wnd--2020-10-06--It's time to lift the veil on George Soros

Anyone who throws stones at billionaire atheist George Soros can expect to be shunned or censored by his protectors in the media .
Just ask top Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass or former House Speaker Newt Gingrich .
A veteran journalist , Kass blasted Soros for bankrolling the election of soft-on-crime prosecutors .
His snowflake Tribune colleagues accused him of publishing an `` odious anti-Semitic conspiracy theory '' and demanded an apology .
But Kass refused to grovel , pointing out he was only repeating widely reported facts .
Gingrich charged on Fox News Channel that the `` number one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ big cities is `` George-Soros-elected , left-wing , anti-police , pro-criminal district attorneys . ''
That triggered a Fox host who interjected , `` I 'm not sure we need to bring George Soros into this . ''
`` OK , so it 's verboten ? ''
asked a surprised Gingrich .
Five painful seconds of silence followed .
Despite media censors , the truth is that George Soros is bringing chaos to American cities .
He 's using his millions to purchase district attorneys who refuse to prosecute low-level crimes and practice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community with no-cash bail and lenient sentences .
In 2017 , the Hungarian-born hedge-fund mogul spent $ 1.7 million to elect social justice warrior Larry Krasner as Philadelphia 's district attorney .
Krasner smiled on election night as supporters chanted , `` No good cops in a racist system ! ''
and `` F–- the FOP ! ''
( the Fraternal Order of Police ) .
Crime has since soared in Philadelphia .
U.S. Attorney William McSwain hammered Krasner recently for creating a `` culture of lawlessness . ''
McSwain charged that `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Philadelphia are proof that the district attorney 's radical experiment has failed . ''
In Los Angeles , Soros is waging war on law and order by giving $ 1 million , so far , to make George Gascon L.A. County 's next district attorney .
As San Francisco D.A.
, Gascon helped make his city a haven for the homeless and increasingly unlivable .
He refused to prosecute camping on city sidewalks , public urination , soliciting sex and other crimes .
And in violence-riddled Chicago , Soros has spent $ 2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's Attorney Kim Foxx in office .
Under her watch , violent crime in Chicago is way up , with 290 murders and 1,480 shootings in the first seven months of 2020 .
But funding progressive prosecutors is just the tip of the Soros iceberg .
The 90-year-old radical is spending billions on a laundry list of liberal causes including abortion , LGBT activism , open borders , euthanasia , legalization of prostitution and drugs , judicial `` reform , '' gun control , defunding police , climate alarmism , erosion of U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Soros funnels his largesse through his Open Society Foundations which spends $ 1 billion annually and is active in 120 nations .
Every year , OSF brags , it gives `` thousands of grants to groups and individuals who promote our values . ''
In 2018 alone , Soros poured $ 708 million into American politics , according to Capital Research Center President Scott Walter .
The money , Walter writes , `` went into politicized groups like Planned Parenthood , to fight for abortion ; the Brennan Center , to tear down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left-of-center powerhouses like the ACLU and John Podesta 's Center for American Progress . ''
By comparison , Walter notes , the total combined revenue in 2017 and 2018 of the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee was $ 502 million .
Soros is also targeting his arch-nemesis , Donald Trump , for defeat in November , spending $ 52 million through June of this year to elect Joe Biden and other Democrats .
Soros rails at Trump , calling him a `` con man , '' a `` would-be dictator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' The `` fate of the world '' Soros insists , hinges on the defeat of Trump , whom Soros likens to brutal North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-un .
With his vast wealth and destructive agenda , Soros is one of the most dangerously influential people in America today .
And that 's especially true because of Soros ' self-admitted `` messianic fantasies . ''
How 's this for a jaw-dropping admission : `` It is a sort of a disease when you consider yourself some kind of god , the creator of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it now since I began to live it out . ''
And that 's not a random remark .
Say what you will about George Soros , he thinks big .
Here 's a sampling of his grandiose ambitions : • `` My goal is to be the conscience of the world . ''
• `` Many people have messianic visions .
The difference is , I 've actually lived out my visions . ''
• `` The arc of history does n't follow its own course .
It needs to be bent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to bend it in the right direction . ''
But former leftist David Horowitz warns that what Soros really wants is to `` make America a one-party state and to silence people like myself . ''
At present , Soros and his allies have plenty of help from some in the media who censor inquiries into what Soros himself calls his `` political philanthropy . ''
Yet it 's ludicrous to suppress and censor discussion of Soros when he 's such a huge player on the American political scene .
George Soros and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needs to know .
Which is why D. James Kennedy Ministries just aired on nationwide television the new documentary , `` Billionaire Radical : George Soros and the Scheme to Remake America . ''
It 's fallen to us , as a Christian media ministry , to do the media 's job for them .
To watch , click here .

Anyone who throws stones at billionaire atheist George Soros can expect to be shunned or censored by his protectors in the media. Just ask top Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass or former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
A veteran journalist, Kass blasted Soros for bankrolling the election of soft-on-crime prosecutors. His snowflake Tribune colleagues accused him of publishing an "odious anti-Semitic conspiracy theory" and demanded an apology. But Kass refused to grovel, pointing out he was only repeating widely reported facts.
Gingrich charged on Fox News Channel that the "number one problem" behind riots and looting in big cities is "George-Soros-elected, left-wing, anti-police, pro-criminal district attorneys." That triggered a Fox host who interjected, "I'm not sure we need to bring George Soros into this."
"OK, so it's verboten?" asked a surprised Gingrich. Five painful seconds of silence followed.
Despite media censors, the truth is that George Soros is bringing chaos to American cities. He's using his millions to purchase district attorneys who refuse to prosecute low-level crimes and practice revolving-door-justice – releasing offenders back into the community with no-cash bail and lenient sentences.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
In 2017, the Hungarian-born hedge-fund mogul spent $1.7 million to elect social justice warrior Larry Krasner as Philadelphia's district attorney. Krasner smiled on election night as supporters chanted, "No good cops in a racist system!" and "F–- the FOP!" (the Fraternal Order of Police).
Crime has since soared in Philadelphia. U.S. Attorney William McSwain hammered Krasner recently for creating a "culture of lawlessness." McSwain charged that "the staggering homicide and shooting rates in Philadelphia are proof that the district attorney's radical experiment has failed."
In Los Angeles, Soros is waging war on law and order by giving $1 million, so far, to make George Gascon L.A. County's next district attorney. As San Francisco D.A., Gascon helped make his city a haven for the homeless and increasingly unlivable. He refused to prosecute camping on city sidewalks, public urination, soliciting sex and other crimes.
And in violence-riddled Chicago, Soros has spent $2 million this year to help keep State's Attorney Kim Foxx in office. Under her watch, violent crime in Chicago is way up, with 290 murders and 1,480 shootings in the first seven months of 2020.
But funding progressive prosecutors is just the tip of the Soros iceberg. The 90-year-old radical is spending billions on a laundry list of liberal causes including abortion, LGBT activism, open borders, euthanasia, legalization of prostitution and drugs, judicial "reform," gun control, defunding police, climate alarmism, erosion of U.S. support for Israel, and more.
Soros funnels his largesse through his Open Society Foundations which spends $1 billion annually and is active in 120 nations. Every year, OSF brags, it gives "thousands of grants to groups and individuals who promote our values."
In 2018 alone, Soros poured $708 million into American politics, according to Capital Research Center President Scott Walter. The money, Walter writes, "went into politicized groups like Planned Parenthood, to fight for abortion; the Brennan Center, to tear down voter ID laws; and to all-purpose left-of-center powerhouses like the ACLU and John Podesta's Center for American Progress."
By comparison, Walter notes, the total combined revenue in 2017 and 2018 of the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee was $502 million.
Soros is also targeting his arch-nemesis, Donald Trump, for defeat in November, spending $52 million through June of this year to elect Joe Biden and other Democrats.
Soros rails at Trump, calling him a "con man," a "would-be dictator" and "the ultimate narcissist." The "fate of the world" Soros insists, hinges on the defeat of Trump, whom Soros likens to brutal North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-un.
With his vast wealth and destructive agenda, Soros is one of the most dangerously influential people in America today. And that's especially true because of Soros' self-admitted "messianic fantasies."
How's this for a jaw-dropping admission: "It is a sort of a disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything. But I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out."
And that's not a random remark. Say what you will about George Soros, he thinks big. Here's a sampling of his grandiose ambitions:
"My goal is to be the conscience of the world."
"Many people have messianic visions. The difference is, I've actually lived out my visions."
"The arc of history doesn't follow its own course. It needs to be bent. I am really engaged in trying to bend it in the right direction."
But former leftist David Horowitz warns that what Soros really wants is to "make America a one-party state and to silence people like myself." At present, Soros and his allies have plenty of help from some in the media who censor inquiries into what Soros himself calls his "political philanthropy."
Yet it's ludicrous to suppress and censor discussion of Soros when he's such a huge player on the American political scene. George Soros and his radical agenda is a story America needs to know. Which is why D. James Kennedy Ministries just aired on nationwide television the new documentary, "Billionaire Radical: George Soros and the Scheme to Remake America."
It's fallen to us, as a Christian media ministry, to do the media's job for them. To watch, click here.


