Energy Department revives auto loan program despite Fisker flop

(Bailey) This is one of many examples of  American Government out of control.



The Obama administration announced this week it is reopening a loan program for advanced fuel-efficient vehicles that was derided by Republican lawmakers last year after two of the first five loan beneficiaries halted operations.
The Department of Energy said Wednesday it is reviving the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program and is reaching out to manufacturers of auto parts and components to apply for more than $16 billion in available funding, The Wall Street Journal reported. 
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said the program, which has has provided $8.4 billion in funding since 2009, will have a revised application process to speed up reviews and address concerns from auto makers about the process being too complex.
"Today we are presented with an opportunity to hit the accelerator on U.S. auto manufacturing growth," Moniz said at a conference in Washington. "Motor vehicle parts manufacturers play a significant role in the development and deployment of new technologies to meet the demand for fuel-efficient vehicles." 
The program came under scrutiny after the department lost $139 million on a loan to electric car maker Fisker Automotive Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in 2013. Fisker received $192 million from the program before funding was pulled.
In September 2013, the Energy Department lost about $42 million on a loan to a shuttered Michigan company that made vans for the disabled. Vehicle Production Group, or VPG, suspended operations the same year after receiving $50 million in financing. 
The loan program did have success with electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc., which repaid its $452 million loan in 2013, according to the report. 
House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who said at hearing last year that the program never should have considered Fisker, told the Wall Street Journal he questioned administration's plan to revamp the program.
"Despite the Energy Department's appalling track record of loan programs, which put taxpayer money on the line to fund junk-bond-rated companies, this administration will do anything to shove their ideology-driven policy forward.," Issa said in a statement.
The Reublican-led House is expected to vote on a budget proposal from House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., that would essentially dissolve the auto loan program, the Washington Examiner reported.
At a Thursday hearing on the Energy Department's 2015 budget, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., voiced concerns about the reopening the program. 
"I remain highly skeptical of the federal government playing venture capitalist," Upton was quoted as saying. "The revival of the loan guarantee program that backed Solyndra ... is of serious concern."

Hundreds of cases of potential voter fraud uncovered in North Carolina

(Bailey) Do you really think all these elections are on the up and up?
State elections officials in North Carolina are investigating hundreds of cases of potential voter fraud after identifying thousands of registered voters with personal information matching those of voters who voted in other states in 2012.
Elections Director Kim Strach told state lawmakers at an oversight hearing Wednesday that her staff has identified 765 registered North Carolina voters who appear to have cast ballots in two states during the 2012 presidential election.
Strach said the first names, last names, birthdates and last four digits of their Social Security numbers appear to match information for voters in another state. Each case will now be investigated to determine whether voter fraud occurred.
"Could it be voter fraud? Sure, it could be voter fraud," Strach said. "Could it be an error on the part of a precinct person choosing the wrong person's name in the first place? It could be. We're looking at each of these individual cases."
WRAL.com reported that 81 residents who died before election day were recorded as casting a ballot. While about 30 of those voters appear to have legally cast ballots before election day, Strach said "there are between 40 and 50 [voters] who had died at a time that that's not possible."
"We have the 'Walking Dead,' and now we've got the 'Voting Dead,'" said state Sen. Bob Rucho, R-Mecklenburg. "I guess the reason there's no proof of voter fraud is because we weren't looking for it." 
Strach cautioned, however, that in several past cases, instances of so-called zombie voters turned out to be the result of clerical errors. 
"We're in the process of looking at each of these to see," Strach said. "That means either a poll or precinct worker made a mistake and marked the wrong person, or someone voted for them. That's something we can't determine until we look into each case."  
A law passed last year by the Republican-dominated state legislature required elections staff to check information for North Carolina's more than 6.5 million voters against a database containing information for 101 million voters in 28 states.
The cross-check found listings for 35,570 North Carolina voters whose first names, last names and dates of birth match those of voters who voted in other states. However, in those cases middle names and Social Security numbers were not matched.
The analysis also found 155,692 registered North Carolina voters whose information matched voters registered in other states but who most recently registered or voted elsewhere. Strach said those were most likely voters who moved out of state without notifying their local boards of elections.
Republicans leaders immediately touted the preliminary report as evidence they were justified in approving sweeping elections changes last year that include requiring voters to present photo ID at the polls, cutting days from the period for early voting and ending a popular civics program that encouraged high school students to pre-register to vote in advance of their 18th birthdays.
“That is outrageous. That is criminal. That is wrong, and it shouldn’t be allowed to go any further without substantial investigations from our local district attorneys who are the ones charged with enforcing these laws,” state Sen. Thom Goolsby, R-Wilmington, told the Charlotte Observer.
State House Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, and Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, issued a joint statement Wednesday on what they termed as the "alarming evidence." 
"While we are alarmed to hear evidence of widespread voter error and fraud, we are encouraged to see the common-sense law passed to ensure voters are who they say they are is working," said the statement. "These findings should put to rest ill-informed claims that problems don't exist and help restore the integrity of our elections process."
However, other states using the cross-check system have yielded relatively few criminal prosecutions for voter fraud once the cases were thoroughly investigated.
Only 11 people were prosecuted on allegations of double-voting as a result of the 15 states that performed similar database checks following the 2010 elections, according to data compiled by elections officials in Kansas, where the cross-check program originated.
Bob Hall, director of the non-profit group Democracy North Carolina, cautioned officials not to jump to conclusions based on the preliminary database check.
"I know there is more than one Bob Hall with my birth date who lives among the 28 states researched," Hall said. "There may be cases of fraud, but the true scale and conspiracy involved need to be examined more closely before those with political agendas claim they've proven guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."
Voting rights advocate Bob Phillips of Common Cause NC told WRAL.com that while he is concerned about the report, it still doesn't justify requiring voters to present photo ID at the polls.
"I think a lot of [lawmakers] are saying, 'Aha, this proves what we did,'" Phillips said. "But if I have an ID, how is that going to stop me from voting in North Carolina if I've already voted in Florida?"
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Lower Costs?

