President Joe Biden will announce a ban on new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters on Wednesday, according to several reports.
Biden’s decision bars any new fracking on federal lands despite his campaign promise not to ban the practice.
“I am not banning fracking. Let me say that again: I am not banning fracking,” Biden said in August 2020 during the presidential campaign. “No matter how many times Donald Trump lies about me.”
Despite multiple promises to end fracking and fossil fuels during the Democrat primary or end “new fracking,” Biden clarified while campaigning in Pennsylvania ahead of the presidential election that he would only ban new fracking on federal lands.
“No, I would not shut down this industry. I know our Republican friends are trying to say I said that,” Biden said about fracking in an interview with Pittsburg’s KDKA News.
“I said I would not do any new leases on federal lands,” Biden continued. “Ninety percent of the leases are not on federal land, to begin with. I would make sure … the water is not being contaminated. But I would not shut it down, no.”
The issue of a fracking ban was prominently featured in the final presidential debate when Biden falsely stated that he never said he would ban fracking.
Welker: All right. Let me allow Vice President Biden to respond–
Biden: I have never said I oppose fracking.
Trump: You said it on tape.
Biden: I did? Show the tape. Put it on your website.
Trump: I’ll put it on.
Biden: Put it on the website. The fact of the matter is he’s flat lying.
Welker: Would you rule out banning fracking?
Biden: I do rule out banning fracking because the answer we need– We need other industries to transition to get to, ultimately, a complete zero emissions by 2025. What I will do with fracking over time is make sure that we can capture the emissions from the fracking. Capture the emissions from gas. We can do that and we can do that by investing money into– It’s a transition to that.
Welker: I have one more question–
Trump: Excuse me. He was against fracking. He said it. I will show that to you tomorrow. ‘I am against fracking’, until he got the nomination, went to Pennsylvania then he said– You know what, Pennsylvania? He’ll be against it very soon because his party is totally against it.
Biden: Fracking on federal land, I said. No fracking or oil on federal land.
President Trump followed through on his promise, publishing a campaign video highlighting Biden’s discussion of eliminating fracking and fossil fuels.
He played the highlight video at several of his rallies in Pennsylvania.
Democrat leaders Kylie Oversen, Ellie Shockley and Ellen Chaffee donated money to support a man charged over axe attack on North Dakota Republican senator.
Since the day after the 2020 presidential election, I have said I am agnostic with regard to whether the election was honestly or dishonestly decided. The primary reasons for my agnosticism are the usual ones. The anomalies: In 132 years, no president has received more votes in his run for re-election and lost. Yet Donald…
Ted Wheeler, the Democratic mayor of Portland, Oregon, pepper-sprayed a man on Sunday evening who had reportedly asked him why he was eating at a restaurant without a mask on, and also accused Wheeler of “ruining” the city. Willamette Week reported Wheeler had finished dining with former Portland Mayor Sam Adams at the McMenamins Hillsdale…
On Tuesday, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) delivered a blistering speech on the floor of the Senate in which he excoriated Democrats for their attempt to impeach former President Donald Trump, who is now a private citizen. Paul not only blasted Democrats for their “hyper-partisan” actions, but denounced them for hypocritically targeting Trump while saying nothing […]
Conservative journalist Andy Ngo has fled the United States amid a constant barrage of Antifa death threats.
What are the details?
In an interview with Sky News about his upcoming new book, "Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy," Ngo explained to his hosts that "for an number of months now there’s just been increasing threats of violence against me, promises by Antifa extremists to kill me."
Ngo — who’s now in London — noted that "all those threats were reported to authorities, and even when I provided names of some of the suspects, nothing was done. So, it’s pained me a lot to temporarily [have] to leave the country and home that settled my parents, who came there as political refugees."
Andy Ngo: Antifa has forced me to flee my homeyoutu.be
What’s the background?
Ngo had been living in Portland, Oregon, which is arguably Antifa Central in the United States. And for several years he’s paid special attention to the activities of the violent left-wing group — and has even infiltrated Antifa to get first-hand information about their actions, tendencies, and core values.
