspector General Greg Friedman told Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) that compared to amount of money spent by DOE contractors, the $60 million the department spends annually on travel is a paltry sum. A paltry sum? Think thats bad? How about this: according to Christopher Johns, director of the Energy Departments budget office, the DOEs vehicle fleet is roughly the size of...

DOE-backed solar company lays off 2000 Washington Examiner ^ | 4/17/12 | Joel Gehrke Commentary Staff Writer First Solar, a solar energy company that received a $1.46 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy, announced today that it will layoff 2,000 workers in the United States and world-wide. The company will "indefinitely idle" four production lines in Malaysia and shutter a plant in Germany. "These actions, combined with other personnel reductions in Europe and the U.S., will reduce First Solar's global workforce by approximately 2,000 positions, about 30 percent of the total," First Solar announced today. "After a thorough analysis, it is clear the European market has deteriorated to the extent that our operations there are...

FEDERAL WORKERS MAKE NEARLY TWICE PRIVATE SECTOR COMPENSATION big Hollywood ^ | 04/17/2012 | wynton Hall In their new book, Debacle: Obama's War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain Our Future, Grover Norquist and John Lott, Jr. explain just how bloated the pay and benefits of government workers have become.

Subsidized, Bankrupt Solyndra Managers Got $368,500 in Court-Ordered Bonuses CNS News ^ | April 16, 2012 | by Fred Lucas A bankruptcy court ordered $368,500 in bonuses for 20 top managers and employees of Solyndra, the solar panel firm that received $535 million from taxpayers two years before filing for bankruptcy and laying off 11,000 employees. The bonuses kicked in on March 31. The 20 high-level workers earned a total base pay of $2.49 million before the bonuses. One of the executives earned a base annual salary of $206,499 and received a $30,000 incentive under the court order handed down on Feb. 22 by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary F. Walrath in Delaware.

Former Prince Georges County Housing Director James Johnson Sentenced for Federal Extortion Dept Of Justice ^ | April 16, 2012 | U.S. Attorneys Office District of Maryland GREENBELT, MDUnited States District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced former Director of Prince Georges County Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) James Edward Johnson, age 67, of Temple Hills, Maryland, today to 37 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit extortion. Judge Messitte also entered an order requiring James Johnson to pay a fine of $25,000 and to forfeit $46,300 that was seized from his safe deposit box. The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of...

Justice Dept. Agrees to Pay Native Tribes $1 Billion for Mismanaged Funds All Gov.com ^ | 4/14/12 | David Wallechinsky, Noel Brinkerhoff The Obama administration has reached a settlement with more than 40 Indian tribes to resolve claims of mismanaged funds by the Department of the Interior. After 22 months of negotiation, the U.S. Department of Justice agreed with tribal representatives for the government to pay more than $1 billion to 41 tribes. Attorney General Eric Holder said the settlements fairly and honorably resolve historical grievances over the accounting and management of tribal trust funds, trust lands and other non-monetary trust resources that, for far too long, have been a source of conflict between Indian tribes and the United States.

Michelle Obama Listed Daughters Malia and Sasha as Senior Staffers for $432,142 African Trip GatewayPundit ^ | October 4, 2011 | Jim Hoft First lady Michelle Obamas family trip to South Africa and Botswana in June cost taxpayers well over $424,000, according to new accounting based on Air Force manifests obtained by Judicial Watch, a taxpayer watchdog group. The use of Air Force aircraft alone for the June 21-27 trip cost $424,142, said the group, and that doesnt include the food, lodging, and ground transportation for the 21 family and staff members. http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/nearly-halfmillion-send-michelle-africa

 Taxed By The Boss (State Taxes pocketed by business) REUTERS ^ | 4-12-2012 | David Cay Johnston Across the United States more than 2,700 companies are collecting state income taxes from hundreds of thousands of workers and are keeping the money with the states approval, says an eye-opening report published on Thursday. The report from Good Jobs First, a nonprofit taxpayer watchdog organization funded by Ford, Surdna and other major foundations, identifies 16 states that let companies divert some or all of the state income taxes deducted from workers paychecks. None of the states requires notifying the workers, whose withholdings are treated as taxes they paid. General Electric, Goldman Sachs, Procter & Gamble, Chrysler, Ford, General...

Email from Nadia Lockyer account claims Treasurer Bill Lockyer supplied her with drugs Oakland Tribune ^ | 4/12/12 | Julia Prodis Sulek and Josh Richman The tragic unraveling of Alameda County Supervisor Nadia Lockyer took a disturbing turn this week when a message from her personal email account landed in a reporter's inbox: Her husband, California's Treasurer Bill Lockyer, the message claimed, bought and gave her drugs years before she met her drug-addicted former lover. . In an apparent call for help, the message also said she could no longer stand the torture and harassment of the ex-lover who she says beat her in a motel room two months ago. "I simply can't bear this any longer,'' the email said. "Goodbye to everyone.'' Fearing for...

Govt Spent $205,075 to Translocate One Shrub from Path of San Fran Stimulus Project CNS News ^ | April 12, 2012 | By Thomas Cloud The government spent at least $205,075 in 2010 to translocate a single bush in San Francisco that stood in the path of a $1.045 billion highway-renovation project that was partially funded by the economic stimulus legislation President Barack Obama signed in 2009. In October 2009, an ecologist identified a plant growing in a concrete-bound median strip along Doyle Drive in the Presidio as Arctostaphylos franciscana, the U.S. Department of Interior reported in the Aug. 10, 2010 edition of the Federal Register. The busha Franciscan manzanitawas a specimen of a commercially cultivated species of shrub that can be purchased from nurseries...

MO Dem Governor Jay Nixon Awards $1.1 Billion Contract to HMO After They Contribute to His Campaign
.thegatewaypundit.com ^ | March 28, 2012 | Jim Hoft Yes, Jay Nixon You are busted. Its like hes Obama Junior. Missouri Democrat Governor Jay Nixon awarded a $1.1 billion contract to a subsidiary of Centene after the company gave $66,500 to his reelection campaign. The Political Mommentary reported: Missouri awards $1.1 billion contract to insurance industry donor Centene following campaign contributions. An insurance company without a license to operate an HMO in Missouri was recently awarded a contract from the Nixon administration. The deal, totaling $1.1 billion, blocks similar firms from competing to provide healthcare to nearly 450,000 of Missouris poor. It is being accused that the...

Obama's Rare Earth Elements (REE) motion against China via WTO - Not a good long-term solution.
We The People Petition: American Energy Independence: Retake lead in Thorium & Molten Salts ^ | 2012-03-16 | gordonmcdowell All Apple iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch) contain heavy rare earth elements. Obama recently filed suit against China regarding abuse of their heavy rare earths monopoly. China restricts and taxes rare earth exports, making it more attractive to manufactures to relocate inside China. The NYTimes article never mentioned REEs (Rare Earth Elements). Only light rare earths are available in USA, it is the heavy that are needed. While it may not be the only factor in Apple's mind when constructing iPads with Foxconn in China, it must be a consideration. Video - Obama, China, Rare Earths - Can WTO...

U.S. to Channel Cash Toward China Groundwater-Cleanup Projects

U.S. Trade & AId Monitor ^ | March 16, 2012 | Steve Peacock The U.S. government is embarking upon, and partly financing, a series of groundwater remediation initiatives in China -- despite the fact that China already plans to pump (USD) $5.5 billion of its own money into such actions through 2020. According to a Scope of Work (SOW) that U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor has located, the U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) initially will fund what is known as a "definitional mission," or DM, to China (#RFQ-CO201261140). The agency will outsource this preliminary endeavor to a private contractor, who would then travel to Beijing and two other cities that the Chinese...

The New Louisiana Purchase: 'Obamacare's' $4.3 Billion Boondoggle (Landrieu bribe only $200 mil)
Yahoo ^ | 3/06/12 | Avik S. A. Roy The New Louisiana Purchase: 'Obamacare's' $4.3 Billion BoondoggleBy Avik S. A. Roy, The Atlantic | National Journal Tue, Mar 6, 2012 Do you remember the Louisiana Purchase? I don't mean Thomas Jefferson's acquisition of land from Napoleon, but rather Democrats' acquisition of support from Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Landrieu, critics believe, pledged her vote in exchange for gaining $200 million additional federal funds for Louisiana's Medicaid program. Except that, due to a drafting error, the law ended up giving Louisiana $4.3 billion in extra Medicaid funds -- more than twenty times...

The Beautiful, Perky Buffalo Teachers, Courtesy of Taxpayers

Townhall.com ^ | March 9, 2012 | Kyle Olson Every so often, a story comes along that is so outrageous, all one can do to soothe the rage is to laugh. And shed a tear. Thats the case in Buffalo, New York. There for years teachers in the government education system have enjoyed free plastic surgery procedures, courtesy of taxpayers. Teachers dont pay a dime and the entire cost is borne by the school district. So a school district that recently announced it is operating with a $42 million deficit paid $5.9 million last year for teachers to get boob jobs, tummy tucks and facelifts.

An American Auto Bailout For France? (Congratulations, You now own a piece of PSA Peugeot Citroen)
ABC News ^ | 03/09/2012 | Jonathan Karl Attention U.S. taxpayers: You now own a piece of a French car company that is drowning in red ink. Thats right. In a move little noticed outside of the business pages, General Motors last week bought more than $400 million in shares of PSA Peugeot Citroen a 7 percent stake in the company. Because U.S. taxpayers still own roughly one-quarter of GM, they now own a piece of Peugeot. Peugeot can undoubtedly use the cash. Last year, Peugeots auto making division lost $123 million. And on March 1 just a day after the deal with GM was announced...

Government-subsidized green light bulb carries costly price tag

wapo ^ | March 8, 2012 | Peter Whoriskey The U.S. government last year announced a $10 million award, dubbed the L Prize, for any manufacturer that could create a green but affordable light bulb. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said ... Now the winning bulb is on the market. The price is $50.

US offered Israel advanced weaponry in exchange for delaying Iran attack (until after election)
NY Post ^ | March 8, 2012 WASHINGTON -- The US offered to give Israel advanced weaponry -- including bunker-busting bombs and refueling planes -- in exchange for Israel's agreement not to attack Iranian nuclear sites, Israeli newspaper Maariv reported Thursday. President Obama reportedly made the offer during Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington this week. Under the proposed deal, Israel would not attack Iran until 2013, after US elections in November this year. The newspaper cited unnamed Western diplomatic and intelligence sources. Netanyahu said Monday that sanctions against Iran had not worked, adding that "none of us can afford to wait much longer"

ReVolt: Obama wants you to pay even more for cars nobody wants (To increase tax credit to $10K)
Hotair ^ | 03/08/2012 | Tina Korbe In a speech before the Daimler Trucks North America manufacturing plant in Charlotte, N.C. today, the president delivered his answer to rising gas prices: He wants to increase the $7,500 tax credit for alternative-energy vehicles to $10,000, earmark $1 billion to reward cities that provide infrastructure for such vehicles, earmark an additional $650 million for a research program to increase the range and decrease the price of the vehicles, and repeal $4 billion of tax incentives for oil and gas companies.Why? Here is a telltale paragraph from The New York Times: The credits enhanced value would bring the purchase price...

Obama To Give Missile Secrets To Russia With Love?

Investor's Business Daily ^ | March 8, 2012 | IBD staff Security: A deputy defense secretary tells Congress that the administration is indeed considering giving Moscow sensitive Aegis ballistic missile defense data. We've gone from "trust but verify" to "appease and surrender." Brad Roberts testified before a House Armed Services subcommittee Tuesday that the Obama administration was actively considering giving Moscow classified missile defense data to allay Russian concerns about the capabilities and intent of our proposed ballistic missile defense system based in Europe to guard against missiles launched from Iran. Roberts testified that the administration believes "cooperation could be well-served by some limited sharing of classified information of a certain...

The Influence Industry: Obama gives administration jobs to some big fundraisers
Washington Post ^ | 03/08/12 | T.W. Farnam Big donors considering whether to work the phones raising money for President Obamas reelection campaign might consider the fate of his 2008 bundlers. Many of them, it turns out, won plum jobs in his administration. Obama campaigned on what he called the most sweeping ethics reform in history and has frequently criticized the role of money in politics. That hasnt stopped him from offering government jobs to some of his biggest bundlers, volunteer fundraisers who gather political contributions from other rich donors. More than half of Obamas 47 biggest fundraisers, those who collected at least $500,000 for his campaign, have...

Tea Party Groups Fighting IRS Assault

Faith Issues ^ | 3/8/2012 | American Center for Law and Justice Tea Party Groups Fighting IRS Assault American Center for Law and Justice The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), focusing on constitutional law, said it is representing nearly 20 Tea Party organizations nationwide against what appears to be a coordinated attempt by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to intimidate and silence these organizations in this election year. The ACLJ says IRS information demands sent to Tea Party groups include probing questions that violate the free speech and freedom of association rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. "This appears to be a coordinated attempt to intimidate Tea Party organizations by...

Harry Reid Signals He May Gut Insider Trading Bill

Big Government ^ | March 8, 2012 | Wynton Hall The bill spearheaded by Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer banning members of Congress from using nonpublic information to profit their personal investments may hit a wall in the form of Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). On Monday, Mr. Reid indicated that he may simply accept the watered down version of the STOCK (Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge) Act passed by the House instead of sending the bill to a conference committee to hammer out the significant differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. There is a decent chance that we will just take the House bill. That would be...

Part of $11 Million in Stimulus Money to Buy Poor Job-Seekers Clothes, Helps Just 2 People
Big Government ^ | March 8, 2012 | Wynton Hall A portion of an $11 million grant to help 400 low-income Detroit citizens purchase "business attire" for job interviews helped exactly two people, a city audit reveals...

MO Dem Governor Jay Nixon Awards $1.1 Billion Contract to HMO After They Contribute to His Campaign
.thegatewaypundit.com ^ | March 28, 2012 | Jim Hoft Yes, Jay Nixon You are busted. Its like hes Obama Junior. Missouri Democrat Governor Jay Nixon awarded a $1.1 billion contract to a subsidiary of Centene after the company gave $66,500 to his reelection campaign. The Political Mommentary reported: Missouri awards $1.1 billion contract to insurance industry donor Centene following campaign contributions. An insurance company without a license to operate an HMO in Missouri was recently awarded a contract from the Nixon administration. The deal, totaling $1.1 billion, blocks similar firms from competing to provide healthcare to nearly 450,000 of Missouris poor. It is being accused that the...

House GOP eyes another possible green-tech scandal (Ecotality Inc.)

Yahoo ^ | 3/27/12 | Neil Munro House GOP eyes another possible green-tech scandalBy Neil Munro - The Daily Caller | The Daily Caller 5 hrs ago GOP leaders are investigating Ecotality Inc., yet another troubled green-tech company that has received taxpayer funds and public support from the White House. The firm has received roughly $126 million from the the Department of Energy to install roughly 14,000 electric car chargers, has donated thousands of dollars to Democratic politicians, and was showcased by President Barack Obama in his 2010 State of the Union speech. But the company has installed less than 7,000 of the chargers, its subsidiary...

CA GOP decries Legislature passing 'shell' bills

San Jose Mercury News ^ | 22 March 2012 | Don Thompson SACRAMENTO, Calif.Republican state lawmakers stood in united but futile opposition Thursday to the practice of approving empty bills that contain no real legislation but will be amended later to include budget legislation. Democrats, who control both houses, each approved several so-called "shell" billsthe Senate 40 of them, and the Assembly 38. The bills contain no actual budget details but will be amended later to include specific language needed to enact the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Passing the bills now makes it quicker and easier to approve a state spending plan before the constitutional deadline in...

School Contractor Fired for Pro-Walker Bumper Sticker

Breitbart ^ | March 26, 2012 | Education Action Group An open records request filed by Milwaukee conservative radio personality Mark Belling has revealed that freedom of speech in some public schools is reserved for those who agree with the unions. According to information obtained by Belling, a custodian working for a private contractor at Whitewater (Wisconsin) High School was recently fired by her employer after two school employees, including the supervisor of custodians, demanded that she remove a pro-Scott Walker sign from her car and she refused. If you recall, Big Labor is attempting to recall Gov. Walker over his new law that curtails collective bargaining privileges for public...

Detention for Immigrants That Looks Less Like Prison

The New York Times ^ | March 13th, 2012 | Kirk Semple On a patch of Texas farmland near the Gulf of Mexico, immigration officials on Tuesday unveiled one of the most visible results of a three-year-old plan to overhaul the nations immigration detention system: a brand-new center intended to provide a less penal setting for detainees.

First Solar loans criticized

Arizona Republic | 3/20/2012 | Ryan Randazzo Republicans in Congress on Tuesday criticized federal loans that First Solar Inc. received for massive power plants in Arizona and California, alleging Energy Department officials broke lending rules to get money to the company. The Tempe-based company should not have gotten a $967 million loan guarantee for a 290-megawatt power plant in Yuma County called Agua Caliente, or a $646 million loan for a 230-megawatt plant in Los Angeles County, Calif., called Antelope Valley Solar Ranch, a report from a House committee said. Those projects are not particularly innovative, which is required for the type of federal loan they got,...

State Department exempts 11 countries from Iran sanctions

thecable.foreignpolicy.com ^ | 3/20/12 | Josh Rogin The State Department announced on Tuesday that it would exempt 10 European countries and Japan from penalties for doing business with Iran's central bank, because those countries are making significant progress toward weaning themselves off of Iranian oil. "I am pleased to announce that an initial group of eleven countries has significantly reduced their volume of crude oil purchases from Iran -- Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. As a result, I will report to the Congress that sanctions pursuant to Section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act...

Firm Sells Solar Panels - To Itself, Taxpayers Pay

Washington Examiner ^ | 3/19/12 | Timothy P. Carney A heavily subsidized solar company received a U.S. taxpayer loan guarantee to sell solar panels to itself. First Solar is the company. The subsidy came from the Export-Import Bank, which President Obama and Harry Reid are currently fighting to extend and expand. The underlying issue is how Obama's insistence on green-energy subsidies and export subsidies manifests itself as rank corporate welfare. Here's the road of subsidies these solar panels followed from Perrysburg, Ohio, to St. Clair, Ontario.

