Electric Car Maker Coda Files For Bankruptcy

Another Obama “green” energy company fails miserably … Another One Bites the Dust.

According to the WSJ, electric car maker Coda has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company’s lone passenger car, the CODA sedan debut in March 2012 went poorly; less than 100 units were sold. 100!!! Or what we like to call Obamanomics in action. The company blamed the car’s flop on a variety of factors, including stunted demand for electric vehicles, adverse macroeconomic conditions and insufficient capital to effectively market the car. The fact of the matter is no one is going to pay $38,000 for am electric car. There is no demand for them and if there were the price would have to be cut in half and that does not men by getting a federal government rebate.

Electric car maker Coda Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors after pronouncing its $38,000 sedan “a commercial disappointment” and failing to sell its assets outside of bankruptcy.

The company’s lone passenger car, the CODA sedan, was plagued by delays. Its eventual market debut in March 2012 went poorly; less than 100 units were sold, “falling well short of the company’s expectations,” according to the Los Angeles company’s bankruptcy filings.

A group of lenders led by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group FIG 0.00%is offering about $25 million for the assets and may use debt to cover that price, according to documents filed in a Wilmington, Del., bankruptcy court. The group also is providing the company with a $5 million loan intended to keep Coda afloat as it navigates Chapter 11

TWINKIES, DING-DONGS & HO-HO’s are Back … Hostess Brands LLC to Hire 1,500 Workers But No Union Labor

They’re soon to be back … If you thought that Twinkies, Ding-Dongs and Ho-Ho’s were going the way of the Do-Do bird, you would be wrong. Hostess Brands LLC is reopening four bakeries to get Twinkies back in the hands of the public by July 2013. However, there is just one catch. Hostess Brands plans on hiring 1500 workers to bring back the tasty golden, delicious cream filled snack, but none of them will be union workers.

Hostess Brands — Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management’s APO -0.58% new incarnation of the baking company that liquidated in Chapter 11 — is reopening four bakeries in the next eight to 10 weeks, aiming to get Twinkie-deprived consumers the classic snack cake starting in July.

Chief Executive C. Dean Metropoulos said the company will pump $60 million in capital investments into the plants between now and September and aims to hire at least 1,500 workers. But they won’t be represented by unions, including the one whose nationwide strike sparked the 86-year-old company’s decision to shut down in November.

Florida Police Officer Sgt. Ron King Fired for Bringing Targets Resembling Trayvon Martin to Gun Range … Officer Claims Target Was a ‘No-Shoot training Aid’

The Port Canaveral Police Department has fired  Sgt. Ron King because he allegedly brought targets resembling Trayvon Martin to a gun range and had asked two other officers and a civilian whether they wanted to shoot at the targets. The targets displayed a hooded sweatshirt with a target on the chest, Skittles in the pocket and iced tea in a hand. Sgt. Ron King, who had been with the Port Canaveral police force for two years, owns a company in which he offers firearm training and personal safety coaching and spent nearly 22 years with the Melbourne Police Department.  Port Authority interim CEO Jim Walsh stated, “Whether it was his stupidity or his hatred, (this is) not acceptable.” Hmm, so individuals get fired for stupidity? If that were the case 95% of politicians would be out of a job.

A Florida police officer fired for bringing targets resembling Trayvon Martin to a gun range apologized to the shooting victim’s family “for being used as a pawn in somebody’s political agenda” but said the targets are a valuable training tool.

Police Sgt. Ron King denied claims by Port Canaveral Interim Chief Executive Officer John Walsh that King was leading target practice with two other officers and a civilian earlier this month when he asked the group if they wanted to shoot at the targets.

The Port Canaveral Police Department fired King on Friday following an internal investigation, according to port officials.

Port Canaveral Sgt. Ron King defends himself and proclaims his innocence in the below video claiming that he referred to the targets as a “no shoot training aid”. King refuses to sit by and watch he and the Martin family be used for others political agendas. And there lies the rub. Who knows what was in the mind of  Sgt. Ron King, what he said, or what the complaining parties said, heard or later attested to. One thing is a certainty when it comes to the Trayvon Martin murder case where George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer, is charged with second degree murder in the teens death, it’s highly political and racially charged. Why would anyone even attempt to d something with a Trayvon Martin target whether it was being used for a good or less than honorable thing? Nothing good could come of it as the racial blood is in the water and individuals are just waiting to pounce on it. In today’s PC world and the media bias involved in this case, anyone would be crazy to use any likeness, reference or anything to do with Trayvon, Skittles or Hoodies is job suicide.

