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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrightSource_Energy

The total cost of the Ivanpah project will be $2.2 billion.

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign
Date: Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Subject: What issues matter to you?
To: majors.bruce@gmail.com


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We want to hear from you.

Will you take a few minutes and share your opinions?

Take our short online survey now. <http://action.hrc.org/site/R?i=varqAwHocLoXmzqP2pSHfA>

<https://secure3.convio.net/hrc/images/content/pagebuilder/takeoursurvey2.png> <http://action.hrc.org/site/R?i=Qpd2dsWQ28nxiK1LBzhlVg>

bruce, we want to hear from you.

As we chart our course for the remainder of the year and beyond, it's critical for us to know what you care about right now.

Listening to our members and supporters is an incredibly important part of our work.

Sharing your views and opinions in this QUICK seven-minute online survey will make you an essential part of our planning.

Take our short survey and share some of your thoughts on HRC, the state of our movement, and the issues that matter most to you. <http://action.hrc.org/site/R?i=kDTELIUerXMk_b49HDWqiQ>

Your input can help us navigate how best to respond to the changing political landscape in our country. As HRC's tireless work to achieve full equality continues, we need your story and voice to make our case even stronger.

Your answers will be kept strictly confidential.

Please, take a few minutes to share your opinion in our online survey. <http://action.hrc.org/site/R?i=S55nyO6CY7KkqcEdDIRh1w>

Thanks again for your time. It means a lot.

All the best,
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Joe Solmonese
President, HRC

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Having trouble clicking on the links above? Simply copy and paste this URL into your browser's address bar to reach the survey page:
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© 2011 The Human Rights Campaign. All rights reserved.
Human Rights Campaign | http://www.hrc.org/ <http://action.hrc.org/site/R?i=zgs-nFCxcNXktUZRFlgS9A>
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New post on Scotty Starnes's Blog

Bad News Obama: MTV Rejects Obama Campaign to Use the Network to Reach Young Voters

by Scotty Starnes

The young and ill-informed are the idiots who helped Obama get elected in 2008. Now after three years of "hope and change," all they have is higher unemployment, poverty and debt. Team Obama wants to use MTV to reach these same idiots again, except MTV rejected their plans.

From TheBlaze:

In what seems an unthinkable move, MTV — the network that hosted a youth town hall last October called "A Conversation With President Obama" and made "Rock the Vote" famous — has reportedly declined a request by President Barack Obama's re-election campaign to help the president connect with young Americans. What's more, the network allegedly did so on the grounds that it does not get involved with political campaigns.

MTV helped sell the fraud that is Obama to the weak-minded youths of America. Now that three years of hope and change have failed, MTV decides it doesn't want to get involved. It's hard to defend Obama's terrible record.

According to the New York Post, Obama's Get Out the Vote campaign, run by Buffy Wicks, feared that the high unemployment rate among millennials will turn young voters off to the president.

The Post adds that the campaign called MTV's internal ad agency, MTV Scratch in mid-August:

MTV Scratch, run by Ross Martin, former MTVU boss, and Anne Hubert, who was a policy adviser to Jon Corzine when he was a US senator from New Jersey, works across all the MTV Networks and helps marketers such as General Motors and Dr. Pepper understand the mind-set of young people.

The re-election effort wants to reconnect with youth, which were among its most fervent supporters in 2008.

"The youth initiative is having trouble with big donors and youth votes," said a person familiar with the discussions."They asked, 'Can you tell us how we should be talking to them?' " one source noted.

Continue reading>>>

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New post on ACGR's "News with Attitude"

Thought it couldn't get any worse than Solyndra? Now look who's awarded $1.37 billion 'stimulus' for another risky solar plant

by Harold

Aaron Klein, KleinOnline 9/26/2011 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 [...]

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The Mad As Hell Generation: 20 Reasons Why Millions Of Americans Under The Age Of 30 Are Giving Up On The U.S. Economy

