George Landrith, Dr. Joe Mangiacotti, Dr. Larry Fedewa, and Tom Donelson discuss: 1) the upcoming State of the Union address, the response and Biden’s desire to impose lockdowns in the name of climate change; 2) did white supremacy or BLM’s extremism cause the beating and killing of Tyre Nichols; 3) the Chinese spy balloon and China’s economic and population problems along with Biden’s weakness and fecklessness appears to be pushing a greater sense of urgency for the communist regime in moving forward with its goal of world domination; 4) the House vote to remove Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, and Ilhan Omar from the House Intelligence Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee; 5) and each of the panelist’s one more thing.
George Landrith, Dr. Joe Mangiacotti, Dr. Larry Fedewa, and Tom Donelson discuss: 1) the FBI’s continued problems with corruption – classified documents & Charles McGonigal’s arrest for Russia collusion; 2) the debt ceiling; 3) Charnelle Bjelkengren’s, a federal court nominee, can’t even pass a high school civic’s test; 4) George Soros funds a broad network of “fact-checkers” to make sure they help hide the truth; 5) The Left’s intolerance on display when a restaurant kicked out Gianno Caldwell because they didn’t like serving a black conservative commentator; 6) the cultish nature of the climate change alarmists; 7) the decline of Military readiness and how to keep America safe and strong; 8) Davos trying to get us to eat insects; 9) school choice; and 10) Biden’s selection of Jeff Zients to be his next chief of staff means that there will be no pivot and no course correction.
George Landrith, Dr. Joe Mangiacotti, and Tom Donelson discuss: 1) World Economic Forum’s lunatics like Klaus Schwab, Al Gore and John Kerry meet to impose their will upon you; 2) Biden’s classified document scandal & media’s scandal; 3) China’s economic stagnation and falling population; 4) how to help Ukraine defeat Russia without burdening the American taxpayer; 5) the March for Life; 6) the death of Rock & Roll; and 7) some good news on Free Speech.
By • NewsMax.com
Then presidential candidate Joe Biden pledged repeatedly to “end fossil fuel.” And he ran as the most anti-energy candidate in our history.
Then once he was in office, he canceled the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office. He also canceled oil leases on millions of acres of land designated for energy exploration.
Biden even threatened energy companies with a windfall profits tax and compared them to war profiteers. As a result, U.S. consumers have suffered record high energy prices, and the high energy costs have also created an effective tax on business that slows growth.
The U.S. went from being the world’s No. 1 producer of energy to having to plead with foreign nations to increase its petroleum output. Likewise, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has profited handsomely from America’s energy retreat which has given him the resources to wage war in Ukraine and defy economic sanctions.
All of these policy missteps have combined to make Joe Biden look like a foolish ideologue.
The good news for Joe Biden is that he has a chance to begin to show that he’s not the foolish ideologue that he’s shown during the campaign and his first two years in office.
There is a possible major oil and gas project in the northeastern section of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. It would produce 180,000 barrels of oil each day.
It is overwhelmingly supported by the Alaska Natives in the region who are highly dependent upon the surrounding wilderness for their hunting and cultural heritage. And the project, known as the Willow Project, has been considered by five different administrations, beginning with the Clinton administration in 1999.
President Clinton signed the lease on Alaska’s North Slope. Oil was discovered in 2017, and the Trump Administration approved the project. Environmental activists have slowed down the progress, and now Joe Biden has the opportunity to tell Americans that he’s not an extremist ideologue on something so fundamental to our nation’s economic recovery as energy.
A Biden administration Department of Interior study of the project released this past summer appeared to outline how to move forward with the project even though the study wasn’t a final approval. But it shows that even in the Biden administration, there are people who can see that moving forward with this project is good for America and for Alaska.
Interestingly, the opposition to the project comes mostly from environmental extremists located in the lower 48 states. Locals in Alaska strongly support the project and Alaska Natives are particularly supportive and believe that the project will help their communities with jobs and revenue while not endangering their environment and hunting grounds or the wildlife upon which so many of them depend and upon which their heritage is so deeply tied.