Antifa militants — who claim they’re fascism fighters while wantonly practicing fascism at every turn — ganged up on and brutally beat Ngo in a June 2019 incident captured on video.
Content warning: Language:
Conservative writer Andy Ngo roughed up at Portland antifa/right wing protestsyoutu.be
"The people occupying the Capitol building do not look like Antifa people dressed in Trump gear or Trump costumes," he told the Washington Examiner in an interview from England.
He added to the paper that he’s seen "no evidence that they are able to coordinate a mass infiltration on this scale before, so I’m really skeptical that they would have been able to do it here without any of that information leaking out."
Antifa also has been making a valiant effort to bully Portland’s famed Powell’s Books into not selling Ngo’s upcoming book — the store has already said it won’t stock it on shelves or promote it and will sell it only online. As you might guess, that’s not quite good enough for Antifa:
"STOP SELLING ANDY NGO’S BOOK""HELL NO, WE WON’T NGO"A crowd of #antifa have gathered outside @Powells bookstore… https://t.co/63xPZmhdyR
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced late Monday that the Sunshine State will have offered vaccines to every long term care facility resident and staff member by February 1.
“I’m pleased to announce that by February 1, the COVID-19 vaccine will have been offered to every resident and staff member of Florida’s nearly 700 nursing homes and over 3,000 ALFs,” DeSantis announced Monday.
“This was an important mission,” DeSantis said during an earlier Monday stop at the River Garden Hebrew House for the Aged in Jacksonville, Florida, explaining that the age and underlying health status of those in long term care facilities make residents more vulnerable to severe outcomes from the virus.
The announcement comes as DeSantis continues to prioritize vaccinating seniors — a move which drew ire from outlets such as CNN as the vaccine rollout began:
In an announcement last week, the Republican governor explained that Florida is putting seniors first, leading the nation in vaccinating those 65 and older. Nearly 70 percent of the state’s total vaccinations are going toward senior citizens, as DeSantis noted in a January 22 update. To date, Florida has vaccinated over one million seniors, DeSantis noted in a tweet Tuesday.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) January 25 data, Florida has distributed 2,908,275 vaccinations and has administered 1,544,794 doses.
DeSantis released a sharp statement on Tuesday following remarks from White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who seemed to suggest that Florida was greatly underutilizing the vaccines it has received as the overall rollout continues.
“I will note – cause we’re data first, facts first here – that they’ve only distributed about 50 percent of the vaccines that they have been given in Florida,” the maskless press secretary stated.
“So, clearly, they have a good deal of the vaccine, that supply will need to continue to increase as they are able to effectively reach people across the state,” she added.
DeSantis explained that the state is “among the top ten most populous states for vaccine doses per capita,” administering 300,000 first doses per week.
“But we are not going to divert second doses away from our seniors. If the implication is that we should be giving those second doses away to other people, that is not the way the FDA has prescribed the series,” DeSantis added.
“If we are given additional first does, we are ready to double our output. The possibilities are endless here in Florida, but it is contingent on us getting additional supply from the federal government,” he continued.
“We are committed to ensuring our seniors are the priority and get their second dose, and if the White House is suggesting that we shouldn’t be doing that, I don’t think that’s a good suggestion,” he added.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) released a pointed statement Tuesday after White House press secretary Jen Psaki appeared to suggest Florida is underutilizing the vaccines it has received, describing the insinuation as “totally disingenuous.”
“I will note — cause we’re data first, facts first here — that they’ve only distributed about 50 percent of the vaccines that they have been given in Florida,” a maskless Psaki stated during Monday’s press briefing.
“So, clearly, they have a good deal of the vaccine, that supply will need to continue to increase as they are able to effectively reach people across the state,” she continued.
DeSantis took issue with the Psaki’s insinuation that Florida is simply sitting on viable vaccines, noting that many of the vaccines are second doses for seniors, whom DeSantis has continued to prioritize in the state’s rollout. Florida has already vaccinated over one million seniors alone.
“The insinuation that Florida is underutilizing vaccines is totally disingenuous. Florida is number one in the country among the top ten most populous states for vaccine doses per capita,” the Republican governor said in a statement, noting the Sunshine State is averaging over 300,000 first doses per week.
