Getting Back to Gas: Trump Returning to Gasoline as ‘Fuel of Choice’ for Auto Industry

The news has to be a breath of fresh air for middle America. New York Times: President Trump on Wednesday threw the weight of the federal government behind vehicles that burn gasoline rather than electric cars…. Flanked by executives from major automakers in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump said the Transportation Department would significantly weaken fuel efficiency requirements for tens of millions of new cars and light trucks. The administration claimed the changes would save Americans $109 billion over five years and shave $1,000 off the average cost of a new car…. The plan announced on Wednesday would require automakers to achieve an average of 34.5 miles per gallon for cars and light trucks in model year 2031, down from the standard of 50.4 miles per gallon set by the Biden administration (New York Times). Fox Business: “As America’s largest auto producer, we appreciate President Trump’s leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said ahead of the announcement. “We can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy efficiency while still giving customers choice and affordability. This is a win for customers and common sense” (Fox Business). Marc Thiessen: I voted for this (Theissen).

Pakistani Immigrant Arrested in Delaware With Carload of Guns and Plans to Attack

Chilling stuff. New York Post: A Pakistani immigrant and University of Delaware student was arrested with a cache of guns, ammunition and body armor, and a manifesto allegedly explaining plans to “kill all” and achieve “martyrdom” with a mass shooting on the school’s campus. Luqmaan Khan, 25, was arrested just before midnight on Nov. 24 after cops found him in his pickup truck in a park after hours, and decided to search the car when he began acting suspiciously. What they allegedly found inside was alarming — a .357 Glock pistol, numerous loaded 27-round ammunition magazines, and body armor plates. The pistol was even fitted into a kit which converted it into a semi-automatic rifle, according to prosecutors (New York Post). Robert Spencer points out what mainstream outlets are reticent to: Only the WHYY report provides any indication of Khan’s motive. It points out that Khan’s notebook “included the phrase ‘battle efficiency: kill all – martyrdom.’ Martyrdom is discussed repeatedly in his writings.” Also, “during an interview with Khan, police say he told them becoming a martyr was ‘one of the greatest things you can do’ and was one of his goals.” Khan, who bears the name, Luqmaan, of the sage for whom the thirty-first chapter of the Qur’an is named, was clearly speaking about “martyrdom” in its Islamic sense. While in other contexts, a martyr is someone who is faithful to his beliefs even unto death, in Islam, a martyr is one who “kills and is killed” for Allah (Qur’an 9:111). Luqmaan Khan was clearly intending to kill a number of infidels, apparently UD campus police officers, and be killed in the process, so that he would be guaranteed a place in paradise (PJ Media).

Moral Clarity From Marco: Radical Islam Rightly Understood

From the story above to nuclear Iran to the Muslim Brotherhood to Hamas and October 7 to the celebration of the barbarism on American college campuses and major U.S. metropolitan areas, many are wondering if we are awake to the threat from Islamism. Our Secretary of State clearly is: Ultimately all radical Islamic movements in the world identify the West writ large—but the United States, in particular—as the greatest evil on the earth and every chance to have the notion that somehow radical Islam would be comfortable with simply controlling some Provence in Iraq or Syria is just not born out by history. Radical Islam has shown that their desire is not simply to occupy one part of the world and be happy with their own little caliphate. They want to expand. It is revolutionary in its nature. It seeks to expand and control more territories and more people. And radical Islam has designs openly on the West, on the United States, on Europe. We’ve seen that progress there as well, and they’re prepared to conduct acts of terrorism. In the case of Iran Nation, state actions, assassinations, murderers, you name it, whatever it takes for them to gain their influence and ultimately their domination of different cultures and societies (Dept. of State).

Trump Looks Likely to Select Kevin Hassett as Next Chair of Federal Reserve

Hassett is currently the chief of the president’s National Economic Council (NEC). AFP: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday hinted that he wants to nominate his chief economic adviser Kevin Hassett to replace outgoing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell next year. Introducing guests at a White House event attended by Hassett, Trump said: “It’s a great group, and I guess a potential Fed chair is here too” (AFP). Economist: He has a phd in economics, several top-tier publications to his name, decades in Washington and even a previous stint at the Federal Reserve…. Before working with Mr Trump at the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) in his first term and the National Economic Council in his second, Mr Hassett spent decades as an economist at the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank, advising Republican luminaries such as George W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney among others (Economist).

Trump Pardons Texas Democrat Henry Cuellar

The president is making bold use of his pardon power. Some have questioned, why? Where’s the rhyme or reason? Matthew Continetti pointed to an integrating thread in the pardons: Those who have been the subjects of political lawfare. Having been a victim himself who’s still dealing with the lawfare waged at him, Trump seems inclined to give others he sees as similarly treated a get out of jail free card. Politico: President Donald Trump pardoned Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), the president announced in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, blaming former President Joe Biden for weaponizing the Justice Department against his opponents. “Sleepy Joe went after the Congressman, and even the Congressman’s wonderful wife, Imelda, simply for speaking the TRUTH,” Trump wrote. “It is unAmerican and, as I previously stated, the Radical Left Democrats are a complete and total threat to Democracy.” … Trump’s pardon of Cuellar comes just a day after national Republicans got their top recruit to challenge him in a seat made redder thanks to Texas’ mid-decade redistricting. Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina, a former Democrat who switched parties last year, announced his campaign for the 28th District as a Republican on Tuesday after months of speculation (Politico). Cuellar believes he was targeted after criticizing Biden’s open border policy: “I went back and checked how many times I was critical of the Biden administration’s open borders. In national media, over 150 times. Over 150 times. I tried to work with them but they didn’t listen,” Cuellar told Nexstar’s Washington correspondent, Vinay Simlot, after receiving the pardon (WRIC).