The problem is that delay can do real damage. As local Alaska Natives have pointed out, this construction will need to occur during the winter because the ground is frozen and thus can support the weight of machinery. Thus, waiting a month longer can effectively push the project back another year — even if it were to be approved later this Winter or early this Spring. So time is of the essence.
The Willow Project is based on following the best management and strictest environmental standards. It is entirely designed to minimize impact on the surrounding tundra and the local wildlife.
Other nations like Venezuela are far less environmentally responsible and their oil has a higher sulfur and other contaminant content. So the Willow Project will produce needed American energy but will also protect the environment.
If we are buying Willow oil, that means we won’t be buying oil from irresponsible and harmful sources. Likewise, it will help keep energy prices in a reasonable zone which will have the added benefit of giving Putin less extra cash to fund his adventurism and violence in Ukraine.
It is also worth noting that the Willow Project has broad support from Alaska North Slope communities — including the regional tribe and the regional Alaska Native interests who comprise more than 50% of the local residents. When the locals support the project and the opposition comes from well-healed professional activists who live thousands of miles away, that tells you something.
It would be a real shame to ignore the Alaska Natives in this case who overwhelmingly favor the Willow Project. The oil royalties will provide local communities with the funding needed to improve their schools, fund their hospitals and promote economic opportunity for a depressed area.
The Biden administration needs to approve this project and it needs to do it now. Waiting even a few weeks, effectively puts the project off for another full year.
President Biden pledged that he would consider Native American’s requests and perspectives and keep them on an equal footing with others. Here is Biden’s chance to make good on that promise.
But he cannot drag his feet or delay. Time truly is of the essence.
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George Landrith is the President and CEO of Frontiers of Freedom, a public policy think tank devoted to promoting a strong national defense, free markets, individual liberty and constitutionally limited government. To learn more about Frontiers of Freedom, visit www.ff.org. Read George Landrith’s Reports — More Here.
Frontiers of Freedom Weekly Report – January 13, 2023
George Landrith, Dr. Joe Mangiacotti, and Tom Donelson discuss: 1) Biden’s classified documents scandal; 2) The Republican Majority’s first full week; 3) Jordan Peterson and the totalitarian threat of wokeness; 4) Joe Biden’s photo-op at the Border; 5) an update on Damar Hamlin’s recovery; 6) Pope Benedict’s request that Biden NOT attend his funeral; 7) Wokeness at the CDC.
Frontiers of Freedom Weekly Report – January 6, 2023
George Landrith, Dr. Joe Mangiacotti, and Tom Donelson, discuss: (1) the GOP impasse on Speaker; (2) what the GOP House will be able to undo the harm done by the extreme Left in recent years; (3) Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent inaugural address; (4) Adam Schiff has been using his government office to silence his enemies; (5) The Left’s insane focus on climate change politics is weakening the economies of the Western world, but China continues to be the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitter and the Left doesn’t even complain; (6) Americans are voting with their feet and fleeing liberal states in masse and moving to conservative states; (7) Joe Biden’s upcoming visit to the border; (8) the totalitarian regime in Canada is threatening Jordan Peterson with a re-education for disagreeing with the dear leader of Canada; and (9) an update on Damar Hamlin’s condition and recovery.
Evidence is plentiful that public officials should reject pleas to pursue these frivolous lawsuits. America’s climate agenda should not be driven by outside special interests.
By Bill Schuette and Rusty Hills
There’s an old joke about economists having predicted nine of the last five recessions that underscores how difficult it is to predict the future. It’s even harder to forecast the weather. The great Stephen Hawking once said, “One can’t predict the weather more than a few days in advance.”
Nevertheless, since 2017, states and municipalities have filed a rash of lawsuits alleging energy producers should pay billions in local weather-related damages. These lawsuits are more accurately “a money grab,” to quote a local critic, than about the weather.
In October, New Jersey filed suit claiming energy companies were responsible for Superstorm Hurricane Sandy. The stakes are high. The Supreme Court separately asked the U.S. Solicitor General to weigh in on whether Boulder’s lawsuit should be heard in state or federal court.
