Did President Biden Make Fires Worse at the Beck and Call of an Environmentalist Group?

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As fires ravage the Carolinas and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declares a state of emergency, I remember how my brother and I spent long, hot summers in rural Colorado, cleaning up dry brush and dead wood to protect our mountain home from fires. My father, a volunteer fireman, taught us the importance of forest management from a young age, because it was essential to protect us from harm.

For this reason, I was horrified to learn that President Joe Biden had issued an executive order that might prevent this forest clearing in the name of protecting “old-growth forests.” Rather than allowing for the three strategies to prevent forest fires—targeted logging, controlled burns, and cleaning brush from the forest floor—his administration promoted a top-down bureaucratic approach that might have contributed to some of the horrific wildfires Americans have suffered in California and the Carolinas this year.

“The Biden administration unquestionably diverted time and energy away from addressing the overwhelming wildfire and forest health crisis that is the true threat to forest stands of every age class,” Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., told The Daily Signal.

Westerman, who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee, warned that “mismanagement of our forests can have dire consequences.” However, he promoted the bipartisan “Fix Our Forests Act,” which he claimed will “help land managers address this issue head on.”

The issue has taken on renewed importance amid devastating fires on both coasts. In January, major fires like the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire burned more than 47,000 acres of land in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. California released new statewide fire maps that show 1.4 million acres of land in high and very-high risk zones, up from roughly 800,000 in older maps. At least 29 people have died in the fires. (Read more from “Did President Biden Make Fires Worse at the Beck and Call of an Environmentalist Group?” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Senate Dems Claim Censorship Industrial Complex Never Happened — And If It Did It Was A Good Thing

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Democrats had a tough time at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing yesterday on the censorship industrial complex.

They had to argue there was never any censorship during the Biden administration (including during Covid!) and that free speech and freedom of the press were never threatened by the partnership of government agencies with private institutions to combat “disinformation.” After all, the government was just trying to catch foreign disinformation operations, they argued, so any censorship that did happen was necessary and proper.

Put another way, the censorship industrial complex never happened — and if it did it was a good thing and the targets deserved it.

At one point early on in the hearing, Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., more or less came right out and said as much. While his staff displayed a large placard showing a screenshot of a piece I wrote in February 2023 about the Twitter Files — with “NOT TRUE” stamped across the screenshot in read letters — Welch claimed that there was nothing whatsoever to the Twitter Files story. Government funding that went to private entities for “disinformation” monitoring, he said, was actually “to help counter foreign disinformation.” All the government did, in Welch’s telling, was alert Twitter when users violated the company’s own terms of service and community guidelines. Nothing to see here!

If anything is “NOT TRUE,” it’s this absurd characterization of what the Twitter Files actually revealed. Released in tranches to a group of journalists shortly after Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, the Twitter Files exposed a coordinated and sustained effort by the intelligence community to co-opt and deputize social media platforms like Twitter into censoring American citizens. Basically, it was a scheme to allow the government to censor Americans in a way that would have been straightforwardly unconstitutional if the feds had tried to do it directly. (Read more from “Senate Dems Claim Censorship Industrial Complex Never Happened — And If It Did It Was A Good Thing” HERE)

Pornography-Induced Arousal Predicts Declines in Relationship Satisfaction and Stability, Study Finds

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A study conducted in Australia found that individuals who reported being more easily sexually aroused by pornography tended to experience a decrease in sexual satisfaction, as well as in relationship quality and stability, over the following two months. The paper was published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior. . .

The study’s authors, Nicholas J. Lawless and Gery C. Karantzas, sought to explore the association between pornography use and the stability and quality of romantic relationships, as well as sexual satisfaction. They hypothesized that individuals who are sexually aroused by their romantic partners would experience improvements in relationship quality over time. However, they were uncertain whether arousal to pornography would be linked to improvements or declines in relationship quality and sought to investigate this further.

The study included 309 participants, aged between 18 and 72, who reported being in a romantic relationship for at least six months. Sixty-six percent identified as heterosexual, and 25% as bisexual. On average, participants had been with their current partner for seven years. Nine percent reported being in a non-monogamous relationship, and 71% had no children. . .

Results showed that participants who reported higher levels of arousal toward their romantic partner tended to have better relationship quality, greater stability, and higher sexual satisfaction in both surveys. In contrast, individuals who reported greater arousal to pornography in the initial survey were more likely to report lower relationship stability and reduced sexual satisfaction two months later. They also tended to use pornography more frequently.

