American Billionaires Bankrolled Activist Crusade Against Natural Gas Hubs Before Biden Signed Off on Approval Pause

Natural Gas Power Plant

American billionaires bankrolled an activist campaign targeting liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals that influenced the White House’s decision to pause new and pending approvals for the projects, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The philanthropic organizations of the Rockefeller family and Democratic megadonor Michael Bloomberg cumulatively provided millions of dollars to activists who pressured Biden administration officials to crack down on LNG export hubs over the past several years, according to the WSJ. The activists ultimately got their way on Jan. 26, when the White House announced that the administration would pause new project approvals as the Department of Energy (DOE) widens the scope of its reviews to include climate impacts of LNG export terminals alongside considerations like national security and economic benefits.

Read the full story

EPA Shelled Out Millions to Dem Megadonor-Tied Group Seeking to Hamstring American Industry

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave a $13 million grant to a Michael Bloomberg-tied group looking to undermine a key U.S. industry under the EPA’s regulatory purview.

The EPA grant went to the Deep South Center For Environmental Justice (DSCFEJ), a grassroots eco-activism group that is a coalition partner of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ “Beyond Petrochemicals” campaign, according to the campaign’s website. The “Beyond Petrochemicals” campaign seeks to halt the expansion of petrochemical projects that manufacture fertilizer, plastics and packaging in the U.S., according to its website.

Read the full story

School Choice Gaining Favor over Teachers’ Unions and Socialist Bureaucrats

“School choice is good for everybody but unions, socialist bureaucrats and the tired education establishment,” libertarian John Stossel wrote Wednesday at the New York Post.

The author and journalist observed the “silver lining” of the COVID pandemic is that parents discovered alternatives to public schools and, as the statistics are telling us, they continue to act on that discovery by removing their children from them – in droves.

Read the full story

Michael Bloomberg Blames Teachers’ Unions for Keeping Money Flowing to Traditional Government Schools and Away from Charter Schools

Former Democrat New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says teachers’ unions were responsible for keeping schools locked down during the pandemic, a move that has enabled a mass exodus of students from traditional government schools throughout the country.

Given the generally poor academic achievement of America’s students, the steep drop in enrollment means states are now paying more to educate fewer children, and, “paying more for failure,” he asserts.

Read the full story

Minnesota Attorney General Ellison ‘Doing Bidding of Special Interest Groups’ Regarding Green Energy, Lawsuit Alleges

Attorney General Keith Ellison has been “doing the bidding of special interest groups” regarding green energy, a lawsuit alleges. The New House Republican Caucus shared on their Facebook page that the oral arguments were heard in the Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday and a decision can be expected within 30 days.

Read the full story

Federal Government Pays University $750k to Create Tool That Warns Journalists Against Publishing ‘Polarizing’ Content

The National Science Foundation (NSF) provided a $750,000 grant to Temple University researchers for developing a product that tracks local journalism cycles, which is part of their new “Trust & Authenticity in Communication Systems” initiative.

The “America’s Fourth Estate at Risk: A System for Mapping the (Local) Journalism Life Cycle to Rebuild the Nation’s News Trust” project aims to create a data-based tool that informs journalists when publishing content might result in “negative unintended outcomes” like “the triggering of uncivil, polarizing discourse, audience misinterpretation, the production of misinformation, and the perpetuation of false narratives.”

Read the full story

New Poll Shows Virginia Gubernatorial Race in a ‘Dead Heat’

A new poll announced Thursday has Virginia’s gubernatorial race in a statistical tie, with early voting beginning Friday. According to an Emerson College poll commissioned by WRIC, Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe has the support of 49 percent of likely voters while GOP candidate Glenn Youngkin has 45 percent. That’s within the margin of error: plus or minus 3.4 percent.

“Statistically speaking, the poll isn’t telling you that McAuliffe is going to win or Youngkin is going to lose. It is really saying it is a dead heat,” Emerson College Polling Director Spencer Kimball told WRIC.