IRS Stepping Up Tea Party Witch Hunt

The Patriot Update ^ | 3-17-2012 | Tad Cronn IRS Stepping Up Tea Party Witch Hunt? The IRS may be stepping up its targeting of the Tea Party and other conservative groups. More than 20 Tea Party groups have engaged the American Center for Law and Justice to defend them after the IRS targeted at least 80 groups nationwide with intrusive questionnaires that Tea Party leaders feel violate their First Amendment rights. The questionnaires were sent out nominally to gather information needed for a decision on the groups requests for 501(c)(4) nonprofit status. But the questions have demanded private information regarding topics such as the credentials of board members,...

Sen. Ted Stevens Prosecutors Hid Evidence, Report Concludes

ABC OTUS News/Yahoo ^ | 3-16-12 | Jason Ryan Excerpt A court-appointed special prosecutor has determined that serious misconduct by Justice Department prosecutors tainted the federal investigation and trial of former Sen. Ted Stevens, according to a report released Thursday. *snip* "The government introduced false business records to boost the value of renovations on the Senator's Alaska home. It also hid from the defense the evidence needed to show that the value was much less than the government claimed, including evidence that its key witness disagreed with the government about the value of the renovations," Stevens defense lawyers Brendan Sullivan and Robert Cary said in a statement. *snip*...

Taxpayer-Funded Abound Solar Had Previous Shutdown; Lobbyist Promoted Failed Projects
National Legal & Policy Center ^ | March 7, 2012 | Paul Chesser A Department of Energy-funded solar company that laid off 280 workers last week quietly imposed a mandatory, temporary cessation of its operations during the holidays, and warned employees to not let the rumor mill create false purposes for this shut down. And in another sign of potential financial troubles, a company document that is supposed to guide the next great solar company advises leadership to stretch payables to help attain its goals. The forced time off was discovered in an internal memorandum obtained by The Complete Colorado, a news digest Web site, which also revealed the planning document. Employees...

New Orleans forgives all old traffic camera tickets to city employees
Nola.com ^ | March 2, 2012 | Gordon Russell When it comes to paying for tickets generated by New Orleans' traffic cameras, some of the biggest scofflaws are city employees driving taxpayer-financed vehicles. As of September 2011, at least 400 city vehicles had racked up fines totaling $547,580, according to records provided by City Hall in response to a public-records request. And five of the 20 vehicles that owe the city the most money are city vehicles, the records show. All that is about to change. But not before the slate is wiped clean, said Andy Kopplin, chief administrative officer to Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Kopplin said he doesn't think...

GM Chevy Volt Halt Confirms Green Energy Policy Failure

National Legal & Policy Center ^ | March 5, 2012 | Mark Modica I hate to beat a dead Edsel, but the Chevy Volt story is just too important to let slip away. After last week's announcement by General Motors that it would be temporarily halting production of the Chevy Volt due to low demand, you would think that the evidence would finally be conclusive that the over-hyped, oversubsidized vehicle is a flop. The response by GM and lack of same from the Obama-loving media is worthy of continued criticism from those of us who have recognized that taxpayers have been bilked out of billions of dollars to produce a car that...

Abound Solar Got $400M Fed Loan Despite Low Rating

ABC ^ | March 2, 2012 | Matthew Mosk A month before Abound Solar announced it would be laying off nearly half its workforce, Congressional Republicans alerted the U.S. Department of Energy that they had questions about the decision to loan the Colorado firm $400 million. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform asked Energy Secretary Steven Chu to explain how the solar panel manufacturer had qualified for the loan after the ratings firm Fitch had determined the company would make a "highly speculative" investment. "Fitch describes Abound as lagging in technology relative to its competitors, failing to achieve stated efficiency targets, and expecting that Abound will suffer...

Clark County firefighters use of sick leave falls by 57,000 hours

Las Vegas Sun ^ | Thursday, March 1, 2012 | 3:15 p.m. | By Joe Schoenmann Since county officials began questioning firefighters use of sick leave two years ago, sick-leave requests in the Clark County Fire Department have fallen by 57,000 hours. A county report obtained in response to a Sun request found that within those 57,000 hours, battalion chiefs sick leave fell from an average of 164 hours a year two years ago to about 16 hours last year, a 90 percent decline. For rank-and-file firefighters, the average hours of sick leave taken fell from 227 hours two years ago to 136 hours last year, a 40 percent drop. The staggering decline has saved Clark...

U.S. jet contract decision "surprised" Brazil government

Reuters ^ | Mar 1, 2012 | Jeb Blount and Guillermo Parra-Bernal U.S. jet contract decision "surprised" Brazil government RIO DE JANEIRO/SO PAULO (Reuters) - A decision by the United States to cancel a $355 million defense aircraft contract with Brazilian planemaker Embraer (EMBR3.SA) has surprised the government of Brazil which had hoped for the development of a bilateral defense program, Brazil's Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Thursday. The ministry said in a statement that the government was "surprised" with the cancellation "especially with the way that it happened and the timing." The U.S. Air Force earlier this week called off the purchase of 20 Embraer's Super Tucano jets due to problems...

Hybrid maker Bright Automotive goes bust

CNNMoney ^ | February 29, 2012 | James O'Toole NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hybrid vehicle maker Bright Automotive has announced plans to close, blasting the Department of Energy for failing to finalize a loan that the firm says would have kept it afloat. In a letter dated Tuesday to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Bright CEO Reuben Munger and COO Mike Donoughe said they were withdrawing their application for a $314 million loan and winding down their operations. The executives claimed they had been strung along for the past few years as the government insisted on increasingly stringent loan requirements. "The actions -- or better said 'lack of action' --...

More Green Energy Layoffs: CO Solar Firm Cuts Workforce in Half

ABC News ^ | Feb. 29, 2012 | Matthew Mosk Another recipient of Energy Department loan funds has run into financial trouble. Colorado-based Abound Solar announced this week it has been forced to lay off 180 of its 400 workers as it tries to retool to produce a more efficient type of solar panel in order to keep a technological edge on Chinese manufacturers who are flooding the market with less expensive models. Abound received approval in 2010 for a $400 million government loan. "As you know the solar market has been extremely difficult for all manufacturers," said Craig Witsoe, the CEO of Abound Solar, in an interview with ABC...

Soccer For Jihadists, Higher Premiums For Troops

Investor's Business Daily ^ | February 29, 2012 | IBD staff Priorities: Veterans of the war on terror will be rewarded with higher insurance premiums that favored unions are exempt from. Obama-Care must be served, after all, and that soccer field for Gitmo detainees must be paid for. For the soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and lost their legs from mines and improvised explosive devices, it is bitterly ironic news that detainees at Guantanamo, who helped maim them, will now be kicking around soccer balls at a new $750,000 field that is half the size of an American football field.

Bright the latest Indiana electric vehicle startup to call it quits

Chicago Tribune ^ | February 29, 2012 | By Julie Wernau Just when it seemed like things couldn't get worse, Indiana received more bad news on the electric vehicle front Wednesday as another promising hopeful announced it would call it quits. Bright Automotive, which had plans to deliver 300 manufacturing jobs to Indiana by 2012 pending the outcome of a loan from the Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program, announced Wednesday it has withdrawn its DOE application and will wind down operations in Indiana. In a scathing letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Bright Automotive Chief Executive Reuben Munger and Chief Operating Officer Mike Donoughe described an overly bureaucratic...

San Antonio Spends $7500 per Electric Car on Recharge Stations

02/29/2012 | R2 From the Express News... Power stations wait for traffic Colin McDonal, San Antonio Express-News Updated 02:25 a.m., Tuesday, February 21, 2012 San Antonio now has more than 120 public electric car charging stations spread across the city, putting it on par with places like Austin, Seattle and San Francisco in welcoming the new vehicles. CPS Energy installed the stations and is celebrating them today at the Santikos Embassy 14 movie theater on the North Side with local electric car owners a number that CPS estimates is now 80. ~snip~ The U.S. Energy Department paid for the stations, valued

Subsidized Green Energy Company Struggles, Lays Off Workers Rewards Top Executives
Capitol Confidential ^ | 2/28/2012 | Tom Gantert In the nine months since David Prystash was named Chief Financial Officer of A123 Systems the battery manufacturer that received $390.1 million in federal and state subsidies the company has laid off 125 employees and had a net loss of $172 million through the first three quarters of 2011. A123 Systems also learned earlier this month that the company that was to be the main purchaser of its batteries Fisker Automotive had its federal funding cut off for missing milestones and had to lay off its own employees. A123 Systems had invested $23 million into Fisker....

LightSquared CEO resigns amid revelations of companys proximity to Obama White House
Daily Caller ^ | February 28, 2012 LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja abruptly announced his resignation Tuesday amid revelations of his companys political proximity and his own closeness to the White House and Obama administration officials. The Daily Caller first reported one week ago on emails and documents that indicate political ties and numerous meetings between LightSquared and Obama administration officials as the company was undergoing regulatory review. Ahujas resignation comes after Obamas FCC suspended conditional approval of a waiver LightSquared needed to complete its high-speed broadband network. Until two weeks ago, the companys final approval appeared imminent. Ahuja, who had never donated to Democrats before...

GITMO Enemy Combatants Get $750,000 Soccer Field With Video

Atlas Shrugs ^ | 2/28/2012 | Pam Geller I think I am going to puke. Then cry. Or maybe cry first and then puke. Who comes up with these ideas, funds them and gets them implemented? Was this one of Obama's grovel-ready projects? I wonder what Obama will call it. The Mohammmad Atta Sports Field? Khalid Sheik Mohammed Sports Complex? How About Osama Obama? More DOO DOO -- Daily Obama Outrage Pentagon - POLITICS Guantanamo detainees get new $750G soccer field Fox News: At a time of record deficits, a new soccer field for detainees at Camp 6 in Guantanamo Bay is just getting the finishing touches ...

Bright the latest Indiana electric vehicle startup to call it quits

Chicago Tribune ^ | February 29, 2012 | By Julie Wernau Just when it seemed like things couldn't get worse, Indiana received more bad news on the electric vehicle front Wednesday as another promising hopeful announced it would call it quits. Bright Automotive, which had plans to deliver 300 manufacturing jobs to Indiana by 2012 pending the outcome of a loan from the Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program, announced Wednesday it has withdrawn its DOE application and will wind down operations in Indiana. In a scathing letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Bright Automotive Chief Executive Reuben Munger and Chief Operating Officer Mike Donoughe described an overly bureaucratic...

Gov't Motors Gives Unions Big Bonuses, Taxpayers Still On Hook for Billions
Fox News ^ | 2/16/2012 | Tom Krisher-Associated Press General Motors earned its largest profit ever in 2011, two years after it nearly collapsed into financial ruin. Strong sales in the U.S. and China helped the 103year-old carmaker turn a profit of $7.6 billion, beating its old record of $6.7 billion in 1997 during the pickup truck and SUV boom. GM is a vastly different company than it was back then. Its smaller, has less debt and its contract with the United Auto Workers is less costly. But it took a government bailout and a trip through bankruptcy protection in 2009 to cut its bloated costs.

Green the Color of Rotten Corruption

Townhall.com ^ | February 27, 2012 | Bob Beauprez As if it were his private stash of fun-money, Barack Obama set aside $80 billion of the Stimulus boondoggle to artificially pump up the green-energy industry through a DOE administered program of grants and loans. When three of the companies that received funding, Solyndra, Beacon Power, and Ener1, each declared bankruptcy in rapid succession, a rotten stench started to waft from the DOE and the White House. It quickly became apparent that there were numerous close connections between many of these heavily government funded businesses and Obama campaign supporters and operatives. While the cronyism and corruption appeared extensive, until recently...

Indicted engineer's link to bridge fabricator

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | February 27, 2012 | Phillip Matier,Andrew Ross There's a politically awkward but intriguing link between a former Caltrans employee accused of trying to smuggle U.S. satellite technology to China and the Chinese company making the new Bay Bridge eastern span. At the center of the case is ex-Caltrans engineer Philip Chaohui He, also known as Philip Hope, who was indicted in Colorado this month for allegedly trying to smuggle high-tech parts out of the country in boxes marked "milk powder."

Magic Mandate: Democrats force Comcast to create new black programming

American Vision News ^ | February 23rd | Joel McDurmon Magic Johnson slam-dunked an alley-oop tossed up by Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Attorney General Eric Holders office in conjunction with the FCC. The sweet-heart play emerged from a back-door screen set by these Democrats against cable giant Comcast during its merger with NBCUniversal. But the score required little magic and a lot of political pressure from the left. WashingtonFreeBeacon.com reports:

Study Finds $1.2B in Duplicate Spending at Defense, Energy

freebeacon.com ^ | 2/23/12 | Andrew Stiles A new report from Government Accountability Office found more than $1.2 billion in duplicate investments in information technology (IT) between two federal agencies. The report, released this week, reviewed a sample of more than 800 IT investments by the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Energy (DOE) made between fiscal years 2007 to 2012. GAO found 37 examples of potentially duplicative or misclassified investments31 at DOD and six at DOE. For example, the report identified four U.S. Navy (DOD) investments in personnel assignment technology, including a separate system for officers, one for enlisted personnel, one for reservists, and one general assignment...

Documents: PETA kills more than 95 percent of pets in its care

The Daily Caller ^ | February 25, 2012 | Alexandra Myers Documents published online this month show that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an organization known for its uncompromising animalrights positions, killed more than 95 percent of the pets in its care in 2011. The documents, obtained from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, were published online by the Center for Consumer Freedom, a nonprofit organization that runs online campaigns targeting groups that antagonize food producers. Fifteen years worth of similar records show that since 1998 PETA has killed more than 27,000 animals at its headquarters in Norfolk, VA. Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/24/documents-peta-kills-more-than95-percent-of-pets-in-its-care/#ixzz1nPu9WanU

EPA Budget Judgment Day Coming Up

watts up with that? ^ | February 25, 2012 | Anthony Watts Id ask EPAs Lisa Jackson about the legality of disappearing the over $468,000 dollars in grants to Peter Gleicks Pacific Institute from the EPA grants database, then putting them back, all without any public notice. Since 2007, Gleicks PI has received over 1 million in taxpayers money. In 2007 they got $647,000 dollars in two grants from the EPA, which also disappeared this week. When an FOIA request was made to the EPA, they mysteriously returned. Showdown at the EPA corralSource: Junk Science By Steve MilloyMarch 2 should be a date that lives in infamy for the Obama Environmental Protection...

Growing Solyndra Green Scandal Is Just One of Many

IBD Editorials ^ | February 23, 2012 Corruption: Outrageous bonuses and White House stonewalling guarantee that the Solyndra scandal, in which betting on green lost taxpayers $535 million, won't go away. But Solyndra is no isolated failure. With 24 million Americans either without any job or underemployed, and 7 million claiming jobless benefits, the latest Solyndra news of wasted stimulus funds and noncooperation with Congress is sure to make taxpayers' blood boil. Nearly two dozen employees of the solar panel maker that got a $535 million federal loan guarantee shortly before bankruptcy got $368,500 in bonuses Wednesday from a federal bankruptcy judge in spite of the...

Obama Gave Billions to Green Energy Companies with Ties to His Administration and 2008 Campaign
The Gateway Pundit ^ | 2/16/2012 | Jim Hoft Overall, the Post found that $3.9 billion in federal grants and financing flowed to 21 companies backed by firms with connections to five Obama administration staffers and advisers. Obamas program to invest federal funds in start-up companies and the failure of some of those companies is becoming a rallying cry for opponents in the presidential race. Mitt Romney has promised to focus on Obamas record as a venture capitalist. And in ads and speeches, conservative groups and the Republican candidates are zeroing in on the administrations decision to extend $535 million to the now-shuttered solar firm Solyndra and

Breaking: EPA scrubs grants database of Gleick grants

junkscience.com ^ | February 23, 201 | Steve Milloy Gleicks grants from EPA get Stalinized from the EPA Grants Database.Heres the timeline: Yesterday at 11:41 am we reported that EPA has awarded Peter Gliecks Pacific Institute $468,000 in grants. Later in the afternoon, the National Center for Public Policy Research issued a media release calling for Congressional hearings into the EPA grants to Gleick. Today, a JunkScience.com commenter Brian Carter reported that the links in our original post didnt work. We confirmed Carters observation around 12:30pm today. Fortunately, we saved a PDF file of one of the EPA grants to Gleick. So unless JunkScience.com gets StalinizedClick for: The EPA...

Forest Service Fees Found Faulty by Courts

KREX News ^ | Feb 21, 2012 | Matt Kroschel In a ruling that is binding in nine western states and sets a nationwide legal precedent; the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found unanimously last week that the U.S. Forest Service's recreation fee programs must allow citizens to park at trail-heads and go for a hike without paying a fee. The case (Adams v. U. S. Forest Service) was brought in 2008 by four hikers who visit the Coronado National Forest around Mt. Lemmon, near Tucson. The San Francisco Appeals Court found the U. S. Forest Service at fault for charging parking fees to people who go for a hike...

Obama Steals Inhabited, Oil-Rich Alaskan Territory for Russia:

Infiltrated Nation ^ | February 20, 2012 | Maggie's Notebook Alaska Not Consulted More Sabotage from the Marxist Mole President It appears Congress had nothing to do with this 7-island giveaway with tens of thousands of square miles of oil-rich seabeds. The Department of the Interior says these islands are a source of billions of barrels of oil.

Chicago Area Has Most Corruption Convictions in Nation, UIC Study Says
Chicago Tribune ^ | February 15, 2012 | Hal Dardick Chicago area has most corruption convictions in nation, UIC study says The Chicago area logged the most public corruption convictions of any federal jurisdiction in the United States during the past 36 years, according to a report released today by the University of Illinois at Chicago. Federal prosecutors secured a total of 1,531 public corruption convictions in the Northern District of Illinois since 1976, said Dick Simpson, head of the universitys political science department. Meanwhile, Illinois logged 1,828 public corruption convictions, the third most of any state, according to the report. Only California and New York had more.

