Despite Lamar Alexander’s Push, Electric Vehicles Reportedly Emit More Carbon Dioxide Than Diesel Counterparts

  Certain electric vehicles emit 11 percent to 28 percent more carbon dioxide than their diesel counterparts, even though various U.S. politicians, including U.S. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, want taxpayer subsidies for such cars. According to a recent article on the Institute for Energy Research’s website, a study out of Germany found that electric vehicles in that country emit more carbon dioxide. The study considered the production of batteries as well as the German electricity mix in making this determination. But it’s not just electric cars in Germany. “A study in 2017 by researchers at the University of Michigan found that the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by electric cars varied wildly by country,” according to the Institute for Energy Research’s website. “The study found that an electric car recharged by a coal-fired plant produces as much carbon dioxide as a gasoline-powered car that gets 29 miles per gallon, which is a slightly higher efficiency than the 25.2 miles per gallon that is the average of all the cars, SUVs, vans, and light trucks sold in the United States over the past year. If the electricity comes from a natural gas plant, recharging a plug-in electric vehicle is akin to…

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Conservative Grad Kathryn Hinderaker Shares Her Story: ‘I’ve Spent the Last Four Years Defending Myself’

by Kathryn Hinderaker   I just graduated from St. Olaf College after receiving an education I didn’t expect. That’s because as a conservative at my small, Minnesota-based liberal arts institution, I’ve spent the last four years defending myself against personal and political attacks from professors and peers alike. The most recent example came in late April as the St. Olaf College Republicans hosted scholar Heather Mac Donald for a talk on her new book, “The Diversity Delusion: How Race and Gender Pandering Corrupt the University and Undermine Our Culture.” As chair of the group, I fielded many angry emails, including this from a theater professor: “This speaker is dangerous. It’s not about a difference in idealogical [sic] perspectives. This rhetoric is dangerous and puts my Black body in danger. This is antithetical to the St. Olaf mission statement. I’m not okay with this… and you all shouldn’t be either.” Several more professors emailed similar sentiments. This example is no outlier. In early 2018, college administrators shot down an effort to bring Ben Shapiro to campus for a speech. The officials denied the request by saying Shapiro was too divisive to bring to St. Olaf on the date in question. (It…

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Steve Bannon Thinks the Hong Kong Protests Are the Most ‘Important’ World Event Currently Occurring

  Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon believes the Hong Kong protests are the most “important event” happening in the world right now. “It’s monumentally important. Number one, remember the whole world has bought into this lie that the Chinese people are not ready for democracy, that the Chinese people can’t govern themselves,” Bannon told The Epoch Times in an interview. “I keep saying it’s the most racist thing I’ve ever heard, it’s unacceptable that the world’s capitals and the world’s media and the world’s established order have bought into this.” Tensions started in Hong Kong when a proposed bill would have allowed for transferring people to China for trial. Critics believed this legislation would hurt semi-autonomous Hong Kong, and said that residents transferred to China might not receive the same political rights. To show their displeasure, more than a million people in Hong Kong took to the streets June 9 to protest this proposed bill being pushed by Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam. Quickly, the protests became violent as police and demonstrators clashed. VIDEO: 🇭🇰 Mothers in Hong Kong hold a rally to support youth-led anti-government protests #HKprotests pic.twitter.com/kZ3C8L0agq — AFP news agency (@AFP) July 5, 2019 Protest of…

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Biden Comes Out Against Decriminalization of the Border

by Jason Hopkins   Former Vice President Joe Biden took a centrist position on a major immigration issue, coming out strongly against the decriminalization of illegal immigration. “No, I don’t,” Biden said when asked by CNN’s Chris Cuomo if crossing the U.S. border illegally should no longer be a criminal offense during an interview that aired Friday. “I think people should have to get in line, but if people are coming because they’re actually seeking asylum, they should have a chance to make their case.” “I would be surging — as we did, and [former President] Barack [Obama] and I did — surging folks to the border to make those concrete decisions. Look, the other thing, Chris, why are they coming? The reason the vast majority of these people are coming from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador is because they’re in trouble. Crime rates are high. Education is terrible,” he said about the immigration crisis. Biden’s comments come as a bit of a reversal from the first Democratic presidential debates held in late June. When the debate moderator asked who onstage supported the decriminalization of illegal immigration into the U.S., Biden raised his hand halfway and gestured his forefinger up,…

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Commentary: Antifa Are Terrorists of the Bourgeoisie

by Matthew Boose   The savage assault on journalist Andy Ngo by leftists in Portland, Oregon, has brought renewed attention to the barbaric Antifa organization. Ngo, a journalist for center-left online magazine Quillette, was beaten by a mob and sent to the emergency room with a brain bleed while filming demonstrators from the group. He is the victim of a criminal, terrorist act. The only normal, appropriate response is to wish him a speedy recovery—and to demand the swift arrest and prosecution of his attackers. Here is the danger that journalists like CNN’s Jim Acosta constantly warn about from the comfort of their sinecures. But instead of blaming Antifa, the media responded to an actual assault on a journalist with equivocation and muted indifference. Reporters latched onto a “concrete milkshake” rumor to downplay the fact that Ngo was assaulted. Outside of a few token denunciations, the media ignored the attack, joining the ghoulish scolds who blamed Ngo, the victim, for “provoking” Antifa. Why this response? Journalists know that Ngo is not one of them, which is to say they are safe. They are “real journalists,” liberal activists who evangelize their “truth” behind a mask of neutrality. Many on the Right…

