'They let him slip through'

A Democrat-backed permitting reform bill unveiled in December would hand out billions in grants for eco-activist nonprofits to conduct environmental reviews on green government projects. Nonprofit organizations‚ localities‚ and Native American tribes would be able to apply for $500 million in grants each fiscal year starting in 2024 through 2029‚ as a part of the Clean Electricity and Transmission Acceleration (CETA) Act‚ which aims to streamline the permitting process for green energy projects‚ expand transmission lines to facilitate energy transfers‚ and accelerate the green energy transition. Environmental groups have sought to stymie a number of Biden administration green energy projects‚ including plans for offshore wind development and further use of carbon capture technology. The CETA Act was proposed by Illinois Democratic Rep. Sean Casten and California Democratic Rep. Mike Levin‚ co-chairs of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition Clean Energy Deployment Task Force. President Joe Biden’s green transition has faced other slowdowns‚ including the rollout of electric vehicle chargers. Despite allocating $7.5 billion for charger construction and upgrades as a part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law‚ only two stations have been built‚ with regulations and union worker requirements stalling progress. GOP Senator James Lankford Claims There’s ‘Misinformation’ Surrounding Potential New Border Deal https://t.co/OqCFuSHLpo— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 29‚ 2024 The Biden administration allocated roughly $370 billion to combat climate change in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022‚ pouring funds into subsidies for electric vehicles‚ wind turbines‚ solar panels‚ batteries‚ and more. Environmental activists have also sought to halt offshore wind developments along the Atlantic seaboard after a number of whales were found dead along the coast‚ sending a letter to Senate Democrats in December 2022 requesting a stop to operations. Environmental groups and local tribes in Arizona filed a suit in January against the Department of the Interior to stop the construction of a $10 billion transmission line project to connect energy produced on wind farms to areas as far away as California‚ according to the Public Broadcasting Service. The suit argues that the proposed area of construction has historical significance. The government of New Jersey joined a suit in October 2023 with environmental groups and the fishing industry‚ seeking to stop the construction of an offshore wind energy farm‚ arguing that the federal government did not consider environmental consequences or follow certain laws when approving the project‚ according to PBS. “Our Clean Electricity and Transmission Acceleration Act will support the responsible buildout of transmission and renewables‚ while strengthening environmental protections and bringing impacted communities to the decision-making table‚” Levin said in a statement. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to make these necessary investments to improve the resilience of our grid and ensure all Americans have access to clean‚ affordable energy.” Casten’s office did not immediately respond to a request to comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation. Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Dems’ Energy Permitting Reform Bill Includes Billions for Eco-Activist Groups appeared first on The Daily Signal.