Sorry, I find it hard to believe that a police officer of 25 years would publically do something like use a Trayvon Martin poster silhouette to use as a shooting target. Did he have it, yes, King admits he did. However, the lack of judgment and understanding that this would get politically hijacked is on him. Who could not have predicted that this could have come to no good?

USA Today:

“Using real-life situations as a training scenario is not uncommon,” King said.

King apologized to Trayvon’s family and to any law enforcement professionals who may have been embarrassed by the publicity swirling around the incident. He accused an unnamed officer of inventing details of the incident to damage the credibility of the police department’s leadership.

“I remain a professional law enforcement officer and a professional firearms instructor,” said King, who can appeal his dismissal. “I refuse to sit by while others use the Martin family and myself as a way to further their own political and career agendas.”

Trayvon Martin’s family attorney released a statement saying, “It is absolutely reprehensible that a high-ranking member of the Port Canaveral Police, sworn to protect and serve Floridians, would use the image of a dead child as target practice.”

Colt Competition Maker of AR-15 Style Rifles for Colt Relocates to Breckenridge, TX from Oregon

According to CBS DFW, Colt Competition, the manufacturer of high end AR-15 rifles for the iconic gun manufacturer Colt is moving its firearms production to Breckenridge, Texas from Canby, Oregon. Previously, Governor Rick Perry reportedly sent letters to gun companies, encouraging them to move to the gun friendly and  2nd Amendment supporting state of Texas. It appears that one might have taken him up on his offer. It makes one wonder whether this will become a trend. Why would anyone want to keep a business in a liberal state that believes they are evil? I have just one word to say to all gun manufacturers, ammunition manufacturers and any company that has anything to do with the making and maintenance of a fire arm that presently resides in a blue, liberal. anti-Second Amendment states … MOVE!!!

Visit Colt Competition.com

AR-15 style rifles for the iconic brand Colt, will open a plant in Breckenridge in Stephens County. Oregon company Bold Ideas confirmed the development Friday.

Bold Ideas goes by the name Colt Competition, making high accuracy rifles for competition shooting.

The company has not officially announced the opening, but employment applications are already available at the Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce. A non-specific, help wanted ad appeared in the local newspaper classifieds earlier in the week.

Be very careful Connecticut, after passing your anti-Second Amendment gun legislation, COLT will hopefully be next to leave.

Tyranny: U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms Revokes License of Gun Shop that Legally Sold Weapon to Mother of Adam Lanza Used in Newtown Elementary School Shootings

Be very afraid America, think the United States government does not participate in intimidation and tyranny, think again …

As reported at Reuters, the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has revoked the license to the Connecticut gun retailer that sold a weapon “LEGALLY” to the mother of Adam Lanza. That same gun was used illegally by Adam Lanza in the mass murders to kill his mother by shooting her in the face and then used to kill 26 individuals, including 20 children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. The ATF has confirmed that the Riverview Gun Sales in East Windsor, Connecticut license has been revoked. The ATF did not publicly disclose a reason for the closure. HUH, this is still America, is it not?

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said on Friday it had revoked the federal license of a Connecticut gun retailer that sold a weapon to the mother of Adam Lanza, who killed 26 people at an elementary school in December. The agency on December 20 revoked the license of Riverview Gun Sales in East Windsor, Connecticut, ATF spokeswoman Debora Seifert said. The revocation was reported in The Journal News, of Westchester County, New York, on Friday. “We did revoke their federal firearms license,” she said. The agency did not publicly disclose a reason for the closure.