<http://endoftheamericandream.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/The-Mad-As-Hell-Generation-20-Reasons-Why-Millions-Of-Americans-Under-30-Are-Giving-Up-On-The-US-Economy-250x165.jpg> <http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0029BE7AW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=shatteparadi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=B0029BE7AW>Millions upon millions of young Americans have completely lost faith in the U.S. economy and are mad as hell that their economic futures have been destroyed. The recent economic downturn has hit those under the age of 30 the hardest. Today, there are hordes of young people that should be entering their most productive years that are sitting home with nothing to do. Many of them have worked incredibly hard throughout high school and college. Many of them have stayed out of trouble and have done everything that "the system" asked them to do. But once they got finished with school, the promised "rewards" simply were not there. Instead, millions of young Americans are faced with crushing student loan debt loads in an economy where they can't find good jobs. When you are in your twenties, it can be absolutely soul-crushing to send out hundreds (or even thousands) of resumes and not get a single interview. Most of us grew up believing that we would "be something" when we got older, and millions of young Americans are having those dreams brutally crushed right now. Americans under the age of 30 voted for Barack Obama in droves back in 2008 because they believed that he would make things better. Instead,  Significant numbers of young Americans are starting to wake up and realize that neither political party is providing any real answers, and they are starting to get mad as hell about it.
Americans under the age of 30 don't want to hear that they are not going to be able to do better than their parents. They don't want to hear that they are going to have to "pay the price" because of the mistakes of previous generations. They don't want to hear that the "good jobs" that have been held out as a "carrot" for them all these years have disappeared and are not coming back.
Millions of young Americans want what was promised to them. They want good jobs that will enable them to enjoy the "American Dream". They want things to go back to the way that things used to work in America.
If you spend much time around those in their twenties, you know that many of them have a look of hopelessness in their eyes. Large numbers of them have moved back in with their parents. Large numbers of them are flipping burgers or working retail jobs part-time because that is all they can find. There are even a growing number of them that have given up entirely and have completely checked out.
So are we in the process of creating a "lost generation"?
The following are 20 reasons why millions of Americans under the age of 30 are giving up on the U.S. economy....
#1 Only 55.3% <http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CENSUS_RECESSIONS_IMPACT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-22-00-17-27> of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 were employed last year. That was the lowest level that we have seen since World War II.
#2 Today, there are 5.9 million <http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CENSUS_RECESSIONS_IMPACT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-22-00-17-27> Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 that are living with their parents.
#3 The economic downturn has been particularly tough on men. According to Census data, men are twice as likely <http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CENSUS_RECESSIONS_IMPACT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-22-00-17-27> to live with their parents as women are.
#4 Amazingly, less than 30 percent <http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/lawless-america-20-examples-of-desperate-people-doing-desperate-things> of all U.S. teens had a job this summer.
#5 Approximately one out of every five <http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CENSUS_RECESSIONS_IMPACT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-22-00-17-27> Americans under the age of 30 is currently living in poverty.
#6 According to one recent survey, only 14 percent <http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/09/07/most-20-somethings-are-pessimistic-about-their-financial-futures/> of all Americans that are 28 or 29 years old are optimistic about their financial futures.
#7 Since the year 2000, incomes for U.S. households led by someone between the ages of 25 and 34 have fallen by about 12 percent <http://www.businessinsider.com/every-age-group-is-getting-poorer-in-america-except-for-one-2011-9> after you adjust for inflation.
#8 The cost of "getting an education" has become increasingly burdensome in recent years. Average yearly tuition at U.S. private universities is now up to $27,293 <College Conspiracy <College Conspiracy <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpZtX32sKVE>>>. That figure has increased by 29% in just the past five years.
#9 In America today, approximately two-thirds <http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/student-loan-debt-hell-21-statistics-that-will-make-you-think-twice-about-going-to-college> of all college students graduate with student loans.
#10 Millions of young Americans are absolutely being financially strangled by horrific student loan debt loads. Sadly, the total amount of student loan debt in the United States now exceeds <http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/is-college-worth-it> the total amount of credit card debt in the United States.
#11 In 2010, the average college graduate had accumulated approximately $25,000 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/26/college-graduates-debt_n_854047.html> in student loan debt by graduation day.
#12 One-third of all college graduates <http://www.businessinsider.com/hey-college-seniors-this-is-whats-happening-to-your-peers-when-they-try-to-find-jobs-2011-4#for-many-of-you-your-degrees-wont-matter-one-third-of-you-will-land-full-time-jobs-that-dont-require-them-5> end up taking jobs that don't even require college degrees.
#13 In the United States today, there are more than 100,000 <http://growth.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/26-04-11%20Middle%20Class%20Under%20Stress.pdf> janitors that have college degrees.
#14 In the United States today, 317,000 waiters and waitresses <http://chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/why-did-17-million-students-go-to-college/27634> have college degrees.
#15 In the United States today, approximately 365,000 cashiers <http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/need-a-job-too-bad-the-good-jobs-are-being-shipped-out-of-america-as-part-of-the-new-one-world-economy> have college degrees.
#16 In the United States today, 24.5 percent <http://collegeaffordability.blogspot.com/2010/10/underemployed-college-graduate.html> of all retail salespersons have a college degree.
#17 As the economy has crumbled, fewer young Americans have been getting married. Today, an all-time low 44.2% <http://www.businessinsider.com/america-lost-generation-census-2011-9> of Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 are married.
#18 Young Americans are becoming increasingly frustrated as our politicians stand by and do nothing while our economy is being hollowed out <http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/new-world-trade-center-tower-to-be-made-with-glass-from-china-and-steel-from-germany>. The sad truth is that United States has lost an average of 50,000 manufacturing jobs <http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/how-can-america-create-wealth-if-our-industrial-base-is-destroyed-50000-manufacturing-jobs-have-been-lost-every-month-since-2001> a month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and top politicians in both major political parties keep pushing for even more job-killing "free trade" agreements.
#19 Young Americans are becoming increasingly frustrated that pretty much the only jobs that seem to be available are low paying jobs. Back in 1980, less than 30% <http://growth.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/26-04-11%20Middle%20Class%20Under%20Stress.pdf> of all jobs in the United States were low income jobs. Today, more than 40% <http://growth.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/26-04-11%20Middle%20Class%20Under%20Stress.pdf> of all jobs in the United States are low income jobs.
#20 Young Americans are becoming increasingly frustrated that previous generations have saddled them with a 14 trillion dollar national debt <http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/national-debt> that they are expected to make payments on for the rest of their lives.
A lot of young Americans swing back and forth between anger and despair. Many of them worked like crazy for years because of the promise of a better life, and now they are being bitterly disappointed. Just consider the following testimonial that was recently posted on The Atlantic <http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/09/jobless-in-america-an-anthology-of-testimonials-about-unemployment/245182/2/>....