We are from Michigan, where our Great Lakes are part of our environmental heritage. They must be protected. As the former Michigan Attorney General and Michigan Court of Appeals Judge, Congressman and State Senator, and the former Senior Counsel to the Michigan Attorney General, we watch these cases closely. We can state from experience these lawsuits stand on questionable legal foundations, don’t reduce climate impacts, and fail to protect the environment. “Fact-checking” these lawsuits reveal that good faith apparently has been banished in their pleadings.
Here are eight reasons why state attorneys general and local officials should reject these lawsuits, and why courts should dismiss them:
First, these lawsuits falsely allege energy producers have engaged in deceptive marketing practices regarding climate conditions. Government officials have acknowledged the impacts of temperature warming, and American scientists have studied climate change, dating to the 1950s. Still, federal and state officials continued promoting the production and use of oil and gas while accepting the potential climate-related implications. Furthermore, various lawsuits amusingly show identical language used in most cases, where “copy and paste” is a convenient tool used by these law firms.
The hypocrisy is abundant. New York City filed a new lawsuit in 2021, all while remaining one of the largest consumers of petroleum and the sixth-largest natural gas consumer. Honolulu and Maui have advanced lawsuits. That decision doesn’t square with the fact that Hawaii’s legislature has had a policy in place since 1984 noting that oil and gas are “essential to the health, welfare, and safety of the people of Hawaii.” It further states “that any severe disruption in petroleum product supplies for use within the State would cause grave hardship.” Hawaii also holds the top spot as America’s most petroleum-dependent state, further discrediting the claim that communities there were somehow “deceived” about consuming oil.
Second, climate change occurs globally, and we all contribute through our daily activities. So why have the plaintiffs pinned the blame on a handful of companies who are selling a legal product? More than a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions comes from transportation, including the cars, ships, and planes we all use every day. Steel and iron are the largest energy-related emitter at 7.2% of global emissions. Why then single out one industry alleging liability when literally everybody shares responsibility? To say nothing about the responsibility that countries such as India and China have to be better environmental stewards.
Third, recently some local officials have adopted a bipartisan approach and rejected overtures from suit-happy law firms. Baltimore County’s Council said no to the offer. Democratic Councilman Tom Quirk expressed concerns noting, “I’m also not very inclined to jump on some of these ambulance-chasing types of legal strategies out there nationwide that I think often are more about feeding law firms as opposed to really doing good work.” Republican Councilman Todd Crandell said the case “seems to me like a money grab.” Democratic Council Chair Julian Jones questioned why “wouldn’t everyone in the world have standing” to sue for climate change damages? There’s more. Bar Harbor, Maine officials had similar reactions. Bar Harbor Town Council Chair Valerie Peacock reminded citizens that since everyone uses oil, “it’s almost like we’re suing ourselves.”
Fourth, federal judges have established that regulators and Congress, not the courts, should address climate change. That’s why not a single climate lawsuit to date has succeeded. Federal judges have reasoned the court system is not the proper venue to resolve the complex relationship between energy and the environment, or the dependency on foreign oil and rising gas prices. In 2011, the Supreme Court under Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg unanimously ruled in American Electric Power v. Connecticut that the EPA, not judges who lack the scientific, economic, and technological resources, should address climate change remedies. In 2021, the Second Circuit dismissed New York City’s previous lawsuit noting “the Clean Air Act grants the Environmental Protection Agency — not federal courts — the authority to regulate domestic greenhouse gas emissions.” Both Obama and Trump Justice Departments opined that Congress should resolve climate-related issues, not the courts. The Obama administration successfully urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the claims in the AEP case.
Fifth, state and municipal bond disclosures show officials’ inconsistency with reference to the material risk of climate change. A recent Wall Street Journal op-ed by investment analyst R.A. Moss exposed that while some governments are saying in bond disclosures that they cannot accurately predict or quantify the effects of climate change, they’re simultaneously filing legal complaints alleging specific climate-related damages. New Jersey said in bond disclosures that it cannot “predict the impact that these climate events may have on its financial condition.” Honolulu and Baltimore’s bond offerings make similar admissions, while they seek paydays from defendants over specific damages.