wnd--2020-10-07--Trump approves release of all Russia collusion documents

( FOX NEWS ) -- President Trump on Tuesday said he has “ fully authorized the total Declassification of any @ @ @ @ @ to the Russia investigation and the FBI ’ s investigation into former Secretary of State @ @ @ @ @ of a private email server .
“ I have fully authorized the total Declassification of @ @ @ @ @ to the single greatest political CRIME in American History , the Russia Hoax .
Likewise @ @ @ @ @ Scandal .
No redactions !
” The president tweeted Tuesday night .
`` All Russia @ @ @ @ @ by me long ago , '' Trump tweeted .
`` Unfortunately for our Country , @ @ @ @ @ , especially since it is perhaps the biggest political crime in the history of our @ @ @

(FOX NEWS) -- President Trump on Tuesday said he has “fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents" related to the Russia investigation and the FBI’s investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.
“I have fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents pertaining to the single greatest political CRIME in American History, the Russia Hoax. Likewise, the Hillary Clinton Email Scandal. No redactions!” The president tweeted Tuesday night.
"All Russia Hoax Scandal information was Declassified by me long ago," Trump tweeted. "Unfortunately for our Country, people have acted very slowly, especially since it is perhaps the biggest political crime in the history of our Country."
Read the full story ›


wnd--2020-10-07--Trump urging Congress to pass more COVID-19 aid

( FOX NEWS ) -- President Trump called on Congress in a pair of late-night tweets to pass additional coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ from hours earlier when he announced he was calling off negotiations until after the November @ @ @ @ @ & Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support , & 135 @ @ @ @ @ Program for Small Business .
Both of these will be fully paid for with unused @ @ @ @ @ .
Have this money .
I will sign now ! ''
Trump wrote .
`` @ @ @ @ @ Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ( $ 1,200 ) , they will go out @ @ @ @ @ .
I am ready to sign right now .
Are you listening Nancy ? ''
@ @ @ @ @ minutes later .

(FOX NEWS) -- President Trump called on Congress in a pair of late-night tweets to pass additional coronavirus relief measures, reversing course from hours earlier when he announced he was calling off negotiations until after the November election.
"The House & Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support, & 135 Billion Dollars for Paycheck Protection Program for Small Business. Both of these will be fully paid for with unused funds from the Cares Act. Have this money. I will sign now!" Trump wrote.
"If I am sent a Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200), they will go out to our great people IMMEDIATELY. I am ready to sign right now. Are you listening Nancy?" he tweeted less than 30 minutes later.
Read the full story ›


wnd--2020-10-08--Pence says Biden's COVID plan 'looks a little bit like plagiarism'

( WASHINGTON EXAMINER ) – Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris traded blows about the @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus pandemic .
Debate moderator Susan Page began the vice presidential debate in Salt @ @ @ @ @ how a Biden administration would have handled the virus differently from the Trump administration .
@ @ @ @ @ witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our @ @ @ @ @ .
`` They still do n't have a plan .
Well , Joe Biden does @ @ @ @ @ around what we need to do around a national strategy for contact tracing , for @ @ @ @ @ the vaccine and make sure it will be free for all . ''

(WASHINGTON EXAMINER) – Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris traded blows about the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Debate moderator Susan Page began the vice presidential debate in Salt Lake City by asking Harris how a Biden administration would have handled the virus differently from the Trump administration.
"The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country," Harris said. "They still don't have a plan. Well, Joe Biden does. And our plan is around what we need to do around a national strategy for contact tracing, for testing, for administration of the vaccine and make sure it will be free for all."
Read the full story ›


wnd--2020-10-08--Harris accused of giving utilities pass, contributing to wildfire plague