Welcome to Obama’s Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of America. How is it that the US government can  take a businesses license that has violated no law that we know of and provide no explanation or reason for the closure? This is the definition of tyranny. As stated at Weasel Zippers, this is done to intimidate and provide a scare tactic to other gun stores that sell a legal product to other legal and law abiding citizens. How is a gun store responsible for legally selling a legal product and the irresponsibility of the buyer? This is how tyrannical our federal government has become. They will hunt you down and make an example out of you if you dare do not agree with their liberal, anti-Second Amendment agenda.

Thanks to Hot Air for the link!

Fisker Automotive Who Received Government Loan Totaling $529 million Fires 75% of Workers

Yet just another example of more poor Obama investments in so-called “Green” energy companies …

Add Fisker Automotive to the long list of Obama’s green energy investment failures. As reported at Bloomberg, Fisker Automotive is firing as much as 75% of workforce. President Barack Obama and the Department of Energy should be forced to explain to the “We the People” why they pissed away the American tax payers hard earned money and continue to do so with these wasteful investments in to so-called green energy. When will the MSM ever do their job and hold Obama accountable? When will the American people ever wake up and do the same?

Fisker Automotive Inc.’s mass firings after receiving federal loans to build luxury plug-in cars is adding to the political debate over the U.S. government’s funding of clean-energy programs.

Most of the assets of Fisker’s battery supplier that received a $249.1 million federal grant, the former A123 Systems Inc. (AONEQ), were acquired last year by a Chinese company. Now Fisker, awarded $529 million in U.S. loans, is firing 75 percent of its workforce after failing to secure a deal with an automotive partner to fund operations.

The debacle is reviving questions over whether the government should be funding makers of alternative energy ventures. Fisker and A123, whose bankruptcy halted Fisker’s output, have drawn Republican criticism of President Barack Obama’s support of green-energy programs intended to spur more fuel-efficient cars.

How long will it be until Fisker Automotive declares bankruptcy? Its already on the list of Obama’s green energy investment failures.  Obama’s green energy investments have been a joke, now they are officially a complete joke.

The complete list of faltering or bankrupt green-energy companies:

• Evergreen Solar ($25 million)*
• SpectraWatt ($500,000)*
• Solyndra ($535 million)*
• Beacon Power ($43 million)*
• Nevada Geothermal ($98.5 million)
• SunPower ($1.2 billion)
• First Solar ($1.46 billion)
• Babcock and Brown ($178 million)
• EnerDel’s subsidiary Ener1 ($118.5 million)*
• Amonix ($5.9 million)
• Fisker Automotive ($529 million)
• Abound Solar ($400 million)*
• A123 Systems ($279 million)*
• Willard and Kelsey Solar Group ($700,981)*
• Johnson Controls ($299 million)
• Schneider Electric ($86 million)
• Brightsource ($1.6 billion)
• ECOtality ($126.2 million)
• Raser Technologies ($33 million)*
• Energy Conversion Devices ($13.3 million)*
• Mountain Plaza, Inc. ($2 million)*
• Olsen’s Crop Service and Olsen’s Mills Acquisition Company ($10 million)*
• Range Fuels ($80 million)*
• Thompson River Power ($6.5 million)*
• Stirling Energy Systems ($7 million)*
• Azure Dynamics ($5.4 million)*
• GreenVolts ($500,000)
• Vestas ($50 million)
• LG Chem’s subsidiary Compact Power ($151 million)
• Nordic Windpower ($16 million)*
• Navistar ($39 million)
• Satcon ($3 million)*
• Konarka Technologies Inc. ($20 million)*
• Mascoma Corp. ($100 million)

Only A Matter of Time … Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti Resigns in Wake of Mike Rice Abusive Behavior Scandal Firing

The Buck does not stop at the desk of the Rutgers University President …

In the wake of the firing of Rutgers University Basketball coach Mike Rice firing and the scandal that surrounded his abusive behavior toward his players, it was only a matter of time before the next shoe dropped. Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti has now resigned  in an effort to calm down the public furor over their handling of abusive behavior by the Scarlet Knights’ men’s basketball coach. We had asked the very question, why once the video came out of the inappropriate and abusive behavior of coach Rice was he fired as opposed to when he was first punished with a suspension? Those that made the decision to only suspend Rice saw the very same videos. Obviously, those at Rutgers who made the decision to only suspended Rice had made a grave error in judgment and were going to pay a price once the video became viral. However, how many scapegoats will be required to take the fall to make up for the initial non-firing of Rice?