Sixth, these lawsuits are not really driven by altruistic elected officials, but rather by privately funded special interests. Some charitable foundations have explicitly embedded and funded private lawyers in at least five state attorneys general offices to support the lawsuits. An American Tort Reform Foundation report shows that in some states that have housed privately funded attorneys, these attorneys have signed the plaintiffs’ legal complaints. Our judicial system should be free from special interest agendas and private funders.
Seventh, there is already federal money on the table earmarked for weather-related infrastructure damages. Instead of seeking money from energy producers, cities and states could access federal resources and funds that are still available. As of 2018, the Federal Emergency Management Agency still had $6.7 billion available for states to address damages. Rhode Island only used $6.1 million of its $17 million allocation, yet filed a lawsuit that same year attempting to collect local infrastructure compensation. Why wasn’t the state using the money available to them?
Eighth, innovation will protect our environment. Policymakers and the private sector can help advance the innovations we need to make real progress on climate challenges. That’s already happening as the transition from coal to natural gas for electricity led to a 32% drop in carbon emissions since 2005. Lawsuits are counterproductive since they could reduce capital for energy companies from innovating the next generation of clean energy solutions.
Evidence is plentiful that public officials should reject pleas to pursue these frivolous lawsuits. America’s climate agenda should not be driven by outside special interests. Our goals should be cleaner skies and environmental safety. The better path is partnership and innovation to advance climate solutions.
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Bill Schuette is the former Michigan Attorney General, Judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals, Director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture, Member of Congress, and Michigan State Senator.
Rusty Hills is the former Senior Counsel to Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, former Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, and Communications Director for Governor John Engler.
Frontiers of Freedom President, George Landrith, and Senior Fellows, Dr. Joe Mangiacotti, and Tom Donelson discuss the biggest news stories of 2022 and what’s ahead in 2023: 1) Twitter Files & FBI Election Interference; 2) Ukraine War and the growing threats of an expanded war; 3) House Investigations; 4) the Border Crisis; 5) Midterm elections lessons learned; and 6) leading Supreme Court decisions — Dobbs – overruling Roe v. Wade; West Virginia v. EPA – limiting the power of the EPA to grant itself powers not given it under the law; Kennedy v. Bremerton School District – affirming the right of individuals to practice their religious beliefs and denying the power of government to prohibit religious observances; New York State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. Bruen – a victory for the Second Amendment; and Carson v. Makin – the Maine schools choice victory.
George Landrith, Dr. Joe Mangiacotti, Tom Donelson, and Dr. Larry Fedewa discuss the big issues:
(1) The Twitter Files — Each successive release of documents is more damning than the last. We learned that the FBI was actually paying millions of dollars to Twitter (in the pre-Elon Musk era) and that the FBI played an active role in helping determine what speech was silenced. Simply stated, the FBI is a major source of mis-information. It is clear that the Deep State has been interfering in our American elections since at least 2016 — maybe earlier.
(2) The massive, bloated, Omnibus — Why did Mitch McConnell betray Conservatives all across the nation and why did so many GOP Senator help him? Given that the House will switch control in January, the Republicans in the Senate should have demanded a very short term extension of the current budget so that the new House Republican majority would be in a position to have a major voice in the long term budget going forward. But Mitch McConnell just gave away the first year of the GOP House.
(3) Ukraine — Can two things be true at the same time? Can one oppose Russia’s invasion and at the same time oppose the continuous flow of billions of American taxpayer dollars. And how do we help Ukraine repel Russia and defeat Putin — without breaking the bank and without making it the sole responsibility of the American taxpayer? Shouldn’t Europe and the international community be more involved?
(4) Christmas — Let’s talk about our favorite Christmas movies, Christmas carols, and our favorite Christmas traditions.
Frontiers of Freedom Weekly Report – Dec. 16, 2022
George Landrith, Dr. Joe Mangiacotti, Tom Donelson, and Dr. Larry Fedewa discuss the big issues:
(1) The Twitter Files — Elon Musk has released literally thousands of internal emails and documents that show how Twitter’s censorship didn’t even follow its own policies and that it was politically motivated and that government agencies were working with Twitter to silence conservatives. What does this tell you about the Left? The Biden Administration? The FBI? The intelligence community?