Read the full story

Democrat State Rep Larry Miller Pushed Amendment to Appoint Anti-Gun Activists to All Tennessee Gun Regulation Boards, Commissions

State Representative Larry Miller (D-Memphis) proposed an amendment empowering one of his endorsers, a gun control group, with gun regulation power. Miller withdrew the amendment during the final House vote on the bill, which authorized permitless carry.

The amendment was short and to the point: the governor must appoint a Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (Moms Demand Action) representative to all boards and commissions regulating firearm ownership.   

Read the full story

AG Keith Ellison Faces Lawsuit Accusing Him of Coordinating with Bloomberg on Anti-Exxon Crusade

A Virginia-based law firm is suing Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison for access to records revealing his use of attorneys financed by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to engage in a climate crusade targeting oil companies.

The nonprofit Government Accountability & Oversight (GAO) filed a lawsuit Wednesday for records detailing how the Democratic attorney general is allegedly deploying Bloomberg-financed lawyers to advance a lawsuit his office leveled against the fossil fuel industry. The firm’s complaint was filed on behalf of the nonprofit group Energy Policy Advocates.

Read the full story

Pro-Trump Super PAC Files FEC Complaint Alleging Bloomberg’s $18 Million DNC Donation Was Illegal

A political action committee  supporting President Donald Trump filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission saying former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s donation to the Democratic Party was illegal.

Bloomberg’s $18 million donation to the Democratic National Committee is an attempt to circumvent contribution limits and violate campaign finance laws, Great America PAC said in the March 26 complaint. The FEC is reviewing the complaint and will determine later if it will investigate.

Read the full story

Crom Carmichael: ‘The Democrats are the Party of Government – That’s All They Care About’

During the second hour of The Tennessee Star Report Wednesday, all-star panelist Crom Carmichael discussed how despicable the Democrats have become by claiming to be for the people when they are only concerned about government which was evident in the proposed stimulus package. He later discussed his amazement that after 27 Democratic candidates Joe Biden was the only one that the Democratic party could put forth.

Read the full story

Commentary: How the Ruling Class Might Elect Bloomberg and Realign American Politics

The Democratic Party’s establishment might well succeed in making Michael Bloomberg president of the United States—not on Election Night 2020, however. But it could happen if a third party were to win some electoral votes and, with no candidate receiving a majority of them, the House of Representatives was called upon to choose between the top-two electoral vote-getters.

Read the full story

Commentary: The Myth of the Moderate Democrat

Our friend Deroy Murdock posted a great column about the Democrat candidates for President which we caught on NewsMax.

Mr. Murdock’s point was that while not all of those still in the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President may not be full-blown socialists, like Senator Bernie Sanders, the balderdash that they are even vaguely centrist is either desperately uninformed or deliberately dishonest.

Read the full story

Rivals Target Bloomberg as He Rises in Democratic Presidential Race

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s name is not on any of the ballots for the first four U.S. Democratic presidential nominating contests, and he has yet to qualify for the candidates’ next debate on Wednesday night.

But it is Bloomberg who has quickly become a key figure in the Democratic contest, rising to third in national political surveys of Democratic voters behind Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Read the full story

Commentary: The Democrats Won’t Find a Savior in Michael Bloomberg

The best aspect of Michael Bloomberg’s potential presidential run is that if he were elected, we may be reasonably confident that he would be a competent president, which should be an immense relief to anyone who takes seriously the possibility that any of the four remaining Democratic candidates with appreciable support—Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg—could be elected.

Read the full story

Commentary: For Liberal CEOs, Abortion Is Good for Business

by Doreen Denny   As more states pass restrictions on abortion, companies are coming out of the woodwork to oppose them. Recently, some 180 companies “employing more than 108,000 workers” purchased a full-page ad in The New York Times under the banner “Don’t Ban Equality: It’s time for companies to stand up for reproductive health care.” Translation: It’s time for businesses to defend abortion. Many of these companies aren’t typically considered far-left organizations. Exactly what message are they sending to women by spending ad dollars to promote abortion? Are they saying babies are bad for business? A closer look at these companies may help to unmask what’s driving this ad. It turns out that only two of them are listed among the top 180 companies offering the most paid maternity leave to women, according to Fairygodboss, a women’s career advancement network. And those two companies are nowhere near the top of the list. In other words, these companies are stingy. They aren’t supporting women; they’re protecting their bottom line. The fact is that parental leave imposes a cost on these companies. The disruptions of time off (even earned) for doctor’s appointments, managing morning sickness, and staying healthy during pregnancy are…