A high-ranking official at the Department of Education under President Joe Biden met with representatives of the Southern Poverty Law Center a year before the center put parental rights groups‚ including Moms for Liberty‚ on its “hate map” alongside chapters of the Ku Klux Klan‚ according to documents obtained by The Oversight Project. The department also appears to have hosted training that described groups the SPLC has attacked as “our opposition.” According to documents obtained by The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project‚ Dietra Trent‚ executive director at the White House initiative on historically black colleges and universities (HBCU)‚ met with Southern Poverty Law Center staff on July 5‚ 2022‚ one year before the SPLC put parental rights groups on its “hate map” June 6. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.) “It is shocking to see in writing the evidence that innocent parents were harassed and targeted by their own federal government for exercising their right to free speech and for speaking out during the COVID school shutdowns‚” Moms for Liberty co-founder Liberty Justice told The Daily Signal in a statement Monday. “We have known for some time the Biden administration has made it their mission to attack parents who publicly advocate for their children’s education‚” she added. “Attending public school board meetings and voicing concerns about our children’s education should not put a target on our backs to be silenced by the federal Government.” “Though the Biden administration would like to believe otherwise‚ parents are the only people that should get to make decisions on behalf of their children‚” Justice said. “We are grateful for the Heritage Foundation for standing up on behalf of all parents. “ The Meeting Taylor Emerson‚ then a confidential assistant to Miguel Cardona‚ the education secretary‚ organized the meeting. As I wrote in my book “Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center‚” the SPLC has leveraged its track record of suing Ku Klux Klan groups into bankruptcy to develop a “hate map” it uses to smear enemies. The SPLC has put conservative Christian groups‚ immigration-reform groups‚ parental rights groups‚ and other organizations that oppose its leftist agenda on the “hate map” alongside Klan chapters. Last June‚ the SPLC added a new category to its map‚ “antigovernment extremist groups.” That new category includes groups in an “anti-student inclusion movement”; namely‚ parental rights groups including Moms for Liberty‚ Parents Defending Education‚ No Left Turn in Education‚ Courage is a Habit‚ and others. Biden’s White House notoriously helped craft the National School Boards Association’s letter comparing concerned parents with domestic terrorists back in October 2021. That letter‚ later retracted‚ led to an FBI memo‚ also later retracted. SPLC leaders and staff met with White House officials at least 11 times since January 2021‚ when Biden took office‚ and Biden nominated an SPLC attorney to a federal appeals court. The SPLC’s ties with the Biden administration raise troubling questions about whether the administration plans to target concerned parents again‚ and these new documents suggest the Department of Education considers the SPLC a credible partner. Nina Patel‚ then a senior policy counsel at the SPLC‚ reached out to Trent on May 10‚ 2022. “The SPLC has tracked extremist groups for over 50 years and has offered institutions and government officials practical‚ evidence-based recommendations and resources to understand and deal with these types of threats‚” Patel wrote. “If we can be of any assistance‚ please do not hesitate to reach out.” She introduced Trent to her colleagues‚ LaShawn Warren‚ chief policy officer‚ and Michael Lieberman‚ senior policy counsel for hate and extremism. She said Lieberman “led the effort to enact federal hate crime legislation and continues to work on combatting radicalization upstream through education and prevention.” She also mentioned SPLC President Margaret Huang‘s testimony to a House committee “about the threats targeting HBCUs and discussed the need to ensure that students have digital literacy skills‚ taught in an inclusive educational environment‚ along with other recommendations.” “I would be interested in learning more about the digital literacy skills you referenced below‚” Trent responded. She said the Department of Education is “working with federal partners to host a series of campus emergency prevention‚ recovery and response trainings on several HBCU campuses.” After scheduling back and forth‚ Patel ultimately organized a meeting between Warren‚ Lieberman‚ and Emerson‚ the confidential assistant to Education Secretary Cardona. The meeting took place on July 5‚ and that morning‚ Patel asked Emerson to include Kevin Myles‚ the deputy director of programs and strategy at the SPLC’s education arm‚ Learning for Justice. A later follow-up email showed that Myles‚ the Learning for Justice staffer‚ was able to join the call on July 5. Neither the Department of Justice nor the SPLC responded to a request for comment on the call as of press time. ‘Our Opposition’ The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project also turned up a document from the left-leaning group Equality Federation‚ which appears to be an employee training document. The document‚ titled “The Legal Assault on Trans Youth &; How to Fight Back‚” describes conservative organizations as “our opposition.” The federation highlights Alliance Defending Freedom‚ an organization SPLC has branded an “anti-LGBTQ hate group”; Moms for Liberty; The Heritage Foundation; and the American Principles Project. The slide deck lists the "Christian Right" as opposition‚ along with @ADF‚ and @Heritage and @Moms4Liberty pic.twitter.com/MApkrPldeE— Oversight Project (@OversightPR) January 29‚ 2024 The Department of Education did not respond to a request to clarify the circumstances surrounding the slides in question. The SPLC did not respond to a request for comment about whether the SPLC worked with the Equality Federation to develop the “opposition” list. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.  The post BREAKING: Biden Education Department Met With SPLC Before Center Put Parental Rights Groups on Its ‘Hate Map’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

We present you funny dog posts from Jan 21 to Jan 27 that will paws-itively make you through the rest of the week!