I am in my mid-20s. I have a university education. I started working when I was 14. I have chemical burns and scars over my hands from dealing with caustic cleaning chemicals. I did not want that to be my life like my uncles. I had to get out. I worked very hard in high school and volunteered and was the member of clubs and all of that great stuff. I got into a good university and worked hard. I took a language course, took things that I loved. I worked through my degree - I was even a janitor in a building that I lived in, because I needed the cut in rent. I did that for no pay.
After these months of unemployment I have fallen into a pretty major depression. I live at home, I do chores, I look for work. As much as I want to get my life together, I have some great mental health issues to deal with - but have neither the money to purchase medication that may help me, nor the ability to pay for psychological or psychiatric help.

So what can be done?
Well, someone could wave a magic wand and fix the U.S. economy, but we all know that is not going to happen.
In fact, there is all kinds of evidence that the U.S. economy is about to get even worse <http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/30-signs-that-the-u-s-economy-is-about-to-go-into-the-toilet>.
So should we just tell our young people that they might as well just give up and start making rap videos about using food stamp cards like this one <Ghetto Capitalist Anthem. My E.B.T. by Mr. EBT prod. by @captnhook_maine <Ghetto Capitalist Anthem. My E.B.T. by Mr. EBT prod. by @captnhook_maine <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylV8y_JZbuk>>>? (*Warning* The video contains some very strong language.)
The number of Americans on food stamps has increased by 74 percent since 2007. Millions of young people are learning that the only way to survive is to be dependent on the government.
We have failed young Americans in so many ways that it would take a series of books to detail them all.
We can say that we are sorry, but that just isn't going to cut it.
Millions of young Americans want what was promised to them, but we no longer have it to give to them.
Anger in this nation is already starting to boil over in strange and unpredictable ways <http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/lawless-america-20-examples-of-desperate-people-doing-desperate-things>. If the economy gets even worse, we are going to have tens of millions of young Americans that are mad as hell and that are ready to riot in the streets.
What are we going to do then?
According to a recent Gallup poll, 81 percent <http://www.gallup.com/poll/149678/Americans-Express-Historic-Negativity-Toward-Government.aspx> of Americans are "dissatisfied with the way the nation is being governed".
That is not a sign of a healthy nation.
The sad truth is that the foundations of America are crumbling and we have millions upon millions of young people that are incredibly angry and incredibly frustrated.
It does not take a genius to figure out that is a recipe for disaster.
So please pray for America.
We are going to need it.