Read the full story

Commentary: Do Left-Wing Billionaires ‘Own’ House Democrats?

by Nicholas Waddy   As the Democratic presidential field begins to take shape, liberal and left-wing billionaires are shopping around for the best candidate to support. Some, as we shall see, are also seeking to torpedo President Trump’s presidency through impeachment long before the 2020 election takes place. But we shouldn’t lose sight of what these billionaires have already accomplished: they helped elect a Democratic House of Representatives in 2018 that largely can be relied upon to do their bidding. In other words, the Democrats have become what they always professed to loath: a party propped up by big-money interests and beholden to a small clique of ambitious billionaires. In 2010, the Supreme Court decided in Citizens United v. FEC that independent groups (and thus corporations and the super-rich) could spend unlimited amounts of money on political advocacy. Democrats cried foul. Capitalist and conservative interests would use this constitutional “loophole,” claimed the Left, to flood the airwaves with regressive propaganda, nullifying democracy and trampling the rights of the American people. Just a few years later, the Democrats are singing a different tune. In 2018, the Democrats took over the House of Representatives, financed – irony of ironies! – by massive infusions of…

Read the full story

DC Think Tank Calls on NBC to Stop Blacking Out Climate Skeptics

by Chris White   A Washington-based think tank published an ad Tuesday pressing NBC News to stop blacklisting climate skeptics from debating aspects of global warming on the channel’s broadcasts. The Competitive Enterprise Institute created an ad campaign pushing NBC’s Meet the Press to include climate skeptics in future broadcasts discussing aspects of global warming. NBC refused to run a televised version of the 30-second ad on its Jan. 20 episode, according to a CEI press statement. “NBC has made it perfectly clear they have no interest in hosting an open debate on climate change or policy alternatives for the environment, as evidenced by their decision to reject both guests on-air and paid ads during the program to give expert views shared by millions of Americans,” CEI President Kent Lassman noted in a press statement Tuesday morning. The ads, which will run in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, push back against Meet the Press host Chuck Todd’s decision to exclude so-called climate alarmists and calls for what CEI says is a real and open debate about the impacts of climate alarmism. Todd kicked off a Dec. 30 program with a promise to the audience: The show will…

Read the full story

Iowans Prepare for Surge in Visits from Democratic Party Presidential Hopefuls

The race to challenge President Donald Trump in November 2020 kicked off in earnest Saturday, when the first major Democratic Party hopeful to announce her candidacy visited with voters across Iowa. A larger-than-usual deluge of candidates — possibly up to two dozen — are expected to hit the state within the coming year, including an unprecedented number of women and minorities. Top contenders include Senators Cory Booker, Kamala Harris — both of whom visited last fall — Kirsten Gillibrand and Amy Klobuchar. Former U.S. Representative and businessman John Delaney announced in mid-2017 and has been actively working to raise his name recognition in the state. “It’s definitely much sooner this time,” Pat Rynard said of candidates who have already declared their intention to run. Rynard is a former Democratic campaign staffer who runs the political news site Iowa Starting Line. During the run-up to the 2016 election, for example, the first Republican and Democrat hopefuls formally announced their bids in March and April of 2015. “I think it’s a reflection of how big the field is, and the fact that there aren’t any front-runners,” Rynard said. He expects recent poll results indicating voter preferences for former Vice President Joe Biden…