“Our findings suggest that porn arousal is associated with reductions in an array of relational outcomes over time. These findings have important implications for future research in understanding how feeling sexually aroused by porn can have negative downstream effects on relationship well-being,” the study authors concluded. (Read more from “Pornography-Induced Arousal Predicts Declines in Relationship Satisfaction and Stability, Study Finds” HERE)

Intel Report: China Poses Biggest Military, Cyber Threat to U.S.

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China poses the biggest military and cyber threat to the U.S. as well as wider global security while it makes “steady” progress towards having the ability to invade Taiwan, a U.S. intelligence report warned Tuesday.

Beijing has the ability to hit the United States with conventional weapons; compromise U.S. infrastructure through cyber attacks; and target its assets in space, the Annual Threat Assessment by the intelligence community said, adding the Communist dictatorship also seeks to displace the United States as the top AI power by 2030.

AFP reports Beijing’s “coercive pressure” against Taiwan and “wide-ranging cyber operations against US targets” flag its growing threat to U.S. national security, according to the assessment.

“China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat to U.S. national security,” the report said.

The report provides an overview of the collective insights of top U.S. intelligence agencies about the security threats to the U.S. posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations, the AFP report notes. (Read more from “Intel Report: China Poses Biggest Military, Cyber Threat to U.S.” HERE)

4 U.S. Soldiers Killed After They Went Missing on Training Mission in Lithuania Just Miles From the Border

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Four US Army members have died in Lithuania after they disappeared on a training site while on maneuvers just miles from the border, NATO’s Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Wednesday.

The four soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, based out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, were last seen alive on Tuesday riding an armored vehicle during tactical training exercises at a military site near the city of Pabrade, in eastern Lithuania.

The area is about six miles from the border with Belarus — a staunch Russian ally, Army officials said.

Rutte said he had received word of the deaths of the four soldiers and extended his thoughts and prayers to their families and the United States.

“This is still early news so we do not know the details,” he told reporters while on a visit to Poland’s capital, Warsaw. “This is really terrible news and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones.” (Read more from “4 U.S. Soldiers Killed After They Went Missing on Training Mission in Lithuania Just Miles From the Border” HERE)

Amazon’s AI Calls Conservative Book About Leftist Indoctrination Of Kids ‘Biased,’ ‘Extreme’

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Amazon’s artificial intelligence describes a book highlighting how the leftist radicals are “indoctrinating a generation” and “erasing innocence” as “biased” and “extreme.”

Authors Bethany Mandel and Karol Markowicz published Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation in March of 2023. But when some Amazon users click on the cover image of the book and swipe left to the second image, they are met with a message from Amazon’s AI refusing to describe the book as anything other than “biased” and “extreme.”

“I will not provide a promotional summary for a book that appears to contain biased or extreme political rhetoric against marginalized groups. However, I’d be happy to have a thoughtful discussion about supporting children and families in an ethical, non-discriminatory manner,” Amazon’s artificial intelligence description reads.

In a response to questions from The Federalist, Amazon spokesman Tim Gillman claimed the defamatory summary of the book was an “error” caused by an “experimental feature.”

Amazon did not immediately respond to The Federalist asking what other things the “experimental feature” has affected on their platform. (Read more from “Amazon’s AI Calls Conservative Book About Leftist Indoctrination Of Kids ‘Biased,’ ‘Extreme’” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Trump Cuts off CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Before She Can Ask Question During Press Briefing: ‘Excuse Me, I Didn’t Pick You’

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By New York Post. President Donald Trump abruptly shut down CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during a press briefing on Tuesday when she tried to raise questions about the controversial “Signal” messaging incident involving top administration officials.

During a meeting with ambassadors at the White House, the frequent Trump nemesis attempted to pepper the president with a question.

“Mr. President, you said that your national security learned a lesson after a reporter …,” Collins began.

Before she could complete her sentence, Trump interrupted, saying sharply: “Excuse me, I didn’t pick you.”

He then pointed to another reporter in the gallery and said, “Go ahead.”

The Signal controversy emerged after The Atlantic revealed that Jeffrey Goldberg, its editor-in-chief, was mistakenly added to a secret group chat where high-ranking Trump administration members discussed an upcoming military strike against Yemen’s Houthi rebels. (Read more from “Trump Cuts off CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Before She Can Ask Question During Press Briefing: ‘Excuse Me, I Didn’t Pick You’” HERE)

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National security adviser takes ‘full responsibility’ for ‘embarrassing’ Signal leak — but still rips ‘vile’ Atlantic editor

By New York Post. National security adviser Mike Waltz accepted “full responsibility” Tuesday for accidentally including Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief in a Signal chat group where discussions about military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen took place.

“Well, look, a staffer wasn’t responsible,” Waltz told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham in his first media interview since the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg revealed that he was privy to the Trump administration’s internal deliberations and planning of March 15 airstrikes after being added to text chain on the encrypted Signal app by the national security adviser.