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June Jobs Report: 224,000 Jobs Added, Unemployment At 3.7 Percent

by Mary Margaret Olohan   The U.S. economy added 224,000 jobs in June, while the unemployment rate slightly increased to 3.7 percent, according to Department of Labor data released Friday. 224,000 jobs were added in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, about double the number economists predicted. The number of adults working or looking for work remained steady at 6 million, according to the Labor Department. The Labor Department reports that employment growth has averaged 172,000 per month thus far this year, compared to 223,000 a month in 2018. Economists predicted the economy would add 165,000 jobs and the unemployment rate would remain at about 3.6 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal. The June figures come on the heels of May’s job report that revealed unemployment steadily showing the lowest numbers in 50 years. The U.S. economy added 75,000 jobs in May, while the unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent. Economists had predicted 180,000 jobs would be added and that wage growth would rise to about 3.2 percent. Job growth has come back strong after February when just 33,000 jobs were added. The unemployment rate has held steady between 4 percent and 3.7 percent for more…

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The Economic History of the Picnic

by Alexandra Hudson   This week, Americans across the country and beyond prepare to celebrate the 243rd anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. Some are hosting large parties with fireworks. Others are organizing more intimate barbecues with neighbors, family, and friends. Still others are curating menus for a very American Fourth of July tradition: the picnic. We are all familiar with its rituals. Al fresco dining on a blanket with nibbles, beverages — a cold beer for some, chilled champagne for others — sandwiches, fruits, and more. It invokes warm feelings of gratitude for family and togetherness. However, the picnic was not always this way — so pervasive and available to all. The concept of the picnic as we know it far predates the word, though its etymological origins are unknown (some think it comes from the French words piquer, which means “to peck,” and nique, “a small amount”). The concept of an elegant outdoor meal dates back to the Middle Ages and is associated with the aristocratic hunt. As a delightful History Today article recounts, the picnic finds its origins in the rarefied realms of France’s aristocracy. The picnic was originally a meal shared with friends…

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Chuck Schumer Calls for CBP Chief to Resign Before He’s Even Started the Job

by Jason Hopkins   Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on “Acting CBP Commissioner Morgan” to be fired from his position, but Mark Morgan is not yet leading the agency. “Schumer Calls For Acting CBP Commissioner Morgan And Other Top Leadership At Agency To Be Fired And For New, Untainted Team To Be Brought In To Begin Reining In Toxic Culture At Border Patrol Agency,” read a headline from a Schumer press release sent Wednesday. However, Morgan is not the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, nor is he leading the U.S. Border Patrol. Morgan is still the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency he has been in charge of since May. The apparent confusion may stem from announcements in June that CBP Acting Commissioner John Sanders was resigning and Morgan would be leaving ICE to take his place. However, the leadership transition has not officially taken place. An ICE spokesperson confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that Morgan is still leading their agency and would not officially take over the reins of CBP until Sunday. “Internal investigations aren’t enough because the leadership at CBP, particularly Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan, are too callous about…

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Ohio Cities That Use Traffic Cameras for Tickets Will Be Financially Punished Starting This Month

by Tyler Arnold   Starting this month, any local government that uses traffic cameras to issue tickets will be financially punished by the state. To discourage localities from using these cameras as a means to generate revenue, state government will remove all financial incentives for using them. The state will reduce the locality’s funding from the local government fund by the amount of revenue that the locality generates from fines issued because of information received from these cameras. If the total revenue generated from these cameras is higher than the state’s annual funding for the locality, then next year’s funding for the locality will also be reduced by that additional amount. In a study published almost a year ago, conducted by the Cleveland-based Case Western Reserve University, researchers found that it is unlikely that red-light cameras reduce accidents, but that they may actually increase accidents. The study showed cameras make people more likely to slam on their breaks to avoid a ticket, which increased the amount of cars that were rear-ended. Gary Daniels, chief lobbyist for the Ohio ACLU, did not provide an opinion on this legislation, but said that the ACLU’s concern with the cameras is whether people receive…

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Same Earthquake That Rattled California Could Devastate Tennessee

  Tennessee residents may hear news about this week’s major earthquake in California from afar, but what some don’t realize is the same thing could happen here — with more devastating results. As reported, Tennessee also lies along the East Tennessee Seismic zone. No one at the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency returned The Tennessee Star’s repeated messages seeking comment Friday. Nor did anyone at the Memphis-based Center for Earthquake Research and Information. Members of those agencies told The Star last year, however, that a large-magnitude earthquake in the central part of the United States would jolt Tennessee and do far more damage here than another similar-sized quake out west could do to California. That’s because Tennessee and California have different type terrains and that makes all the difference. As The Associated Press reported this week, the strongest earthquake in 20 years shook a large swath of Southern California and parts of Nevada on Thursday. The quake rattled nerves on July 4 and caused injuries and damages in a town near the epicenter, followed by a swarm of ongoing aftershocks. The 6.4 magnitude quake struck at 10:33 a.m. in the Mojave Desert, about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles, near the…

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