I believe Kamala Harris. She told a CNN town hall in 2019, “There’s no question: I’m in favor of banning fracking.” Kamala Harris: "There’s no question, I’m in favor of banning fracking" #ClimateTownHall https://t.co/uRwmVeFb0e pic.twitter.com/Kifg574uj1— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 4, 2019 But she said in her Sept. 10 ABC News debate against former President Donald Trump: “I will not ban fracking.” That second comment might be the only campaign promise she ever keeps. How could these statements both be true? Harris 1.0 can do as planned while Harris 2.0 keeps her word. If voters buy her act, a President Kamala Harris could cripple fracking, if not stop it altogether, as she pledged in 2019. And she can do so without banning fracking, as she promised at the debate. Kamala could leave America’s oil and gas industry perfectly free to submit Applications for Permits to Drill. But these permit applications could stretch from 30 to 100 pages now to, say, 300 pages under Harris-Walz. Kamala could hike today’s $12,515 filing fee per permit applications to $50,000—more than quadruple. Why not? She could finance her “free” giveaways by making frackers “pay their fair share” to file paperwork. “What’s the rush?” Harris might ask. According to the Government Accountability Office, for permit applications the Bureau of Land Management “received from May 2016 through June 2019, overall review times decreased from 196 days to 94 days”—down 52%, mainly under Trump. But with public health, safety, and Earth’s delicate climate at stake, why not spend at least six months with each application—just in case? GAO Fracking-20-329Download The Bureau of Land Management scrutinizes permit applications on federal soil. But it might miss something. So, each application could traverse other agencies and even Cabinet departments, to double check and confirm that everything is hunky-dory. America cannot be too careful.  The Justice Department could certify that no fracker ever has faced a federal criminal indictment, conviction, or U.S. civil complaint.  The Labor Department could verify that no fracking company’s corporate officers or board members ever violated a federal labor regulation, angered a union boss, overlooked a worker, or forgot to buy flowers on Administrative Professionals Day (or as real men call it: National Secretaries Day). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission could ensure that every driller’s workforce lacked racial bias and perfectly reflected America’s precise demographic profile, per the Census Bureau. If, for instance, Frack-O-Rama Inc.’s payroll is not 58.4% white, 19.5% Hispanic, 13.7% black, 6.4% of Asian descent, 1.3% American Indian, and 0.3% Native Hawaiian, then this racist enterprise better start explaining—macht schnell! After this initial scrutiny, frackers with what Harris repeatedly calls “dreams, ambitions, and aspirations”—to use Harris’ pet phrase—better prepare for deeper probes. Environmental impact reports are inescapable: Applicants must prove that they love Mother Nature. Next, Harris could require that explorers show that they would not disturb the shards of pottery or remains of, say, Nevada’s Te-Moak and Winnemucca tribesmen. Likewise, the bones of Louisiana’s deceased slaves should remain untouched. And how awful if “frack, baby, frack” pounded dinosaur fossils into dust.  Scholars at the Smithsonian museums of the American Indian, African American History, and Natural History could inspect every application and attest that no such horrors would unfold. Despite such reassurances, Frack-O-Rama Inc. still could be told: “The Harris-Walz administration has determined that your permit application requires further study. Please complete, swear, and notarize these 12 new forms, under penalty of perjury. Don’t call us. We’ll call you.” Frackers eventually would learn that persistence is futile. This game-changing technology would run out of steam. Thus, Harris 1.0 can keep her old commitment to the center-left, and Harris 2.0 can honor her new vows to the center-right. This scenario could transpire just as America needs more fossil fuel—especially natural gas—to generate the electricity to power millions of Harris-mandated EV cars and trucks and the square miles of server farms that cryptocurrency, blockchain, and artificial intelligence require to blossom. Before any of this unfolds, however, voters—especially those in frack-friendly Pennsylvania—should ponder what Power the Future’s Larry Behrens asked in The Hill: “Was Vice President Kamala Harris lying about her position on fracking in 2019, or is her campaign lying now?” We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post How Harris Could Still Stop Fracking Without Banning Fracking appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Perfect Metaphor for the Harris/Biden Administration