[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics . ]
LOS ANGELES -- It ’ s an all too familiar refrain to Californians .
Federal officials are investigating whether a failure of a power company ’ s equipment sparked the Bobcat Fire , the largest in Los Angeles County history .
The fire has raged for a month , scorching more than 115,000 acres , damaging 83 homes .
The Bobcat Fire is just one of 27 major blazes continuing to burn throughout the state .
More than 30 people have died in California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 7,000 structures have been destroyed , and millions of residents have been forced to breathe ash and endure orange-tinted skies filled with a haze so dense it blocks out the sun .
Scientists estimate that the fires this year have pumped far more greenhouse gases into the air than the carbon dioxide emissions produced from providing power to the entire state .
Although fire season in California and across the West has become sadly inevitable , it ’ s clear that some of those deadly infernos could have been prevented .
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Electric , was found to have caused the 2018 Camp Fire , the deadliest and most destructive fire in state history , a blaze that took 85 lives and razed nearly 18,900 buildings .
PG & E ’ s equipment is responsible for sparking more than 1,500 fires from June 2014 to 2017 , according to an investigation by the Wall Street Journal .
PG & E filed for bankruptcy after pleading guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter in the deaths resulting from the Camp Fire after it was found to have repeatedly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ broke from a nearly 100-year-old tower , even though the line cut through a forested and mountainous area known to experience high winds .
The company was forced to pay $ 13.5 billion to people who lost homes and businesses from the fire .
But how did it get to this point – why was a state-regulated business allowed to operate with such little fire-management oversight ?
Prominent Democrats , including California Gov .
Gavin Newsom and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , have pointed to climate change as the main culprit behind the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left , including several consumer rights groups , argue that the Democratic leaders in the state , including Kamala Harris in her capacity as former attorney general , for years failed to hold PG & E and other utilities accountable as they spread vast sums of money in campaign contributions , lobbying , and other political-pay-to-play schemes around the state .
PG & E recently went through bankruptcy over its fire liability losses but still has a monopoly on providing electricity and natural gas to large segments of the state .
It also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ upgrade its aging network of powerlines and pipelines to reduce safety hazards .
Over the last months , amid record-setting heat , PG & E repeatedly cut off power to hundreds of thousands of customers in fire-prone areas in advance of high winds .
The company says its customers should expect this type of preemptive service interruptions for another decade .
All this while Californians pay the highest electricity rates in the contiguous United States , outside of New England , and by far the highest of any western state .
A portion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ PG & E and other utilities have passed on to consumers to cover the billions of dollars in losses and liability .
Gov .
Newsom , who inherited a legacy of utility company neglect , has started to condemn the electric utilities and their role in the fires and demand changes , while conceding there ’ s no quick fix .
“ It took us decades to get here , ” he said during a press conference last fall .
“ Make no mistake .
We will get out of this mess , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold PG & E accountable to a degree they have not been held to before.
” Consumer groups for years have criticized former California Gov .
Jerry Brown and his appointees for failing to adequately regulate the public utilities to prevent the downed power wires and exploding transformers from igniting the blazes .
PG & E and other utilities are notorious for spreading political donations around the state and cutting checks for millions in lobbying and public relations even while going through bankruptcy .
For several years when Brown was in office , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of directors of Sempra , the parent company of Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric .
She made more than $ 1 million in cash and stock .
Brown kept Michael Peevey , a former Southern California Edison executive and longtime family friend , as the head of the Public Utilities Commission ( PUC ) , the agency charged with regulating it and other utilities .
Peevey , whose wife Carol Liu was a Democratic state senator at the time , was eventually forced out in 2014 after a scandal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while soliciting $ 1 million in political donations from the utility .
Peevey retired amid the controversy .
Although Jerry Brown is out of office , critics say another prominent California Democrat bears part of the blame -- and if the polls are accurate , she ’ s next in line to become vice president of the United States .
Consumer groups for years have faulted Kamala Harris , Joe Biden ’ s 2020 running mate , for failing to prosecute the state ’ s biggest utilities and the Public Utility Commission officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ skate for years .
“ She was absent , she was AWOL , she didn ’ t file any charges whatsoever , ” Jamie Court told RealClearPolitics .
Court is the president of Consumer Watchdog , a nonprofit progressive organization that advocates for consumer and taxpayer interests with offices in Los Angeles and Washington , D.C. “ She was the first line , and she should have stepped in , and she didn ’ t because of political concerns , ” he charged .
While Harris was still attorney general ( she left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seat ) , Consumer Watchdog was so incensed about Harris ’ s decision not to prosecute two high-profile utility cases that it issued a one-page paper on what it deemed “ public utility corruption and Kamala Harris ’ s failure to act for the public.
” Harris ’ s campaign declined to respond to the criticism when contacted by RCP .
But Court , who nonetheless supports the Biden-Harris ticket because the idea of Trump in office for another four years is “ unthinkable ” for him , is hardly alone in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media outlets have raised similar complaints while Harris remained attorney general and even in the years afterward .
The issue surfaced during Harris ’ s Senate run in 2016 , though it didn ’ t prove a major problem for her in defeating former Rep. Loretta Sanchez in the Democratic primary and sailing to victory .
It popped up again in early 2018 when the San Jose Mercury News ran an editorial board piece pressing current Attorney General Xavier Becerra to pursue the case against Peevey and asking whether it had been “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be a travesty if current Attorney General Xavier Becerra let the statute of limitations run out and did not both complete the investigation and announce the result , ” the paper argued .
A Becerra spokesman in 2018 told the paper that the attorney general couldn ’ t comment because the investigation , which began in 2015 , was ongoing .
There are actually two investigations Court and other critics cite when they take aim at Harris for failing to prosecute the PUC and PG & E .
The first involves a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of San Bruno , south of San Francisco , that killed eight people , injured 66 and destroyed 38 homes .
Harris opened a criminal probe into the explosion but never prosecuted the case .
The U.S. attorney ’ s office eventually took it up and brought criminal charges .
In 2016 a federal jury found PG & E guilty of six felony charges – five counts of violating pipeline safety standards and one count of obstructing the investigation into the San Bruno explosion .
That investigation turned up evidence that Peevey was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allegedly helped his former employer go judge-shopping for someone who would be sympathetic to the utility in deciding the $ 1.3-billion penalty phase .
In explaining her decision not to prosecute the San Bruno case , Harris said at the time that her office had become part of a joint task force with federal investigators .
Court counters that it was state Democratic politics and a major conflict of interest within Brown ’ s administration that kept her from pursuing the case .
“ Clearly there were prosecutable issues with Mike Peevey and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and she let it all go…and it was not good for the public interest , ” Court argues .
“ It ’ s all public record , and it was all documented .
It ’ s about the political class and not wanting to make trouble for the other members of the class , and I find that appalling when the crimes rise to the level of the facts that we saw.
” The alleged judge-shopping led the San Jose Mercury News to opine that “ Peevey ’ s relationship with PG @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the wake of the 2010 San Bruno explosion .
But Gov .
Brown inexplicably kept him on the job.
” Even after the scrutiny , Brown continued to protect the PUC from bills that tried to push it to act more aggressively .
In 2016 , he vetoed several fire-prevention measures , arguing that the state PUC and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection had a perfectly good process in place .
One bill passed in 2016 would have required the PUC to identify and map high-risk wildfire hotspots due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consideration local governments ’ concerns so that utilities would have to step up their mitigation efforts in those areas .
The PUC took nine years to create a map of the most fire-prone areas , and Brown vetoed a bill , passed unanimously in the legislature , aimed at getting the agency off the dime .
Brown was defending the PUC even though the agency was plagued with scandals involving back-channel deals and favoritism between the regulators and the utilities they are supposed to keep in line .
In 2013 , Peevey held @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Edison executive at a luxury hotel in Warsaw , Poland .
The PUC was in the middle of negotiations about how to handle the costs of closing the San Onofre nuclear power plant in San Diego County when reports surfaced that Peevey had gotten involved inappropriately .
The PUC and Southern California Edison had claimed a settlement that left consumers with a $ 3.3-billion bill for San Onofre ’ s closure , when Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric would foot only $ 1.4 billion .
Ratepayer advocates wanted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At first , Harris appeared to be investigating that case aggressively : The attorney general ’ s office issued a search warrant of Peevey ’ s home .
It was that search that uncovered hand-written notes showing Peevey had a secret meeting with an Edison executive in Warsaw after the nuclear power plant sprang a radioactive leak and had to be closed .
That ’ s where the deal was cut that left ratepayers footing a big portion of the bill .
Documents uncovered during the investigation also showed that Peevey tried to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gas & Utility to give $ 25 million to a pet project at the University of California at Los Angeles .
Democratic state Sen. Jerry Hill , who represents San Bruno , called the payment an obvious quid pro quo arrangement .
Harris ’ s investigative team laid out part of the case it was building in court papers filed in the fall of 2015 .
Investigators argued that they could have charged Peevey and the utility companies with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice -- felonies -- for the secret @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outlets , including KPBS , reported that during her Senate run Harris let the three-year statute of limitations run out on the secret Poland meeting and never pursued prosecution .
“ We should have seen some state charges , ” Hill told KPBS in April 2016 .
“ The state of California certainly is proud of its judicial system , and I think it would have been a great statement that California would take the lead in prosecuting these cases.
” Hill has since authored legislation demanding greater transparency from the PUC .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Office at the time argued that the statute of limitations actually hadn ’ t passed in the San Onofre case — that the journalists were getting that part of the story wrong .
“ This is a comprehensive investigation , and the law does not foreclose our pursuit of charges if charges are appropriate and justified , ” the spokesman told reporters at the time .
A source familiar with the investigation told RCP that the statute of limitations in the case had definitely not run out when Harris left the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ source also argued that the legal time limits can be renewed if a new piece of evidence is discovered but did not know if Becerra was actively pursuing the investigation or if it had gone dormant .
“ I will say candidly that the investigation took a long time because the PUC continued to push back and push back on document requests , ” the source told RCP .
“ .
.
.
sometimes these investigations when folks are in a non-cooperative mode take some time.
” San Diego consumer lawyer Mike Aguirre @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attorney from 2004 to 2008 and was representing ratepayer interests in the San Onofre case , repeatedly blasted Harris for failing to bring criminal charges in that case .
In early 2016 , Aguirre accused Harris of stalling the San Onofre probe until her U.S. Senate campaign wrapped up because it could hurt powerful fellow Democrats , including Brown , who endorsed her in the race .
“ For her to let the statute go is malpractice , ” Aguirre told the San Diego Reader in April 2016 .
Aguirre specifically questioned a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office not to act on a search warrant of the offices of Southern California Edison ’ s parent company and the PUC .
Instead of allowing investigators to search those offices , they served the search warrants to Edison and the PUC and asked them to turn over all documents and communications related to the San Onofre settlement .
“ You don ’ t drop it off at the front door and say , ‘ Hey , gee , send me your records , ’ ” Aguirre , a former federal prosecutor , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the whole point of a search warrant .
…You go in and you execute the search warrant and you seize the records , because you ’ re concerned they ’ re going to disappear.
” While Edison turned over some records to the attorney general ’ s office , the PUC withheld many on the grounds that they didn ’ t have enough resources to produce them while claiming some were privileged .
The privilege claim , they argued , covered some emails about San Onofre exchanged with Brown ’ s office .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ privilege claim , another bone of contention for critics who argue as a representative of the state demanding documents from a state agency , she would have easily prevailed .
In November 2018 , federal judges dismissed the case Aguirre brought over the costs passed onto consumers for the San Onofre shutdown , but they forced Southern California Edison to pay the $ 5.4-million bill to his firm for its legal work .
Aguirre had previously won a deal with the utilities that lowered customers ’ bill for the plant ’ s closing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million .
Aguirre ’ s office declined to comment on his past criticism of Harris .
Hill ’ s office did not return two requests for comment .
Court and other sources speculate that Democrats aren ’ t talking right now because they want to see President Trump defeated and don ’ t want to bring additional scrutiny to Harris in the final weeks of the campaign .
Early in her own presidential campaign last year , Harris sponsored a bill seemingly designed to inoculate her from critics who could bring up the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charges in the two utility cases .
As the Democratic presidential primary kicked into gear , Harris introduced a measure that would ban utilities under bankruptcy , like PG & E , from paying bonuses to executives .
Titled the “ Accountability for Utility Executives Act , ” Harris touted the bill amid growing frustration with the company and its role in sparking the wildfires .
In doing so , she also mentioned a media report that PG & E wined and dined employees days before planned power outages and amid the company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million in performance bonuses to its executives .
It attracted no co-sponsors and didn ’ t gain traction in the GOP-controlled upper chamber .
And by then , another fire season was underway in the West .