Report: Obama Administration Is Giving Away 7 Strategic Islands to Russia

Gateway Pundit ^ | 2/18/12 | Jim Hoff

Luxury NOAA undercover boat got more use as pleasure cruiser

The Seattle Times ^ | February 17, 2012 | Craig Welch Federal fish cops in Seattle bought a $300,000 luxury boat to spy on whalewatching tours but didn't go through an appropriate bidding process, held barbecues onboard, ferried friends and family across Puget Sound to restaurants and resorts, and used the boat for what one visitor called "a pleasure cruise." When confronted, one federal employee in Seattle misled inspectors about how the vessel was used, and one interfered with federal investigators, according to an internal investigation by the Commerce Department. Those documents were released Friday by U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass. At issue is a 35-foot, 14passenger boat purchased by...

Why Were The Trillions In Fake Bonds Held In Chicago Fed Crates?
ZeroHedge ^ | 2/17/12 | Tyler Durden While there is precious little in terms of detail coming out of the latest and literally greatest "fake" bond story in history, the BBC has been kind enough to release the pictures of the boxes that the supposedly fake bonds were contained in. While we reserve judgment on the authenticity of the bonds, what we wonder is whether the boxes were also fake. Because while we can understand why someone would counterfeit the Treasury paper itself, what we don't get is why someone would go the extra effort to also create a "fake" compartment in which to store it.

Criminal Probe of Los Angeles County Assessors Office Heats Up

TownHall.com ^ | 2-16-12 | Gwilym McGrew Some are calling Los Angeles County, Chicago on the Pacific given the corruption in multiple cities (Bell, Montebello, Compton, City of Los Angeles, etc., etc.,). And now some allege the actual tax base for the county (ONE TRILLION $$$ IN PROPERTY VALUE) is being leveraged for political gain as seen in an unfolding corruption investigation of the Los Angeles County Assessors Office. More sources are coming forward on the Los Angeles County District Attorney criminal investigation into Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez office with emphasis on his lieutenants in what some are calling a pay to play crime.

JUST MAKIN' STUFF UP: STOLEN IDS, FAKE TAX RETURNS

WND.com ^ | February 15, 2012 | by JEROME R. CORSI Making fraudulent loans to corporate accounts that existed in name only was a key part of an alleged money-laundering scheme by the global bank HSBC, according to a whistleblower who has provided WND with more than 1,000 pages of evidence. The evidence includes customer account ledgers for dozens of companies through which the financial institution was laundering money each month, charges John Cruz, a former relationship manager for the banks southern New York region. A bank employee would first set up a bogus corporate account using a stolen corporate identification and the required personal identification to set up the account,...

Federal funds flow to clean-energy firms with Obama administration ties

Washington Post ^ | February 14, 2012 | By Carol D. Leonnig and Joe Stephens Sanjay Wagle was a venture capitalist and Barack Obama fundraiser in 2008, rallying support through a group he headed known as Clean Tech for Obama. Shortly after Obamas election, he left his California firm to join the Energy Department, just as the administration embarked on a massive program to stimulate the economy with federal investments in clean-technology firms. During the next three years, the department provided $2.4 billion in public funding to clean-energy companies in which Wagles former firm, Vantage Point Venture Partners, had invested, a Washington Post analysis found. Overall, the Post found that $3.9 billion in federal grants...

GM to Freeze Pay, Pare Bonuses

The Wall Street Journal ^ | February 15, 2012 | By SHARON TERLEP General Motors Co. is eliminating annual pension contributions for U.S. salaried workers who still receive them and will pare 2011 bonuses for all salaried workers, the auto maker said on Wednesday. The Detroit company also won't give salaried workers pay raises this year, but will offer them an additional week of vacation. The company is looking for ways to reduce its pension obligations and overall costs, while improving quality and productivity throughout the company. GM is expected tell its 26,000 U.S. salaried workers they will receive smaller bonuses for 2011 than the prior year because the company failed to meet...

How About $800 Million for the Arab Spring? (Obama's foreign aid to anti-Christian "spring")
Townhall ^ | Feb 14, 2012 | Katie Pavlich Guy has been bringing you the dirty domestic details of Obama's latest budget, but tucked away in the mounds of text and numbers, President Obama has allocated a cool $800 million to go towards the "Arab Spring."

Company That Received Billions From Stimulus Also Receives Annual State Tax Break of $2 Million
Mental Recession ^ | 02/13/2012 | Rusty In November, Accuracy in Media released my report regarding a company known as CH2M Hill, an engineering firm that claimed nearly $2 billion in stimulus awards. Most of their work concentrated on one division - the CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) - which operated one of the worlds largest environmental cleanup projectsthe Central Plateau on the Hanford Nuclear Site in Richland, Washington. New information shows that despite their claims, the Energy Department says the company actually received $1.38 billion from the stimulus, but had an additional $3.1 billion in annual budget appropriations. Furthermore, they are receiving $2 million in...

Obama proposes $800 million in aid for "Arab Spring"

http://www.reuters.com/ ^ The White House announced plans on Monday to help "Arab Spring" countries swept by revolutions with more than $800 million in economic aid, while maintaining U.S. military aid to Egypt. In his annual budget message to Congress, President Barack Obama asked that military aid to Egypt be kept at the level of recent years -- $1.3 billion -- despite a crisis triggered by an Egyptian probe targeting American democracy activists.

Obama hikes subsidy to wealthy electric car buyers

The Daily Caller ^ | February 13,2012 | Neil Munro The White House intends to boost government subsidies for wealthy buyers of the Chevy Volt and other new-technology vehicles to $10,000 per buyer. That mammoth subsidy would cost taxpayers $100 million each year if it is approved by Congress, presuming only 10,000 new-technology autos are sold each year. But the administration wants to get 1 million new-tech autos on the road by 2015. The subsidy cost of that goal could reach $10 billion. The planned giveaway will likely prompt populist protests from GOP legislators, but it will likely also will be welcomed by auto-industry workers in the critical swing...

16 Members of Congress Funneled Millions to Their Relatives, Employers, Study Finds

Big Government ^ | 2-13-12 | Wynton Hall n his New York Times bestselling book, Throw Them All Out, Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer revealed how members of Congress enrich themselves and their relatives using earmarks and insider information. Now, the Washington Post, following in Schweizers footsteps, has conducted a study that found 16 members of Congress have used their power of the purse to benefit companies, colleges, and community groups tied to their relatives. *snip* Among those cited in the Washington Post report were the following (below):

Report: Non-Solyndra energy loans could cost $3B

Seattle PI ^ | 2/10/12 | MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press <p>WASHINGTON (AP) The government could lose nearly $3 billion on Energy Department loans for green energy programs far less than the $10 billion Congress set aside for the high-risk program, according to an independent review.The White House ordered the review after criticism of a $528 million loan to Solyndra Inc., a California solar company that went bankrupt.The review, led by former Treasury Department official Herb Allison, looked at 30 loans or loan guarantees totaling $23.8 billion that were offered to green energy companies and auto makers such as Ford and Nissan.The review did not involve Solyndra or Beacon Power Corp., a Massachusetts energy storage company that also went bankrupt after receiving a federal loan. The government has lost $567 million from those two loans so far, although officials said this week they could recover as much as $28 million from the sale of Beacon to a private equity firm.</

U.S. Postal Service loses $3.3 billion in first quarter (Unions continue to kill the USPS)
reuters ^ | 2/9/2012 | reuters The U.S. Postal Service reported a net loss of $3.3 billion in its first quarter as plummeting mail volumes overshadowed stronger than expected holiday shipping, the cash-strapped agency said on Thursday. The mail carrier has watched its traditional business erode as increasing use of email and online billpaying drain mail volumes. The Postal Service lost $5.1 billion last year. In the first quarter of fiscal 2012, which ended on December 31, total mail volume dropped 6 percent. The Postal Service said declines in first-class and standard mail revenue outweighed a boost to the package business from growth in online shopping....

Robosigning Is Now History - US Announces $26 Billion Foreclosure Settlement (shakedown)

http://www.zerohedge.com ^ | February 9 2012 | Tyler Durden As reported yesterday, the cost of terminal abrogation of contractual rights in the US is, drumroll, $26 billion. Bloomberg notes: -$26 BILLION FORECLOSURE SETTLEMENT ANNOUNCED IN WASHINGTON -FORECLOSURE ACCORD RESOLVES 16-MONTH ROBO-SIGNING INVESTIGATION -FORECLOSURE ACCORD IS SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY FEDERAL JUDGE -FORECLOSURE DEAL PRESERVES U.S., STATE RIGHTS TO OTHER CLAIMS -FORECLOSURE ACCORD COULD CLIMB TO $40 BLN IF 14 SERVICERS JOIN And a whole lot of corner offices for America's Attorneys General. As for what the market thinks of this "severe" settlement: BAC +1.2%, WFC +0.6%, JPM +0.4%, C -0.1%. For those who don't understand what just happened, US...

33 Members of Congress Earmarked $300 Million For Projects That Benefited Their Own Private Property
Big Government ^ | February 7, 2012 | Wynton Hall Borrowing a page from Breitbart editor Peter Schweizers investigation of how elected officials funnel taxpayer dollars to projects that increase the value of properties they own, the Washington Post has conducted a study revealing that 33 members of Congress earmarked more than $300 million for projects within two miles of land they own...

Electric Car Company Given $500 Million Green Energy Loan By Obama Admin Announces Layoffs
Weasel Zippers ^ | 2/6/2012 | Weasel Zippers You may remember Fisker Automotive as the Goracle-connected company given a huge taxpayer loan to build its cars in Finland. (Politico) In another setback for President Obamas clean energy loan programs, the recipient of more than a half-billion dollars in federal loan guarantees is laying off workers at their Delaware and California operations. Delawares News Journal reports that Fisker Automotive, a California-based electric car start-up company, is laying off an undisclosed number of staff to try to reserve enough capital in order to qualify for more federal help from the Department of Energy, according to a Delaware state development official....

Clean energy loan recipient lays off staff

Politico ^ Clean energy loan recipient lays off staff By BYRON TAU | 2/6/12 4:58 PM EST In another setback for President Obama's clean energy loan programs, the recipient of more than a half-billion dollars in federal loans is laying off workers at their Delaware and California operations. Delaware's News Journal reports that Fisker Automotive, a California-based electric car start-up company, is laying off an undisclosed number of staff to try to reserve enough capital in order to qualify for more federal help from the Department of Energy, according to a Delaware state development official. "They're trying to preserve the cash that

Obama administration launches equal pay app challenge

Politico ^ | 2/6/12 | BYRON TAU | The Obama administration is launching a software development competition designed to help achieve equal pay in the workforce for American women. "Right now, if you're a woman in the workforce, it can be surprisingly difficult to answer basic questions about equal pay: what's the typical salary for someone in your position? Should you be asking for more at the negotiating table? What are your fundamental legal rights?" White House senior adviser Valerie snip "President Obama envisions an America where his daughters are never limited by their gender. That vision is not yet a reality, and we still have a long...

90 DC workers face firing for unemployment fraud

AP via news.yahoo.com ^ | Mon Feb 6, 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) About 90 District of Columbia workers have been suspended and may be fired after officials determined they received unemployment checks while holding city jobs. The Washington Post reports Monday that another 60 former D.C. workers have cashed unemployment checks they were not entitled to. Lisa Mallory is director of the city's Department of Employment Services. She says the city has paid about $800,000 in unemployment benefits to working city employees since 2009 (http://wapo.st/yEm9Iw ). Mallory says some employees received as much as $20,000. Others received a few hundred dollars.

Bribery, compromised officials leave indicted financial-crime suspects free under Holders DOJ
Daily Caller ^ | 2/1/12 | Matthew Boyle A U.S. Justice Department source has told The Daily Caller that at least two DOJ prosecutors accepted cash bribes from allegedly corrupt finance executives who were indicted under court seal within the past 13 months, but never arrested or prosecuted. The sitting governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, his attorney general and an unspecified number of Virgin Islands legislators also accepted bribes, the source said, adding that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is aware prosecutors and elected officials were bribed and otherwise compromised, but has not held anyone accountable. The bribed officials, an attorney with knowledge of the investigation told...

After a Delay, MF Globals Missing Money Is Traced (Corzine, Soros, Goldman Sachs sweating bullets?)
NY Times CNBC ^ | 2/1/12 | Ben Protess and Azam Ahmed Investigators have determined what happened to nearly all of the customer money that disappeared from MF Global around the time of its bankruptcy last Oct. 31, but have not publicly disclosed their progress, fearing that doing so might cripple efforts to recover the cash and pursue potential wrongdoing, people briefed on the investigation said.

National Enquirer: OBAMA LINKED TO WALL STREET SCANDAL

National Enquirer ^ | February 1, 2012 Disgraced financier JON CORZINE whos What Me Worry tactics sunk MF Global, is still OBAMAs go to guy to raise money to re-elect the President. The ex- head of MF Global, former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine told a congressional committee he had no clue of what happened to $1.2 billion of his Wall Street clients money following the $6.3 billion collapse last fall of the brokerage firm Corzine ran. Torpedoed by Corzine risking everything on European debt, MF sunk into oblivion. But an audit couldnt account for $1.2 billion, suggesting Corzine may have illegally mixed client funds with the...

House GOP seeks to bar the use of welfare funds at strip clubs (Dancers hardest hit)
The Hill ^ | 1/31/12 | Russell Berman House GOP seeks to bar the use of welfare funds at strip clubsBy Russell Berman - 01/31/12 01:47 PM ET House Republicans dont want Uncle Sam paying for any more lap dances. A bill that GOP leaders are bringing to the House floor Wednesday would require states to prevent welfare recipients from accessing or spending their benefits at strip clubs, casinos and liquor stores. Republicans included the proposal in the payroll tax bill the House passed in December, and are bringing it back up for a vote separately as part of a package of bills they want included in a...

Missing Iraq $100 million: Pentagon Unable to Account for Missing Iraqi Millions
CNBC ^ | January 30, 2012 | Eamon Javers The Pentagon doesnt know what happened to more than $100 million in cash held at Saddam Husseins palace in Baghdad during the Iraq war, according to a new report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.Whats more, the Pentagon cant find documents to explain what it spent as much as $1.7 billion on from funds held on behalf of the Iraqi government by the New York Federal Reserve, the report says. The missing records raise new questions about how the US government handled billions of dollars in Iraqi funds during the war.

More Solyndra-style failure: Obama-tied Amonix Inc lays off most of company
The Daily Caller ^ More Solyndra-style failure: Obama-tied Amonix Inc lays off most of company By Neil Munro - The Daily Caller 12:56 PM 01/30/2012 Some of President Barack Obamas top donors and fundraising bundlers are partners in Amonix Inc., the latest Solyndra-like corporate crash. The company has announced a layoff of 200 workers two-thirds of its workforce despite a federal green-technology tax credit of $5.9 million in 2010. The investors include John Doerrs venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Daniel Weiss Angeleno Group LLC and Steve Westlys eponymous Westly Group, according to Amonixs website.

$2 billion US dollars to Brazil, but the oil will go to China

Quando ^ | 01/26/2012 | Bruce McQuain Remember this? The U.S. is going to lend billions of dollars to Brazils stateowned oil company, Petrobras, to finance exploration of the huge offshore discovery in Brazils Tupi oil field in the Santos Basin near Rio de Janeiro. Brazils planning minister confirmed that White House National Security Adviser James Jones met this month with Brazilian officials to talk about the loan. The U.S. Export-Import Bank tells us it has issued a "preliminary commitment" letter to Petrobras in the amount of $2 billion and has discussed with Brazil the possibility of increasing that amount. Ex-Im Bank says it has not decided...

Obama-backed electric car battery-maker files for bankruptcy [$118.5 million stimulus grant]
The Hill ^ Obama-backed electric car battery-maker files for bankruptcy By Andrew Restuccia - 01/26/12 11:55 AM ET An Indiana-based energy-storage company, whose subsidiary received a $118.5 million stimulus grant from the Energy Department, filed for bankruptcy Thursday. Ener1 is asking a federal bankruptcy court in New York to approve a plan to restructure the companys debt and infuse $81 million in equity funding. This was a difficult, but necessary, decision for our company, Ener1 CEO Alex Sorokin said in a news release. We are extremely pleased to have the strong support of our primary investors and lenders to substantially reduce the companys...

BLACK-GOLD BLUES: Buffett's railroad winner from Keystone denial

WND (Bloomberg) ^ | 1/24/2012 | Staff 'Whatever people bring to us, we're ready to haul' (BLOOMBERG) Warren Buffetts Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC is among U.S. and Canadian railroads that stand to benefit from the Obama administrations decision to reject TransCanada Corp. (TRP)s Keystone XL oil pipeline permit. With modest expansion, railroads can handle all new oil produced in western Canada through 2030, according to an analysis of the Keystone proposal by the U.S. State Department. Whatever people bring to us, were ready to haul, Krista YorkWooley, a spokeswoman for Burlington Northern, a unit of Buffetts Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), said in an...

Obama Administration 'Rigging' US Census By Counting Illegal Aliens (Desperation Alert!)

The Church Report ^ | January 22, 2012 | Chuck Baldwin The Barack Obama administration is quietly in the process of rigging use of the US Census of 2010, which deliberately counted millions of illegal aliens, for the

purpose of restructuring the apportionment of the US House of Representatives. Accordingly, as candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of one of the negatively affected states (Montana), Mr. Bob Fanning and I have joined with several others in becoming amici curiae in a pending federal lawsuit brought by the State of Louisiana against the US Secretary of Commerce, et al., which was filed January, 13, 2012 in the United States Supreme Court. What

Unplug electric car subsidies (why should we fork over $7,500 per sale for cars few can afford?)
AEI ^ | 01/20/2012 | MARK J. PERRY For the first time in a few years, electric cars are mostly an afterthought at the auto show in Detroit. To be sure, electric cars and hybrid electric models are on the show floor and still being promoted at various intensity levels by Detroit's automakers as well as Japanese companies and upstarts building but not selling many high-priced, electric sports cars. But the niche vehicles are not as prominent this year as in past years. That's a good thing. Electric vehicles aren't the answer to curbing America's dependence on foreign oil or putting a dent in climate change....

