Hot on the heels of Intel's record-breaking quarter, the chipmaker has announced the specifics of its 22nm transition plans. Intel will spend between $6 billion and $8 billion upgrading its fabs for 22nm, with part of the money going to a brand new fab in Oregon.

Given that Otellini has spent the better part of the year complaining, in one venue after another, to anyone who will listen, about what an uncompetitive and business-hostile environment America is compared to the rest of the world, it's a bit surprising that not only is 100 percent of this fab upgrade money being spent in the US, but Intel is trumpeting this as an investment in America.

"Today's announcement reflects the next tranche of the continued advancement of Moore's Law and a further commitment to invest in the future of Intel and America," said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini in a statement. "The most immediate impact of our multi-billion-dollar investment will be the thousands of jobs associated with building a new fab and upgrading four others, and the high-wage, high-tech manufacturing jobs that follow."

The last time Otellini announced an investment of this size—$7 billion for fab upgrades in Oregon—Obama called him personally to thank Intel for the first good economic news the president had heard in months. But a year later to the month, Otellini blasted the administration for creating an "uncertain" business environment with the specter of higher taxes and unpredictable government intervention. Otellini even claimed that it costs Intel $1 billion more to build a fab in the US vs. Asia, because of all the government-associated overhead.

Clearly, if it really did cost Intel an extra $1 billion per fab in February of this year, the premium is presumably still that large in October. So what has changed? It's hard to say, but if anyone has a suggestion that goes beyond "Intel had a sudden burst of patriotism," we're all ears.