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics.]
By Susan Crabtree
Real Clear Politics
LOS ANGELES -- It’s an all too familiar refrain to Californians. Federal officials are investigating whether a failure of a power company’s equipment sparked the Bobcat Fire, the largest in Los Angeles County history. The fire has raged for a month, scorching more than 115,000 acres, damaging 83 homes.
The Bobcat Fire is just one of 27 major blazes continuing to burn throughout the state.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
More than 30 people have died in California from the flames and smoke, more than 7,000 structures have been destroyed, and millions of residents have been forced to breathe ash and endure orange-tinted skies filled with a haze so dense it blocks out the sun. Scientists estimate that the fires this year have pumped far more greenhouse gases into the air than the carbon dioxide emissions produced from providing power to the entire state.
Although fire season in California and across the West has become sadly inevitable, it’s clear that some of those deadly infernos could have been prevented. A different utility company, Pacific Gas & Electric, was found to have caused the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive fire in state history, a blaze that took 85 lives and razed nearly 18,900 buildings. PG&E’s equipment is responsible for sparking more than 1,500 fires from June 2014 to 2017, according to an investigation by the Wall Street Journal.
PG&E filed for bankruptcy after pleading guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter in the deaths resulting from the Camp Fire after it was found to have repeatedly failed to maintain a transmission line that broke from a nearly 100-year-old tower, even though the line cut through a forested and mountainous area known to experience high winds. The company was forced to pay $13.5 billion to people who lost homes and businesses from the fire.
But how did it get to this point – why was a state-regulated business allowed to operate with such little fire-management oversight?
Did Kamala Harris's actions contribute to California's extreme wildfires? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to WND news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use You're logged in to Facebook. Click here to log out. 100% (42 Votes) 0% (0 Votes)
Prominent Democrats, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have pointed to climate change as the main culprit behind the fires. But other voices on the left, including several consumer rights groups, argue that the Democratic leaders in the state, including Kamala Harris in her capacity as former attorney general, for years failed to hold PG&E and other utilities accountable as they spread vast sums of money in campaign contributions, lobbying, and other political-pay-to-play schemes around the state.
A Problem Years in the Making
PG&E recently went through bankruptcy over its fire liability losses but still has a monopoly on providing electricity and natural gas to large segments of the state. It also has far more work to do to upgrade its aging network of powerlines and pipelines to reduce safety hazards.
Over the last months, amid record-setting heat, PG&E repeatedly cut off power to hundreds of thousands of customers in fire-prone areas in advance of high winds. The company says its customers should expect this type of preemptive service interruptions for another decade.
All this while Californians pay the highest electricity rates in the contiguous United States, outside of New England, and by far the highest of any western state. A portion of those charges come from rate increases PG&E and other utilities have passed on to consumers to cover the billions of dollars in losses and liability.
Gov. Newsom, who inherited a legacy of utility company neglect, has started to condemn the electric utilities and their role in the fires and demand changes, while conceding there’s no quick fix.
“It took us decades to get here,” he said during a press conference last fall. “Make no mistake. We will get out of this mess, and when we do, we will hold PG&E accountable to a degree they have not been held to before.”
Consumer groups for years have criticized former California Gov. Jerry Brown and his appointees for failing to adequately regulate the public utilities to prevent the downed power wires and exploding transformers from igniting the blazes. PG&E and other utilities are notorious for spreading political donations around the state and cutting checks for millions in lobbying and public relations even while going through bankruptcy.
For several years when Brown was in office, his sister Kathleen sat on the board of directors of Sempra, the parent company of Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric. She made more than $1 million in cash and stock. Brown kept Michael Peevey, a former Southern California Edison executive and longtime family friend, as the head of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the agency charged with regulating it and other utilities. Peevey, whose wife Carol Liu was a Democratic state senator at the time, was eventually forced out in 2014 after a scandal involving inappropriate communications with PG&E while soliciting $1 million in political donations from the utility. Peevey retired amid the controversy.
State AG “AWOL,” Argues One Consumer Advocate
Although Jerry Brown is out of office, critics say another prominent California Democrat bears part of the blame -- and if the polls are accurate, she’s next in line to become vice president of the United States.
Consumer groups for years have faulted Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s 2020 running mate, for failing to prosecute the state’s biggest utilities and the Public Utility Commission officials who the groups say let the companies skate for years.
“She was absent, she was AWOL, she didn’t file any charges whatsoever,” Jamie Court told RealClearPolitics.
Court is the president of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit progressive organization that advocates for consumer and taxpayer interests with offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
“She was the first line, and she should have stepped in, and she didn’t because of political concerns,” he charged.
While Harris was still attorney general (she left in 2017 after winning a U.S. Senate seat), Consumer Watchdog was so incensed about Harris’s decision not to prosecute two high-profile utility cases that it issued a one-page paper on what it deemed “public utility corruption and Kamala Harris’s failure to act for the public.”
Harris’s campaign declined to respond to the criticism when contacted by RCP. But Court, who nonetheless supports the Biden-Harris ticket because the idea of Trump in office for another four years is “unthinkable” for him, is hardly alone in the criticism. Several California newspapers and other media outlets have raised similar complaints while Harris remained attorney general and even in the years afterward.
The issue surfaced during Harris’s Senate run in 2016, though it didn’t prove a major problem for her in defeating former Rep. Loretta Sanchez in the Democratic primary and sailing to victory. It popped up again in early 2018 when the San Jose Mercury News ran an editorial board piece pressing current Attorney General Xavier Becerra to pursue the case against Peevey and asking whether it had been “swept under the rug.”
“It would be a travesty if current Attorney General Xavier Becerra let the statute of limitations run out and did not both complete the investigation and announce the result,” the paper argued.
A Becerra spokesman in 2018 told the paper that the attorney general couldn’t comment because the investigation, which began in 2015, was ongoing.
There are actually two investigations Court and other critics cite when they take aim at Harris for failing to prosecute the PUC and PG&E. The first involves a 2010 gas line explosion in the city of San Bruno, south of San Francisco, that killed eight people, injured 66 and destroyed 38 homes. Harris opened a criminal probe into the explosion but never prosecuted the case.
The U.S. attorney’s office eventually took it up and brought criminal charges. In 2016 a federal jury found PG&E guilty of six felony charges – five counts of violating pipeline safety standards and one count of obstructing the investigation into the San Bruno explosion. That investigation turned up evidence that Peevey was so aligned with PG&E he allegedly helped his former employer go judge-shopping for someone who would be sympathetic to the utility in deciding the $1.3-billion penalty phase.
In explaining her decision not to prosecute the San Bruno case, Harris said at the time that her office had become part of a joint task force with federal investigators. Court counters that it was state Democratic politics and a major conflict of interest within Brown’s administration that kept her from pursuing the case.
“Clearly there were prosecutable issues with Mike Peevey and San Onofre, and PG&E, and she let it all go…and it was not good for the public interest,” Court argues. “It’s all public record, and it was all documented. It’s about the political class and not wanting to make trouble for the other members of the class, and I find that appalling when the crimes rise to the level of the facts that we saw.”
The alleged judge-shopping led the San Jose Mercury News to opine that “Peevey’s relationship with PG&E should have gotten him fired in the wake of the 2010 San Bruno explosion. But Gov. Brown inexplicably kept him on the job.”
Even after the scrutiny, Brown continued to protect the PUC from bills that tried to push it to act more aggressively. In 2016, he vetoed several fire-prevention measures, arguing that the state PUC and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection had a perfectly good process in place. One bill passed in 2016 would have required the PUC to identify and map high-risk wildfire hotspots due to overhead utility lines, taking into consideration local governments’ concerns so that utilities would have to step up their mitigation efforts in those areas. The PUC took nine years to create a map of the most fire-prone areas, and Brown vetoed a bill, passed unanimously in the legislature, aimed at getting the agency off the dime.
State Regulators Accused of Favoritism
Brown was defending the PUC even though the agency was plagued with scandals involving back-channel deals and favoritism between the regulators and the utilities they are supposed to keep in line. In 2013, Peevey held a secret meeting with a Southern California Edison executive at a luxury hotel in Warsaw, Poland. The PUC was in the middle of negotiations about how to handle the costs of closing the San Onofre nuclear power plant in San Diego County when reports surfaced that Peevey had gotten involved inappropriately.
The PUC and Southern California Edison had claimed a settlement that left consumers with a $3.3-billion bill for San Onofre’s closure, when Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric would foot only $1.4 billion. Ratepayer advocates wanted to make sure it was negotiated properly.
At first, Harris appeared to be investigating that case aggressively: The attorney general’s office issued a search warrant of Peevey’s home. It was that search that uncovered hand-written notes showing Peevey had a secret meeting with an Edison executive in Warsaw after the nuclear power plant sprang a radioactive leak and had to be closed.
That’s where the deal was cut that left ratepayers footing a big portion of the bill. Documents uncovered during the investigation also showed that Peevey tried to get Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Utility to give $25 million to a pet project at the University of California at Los Angeles. Democratic state Sen. Jerry Hill, who represents San Bruno, called the payment an obvious quid pro quo arrangement.
Harris’s investigative team laid out part of the case it was building in court papers filed in the fall of 2015. Investigators argued that they could have charged Peevey and the utility companies with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice -- felonies -- for the secret meeting in Warsaw. But several news outlets, including KPBS, reported that during her Senate run Harris let the three-year statute of limitations run out on the secret Poland meeting and never pursued prosecution.
“We should have seen some state charges,” Hill told KPBS in April 2016. “The state of California certainly is proud of its judicial system, and I think it would have been a great statement that California would take the lead in prosecuting these cases.” Hill has since authored legislation demanding greater transparency from the PUC.
A spokesman for the California Attorney General’s Office at the time argued that the statute of limitations actually hadn’t passed in the San Onofre case — that the journalists were getting that part of the story wrong. “This is a comprehensive investigation, and the law does not foreclose our pursuit of charges if charges are appropriate and justified,” the spokesman told reporters at the time.
A source familiar with the investigation told RCP that the statute of limitations in the case had definitely not run out when Harris left the attorney general’s office. The source also argued that the legal time limits can be renewed if a new piece of evidence is discovered but did not know if Becerra was actively pursuing the investigation or if it had gone dormant.
“I will say candidly that the investigation took a long time because the PUC continued to push back and push back on document requests,” the source told RCP. “. . . sometimes these investigations when folks are in a non-cooperative mode take some time.”
Lawyer Accused Harris of “Malpractice”
San Diego consumer lawyer Mike Aguirre, a Democrat who served as city attorney from 2004 to 2008 and was representing ratepayer interests in the San Onofre case, repeatedly blasted Harris for failing to bring criminal charges in that case.
In early 2016, Aguirre accused Harris of stalling the San Onofre probe until her U.S. Senate campaign wrapped up because it could hurt powerful fellow Democrats, including Brown, who endorsed her in the race.
“For her to let the statute go is malpractice,” Aguirre told the San Diego Reader in April 2016.
Aguirre specifically questioned a decision by the attorney general’s office not to act on a search warrant of the offices of Southern California Edison’s parent company and the PUC.
Instead of allowing investigators to search those offices, they served the search warrants to Edison and the PUC and asked them to turn over all documents and communications related to the San Onofre settlement.
“You don’t drop it off at the front door and say, ‘Hey, gee, send me your records,’” Aguirre, a former federal prosecutor, told KPBS. “That’s the whole point of a search warrant. …You go in and you execute the search warrant and you seize the records, because you’re concerned they’re going to disappear.”
While Edison turned over some records to the attorney general’s office, the PUC withheld many on the grounds that they didn’t have enough resources to produce them while claiming some were privileged. The privilege claim, they argued, covered some emails about San Onofre exchanged with Brown’s office. Harris never challenged the PUC’s privilege claim, another bone of contention for critics who argue as a representative of the state demanding documents from a state agency, she would have easily prevailed.
In November 2018, federal judges dismissed the case Aguirre brought over the costs passed onto consumers for the San Onofre shutdown, but they forced Southern California Edison to pay the $5.4-million bill to his firm for its legal work.
Aguirre had previously won a deal with the utilities that lowered customers’ bill for the plant’s closing from $3.3 billion to $775 million.
Aguirre’s office declined to comment on his past criticism of Harris. Hill’s office did not return two requests for comment. Court and other sources speculate that Democrats aren’t talking right now because they want to see President Trump defeated and don’t want to bring additional scrutiny to Harris in the final weeks of the campaign.
Early in her own presidential campaign last year, Harris sponsored a bill seemingly designed to inoculate her from critics who could bring up the controversy over her decisions not to bring charges in the two utility cases.
As the Democratic presidential primary kicked into gear, Harris introduced a measure that would ban utilities under bankruptcy, like PG&E, from paying bonuses to executives. Titled the “Accountability for Utility Executives Act,” Harris touted the bill amid growing frustration with the company and its role in sparking the wildfires. In doing so, she also mentioned a media report that PG&E wined and dined employees days before planned power outages and amid the company’s plan to pay $11 million in performance bonuses to its executives.
It attracted no co-sponsors and didn’t gain traction in the GOP-controlled upper chamber. And by then, another fire season was underway in the West.