Oregon State University pays $101,000 to settle suit over trashed conservative paper

(Bailey) All these so called Universities only want a one party system, theirs!

Oregon State University has paid $1,000 plus $100,000 in legal fees to a former student to settle a lawsuit over the confiscation of distribution boxes for a conservative-leaning student newspaper.
Supporters of the newspaper called The Liberty sued the school in 2009, alleging the university president and other school officials granted the official campus newspaper numerous bins while restricting The Liberty's distribution. 
The suit alleged that school officials confiscated distribution bins for The Liberty and tossed them onto a trash heap. The bins, which contained copies of the paper, were allegedly removed without notice and thrown next to a dumpster.
Lower-ranking campus officials said they removed The Liberty's boxes to beautify the campus, but distribution bins for the campus paper were reportedly left untouched. Top school officials said they had not ordered the destruction.  
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had revived the lawsuit after a U.S. District Court judge dismissed it. The appeals court ruled that it had “little trouble finding constitutional violations” and that the university's policy that led to the alleged trashing "materialized like a bolt out of the blue." 
The Oregonian reported that the university did not acknowledge wrongdoing but agreed to the six-figure payout to William Rogers to end the lawsuit, which was dismissed Wednesday. 
Months after the lawsuit was filed by Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal firm specializing in religious liberty cases, the university changed its policies to allow approved student groups that publish newspapers to distribute them on campus. 
“We hope this case will encourage public officials everywhere to respect the freedom of students to engage in the marketplace of ideas that a public university is supposed to be,” David Hacker, an attorney with the Arizona-based group said in a statement. “The university has done the right thing, not only through changing their unconstitutional policy, but also by compensating the students for the violation of their First Amendment freedoms.”
Rogers was the paper's executive editor at the time. The Oregonian reported that The Liberty ceased operations at Oregon State after 2009. 
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Think the Koch Brothers Are Among the Top 10 All-Time Political Donors? Sorry, You Are Wrong. Very Wrong.

The Koch brothers, notorious for donating large sums of money to right-leaning political causes, might not be as influential as some may think.