They also revealed that the circle of people who viewed video of abusive treatment of players by the coach, Mike Rice, as early as December was wider than previously understood, and that it included members of the university’s board of governors. That group was informed of the decision to suspend Mr. Rice for three games and send him to anger-management counseling, but not to fire him, according to Ralph Izzo, chairman of the Rutgers board.

On Friday morning, two days after Mr. Rice was fired, Athletic Director Tim Pernetti resigned, and implied that he was being made a scapegoat. He said his initial inclination when he saw the videos last fall was to fire Mr. Rice, but “Rutgers decided to follow a process involving university lawyers, human resources professionals, and outside counsel.”

Robert L. Barchi, the president of Rutgers, placed the blame on Mr. Pernetti and other senior officials who he said recommended that Mr. Rice be suspended rather than fired.

At a news conference Friday afternoon, Rutgers University President Robert L. Barchi announced the resignations of Mr. Pernetti and John B. Wolf, the university’s general counsel. It would appear at Rutgers, the buck does not stop at the president, it stops at those beneath him who he wishes to throw under the bus. Question, how with such a scandal like this does the president of a university not watch a tape unless they wish to claim plausible deniability?

Dr. Barchi placed the blame for the decision to suspend rather than fire Mr. Rice in December squarely on Mr. Pernetti and the university’s lawyers, saying he had not watched the video of Mr. Rice’s actions last fall and instead had relied on their descriptions of it.

“I know had I seen the tape that my assessment would have differed from theirs, and I would have acted on my assessment,” Dr. Barchi said.

When asked why he had not watched the video, he said: “I can’t answer exactly why I didn’t. You can only say in retrospect I sure wish I had.”

Rutgers University Fires Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Rice After Video Aired of Him Shoving, Grabbing & Throwing Balls at Players and Using Gay Slurs

Rutgers University fires Men’s basketball coach Mike Rice after video surfaces …

The University of Rutgers Scarlet Knights have fired Mike Rice, the men’s basketball coach after a video went viral of him shoving, grabbing, throwing balls at players and making gay slurs during practice. However, here lies the rub, the incidents in the videos are not new, they took place last year. Rutgers athletic director Pernetti had previously seen the video and last Fall suspended Rice for three games, fined him $50,000 and ordered him to attend anger management classes. So why is there a difference now? Of course the actions of the coach were way over the top, but the question remains, why after watching the same video that is now so outrageous, was it found to be a ok to suspend him previously, but not now?

Rutgers fired basketball coach Mike Rice on Wednesday after a videotape aired showing him shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players and using gay slurs during practice.

The videotape, broadcast Tuesday on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines,” prompted sharp criticism from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and the head of the New Jersey Assembly called for Rice to be fired.

With mounting criticism on a state and national level, the school relieved Rice of his duties after three largely unsuccessful seasons at the Big East school. There will be a national search to replace him.

Rutgers fired basketball coach Mike Rice on Wednesday after a videotape aired showing him shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players and using gay slurs during practice.

The videotape, broadcast Tuesday on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines,” prompted sharp criticism from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and the head of the New Jersey Assembly called for Rice to be fired.

With mounting criticism on a state and national level, the school relieved Rice of his duties after three largely unsuccessful seasons at the Big East school. There will be a national search to replace him.

Some are calling for the heads of President Robert Barchi and Athletic Director Tim Pernetti.

This may be a bit syndical, but it is the truth and some one needs to say it. Mike Rice was fired because he had been at the school three years and had yet to have a .500 season. In the Big East he went just 44-51 in three seasons. Rice posted a 16-38 mark in the conference after going 73-31 in three seasons at Robert Morris. If Rice had been a successful coach, had the team headed in the right direction and was bringing $’s to the university, the outcome might have been a bit difference.