(2) What should the Republican leadership in the House be investigating in the coming Congress? The politicalization of the DOJ, FBI, IRS and their work to censor America? Joe Biden’s grotesque corruption in which he’s sold access to the White House to our foreign adversaries for millions? Anthony Fauci’s lies under oath and why his net worth skyrocketed during the pandemic? The insanely dangerous border policy that has seen millions illegally cross our border, seen enough fentanyl to kill millions of Americans, and crime increases? The the Afghanistan debacle?
(3) Will Joe Biden will run for a second term? Or will it be Gavin Newsome? Also who will the Republicans select to be their champion in the ideological battle that will take place in 2024? Donald Trump has said he will run again. But there are also other possible candidates who have proven track records promoting conservative solutions and an America First approach. We the GOP selects another candidate for 2024, it won’t be a rejection of MAGA or America First policies. It would be a decision based on which candidate going forward can aggressively promote conservative polices and a pro-Constitution and America First agenda and can win over pivotal independent American voters and have coat tails to help elect a supportive team in the House and the Senate as well as in the states.
(4) Sam Brinton, the LGBTQ activist, who was the Deputy Assistant Security at the Energy Department and has been arrested twice for stealing women’s luggage, apparently was fired. The Biden administration has one of the least impressive cabinets and under secretaries in modern history. Basic competency doesn’t appear to have been part of the selection process. Pete Buttigieg is a prime example. With more than 100 ships backed up in harbors off the California creating serious supply chain problems he was taking time off. And as the train strike was looming, he was vacation in Europe. But if the President and Vice President are without basic competency, why should the cabinet be any different?
Frontiers of Freedom President, George Landrith, and Frontiers of Freedom Senior Fellows, Dr. Joe Mangiacotti, Tom Donelson, and Dr. Larry Fedewa, discuss the big issues:
(1) The Georgia Run Off Election — What explains the results? Flawed Candidate? Weak party leadership? Trump? Why does the Left continue to claim voter suppression despite record voter turnout? What should GOP do differently to stop losing winnable elections?
(2) Will Kevin McCarthy be the next Speaker? Steve Scalise? Someone else? How does GOP become and remain unified? Will the new Speaker be able to satisfy our desire for change and reform? Will the new Congress accomplish anything important? What is a rational or reasonable expectation for the next two years?
(3) A. What’s going on with Elon Musk & Twitter? Is the clear corruption at Twitter before Musk and at the FBI and DOJ and CDC going to stop?
B. What is the impact of the Brittney Griner prison swap for Viktor Bout, the “merchant of death” which left retired Marine Paul Whelan rotting in a Russian prison.
C. Nominations for Man and/or Woman of the year.
(4) A. China is a manufacturing powerhouse, but has proven to be an unreliable and even a dangerous trading partner, so will the world decouple from China or continue to empower the communist regime? Is Biden too compromised by his and his families corrupt business dealings to lead a manufacturing resurgence in America?
B. Each of the panel will also discuss a “one more thing” news item.
George Landrith, Dr. Joe Mangiacotti, Tom Donelson, and Dr. Larry Fedewa discuss the big issues:
(1) China’s vicious and brutal totalitarianism has been on display this week. Despite the intimidation, surveillance and censorship, brave Chinese citizens are out in the streets protesting their government’s abuses and their continued COVID lockdowns. Sadly, on display is also the shameful complicity of Joe Biden and Tim Cook, and there’s the hypocrisy of the Democrats supporting riots (not merely protests, but violent, destructive riots) by Antifa and BLM, but refusing to support the brave Chinese citizens who are standing up to a brutal, communist totalitarian regime.
(2) In totalitarian regimes, there is no freedom of speech. The government decides what information is safe for you to hear. There are Lefties in America who want this same program here. They claim — like one lunatic on CNN did — that free speech is “non-sense.” We have an administration that is “keeping an eye” on Elon Musk and Twitter; that has worked with social media and the press to silence dissenting views; that tried to start a government program to control information under the guise of reducing misinformation. That tells you pretty much all you need to know about the Biden Administration — they have evil, totalitarian instincts.