wnd--2020-10-08--Green energy reality 'can be brutal'

Green energy reality 'can be brutal'

[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Energy . ]
In a previous life as a tour guide in the Eternal City of Rome , I would explain Raphael ’ s famous “ Athens School ” in the eponymous rooms and former papal apartments inside the Vatican .
There the two most consequential philosophers in history are side by side : Plato pointing up to the world of ideas , and Aristotle pointing down to the world of matter .
We need ideas , I would argue as a philosophy student , big lofty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ideas of traveling across the ocean , unafraid to fall off its edge .
Ideas of life , liberty , and the pursuit of happiness which codify man ’ s unalienable rights .
Ideas of a new way to power the world .
But those ideas must live in this world because we live in this world .
The idea of a high-speed rail connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco is great .
The reality is this idea is now projected to cost $ 98 billion and not be completed for another decade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 40 million people , that ’ s $ 2,450 per Californian .
With ticket prices estimated at $ 86 , every resident of the state needs to buy 28 tickets to break even .
Yes , ideas are great , but reality can be brutal .
Here ’ s another more familiar example inspired by Plato : Obamacare .
Yes , the idea of government making healthcare more “ affordable ” was noble , but the harsh reality is that premiums increased by 60 % while the number of insured increased .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the Speaker of the House Nany Pelosi made it clear : “ pass the bill so you can find out what ’ s in it.
” Even she knew the idea would not stand up to reality , so much so that a decade and trillions later “ healthcare ” is still a subject in this presidential election .
Perhaps there is no better illustration of the unstoppable power ideas colliding with the immovable object of reality than in the “ green energy ” space .
The chasm between fact and fiction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have stop debating just punch each other nonstop .
I won ’ t pretend I ’ m not unbiased : I am an advocate for fossil fuels .
Green energy is fascinating , and it has a bright future , but its disciples are wedded to the idea alone , and they have zero tolerance for reality interfering with it .
When one prominent documentarian criticized green energy by highlighting its shortcomings and questioned the financial incentives of its proponents , green activists demanded the film be banned .
They claimed the filmmaker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was peddling in “ misinformation ” and his ideas were “ dangerous.
” That Raphael painting needs an edit so Plato is only pointing to “ good ” ideas .
It isn ’ t Michael Moore ’ s fault that green technology uses a tremendous amount of fossil fuels .
The idea of solar panels is great , but the reality is they need 1000 times more land , 90 % of the rare earth elements they require come from China , the quartz in their cells is mined and then smelted by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 % each year and are almost inefficient after 10 years , and with every rainstorm they leak toxic materials into the groundwater .
The realty of solar panels is that that largest solar farm in America at 3200 acres produces 579 megawatts which is about 1/24 the electricity needed to power New York City .
The idea of a green New York City is celebrated .
Try implementing it , Plato .
I read the recent RealClearInvestigations “ The Red Hot , Hardly Serene , and Green vs. Green New Deal ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The idea of green technology is far too often embraced as a reality , and when implemented , the very advocates are caught in the middle .
The Kennedy family , known for all things progressive , used their power to stop a wind turbine farm as it would be unsightly off the shore of their summer compound .
Georgetown University was stopped from cutting down a forest to build a solar farm .
Progressives battling progressives like a multiple personality Plato .
Vince Bielski , author of the Real ClearInvestigations piece @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proposed Ohio wind farm between the green loving Sierra Club and the bird loving Audubon Society .
“ Ohio regulators ordered that the wind farm would have to shut down at night ” to keep the blades from killing birds .
But it ’ s very hard , one could say impossible , to generate electricity from wind turbines which don ’ t move… and years of lawsuits have not resolved this not because there is not solution , but because there is not Aristotle to be the adult in the room and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ generates electricity and doesn ’ t kill birds ?
Natural gas plants .
“ Yeah , but natural gas….
” The fossil fuel haters will say .
Yes , they are not perfect .
They have limitations and drawbacks , and as an Aristotelian I ’ m happy to sit down and lay them out honestly .
Are the green activists ?
They won ’ t even allow Michael Moore – MICHAEL MOORE – to make a documentary .
Green is not perfect .
Green is not a cure all .
Green is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until its proponents are mature enough to get their head out of the world of ideas and plant their feet in the world of reality , green technology will continue to collide with reality : dead birds , land grabs , and in the case of California , blackouts .
From your hot water for your shower to your hot coffee from the machine , from plastics and medicines , same-day shipping and imported goods , your reality , our reality is a world of fossil fuels so plentiful that even Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off the convenience of private jets .
Fossil fuels are reliable , abundant , inexpensive , and utterly domestic .
You may not like the idea of them , but boy oh boy , do you like the reality of them .
Go ahead , go without them for a single day , Plato , and then come back to me with your green ideas .
I ’ ll be waiting .
Daniel Turner is the founder and executive director of Power The Future , a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ email protected ] and follow him on Twitter @ DanielTurnerPTF [ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Energy . ]

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Energy.]
By Daniel Turner
Real Clear Energy
In a previous life as a tour guide in the Eternal City of Rome, I would explain Raphael’s famous “Athens School” in the eponymous rooms and former papal apartments inside the Vatican. There the two most consequential philosophers in history are side by side: Plato pointing up to the world of ideas, and Aristotle pointing down to the world of matter. We need ideas, I would argue as a philosophy student, big lofty ideas which propel us to greatness. Ideas of traveling across the ocean, unafraid to fall off its edge. Ideas of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness which codify man’s unalienable rights. Ideas of a new way to power the world.
But those ideas must live in this world because we live in this world. The idea of a high-speed rail connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco is great. The reality is this idea is now projected to cost $98 billion and not be completed for another decade if at all. With a population of 40 million people, that’s $2,450 per Californian. With ticket prices estimated at $86, every resident of the state needs to buy 28 tickets to break even. Yes, ideas are great, but reality can be brutal.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
Here’s another more familiar example inspired by Plato: Obamacare. Yes, the idea of government making healthcare more “affordable” was noble, but the harsh reality is that premiums increased by 60% while the number of insured increased. So nebulous and complex the Obamacare idea that the Speaker of the House Nany Pelosi made it clear: “pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it.” Even she knew the idea would not stand up to reality, so much so that a decade and trillions later “healthcare” is still a subject in this presidential election.
Perhaps there is no better illustration of the unstoppable power ideas colliding with the immovable object of reality than in the “green energy” space. The chasm between fact and fiction is monstrous, and Plato and Aristotle have stop debating just punch each other nonstop. I won’t pretend I’m not unbiased: I am an advocate for fossil fuels. Green energy is fascinating, and it has a bright future, but its disciples are wedded to the idea alone, and they have zero tolerance for reality interfering with it. When one prominent documentarian criticized green energy by highlighting its shortcomings and questioned the financial incentives of its proponents, green activists demanded the film be banned. They claimed the filmmaker, longtime progressive activist Michael Moore, was peddling in “misinformation” and his ideas were “dangerous.”
That Raphael painting needs an edit so Plato is only pointing to “good” ideas.
It isn’t Michael Moore’s fault that green technology uses a tremendous amount of fossil fuels. The idea of solar panels is great, but the reality is they need 1000 times more land, 90% of the rare earth elements they require come from China, the quartz in their cells is mined and then smelted by burning coal, they degrade at roughly 1% each year and are almost inefficient after 10 years, and with every rainstorm they leak toxic materials into the groundwater. The realty of solar panels is that that largest solar farm in America at 3200 acres produces 579 megawatts which is about 1/24 the electricity needed to power New York City. The idea of a green New York City is celebrated. Try implementing it, Plato.
Is green energy the solution of the future? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to WND news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use You're logged in to Facebook. Click here to log out. 0% (0 Votes) 100% (56 Votes)
I read the recent RealClearInvestigations “The Red Hot, Hardly Serene, and Green vs. Green New Deal ” in this light: ideas vs. reality. The idea of green technology is far too often embraced as a reality, and when implemented, the very advocates are caught in the middle. The Kennedy family, known for all things progressive, used their power to stop a wind turbine farm as it would be unsightly off the shore of their summer compound. Georgetown University was stopped from cutting down a forest to build a solar farm. Progressives battling progressives like a multiple personality Plato.
Vince Bielski, author of the Real ClearInvestigations piece, points out that battle over a proposed Ohio wind farm between the green loving Sierra Club and the bird loving Audubon Society. “Ohio regulators ordered that the wind farm would have to shut down at night” to keep the blades from killing birds. But it’s very hard, one could say impossible, to generate electricity from wind turbines which don’t move… and years of lawsuits have not resolved this not because there is not solution, but because there is not Aristotle to be the adult in the room and lay out the facts.
Know what generates electricity and doesn’t kill birds? Natural gas plants. “Yeah, but natural gas….” The fossil fuel haters will say. Yes, they are not perfect. They have limitations and drawbacks, and as an Aristotelian I’m happy to sit down and lay them out honestly. Are the green activists? They won’t even allow Michael Moore – MICHAEL MOORE – to make a documentary.
Green is not perfect. Green is not a cure all. Green is not even “green,” and until its proponents are mature enough to get their head out of the world of ideas and plant their feet in the world of reality, green technology will continue to collide with reality: dead birds, land grabs, and in the case of California, blackouts.
From your hot water for your shower to your hot coffee from the machine, from plastics and medicines, same-day shipping and imported goods, your reality, our reality is a world of fossil fuels so plentiful that even Joe Biden and Kamala Harris cannot wean themselves off the convenience of private jets. Fossil fuels are reliable, abundant, inexpensive, and utterly domestic. You may not like the idea of them, but boy oh boy, do you like the reality of them. Go ahead, go without them for a single day, Plato, and then come back to me with your green ideas. I’ll be waiting.
Daniel Turner is the founder and executive director of Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @DanielTurnerPTF
[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Energy.]


