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Shoot Down The Drones!

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Jason Lewis

If you were to ask the question: Why are so many drones the size of cars flying over New Jersey? You would think someone in the government might know.

Alas, this is the “deep state” era and after a history of coverups (from Russian collusion to COVID lab leaks to Hunter Biden’s laptop), the Feds are either lying or incompetent. If it is a high-tech repeat of the Chinese balloon fiasco, you have to wonder what Xi Jinping has on the Biden family.

OK, not really.

Regardless, the drone sightings have spread across the Northeast, near sensitive locations and even temporarily shutting down a local airport — yet federal officials insist there is no security threat. But how would they know unless they are the ones putting them up?

Which, by the way, is one of the so-called conspiracy theories that suggests the Feds might be looking for something nefarious they don’t want the public to know.  The bottom line is no one is being told what is going on, but more and more folks know exactly what they would like to do about it.

Shoot the damn things down.

Predictably, craven New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (who had eagerly reiterated there were “no public safety risks,”) quickly reminded his constituents they don’t have authority to shoot down unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

It is indeed illegal under federal law to shoot at aircraft within the National Airspace System (NAS). And for good reason if you’re talking about protecting lives engaged in military, commercial or personal air traffic.

But as we are witnessing, the centralization of power has its limits. Especially when it comes to preventing state officials from doing their duty. Relying on bureaucrats in Washington to handle local exigencies is still a fool’s errand.

The main obstacle to giving local authorities more leeway has been the largest and most powerful of commercial (and hobby) interests. Amazon and Google haven’t been shy about flexing their lobbying muscle in support of federal preemption of state law that might get in the way of delivery drones constantly buzzing over your house en route to your neighbor’s.

The invasions of privacy could get even worse. Imagine a perverted neighbor with a camera mounted drone hovering outside your bathroom window?

So, who ‘ya supposed to call? Why, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), of course. They’ll get right back to you.

Above and beyond the bureaucratic inertia, homeowners are supposed to count on an FAA that fast-tracked Alphabet’s Wing Aviation drones for consumer-goods deliveries? That was 2019, about a year and a half after I introduced the Drone Innovation Act preventing the Feds from authorizing UAS within the immediate reaches” above someone’s property without the owner’s permission.

Navigable airspace above 400 feet was left in the hands of Washington, but the legislation allowed for the traditional “police powers” of state and local government to protect common law rights to privacy from an aerial nuisance or trespass.

Not surprisingly, the special interests marshaled their forces to block a bill that would have put reasonable limits on federal preemption of state and local laws, which are especially prevalent in areas “affecting commercial UAS operators.”

Somewhere, Jeff Bezos must still be smiling.

Former Rep. Jason Lewis (R-Minn.) writes at jasonlewis.substack.com and is the author of Party Animal, The Truth About President Trump, Power Politics & the Partisan Press now out in paperback.

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Justin Trudeau Reportedly Planning To Resign

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Wallace White

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is reportedly expected to resign from office as early as Monday in the wake of a public dispute with President-elect Donald Trump and plummeting popularity among even those in his own party, three sources familiar with the matter told The Globe and Mail.

The sources, who were not named, told The Globe and Mail that they do not know the exact time that he will make the move, but that it will be before he faces his Liberal Party peers at a key meeting. The decision would come in the wake of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s resignation, which was prompted in part by Trudeau’s spat with Trump over tariff policy.

He would end his nine-year tenure as PM with a 33% approval rating, with citizens citing cost of living and immigration anxieties as top issues, according to an Ipsos poll taken in September.

Trudeau faced calls for his resignation from over 40 members of parliament before his decision,  according to the New York Post Dec. 17. An interim PM would be selected from within the Liberal Party in the time before the next election.

Under the Canadian system, an election must be called by Oct. 20 next year, according to Reuters. However, a vote of no confidence by parliament could trigger an election sooner.

Trudeau’s tenure has been rife with scandals, including revelations in 2019 of his use of blackface at a party in 2001 and allegations of judicial interference in 2019 where he allegedly instructed former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to snuff out a corruption charge against Quebec mega-contractor SNC-Lavalin.

