I can understand good folks making poor investments. The intentions of the Solyndra loan of half a billion bucks were good, but as we already know, the road to hell is paved — awe, never mind.
There are three sides to every story. There’s what one side says, and that’s painted in one direction. There’s the other side in the other direction. Then there’s what God alone knows to be the actual, authentic, genuine, sincere, straightforward, honest truth, and with good health and some good luck, I don’t intend to be face to face with my maker for a loooong time. As of this moment we have heard two of the three sides regarding the Solyndra experience. Last week, my president said that he has no regrets about his decision. No regrets! Half a billion dollars of taxpayers’ money down the drain and he has no regrets. Even after the correspondence from the Office of Management and Budget warning the administration that Solyndra was not a safe bet, my president decided to gamble with our money, and he lost.
President Obama has traveled to many nations to apologize to them when an apology wasn’t necessary, but to America, on this matter, he won’t even an “oops.” The loss of half a billion dollars will not haunt him as much as his arrogance.
There’s a half-hearted apology and an “excuse me” from the Washington Post that I find troubling. The left-leaning periodical tells us that the $535 million is only a small percentage of the $38 billion that the Obama administration has set aside for green companies. Is that supposed to make me feel better? It’s still a lot of money.
America was promised that the $38.6 billion loan guarantees would create 65,000 jobs. So far only half of that amount has come about and, according to the statistics from the Energy Department, only 3,545 new, permanent jobs have been created. My calculator cannot carry that many zeros. Somebody, please, do the numbers and tell us how much each job cost.
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The Bill O’Reilly best seller “Killing Lincoln” is an interesting, compelling, terrific read. I finished it in slightly more than one day. If we had history books like this way back when I was a student at Thomas Jefferson High — and teachers like Mr. O’Reilly — I would have done a lot better in my history class.
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If the driver in front of you in the left lane is driving five miles per hour below the speed limit, you can bet he’s talking on a cellphone. If he’s driving 10 miles per hour below the limit, there’s a possibility that he’s texting — and study after study proves that driving while texting is as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.
So, if one who is caught driving under the influence is arrested and spends a night in the can, why are the rules not the same for those who drive while texting? One night in jail will make our highways a lot safer • • •
Halloween is almost here. Last year at this time, pollster Scott Rasmussen asked American adults if they believe in ghosts. Sixty-three percent of those asked said that they do not. Twenty-seven percent said, “Yes. We do believe in ghosts.” Another 10 percent weren’t sure.
What about you? Will you be hiding under the bed this Monday night? Hmmm? I am StanGershbein@Bellsouth.net wishing you, your children and all the children in your neighborhood a safe, happy ghost-free Halloween.
Stanley Gershbein's column appears on BrooklynDaily.com every Monday. He can be reached via e-mail at StanGershbein@bellsouth.net