Obama Will Give Missile Tech To Russia Despite Law

The Western Center for Journalism ^ | January 19, 2012 | Craig Covello It appears that Barack Obama has again ignored the rule of law by signing a defense appropriations bill that prohibits him sharing vital United States leadingedge strategic US missile technology with Russia, yet he has told both houses of Congress that he plans to share the US missile technology anyway. Why is this important? Because it goes light-years beyond partisan politics and into an area where our national defense will be put at unreasonable risk. It is believed that the Russians will pass this technology onto China, Iran and North Korea. I find it bitterly ironic that this president pushes...

Billionaire Buffett's Bakken Boom (Obama's crony benifits richly the nixing of Keystone pipeline)

Investors Business Daily ^ | Wednesday January 17, 2012 Energy Policy: Killing the Keystone XL pipeline may help one of the world's richest men get richer. North Dakota's booming oil fields will now grow more dependent on a railroad the president's economic guru just bought. [....] Interestingly, another billionaire, Obama economic inspiration Warren Buffett, stands to benefit from the Keystone XL pipeline delay. As oil production ramps up in the Bakken fields of North Dakota, plans to use the pipeline to transport it have been dashed. As a result, North Dakota's booming oil producers will have to rely even more on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad, which...

The Anti-Jobs President (Obama rejects the Keystone XL pipeline and blames Congress)
WSJ ^ | 1-18-2012 The central conflict of the Obama Presidency has been between the jobs and growth crisis he inherited and the President's hell-for-leather pursuit of his larger social-policy ambitions. The tragedy is that the economic recovery has been so lackluster because the second impulse keeps winning. Yesterday came proof positive with the White House's repudiation of the Keystone XL pipeline, TransCanada's $7 billion shovel-ready project that would support tens of thousands of jobs if only it could get the requisite U.S. permits. Those jobs, apparently, can wait.Unless the President objected, December's payroll tax deal gave TransCanada the go-ahead in February to start...

Why Does Buffalo Pay for Its Teachers to Have Plastic Surgery?
the Atlantic ^ | January 18, 2012 | Jordan Weissman In Buffalo, New York, the heart of the American rust-belt, the public school system pays for its teachers to get plastic surgery. Hair removal. Miscrodermabrasian. Liposuction. If you can name the procedure, it's probably covered. No, I am not exaggerating. And no, this article is not an excuse to make "Hot For Teacher" cracks. When I write that Buffalo's school system pays, I mean it literally. The perk is included as a self-insured rider in its teachers' contract. Therefore, the district has to cover the cost of each nip and tuck itself.

OUTRAGE: Feds Spend $1.6 Million to Restore "La Raza" Murals Celebrating "Aztlan", Che Guevara
Stand With Arizona ^ | 01-18-2012 | John Hill by John HillStand With Arizona On the heels of victory against the racist "La Raza" ethnic studies program in Tucson, Arizona, this shocking item from San Diego shows how far we have yet to go to defund La Raza and its divisive, antiAmerican influence in America. At a time of record debt, rampant unemployment, and a financially strained citizenry - our Federal government somehow can afford a whopping $1,600,000 to restore "Chicano" murals depicting communist butchers Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, and with maps featuring "Aztlan" - the mythical "nation" that La Raza activists demand be taken from the United...

Solar-Panel Company Lays Off 40 Employees (Another Obama Green Scam Failure!)
Toledo Blade ^ | 1-17-11 | Kris Turner Willard & Kelsey Solar Group LLC laid off about 40 people indefinitely at the beginning of January until changes to its production line are completed, a company official said Monday. Michael Cicak, the company's chief executive officer and chairman of the board, would not say when the changes would be completed or when the laid-off employees could return to work. "We have some technical people in here improving the efficiency of the assembly line," Mr. Cicak said, adding that the Perrysburg-based facility still has about 30 employees. He said Willard & Kelsey has a little more than 80 employees when...

Seizing the Wealth of Landlords, One District at a Time

American Thinker ^ | 01/16/2012 | Roger D. Luchs The real property of the landlord class is being liquidated, slowly but steadily, in one odd corner of America, with the nation as a whole blissfully unaware of the slow-motion seizure underway. In Washington, D.C., before the very eyes of the world's media, the rental property of landlords is being handed over to their tenants, step by careful step. After Congress granted the District home rule in 1973, its elected officials found thumbing their nose at the city's former overseers

more rewarding than trying to run a competent and honest government. Since then, several city agencies and programs have been...

Solyndra: Just The Tip Of The Iceberg

America's Conservative News ^ | 01/15/2012 | America's Conservative News Solyndra is just the tip of the iceberg. According to a report from left-wing CBS News, the Obama Department of Energy handed over at least 6.5 billion in our hard-earned tax dollars to so-called "clean energy" companies that have already filed for bankruptcy or are in the process of going down the tubes. Watch the video for more details.

Chicano Park gets makeover ($1.6 million federal government grant for "La Raza" murals)
FOX 5 San Diego ^ | January 13, 2012 | FOX 5 San Diego Staff Chicano Park gets makeover SAN DIEGO Artists restore cultural paintings in Chicano Park. As a young artist I remember coming to San Diego and thinking gosh I wish I could have a mural up at Chicano park, painter Mario Chacon said. The bright art pieces have brought people to Chicano Park since the 1970s, but time has taken its toll. Thanks to a $1.6 million grant from the federal government, 18 of the murals are being restored. The artists working on the restoration said each painting has significant symbolism.

Energy Dept. Makes More Bad Bets with Taxpayer Money

National Legal & Policy Center ^ | January 13, 2012 | Paul Chesser As the U.S. government Venture Capitalist-in-Chief (and President) Barack Obama and his Department of Energy investment guru (and Energy Secretary) Steven Chu pour other peoples money into their favorite clean technology schemes, private backers appear to be following them off the cliff, as publicly traded battery makers watched their stocks tank and their businesses stumble, according to a Dow Jones report late last month. According to a Dow Jonesowned industry tracker called VentureSource, private investors put $372.7 million into 14 battery deals over the first three quarters of 2011.

Haley Barbour pardons over 200 criminals including over two dozen killers.
Jackson Jambalaya ^ | January 10, 2012 | Kingfish Governor barbour issues over 200 pardons on his last few days in office. Over two dozen killers. A socialiate who killed two doctors in a drunk driving wreck and served less than 20 months in jail now gets 3 years house arrest. Complete list of pardons issued this week included.

Another F&F weapon used in the killing of an American law enforcement officer?
Sipsey Street Irregulars ^ | 1/9/12 | Dutchman 6 From Doug Ross we have "Remember the good old days when we had a real media?" To which piece we find this comment from Duke C: I would like to comment on the shooting of a Maricopa Deputy Sheriff Sunday morning 4am, north of Phoenix, AZ. The no comment policy of the AZ Central newspaper prevents readers from expressing thier views and suspicions on this tragic event. The 50 year old father of 2, died when his body armor was penetrated by an AK 47 bullet. Eric Holder and the DOJ are holding their breath that this weapon is not

As Predicted, Obama Administration Backs Off Medicare AntiFraud Efforts

Townhall.com ^ | January 9, 2012 | Michael F. Cannon Medicare and Medicaid are rife with fraud. Were talking 10 percent or more of total spending, which is two orders of magnitude more than what credit card companies tolerate. In a recent article, I explained a couple of ways such fraud occurs: For providers, Medicare is like an ATM: So long as they punch in the right numbers, out comes the cash. To get an idea of the potential for fraud, imagine 1.2 million providers punching 1,000 codes each into their own personal ATMs. Now imagine trying to monitor all those ATMs.For example, if a medicalequipment supplier punches in a...

Obama's Fascist America in 10 Easy Steps

American Thinker ^ | January 9, 2012 | Timothy Birdnow Writing back in 2007, Naomi Wolfe catalogued the steps to creating a dictatorship (which she sought to apply to George W. Bush). Interestingly enough, they apply far more to the man who replaced him. Wolfe's steps include: 1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy Isn't that precisely what Occupy Wall Street has done with the banks and businesses? OWS has ties to Obama's friends in ACORN, as well as to SEIU. Isn't that what was done with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and his attempts to save that state from bankruptcy?

BofA Must Pay Excess Settlement Funds To Acorn Clones (Department of Justice)
Investors Business Daily ^ | January 4, 2012 | Paul Sperry Bank of America (BAC) must turn over excess funds from a record $335 million discrimination fine to community organizing groups. Critics say it's a "political backdoor" to subsidize Democrat-tied Acorn "clones." The unusual mandate is buried in a Justice Department filing last month detailing settlement terms with the nation's largest bank. Prosecutors had alleged BofA's Countrywide Financial mortgage unit discriminated against minority homebuyers in the years leading up to the financial crisis. Funds not passed out to alleged victims after two years will be handed out to "qualified" groups unconnected to the case that provide credit and housing counseling and...

Another Oministration Sellout of American Technology and Ingenuity to China

Atlas Shrugs ^ | 1/5/12 | Pamela Geller

China REQUIRES all foreign investors to give up their technology to them for the "right" to build goods there. Obama-seized GM can deny it till the cows come home, but it's still a lie. Dismantling America, chunk by chunk, piece by piece. Anybody see the tyrant-inchief's body language, facial expressions and hand gestures, not to mention his words, at his Ohio press conference today? He simply can't hide his hatred for America. The Post-

American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America -- read it. GM deal moves electric car development to China -- a 'shakedown'? USA Today (hat tip Van)

ACORN Officials Scramble, Firing Workers and Shredding Documents, After Exposed as Players Behind Oc
Fox News ^ | 1/5/12 | Jana Winters

Officials with the revamped ACORN office in New York -- operating as New York Communities for Change -- have fired staff, shredded reams of documents and told workers to blame disgruntled ex-employees for leaking information in an effort to explain away a FoxNews.com report last week on the groups involvement in Occupy Wall Street protests, according to sources. NYCC also is installing surveillance cameras and recording devices at its Brooklyn offices, removing or packing away supplies bearing the name ACORN and handing out photos of Fox News staff with a stern warning not to talk to the media, the sources..

Strength Through Appeasement Obama to Share US Missile Secrets With Russia

Gateway Pundit ^ | January 5,2012 | Jim Hoft President Obama signaled Congress this week that he is planning on providing Moscow with US missile defense secrets. The Washington Times reported: President Obama signaled Congress this week that he is prepared to share U.S. missile defense secrets with Russia. In the presidents signing statement issued Saturday in passing into law the fiscal 2012 defense authorization bill, Mr. Obama said restrictions aimed at protecting top-secret technical data on U.S. Standard Missile-3 velocity burnout parameters might impinge on his constitutional foreign policy authority. As first disclosed in this space several weeks ago, U.S. officials are planning to provide Moscow with the...

Secretaries of Education and Labor Met With Illegal Aliens at Ed. Dept. HQ
cnsnews.com ^ | Jan. 6, 2012 | Terence P. Jeffrey

(CNSNews.com) - A group of illegal aliens visited the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 15 where they held a Student Voices meeting with Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, according to information about the meeting posted on the official Department of Education and Department of Labor websites. Department of Education Spokesman Jim Bradshaw,

while acknowledging receiving questions about the meeting from CNSNews.com, failed to respond to those questions after they were put to him via both phone and email messages on Thursday and Friday of this week. At the meeting, according to the..

Georgia ethanol plant sold, at taxpayers' loss

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | 6:16 p.m. Wednesday, January 4, 2012 | Dan Chapman The failed Range Fuels wood-to-ethanol factory in southeastern Georgia that sucked up $65 million in federal and state tax dollars was sold Tuesday for pennies on the dollar to another bio-fuel maker with equally grand plans to transform the alternative energy world. LanzaTech, a New Zealand-based biofuel company, paid $5.1 million for the plant in Soperton. Its main financial backer: Vinod Khosla, a California entrepreneur who also bankrolled Range Fuels, and helped secure its government loans, before Range went bust last year. LanzaTech hasn't received the same type of loans, but the company has received $7 million from the U.S....

How could a contracting scam avoid detection for so long? (most brazen in government history)
Washington Post ^ | 12/24/11 | Del Quentin Wilber, Robert OHarrow How could a contracting scam avoid detection for so long?By Del Quentin Wilber and Robert OHarrow The private contractors and government employees skimmed millions from the Army Corps of Engineers in what authorities have described as one of the most brazen contracting scams in federal government history. From 2007 through September, the contractors and two program managers at the Army Corps inflated $25 million in contract orders by $20 million pocketing the proceeds to buy cars, flat-screen televisions and expensive jewelry, federal prosecutors allege. So where was the oversight? And how did the scam go on for so long?...

$58 Million USAID Contract to Help Steer Tourists Out of Israel and into West Bank, Gaza
U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor ^ | Jan. 07, 2012 | Steve Peacock

A $58 million contract to foster Palestinian economic development -- which includes plans to help steer tourists away from Israel and into the West Bank and Gaza -- was awarded yesterday by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). As U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor reported (April 20, 2011) last spring: Despite the richness and variety of sites across Palestinian land, "the vast majority of religious tourists confine their visits to brief visits to the religious sites in Bethlehem. Since tourists often visit Bethlehem and then return to Jerusalem, they often spend little or no money in Palestine,"

Electric car company that received a $529M federal loan recalls vehicles (catches fire)
The Hill ^ | 12/30/11 | Andrew Restuccia Electric car company that received a $529M federal loan recalls vehiclesBy Andrew Restuccia - 12/30/11 10:31 AM ET An electric vehicle manufacturer that received a $529 million loan from the Energy Department is recalling 239 vehicles. The Transportation Departments National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Thursday that the company, Fisker Automotive, will recall its Karma vehicles made between July 1, 2011, and Nov. 3, 2011, because of a faulty electric battery component that could cause a fire. Within the high-voltage battery, certain hose clamps may have been positioned incorrectly during assembly. If positioned incorrectly, the batter compartment cover could...

PHILLY COUNCILWOMAN WILL RETIRE FOR ONE DAY, COLLECT A $478K PENSION, AND RETURN ON MONDAY
The Blaze ^ | December 29, 2011 at 4:19pm Philadelphia is known as the city of brotherly love and, apparently, paying out massive pensions to public employees who will continue working for the city. Marion B. Tasco, who has been described as being politically savvy, will retire from her sixth term as councilwoman, collect $478,057, and then be sworn in on Monday to serve her seventh term, Catherine Lucy and Chris Brennan of the Philadelphia Daily News. How does she get away with this? Tasco, along with many of her fellow Council members, is enrolled in Philadelphias Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP). DROP allows city workers to collect salary...

MF Global Chief Who Oversaw Missing $1.2 Billion Also Top EPA Financial Adviser
Big Government ^ | December 29, 2011 | Wynton Hall The same man who oversaw MF Globals $1.2 billion in missing funds, Bradley I. Abelow, is also currently listed on the Environmental Protection Agencys website as the current chairman of the EPAs Financial Advisory Board. SNIP Mr. Abelow also served as former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzines chief of staff before Mr. Corzine went on to become MF Globals CEO. Interestingly, current EPA Administrator Lisa Smith also previously served as then-Gov. Corzines chief of staff. Whether the Corzine connection played any role in Mr. Abelows appointment to the chairmanship of the EPAs Financial Advisory Board is as yet unclear.

$6.5 Billion Wasted (A new report highlights the worst of federal spending)
National Review ^ | 12/29/2011 | Andrew Stiles Many Americans are no doubt making resolutions to eliminate their bad habits in the New Year. The federal government would be well advised to do the same. President Obama and members of Congress could start by reviewing the jawdropping report put out by Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) outlining 100 examples totaling more than $6.5 billion of wasteful federal spending over the past year alone. What follows is a collection of some of the more outrageous examples. $120 million paid out in retirement and disability payments to deceased federal workers. According to the Inspector General of the...

Motorists Paying for Bike Paths, Museums

Capitol Confidential ^ | 12/29/2011 | Russ Harding Where I live outside of Lansing, there are new bike paths sporting shiny asphalt, but the roads are crumbling. Motorists might be surprised to learn that of the 18.4 cents per gallon of federal gas tax they pay at the pump, only about 11 cents goes to maintain highways and bridges. According to federal law, about 10 percent of federal highway funds must be used for projects such as highway beautification and transportation museums. According to a new National Center for Policy

Analysis report, Paying for Pet Projects at the Pump, the Federal Highway Administration also allocates gas tax revenues...

Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein Are Stinking Rich (Occupy freeloaders need their money!)
SF Weekly ^ | 12/27/11 | Erin Sherbert Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein Are Stinking RichBy Erin Sherbert Tue., Dec. 27 2011 at 3:00 PM Here is something that might inspire the dwindling Occupiers to return to their tents: While our very own Nancy Pelosi was pushing to extend unemployment benefits that will, ideally, keep Spam on the tables of the 99 percent -- and provide a boatload of jobs! -- the San Francisco Democrat has risen to become the ninth-richest member of Congress. **SNIP** According to the Center For Responsive Politics, our San Francisco reps have a total net worth of greater than $310 million. That includes Pelosi's...

How wealth of members of Congress has TRIPLED in 25 years (snip)

Daily Mail UK ^ | Dec. 27, 2011 | David Richards # Median net worth of member of Congress rose from $280,000 to $725,000 between 1984 and 2009 # Over same 25 years the wealth of the average U.S. family slipped from $20,500 from $20,600 The wealth gap between those governing the U.S. and the people they represent has dramatically widened, research shows. Against a backdrop of a vast budget deficit and fears of the fragility of the economy, analysis by the Washington Post shows that the median net worth of a member of Congress has nearly tripled over 25 years while the income of an average U.S. family has actually...

Inside Capitol, Investor Access Yields Rich Tips

Wall Street Journal ^ | DECEMBER 20, 2011 | BRODY MULLINS And SUSAN PULLIAM When Senate Democrats finally brokered a compromise over the proposed healthcare law, a group of hedge funds were let in on the deal, learning details hours

before a public announcement on Dec. 8, 2009. The news was potentially worth millions of dollars to the investors, though none would publicly divulge how they used the information. They belong to a select group who pay for early, firsthand reports on Capitol Hill. Seeking advance word of government decisions is part of a growing, lucrativeand legal practice in Washington that employs a network of brokers, lobbyists and political insiders who arrange private meetings...