“But we are not going to divert second doses away from our seniors. If the implication is that we should be giving those second doses away to other people, that is not the way the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] has prescribed the series,” DeSantis continued:
We are also number one in the nation by far for vaccinations of seniors, as Florida has vaccinated more than 1 million seniors 65 and older to date. If we are given additional first does, we are ready to double our output. The possibilities are endless here in Florida, but it is contingent on us getting additional supply from the federal government.
DeSantis reemphasized that Florida is committed to prioritizing seniors, ensuring that they receive both the first and second dose of the vaccine.
“If the White House is suggesting that we shouldn’t be doing that, I don’t think that’s a good suggestion,” he added:
Florida has distributed 2,908,275 vaccinations and has administered 1,544,794 doses, or 7,193 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) January 25 data. Of those, 156,298 have received two or more doses of the vaccine.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order Monday to phase out the federal government’s use of vehicles that run on gas and replace them with ones that run on electricity.
The process is part of Biden’s “Made in America” executive order, which the president claims will create one million additional jobs in the auto industry in America.
“The federal government also owns an enormous fleet of vehicles, which we’re going to replace with clean electric vehicles made right here in America, by American workers,” Biden told reporters during a briefing Monday announcing his “Buy American” executive order.
But replacing an entire federal fleet of hundreds of thousands of vehicles could be a massive undertaking. TechCrunch reported that, in 2019, the federal fleet comprised of more than 645,000 vehicles, including more than 412,000 trucks and 224,000 passenger cars.
That does not even begin to include the hundreds of thousands of U.S. Post Office vehicles powered by gas, the Verge reported.
Many existing federal vehicles on the road are tied to leases, which could halt the process of transferring them to electric.
There is also the issue of making sure electric vehicles have enough charging stations to provide them with enough power to function.
Automakers likely to supply the country with these electric vehicles include Ford and General Motors, companies that have both said they would commit to spending billions on electric vehicles.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) delivered a strident address on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday afternoon in which he cited examples of Democrats encouraging violence and aggressive behavior against Trump supporters and Republicans.
Paul highlighted the Democrats’ hypocrisy as he spoke against the impending impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday afternoon, though substantive proceedings will be delayed until February 8.
Paul’s remarks, in full, are as follows.
***
This impeachment is nothing more than a partisan exercise designed to further divide the country.
Democrats claim to want to unify the country, but impeaching a former president, a private citizen, is the antithesis of unity.
Democrats brazenly appointing a pro-impeachment Democrat [Senate President Pro Tem Patrick Leahy] to preside over the trial is not fair or impartial, and hardly encourages any kind of unity in our country.
No, “unity” is the opposite of this travesty we are about to witness.
If we are about to try to impeach a president, where is the Chief Justice? If the accused is no longer president, where is the constitutional power to impeach him? Private citizens don’t get impeached. Impeachment is for removal from office. And the accused here has already left office.
Hyper-partisan Democrats are about to drag our great country down into the gutter of rancor and vitriol the likes of which has never been seen in our nation’s history. Instead of doing the nation’s work, with their new majorities in the House, the Senate, and the executive branch, Democrats are wasting the nation’s time on a partisan vendetta against a man no longer in office.
It’s almost as if they have no ability to exist except in opposition to Donald Trump. Without him as their bogeyman, they might to legislate, and to actually convince Americans that their policies are the right ones.
Democrats are about to do something no self-respecting Senator has stooped to: Democrats are insisting the election is actually not over, and so they insist on regurgitating the bitterness of the election.
This acrimony they are about to unleash has never before been tried. Why? Because calmer heads have typically prevailed in our history, and allowed public opinion to cast blame where blame is deserved.
This sham of an impeachment will ostensibly ask whether the president incited the reprehensible behavior and violence of January 6 when he said, “I know everyone here will soon march to the Capitol to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
“Peacefully and patriotically.” Hardly words of violence.
[Interjection: Not at all.]
But what of Democrat words? What of Democrat incitement to violence?
