21 January 2012: A Few Examples Why

21 January 2012:


Here are a few Links to help you learn How Bad President Obama Is and Has Been for America since being elected.

I will try to list a few story links each day from his past few years "in charge" to illustrate his "obvious" presidential incompetence:

1.) Obama’s Keystone Denial Prompts Canada to Look to China Sales

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-19/canada-pledges-to-sell-oil-to-asia-after-obama-rejects-keystone-pipeline.html

President Barack Obama’s decision yesterday to reject a permit for TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL oil pipeline may prompt Canada to turn to China for oil exports.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a telephone call yesterday, told Obama “Canada will continue to work to diversify its energy exports,” according to details provided by Harper’s office. Canadian Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver said relying less on the U.S. would help strengthen the country’s “financial security.”
The “decision by the Obama administration underlines the importance of diversifying and expanding our markets, including the growing Asian market,” Oliver told reporters in Ottawa.
Currently, 99 percent of Canada’s crude exports go to the U.S., a figure that Harper wants to reduce in his bid to make Canada a “superpower” in global energy markets.
Canada accounts for more than 90 percent of all proven reserves outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, according to data compiled in the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. Most of Canada’s crude is produced from oil-sands deposits in the landlocked province of Alberta, where output is expected to double over the next eight years, according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
“I am sure that if the oil sands production is not used in the United States, they will be used in other countries,” Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency, said in an interview before a speech at Imperial College in London today.

‘Profound Disappointment’

Harper “expressed his profound disappointment with the news,” according to the statement, which added that Obama told Harper the rejection was not based on the project’s merit and that the company is free to re-apply.
Canada this month began hearings on a proposed pipeline by Enbridge Inc. to move crude from Alberta’s oil sands to British Columbia’s coast, where it could be shipped to Asian markets.
Environmentalists and Canadian opposition lawmakers welcomed the Obama administration’s decision. Megan Leslie, a lawmaker for the opposition New Democratic Party, said the Keystone pipeline project was harmful to Canada’s energy security.
“What I’m opposed to is continuing the unchecked expansion of the oil sands,” Leslie said by telephone.

***(The rest of the story can be seen at the website given under the article title)

---------------------------------

2.) The Extent of Obama's Solyndra Problem
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/09/extent-obamas-solyndra-problem/42077/
Sep 2, 2011
On Wednesday, the bankruptcy of a solar power company in California with political ties to the Obama administration appeared to be a story about the difficulties of nurturing green businesses in a cutthroat economy. Despite receiving a $535 million loan guarantee from the Energy Department, solar startup Solyndra Inc couldn't stay in business, citing competition from subsidized solar panel manufacturers in China. But today, findings from ABC News and the Center for Public Integrity, highlight the uncomfortable connection between the solar panel company and the Obama administration, which many suspect will lead to a House investigation. How did we get here? Here's a quick primer on the issues at play:
Solyndra's connections to Obama Back in May, ABC News reported that the Obama administration had "bypassed procedural steps meant to protect taxpayers as it hurried to approve an energy loan guarantee to a politically-connected California solar power startup." That company was Solyndra and one of its primary financial backers was Oklahoma oil billionaire George Kaiser, who bundled at least $50,000 for Obama during his 2008 campaign. At an appearance at the California-based company last year, Obama insisted that country's prosperity was inextricably linked to the success of energy company's such as Solyndra. "The true engine of economic growth will always be company's like Solyndra," he said. The Washington Post reports that the plant was also visited by Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Vice President Biden, who spoke at its groundbreaking.
Early problem with Solyndra One of the factors inspiring some of the president's critics were early signs that the solar energy company was a bad bet for taxpayers:

Peter Lynch, a longtime solar industry analyst, told ABC News the company's fate should have been obvious from the start.
"Here's the bottom line," Lynch said. "It costs them $6 to make a unit. They're selling it for $3. In order to be competitive today, they have to sell it for between $1.5 and $2. That is not a viable business plan."

The investigation One of the key sources of conflict in this story is the level of support the White House gave to Solyndra. According to the Center for Public Integrity, the White House says it "did not intervene in the Solyndra deal or others benefiting companies backed by supporters of the president." However, Republicans say they've discovered information to prove the contrary. "We have learned from our investigation that White House officials monitored Solyndra's application and communicated with [Energy Department] and Office of Management and Budget officials during the course of their review," states a letter from House Energy Committee Chairman Fred Upton. The letter requests for all correspondence between administration officials related to the half a billion dollar loan guarantee. It also vows to accelerate the investigation of the issue.
What critics are saying Rich Lowry at National Review argues that the president deserves more scrutiny for his involvement with the company. "President Bush was flayed for the Enron bankruptcy, based on his tenuous ties to the firm. If the same media rules applied, Solyndra would be Obama’s Enron, given his active promotion of the company and his lavish funding of it." He adds, "At least the Obama administration can’t be accused of practicing industrial policy the old-fashioned way and picking winners. It is evidently quite ready to pick losers, too." Still, it's too soon to say if the Obama administration officials were personally involved in the Energy Department review of Solyndra—the House Republicans will have to provide sufficient evidence, uncovered in their investigation.

***(The rest of the story can be seen at the website given under the article title)

---------------------------------

3.)

Iran Mocks US With Toy Drone

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/iran-give-us-drone-back-toy-form/story?id=15379182#.Txsz5fmwWnU

By RANDY KREIDER

Jan. 17, 2012

The Iranian government, which captured a U.S. stealth drone in December, has agreed to give the top-secret spy craft back, but with a catch.
Instead of the original RQ-170 Sentinel drone, the Islamic Republic said Tuesday that it will send President Obama a tiny toy replica of the plane.
Iranian state radio said that the toy model will be 1/80th the size of the real thing. Iranian citizens can also buy their own toy copies of the drone, which will be available in stores for the equivalent of $4.
The White House formally requested return of the drone after the Iranians displayed it on state television. The U.S. says that the craft was operating over Eastern Afghanistan.
PICTURES: Covert War: Iran's Nuclear Program Attacked

The Iranians claim they detected the drone well inside Iran's border and then took control of the craft electronically and brought it down safely. The U.S. has denied that the craft came down for any reason other than technical malfunction.
On Dec. 11, after President Obama said he had requested the return of the drone, an Iranian general said that it was not going to happen. The general also warned on Iranian television of a "bigger response" to the "hostile act" of crossing into Iranian airspace.
"No one returns the symbol of aggression to the party that sought secret and vital intelligence related to the national security of a country," Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps [IRGC] Lt. Commander Gen. Hossein Salami said, according to Iran's Fars News Agency.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that "given Iran's behavior to date, we do not expect them to comply" with Obama's request. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also said he didn't expect Iran to hand over the drone, but told reporters, "I think it's important to make that request."
***(The rest of the story can be seen at the website given under the article title)
---------------------------------