Opensecrets.org recently compiled a list of the top “all-time donors” from 1989 to 2014 and the infamous duo not only fail to take the top slot, but even place in the top 10.
In fact, according to the data, Koch Industries places 59 on the list with $18 million in donations, 90-percent of which went to Republicans.
So who takes the top spot? An organization called “ActBlue” which bills itself as a PAC “allowing individuals and groups to channel their progressive dollars to candidates and movements of their choosing.”
That group has donated more than 97 million to political causes, with over 99-percent going to Democrats.
The Washington Examiner has more:

So who occupies the 58 spots ahead of the Evil Koch Bros? Six of the top 10 are … wait for it … unions. They gave more than $278 million, with most of it going to Democrats.
These are familiar names: AFSCME ($60.6 million), NEA ($53.5 million), IBEW ($44.4 million), UAW ($41.6 million), Carpenters & Joiners ($39.2 million) and SEIU ($38.3 million).
In other words, the six biggest union donors in American politics gave 15 times more to mostly Democrats than the Evil Koch Bros.

Click here to see the entire list complied by opensecrets.org.
(H/T: Washington Examiner)

Big Joke

ObamaCare is here to stay, and that’s no help to Democrats

OBAMACARE IS HERE TO STAY, AND THAT’S NO HELP TO DEMOCRATS
David Axelrod said that those who dispute the official White House numbers on ObamaCare enrollments are part of the “black helicopter crowd.” And that dismissive, triumphal attitude was certainly on display as President Obama touted on Tuesday his claim that 7.1 million Americans had signed up for his health law. The underlying message is that the millions of enrollees will act as human shields against Republican efforts to repeal the law. Axelrod may break out the tinfoil hats, but it seems reasonable to ask just how many people rare really benefitting.
[Breitbart: “President Barack Obama’s home state of Hawaii's Obamacare exchange spent $35,749 per enrollee…]
7.1 million… er, 2.5 million… er, 1.2 million… er… - Forbes’ Avik Roy rounds up the available data estimating how many of the enrollees were uninsured before and concludes that only about a third are among the group whose new premium payments are intended to offset the cost of massive insurance regulations under the law. The basic idea of ObamaCare is to require pricier coverage but spread the cost out over a larger market expanded by the enticement of new federal subsidies and the threat of fines for those who don’t enroll. But if fewer than 2.5 million of the president’s mystery 7.1 million are really new to insurance that means dire consequences for everybody else. Yes, bailouts will help soften the blow for insurers, but a the rates being worked up even now by actuaries could still be disruptively high. And if studies that suggest that less than half of those 2.5 million ObamaCare newbies have actually paid, things get even worse.
Just a simple Hawaiian boy, his scrappy health secretary and a dog named Bo -“We didn’t make a hard sell: We didn’t have billions of dollars of commercials like some critics did.” – President Obama congratulating his team on the survival of his health law.

Sebelius has awkward exchange with Okla. news anchor over ObamaCare

Well, that was awkward. 
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had an uncomfortable exchange with a local news anchor in Oklahoma on Monday when he informed her ObamaCare is not very popular in the state.
Sebelius appeared on Oklahoma City’s News 9 on the last day of open enrollment for the health care law to encourage people to sign up. However, anchor Stan Miller informed Sebelius his viewers may be skeptical, as statistics show the law is not popular in the state.
“At last check, 64 percent of Oklahomans aren't buying into the health care plan, they don't like ObamaCare, and they've been pretty vocal about it,” Miller said. “Now that's going to still continue to be a tough sell, but we'll see how that plays out over the coming months.”
In response, Sebelius was silent, staring into the camera until Miller finally broke the pause by thanking her for coming on. Stan then suggested perhaps they had lost sound, since Sebelius was not responding.
“Well I can hear you,” the secretary said, before saying, “Thanks for having me.” Miller then ended the interview.