Investigators are seeking motives for the shocking murder of a Kentucky judge. The suspect is a sheriff — who had been close friends with the judge. The pair even had lunch together just hours before the judge was fatally shot earlier this month, according to reports. As Blaze News previously reported, Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines, 43, is accused of shooting 53-year-old Judge Kevin Mullins on Sept. 19.'Nobody I know can understand what happened between lunchtime and the judge's death.'Stines is accused of walking into the judge’s chambers at the Letcher County Circuit Court and shooting Mullins eight times. Mullins was pronounced dead at the crime scene. The sheriff reportedly exited the courtroom with his hands up after the shooting and was taken into custody without incident. Stines pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge. Surveillance video from inside the chambers showed the pair exchanging cellphones and looking at something on them before the sheriff walked over and shot the judge dead, sources told the Mountain Eagle.“Our investigators seized the two cell phones, and they’re being analyzed,” Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart said Sunday. The shooting is especially curious since Stines and Mullins reportedly had been decades-long friends. What's more, the Daily Mail reported that the pair went to lunch at the Streetside Grill & Bar on Main Street just hours before the shooting. A restaurant employee told the outlet that Stines and Mullins ordered their usual lunch — both having chicken wings with salad."Everything seemed fine between them. There was no clue that anything was wrong at all," an employee said. "You wouldn't have guessed there was the slightest problem."The employee added that "it's fair to say we had a lot of business from the judge and the sheriff. They'd been coming here together for lunch for years. Nobody I know can understand what happened between lunchtime and the judge's death."Letcher Circuit Clerk Mike Watts told the Mountain Eagle, “I never knew of there being any kind of friction between them till it came to this. We all got along good, teased each other."Until he became sheriff in 2018, Stines was the bailiff for Judge Mullins. Ben Fields succeeded Stines as Mullins' bailiff.Fields, it turns out, coerced a female prisoner to have sex with him inside Judge Mullins' chambers. The woman alleged she was promised "favorable treatment for sexual favors." Earlier this year, Fields pleaded guilty to raping a female prisoner while she was on home incarceration.Fields was sentenced to six months in jail and then six and a half years of probation for rape, sodomy, perjury, and tampering with a prisoner monitoring device. Three charges related to a second woman were dismissed because she is now dead.Stines fired Fields for "conduct unbecoming," the Courier Journal reported. Days before the shooting, Stines was deposed in a lawsuit filed by two women, one of whom was Fields' victim. The civil lawsuit accuses Stines of “deliberate indifference in failing to adequately train and supervise” Fields, an ex-deputy.When asked if a "sex scandal" was a possible motive in the fatal shooting of the judge, Trooper Gayheart confirmed: “Absolutely. We are not ruling out anything as a possible motive.”Gayheart did not elaborate on the sex scandal in question. The Mountain Eagle noted swirling gossip regarding the motives for the murder, "Rumors, apparently none true, have raced through the community, setting a torch to other relationships. The community is split between those bent on spreading salacious gossip and those determined to protect the families of two men they saw as pillars of the community."Like Blaze News? Circumvent the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The Democratic Party is hurtling down a dangerous path. Not only has its inflammatory rhetoric convinced millions of Americans that Donald Trump is the single greatest threat to the country and turned neighbors against each other — but the current administration has gone as far as punishing those who question the narrative. Glenn Beck of “The Glenn Beck Program” believes Democrats have been so wildly successful in their division tactics because the Democratic Party has the attributes of a cult. “You want to know which one is building a cult?” he comments. “Which one has hired all of the best behavioral scientists to help them form all of their policies? It’s not Donald Trump. Why would you hire a behavioral scientist? Well, behavioral scientists are really a modern version of propagandists.” While many Americans are aware of what’s been done to the minds of their friends, family, and neighbors, they have no idea how to pull them out of the trance. “We are looking at this and saying, ‘Wait, think about this rationally.’ They can’t, and that’s no fault of their own. They have been manipulated and brainwashed,” Glenn explains, adding, “So getting somebody out of a cult is really hard, and very frustrating, and it takes a long time.” Though it may take a long time, Glenn notes that you cannot act impatient or angry. “If you want to save them, you must listen to them,” he says. “Do not assume bad intentions. There are people that have bad intentions but not everybody.” “It starts with asking questions,” he continues, noting that you should ask them how they ended up with their current belief system. “If you try to defend yourself on this, you will lose, and you’ll have to start all over again some other time. So, you can’t get angry, and you can’t defend,” he says, adding, “You just want to know the answer to questions, and it has to be sincere, and it has to show respect.” Want more from Glenn Beck?To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Ryan Wesley Routh has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he tried to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15.During a three-minute arraignment before federal Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in West Palm Beach, Routh waived reading of the grand jury indictment against him and demanded a trial by jury.The Ukraine war mercenary who grew up in North Carolina but more recently lived in Hawaii faces up to life in prison if convicted of the charge of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate. Trump won the GOP nomination for president in July, just days after being shot in the ear by would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks in Butler