Army secretary calls climate 'resiliency' a priority, earns pushback online



Army Secretary Christine Wormuth faced pushback on social media for saying that climate change "resiliency" is a priority for the Army.

"A priority for me and our @USArmy is #resiliency in the face of climate change. At #FortBragg, we have the largest floating solar array in the Southeast United States. This is just one of many examples of how our Army #LeadsFromTheFront in climate innovation and adaptation," Wormuth tweeted.

The tweet was met with pushback from many online.

"I know I am just a dumb retired Senior Enlisted guy, but I can think of 15,000 more important priorities for the Secretary of the Army than climate resiliency," tweeted U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), who indicates on his Twitter profile that he is a "Retired Navy SEAL."

\u201cI know I am just a dumb retired Senior Enlisted guy, but I can think of 15,000 more important priorities for the Secretary of the Army than climate resiliency. \n\nhttps://t.co/bGTb1wdYab\u201d
— Derrick Van Orden (@Derrick Van Orden) 1677971378

"This is completely and totally asinine, bordering on dangerous. Just not much more to say about it & if you can't see why this is dangerous I can’t help you," combat veteran Sean Parnell tweeted.

"These people are going to get us killed," conservative commentator and former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino tweeted.

Last year the Army released its "Climate Strategy," and Wormuth peddled climate alarmism in the foreword of that document.

"Climate change threatens America's security and is altering the geostrategic landscape as we know it. For today's Soldiers operating in extreme temperature environments, fighting wildfires, and supporting hurricane recovery, climate change isn’t a distant future, it is a reality," Wormuth declared.

"The time to address climate change is now. The effects of climate change have taken a toll on supply chains, damaged our infrastructure, and increased risks to Army Soldiers and families due to natural disasters and extreme weather. The Army must adapt across our entire enterprise and purposefully pursue greenhouse gas mitigation strategies to reduce climate risks. If we do not take action now, across our installations, acquisition and logistics, and training, our options to mitigate these risks will become more constrained with each passing year," she claimed.

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In play on Christmas song lyrics, NAACP president says all he wants for Christmas is 'Trump in handcuffs'



In a play on the lyrics of a popular Christmas song, NAACP president Derrick Johnson indicated that all he wants for Christmas is for former President Donald Trump to be arrested.

"I don't want a lot for Christmas There is just one thing I need I don't care about the presents Underneath the Christmas tree," Johnson wrote, copying lyrics from the song "All I Want for Christmas Is You." But he concluded the tweet by declaring, "All I want for Christmas is… Donald Trump in handcuffs."

\u201cI don't want a lot for Christmas\nThere is just one thing I need\nI don't care about the presents\nUnderneath the Christmas tree\n\nAll I want for Christmas is\u2026 Donald Trump in handcuffs.\u201d
— Derrick Johnson (@Derrick Johnson) 1671558818

In a tweet last month, Johnson claimed that House "Speaker Nancy Pelosi saved the U.S. Capitol and safeguarded our democracy on January 6, 2021." He also tweeted, "History will remember her as one of, if not the most effective Speaker in history."

The House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot announced criminal referrals regarding Trump on Monday, but the Justice Department is not obligated to act on any of the committee's recommendations to go after Trump.

\u201cThe fourth and final statute we invoke for referral is Title 18 Section 2383. This statute applies to anyone, who incites, assists, or engages in insurrection against the United States, and anyone who \u201cgives aid or comfort\u201d to an insurrection.\u201d
— January 6th Committee (@January 6th Committee) 1671476863

The only two Republicans serving on the committee are Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois — both lawmakers are Trump critics who voted in favor of impeaching the then-president last year in the wake of the Jan. 6 episode.

"These folks don't get it that when they come after me, people who love freedom rally around me. It strengthens me. What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday. "Americans know that I pushed for 20,000 troops to prevent violence on Jan 6, and that I went on television and told everyone to go home…."

Trump officially announced last month that he is running for president during the 2024 election cycle.

A group of House Democrats is backing legislation meant to bar Trump from ever holding office again.

Child abuser dies in hail of bullets after allegedly setting his ex-girlfriend on fire and taking police on lengthy chase



Around 11 p.m. on September 2, a truck came to a stop, paralyzed after a failed attempt by its driver to evade police. The three-mile chase through Milwaukee's downtown had reduced at least one of the vehicle's tires to its rims. Ernest Tyrell Blakney, 47, convicted of sexually assaulting a child on August 15, was behind the wheel. He had been on the run for over a week after allegedly killing his ex-girlfriend and torching her house.