wnd--2020-10-07--Video: Here's the short case for re-electing Trump

In an nine-minute video from his nationallly syndicated radio show , Hugh Hewitt makes the case for re-electing Donald Trump and for voting Republican , listing the many accomplishments that are ignored in daily news coverage .
The question , he said , is whether or not we are worse off today than we were four years ago .
He cites an increase in liberties , judicial appointees that follow the Constitution , record-low unemployment before the Chinese coronavirus , restored military funding and more .
In a column on the video , PJ Media 's Victoria Taft said that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a strongman autocrat , his real record bends decidedly toward more freedom for Americans . ''
Democrat nominee Joe Biden , on the other hand , represents a party that wants rationed health care , penalties for having the wrong political thoughts , defunding of police , the Green New Deal and `` left-wing judges . ''
President Trump , among his many accomplishments , has reformed the Veterans Administration , removed the Obamacare mandate , confronted China 's unfair trade practices , defeated ISIS and stimulated the economy through rollling back unnecessary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Donald Trump leaves you alone . ''
Hewitt noted that Biden has ended up supporting policies that make him as far left as socialist Bernie Sanders .
`` This is a clear statement on the choice that is ahead of you – nothing like you hear on the media because the Manhattan/Beltway media is 95 % virulently anti-Trump , '' Hewitt said .
`` It 's the most absurd imbalance in my life and it 's going to get worse .
That 's the first and obvious sign of a one-party state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against that .
Vote against a one-party state . ''
He noted the Democrats want to add more states and pack the Supreme Court to hold power for a generation .

In an nine-minute video from his nationallly syndicated radio show, Hugh Hewitt makes the case for re-electing Donald Trump and for voting Republican, listing the many accomplishments that are ignored in daily news coverage.
The question, he said, is whether or not we are worse off today than we were four years ago.
He cites an increase in liberties, judicial appointees that follow the Constitution, record-low unemployment before the Chinese coronavirus, restored military funding and more.
See the video:
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
In a column on the video, PJ Media's Victoria Taft said that while the media "portray Trump as a strongman autocrat, his real record bends decidedly toward more freedom for Americans."
Democrat nominee Joe Biden, on the other hand, represents a party that wants rationed health care, penalties for having the wrong political thoughts, defunding of police, the Green New Deal and "left-wing judges."
President Trump, among his many accomplishments, has reformed the Veterans Administration, removed the Obamacare mandate, confronted China's unfair trade practices, defeated ISIS and stimulated the economy through rollling back unnecessary regulations.
Does the media ignore Trump's accomplishments? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to WND news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use You're logged in to Facebook. Click here to log out. 100% (109 Votes) 0% (0 Votes)
Significantly, he said, "Donald Trump leaves you alone."
Hewitt noted that Biden has ended up supporting policies that make him as far left as socialist Bernie Sanders.
"This is a clear statement on the choice that is ahead of you – nothing like you hear on the media because the Manhattan/Beltway media is 95% virulently anti-Trump," Hewitt said. "It's the most absurd imbalance in my life and it's going to get worse. That's the first and obvious sign of a one-party state. We've got to fight back against that. Vote against a one-party state."
He noted the Democrats want to add more states and pack the Supreme Court to hold power for a generation.


wnd--2020-10-07--Trump has open door to be 'the ultimate Comeback Kid'

[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics . ]
In a year filled with October surprises , we may have one more .
As a political novelist , I ’ m on the lookout for stories with conflict , drama , and unexpected plot twists .
Here ’ s one stimulating possibility : the Phoenix-like rise of Donald Trump .
Trump ’ s first Twitter video from Walter Reed medical center revealed a subdued president , clearly fatigued , his voice raspy .
The video humanized him , and in a strange twist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ window to portray a more presidential Trump .
After discharging himself from the hospital Monday evening , he has a rare opportunity .
As the manager for two successful Los Angeles political campaigns , I was always searching for opportunities -- never let a crisis go to waste -- and this one could sway the election .
If , and it is a big if , Trump can merge his commanding presence with a more humbled attitude , the phoenix could rise .
This could be a man who stared down death and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The actions he can take to fuel the comeback might look something like this : • Rise above the attacks .
On CNN , Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy fired the brushback pitch : If Trump can not be campaigning , he will have to rely on his surrogates , adding , “ Unfortunately , one of his surrogates is Vladimir Putin.
” CNN reporter Jim Sciutto tilted his head , slightly raised his eyebrows , but offered no push back .
Neither should Trump .
Let it go .
• No nicknames .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Crazy Nancy.
” Be less divisive .
This will assist Trump with the few remaining undecided voters , suburban women , and the reluctant Trump voters who agree with his policies but recoil from his blustery and , at times , bullying persona .
• Call Pelosi .
Demonstrate bipartisanship by initiating a conference call with the House speaker and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell – and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , for that matter -- to urge a stimulus bill 's swift enactment .
If the stimulus has passed without you , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mere reaching out is a presidential move .
• Summon that reassuring person the world witnessed on the Walter Reed Twitter video .
No complaints of being aggrieved .
Discard your ego .
The self-deprecating humor on the “ slight age difference ” between you and Melania was welcomed .
Rinse and repeat .
• Remain aggressive , however .
Be in command .
Trump supporters do not want a neutered Trump , just a lower temperature on the rhetoric .
If health permits , hold a limited number of rallies before crowds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that of a fiery statesman .
If his health does not permit , speak in controlled settings from the Rose Garden , the Oval Office , or elsewhere in the White House .
Speak with the same demeanor displayed in the Twitter video .
In political fiction , novelists stretch the bounds of plausibility .
This is getting harder to do .
In 2020 , we ’ ve seen a lifetime of October surprises , miracle comebacks , and tragedies .
The entire year has stretched the imagination .
A Trump comeback is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As we imagine the next month , U.S. history provides divergent examples .
In 1968 , the New Nixon was unveiled for his presidential comeback .
A smiling Richard Nixon hit the hustings with a less combative nature .
Voters responded .
In hindsight , the “ new ” Nixon was merely a camouflaged version of the old Nixon .
His paranoia and vengeful attitudes toward his “ enemies ” returned , leading to Watergate and resignation .
The New Nixon was a mirage .
In 1981 , Ronald Reagan was shot , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Reagan was the eternal optimist with an actor ’ s sense of timing .
Before surgery , he cracked to his medical team before the operation , “ I hope you are all Republicans.
” After surgery , he stood , smiling , waving from his hospital window .
Comeback scenes lifted from a novel .
Reagan enjoyed a landslide reelection three years later .
Can Trump pull off the Gipper ’ s comeback ?
Can he show Reagan 's humanity or succumb to the darkest urges of Nixon ?
The verdict @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a California attorney , former campaign manager in Los Angeles politics and government commissioner , is the author of “ Center Stage -- A Political Thriller , ” a novel about a rock star ’ s exit from the Las Vegas stage and his campaign for the U.S. Senate .
It is being released this month by RealClear Publishing .
[ Editor 's note : This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics . ]

