Silicon Valley and Obama's Solyndra

From Obama to "greenies" to VCs, John Dvorak speaks "truth" even when it hurts--

H-P’s malaise signals a wrong turn in the Valley - John Dvorak's Second Opinion - MarketWatch: " . . . Once HP goes, if it goes, the entire Silicon Valley is at risk. Tech investors take note. It began a few years back when the Valley began to lose its mojo. . . Silicon Valley. . . a construct invented by creative writers. . . It essentially consists of a large geographical area beginning south of Redwood City and scattering about various industrial parks on both sides of the San Francisco Bay all the way down to Scotts Valley. Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, San Jose, Milpitas, Fremont, Santa Clara are all cities that are more or less in Silicon Valley. The area feeds off itself. It is also financed by the local banks and the slew of venture capital companies that back technology firms. I was struck on a recent drive past Fremont and into Milpitas by the abandoned and “For Lease” mega building that looms on the left side of southbound Highway 880. Solyndra was still emblazoned on the side of the structure. Yes, like a monument to abject failure, Solyndra stands out on the road. All part of a dead love affair with all things green. "This is what happened to suck the energy out of Silicon Valley. Elsewhere most of the world’s lesser venture capitalists were throwing their funds into MEMs (micro-electrical-mechanical systems). The Silicon Valley boys were going after trendy “green” inventions. . . . The green thing began with Obama and the emergence of numerous green funds, many looking for government handouts. The ludicrous appearance of Al Gore as a venture capitalist working with Kleiner, Perkins highlights the errors. And while there is nothing wrong with going green for some conscientious reason, it’s a distraction insofar as modern tech is concerned. The single concept that a semiconductor material can convert light into energy is a great concept that needs research, yes. But a wholesale creation of green funds and green initiatives was lunacy. This to me was pretty much like watching all-time great basketballer Michael Jordan decide he was going to play baseball. “How hard can it be?” At this point the Valley is teetering on the brink of destruction and its symbol, Hewlett-Packard, will mark the beginning of the end or a new beginning. . . " 

Only one thing, Dvorak didn't quite get to the real problem with Obama's Solyndra--

Barack Obama's Solyndra scandal smells like it came from Chicago's City Hall -September 18, 2011|John Kass- Chicago Tribune: "Those of us from Chicago know exactly what the Solyndra scandal smells like. And It doesn't smell fresh and green. The Solyndra scandal cost at least a half-billion public dollars. . . . But back in Obama's political hometown, those of us familiar with the Chicago Way can see something else in Solyndra — something that the Washington crowd calls "optics." In fact, it's not just a Washington saga — it has all the elements of a Chicago City Hall story, except with more zeros. The FBI is investigating what happened with Solyndra, a solar panel company that got a $535 million government-backed loan with the help of the Obama White House over the objections of federal budget analysts.  Obama and Vice President Joe Biden got a nice photo op. They got to make speeches about being "green.". . . Washington bureaucrats warned the deal was lousy. And White House spokesmen flail desperately, like weakened victims in a cheesy vampire movie. So forget optics. What about smell? It smells bad, and it's going to smell worse. Or, did you really believe it when the White House mouthpieces — who are also Chicago City Hall mouthpieces — promised they were bringing a new kind of politics to Washington? This is not a new kind of politics. It's the old kind. The Chicago kind. And now the Tribune Washington Bureau has reported that the U.S. Department of Energy employee who helped monitor the Solyndra loan guarantee was one of Obama's top fundraisers. . . . It's the Chicago Way, but instead of a paving or trucking contract, it's a "green" solar panel contract. . . . "

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