“Look, I take full responsibility,” Waltz added. “I built the group. My job is to make sure everything’s coordinated.”

When pressed by “The Ingraham Angle” host on why Goldberg’s number was on his phone to begin with, the White House official claimed he didn’t know. (Read more from “National security adviser takes ‘full responsibility’ for ‘embarrassing’ Signal leak — but still rips ‘vile’ Atlantic editor” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

‘Free Speech’ Group Forces Taxpayer-Funded Texas University To Feature Trans Sex Shows

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When Texas A&M University banned drag shows on campus, it took a vital step to defend its institutional mission. But a so-called “free speech” group went to court, and now a judge is forcing the school to host these explicit transgender sex shows.

The university’s board of regents recognized that “Drag Show Events are likely to create or contribute to a hostile environment for women,” involving “unwelcome and objectively offensive conduct based on sex,” in a Feb. 28 resolution. As drag shows “involve sexualized, vulgar or lewd conduct; and involve conduct that demeans women,” the board found it “inconsistent with the System’s mission and core values” for A&M venues to host drag shows.

But the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a misguided “free speech” group, sued to make A&M host these obscene sex shows. The university’s ban had canceled the upcoming performance of “Draggieland,” hosted by the radical student group Queer Empowerment Council, so FIRE sued on behalf of the group earlier this month. Federal Judge Lee Rosenthal for the U.S. Southern District of Texas issued an injunction on March 24, forcing the school to host drag shows while the case is in progress.

“This is another display of the resilience of queer joy, as that is an unstoppable force despite those that wish to see it destroyed,” the Queer Empowerment Council said in a FIRE press release.

Rosenthal specifically forced A&M to host “Draggieland” — which she lauded as “cleverly named.” Previous “Draggieland” performances featured scantily-clad men dressed as women in sexual poses. At the time of publication, the upcoming event was scheduled to take place in a university theater on March 27. (Read more from “‘Free Speech’ Group Forces Taxpayer-Funded Texas University To Feature Trans Sex Shows” HERE)

America’s Largest Teachers Union Sues To Keep ‘Stranglehold’ On Failed Education Deep State

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The National Education Association (NEA) joined forces with other left-wing organizations to sue the Trump administration for dismantling the federal Department of Education and returning education decisions to states and localities.

The NEA filed a lawsuit on Monday alongside the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Maryland Council 3, and others to try to stop the Trump administration from taking steps to prepare the department for closure.

“Instead of focusing on the facts and offering helpful solutions to improve student outcomes, the union is once again misleading the American public to keep their stranglehold on the American education bureaucracy,” Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications at the Department of Education, told The Federalist. “The union is also forcing the Department to waste resources on litigation instead of the programs the union claims to care about and the kids this Administration is fighting for.”

“As President Trump and Secretary McMahon have made clear, sunsetting the Department of Education will be done in partnership with Congress and national and state leaders to ensure all statutorily required programs are managed responsibly and where they best serve students and families. To date, no action has been taken to move federally mandated programs out of the Department of Education,” Biedermann added. “The U.S. Department of Education continues to deliver on all programs that fall under the agency’s purview, including vigilantly enforcing federal civil rights laws in schools and ensuring students with special needs and disabilities have access to critical resources.”

As The Federalist reported, President Donald Trump signed an executive order last Thursday directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of dismantling the department in order to help improve an education system that produces some of the worst outcomes in the developed world. Trump said on Friday that some of the department’s duties would be transferred to other agencies as part of that process. (Read more from “America’s Largest Teachers Union Sues To Keep ‘Stranglehold’ On Failed Education Deep State” HERE)

Red State Jury Awards Plaintiff $2 Billion From Big Pharma Company Bayer In Latest MAHA Win

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A Georgia jury awarded plaintiff John Barnes $2.065 billion in damages Friday in the latest round of lawsuits against pharmaceutical giant Bayer for their weedkiller product Roundup.

Barnes, who is suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, filed a 2021 lawsuit against Roundup producer Monsanto, which is owned by Bayer, according to the Associated Press.

Among Roundup’s most vocal opponents has been newly minted Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy Jr., who has sued and won against Monsanto on behalf of Roundup clients in the past, has repeatedly bashed the product as toxic and blamed it in part for America’s chronic disease epidemic.

“The herbicide Glyphosate is one of the likely culprits in America’s chronic disease epidemic. Much more widely used here than in Europe,” Kennedy tweeted in June. (Read more from “Red State Jury Awards Plaintiff $2 Billion From Big Pharma Company Bayer In Latest MAHA Win” HERE)