[Editor's note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Politics.]
By Wayne Avrashow
Real Clear Politics
In a year filled with October surprises, we may have one more. As a political novelist, I’m on the lookout for stories with conflict, drama, and unexpected plot twists. Here’s one stimulating possibility: the Phoenix-like rise of Donald Trump.
Trump’s first Twitter video from Walter Reed medical center revealed a subdued president, clearly fatigued, his voice raspy. The video humanized him, and in a strange twist of fate, there is a three-week window to portray a more presidential Trump.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
After discharging himself from the hospital Monday evening, he has a rare opportunity. As the manager for two successful Los Angeles political campaigns, I was always searching for opportunities -- never let a crisis go to waste -- and this one could sway the election.
If, and it is a big if, Trump can merge his commanding presence with a more humbled attitude, the phoenix could rise. This could be a man who stared down death and won. The ultimate Comeback Kid.
The actions he can take to fuel the comeback might look something like this:
Rise above the attacks. On CNN, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy fired the brushback pitch: If Trump cannot be campaigning, he will have to rely on his surrogates, adding, “Unfortunately, one of his surrogates is Vladimir Putin.” CNN reporter Jim Sciutto tilted his head, slightly raised his eyebrows, but offered no push back. Neither should Trump. Let it go.
No nicknames. “No Sleepy Joe” or “Crazy Nancy.” Be less divisive. This will assist Trump with the few remaining undecided voters, suburban women, and the reluctant Trump voters who agree with his policies but recoil from his blustery and, at times, bullying persona.
Call Pelosi. Demonstrate bipartisanship by initiating a conference call with the House speaker and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell – and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, for that matter -- to urge a stimulus bill's swift enactment. If the stimulus has passed without you, find another reason to call. The mere reaching out is a presidential move.
Summon that reassuring person the world witnessed on the Walter Reed Twitter video. No complaints of being aggrieved. Discard your ego. The self-deprecating humor on the “slight age difference” between you and Melania was welcomed. Rinse and repeat.
Remain aggressive, however. Be in command. Trump supporters do not want a neutered Trump, just a lower temperature on the rhetoric. If health permits, hold a limited number of rallies before crowds wearing masks. His speeches can be that of a fiery statesman. If his health does not permit, speak in controlled settings from the Rose Garden, the Oval Office, or elsewhere in the White House. Speak with the same demeanor displayed in the Twitter video.
Did Trump's illness make him more human to voters? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to WND news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use You're logged in to Facebook. Click here to log out. 96% (64 Votes) 4% (3 Votes)
In political fiction, novelists stretch the bounds of plausibility. This is getting harder to do. In 2020, we’ve seen a lifetime of October surprises, miracle comebacks, and tragedies. The entire year has stretched the imagination. A Trump comeback is plausible.
Can it really happen? As we imagine the next month, U.S. history provides divergent examples. In 1968, the New Nixon was unveiled for his presidential comeback. A smiling Richard Nixon hit the hustings with a less combative nature. Voters responded. In hindsight, the “new” Nixon was merely a camouflaged version of the old Nixon. His paranoia and vengeful attitudes toward his “enemies” returned, leading to Watergate and resignation. The New Nixon was a mirage.
In 1981, Ronald Reagan was shot, lying in the hospital and near death. Reagan was the eternal optimist with an actor’s sense of timing. Before surgery, he cracked to his medical team before the operation, “I hope you are all Republicans.” After surgery, he stood, smiling, waving from his hospital window. Comeback scenes lifted from a novel. Reagan enjoyed a landslide reelection three years later.
Can Trump pull off the Gipper’s comeback? Can he show Reagan's humanity or succumb to the darkest urges of Nixon? The verdict will be in soon.


wnd--2020-10-07--Trump's recovery has emasculated the left's emotional terrorism

Now that President Trump has returned to the White House after a very brief bout of COVID-19 , the left is predictably unhinged .
The left 's reactions are exactly what we would expect them to be when a lone individual , the most hated man in their universe no less , single-handedly destroyed their narrative that to contract COVID-19 is to be sentenced to death .
The left has worked very , very hard crafting this narrative so that it operates on an emotional level , because they know the facts wo n't cut it for them .
Their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people day after day with body counts reminiscent of the Vietnam War .
Leftist politicians have closed everything they could for as long as possible .
Several leftist governors actively increased the body counts in big ways by ordering COVID-positive patients to be housed in nursing homes full of vulnerable victims .
CDC is clearly using cooked numbers .
So , for a single man to utterly obliterate the left 's COVID narrative in just a few short days is simply too much for them to handle .
What began as rapturous jubilation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the disease quickly morphed into mass scrambling to delete barbarically crass celebratory tweets , and then finally developed into complete unhinged-ness upon news that not only is the president not going to die from COVID-19 , he is already back to work at the White House .
The emotional roller coaster for the left has been down right violent when it comes to the president 's bout with COVID .
And now they 're left asking how the left 's most hated person in the entire universe not only escaped death , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work in terrorizing the nation – and asking how this is even possible unless Trump faked the disease and got the entire staff of Walter Reed hospital to go along .
Orange-man-bad was supposed to die , but he did n't even go on a ventilator for crying out loud !
As bizarre as the left 's lamentable questions are to normal people , at least they can all be answered in a single word : science .
You see , science has been telling us all along that the vulnerable populations are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Science has been telling us all along that influenza is more lethal to America 's students than SARS-CoV-2 .
Science has been telling us all along that the fatality rates scale non-linearly by increased age and comorbidity .
And science has been telling us all along that the vast majority who get COVID recover in a few days .
But the leftist political class does n't listen to science in order to heed it , they only listen to science to try to exploit it politically .
These people are more interested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that if they deal with people on an emotional level , they can position themselves to impose a relationship over entire swaths of the population that looks a whole lot like Stockholm Syndrome , and ultimately lock in their votes despite what the facts are concerning the issues .
It 's a simple and well-known recipe : terrorize and abuse their mental captives on an emotional level while claiming solidarity and commitment to fight hard on their behalf , all the while crafting policies behind the scenes that work against the victims .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen all of this before .
Over a long enough period of time , the victim class begins to show affinity for their mental captors and abusers .
They begin to resent and resist anyone trying to actually help them .
And they eventually begin to believe that their abusers hold the same values and beliefs that they do .
All classic symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome .
And the end goal today is the same as it has always been for the left : to take everything away from the victim class , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government , and secure their votes forever when the victims see the providers of continued handouts as their only hope .
When the left has controlled this perverse cycle , they have successfully entrapped entire swaths of our population .
This is why the left is now terrorizing the entire populace with body counts , why they 're abusing the entire populace with lockdowns and prosecutions , and why they claim to be fighting hard to protect the entire populace from the dangers that are terrorizing us , while implementing policies like nursing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ matters worse .
So , the left 's current meltdown makes perfect sense given that the president just single-handedly pulled the plug on their efforts to subjugate the entire nation under a curse of mass Stockholm Syndrome .
Granted , a good number have already succumbed as evidenced by the numbers of people terrorized to the point of driving around in their Biden/Harris bumper-stickered cars wearing a mask with windows rolled up , a death grip on the steering wheel and not another soul in the car .
But a much , much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the first time in months , and now they are done with the left .
They see that while SARS-CoV-2 is a clear and present danger for those who have significant comorbidities and advanced age , they also see that the actual science shows a problem that the overwhelming majority of us can live with .
Science is about taking the numbers and placing them in a scientific context so we can determine a rational interpretation of the numbers .
Science is not about placing the numbers in an emotional context and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That 's called propaganda .
And people today want rational science more than ever , not the left 's emotional extremism and propaganda .
Many have argued forcefully that the terrorizing of America and the subsequent lockdowns have dwarfed the problems caused by the virus itself .
Now that the shroud of terror has been torn away , perhaps our nation will move forward from its leftist-imposed purgatory of emotional terrorism .
We know what the science has been telling us all along .
All we have to do is listen to it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , use reasonable precautions and resume our activities .
Thanks to the president 's short ordeal , perhaps we can now return to a national state of rational thought and coherent policies .