Author of stimulus tied to companies funded by bill got hundreds millions in government funds.
Klein Online ^ | December 14, 2011 | Aaron Klein Actual title is : Outrage! Author of stimulus tied to companies funded by bill: Received hundreds of millions in government grants, loans. (not enough space to put it as it was written) An advisor to President Obama who played a key role in developing the energy provisions of the so-called stimulus bill has graced the board of several companies that recently received government funds, including hundreds of million in stimulus money. TJ Glauthier served on Obamas 2008 White House Transition Team. He is widely credited with helping to craft the energy provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of...

Big Obama donor cashed in on stimulus. Energy company received hundreds millions in taxpayer funds
Klein Online ^ | December 15, 2011 | Aaron Klein The founder of an energy company that benefited from deals involving hundreds of millions in stimulus money made the maximum donation allowable to President Obamas inauguration, WND has learned. Peter L. Corsell, founder of GridPoint Inc., contributed $50,000 to the inauguration. Corsell served as the Gridpoints chief executive officer from the companys inception until transitioning to the position of non-executive chairman in October, 2010. Yesterday, KleinOnline broke the story that an Obama adviser who played a key role in developing the energy provisions of the so-called stimulus bill serves on the boards of Gridpoint as well as several other companies...

Outrage! Author of 'stimulus' linked to companies it helped

wnd ^ | 12/14/11 | Aaron Klein An adviser to Barack Obama who played a key role in developing the energy provisions of the so-called stimulus bill has served on the boards of several companies that recently received government funds, including hundreds of millions in "stimulus" money. TJ Glauthier served on Obama's 2008 White House Transition Team. He is widely credited with helping to craft the energy provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the "stimulus." In addition to serving on the boards of major energy companies, Glauthier previously held two presidential appointments during the Clinton administration.

Breaking: We were right, Obama GAVE Iran the Drone!

Con Underground ^ | 12/10/2011 A couple of days ago Conunderground.com was the first to point out that the circumstances surrounding the crash of the top secret RQ170 Sentinel drone simply didnt add up. And we were tight! The story continues to develop and it doesnt look good! To recap, first we were told that Iran mightve shot it down and then the story changed to the drone crashed on Iranian soil After realizing that the Iranians were about to parade a perfectly functional drone with nary a scratch on it, the official story changed to the drone landed because it wants to live...

CNBC: Soros Bought $2 Billion Ex-MF Global Europe Debt: Report

CNBC ^ | 12-9-11 | Antonia Oprita

Quarter-Billion Taxpayer Dollars Spent on Penis Pumps

The Heartland Institute ^ | 12/6/2011 | BENJAMIN DOMENECH According to data collected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Medicare has spent more than $240 million of taxpayer money on penis pumps for elderly men over the past decade, and will surpass a quarter of a billion dollars this year for costs since 2001. The cost to taxpayers for the pumps more than quadrupled during that period, from a low of $11 million in 2001 to a high of

more than $47 million in 2010. And these represent only the costs for external devices, technically classified as Male Vacuum Erection Systems, not implantable devices or oral...

Audit of the Federal Reserve Reveals $16 Trillion in Secret Bailouts

GAO report ^ | 11-30-2011 | edcoil The first ever GAO(Government Accountability Office) audit of the Federal Reserve was carried out in the past few months due to the Ron Paul, Alan Grayson Amendment to the Dodd-Frank bill, which passed last year. Jim DeMint, a Republican Senator, and Bernie Sanders, an independent Senator, led the charge for a Federal Reserve audit in the Senate, but watered down the original language of the house bill(HR1207), so that a complete audit would not be carried out. Ben Bernanke(pictured to the right), Alan Greenspan, and various other bankers vehemently opposed the audit and lied to Congress about the effects an...

Notary who blew whistle on robo signing fraud found dead on eve of trial.
MYNEWS3.com ^ | November 29 2011 | Philip Moyer Notary who blew whistle on foreclosure fraud found dead Source: KSNV MyNews3 LAS VEGAS (KSNV MyNews3) -- The notary who signed tens of thousands of false documents in a massive robo-signing scandal case was found dead in her home on Monday. The notary, 43-year-old Tracy Lawrence, was supposed to be in court at 8:30 Monday morning for her sentencing hearing. When her attorney did not hear from her for more than an hour, Sr. Deputy Attorney General Robert Giunta asked for a bench warrant to be issued for Lawrence. The judge denied the request.

Obama Pal George Soros Helped Craft Stimulus Then Invested In Companies Benefiting
Politicons ^ | 11-28-11 | Henry D'Andrea From Big Governments Wynton Hall: Billionaire George Soros gave advice and direction on how President Obama should allocate so-called stimulus money in

a series of regular private meetings and consultations with White House senior advisers even as Soros was making investments in areas affected by the stimulus program. Its just one more revelation featured in the blockbuster new book that continues to rock Washington, Throw Them All Out, authored by Breitbart News editor Peter Schweizer. Mr. Soros met with Mr. Obamas top economist on February 25, 2009 and twice more with senior officials in the Old Executive Office Building on...

U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Awards Nearly $1 Billion for California High-Speed Rail
U.S. Department of Transportation ^ | November 22, 2011 | U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Building First Segment Will Employ More Than 100,000 People over Next Five Years WASHINGTON - U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today awarded a $928.6 million grant to the California High-Speed Rail Authority for initial construction of California High-Speed Rail. Construction will begin next year in Fresno, creating tens of thousands of jobs in California. Californias population will grow by 60 percent over the next 40 years, said Secretary LaHood. Investing in a green, job creating high-speed rail network is less expensive and more practical than paying for all of the expansions to already congested highways and airports that would be necessary to accommodate the states

Over 26,000 Ohioans abusing free cell phone plan (Obama phone)
Dayton Daily News ^ | 8:21 PM Wednesday, November 23, 2011 | By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer Companies are flooding low-income households with free cell phones and minutes under a plan overseen by the federal government that is prone to abuse, a Dayton Daily News investigation has found. The investigation found the free cell phone program is growing rapidly because cell phone companies are promoting it heavily and is so commonly abused that 26,500 Ohioans this month have been notified they are violating the rules. The program is paid for with fees mandated by the government and tacked onto most cellphone and home phone bills, often listed as the Universal Service fee. It is redistributed to phone

United Way Sent $1.9 Million to Planned Parenthood in 2008

Life News ^ | 11/23/11 | Jim Graham

You're Paying for Leon Panetta's $30,000 Weekly Commute

http://m.theatlanticwire.com/national/2011/11/youre-paying-leon-panettas-30000weekly-commute/45304/ ^ Each weekend when Leon Panetta flies roundtrip from Washington D.C. to Monterey, California it costs around $30,000--you're paying for it, and he's only reimbursing you for the price of a coach seat. Since July, he's been home 14 times reports The Washington Times' Susan Crabtree who also notes:

Disabled Illegal Alien Felon Files Hundreds of Phony Claims - On Taxpayer's Dollar
Stand With Arizona ^ | 11-21-2011 | John Hill by John HillStand With Arizona Over a year ago, SWA reported on an illegal alien felon in Los Angeles - Alfredo Garcia - who had been filing hundreds of mostly-frivolous Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuits against California companies - using our own legal system to enrich himself despite his illegal status. Incredibly, not only has he still not been deported - despite wide media attention - but he has filed hundreds of additional phony lawsuits. And despite an effort by authorities to deport him, Garcia remains free to wreak havoc on SoCal businesses. Crack dealer, car thief, Social...

George Soros Helped Craft Stimulus then Invested in Companies Benefiting

Big Government ^ | 11-21-2011 | Wynton Hall Billionaire George Soros gave advice and direction on how President Obama should allocate so-called stimulus money in a series of regular private meetings and consultations with White House senior advisers even as Soros was making

investments in areas affected by the stimulus program. Its just one more revelation featured in the blockbuster new book that continues to rock Washington, Throw Them All Out, authored by Breitbart News editor Peter Schweizer. Mr. Soros met with Mr. Obamas top economist on February 25, 2009 and twice more with senior officials in the Old Executive Office Building on March 24th and 25th as...

Obama's Labor Department Approves Deal Giving Ex-Solyndra Staff $13,000 Each In Federal Aid
Fox Nation ^ | 11/21/2011 | Sean Higgins The Labor Department today announced that it had approved Trade Adjustment Assistance for the former employees of the bankrupt solar panel maker Solyndra. That means all of the firms 1,100 ex-employees are eligible for federal aid packages, including job retraining and income assistance. The department has valued packages at about $13,000 a head.

Corruption and Do-Nothingness in Government

Canada Free Press ^ | November 19, 2011 | Jerry McConnell This past week saw the consequences of when the defecation hits the ventilation in our less-than-illustrious legislative monstrosity, more commonly known as the Congress of the United States, when Peter Schweizers new book, Throw Them All Out hit the streets. This book, when coupled with a memoir by the justrecently-released-from-prison lobbyist Jack Abramoff, both shed light on the degree to which members of Congress profited from trading stocks that were directly affected by pending government policy according to Yahoo.com News writer Zachary Karabell on November 15, 2011. This expose on insider trading of stocks covers members of different political affiliations...

NASAs Hansen made up to $750,000 on the side in 2010

Charleston (WV) Daily Mail ^ | November 19, 2011 | Don Surber UPDATE on November 19, 2011: The outside income estimate doubled. From Glenn Reynolds: JAMES HANSEN FINANCIAL SCANDAL? Hey, theres

nothing wrong with professors making outside income. But when its for global warming activism, it does call your scientific neutrality into question. In Hansens defense, no serious person has believed that he possessed scientific neutrality for years. But anybody who owns an $8000 engraved Montres Rolex watch is clearly part of the 1%, no? THE ORIGINAL POST Government bureaucrat James Hansen pulled down up to $750,000 last year in speeches and prize money.

80% of all DOE loans went to Top Obama donors (Larry Summers!)
Big Govt ^ | 11/17/2011 | Wynton Hall With Energy Secretary Steven Chu set to testify Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee about the governments $573 million loan to failed solar panel maker Solyndra, an explosive new list of energy loan amounts to President Obamas top fundraisers, bundlers, and supporters has been released by Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer, author of Throw Them All Out. As the list reveals, 80 percent of all $20.5 billion in Department of Energy loans went to President Obamas top donors. Furthermore, some of those dwarf in size those given to Obama bundler George Kaiser, owner of the now defunct Solyndra.

Headline of the day you won't see anywhere: GM bailout costs skyrocket
American Thinker ^ | November 17, 2011 | Rick Moran It's tucked away in a blog post at the Detroit News and may make the business pages elsewhere. But you know that if the bailout costs for GM were less than expected, it would be frontpage news: The Treasury Department dramatically boosted its estimate of losses from its $85 billion auto industry bailout by more than $9 billion in the face of General Motors Co.'s steep stock decline. ~snip~ I don't care of GM and Chrysler pay back every penny - which they won't. The bailout should not have gone through. The auto makers should have been allowed to go...

Chu Him Out: The "Nobel Prize-winning physicist" pleads stupidity on Solyndra.

am spectator ^ | 11/16/11 | George Neumayr "The American people just like your teenage kids aren't acting in a way that they should act," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in 2009. Chu was comparing Americans to heedless youth for resisting the left's environmentalist decrees. The comment came as the Energy Department embarked on a nationwide tour of 6,000 schools to hector children about "climate change" and as it propagandized the "broader public about how important clean energy industries are to our competitive position in the global economy." Lecturing the American people on responsibility and global economics was a comfortable stance for Chu at the time.

ANOTHER OBAMA SCANDAL IN THE MAKING

Powerline ^ | November 16,2011 | JOHN HINDERAKER It has to do with a green energy company called BrightSource Energy Inc., which develops solar energy products (or intends to someday, anyway). In 2010, BrightSource was in deep trouble. It was $1.8 billion in debt and was losing money hand over fista $71.6 million loss on a mere $13.5 million in revenue. A company destined to go down the drain, one would think. But no! The Obama administration bailed out BrightSource to the tune of a cool $1.4 billion in loan guarantees. How could that possibly have happened? Well, start with the fact that the principal investor in BrightSource...

Former SEAL stands by account of bin Laden raid, says administration out to get him
The Daily Caller ^ | 16 Nov 2011 | Vince Coglianese In a rare on-the-record denial, U.S. Special Operations Command has come forward to dispute the story told in a controversial new book exploring how alQaida leader Osama bin Laden met his end at the hands of U.S. Navy SEALS. Its just not true, said Col. Tim Nye, U.S. Special Operations Command spokesman of the account told in Chuck Pfarrers new book SEAL Target Geronimo. Its not how it happened. Pfarrer, a former Navy SEAL himself, says the Obama administration has a political interest in sticking to its guns, and that he has staked his career on the facts in his...

Day care provider indicted in fraud case

Journal Sentinel ^ | Nov. 16, 2011 | John Diedrich A woman who amassed roughly $3 million in taxpayer subsidies from her Milwaukee child care centers was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Milwaukee on 16 counts of wire fraud and theft, charged with stealing more than $275,000. Latasha Jackson, who also is listed as Latasha Wilder, bought a Jaguar convertible and built a mansion in Menomonee Falls with an indoor swimming pool and indoor basketball court - while regulators ignored red flags for 10 years that she could be cheating the system, the Journal Sentinel's "Cashing in on Kids" investigation found.

Emails: Energy Dept. tried to delay solar layoffs (Something to 'CHU' on from AP)
Yahoo ^ | 11/16/11 | Matthew Daly - AP WASHINGTON (AP) The Obama administration wanted the failing solar energy company Solyndra to delay announcing an early round of employee layoffs until after the 2010 midterm elections, according to newly released emails. An October 2010 email from a Solyndra investment adviser to a colleague said Energy Department officials were pushing "very hard" to delay making the layoffs an early sign of the company's financial woes public until Nov. 3, 2010 the day after the midterm elections. "Oddly they didn't give a reason for that date," the email states. The email was released Wednesday by the House...

Robert Kennedy, Jr.s Green Company Scored $1.4 Billion Taxpayer Bailout
Big Government ^ | Wilton Hall President John F. Kennedys nephew, Robert Kennedy, Jr., netted a $1.4 billion bailout for his company, BrightSource, through a loan guarantee issued by a former employee-turned Department of Energy official. Its just one more in a string of eye-opening revelations by investigative journalist and Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer in his explosive new book, Throw Them All Out. The details of how BrightSource managed to land its ten-figure taxpayer bailout have yet to emerge fully. However, one clue might be found in the person of Sanjay Wagle.

Wagle was one of the principals in Kennedys firm who raised money for Barack...

Postal Service reports massive $5 billion loss

cnn ^ | 11/15/11 | J O'Toole

Energy Department Pushed Solyndra To Wait To Announce Layoffs Until After Midterm Elections
TBI ^ | 11-15-2011 | Zeke Miller SCANDAL DEEPENS: Energy Department Pushed Solyndra To Wait To Announce Layoffs Until After Midterm Elections Zeke Miller Nov. 15, 2011, 11:34 AM Newly released emails from Solyndra executives show that the Department of Energy pressured the failed solar energy company to postpone announce layoffs until after the 2010 midterm elections. First reported by The Washington Post, the emails show a Solyndra investor warning the company against announcing layoffs before the Nov. 2 elections, because the company's loan draw for December had yet to be approved by the Department of Energy. Energy Secretary Steven Chu will testify before the committee on...

Report: 80% of DOE Green Energy Loans Went to Obama Backers (SHOCKER)
Heritage ^ | 11-14-11 | Lachlan Markay A new book by Hoover Institution fellow Peter Schweizer details the startling extent of the cronyism that has pervaded President Obamas green jobs push. According to Schweizer, 4 out of every 5 renewable energy companies backed by the Energy Department was run by or primarily owned by Obama financial backers. Those companies political largesse is probably the best investment they ever made in alternative energy, Schweizer explains. It brought them returns many times over. Doug Ross spotted the relevant excerpt of Schweizers book (h/t Ben Domenechs Transom): When President-elect Obama came to Washington in late 2008, he was outspoken about...

Another big Dem donor gets hundreds of millions in no-bid contract (The SEIU link)
Hotair ^ | 11/14/2011 | Ed Morrissey The scourge of smallpox has been all but eradicated for decades, with the only live samples of the source bacteria locked away in laboratories in the US and Russia. Nonetheless, the US maintains a large stockpile of proven smallpox vaccines just in case anyone gets access to the disease, and can quickly distribute it to the American population and prevent an epidemic, even after exposure. There is no reason to spend another dollar developing a new smallpox vaccine and yet that is exactly what the Obama administration did, and in a most peculiar manner: Over the last year, the...

Is Bizarre Smallpox Drug Deal Obama Administration's Next Solyndra?

Forbes ^ | 11-13-11 | Rick Ungar David Williams of The Los Angeles Times has uncovered a $433 million dollar government contract to purchase a smallpox anti-viral drug that may, or may not, be necessary in the case of a bioterrorist attack. For that matter, we are not even sure if the drug will work. ST-246, a pill to be manufactured by Siga Technologies, Inc., would come into play as a second level of defense in the event of a smallpox attack. Currently, the nation has stockpiled some $1 billion in smallpox vaccines, enough to inoculate the entire U.S. population and treat those who have contracted the...

EXCLUSIVE: Financial Documents Suggest GOP Rep. Bachus Profited from 'Insider Trading' on TARP....
biggovernment ^ | Sunday November 13, 2011 | Wynton Hall U.S. Representative Spencer Bachus (R-AL) had access to highly sensitive financial information during the 2008 bailout debates that may have helped him earn tens of thousands of dollars by trading stock options, even as most Americans portfolios took a beating. On Sunday, Rep. Bachuss trading behavior came under fire in a 60 Minutes report based on Throw Them All Out, the book

by investigative journalist and Breitbart editor that has triggered a political earthquake in Washington. Bachuss trades during debate over the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) raise serious questions about whether he invested based on information he acquired as...

Congress: Trading stock on inside information?

CBS News' 60 Minutes ^ | November 13, 2011 | Steve Kroft (CBS News) Washington, D.C. is a town that runs on inside information - but should our elected officials be able to use that information to pad their own pockets? As Steve Kroft reports, members of Congress and their aides have regular access to powerful political intelligence, and many have made well-timed stock market trades in the very industries they regulate. For now, the practice is perfectly legal, but some say it's time for the law to change.