On a personal note I will say the following after playing sports my entire life from Pee-wee’s to Elementary School. High School and College … has a coach ever put their hands on me, grabbed me by the face mask, yelled (screamed) in my face or thrown a ball at me … yes. A ball at my head, no. I will also note that this coach did get a tab bit too physical with the player and cross a line. But there seem to be other issues in this incident that would not have ever been a consideration in the past. Have I ever experienced a coach ever used what today’s PC media calls a gay slur, gee ya think? I guess being told that men were playing like girls would be a no-no today as well? But of course we live in a different world today where you cannot hurt another’s feelings or make them feel uncomfortable. I do think that this coach stepped over the line, but keep in mind there is a line. Grabbing a player is hardly a fireable offense. Sometimes shoving is not either. Anyone who has ever played a sport knows exactly what I am talking about and knows that most of lives greatest lessons are taught to them in the realm of athletics.

The only conclusion I can draw from this was it was not his actions that got him fired, but the VIDEO. Let this be a lesson to every coach in a world where ever 10 year old has a video phone.

Do You Live in One of the 10 Freest States in the United States or One of the Least … North Dakota Named the Most Free

“Where Liberty Dwells, there is My Country” – Benjamin Franklin

The Blaze announces the 10 freest states and the 10 least … which one doe you live in? In order to calculate these scores, they weight public policies according to the estimated costs that government restrictions on freedom impose on their victims. The fill report can be read here, at “Freedom in the 50 States”.   Many of the most free states are so because of low taxation and fiscal policy. North Dakota was named the most free, New York state comes in dead last.

1. North Dakota: VIDEO
2. South Dakota – VIDEO
3. Tennessee – VIDEO
4. New Hampshire – VIDEO
5. Oklahoma
6. Idaho
7. Missouri
8. Virginia
9. Georgia
10. Utah

North Dakota is the freest state in the U.S., followed closely by South Dakota, Tennessee, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma, according to the Mercatus Center at George Mason University’s third annual “Freedom in the 50 States.”

The 223-page report “scores all 50 states on their overall respect for individual freedom, and also on their respect for three dimensions of freedom considered separately: fiscal policy, regulatory policy, and personal freedom,” the study explains. Surprisingly, Texas did not make the top 10 and was ranked the 14th most free state.

The bottom 10 are 41. Mississippi, 42. West Virginia, 43. Vermont, 44. Maryland, 45. Illinois, 46. Rhode Island, 47. Hawaii,  48. New Jersey, 49. California and 50. New York.

Why Can’t Government be more Like Cost Effective Businesses … GOP Lawmaker US Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) Wants a ‘Virtual Congress’ with Telecommuting plan

VITUAL CONGRESS IS A START, TERM LIMITS SHOULD BE NEXT …

US Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) has introduced a resolution that would allow lawmakers to be able to hold hearings, debate and vote on legislation virtually from their district offices. What, our government save money and actually use the 21st century technology at their hands? The barrier to this resolution would be the lawmakers. How are they going to be able to go to the DC parties and be wined and dined by K Street lobbyists if they are at home? Of course the resolution makes all the sense in the world,  make the politicians accountable to their folks back home. Imagine Representatives of the people that are actually available to the people. The people of their district should have more access to them than the lobbyists. What a novel concept.

Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) wants to create a “virtual Congress,” where lawmakers would leverage videoconferencing and other remote work technology to conduct their daily duties in Washington from their home districts.

Under a resolution Pearce introduced on Thursday, lawmakers would be able to hold hearings, debate and vote on legislation virtually from their district offices.

While Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer may have recently nixed the Web company’s work-from-home policy to boost its performance, Pearce believes a remote work arrangement may benefit Congress and make lawmakers more accountable to folks in their home districts.

Pearce says the resolution would eradicate the need for members to jet back and forth from their districts to Washington each weekend. This would allow lawmakers to spend more time with their constituents rather than the armies of lobbyists from K St., he argues.

Imagine the costs saved by not having to pay for the endless air travel expenses back and forth from DC to their districts? Imagine if politicians used the very technology that every business pretty much uses today for cost savings measures? Imagine if politicians were home more than in DC and more accountable to their constituents, rather than lobbyists on K street? One has to ask the obvious question, with all of the technological innovations that have taken place just in the past 5 years, how come our government does not take advantage of them and lower the tax burden to “We the People”?