Read the full story

Top Line Claim In Newest Climate Report Relies on Research Tied to Major Dem Donors

by Michael Bastasch   It’s been repeated throughout the media — future global warming could wipe-out one-tenth of the U.S. economy by 2100. It’s a top line finding of a major government climate report, but it’s based on a study funded by groups affiliated with two major Democratic donors. The oft-repeated claim also stemmed from a global warming projection that’s come under increased scrutiny from experts, including one who called it “outlandish.” The federal government released the second volume of the National Climate Assessment (NCA) Friday. The federal report issued dire warnings, including from “ice sheet disintegration on accelerated sea level rise, leading to widespread effects on coastal development lasting thousands of years.” The report also claims that “global greenhouse gas emissions is expected to cause substantial net damage to the U.S. economy throughout this century,” including a 10 percent hit to gross domestic product (GDP) in one extreme scenario. However, NCA’s dire prediction of a 10 percent hit to U.S. GDP comes from a 2017 study supported by the charitable foundations founded by major Democratic donors. The study was also funded by other organizations, including the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Skoll Global Threats Fund.…

Read the full story

Bredesen Not Serious About Meeting with President Trump, Tennessee GOP Leader Says

Phil Bredesen can fly his $10 million jet to New York to wine and dine with billionaire gun-control advocate Michael Bloomberg but apparently cannot make the slightly shorter trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Donald Trump. So, Bredesen has issued an invitation to the president to visit him next time he travels to Tennessee to campaign for Bredesen’s rival, U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07), whom Trump has endorsed. The president attended an Oct. 1 rally to support Blackburn in her run for the U.S. Senate. He also attended a May rally for her. Bredesen on Tuesday tweeted “I’d like to extend an invitation to President Trump — if he comes back to TN to campaign for my opponent— to discuss how we can establish a business relationship with pharma. It’s time for us to put our business hats on and work together to do what’s best for Tennessee.” One problem is that the president has not announced any visits to Tennessee in the immediate future. After Bredesen claimed he wanted to meet with President Trump, Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said: “Trump was very explicit: Democrat Phil Bredesen will ‘100 percent’ vote against the President and the…

Read the full story

Bredesen Supporter Michael Bloomberg Called for Targeted Denial of Minorities’ Second Amendment Rights

Last week Tennessee Democratic Party Senate Candidate Phil Bredesen attended a fundraiser in New York City at the home of former New York City Mayor and potential 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg.  Despite his claims that he supports the Second Amendment, Bredesen has received a D rating from the NRA (which endorsed Republican Marsha Blackburn in the race) and has now tied himself to Bloomberg and his anti-gun agenda. Bloomberg recently expressed a desire to deny minority citizens their Constitutional rights when he called for banning gun ownership for minorities at a 2015 meeting at the Aspen Institute.  Bloomberg noted that 95% of murders fall into a specific category: male, minority and between the ages of 15 and 25. Cities need to get guns out of this group’s hands and keep them alive, he told the Aspen Institute. “These kids think they’re going to get killed anyway because all their friends are getting killed,” Bloomberg said. “They just don’t have any long-term focus or anything. It’s a joke to have a gun. It’s a joke to pull a trigger.” After recognizing the racially charged nature of his own comments, Bloomberg tried to block audio or video of his speech to…

Read the full story

Court Memos Shed Light on Michael Bloomberg’s Role in NYC’s Climate Crusade

by Chris White   One of the attorneys attached to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s environmental nonprofit was heavily involved in litigation targeting ExxonMobil, according to a document obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation. Gavin McCabe, a lawyer connected to Bloomberg Philanthropies, signed an amicus brief in June supporting New York City’s yearlong climate lawsuit against Exxon and Chevron. He’s one of at least eight attorneys hired by attorneys general across the country to work on environmental litigation. Bloomberg founded Bloomberg Philanthropies in 2017 in part to provide attorney general (AG) offices with attorneys to help push green energy policies. McCabe’s involvement suggests Bloomberg’s money is playing a role in the anti-Exxon campaign. He made himself a part of the lawsuit demanding energy companies compensate the city for the alleged damages from man-made global warming. U.S. District Judge John Keenan dismissed the case in July after months of arguments. The city’s lawsuit is the third such claim brought against oil companies Exxon, Chevron, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Conoco Phillips. Another judge in Northern California struck down identical lawsuits in June brought by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland. The legal maneuvers are a boon for trial lawyers as…

Read the full story