No Democrat will honestly ask whether [Senator] Bernie Sanders incited the shooter that nearly killed Steve Scalise and volunteer coach. The shooter nearly pulled off a massacre — I was there — because he fervently believed the false and inflammatory rhetoric spewed by Bernie and other Democrats, such as, “The Republican health care plan for the uninsured is that you die.”
As this avowed Bernie supporter shot Steve Scalise, nearly killing him, and shot one of our coaches and two or three of our staff, he screamed, “This is for health care.” Ask me, or anyone, if that’s incitement.
No Democrat will ask if [Senator] Cory Booker incited violence when he called for his supporters to get — get “up in their face” of congresspeople — a very visual, and specific incitement. No Democrat will ask whether [Representative] Maxine Waters incited violence when she told her supporters, and I quote, that “If you see a member of the Trump administration at a restaurant, at a department store, at a gas station, or any place, you create a crowd, and you push back on them.” Is that not incitement?
My wife and I were pushed and surrounded and screamed at by this same type of mob that Maxine likes to inspire. It’s terrifying to have a swarm of people threatening to kill you, cursing at you and literally holding you hostage until police come to your rescue. That night we were assaulted by the crowd, I wasn’t sure if we would survive even with the police protection. But no Democrat suggested impeaching Maxine for her violent rhetoric.
In fact, Republicans, to our credit, have never once thought it legitimate to formally censor or impeach these Democrats. No Republican has sought to use the government to hold these Democrats responsible for Antifa and Black Lives Matter violence that has consumed our cities all summer, resulting in over a billion dollars of destruction, looting, and property damage. Not one Republican said, “Oh, let’s impeach the Democrats who are inciting this.” Because it would be ridiculous.
Many on the Democrat side of the aisle cheered them on. [Then-Senator] Kamala Harris famously offered to pay the bill for those who were arrested. I wonder if she’ll be brought up on charges of inciting violence for that now that she’s Vice President.
Should Kamala Harris be impeached for offering to pay for violent people to get out of jail who have been burning our cities down? No! And no Republican has offered that, because we’re not going down the road the Democrats have decided, this low road of impeaching people for political speech.
Should Republicans impeach the Democrat mayor of Seattle who incited and condoned violence by calling the armed takeover of part of her city a “summer of love”? Any Republicans try to impeach her?
On June 8, the New York Post, citing U.S. Justice Department statistics, reported that more than 700 law enforcement officers were injured during the Antifa/Black Lives Matter riots. There were at least 19 murders, including 77-year-old retired police officer David Dorn. Yet Democrats insist on applying a test of incitement to a Republican that they refuse to apply to themselves.
I want the Democrats to raise their hands if they have ever given a speech that says “Take back,” “Fight for your country.” Who hasn’t used the words “fight” figuratively, and are we going to put every politician in jail, or are we going to impeach every politician who has used the words “fight” figuratively in a speech?
Shame. Shame on these angry, unhinged partisans who are putting forth this sham impeachment, deranged by their hatred of the former president. Shame on those who seek blame and revenge, and who choose to pervert a constitutional process while doing so.
I want this body on record, every last person here: Is this how you think politics should be?
Look, we have now got crazy partisans on the other side of the aisle trying to censor and remove two of the Republican Senators for their political position. Now, look, I disagreed. I don’t think Congress should overturn the Electoral College. But impeaching or censoring or expelling a member of Congress you disagree with? Is the truth so narrow that only you know the truth?
We now have the media on their side, saying there is only one set of facts, one set of truths, and you can only interpret it this way. Now we have seven Senators on the other side trying to expel, censor, or impugn two Senators on this side. And I defend them, not because I defend their position — I disagreed with their position — but you can’t impeach, or expel people you disagree with.
What’s this coming to?
In a few minutes, I will insist on a vote to affirm that this proceeding we are about to enter is unconstitutional; that impeachment of a private citizen is illegal, and essentially a bill of attainder; and that no sense of fairness or due process would allow the judge in the proceeding to be a partisan Democrat already on favor of the impeachment.
A sham, this is, a travesty. A dark blot on the history of our country. I urge my colleagues to reconsider this kangaroo court and move forward to debate the great issues of our day.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His newest e-book is How Not to Be a Sh!thole Country: Lessons from South Africa. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