The rival Conservative party is almost certainly set for a majority in parliament when the next election takes place, leading the liberals by a whopping 21 points, according to CBC news polling updated Dec. 16. Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre will likely take over as PM in place of Trudeau’s Liberal party replacement in the next election.

Among Canadian voters top concerns are living costs, housing affordability, health care, the economy and immigration, according to an Abacus Data poll taken June 20 to June 25.

The median home price in Canada increased by a staggering 227% from 2003 to 2023 while annual earnings only increased by 74.3%, according to an analysis by NerdWallet.

The immigration issue in Canada is also intimately tied to a housing shortage, as Poilievre explained to CBC in August, Canada “cannot grow the population at three times the rate of the housing stock, as Trudeau has been doing.”

Trudeau has also faced criticism for his extreme gun control laws during his tenure, with his government outlawing “assault weapons” in 2020 while continuously adding new firearms to the ban list, according to the NRA. He also passed a carbon tax which drew the ire of conservatives and the general populace, according to CBC News.

Trudeau’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

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American Energy Firms Are Counting Down The Days Until Trump’s Return

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Ireland Owens

President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to “drill, baby, drill” in his upcoming administration appears to have American energy firms eagerly awaiting his return, according to a new survey.

On numerous occasions, Trump vowed to unleash American oil and made achieving “energy dominance” a key aspect of his next administration’s agenda. Responding to an anonymous survey conducted by the Dallas Federal Reserve, several energy executives said that they are optimistically awaiting the former president’s return to office, with many citing “positive regulatory changes” in their responses.

The survey noted a dramatic decline in its “outlook uncertainty index” with one respondent explaining, “The outcome of the 2024 presidential election removes the risk of the unknown.”

“There is more optimism looking at first quarter 2025 than first quarter 2024,” one respondent wrote. “Much of 2024 felt like a waiting game … We think the election results will be good for activity even if it’s just because operators and service companies have a clear direction for planning.”

“We are encouraged that the new administration in Washington, D.C., will enact some positive regulatory changes for offshore drilling in the U.S.,” another wrote.

President Joe Biden and Trump have had vastly different approaches to domestic energy policies, though one survey respondent claiming that the shifting political landscape is “helpful insofar as regulations,” considering Trump is likely to reduce the regulatory burden on oil firms. For this reason, many energy executives have in the past criticized Biden’s energy policy.

From his very first day in office, Biden has led a massive push to curb greenhouse gas emissions as part of his signature climate agenda. Biden introduced the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, which unlocked hundreds of billions of dollars to subsidize various green energy projects. Trump has vowed to redirect unspent funding from the IRA, and previously dubbed the climate law “the green new scam.”

More recently, reports have surfaced claiming that Biden is considering a permanent ban on additional offshore drilling in some federal waters ahead of Trump’s return to office, potentially aiming to hamstring the incoming president’s energy plans.

“The recent election result is changing outlooks,” one respondent wrote. “The new administration will lift regulations, stop subsiding [subsidizing] green energy and seek LNG build-outs to place more demand on natural gas.”

While on the campaign trail ahead of the 2024 election, Trump pledged to revamp the U.S. energy sector, and repeatedly promised to “drill, baby drill” in a bid to increase domestic oil and gas production.

“We’re assuming that the new administration will encourage more development of oil and gas projects,” one survey respondent wrote.

In November, Trump nominated North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to head the Department of the Interior and Chairman of a new National Energy Council. The president-elect praised Burgum in a post on Truth Social, stating that he would play a key role in overseeing the “path to U.S. energy dominance.”

Additionally, Trump announced in November 2024 the nomination of Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright to lead the Department of Energy and as a member of the new energy council. The president-elect said in a Truth Social post that Wright is a “bold advocate who brings rational thought to the energy dialogue.”

The Dallas Federal Reserve’s survey data was collected from Dec. 11–19, and included 134 energy firm respondents.

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