Blakney allegedly exited the vehicle and immediately opened fire on police officers. Eight officers with 37 years of experience between them responded, terminating the threat.

In the shootout, a 22-year-old bystander from Hudson, Wisconsin, was struck by an errant bullet. It is presently unclear who fired that shot. She was taken to a hospital and treated for non-life-threatening wounds.

According to the Milwaukee Police Department, the officers involved in bringing the mayhem to an end have been placed on administrative duty.

\u201cMORE DRAMATIC VIDEO: The end of a Milwaukee police pursuit and police shooting of a homicide suspect on Water Street was captured on cellphone by Jacob Hill. MORE: https://t.co/Gm8uz3zkOz\u201d
— FOX6 News (@FOX6 News) 1662223616

Convicted child abuser set free despite warnings and protest

WITI-TV reported that in 2020, Blakney was charged with second-degree sexual assault for having had sex with a child. He was released in 2021 after posting $5,000 cash bail. He ultimately pled guilty and was convicted on August 15. On October 20, he was supposed to stand for sentencing.

Despite Blakney's August 15 conviction and requests from both prosecutor Sam Tufford and the victim's family that he be placed in jail, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge David Borowski cut the convicted felon loose.

\u201cJUST IN from @NickBohrWISN - the transcript detailing a judges decision to not jail a man after he pleaded guilty to raping a 13-year-old. 10 days after the decision, the man, Ernest Terrell Blakney, is accused of killing his ex. Here is the judges reasoning @WISN12News\u201d
— Derrick Rose (@Derrick Rose) 1661981354

Murder and manhunt

On August 25, Blakney allegedly murdered his ex-girlfriend, 36-year-old Nikia Rogers. He is said to then have set her body and the house in which it lay on fire.

Around 4:30 a.m., the MPD and firefighters were called to the house, which was enveloped in flames. After putting out the fire, first responders found Rogers' body on the second floor.

An autopsy later confirmed that she had been shot twice, once in the head and a second time in the back. Her burned body also showed signs of having been set ablaze with the use of an accelerant, such as that found in the container of lighter fluid discovered by police near her body.

Although Rogers allegedly lived with Blakney, she had become "reacquainted" with another man. That man told investigators that on the night of the fire, he received a message from Rogers' home phone: "You should have left her alone ... She dead."

Using information provided by a number of witnesses — one of whom claimed to have seen a blood-soused Blakney armed with a gun and another who said the suspect indicated he would burn his tractor-trailers — police searched a wooded area nearby the torched house. There they found Rogers' SUV abandoned in a field.

Blakney had, however, found a new set of wheels.

According to a criminal complaint, Blakney had come across a man (identified as KMG) repairing a bulldozer at a construction site, not far from where he had abandoned Rogers' car. Brandishing his firearm, Blakney allegedly stole KMG's car keys and forced him inside a trailer.

After locking KMG in the trailer, Blakney is said to have stolen KMG's truck.

KMG later broke free and called police.

Blakney remained at large for over a week and faced the following charges:

  • First-degree reckless homicide;
  • Armed robbery;
  • False imprisonment;
  • Attempted mutilating a corpse;
  • Possession of a firearm by a felon; and
  • Felony bail jumping.

At 10:50 p.m. on September 2, police identified the stolen vehicle. They attempted a traffic stop, and when Blakney allegedly refused to stop, officers gave chase.

Blakney died of his injuries.

Homicide suspect in chase fatally shot by Milwaukee officers | FOX6 News Milwaukee youtu.be

NAACP blasts Biden student loan forgiveness plan for coming up short



The NAACP lashed out at reports that President Joe Biden will forgive only $10,000 in federal student loan debt, calling the plan a "devastating political mistake" and accusing the president of violating his campaign promises.

In several tweets and a CNN op-ed, NAACP President Derrick Johnson demanded that Biden unilaterally forgive a minimum of $50,000 in student debt. He argued that black Americans hold a disproportionate amount of student debt and that debt forgiveness is a "racial and economic justice issue."

"@POTUS's decision on student debt cannot become the latest example of a policy that has left Black people, especially Black women, behind. This is not how you treat Black voters who turned out in record numbers and provided 90% of their vote to once again save democracy in 2020," Johnson said.