(3) The Biden Administration isn’t just anti-free speech, they are extremists to their core. We were told that Joe Biden was the moderate choice. But there is absolutely nothing moderate about this administration. It is widely extreme. They are avidly opposed to our constitutional rights as found in the Bill of Rights. They want taxpayers to pay for sex change operations for children. Biden’s nuclear waste guru is a non-binary, luggage stealing, whack-job. They want to force us into poverty and dependence. They deny elections whenever they lose, but if you question their attempts to stuff ballot boxes with illegal votes, you’re dangerous. They ramp up crime and murder wherever they are in charge. And they’ve created a national border that allows terrorists, criminals and poisonous fentanyl to flood across our border.
(4) We discuss a wide range of issues: (a) Sam Bankman-Fried and the FTX Ponzi scheme; (b) Dr. Fauci who is making numerous “Last Press” Appearances — the man will not go away; (c) how Biden’s agenda is putting America’s financial future at risk; (d) small businesses continue to struggle and it isn’t the pandemic, it is the Biden administration; (e) there is the hope that a slim Republican majority in the US House of Representatives could at least slow down some of the insanity and temper a bit some of the Democrat’s extremism.
(5) And each of our panelists will provide a “one more thing” topic.
George Landrith, Dr. Joe Mangiacotti, and Tom Donelson discuss the leading issues of the week: (1) World Economic Forum Foundation Chair Klaus Schwab says China is a role model; (2) Dr. Fauci admits he’s a bureaucrat, not a scientist or even a physician; (3) Alaska’s Ranked Choice Voting helps losers win and turns representative democracy on its head; (4) the lame stream media lies once again about acts of violence and tries to pin hate crimes on conservatives — it turns out that the Colorado club shooter was not a Conservaitve and instead is a non-binary guy who uses they/them pronouns; (5) inflation is surging despite Biden’s claim that it is under control and he’s fixed the problem the vast majority of Americas have had to cut back for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And we will each have a “one more thing” story to discuss!
George Landrith, Dr. Joe Mangiacotti, Tom Donelson, and Dr. Larry Fedewa discuss the leading issues of the week: (1) the FTX cryptocurrency scandal that has Ukraine, Democrats and Sam Bankman-Fried at its epicenter. (2) the U.S. House of Representatives will flip and Nancy Pelosi will lose control of the gavel. It looks like Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnel will lead in the House and Senate respectively. (3) Russia’s war of conquest in Ukraine took an interesting turn — with missiles landing in Poland. What’s really going on? And should the US continue to send pallets of cash to Ukraine or should we focus on actually helping them repel Putin’s forces? (4) What’s up with the Georgia run-off election? Will Biden’s automatic vote in incumbent Warnock win a full term to the US Senate or will Georgia decide it would like someone to represent Georgia — like Herschel Walker. And we will each have a “one more thing” story to discuss!
George Landrith, Dr. Joe Mangiacotti, Tom Donelson, and Dr. Larry Fedewa discuss the leading issues of the week: (1) the massive red wave didn’t quite materialize the way many thought it would, but it appears that the GOP will control the House and may also control the Senate — depending upon the outcomes of three seats — Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona. But why was the red wave not a big as expected? (2) Election night was a good night for Florida Ron DeSantis — why was that? (3) Some claim that Trump was a loser on election night despite the fact that he wasn’t on the ballot. While some of his endorsed candidates lost, some of the won too. So why is he being called a loser? (4) What can we learn from New York where the GOP unseated some unexpected Democrats? (5) What can we learn from Florida where the GOP did have an impressive red wave? (6) With extremists like John Fetterman elected to the Senate, will the Democrats be able to moderate? Or will they continue to be the socialist party and the party of extremism? (7) How can Biden hope to moderate and work with Republicans when he spent the last six months fomenting violence against conservatives and calling them fascists and existential threats to our republic. And we will each have a “one more thing” story to discuss!
