And you’ll never guess who got one.
The Obama adminstration has issued over 700 waivers granting employers exemptions from participating in Obamacare. Among them is the SEIU, which lobbied hard to have Obamacare implemented so health care costs would be lowered. Now SEIU is exempt because complying with the new cost-lowering law would be too expensive. The SEIU contributed $28 million to the Obama campaign but has no money for Obamacare compliance.
In January the new EPA regulations became effective and almost immediately the Obama administration granted an exemption to the new regulations.
The Obama administration will spare a stalled power plant project in California from the newest federal limits on greenhouse gases and conventional air pollution, U.S. EPA says in a new court filing that marks a policy shift in the face of industry groups and Republicans accusing the agency of holding up construction of large industrial facilities.
The exemption went to the Avenal Power Center, which now is not subject to the current air quality standards. As Tim Carney points out, there’s something curious about this Avenal Power Center:
The proposed Avenal Energy project will be a combined-cycle generating plant consisting of two natural gas-fired General Electric 7FA Gas Turbines with Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSG) and one General Electric Steam Turbine.
General Electric.
During his campaign Barack Obama received a great deal of money from GE:
By far, the top recipient of GE money last election was Barack Obama. Obama received far more from GE last cycle — $458,730 — than any candidate in history. The company was in the top 15 of Obama’s fundraising sources. He raised nearly five times as much as McCain from GE, and more than the top 25 Republicans, combined.
Coincidentally, Obama’s plans have evolved such that they are largely congruent with GE CEO Jeff Immelt’s plans. So much so that Carney labeled GE “Government Electric.”
• Obama pushes a cap-and-trade scheme for curbing greenhouse gasses — GE invests in greenhouse gas credits.
• Obama advocates federal support for expanding high-speed rail across the country — GE ramps up its investment in high-speed rail.
• Obama dedicates federal funding to embryonic stem-cell research that destroys human embryos — GE partners with stem-cell giant Geron.
• Obama announces a federal push to curb health care expenses — GE launches “healthymagination,” an initiative pitched as creating more affordable high-tech medical products.
And that was way back in 2009. It’s gotten a lot worse.
The obviousness of political favor in granting waivers should be painfully embarassing were it not for the useful idiocy of the legacy media.
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 30 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 30 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter on her way into the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.
Rep Issa has subpoenaed Obama for all decision-making paperwork to justify each and every waiver.
Obama is shining on those subpoenas.
EPA strikes again. (I pray that this is satire)
EPA now to regulate spilled milk — really
http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/2011/02/epa-now-regulate-spilled-milk-really#ixzz1CxUGRP8w
@Hard Right:
Maybe Obama should be quoted to the EPA…..again:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703396604576088272112103698.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
Last I heard LOTS of people put milk in their coffee.
Some even drink it straight!
Has there ever been a more openly corrupt administration? Or one that has stolen so much money from the citizens of this country?
I think not.
Many average Americans are becoming more and more aware that any form of government labeled “Progressive” (always in quotes as there is nothing progressive about tyranny) has morphed into nothing but a Chicago style mob “protection racket” (you don’t do business unless gangsta government gets their “piece of the action”)! These modern fascists are well on their way to create “plantation nation” where they (the owners) live in the “mansion on the hill” and we (slaves) labor in their behalf receiving only a grim rationed subsistence. Much like the ante-bellum days of slavery… Democrats: party of slavery (then and now)… sadly sustained by a (dwindling but still too large) army of useful idiots!
If there is a choice buy brands other than GE. Hit back in their pocketbook. Immelt is a traitor just like Obama.
The comments made recently by Sen McCain regarding his new found BFF aka the Prez, seems to reek of some sort of exemption or favoritism granted the Senator’s wife’s business holdings.
Drj… a few details here.
First of all, this isn’t a “waiver” because the plant and it’s design plans are grandfathered in. Secondly, Immelt’s GE isn’t involved with the power plant save to be one of the many suppliers of parts… in GE’s case, the turbines. You might as well politically target Delco with “government motor” accusations because they supply GM with auto parts.
Third, and most importantly, the EPA can’t arbitrarily grant waivers because of the 2007 SCOTUS decision in MASSACHUSETTS et al. v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. Were anyone granted special favors because of that seriously FUBAR’ed decision and lawsuit, others not receiving the waiver have an open season for recourse in the courts for discrimination.
Also, INRE the waivers on the mini-med programs you casually mention in your opening…. they are not permanent waivers to opt out of O’healthcare, but annual waivers for what they consider a transition to the unConstitutional O’healthcare.
None of the above facts preclude that Immelts and GE are puppets of Obama, mind you. (and that puppetry is a two way street…). Or that the controversy about who receives the waivers still permeates the political air. It’s just that the subject and thrust of this post aren’t factual. Even your Beltway Confidential has issued it’s correction/update INRE singling out GE.
Hey Mata
It’s good to have someone here who points out these things that occur after a post is written. You know what they say about hindsight. The actions were not out of character and would not not be surprising. Why aren’t you taking this up with the Examiner?
BTW, when you speak to someone in person do you actually say “INRE”?
