Growing Solyndra Green Scandal Is Just One of Many

Corruption: Outrageous bonuses and White House stonewalling guarantee that the Solyndra scandal, in which betting on green lost taxpayers $535 million, won't go away. But Solyndra is no isolated failure.

With 24 million Americans either without any job or underemployed, and 7 million claiming jobless benefits, the latest Solyndra news of wasted stimulus funds and noncooperation with Congress is sure to make taxpayers' blood boil.

Nearly two dozen employees of the solar panel maker that got a $535 million federal loan guarantee shortly before bankruptcy got $368,500 in bonuses Wednesday from a federal bankruptcy judge — in spite of the company failing to disclose it gave several of the raises of as much as 70% months earlier, after it went bankrupt.

The Washington Times noted a lawyer representing fired Solyndra workers has argued the company's liquidation benefits few beyond Argonaut Ventures, part of a foundation run by Obama fundraiser George Kaiser.

Considering that suspicious connection, no wonder the White House defied the Feb. 21 deadline to provide 12 categories of Solyndra documents to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

But President Obama's counsel has complained that the committee's request for documents was "an unreasonable burden on the president's ability to meet his constitutional duties."

What a betrayal of Obama's elaborate promise upon taking office to "work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration" because "Transparency promotes accountability" and "Information maintained by the federal government is a national asset."

Other Solyndras are coming to light, the latest being Sapphire Energy. Its pond-scum-based biofuel still costs over $26 a gallon, but that doesn't matter when your executives give almost solely to Democrats.

The Washington Free Beacon reports that after $104.5 million in stimulus and other Energy and Agriculture Department funds for a New Mexico facility, it can boast just 36 new jobs. UC Berkeley's Energy Biosciences Institute says it'll take a decade before we know if algae-based fuel can compete with gas.

The Washington Post recently found "$3.9 billion in federal grants and financing flowed to 21 companies backed by firms with connections to five Obama administration staffers and advisers."

Revelations of Obama's green waste and corruption may have only just begun.