\u201c.@POTUS\u2019s decision on student debt cannot become the latest example of a policy that has left Black people, especially Black women, behind. This is not how you treat Black voters who turned out in record numbers and provided 90% of their vote to once again save democracy in 2020.\u201d
— Derrick Johnson (@Derrick Johnson) 1661281006

Student loan debt in the United States totals $1.75 trillion, and federal loans account for 92.7% of all that debt. There are 40.3 million borrowers with federal student loans, with an average debt balance of $37,667.

On the campaign trail in 2020, Biden promised to forgive "all undergraduate tuition-related federal student debt" for college graduates earning up to $125,000. But translating that promise into reality has proven difficult for the Biden administration, which lacks authority from Congress to forgive most student debt.

Using existing federal programs, the Biden administration has canceled $32 billion of student loan debt for 1.6 million borrowers — but progressives have demanded that Biden go further and cancel all loan debt using an executive order.

The plan Biden announced Wednesday will cancel $20,000 in student debt for those with Pell Grants and $10,000 for those who didn't receive Pell Grants who earn less than $125,000. It will also extend the moratorium on student loan repayment, at a total cost of roughly $300 billion, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model.

\u201cIn keeping with my campaign promise, my Administration is announcing a plan to give working and middle class families breathing room as they prepare to resume federal student loan payments in January 2023.\n\nI'll have more details this afternoon.\u201d
— President Biden (@President Biden) 1661355129

Left-wing critics like Johnson say Biden's plan does not go far enough.

"We are fed up. The NAACP has been calling for a minimum of $50,000 in student loan debt cancellation because our research indicates it is what is necessary to make a meaningful difference. The goal should be to see the most amount of relief for the highest number of borrowers," Johnson wrote for CNN. "Even so, President Biden has indicated that he is not considering a $50,000 debt reduction. But canceling just $10,000 in debt would be bad public policy and a devastating political mistake."

And on the other side, conservatives say Biden lacks the authority to forgive student loans without an explicit act of Congress and that even if he could, he shouldn't, because people who did not borrow more than they could afford will be punished for their responsibility.

Economists say loan forgiveness creates a moral hazard by signaling to borrowers that they don't need to pay off their debt because the federal government will bail them out.

NAACP urges Biden to appoint White House adviser on racial justice



Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, is pressing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to create a new position in the White House that would serve as a national adviser on racial justice issues.

What the details?

On Tuesday, Johnson and several other civil rights leaders including Rev. Al Sharpton met with Biden in Delaware. Ahead of the meeting, Johnson told The New York Times Biden should appoint a czar in his administration who would be solely focused on civil rights.

"He appointed John Kerry to be the climate enjoy, reporting directly to him," Johnson reasoned, saying, "We believe a national adviser on racial justice should be something equivalent."

Johnson explained to CBSN the next day, "The president-elect said racial equity will be a part of his administration. We appreciate that. Now our question is, how do we ensure a successful outcome? The racial equity adviser to the president could hold the portfolio and oversee the process."

The NAACP president told MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle that the top priority he has for the Biden administration is to focus on inclusion, and assure that black and Latino people are represented equitably.

"First of all, germinating straight from the West Wing, his office, the priorities that racial inclusion would be first and foremost across all agencies," Johnson said of Biden. "That tone must be set from his office, from him."

He continued, "If you look at corporations that have tackled this question, you would notice that diversity and inclusion officers report directly to the president and CEO of those companies. And those are the companies that are most successful at beginning to remedy the problem of racial division."

Johnson said that simply appointing people of color in positions of leadership may not be enough, adding, "We celebrate very competent, capable individuals to head up agencies, but we have also seen in the past just because and African American or a Latino serve in an agency, if the priorities are not set from the commander in chief, we may not get what we need out of that individual."

Talking with @MSNBC’s @RuhleOnMSNBC about diversity, racial equity, and the @NAACP’s expectations for the Biden adm… https://t.co/wMchNWYejQ
— Derrick Johnson (@Derrick Johnson)1607441511.0

Anything else?

Biden has started releasing his picks for serving in his administration, while President Donald Trump and his campaign continue to contest the election that mainstream media has widely called for Biden.

Earlier this week, Biden announced that retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin would be his nominee for secretary of defense. If confirmed by the Senate, Austin would be the first black man to lead the Pentagon.