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From: SanFranEngineer <sfrenegademanboy@aol.com>
To: sfrenegademanboy <sfrenegademanboy@aol.com>; vbboyd123456 <vbboyd123456@yahoo.com>; AudioLaw <AudioLaw@aol.com>; microdhses <microdhses@gmail.com>; conner2or <conner2or@aol.com>; Freelancer514 <Freelancer514@aol.com>; edpals2 <edpals2@yahoo.com>; JustinsGma <JustinsGma@aol.com>; Gaylesafe <Gaylesafe@aol.com>; jmach499 <jmach499@verizon.net>; carpbear <carpbear@sbcglobal.com>; boldsaber <boldsaber@gmail.com>; srking <srking@compuserve.com>; whatnowgop <whatnowgop@yahoo.com>; hemilight <hemilight@hotmail.com>; jmills9786 <jmills9786@aol.com>; Chirho33 <Chirho33@aol.com>; predatorbc <predatorbc@aol.com>; patriot451 <patriot451@aol.com>; lenaprimeaux <lenaprimeaux@bellsouth.net>; ladywindsor1 <

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The Real Problem with Solyndra
by Laurence M. Vance, September 27, 2011

Executives from the bankrupt solar-energy company Solyndra recently invoked their Fifth Amendment privileges before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, declining to testify to avoid self-incrimination. "On advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer any questions," said CEO Brian Harrison and CFO Bill Stover at the Subcommittee hearing "Solyndra and The DOE Loan Guarantee Program."

Solyndra, based in Fremont, California, filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on September 6, 2011, shut down all production operations, and laid off its 1,100 employees. At issue is the company's default on a federally guaranteed loan of $535 million.

Solyndra was the first renewable-energy company to receive a loan guarantee under a provision to encourage "green energy" in Barack Obama's stimulus plan, the " American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009." It was not the beginning of the government's effort to encourage "green energy," and neither was it the beginning of Solyndra's attempt to secure a government loan.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005, signed into law by George W. Bush on August 8 of that year, provided, among a host of things in its 551 pages, energy-related tax incentives and loan guarantees to companies investing in innovative "clean" technologies or commercial-scale renewable energy projects. Title XVII, "Incentives for Innovative Technologies," Sections 1701–1704, created the Department of Energy's Loan Guarantee Program. The Energy Policy Act directed

the Secretary of Energy to make guarantees for certain projects, including gasification and liquefaction projects, that: (1) avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases; and (2) employ new or significantly improved technologies as compared to commercial technologies in service in the United States at the time the guarantee is issued.

Companies that received loan guarantees had to pay a credit-subsidy cost representing the cost of the loan to the taxpayer if the recipient of the guarantee defaulted. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 was amended by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 by the addition of Section 1705 and the appropriating of $6 billion (later reduced to $2.4 billion) in funding to pay for the credit-subsidy costs of the loan guarantees because many applicants had been unable to pay for them. That is the origin of the "Section 1705" loan guarantees received by Solyndra and others. The only thing most people remember about the Energy Policy Act is that it amended the Uniform Time Act of 1966 and changed the start and end dates of daylight-saving time.

Applications for Department of Energy loan guarantees are solicited by the Loan Guarantee Program. According to an internal memorandum of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations regarding the Solyndra hearing, the application procedure is as follows:
... Once an application is filed, DOE reviews the initial application to determine whether the applicant meets the solicitation criteria. If so, those applicants submit a second, more comprehensive application. DOE then conducts due diligence ­ including legal, environmental, engineering, and market reviews ­ and sometimes engages outside consultants for these reviews. Once these reviews are complete, the Loan Programs Office then negotiates a term sheet with the applicant company. A credit paper is then drafted and submitted to a DOE "Credit Committee," which is comprised of DOE officials. If the Credit Committee approves the credit paper and term sheet, a DOE "Credit Review Board" then reviews and votes on the matter. The Credit Review Board is comprised of senior DOE officials, including the Deputy Secretary, the General Counsel, the Chief Financial Officer, and other senior advisors. If the Credit Review Board approves the term sheet, a conditional commitment is made to the company.

Following the conditional commitment, DOE and the loan guarantee applicant begin to negotiate the terms for the final loan guarantee agreement. DOE is also responsible for calculating the credit subsidy score of the guarantee. Under the Financial Credit Reform Act (FCRA) of 1990, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is responsible for determining and approving the subsidy estimates associated with loan guarantees awarded by federal agencies. DOE submits its credit subsidy estimate to OMB along with other information about the guarantee. OMB then reviews the underlying information, and asks questions or seeks additional information from DOE about the guarantee. OMB can either approve the credit subsidy calculated by DOE, or can recommend that the cost be increased or decreased based on the perceived risk of the guarantee. Once OMB approves, the loan guarantee is finalized and DOE begins making disbursements to the company. The tenor of the loan and the repayment schedule is set out in the final loan guarantee document.
Following the loan closing, the DOE Loan Programs Office tracks and monitors the loan guarantee project. The loan guarantee agreement spells out the type of information and data the company must provide about the status of the loan project (in some cases, construction updates), as well as engineering reports and other information. These kinds of reports and data must be submitted to the DOE before the Loan Programs Office will authorize the disbursement of funds to the company.