Drj, it’s not “hindsight”. Altho what is it… 24 hours since you penned this? Wow… ancient history… LOL
The Avenal plant has been in the works for years and hurdled the necessary commission approvals and environmental studies back in 2009. When the EPA tried to step in after they spent all this cash, and had completed all the development hoops, Avenal filed a lawsuit against the EPA last year.
The EPA regulations are draconian enough without allowing them to be retroactive, don’t you think?
That the WA Examiner didn’t bother to even do a simple Google search on the facility’s history is regretable. What is more regretable is the amount of bloggers who did the same, and just perpetuated the story… including the headline that it was attributed to GE and Immelt.
Why am I not taking it up with the Examiner? Don’t generally read it, that’s why. In fact, when I read something in one publication, I generally do a thorough search to get more background before I just accept their pundit’s interpretation. Self defense with today’s media, no matter what their political tilt.
I do, however, read and post to FA (when I get the dang time, that is….). So when I see errors, I like to make sure the corrections are on the record. My suggestion is that you contact Curt if you want to do an “Update” to your reader post, and add more current info that may reflect something you wrote that you consider “hindsight”.
However the info I mentioned was not hindsight. And considering how long Avenal has been in the news, it wasn’t difficult to find out the prominent entities involved in the development, or when they started the process. Even the Examiner’s article had noted that it was just the GE turbines before launching into their erroneous GE/exemption headline. It’s too bad they tried the leap of truth for scandal purposes, and found themselves caught in their own net.
And when I speak with people in person, I say “regarding”, or “in regards to”…. your point being?
As you know, I have no editing capability. I appreciate you contacting me via email instead of grandstanding this in the post so as to avoid appearing to inflating your own currency.
“Grandstanding”? LOL Drj, I am disagreeing with your post because it isn’t factual. And whining about “no editing capability” is a bunch of bull and a cop out. If you have second thoughts about jumping the gun on information – in theory, discovered later, but I see no indication you discovered it at all, BTW – you have several ways to deal with that. You can put an update in a comment in your own thread. You can write an UPDATE and use the “submit reader post” function, requesting Curt tag it on to your post; or you can email Curt with the UPDATE text directly. Not tough, not impossible, and quite logical. All of us have, at some time or another, done UPDATES to our posts when we received new information that may affect what we wrote.
What we didn’t do was let sleeping dogs lie with nary a word. Indeed, you seem to fight the truth of the story even now, instead coming off as some sort of assailed victim.
I have no “currency” here on FA, so I have no clue to what you refer. Nor do I have much of an ego when it comes to blogging…. how is it you put it? Oh, “… inflating my own currency”, whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean. As my bio states, my sole reason for blogging is as a release valve to political frustrations. When I’ve finished researching a subject that grates on my nerves, sometimes (and definitely not always) I share it here on FA for others to take away what they will from what I uncovered. I have always been grateful that Curt gives me a forum for that, instead of my having to keep up my own blog. However I write and post when I get the time, and “hits” on any particular piece is not my quest.
But since you have decided to move the subject away from the facts of Avenal, the EPA regulations and GE in order to make this about me personally, let me get this straight…. are you suggesting I should email you off forum when I disagree with what conclusions you come to? Have you become so thin skinned and defensive as to abhor having anything other than an echo chamber, heaping praise, on your thread commentary?
My comments simply pointed out the conclusion you came to was made with incorrect facts. Whether you did this on your own, or you were just parroting Tim Carney’s lead, I don’t know. None of this is about some ego you think I have, but about a personal request for having some well researched, factual information in posts instead of stretching the truth to allude to some scandal. Some purported pundit tries for a new angle, without doing some background, in order to be “first” with the latest Obama admin scandal. Others pass it along at the same rate of speed without doing that same background work. We complain when the left does it, and we should complain when the right does it as well.
Not everything is a scandal.
Lisa Jackson’s EPA is implementing some draconian regulations that are scandalous in nature, that’s for sure. In itself, that’s a very legitimate subject, and I’ve got many beefs with them. But Avenal was one of the moments to be celebrated… that they are escaping those regulations because their clearance procedures were met before these regulations took effect, and the EPA should not be making them retroactive. I think that perspective should be in this comment thread to clear up your posted position. If you don’t like it, TFB.
I have your email. If I had a suggestion for you I would use it, but you and I know there was more to this than that. As it was, I was at a funeral following the post and then traveled out of state. I have also seen my back deck collapse under the weight of snow and have ice dams a foot thick on my gutters.
So no, I did not see the modification and I did not argue about it. So thanks for your help. I know how you insist on having the last word, so it’s yours.
I’m genuinely sorry to hear about your deck, Drj… even more sorry at your loss of a friend or loved one. My condolences.
Mata
It is true that the project had jumped through the previous hoops but it was unknown whether the project would meet the new emission rules from the EPA edict. Avenal was granted an exemption from the clean air standards- not GE directly- but GE is to supply the turbines. GE is a beneficiary. And that was substance of the correction. The rest is correct.
And I do not believe for one second that it had nothing to do with Immelt.
But thank you for your thoughts.