Minneapolis Chief of Police Encourages Citizens to Call Police on ICE Agents

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara has encouraged residents to call police if they see ICE “kidnapping” people. He’s sowing the seeds for a dangerous standoff with legitimate federal law enforcement. Bob Hoge at RedState: ICE raids reportedly heated up in the city on Wednesday after massive welfare fraud was uncovered by the feds, much of it committed by the large Somali community there. City leaders are freaking out over the ICE presence, and apparently would rather let illegal aliens just go about their day….  The chief thinks police officers should “intervene” with operations if they don’t like what they’re seeing. I don’t think that would go well for them…. “The community should know that if you see something like that, that is legitimate, that you don’t know if someone is law enforcement, you should call 911, and you should provide as much information as possible,” he said, pledging that cops “absolutely have a duty to intervene” in such cases. Border Czar Tom Homan had harsh words for O’Hara, saying he should “put his badge in the desk drawer” (Red State).

Apocalyptic Climate Change Report Retracted

Maybe the climate apocalypse is not going to be so apocalyptic after all. The doomsday study appeared in Nature. Wall Street Journal: A widely cited study on economic damage from climate change was retracted Wednesday following criticism from peers. The research, published last year in the prestigious journal Nature, projected that the world’s economic output would decline 62% by 2100 under a high-carbon emissions scenario. The estimate was much more severe than other forecasts, prompting scrutiny of the underlying data (Wall Street Journal). James Mitrovich: The retraction comes as activists have toned down their apocalyptic rhetoric on climate change. Billionaire Bill Gates, who spent $2 billion trying to prevent what he called a “climate disaster,” said in October that climate change “will not be the end of civilization” and that ineffective climate protests are “diverting money and attention from efforts that will have more impact on the human condition.” Axios last week reported that climate change is “fading in importance on some U.S. lawmakers’ priority lists” (Free Beacon).

“Trans-Identified Male Who Strangled His Mother to Death Serving Sentence in Women’s Prison with Mother-Baby Unit”

That’s the headline for a story that is not for the faint of heart. Reduxx: A trans-identified male serving a 22-year sentence for the violent murder of his own mother was quietly transferred into a minimum-security Illinois women’s prison with a mother-baby unit. John Wesley Finnegan began calling himself “Hannah Dagny” in 2014, approximately five years into his prison term, and was transferred to Decatur Correctional Center within the past five years.Finnegan pleaded guilty but mentally ill to strangling his mother in 2008. After entering his plea to first-degree murder, the then 20-year-old Finnegan was sentenced to 22 years in prison…. [Peoria County State’s Attorney Kevin Lyons] Lyons noted that Finnegan claimed to have been in a “peculiar” incestuous sexual relationship with his mother that had been ongoing for about four years, and that Finnegan told investigators he had had intercourse with his mother the day before he killed her (Reduxx). The crime is one thing. The state enabling of the convicted criminal—putting women and children at risk—is depraved.

Michael and Susan Dell to Donate $6.25 Billion to Savings Accounts for American Children

The act of generosity is commendable on a number of levels. He’s complementing the “Trump Accounts,” giving more young people the opportunity to build and understand wealth. Wall Street Journal: The founder of Dell Technologies and his wife will provide $250 for children age 10 or under who were born before Jan. 1, 2025. They will target children in zip codes with a median income of $150,000 or less…. As for billionaires, the idea of donating money to give young people a stake in the American economy beats a guilt-ridden political panic to endorse higher taxes—which would hit the middle class in any case (Wall Street Journal). Dell: These accounts will give children the chance to become shareholders in America’s largest companies and experience what it means to earn a return. They’ll learn about dividends, reinvestment, and long-term thinking—not by studying financial theory, but by seeing their money steadily increase. That kind of exposure can change how children think about money (Free Press).

Elon Musk on the Difficulty of Giving Money Away Well

Musk’s point here is relevant to what we’ve seen from the Dells. They seem to have found a way to give money away well. Musk: “I agree with the love of humanity, and we should definitely try to do things that help our fellow human beings. But it’s very hard. If you care about the reality of goodness rather than simply the perception of it, it’s extremely difficult to give away money well. I have a large foundation, but I don’t put my name on it. In fact, I’ve said I don’t want my name on anything. The biggest challenge I find with the foundation is trying to give money away in a way that is truly beneficial to people. It’s very easy to give money away in a way that creates the appearance of goodness. It is very difficult—extremely difficult—to give money away for the reality of goodness” (X).