Solyndra and 142 other companies applied for a DOE loan application in response to an August 2006 solicitation. After the initial review, 16 applicants (including Solyndra) were invited to submit a full application. In May 2008 Solyndra submitted an application for a $535 million loan guarantee to build a full-scale production facility to manufacture thin firm solar modules for flat, commercial rooftops. The application was deemed complete in August, and, after formal "due diligence" of the Solyndra application, it was presented to a DOE credit committee in January 2009, received a conditional commitment in March, and closed in September. The Federal Financing Bank, a government corporation under general supervision of the secretary of the Treasury, gradually advanced Solyndra money beginning with $21,380,155.36 on September 22, 2009. Solyndra was in financial trouble almost from the beginning, and the deal had to be restructured in February 2011.

In September 2009 Vice President Joe Biden spoke by satellite at the groundbreaking ceremony in September of 2009 for the company's new manufacturing plant and emphasized the role of the stimulus plan: "The announcement today is part of the unprecedented investment this administration is making in renewable energy and exactly what the Recovery Act is all about," said Biden.

Obama toured the Solyndra facility in May 2010 and used the company as an example of his administration's efforts to promote "green energy." He said, "Every day that you build this expanded facility, as you fill orders for solar panels to ship around the world, you're demonstrating that the promise of clean energy isn't just an article of faith ­ not anymore."

Republicans have seized on the Solyndra debacle as further proof of their claims that much of the stimulus money was wasted and used for political gain.

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), chairman of the Subcommittee, is "concerned that there was a hurry to get this money out of the door and that companies and individuals that supported the president were among the beneficiaries."

The committee also focused on the restructuring deal. Said Chairman Stearns, "We are also determined to know why DOE allowed the taxpayers to be subordinated to the private investors during that restructuring in violation of the clear letter of the law. What we do not know is whether the Solyndra executives here today have something to hide. Was all the information they submitted to DOE accurate and complete?"

Republicans want the Obama administration to turn over all Solyndra-related communications between the Energy Department and the White House and between the Energy and Treasury departments.

Some Republicans maintain that the Bush administration nixed the Solyndra deal and that it was revived by the Obama administration. No, it was actually the Bush administration's idea, said Jonathan Silver, executive director of the Department of Energy Loans Programs Office. Silver testified at the Subcommittee hearing along with Jeffrey Zients, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. Said Silver, "By the time the Obama administration took office in late January 2009, the loan programs' staff had already established a goal of, and timeline for, issuing the company a conditional loan guarantee commitment in March 2009."

The story of Solyndra shows how bloated, wayward, and out of control the federal government is.

None of the media reports about the Solyndra incident focuses on the real issue. None of the Republicans -- in or out of Congress -- criticizing the Obama administration is focusing on the real issue. No one on the committee investigating Solyndra has the slightest clue what the real issue is.

The real problem with Solyndra is not which administration should be blamed, whether stimulus money was wasted, whether the company was mismanaged, whether Solyndra executives misled the government and the company's investors, whether the loan guarantee should have been denied, whether the Obama administration pressured the DOE to approve the deal, whether the restructuring of Solyndra's loan was done lawfully, whether Obama used the Solyndra loan guarantee to score political points, whether the DOE and the OMB should have exercised more oversight, or whether "green energy" is viable.

The central government has been delegated no authority by the Constitution, nor is it the proper role of government, to regulate, encourage, discourage, license, subsidize, oversee, control, or otherwise have anything to do with energy production, energy conservation, energy efficiency, energy independence, renewable energy, or "green energy." And neither is it the business of government to have an energy policy and "green" initiatives or to guarantee loans and act as a venture capitalist.

Republicans and Democrats may disagree over the extent and scope of government intervention in the energy sector, but both parties are firmly committed to the statist idea that the government should have a role in shaping how Americans produce and use energy.

Rather than focusing on how the Solyndra incident happened, the focus should instead be on why the United States has an Energy Policy Act, a Federal Financing Bank, an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and a Department of Energy.

http://www.fff.org/comment/com1109zc.asp