How Obamas Alternative-Energy Programs Became Green Graft (by unscrupulous means)
Victory chronicles ^ | Saturday November 12, 2011 | Peter Schweizer. Where did green-energy cash go? Straight to campaign donors. Read more about Peter Schwiezers Throw Them All Out in the new Newsweek on sale Monday. When President-elect Obama came to Washington in late 2008, he was outspoken about the need for an economic stimulus to revive a struggling economy. He wanted billions of dollars spent on shovel-ready projects to build roads; billions more for developing alternative-energy projects; and additional billions for expanding broadband Internet access and creating a smart grid for energy consumption. After he was sworn in as president, he proclaimed that taxpayer money would assuredly not be doled

Cost, need questioned in $433-million smallpox drug deal (Obama donor gets no bid contract)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-smallpox20111113,0,4293298.story ^

Over the last year, the Obama administration has aggressively pushed a $433million plan to buy an experimental smallpox drug, despite uncertainty over whether it is needed or will work. Senior officials have taken unusual steps to secure the contract for New York-based Siga Technologies Inc., whose controlling shareholder is billionaire Ronald O. Perelman, one of the world's richest men and a longtime Democratic Party donor.

Obama's Virginia Defeat (Cricket's chirping from the Lame Stream Media)
wall street journal ^ | 11/11/2011 | KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL Of all the noise of this week's state election results, what mattered most for Election 2012 came out of Virginia. It was the sound of the air leaking out of the Plouffe plan. That would be David Plouffe, President Obama's former campaign manager and current senior strategist, who is focused today on how to cobble together 270 electoral votes for re-election. That's proving tough, what with the economy hurting Mr. Obama in states like Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania that he won in 2008. The White House's response has been to pin its hopes on a more roundabout path to electoral...

George Kaiser linked to Solyndra emails

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx? subjectid=49&articleid=20111109_49_0_hrimgs595400 ^ WASHINGTON Emails released by a House committee appear to show that a major donor to President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign discussed with White House officials a federal loan to a failed California solar company. That's despite repeated assurances by Obama administration officials that the donor, George Kaiser, didn't discuss the loan with the White House. The emails show that Kaiser, an Oklahoma billionaire, called the failed company, Solyndra Inc., a White House "poster child" on renewable energy. Solyndra received a $528 million loan from the Energy Department before it declared bankruptcy. The emails were from Kaiser to an associate....

Pity Anyone Who Took The Tax Credit To Buy A House (Mother of all boondoggles)
Business Insider ^ | 11/09/2011 | Mandi Woodruff and Gus Lubin The government enticed millions of Americans to buy new homes in 2009 and 2010 with credits of up to $8,000. It turns out this was a trap. Home prices fell last month 4.4% year-over-year, according to data released by Zillow. The average home has lost around $14,500 in value -- nearly twice the maximum tax credit. MarketWatch's Brett Arends calls this The Mother of All Boondoggles (via Patrick.net): The biggest losers? Step forward all those who took up Uncle Sams $8,000 bribe and rushed out to buy a new home in Santa Barbara, Calif. You have already lost $50,000 of...

Report: LA Fire Capt. Paid $50K In Vacation, OT Allegedly Falsified Time Card
CBS) ^ | November 9, 2011 10:16 AM A Los Angeles city fire captain is on leave after for allegedly falsifying his timecard after auditors found he was paid $50,000 in vacation time last year, according to a report Wednesday. Capt. Eric Vasquez was paid nearly $77,000 above his base salary of $108,000 the equivalent of nearly 23 weeks of pay in vacation, overtime and bonus pay, according to payroll information obtained by the Daily News under the California Public Records Act. The alleged falsification by Vasquez, a 17-year LAFD veteran whose duties involved supervising time sheet data entry including his own were discovered...

Solyndra Emails Claim Biden's Staff 'About Had an Orgasm' About Energy Loans to Firm
Fox News ^ | November 9, 2011 | By Chad Pergram

Federal Government Agencies You Won't Believe Even Exist...

Reaganite Republican ^ | November 9, 2011 | Reaganite Republican

Commission on Security Cooperation in Europe (CSCE): Also known as the Helsinki Commission, their job is to monitor European compliance with the Helsinki Final Act, which served to dilute Cold War tensions. Maybe somebody needs to tell them that the USSR ceased to exist over 20 years ago... and that Obama's already abandoned Eastern Europe to current Russian regime anyway. Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC): Visitors to the FCIC website can find useful info on topics ranging from how to purchase a new car to how to save $ for college... and all the same as you can find on zillions...

Sebelius-Planned Parenthood Record-Shredding Scandal Gets Worse

Life News ^ | 11/8/11 | Cheryl Sullenger Open records received by Operation Rescue from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment raise more questions than they answer about the recent revelation that documents containing critical evidence against Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri were shredded under the Sebelius Administration.Operation Rescue asked the agency for a broad range of documents and communications between KDHE and Planned Parenthood and/or the office of former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who now serves as President Obamas Secretary of Health and Human Services. KDHE provided a scant number of documents reflecting an e-mail request from Planned Parenthoods Sheila Kostas asking for information listed on...

Audit finds dead people among those who got homebuyer tax credits
Boston Herald ^ | November 6, 2011 | Kenneth R. Harney Remember the federal tax credit programs offering $7,500 and, later, $8,000 to first-time home buyers? The credits were designed to deliver a jolt to the reeling housing industry. And they did: More than 4 million people applied for and have received nearly $30 billion worth of credits. Most of them, according to the Internal Revenue Service, went to people who legitimately qualified for the credits. But a series of audits has documented foul-ups by the IRS, ranging from credits granted to prison inmates and dead people, fraud schemes involving claimants who never bought a house

George Soros Trader Involved in Bankrupt Firm Tied to Obama

Accuracy in Media ^ | November 2, 2011 | Cliff Kincaid <p>A major figure in liberal Democrat Jon Corzines bankrupt firm, MF Global, used to work for hedge fund operator and Democratic Party financial patron George Soros. MF Global Holdings Ltd., now under FBI investigation, had hired Munir Javeri as Global Head of Trading.</

Ener1 Kicked Off Nasdaq [Subsidiary Got $118M DOE Grant]

gigaom ^ | 10/31/11 | Katie Fehrenbacher

Solyndra executives collected hefty bonuses in months before Fremont company filed for bankruptcy
Mercury news ^ | 11/2/11 | Dana Hull

Fire, police rack up workers' comp (Padded retirements)

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER ^ | 9/17/2011 | JON CASSIDY A Costa Mesa firefighter got an award of $39,590 because his work boots hurt Another firefighter twisted his knee in 1991 by walking downstairs and turning left. The bill: $96,919. A recreation leader who felt pain in the neck while shooting a basketball costing the city $7,325. claims that get compensation and reimbursement, from uncomfortable boots to stump-grinder accidents to "cumulative trauma" shows up at retirement time. New Police Chief Tom Gazsi, Fire Chief Kirk Dominic did not return calls A maintenance worker picking up trash on a slope with wet grass at a park when he slipped,

JustiaGate:CEO Tim Stanley Admits Publishing Mangled Supreme CourtOpinions..OyezConnectionSCOTUS

Natural Born Citizen ^ | 10-31-11 | Leo Donofrio JustiaGate: CEO Tim Stanley Admits Publishing Mangled Supreme Court Opinions The Oyez Connection SCOTUS Response. ### On Oct. 24, 2011, in an interview with CNET, Justia CEO Tim Stanley finally spoke publicly to address JustiaGate.This was four days after the release of my report concerning 25 US Supreme Court cases scrubbed by Justia at their Supreme Court Center. Stanley admitted that the cases identified in that report had, in fact, been published in a corrupted manner. The CNET report also indicates that the corruption of data was more widespread than we knew: Tim Stanley, told CNET today that...

MF Global: Likely Among the 10 Biggest Bankruptcies Ever (Hides fact it was Democrat Gov's company)
Wall Street Journal ^ | October 31, 2011 | By Shira Ovide MF Global, the brokerage run by former Goldman Sachs chief Jon Corzine, today filed for bankruptcy protection, becoming one of the highest-profile U.S. victims of bad bets on European government debt. With the Chapter 11 filing, MF Global also is likely to be added to the ignominious list of the 10 largest bankruptcies in U.S. corporate history.

Smoking-Gun Document Ties Policy To Housing Crisis

Investor's Business Daily ^ | 10/31/2011 | Paul Sperry http://news.investors.com/Article.aspx?id=589858&p=1 President Obama says the Occupy Wall Street protests show a "broad-based frustration" among Americans with the financial sector, which continues to kick against regulatory reforms three years after the financial crisis. "You're seeing some of the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to fight efforts to crack down on the abusive practices that got us into this in the first place," he complained earlier this month. But what if government encouraged, even invented, those "abusive practices"?

How Freddie Mac Splashed Cash to Halt Regulation (Flashback Newt Gingrich sold out for $300,000)
CNBC ^ | December 8, 2011 From a hefty lobbying budget to the use of free baseball tickets, Freddie Mac fended off any meaningful regulation in the years before the housing mortgage giant crashed, records obtained by The Associated Press show. Efforts to tighten government regulation were gaining support on Capitol Hill, and Freddie Mac was fighting back. [.....] The records obtained by the AP reflect growing concern within Freddie Mac over a chorus of criticism from Republicans worried that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae had grown too big. The two companies owned or guaranteed over $5 trillion in mortgages. The Bush administration and Federal Reserve...

Second Energy Department-backed company goes bankrupt (Beacon Power Corp. in Massachusetts)
The Hill ^ | 10/31/11 | Ben Geman Second Energy Department-backed company goes bankruptBy Ben Geman 10/31/11 08:04 AM ET A Massachusetts company that received a $43 million Energy Department loan guarantee last year filed for bankruptcy Sunday, a step certain to fuel criticism of federal green energy financing in the wake of the solar company Solyndras collapse. Beacon Power Corp., which develops energy storage systems, filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Beacon Power had received federal loan guarantee to help build an energy storage plant in Stephentown, New York that began operating in January. The Treasury Departments Federal Financing Bank provided...

Rich soak up solar subsidies (CPUC at its subsidy finest, a pittance to the poor)
Sac Bee ^ | 10/30/11 | Dan Morain The sun shines on the beachfront mansions of Malibu and La Jolla, just as it does on Compton and Barrio Logan in San Diego. ... But based on how California policymakers dole out valuable subsidies for solar panels placed on the residential roofs, the poorest parts of our sunny state might as well be on the dark side of the moon. California is in the midst of by far the nation's most ambitious program to

convert to solar energy, one that began in 2006 when then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared that during the next decade, the state would place solar...

Another Obama fundraiser is investor in car company that won federal loan (More Crony Socialism)
WashPost ^ | 10-28-11 | Carol Leonnig An investment firm whose vice chairman has been an adviser and fundraiser for President Obama saw one of its portfolio companies win approval this year for $50 million in loans from the administrations clean-energy loan program. Washington-based Perseus says its affiliation with James A. Johnson, a major fundraiser for Obamas campaign, played no role in persuading the Energy Department to award the loan to Vehicle Production Group, a Miami start-up that is manufacturing wheelchair-accessible cars and taxis. Johnson headed Obamas vice presidential selection committee in 2008 and is the former chairman of housing mortgage giant Fannie Mae.

Sex offenders found at 39 California foster homes

SF Gate ^ | 10/27/11 | Marisa Lagos Sex offenders found at 39 California foster homesMarisa Lagos, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, October 27, 2011 Lax state oversight has resulted in sex offenders living, working or being present in at least 39 California homes where foster children are also authorized to live, including several in the Bay Area, a state audit released Thursday concluded. The audit compared the addresses of registered sex offenders with the addresses of licensed facilities and homes where foster children were placed, and found more than 1,000 instances where the addresses matched. When state and county officials investigated those addresses, they found 39 instances

"Wife Of Border Agent Sentenced to Prison for Rough Cuffing a Drug Suspect Speaks Out"
TheBlaze ^ | 10272011 | Mike Opelka

"Federal Agent Jesus Diaz was sentenced to two years in prison for allegedly roughing up a suspected drug runner who was caught with other illegals, bringing 150 pounds of marijuana across the border from Mexico into the US."

Critics Furious As Border Agent Diaz Gets Two Years in Prison

The New American ^ | October 25, 2011 | Alex Newman Despite numerous problems in the prosecutions case, Border Patrol agent Jesus "Chito" Diaz was sentenced to two years in federal prison for convictions stemming from his supposedly rough treatment of an illegal immigrant caught smuggling drugs. Critics and family members berated the decision especially because of the legal precedent it establishes. It could have been much worse, however. And the battle is not over yet. Well I can't say the sentence was good because this entire case is an injustice, agent Diaz wife, Diana, who still works for the Border Patrol, told The New American.

Obama Brings USAJobs.gov In-House; Government Servers Crash.

The Virginian ^ | 10/25/2011 | Moneyrunner This is the smartest bunch of people ever to occupy government office. From the WSJ Error: USAJobs.gov Americans in search of federal employment can go to a website called USAJobs.gov, which matches openings with applicants. Since 2004, the feds have outsourced the site's operation to Monster.com. Good call by whoever was in charge in 2004. Monster.com is the private company that pioneered employment websites and is today the largest job search engine in the world. But 18 months ago the "smart" Obama Office of Personnel Management decided the federal government could do a better job of running USAJobs.gov.

State Department Reportedly Spends $70,000 to Buy Copies of Obama's 1995 Memoir
FoxNews ^ | October 25, 2011

JustiaGate: CEO Tim Stanley Claims Innocense After Blocking Access To Wayback Machine
Natural Born Citizen Blog ^ | 10-26-2011 | Leo Donofrio Full title: JustiaGate: CEO Tim Stanley Claims Innocense After Blocking Access To Wayback Machine Snapshots Of All Supreme Court Cases Published By Justia. +++++++++++++ Warning what you are about to read is epic. You were warned! ~D +++++++++++++ Yesterday, in a stunning development, Justia CEO Tim Stanley blocked Wayback Machine access to all US Supreme Court cases published by Justia.com. This is the epitome the textbook definition even of hypocrisy. As Dianna Cotter previously reported: Justia founder Tim Stanley has for years prided himself and his companies on principles of freedom of information. On June 19th, 2008, Stanley...

Tennessee Electrified Truck Terminal Files for Bankruptcy After $400,000 Stimulus Injection
Fox News ^ | 10/19/11 | Jonathan Serrie Tennessee Electrified Truck Terminal Files for Bankruptcy After $400,000 Stimulus InjectionBy Jonathan Serrie FoxNews.com Published October 19, 2011 DANDRIDGE, Tenn. Just months after obtaining more than $400,000 in federal stimulus funds, TR Auto Truck Plaza off Interstate 40 sits idle. The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) handed out the $424,000 Environmental Protection Agency stimulus grant for electrical hookups so that truckers wouldn't have to burn diesel fuel while resting. Both the state and EPA were apparently unaware that owner Rick Lewis had a history of legal and financial problems and had filed for bankruptcy.

The Tangled Web: Obama Approves Loan for Zuccotti Park Owners
Rusjlimbugh.com ^ | 10.17.11 The Tangled Web: Obama Approves Loan for Zuccotti Park Owners October 17, 2011 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Angela, San Francisco. Great to have you on the program. Welcome. CALLER: Thank you, Rush. It's a pleasure to speak with you. I just had kind of a comment. I'm looking at this from, I work events

for a living and I've worked on several in the United States, and the common denominator that you have to work with the city and county, and have a plan of attack. You have to have permits, you have to work with, you know, sanitation department, make...

Busted: DOE Altered Solyndra-Related Documents

National Review ^ | 10/19/11 | Andrew Stiles It appears as though the Obama administration has been caught red-handed trying to cover up evidence in relation to the green loans programs that helped finance Solyndra. CNBC reports that a number of press releases posted by the Department of Energy have been retroactively altered to remove the name a solar company thought by many to be the next green failure: The changes occurred in two press releases from the Department of Energys loan guarantee program the same program that has been the center of controversy surrounding the failed solar company Solyndra. Both were changed to remove the name

Look whose relative (lobbyist) just got $135.8 million energy loan
wnd ^ | October 11, 2011 | Aaron Klein 'Green' firm with White House ties lined up to get massive guaranteeThe sister-inlaw of John Podesta, President Obama's influential White House transition director, served as the lobbyist for a wind power firm that was just awarded a $135.8 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy.The company is Brookfield Asset Management. It boasts a board of nine directors, including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's long-term girlfriend. The Energy Department's promise to Brookfield marks the latest in controversial massive alternative energy loans to companies with strong ties to the Obama White House and to top Democrat lawmakers....Since 2009, Brookfield has been...

Obama Says He Can Stop Bank of America from Making 'a Certain Amount of Profit
FoxNation.com ^ | Oct 3 | Staff

President Obama joined fellow Democrats in blasting a new fee on debit card users announced by Bank of America, arguing that banks do not have an "inherent right" to a certain amount of profits. The bank has come under a hail of criticism after it announced it would begin charging debit card users $5 a month, blaming the move on policymakers who curbed the amount of fees they could collect from retailers. "You dont have some inherent right just to get a certain amount of profit if your customers are being mistreated," he said in an interview with ABC News....

Dick Durbin urges customers to leave Bank of America

Politico ^ Dick Durbin urges customers to leave Bank of America By: Seung Min Kim October 3, 2011 04:26 PM EDT Angry about Bank of Americas new $5 monthly fee for using your debit card? Dick Durbin has some advice for you: Take your money elsewhere. Bank of America customers, vote with your feet, the Senate majority whip said in a floor speech Monday. Get the heck out of that bank. Find yourself a bank or credit union that wont gouge you for $5 a month and still will give you a debit card that you can use every single day.

Census Bureau Admits It 'Artifcially Inflated the Number of SameSex Couples'

CNSNews ^ | September 28, 2011 | Elizabeth Harrington The Census Bureau admitted Tuesday that it had artificially inflated the number of same-sex couples in the United States, initially reporting a number that was about 40 percent higher than what it now believes is accurate. The original data published by the 2010 Census set the number of same-sex households in the U.S. in 2010 at 901,997, including 349,377 same-sex married couple households and 552,620 same-sex unmarried partner households. But the Census Bureau said in a Tuesday conference call with reporters that it has revised these numbers downward because Census Bureau staff discovered an inconsistency in the responses in the...