Krauthammer on ObamaCare enrollment: ‘This is a phony number’

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer said Tuesday on “Special Report with Bret Baier” that while the administration is celebrating hitting 7.1 million enrollees in the Affordable Care Act, that figure just isn’t accurate.
“This is a phony number, and it’s wonderfully precise. These guys go six months without any idea what the numbers are, and all of a sudden, it’s to a decimal point,” Krauthammer said. “But of course it’s meaningless because…we don’t know how many of them have paid…and how many were previously uninsured.”
He said if it turns out the overwhelming majority of those who signed up for the Affordable Care Act had been previously insured, and only signed up for the ACA because they couldn’t keep their plans, the administration may have fallen short of its intended goal of insuring those without health insurance.
Krauthammer went on to press the media to continue pursuing the real numbers, asking, “Are they going to say seven [million] is done and not revisit how many have actually paid, how many were previously uninsured, and of course how many are young and healthy?”

White House runs 'victory lap' after 7M ObamaCare sign-ups, Republicans renew repeal fight

( Bailey ) "How do you like your government taking the right to choose your own destiny"?

While continuing to face deep skepticism from Republicans, President Obama and his team ran a victory lap of sorts Tuesday after declaring that more than 7 million people signed up for health insurance on the ObamaCare exchanges before the midnight deadline. 
"This law is doing what it's supposed to do. It's working," Obama said in the Rose Garden. 
The president spoke pointedly to the law's critics, accusing them of trying to "scare people" and saying "there's no good reason to go back." 
"The debate over repealing this law is over," Obama said. "The Affordable Care Act is here to stay." 
Republicans, though, made clear the debate is not over. "Despite the White House 'victory lap,' this law continues to harm the American people," House Speaker John Boehner's spokesman Michael Steel said. The speaker also renewed his call for the law to be repealed and replaced. 
The president on Tuesday touted the benefits of the program, including the economic security that comes with health insurance and protections that guarantee those with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage. Earlier, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the total number of sign-ups by the midnight deadline was 7,041,000, not counting those given an extension and those who signed up on state-run exchanges. Despite HealthCare.gov's technical problems and very rocky start, Carney credited a "remarkable surge in enrollment." 
Seven million was the original goal for the program. Still, administration officials were unable to answer key questions about the law and about the enrollment stats. Carney conceded that the administration does not have the "breakdown data" at this point. 
Unanswered is how many people have actually paid their premiums -- those who don't pay will not be considered enrolled. Also unclear is whether enough young and healthy people signed up to offset the cost of signing up older, less-healthy customers. And the administration still cannot say how many of those who enrolled via HealthCare.gov were simply people who had their old policies canceled because of the law. 
Republicans fighting against the law did not let up in the wake of the open enrollment period. 
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., included a provision calling for ObamaCare's repeal in a House GOP budget plan on Tuesday. 
Boehner said the law "continues to wreak havoc on American families, small businesses and our economy." 
"And as I've said many times, the problem was never just about the website - it's the whole law," he said in a statement. "Millions of Americans are seeing their premiums rise, not the lower prices the president promised.  Many small businesses are afraid to hire new workers, instead cutting hours and dropping health coverage for existing employees.  Many Americans can no longer see their family doctor, despite the pledge no one would lose access to their physician. Seniors are feeling the impact, losing their Medicare Advantage plans the president promised they could keep." 
Obama dismissed Republicans' concern about the law during his Rose Garden remarks, saying the "tall tales" have largely been debunked. 
"There are still no death panels. Armageddon has not arrived," he said.   
The president did not address the mix of those signing up for coverage though. 
While Obama has aggressively sought out 18-to-34-year-olds, some of the more recent reports show most of the enrollees are 35 and older. 
Yet the bigger question is perhaps whether the law has indeed helped insure at least some of the estimated 48 million Americans who previously did not have insurance or couldn't get it because of a pre-existing condition. 
The most recent finding by the often-cited McKinsey & Company shows 27 percent of enrollees were previously uninsured and that roughly 75 percent of those who signed up for private insurance under ObamaCare have paid their premiums. 
The White House and other supporters of the law were hoping for an enrollment surge that would confound skeptics. 
The insurance markets -- or exchanges -- offer subsidized private health insurance to people who don't have access to coverage through their jobs. The federal government is taking the lead in 36 states, while 14 other states plus Washington, D.C., are running their own enrollment websites. 
The Associated Press contributed to this report.