Now that President Trump has returned to the White House after a very brief bout of COVID-19, the left is predictably unhinged. The left's reactions are exactly what we would expect them to be when a lone individual, the most hated man in their universe no less, single-handedly destroyed their narrative that to contract COVID-19 is to be sentenced to death.
The left has worked very, very hard crafting this narrative so that it operates on an emotional level, because they know the facts won't cut it for them. Their allied propaganda outlets have terrorized the American people day after day with body counts reminiscent of the Vietnam War. Leftist politicians have closed everything they could for as long as possible. Several leftist governors actively increased the body counts in big ways by ordering COVID-positive patients to be housed in nursing homes full of vulnerable victims. CDC is clearly using cooked numbers.
So, for a single man to utterly obliterate the left's COVID narrative in just a few short days is simply too much for them to handle. What began as rapturous jubilation on news that the president had contracted the disease quickly morphed into mass scrambling to delete barbarically crass celebratory tweets, and then finally developed into complete unhinged-ness upon news that not only is the president not going to die from COVID-19, he is already back to work at the White House. The emotional roller coaster for the left has been down right violent when it comes to the president's bout with COVID.
And now they're left asking how the left's most hated person in the entire universe not only escaped death, but destroyed their months and months of hard work in terrorizing the nation – and asking how this is even possible unless Trump faked the disease and got the entire staff of Walter Reed hospital to go along. Orange-man-bad was supposed to die, but he didn't even go on a ventilator for crying out loud!
As bizarre as the left's lamentable questions are to normal people, at least they can all be answered in a single word: science.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
You see, science has been telling us all along that the vulnerable populations are the elderly and those with significant comorbidities. Science has been telling us all along that influenza is more lethal to America's students than SARS-CoV-2. Science has been telling us all along that the fatality rates scale non-linearly by increased age and comorbidity. And science has been telling us all along that the vast majority who get COVID recover in a few days.
But the leftist political class doesn't listen to science in order to heed it, they only listen to science to try to exploit it politically. These people are more interested in listening to propaganda theorists who say that if they deal with people on an emotional level, they can position themselves to impose a relationship over entire swaths of the population that looks a whole lot like Stockholm Syndrome, and ultimately lock in their votes despite what the facts are concerning the issues.
It's a simple and well-known recipe: terrorize and abuse their mental captives on an emotional level while claiming solidarity and commitment to fight hard on their behalf, all the while crafting policies behind the scenes that work against the victims. It's not like we haven't seen all of this before.
Over a long enough period of time, the victim class begins to show affinity for their mental captors and abusers. They begin to resent and resist anyone trying to actually help them. And they eventually begin to believe that their abusers hold the same values and beliefs that they do. All classic symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome.
And the end goal today is the same as it has always been for the left: to take everything away from the victim class, make them 100% dependent upon the government, and secure their votes forever when the victims see the providers of continued handouts as their only hope.
When the left has controlled this perverse cycle, they have successfully entrapped entire swaths of our population. This is why the left is now terrorizing the entire populace with body counts, why they're abusing the entire populace with lockdowns and prosecutions, and why they claim to be fighting hard to protect the entire populace from the dangers that are terrorizing us, while implementing policies like nursing home mandates behind the scenes that make matters worse.
So, the left's current meltdown makes perfect sense given that the president just single-handedly pulled the plug on their efforts to subjugate the entire nation under a curse of mass Stockholm Syndrome.
Granted, a good number have already succumbed as evidenced by the numbers of people terrorized to the point of driving around in their Biden/Harris bumper-stickered cars wearing a mask with windows rolled up, a death grip on the steering wheel and not another soul in the car. But a much, much greater number has just seen unfettered reality for the first time in months, and now they are done with the left.
They see that while SARS-CoV-2 is a clear and present danger for those who have significant comorbidities and advanced age, they also see that the actual science shows a problem that the overwhelming majority of us can live with.
Science is about taking the numbers and placing them in a scientific context so we can determine a rational interpretation of the numbers. Science is not about placing the numbers in an emotional context and creating mass hysteria for political gain. That's called propaganda. And people today want rational science more than ever, not the left's emotional extremism and propaganda.
Many have argued forcefully that the terrorizing of America and the subsequent lockdowns have dwarfed the problems caused by the virus itself. Now that the shroud of terror has been torn away, perhaps our nation will move forward from its leftist-imposed purgatory of emotional terrorism.
We know what the science has been telling us all along. All we have to do is listen to it. We need to protect our vulnerable, use reasonable precautions and resume our activities. Thanks to the president's short ordeal, perhaps we can now return to a national state of rational thought and coherent policies.


wnd--2020-10-07--2 ISIS members charged for killing Kayla Mueller, others

Two members of ISIS who are former British citizens have been charged for the deaths of Americans Kayla Jean Mueller , James Wright Foley , Steven Joel Sotloff and Peter Edward Kassig .
Alexanda Amon Kotey , 36 , and El Shafee Elsheikh , 32 , are scheduled to appear in court in Alexandria , Virginia , this week on charges they were ISIS fighters responsible for the deaths of Americans in 2012 and 2013 .
Foley , Sotloff and Kassig were beheaded .
Mueller was abducted and sexually abused for months before she was killed .
`` These charges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard work in pursuit of justice for our citizens slain by ISIS .
Although we can not bring them back , we can and will seek justice for them , their families , and for all Americans , '' said Attorney General William Barr .
`` Our message to other terrorists around the world is this — if you harm Americans , you will face American arms on the battlefield or American law in our courtrooms .
Either way , you will be pursued to the ends of the earth until justice is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Director Christopher Wray said the charges reflect the bureau 's dedication .
`` Today , we remember the victims , Jim Foley , Steven Sotloff , Peter Kassig , and Kayla Mueller , and their families who are forever affected by these senseless acts of violence , '' he said .
`` These families have suffered with the painful loss of their loved ones at the hands of brutal killers ; today 's charges demonstrate the FBI 's dedication and commitment to giving them the justice they deserve .
We , along with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remain steadfast in our duty to bring to justice those who have harmed our citizens -- no matter where they are , and no matter how long it takes . ''
The indictments against Kotey and Elsheikh allege they , along with the now-deceased Mohamed Emwazi and a British citizen jailed in Turkey , were ISIS fighters who took part in abducting and killing Americans and Europeans .
The defendants also are suspected of beheading British citizens David Haines and Alan Henning , as well as two Japanese citizens .
`` Kotey and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crimes in support of ISIS , including hostage taking resulting in the deaths of four American citizens , '' said G. Zachary Terwilliger , U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia .
“ Their alleged acts have shattered the lives of four American families .
What each these families have sought more than anything else is for these defendants to have their day in court .
Well , that day has come .
While we can not return their loved ones or undo the pain that these families face each day , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the defendants are held accountable for their alleged savage actions . ''
The DOJ alleges : `` Throughout the captivity of the American hostages and others , Kotey , Elsheikh , and Emwazi allegedly supervised detention facilities holding hostages and were responsible for transferring hostages between detention facilities , in addition to engaging in a prolonged pattern of physical and psychological violence against hostages .
From November 2013 to February 2015 , Kotey and Elsheikh allegedly coordinated the Western-hostage ransom negotiations conducted by email .
Kotey and Elsheikh knew and understood that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was conditioned on the transfer of large sums of money or concessions from the United States government , such as the release of Muslim prisoners . ''
Kotey , Elsheikh and Emwazi allegedly forced prisoners to witness the execution of another prisoner , who was shot in the head and fell into a grave .
`` Kotey instructed the hostages to kneel at the side of the grave and witness the execution while holding handmade signs pleading for their release . ''
Kotey and Elsheikh were captured together in January 2018 by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ escape Syria for Turkey .
Emwazi was killed in a U.S. military airstrike conducted in November 2015 in Syria .

Two members of ISIS who are former British citizens have been charged for the deaths of Americans Kayla Jean Mueller, James Wright Foley, Steven Joel Sotloff and Peter Edward Kassig.
Alexanda Amon Kotey, 36, and El Shafee Elsheikh, 32, are scheduled to appear in court in Alexandria, Virginia, this week on charges they were ISIS fighters responsible for the deaths of Americans in 2012 and 2013.
Foley, Sotloff and Kassig were beheaded. Mueller was abducted and sexually abused for months before she was killed.
"These charges are the product of many years of hard work in pursuit of justice for our citizens slain by ISIS. Although we cannot bring them back, we can and will seek justice for them, their families, and for all Americans," said Attorney General William Barr.
TRENDING: Is this the 'Final Battle'?
"Our message to other terrorists around the world is this — if you harm Americans, you will face American arms on the battlefield or American law in our courtrooms. Either way, you will be pursued to the ends of the earth until justice is done," he said.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said the charges reflect the bureau's dedication.
"Today, we remember the victims, Jim Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig, and Kayla Mueller, and their families who are forever affected by these senseless acts of violence," he said. "These families have suffered with the painful loss of their loved ones at the hands of brutal killers; today's charges demonstrate the FBI's dedication and commitment to giving them the justice they deserve. We, along with our partners in the U.S. Government, remain steadfast in our duty to bring to justice those who have harmed our citizens -- no matter where they are, and no matter how long it takes."
The indictments against Kotey and Elsheikh allege they, along with the now-deceased Mohamed Emwazi and a British citizen jailed in Turkey, were ISIS fighters who took part in abducting and killing Americans and Europeans.
Are charges against ISIS members for killing Americans long overdue? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to WND news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use You're logged in to Facebook. Click here to log out. 100% (70 Votes) 0% (0 Votes)
The defendants also are suspected of beheading British citizens David Haines and Alan Henning, as well as two Japanese citizens.
"Kotey and Elsheikh are alleged to have committed horrific crimes in support of ISIS, including hostage taking resulting in the deaths of four American citizens," said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Their alleged acts have shattered the lives of four American families. What each these families have sought more than anything else is for these defendants to have their day in court. Well, that day has come. While we cannot return their loved ones or undo the pain that these families face each day, we can do everything possible to ensure that the defendants are held accountable for their alleged savage actions."
The DOJ alleges: "Throughout the captivity of the American hostages and others, Kotey, Elsheikh, and Emwazi allegedly supervised detention facilities holding hostages and were responsible for transferring hostages between detention facilities, in addition to engaging in a prolonged pattern of physical and psychological violence against hostages. From November 2013 to February 2015, Kotey and Elsheikh allegedly coordinated the Western-hostage ransom negotiations conducted by email. Kotey and Elsheikh knew and understood that the release of American and other hostages was conditioned on the transfer of large sums of money or concessions from the United States government, such as the release of Muslim prisoners."
Kotey, Elsheikh and Emwazi allegedly forced prisoners to witness the execution of another prisoner, who was shot in the head and fell into a grave.
"Kotey instructed the hostages to kneel at the side of the grave and witness the execution while holding handmade signs pleading for their release."
Kotey and Elsheikh were captured together in January 2018 by the Syrian Democratic Forces as they attempted to escape Syria for Turkey. Emwazi was killed in a U.S. military airstrike conducted in November 2015 in Syria.