Crony Socialism: Obama Gives $737 Million to Solar Firm Linked to the Pelosi Clan
Gateway Pundit ^ | 9/28/11 | Jim Hoft Its as if Solyndra never happened. The Obama Administration is giving $737 million to a Tonopah Solar, a subsidiary of California-based SolarReserve. PCG is an investment partner with SolarReserve. Nancy Pelosis brother-in-law happens to be the number two man at PCG. Team Obama is spending $737 million to create 45 permanent jobs. The Hill reported, via Free Republic: The Energy Department announced Wednesday that is has finalized a $737 million loan guarantee for a Nevada solar project. The decision comes several weeks after a California-based solar manufacturer that received a $535 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration in 2009...

The Secret Government Bank That's Financing More Solyndras

Fox Business ^ | 9/28/2011 | Elizabeth MacDonald Sitting at the center of the Solyndra scandal is an off-balance-sheet bank at the Treasury Department that dates back to 1973. This little-known government bank, the Federal Financing Bank [FFB], had a zero balance in 2008 for green energy projects, but now, with little Congressional oversight, it is giving out billions of dollars in loans to White House pet projects often at dirt-cheap interest rates below 1%. In July alone, the government bank, which had $61 billion in assets, lent nearly three quarters of a billion dollars in taxpayer funds with no Congressional checks and balances.

Thought it couldn't get any worse than Solyndra? ($1.37 B federal loan guarantee for another one)
WorldnetDaily ^ | 09/27/2011 | Aaron Klein President Obama's nominee for Commerce secretary served as chairman of the board of a solar energy company that recently received a $1.37 billion federal loan guarantee the largest the Department of Energy has ever given for a solar power project. Now that company, BrightSource Energy, is attempting to build the world's largest solar power plant amid concerns such ventures may be too risky an investment for the federal government. In June, BrightSource Chairman John Bryson was nominated by Obama to head the Commerce Department. WND

reported in June that Bryson co-founded an environmental activist group that is a member...

'Stingray' Phone Tracker Fuels Constitutional Clash

The Wall Street Journal ^ | SEPTEMBER 22, 2011 | JENNIFER VALENTINODEVRIES For more than a year, federal authorities pursued a man they called simply "the Hacker." Only after using a little known cellphone-tracking devicea stingray were they able to zero in on a California home and make the arrest. Stingrays are designed to locate a mobile phone even when it's not being used to make a call. The Federal Bureau of Investigation considers the devices to be so critical that it has a policy of deleting the data gathered in their use, mainly to keep suspects in the dark about their capabilities, an FBI official told The Wall Street Journal in response...

Gov't paid $600 million in benefits to dead people

Associated Press ^ | Sept. 23, 2011 | SAM HANANEL WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal government has doled out more than $600 million in benefit payments to dead people over the past five years, a watchdog report says. Such payments are meant for retired or disabled federal workers, but sometimes the checks keep going out even after the former employees pass away and the deaths are not reported, according to the report this week from the Office of Personnel Management's inspector general, Patrick McFarland.

Soros Surfaces on the Edge of White House Controversy Involving LightSquared

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/23/soros-surfaces-on-edge-whitehouse-controversy/ ^ | 9-23-2011 | Fox News Billionaire financier and liberal activist George Soros has been financially linked to LightSquared, which is at the center of allegations that the White House pressured a Pentagon commander to change his prepared congressional testimony to benefit the Virginia-based telecom company that once received a $90,000

investment from President Obama. LightSquared is seeking to establish a new wireless broadband network that many, including Air Force Gen. William Shelton, believe could interfere with critical GPS systems used by the U.S. military. But Shelton, head of Space Command, confided to lawmakers that he thought his testimony had been leaked to LightSquared, and that...

Report: Ex-labor chief works 1 day, nets $158,000 city pension (Chicago)
MSNBC ^ | 9/22/11 Report: Ex-labor chief works 1 day, nets $158,000 city pensionFormer president of Chicago Federation of Labor, city officials defend payout as legal msnbc.com news services updated 48 minutes ago A retired Chicago labor leader has secured a $158,000 public pension roughly five times greater than what a typical retired public-service worker in the Windy City receives after spending just one day on the city payroll, local news reports said. According to The Chicago Tribune, Dennis Gannon stands to collect approximately $5 million in city pension funds during his lifetime. He now draws the pension while working for a...

LightSquared: Obama's Dangerous Broadband Boondoggle

Townhall ^ | September 21, 2011 | Michelle Malkin If you thought the half-billion-dollar, stimulus-funded Solyndra solar company bust was a taxpayer nightmare, just wait. If you thought the botched Fast and Furious border gun-smuggling surveillance operation was a national security nightmare, hold on. Right on the heels of those two blood-boilers comes yet another alleged pay-for-play racket from the most ethical administration ever. Welcome to LightSquared. It's a toxic mix of venture socialism (to borrow GOP Sen. Jim DeMint's apt phrase), campaign finance influence-peddling and perilous corner-cutting all rolled into one. The company is building "a state-of-the-art open wireless broadband network." Competition in the industry is a good...

Congressman Spends $200,000 a Year on Food (video)

Gawker.com ^ | September 19, 2011 | John Cook Rep. John Fleming, a Louisiana Republican who owns a string of Subway and UPS franchises, was on MSNBC this morning to explain how earning $6.3 million a yearwhich he did in 2010isn't all it's cracked up to be and to tell Barack Obama to lay off the class warfare. For instance: $200,000 of that goes to food. Being "rich" doesn't sound so great now, does it? Here's how Fleming put it: I would say that...my net income[t]he amount that I have to reinvest in my business and feed my familyis more like $600,000 of that $6.3 million.

Over $760,000 Stimulus Funds Go To Interactive Visual Dance

CNS news ^ | 9/20/2011 | Eric Scheiner According to Recovery.gov, the website that tracks the money spent under the Recovery Act, The University Of North Carolina is receiving a $762,372 grant for its Dance.Draw project.

CEO Blows Away Congressional Hearing: 'I Was Fined for Hiring Too Many People!' (VIDEO)
FoxNation.com ^ | Sept 20 | Staff "In my own business, securities regulations have prohibited me from hiring brokers for more than three years. I was even fined fifteen thousand dollar expressly for hiring too many brokers in 2008. In the process I incurred more than $500,000 in legal bills to mitigate a more severe regulatory outcome as a result of hiring too many workers. I have also been prohibited from opening up additional offices. I had a major expansion plan that would have resulted in my creating hundreds of additional jobs. Regulations have forced me to put those jobs on hold. In addition, the added cost...

Extravagant Spending, $16 Muffins Found at Justice Department Meetings

Nutty News ^ | 9/20/2011 | Seth Stein

U.S. Justice Department agencies spent too much for food at conferences, in one case serving $16 muffins and in another dishing out beef Wellington appetizers that cost $7.32 per serving, an audit found. Some conferences featured costly meals, refreshments, and themed breaks that we believe were indicative of wasteful or extravagant spending, the Justice Departments inspector general wrote in a report released today. The inspector general reviewed a sample of 10 Justice Department conferences held between October 2007 and September 2009 at a cost of $4.4 million. The Justice Department spent $73.3 million on conferences in fiscal 2009,

Daily Caller Draws Michelle Obama Connection to Solyndra

Fox News ^ | September 19, 2011 | By Matthew Boyle A Daily Caller review of the George Kaiser Family Foundations income tax returns found that during the same year billionaire investor George Kaiser successfully secured $535 million in government loan guarantees for the nowfailed solar panel manufacturer Solyndra, his private philanthropy donated to a political cause close to the hearts of several high-ranking Obama administration officials. A $10,000 donation to the Urban Health Initiative at the University of Chicago Medical Center appears on the groups 2009 tax forms. It was also in 2009 that Kaiser successfully sought to lock down a loan guarantee for the greenenergy company Solyndra through

Cloward-Piven: The Ultimate Goal of Gunwalker?

Pajamas Media ^ | September 17, 2011 | Bob Owens It's hard to think of a more logical reason for Gunwalker to exist. PJMedia reader eon posted an insightful comment in response to my September 15 article on the Gunwalker scandal: To the best of my knowledge, no previous U.S. administration has ever destabilized the government of a putatively friendly foreign power purely for domestic political gain.The closest you can get would be the revolutionary movement in what is now Panama, that the U.S. nurtured to gain that areas independence (from Nicaragua) to facilitate building the Panama Canal. But that was a pre-existing revolutionary movement with preexisting complaints against...

The Spreading Green Jobs Scam

IBD Editorials ^ | September 16, 2011 | Staff Boondoggles: With a minimum of five green firms going bankrupt, taxpayers find themselves on the hook for at least one possibly illegal loan while paying ghastly sums for each green job created. We've been sunburned. As solar panel manufacturer Solyndra was sliding into a long-predicted bankruptcy, Energy Department officials began negotiations with the company and two of its main investors about restructuring its $535 million loan to keep afloat the business that was supposed to be a good investment. Under the restructuring agreement, Solyndra's private investors were moved to the front of the line and taxpayers were put on the...

Restaurant chain partnering with White House anti-obesity campaign received ObamaCare Waiver
New Hampshire Watchdog ^ | 9/15/11 | Grant Bosse Today, a top national restaurant chain partnered with First Lady Michelle Obamas Lets Move childhood anti-obesity campaign. Last year, that same company received a waiver exempting it from some of the most stringent mandates of ObamaCare. Michelle Obama visited an Olive Garden restaurant in Hyattsville, Maryland today as Darden Restaurants announced that it would reduce the amount of calories and sodium in its menu by 20% over the next decade. Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Longhorn Steakhouse, Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze, and Seasons 52, received a waiver from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on October...

Unelected, Unaccountable, Unrepentant: Fed Uses Your Money To Bail Out European Commercial Banks
The Economic Collapse ^ | 09/16/2011 | Michael Snyder For a moment, imagine that there is a privately-owned organization in the United States that can create U.S. dollars out of thin air whenever it wants and can loan that money to whoever it wants to. Imagine that this organization is able to act with the full power of the U.S. government behind it, but that nobody in the organization is ever elected by the American people, and that for all practical purposes the organization is not accountable to the president or to Congress.

Imagine that the organization is able to make trillions of dollars of secret loans to banks,...

Solar panel producer tied to Kanjorski receives $400M federal loan

thetimestribune.com ^ | July 11, 2010 | Charles Schillinger A Colorado-based solar panel manufacturer for which the nephew of U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-11, Nanticoke, is vice president of marketing has received a $400 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy. The loan commitment to Abound Solar Manufacturing - announced by President Barack Obama during his July 3 weekly radio address - is to increase solar panel production at an existing plant in Colorado and build a second plant in Indiana that will create more than 1,200 jobs, a company statement said. Part of the management team of Abound Solar is the Democrat's nephew, Russell Kanjorski....

Obama signs patent reform bill

CNN ^ | September 16, 2011 | David Goldman and Alan Silverlain (CNN) -- President Barack Obama signed legislation Friday that will overhaul the U.S. patent system for the first time since 1952. "We have to do everything we can to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit wherever we find it," Obama said at a signing ceremony at a high school in Arlington, Virginia. This measure "cuts away the red tape that slows down our inventors and entrepreneurs." Obama used the occasion to promote his $447 billion jobs plan, calling patent reform a "part of our (larger) agenda for making us competitive over the long term." Among other things, the measure, dubbed the America...

Bombshell: General accused WH of pressuring him to change testimony for Democratic donor
Hot Air ^ | September 15, 2011 | Ed Morrissey With the White House already reeling over the Solyndra collapse, a new scandal may have erupted today that could make the disappearance of $535 million in taxpayer funds look like a paperwork glitch. Eli Lake starts off his new gig at The

Daily Beast with a huge bombshell an accusation made to members of Congress from a four-star Air Force general that claimed the White House pressured him to change his testimony to boost a big donor to the Democratic Party: ... Rep. Mike Turner told Eli that this was definitely an attempt to influence Shelton, bias his testimony,...

LightSquared Scandal Explodes

National Legal & Policy Center ^ | September 16, 2011 | Peter Flaherty Allegations that we first made in February about White House political favors for a company called LightSquared are starting to get the attention they deserve. LightSquared is owned by the Harbinger Capital hedge fund, headed by billionaire investor Phil Falcone. He visited the White House and made large donations to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Soon after, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted LightSquared a highly unusual waiver that allows the company to build out a national 4G wireless network on the cheap. The deal has been criticized not only for its 'pay to play' appearance but also because...

$4 Mil To House 12 Homeless People

Judicial Watch Blog ^ | September 7, 2011 | Judicial Watch In an example of how government at every level wastes tax dollars, one U.S. county is spending around $4 million in combined federal and local funds to house a dozen homeless people in an affluent community.That translates into more than $330,000 per person, which means that Uncle Sam might as well buy them each their own, fully furnished house. After all, the median single-family home in the U.S. costs around $172,000 so the government could also throw in a few years worth of utility bills and even groceries.

Small group of vagrants costs San Francisco $20M

San Francisco Examiner ^ | 8/29/11 | Katie Worth A group of 477 individuals costs The City more than $20 million in emergency medical services in one year 10 of whom racked up ambulance, emergency,

detox and crisis psychiatric services to the tune of $2.3 million. Those figures have been compiled as part of a new Department of Public Health initiative to get a better handle on San Franciscos most hardcore homeless population individuals dubbed high users of multiple systems who in many cases suffer from debilitating psychiatric or medical diseases, and typically have severe dependence on alcohol or drugs.The information about this population was unavailable until...

Seattle Green Jobs Program Gets $20M, Creates 14 Posts

Fox News ^ | 8/29/2011 | Dan Springer A green jobs program in one of America's greenest cities is being called a bust 16 months after a $20 million federal grant to weatherize homes in Seattle ended up putting just 14 people to work in mostly administrative jobs and upgrading only three homes in the area. "The jobs are not there," Todd Myers, who wrote the book "Eco Fads," told Fox News. "So we're training people for jobs that don't exist." Seattle is not alone. The Department of Energy has allocated $508 million to 41 states for its Better Buildings Neighborhood Program and 600 jobs have been created...

Obama Administration Pressuring New York Atty General To Drop Mortgage Fraud Investigations
Outside The Beltway ^ | August 24, 2011 | Doug Mataconis The Attorney General of New York has been on the receiving end of what seems like an unusual amount of pressure from Obama Administration officials to accept a settlement with mortgage lender rather than pursue the criminal fraud investigation that he opened several months ago: Eric T. Schneiderman, the attorney general of New York, has come under increasing pressure from the Obama administration to drop his opposition to a wide-ranging state settlement with banks over dubious foreclosure practices, according to people briefed on discussions about the deal. In recent weeks, Shaun Donovan, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and...

New Study Shows Inefficient, Duplicative Nature of Government Broadband Loan Program
Digital Liberty ^ | 2011-07-07 | [Staff] ...Oddly enough, while the BIP funds were meant to serve these areas due to a lack of broadband services, the authors of the report found that 85% of households in the three regions already had access to one or more broadband providers. The study found that the cost of providing broadband to the few underserved or unserved households in the three regions totaled $349,234per household. The project in Montana, in particular, was especially useless and wasteful. Over 98% of the households in the Southwestern Montana region that received subsidized broadband funds already had access to broadband. If 3G wireless service...

TSA 'ignored warnings' on cancer cluster

tgdaily ^ | June 28, 2011 | Kate Taylor The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) says it's got evidence that the Department of Homeland Security has failed to properly evaluate the level of risk from airport body scanners. Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the DHS, EPIC says it's obtained documents concerning the scanners' radiation risks, including agency emails, radiation studies, memoranda of agreement concerning radiation testing programs and the results of some radiation tests. EPIC says that TSA staff have been concerned that a large number of workers have been falling victim to cancer, strokes and heart disease. But the documents show that the TSA's response was simply...

Social Security makes $8B in improper payments

CBS News ^ | June 14, 2011 | AP The Social Security Administration made $6.5 billion in overpayments to people not entitled to receive them in 2009, including $4 billion under a supplemental income program for the very poor, a government investigator said Tuesday. In all, about 10 percent of the payments made under the agency's Supplemental Security Income program were improper, said Patrick P. O'Carroll Jr., the Social Security inspector general. Error rates were much smaller for retirement, survivor and disability benefits, which make up the overwhelming majority of Social Security

payments, O'Carroll told a congressional panel. "By any standard, the scope of these problems is considerable," said...

Foreign Aid: Borrowing From Peter to Pay Peter (China, Russia, etc., getting foreign aid)
The New American ^ | March 3, 2011 | Michael Tennant Nowhere on the planet is common sense a scarcer commodity than in Washington, D.C. The $14 trillion in federal debt much of it held by foreign, and frequently unfriendly, countries would seem to be sufficient evidence of that. As if that werent bad enough, it now emerges that many of those same creditor nations are also the recipients of U.S. foreign aid. According to a report from the Congressional Research Service, in fiscal year 2010 the United States top creditor nations received millions of dollars in foreign aid from the U.S. government. China, the number-one creditor, holding $1.1...

U.S. Offers Foreign Aid to Countries Holding Billions in Treasury Securities

FoxNews ^ | June 03, 2011 The United States is providing hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign aid to countries that it borrows billions from, according to a report by Congress's research arm. The Congressional Research Service released a report last month, a copy of which Fox News exclusively obtained, showing that in fiscal year 2010, the latest year that data was available, the U.S. handed out a total of $1.4 billion to 16 foreign countries that held at least $10 billion in Treasury securities, including China ($27.2 million), Brazil ($25 million), Russia ($71.5 million), India ($126.6 million), Mexico ($316.7 million) and Egypt ($255.7 million)....

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Gave $1.29 Million to China

Cybercast News ^ | June 2, 2011 | Fred Lucas

The Environmental Protection Agency has given at least $1,285,535 in grants to China to promote environmental research in the country. In all, the EPA issued six grants that went to China, most of which pertained to researching methane in Chinese coal mines and reducing carbon emissions in China, a communist dictatorship long criticized by human rights groups. Two of those grants were awarded during the Bush administration; four were awarded during the Obama administration. The issue, at a time of mounting debt and deficits, is about fiscal responsibility, said Robert Gordon, senior advisor for strategic outreach for the Heritage Foundation,...