Township, Pennsylvania.Routh is also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.According to federal prosecutors, Routh, 58, traveled from his native home in Greensboro, North Carolina, to West Palm Beach on Aug. 14. On “multiple days and times” between Aug. 18 and Sept. 15, Routh’s cell phone pinged towers near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and the Trump golf club.A U.S. Secret Service agent driving a golf cart toward the sixth green spotted someone in the brush outside the fence about 1:30 p.m. Sept. 15. After seeing a rifle poking through the chain-link fence, the agent fired four shots toward the alleged gunman, who fled on foot and escaped the area by car. Routh was arrested about 45 minutes later on Interstate 95 in Martin County.A sniper’s nest was found along the fence line with an AK-47 rifle loaded with 11 rounds, including one in the chamber. The weapon was outfitted with a scope and extended magazine, the FBI said. A backpack and reusable shopping bag each containing carrier plates that can stop small arms fire were found hanging from the fence. Department of Homeland Security police officers stand watch outside the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 30, 2024, during the arraignment hearing of Ryan Wesley Routh, suspected of the attempted assassination of former U.S. president Donald Trump on Sept. 15. (Photo by Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images)The Secret Service said Routh never had line of sight to Trump, who was playing the fifth hole at the time.The FBI released a letter — reportedly written by Routh and addressed to “Dear World” — in which the author apologized for failing to assassinate the 45th president and offered a $150,000 bounty to “whomever can complete the job.” The letter was in a box that Routh dropped off with an unknown witness several months before the attempted assassination, the FBI said.Routh published a 2023 book in which he lamented that Trump didn’t turn out as he hoped as president. He apologized to Iran, suggesting the Islamic republic is “free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgment and the dismantling of the deal,” court records show.The U.S. Department of Justice has charged a Pakistani national who recently traveled to Iran with hatching a plot to assassinate Trump and other government officials as revenge for the 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed terror kingpin Qasem Soleimani, head of Iran’s Quds Force.Asif Merchant was arrested July 15 in Texas in connection with the alleged plot. He entered the United States through Houston in April after spending two weeks in Iran, according to court documents. He flew to New York and tried to recruit hitmen to kill various U.S. governmental officials, including Trump. The “hitmen” were actually undercover FBI agents.Merchant was subsequently indicted by a grand jury Sept. 10 in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, on one count of attempting to commit an act of terrorism and one count of murder for hire. At his Sept. 16 arraignment, Merchant pleaded not guilty to both counts. He is due back in court Nov. 6.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

An NPR radio host accused pro-Trump Hispanics of wanting to be white and warned Democrats that Vice President Kamala Harris may lose the election because of her lack of support among the demographic. Maria Hinojosa disparaged the Latinos for supporting former President Donald Trump in comments to Jonathan Capehart on his MSNBC show Sunday. 'They don't want to be identified with all those other immigrants.' "Why is the Democratic share of the Latino vote shrinking?" he asked. "Latinos want to be white. They want to be with the cool kids," Hinojosa responded. She went on to say that some Latinos cited Trump's business background to explain their support, and she tried to knock that down by citing his history of bankruptcies. "They don't want to be identified with all those other immigrants that Donald Trump speaks so badly about, including me, as a Mexican immigrant," she continued. "So they're like, 'We'd rather, let's be with him.'"Capehart asked Hinojosa to respond to NBC News-Telemundo polling showing that the net support for Harris among Latinos had dwindled dangerously for Democrats. Harris had a 14% lead among Latinos, but that was far less than the 36% lead President Joe Biden had in 2020 and the 50% lead for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Obama had a similar lead in 2012 among Latinos with 40%. Hinojosa went on to say that the drastic implosion for support among Latinos might spell doom for the Harris-Walz campaign. "Those numbers, they could cost Kamala Harris the election," she added. "Everything that I’ve been saying that Latinos could push her over the top, these are the numbers that could also take her down."A recent rally meant to inspire support among Latinos by the Harris-Walz campaign drew a disappointingly low number of actual Latinos. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The International Longshoremen's Association, a union representing 85,000 dockworkers, is gearing up for strikes at the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports beginning on October 1 if it is unable to secure an agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance by Monday evening.The union is demanding higher wages and a ban on the automation of cranes, gates, and container-moving trucks that are used to load and unload freight, according to the Associated Press.'Prices are going to go to the moon.'The ILA stated that the USMX has "block[ed] the path toward a settlement on a new Master Contract by refusing ILA's demands for a fair and decent contract and seems intent on causing a strike at all ports from Maine to Texas beginning in almost 12 hours."In a Monday update, ILA wrote, "The Ocean Carriers represented by USMX want to enjoy rich billion-dollar profits that they are making in 2024, while they offer ILA Longshore Workers an unacceptable wage package that we reject.""ILA longshore workers deserve to be compensated for the important work they do keeping American commerce moving and growing. It's disgraceful that most of these foreign-owned shipping companies are engaged in a 'Make and Take' operation: They want to make their billion-dollar profits at United States ports, and off the backs of American ILA longshore workers, and take those earnings out of this country and into the pockets of foreign conglomerates. Meanwhile, ILA dedicated longshore workers continue to be crippled by inflation due to USMX's unfair wage packages," the union stated.The impending strike would see 45,000 dockworkers walk off the jobs at 36 ports, which manage approximately half of all goods shipped in and out of the country. A potential prolonged strike could have a massive economic impact.Jason Fisk, CEO of Los Angeles-based SalSon Logistics, told the New York Post that the work stoppage could cost $3.7 billion per day.Ted Jenkin, a business consultant and co-founder of Atlanta-based oXYGen Financial, told the Post, "The biggest concern will be if there is any type of prolonged strike and how that could affect the supply of goods and the prices for holiday season.""A prolonged strike will absolutely force companies to pay shippers for the delays making goods much more costly and make them arrive late for the high point of the holiday season," Jenkin noted. "A few days won't be that significant because big retail chains have been preparing for a strike for months, but a month would be a devastating blow for holiday time."The strike, scheduled for 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, is expected to impact goods, including bananas, clothing, furniture, and European beers and cars.Meanwhile, U.S. shoppers told Fox Business that they are gearing up for the forthcoming strike by stocking up on essential items but noted that increased costs will make purchasing additional needed goods difficult."The prices are already so high, I feel, because of the current administration, and I think it's just going to get worse," one shopper told the news outlet."It's hard to be able to make ends meet as it is. It's going to be even worse," another individual said.Gristedes and D'Agostino Supermarkets chairman and CEO John Catsimatidis warned that the strike would prompt supermarket prices to "go up higher than ever.""Prices are going to go to the moon," he told Fox Business.The USMX did not respond to a request for comment from the AP.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A Texas man shelled out thousands of dollars at an auction to purchase a guitar with Taylor Swift's John Hancock on it — only to turn around and repeatedly swing a hammer at it just moments later as his fellow auction attendees cheered him on.On Saturday, hundreds gathered at the Ellis County Expo Center in Waxahachie, Texas, for the annual Ellis County Wild Game Dinner, a charity event established in 2018 to raise funds to support local "agricultural and rural education," according to an event website.'You don't need the hammer. Smash it on the ground.'Among the items up for auction that evening was a guitar signed by pop superstar Taylor Swift. TMZ confirmed that the autograph on the instrument was authentic.The winning bid of $4,000 went to an unidentified elderly man with white hair and a goatee. As he strutted to the front of the room to claim his prize, a man in a cowboy hat handed him a hammer.The guitar-purchaser didn't even bother to ask what the hammer was for. Instead, he accepted the tool and immediately began swinging it at the guitar he'd just bought, striking more than a dozen blows to the instrument while many in attendance whooped and hollered. For a moment, he even seemingly considered bashing the instrument against the floor but thought better of it, video showed."You don't need the hammer. Smash it on the ground," a man from the audience yelled. Video of the incident has since gone viral on social media, prompting some to speculate that the attack on the instrument was related to Swift's recent endorsement of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Such an endorsement is unlikely to play well in deep-red Ellis County, which voted overwhelmingly for Republican Donald Trump in 2020 and 2016.According to TMZ, a third party donated the guitar to auction organizers before Swift announced her endorsement of Harris.Organizers did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Dot.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

It only takes one look at Zoochosis's mutated zoo animals, including a bizarre spider-limbed giraffe and giant-mawed, tusk-festooned hippo, to see whether the game seems like your cup of tea or not. For our part, the Five Nights at Freddy's-style horror game — a sort of Planet Zoo for Resident Evil fans — has kept us intrigued since we first caught a glimpse of it earlier this year. Now, timed appropriately for the weeks leading into Halloween, the game has launched on Steam. Continue reading Five Nights at Freddy’s style horror game Zoochosis is out right now MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The best horror games, The best indie games, The best PC games

*SNORT* Scott Jennings Embarrasses TF Out of Stephanie Ruhle and Her Laughable Reporting on JD Vance