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The Great Pit Bull Debate The question looms large in the dog world: Are Pit Bulls a dangerous breed? To understand this debate‚ it’s essential to know what a Pit Bull is. This term isn’t just for one breed; it includes the Bull Terrier‚ American Pit Bull Terrier‚ Staffordshire Terriers‚ and Staffordshire Bull Terriers. These... The post 2-year-old girl says “Mommy‚ that one” when she lays eyes on old‚ sick dog everyone keeps passing by appeared first on Animal Channel.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has urged the Biden administration to attack the Islamic Republican of Iran."I am calling on the Biden Administration to strike targets of significance inside Iran‚ not only as reprisal for the killing of our forces‚ but as deterrence against future aggression‚" Graham declared in a tweet. "Hit Iran now. Hit them hard‚" he urged. Three U.S. Army Reserve members were killed in Jordan while other American service members were injured in a recent attack. "Sgt. William Jerome Rivers‚ 46‚ of Carrollton‚ Ga.; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders‚ 24‚ of Waycross‚ Ga.; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett‚ 23‚ of Savannah‚ Ga.‚ died Jan. 28‚ 2024‚ in Jordan‚ when a one-way unmanned aerial system (OWUAS) impacted their container housing units‚" the Pentagon said in a press release.Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin said in a statement‚ "Iran-backed militias are responsible for these continued attacks on U.S. forces‚ and we will respond at a time and place of our choosing."Graham's call for the U.S. to target Iran earned backlash on social media."Is there anyone you don't want to bomb?" GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky tweeted in response to Graham. Elon Musk‚ apparently agreeing with Massie‚ replied with the bullseye emoji. — (@) GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas tweeted‚ "Target Tehran‚" but when someone questioned whether he was calling to bomb Iran‚ the senator replied‚ "No. IRGC and Quds Force terrorist facilitators." He added‚ "This is about deterrence‚ not war."Sharing screenshots of Graham's "Hit Iran now" post and Cornyn's "Target Tehran‚" comment‚ Tucker Carlson called the lawmakers "F***ing lunatics."Vivek Ramaswamy‚ who dropped out of the Republican presidential primary and endorsed former President Donald Trump earlier this month‚ tweeted‚ "For centuries‚ American statesmen reviled the thought of civilian deaths &; war as a last resort. Now we have the likes of Lindsey Graham &; Nikki Haley giddily calling to 'Hit Iran now &; Hit them hard.' It's disgusting &; says a lot about the kind of GOP they're trying to recreate."Haley‚ who is attempting to challenge Trump for the GOP presidential nomination‚ has asserted that the U.S. "should retaliate with the full force of American strength. It's the only way to prevent further war. If we do not‚ these attacks will only continue‚" she claimed. — (@) Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

On a recent "Real Time with Bill Maher" panel‚ Stephen A. Smith‚ Seth McFarlane‚ and Adam Schiff expressed their fear of another Trump presidency. “I think the Democratic Party should share my pessimism‚” Stephen A. Smith tells the panel. “I think they should be on high alert.” Smith then goes on to say that it’s obvious that Biden is “no longer a spring chicken” and can no longer ignore the fact that Trump “is a threat.” “I take him as serious as a heart attack‚” Schiff responds‚ adding‚ “but we’re going to have to fight tooth and nail‚ and one of the biggest obstacles we’re going to have to overcome is all the efforts to prevent people from voting.” “Our democracy is on the line because it damn well is‚” he continues. Smith agreed‚ while the crowd erupted in applause. Maher saw this as a good point to interject‚ bringing up an article from last year called “Separating Sports by Sex Doesn’t Make Sense.” Maher explains that the article “talked about how we separate sports like the WNBA just because it’s just socialization.” “This is insane‚” he says. “That’s why people vote for Trump. Because there’s stuff like that on the left that people just go‚ 'I know Trump’s horrible‚ but separating sports by sex makes perfect sense‚ and if you think it doesn’t‚ you can’t lead the country.'” “But that’s cutting off your nose to spite your face‚” McFarlane argues. “I’m just giving you the answer to the question you’re asking all night long‚ why do they vote for Donald Trump‚” Maher fires back. Dave Rubin is appreciative of Maher’s “sane liberal position.” “You have the decent liberal‚ the sane liberal‚ the only one‚” he says. Want more from Dave Rubin?To enjoy more honest conversations‚ free speech‚ and big ideas with Dave Rubin‚ subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America‚ defend the Constitution‚ and live the American dream.