Dream Act: Assembly approves state financial aid for illegal immigrants
San Jose Mercury News ^ | 06/01/2011 | Adam Weintraub Associated Press SACRAMENTO -- California lawmakers voted Wednesday to open the door to state-funded financial aid for immigrant college students who entered the United States illegally.

Newburgh-Beacon Bridge helping to pay for other bridges

Mid-Hudson News.com ^ | 5/31/11 | Staff BEACON When the eastbound span of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge was completed in 1980, then-US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who secured the funding for the construction, said when the $93.6 million cost was paid off, tolls would be lifted on the structure. That never happened. New York State Bridge Authority Executive Director Joseph Ruggiero said the tolls were eventually allowed to stay on the bridge along I-84. It took federal legislation to authorize the New York State Bridge Authority to collect tolls on federal highway, and thats not done, especially when federal funds have paid for it, he said.

Illinois to Create Private Scholarship Fund for Children of Undocumented Immigrants

Fox News Latino ^ | May 31, 2011 | Staff

Illinois is on the verge of becoming the first state to create a private college scholarship fund for the children of undocumented immigrants. The Illinois House, which on Thursday passed a state version of the DREAM Act by a 61-53 vote, sent a bill to Gov. Pat Quinn that would set up a state fund that would route privately funded college scholarships to as many as 95,000 children of undocumented immigrants. The children would be able to obtain private college scholarships and enroll in state savings programs. The measure, which Quinn, a Democrat, has said he plans to sign, had...

Portland Mayor Sam Adams to push sex-change benefits for city employees
The Oregonian ^ | May 31, 2011 | Beth Slovic Mayor Sam Adams wants the city of Portland's employee health insurance to cover sex changes and other treatments for transgender employees. "I think it's fair, and it's common sense," Adams said in an interview with The Oregonian. The mayor's proposal, if approved by the City Council next week when it's scheduled for a vote, would override a decision by a city committee that each year looks at the health benefits the city offers through its self-insurance fund.

Fire Your Hedge Fund, Hire Your Congressman

Barron's ^ | Friday, | Randall W. Forsyth According to an academic study published Wednesday in the journal "Business and Politics," members of the House of Representatives outperform the average stock-market investor by 55 basis points a month, or 0.55 percentage points, according to the Washington Times, which brought it to my attention. Extrapolated over a full year, that figures to an extra 6.8% per annum after compounding better than hedge-fund superstars. To add just 68 basis points, let alone 680 basis points, consistently makes you the equivalent of a lifetime .300 hitter in the Big Leagues. Most money managers trail the market, especially after expenses are...

G8 Leaders Vow $20 Billion in Aid to Egypt and Tunisia

http://www.usnews.com/news/ ^

While Republicans and Democrats in Washington dueled over job creation in America, President Obama was overseas in the French resort-town of Deauville working to spur job creation in the Middle East--among a laundry list of other international matters. With the so-called "Arab Spring" heating up into what some are now calling the "Arab Summer," leaders of the Group of Eight, more commonly known as the G8, have committed to help grow free economies and jobs in the region. Yet with several countries in the Middle East still engaged in serious conflict and uncertain political futures, the prospect for noticeable employment...

U.S. Congressman Says The Obama Administration Materially Supporting Terrorists

Big Peace ^ | May 26, 2011 | John Guandolo It is apparent the Deputy National Security Advisor to the President is not aware that the MB doctrine states that a bridge between the Muslims and non-Muslims is a one-way bridge the MB reaches out to U.S. government entities to subvert them. Thats their doctrine. In response to this incident [READ ENTIRE ARTICLE}, Congressman Gohmert stated, Weve got the President of (ISNA) the Justice Department documents alleged co-conspirator for funding Hamas in the White House leading the President in prayerHe (Mohammed Majid) is in the inner sanctum of the State Department, hes in the White House, and his organization...

Jerry: Open Fraud in Firing People From Non-Existent Jobs

Created at:
May 19, 2011

Title:

Written by:
CA Political News

Description:

Jerry Brown is one big gigantic fraud. He is going to close parks because he needs to fire people, so he will not have folks to work the parks. What a crock. He is firing ghosts, not live people. This from the Sacramento Bee, "California State Parks Director Ruth Coleman said the department is expected to lose about 200 permanent positions, though most of

those will come from eliminating some of the department's roughly 500 vacant posts. "We're going to have to eliminate those positions and then move people around," Coleman said last week to Capitol Bureau reporter Torey Van Oot. "The layoff process will be initiated... but whether or not people at the end of the day will be unemployed, we're hoping not. We hope that we can save all of our permanent staff." He needs to fire all 500 ghosts. Brown needs to fire the thousands of other ghosts the State has positions for. Why do we have any unfilled positions opened? What has been done with the money allocated for these positions? Are they used as a slush fund for the agency? We need to know how many ghosts is Jerry willing to fire. How long as we going to allow this lie?

Thanks For The Bailout Suckers; GM to invest extra $540 million in Mexico to build motors
RedWhiteandBlue News ^ | May 19, 2011 US giant General Motors will invest $540 million to produce two low-emission motors in central Mexico, the company announced here Thursday, accompanied by President Felipe Calderon. The latest project for GM in Mexico would create 500 direct and another 500 indirect jobs in its plant in Toluca, Calderon said. GM has four plants in Mexico, and has invested some $5 billion here since 2006, Calderon said. GM was left reeling by an industry slump when the global economic crisis hit. It received $49.5 billion from the US Treasury and emerged from a bankruptcy restructuring in 2009. It successfully returned to...

GM Will Spend $109 Million To Preserve 96 Michigan Jobs

zero hedge ^ | 05/13/2011 | Tyler Durden And so we get another example of government efficiency at work. The still taxpayer funded General Motors has just announced it will spend $109 million to keep and add 96 jobs. This amounts to $1.135 million per employee.

Government offers payouts to Hispanic, female farmers who claim discrimination

Orlando Sentinel ^ | 5/6/11 | Elosa Ruano Gonzlez Minority farmers have complained for decades that the U.S. Department of Agriculture denied or delayed giving them farm loans because of their ethnicity or gender, costing them their crops and land. Now, the USDA has acknowledged the discrimination. It is urging Hispanic and female farmers who can prove they were wronged to apply for settlements of up to $50,000. Frederick Pfaeffle, the department's deputy assistant secretary of civil rights, recently met with farmers and ranchers in Kissimmee and South Florida to promote the program. The settlement, which some Hispanic farmers have criticized for offering too little and placing the burden...

Ariz. Sheriff: Feds Order Release of Illegals to Phony Up Numbers

newsmax.com ^ | May 6, 2011 | Jim Meyers and Ashley Martella The U.S. Border Patrol has told its agents to stop arresting illegal aliens crossing the border from Mexico to keep the illegal immigration numbers down, Arizona Sheriff Larry Dever tells Newsmax. He also charges that Attorney General Eric Holder is holding hands with the ACLU to protect illegal aliens from prosecution, says illegals are committing heinous crimes across America every day, and calls claims that the federal government should be solely responsible for controlling illegal immigration balderdash. Dever is sheriff of Cochise County, which shares an 83-mile border with Mexico, and he says his Border Patrol sector is responsible for...

San Francisco to Stop Detaining Arrested Immigrants for Deportation

Fox News ^ | May 7, 2011 San Francisco, one of the first sanctuary cities in the nation, plans to end its cooperation with federal immigration officials and start releasing illegal immigrants arrested for minor offenses before they can be picked up for deportation. The city's decision is the latest development in a tug of war between several communities and the federal government over its controversial national

program that automatically checks the immigration status of arrestees. Officials in jurisdictions including Providence, R.I., and Chicago have also challenged the program, which they say undermines trust that it has taken local law enforcement years to build in immigrant communities....

IRS refunded $12 million to dead people in scam

Forbes ^ | May 6, 2011 | Janet Novak Over the course of a year, the Internal Revenue Service processed and paid out $12.1 million in fraudulent tax refund claims submitted using the stolen names and Social Security numbers of 5,108 dead people. Incredibly, the claims were all processed under the "Electronic Filing Identification Number" assigned to just one tax preparer, without, apparently, being blocked by any of the computerized screening programs used by the IRS to catch refund fraud. That surprising disclosure is contained in a "Complaint for Forfeiture" lawsuit the government filed late last month in the Southern District of Florida. The suit seeks to keep $851,832...

GOP Warns Obama Not to Issue Executive Order for Government Contractors
FoxNews ^ | may 6, 2011 | FoxNews Republicans are warning President Obama not to issue an executive order that would require government contractors to disclose their political donations. Obama drafted the proposal last month, which is reminiscent of a provision in a Democratic bill called the Disclose Act that died in the Congress last year. But in a letter to the president, California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the No. 3 Republican in the House, said Obama's proposed order "seems like a blatant attempt to intimidate, and potentially silence, certain speakers who are engaged in their constitutionally protected right to free speech." Twenty other Republicans signed the letter, which...

US panel calls for Smithsonian Latino museum

Mercury News ^ | 5/4/11 | Brett Zongker - ap

WASHINGTON A federal commission is calling for a national museum devoted to American Latino history and culture to be built on a grassy site next to the Capitol as part of the Smithsonian Institution. .. the museum would represent Latinos on the National Mall where their heritage has been absent. ... It calls for the museum to be established as the Smithsonian American Latino Museum. ..

DEFUND LA RAZA.... $5 MILLION IN 2010...

Patriotic Network ^ | April 30, 2011 | Tony Salazar Tens of millions of Americans filed their taxes last week. But few of them are aware that millions of their tax dollars fund the activities and agenda of a radical, racially-divisive organization that uses those funds against their values. The National Council of La Raza - literally "The Race" - opposes commonsense immigration enforcement against illegal aliens, or even to secure the borders. They oppose efforts to stop illegal aliens from voting, or receiving driver's licenses, or welfare. Even though more than 75% of Americans disagree with La Raza on those issues, those same taxpayers FUND La Raza's activities -...

U.S. Gov't Agency Plans $2.84 Billion Loan for Oil RefineryIn Colombia (unexpected?)
CNS News ^ | Monday April 18, 2011 (CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Export-Import Bank, an independent agency of the federal government, is now planning a $2.84-billion loan for a massive project to expand and upgrade an oil refinery--in Cartagena, Colombia. The money would go to Reficar, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ecopetrol, the Colombian national oil company. This is part of a $5.18 billion refinery and upgrade project in Cartagena, Colombia supplying petroleum products to the domestic and export markets, the Export-Import Bank said in a statement. The U.S. governmentcontrolled bank says the $2.84-billion in financing it plans to undertake will be the second largest project it has...

Real Housewives of Wall ( huge TALF loans to wives of wall street bigwigs )

source cannot be posted | 12 April 2011 | Matt Taibi google The Real Wives of Wall Street Rolling Stone You won't believe this. ... or don't, I don't care.

HUD Launches Live Free Campaign to Combat Housing Discrimination Against Immigrants
CNSNews ^ | April 12, 2011 | Susan Jones (CNSNews.com) - April is National Fair Housing Month, and to mark the occasion, the Obama administration is addressing discrimination in housing based on national origin. The emphasis is on immigrants, legal or illegal. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on Monday that it plans to educate the public -- through community talks and a media campaign -- about discrimination against "persons of foreign descent." Through this education campaign, HUD will work with communities to prevent housing discrimination and promote immigrant integration into the broader society," said John Trasvina, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal...

Video: Fannie & Freddie execs made millions in bonuses the last two years
Hotair ^ | 04/04/2011 | Ed Morrissey If any organization should see a big restriction in executive compensation, it should be the government-seized, taxpayer-rescued Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Congress has expanded the bailout of the two GSEs at the heart of the global economic collapse a number of times, with the potential cost to the Treasury estimated as high as $363 billion dollars. Recall, too, that the Obama administration created a pay czar to regulate executive compensation at private-sector banks that took TARP money to discourage excessive compensation. As the Wall Street Journal reported last week, the White House seems to care less about that issue...

Only One Planned Parenthood in Trafficking Videos Contacted Police

LifeNews.com ^ | March 14, 2011 | Steven Ertelt Only One Planned Parenthood in Trafficking Videos Contacted Police Washington, DC -- In the months following the release of videos from Live Action showing footage of undercover investigations of Planned Parenthood centers helping alleged sex traffickers obtain abortions for minor girls, the abortion business did little to show how it helped the victims. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/03/14/only-one-planned-parenthood-intrafficking-videos-contacted-police/

Former Obama 'car czar' settles suit with state of New York (Rattner's $150 million kickback scheme)
The Hill ^ | 12/30/10 | Peter Schroeder Former Obama 'car czar' settles suit with state of New YorkBy Peter Schroeder 12/30/10 02:46 PM ET Former Obama administration "car czar" Steven Rattner has agreed to pay $10 million to settle a civil suit with the state of New York. State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced the agreement Thursday, in which Rattner admitted no wrongdoing, The Associated Press reported. Cuomo will be sworn in as the state's governor on Saturday. Rattner had been accused by Cuomo of participating in a kickback scheme that allowed his company to obtain $150 million in state pension fund investments in 2004 and...

USDA requires nutrition labels for 40 cuts of meat

L.A. Times ^ | 12/30/10 | P.J. Huffstutter The rule will apply to raw and single-ingredient major cuts of meat and poultry, including boneless chicken breast, tenderloin steak and ground meat such as hamburger or turkey. It will go into effect in 2012. Coming soon to a grocery store near you: nutrition labels, like the ones seen on soda pop and potato chips, slapped on packages of raw ground meat and chicken breasts. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that a new federal rule will

require 40 of the most commonly purchased cuts of poultry, pork, beef and lamb to carry labels that disclose a variety of...

2010 HUD grants include training for La Raza and Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp.
2010 HUD grants include training for La Raza and Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp. ^ | 12/23/10 | Kerry Picket As the American people shop for and wrap final Christmas gifts for their family and friends, the Obama administration announced on Thursday their own present from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In a press release on Thursday HUD stated: In an effort to help families find decent housing and to prevent future foreclosures, the Obama Administration today announced nearly $73 million in housing counseling grants to more than 500 national, regional and local organizations. As a result of the funding announced today, hundreds of thousands of households will have a greater opportunity to find housing

http://www.judicialwatch.org/news/2010/dec/judicial-watch-announces-list-washingtonsten-most-wanted-corrupt-politicians-2010 Judicial Watch lists 3 Californians as Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released its 2010 list of Washington's Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians. The list, in alphabetical order, includes: Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Rahm Emanuel, Former Obama White House Chief of Staff, Senator John Ensign (RNV), Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), President Barack Obama, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), Rep. Hal Rogers (RKY), and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA).

ICE will now provide heart surgery, biopsies and psychiatric care to detainees

Examiner. ^ | December 17th, 2010 | Dave Gibson Immigration and Customs Enforcement has agreed to begin providing medical care that goes well beyond emergency treatment, as a result of a lawsuit filed by the ACLU. The suit alleged that ICE was not treating immigration detainees with constitutionally adequate levels of medical and mental health care. Among the many services which ICE will now provide illegal aliens in their custody are heart surgeries, cancer biopsies, treatment for diabetes, dental care, and treatment for mental depression. On Thursday, Elizabeth Alexander, former Director of the ACLU National Prison Project and lead attorney in the suit said: "For the first time,

Body-scanner makers spent millions on lobbying

The Daily Caller ^ | Fredreka Schouten WASHINGTON The companies with multimillion-dollar contracts to supply American airports with body-scanning machines more than doubled their spending on lobbying in the last five years and hired several high-profile former government officials to advance their causes in Washington, records show. L-3 Communications, which has sold $39.7 million worth of the machines to the federal government, spent $4.3 million to influence Congress and federal agencies during the first nine months of this year, up from $2.1 million in 2005, lobbying data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show. Last year, the company spent $5.5 million on lobbying. Its lobbyists...

100831 Education secretary urged his employees to go to Sharpton's rally washington Examiner ^ | 8/30/2010 | Lisa Gartner President Obama's top education official urged government employees to attend a rally that the Rev. Al Sharpton organized to counter a larger conservative event on the Mall. "ED staff are invited to join Secretary Arne Duncan, the Reverend Al Sharpton, and other leaders on Saturday, Aug. 28, for the 'Reclaim the Dream' rally and march," began an internal e-mail sent to more than 4,000 employees of the Department of Education on Wednesday. Sharpton created the event after Glenn Beck announced a massive Tea Party "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial, where King spoke in 1963. The Washington Examiner learned...

100831 House's Former Black Caucus Chairwoman Reportedly Gave Scholarships to Relatives FoxNews.com ^ | August 30, 2010 Relatives of Texas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and a top aide reportedly won scholarship funds from a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation program in violation of the group's rules. The Dallas Morning News reported Monday that Johnson awarded nine to 11 scholarships per year from 2005 to 2008, which are the years the Morning News had available for review, and in each year, three or four winners were related to Johnson or her district director, Rod Givens. Johnson, an influential Democratic member of Congress and former Congressional Black Caucus chairwoman, told the newspaper that she "unknowingly" violated nepotism rules when she...

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Sneaky Senate Trying To Slip Internet Kill Switch Past Us Personal Liberty Digest ^ | 8-30-10 | Bob Livingston Sensing Senators dont have the stomach to try and pass a stand-alone bill in broad daylight that would give the President the power to shut down the Internet in a national emergency, the Senate is considering attaching the Internet Kill Switch bill as a rider to other legislation that would have bi-partisan support. Its hard to get a measure like cybersecurity legislation passed on its own, Senator Thomas Carper (D-Del.) told GovInfoSecurity.com. Carper is chairman of the Senate subcommittee with cybersecurity oversight. Under instructions from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) are...

100721 The feds $95 million breastfeeding boondoggle http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/07/the_feds_95_million_breastfeed.html Heres what Obama money is doing for you in Kenya! http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=181405 3 Republican congressmen reveal Barack secretly spent $23 million to fund a yes vote on access to abortions and legal status for Islamic law tribunals.