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Reality Finally Returns To Energy Industry

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By David Blackmon

Speaking at the opening day of the annual CERAWeek global energy industry gathering in Houston, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser declared plans for a government subsidized energy transition a failure, saying, “there is more chance of Elvis speaking next than the current plan working!”

He isn’t wrong, and Elvis was nowhere in sight.

Nasser began his speech by telling the audience made up largely of executives in the oil and gas industry and its contractors that, “We can all feel the winds of history in our industry’s sails again.”

Again, he isn’t wrong.

The winds of change have been blowing for well over a year now in favor of placing national energy security concerns over the rank climate alarmism that dominates the narratives surrounding this mythical transition. In fact, that shift began to become apparent at the 2023 CERAWeek gathering, as speaker after speaker emphasized the need to refocus on enhancing energy security after three years and trillions of dollars in debt-funded spending on renewables.

Now, with last November’s re-election of Donald Trump to a second presidency and the Energy Dominance agenda he brings with him, the momentum at the industry’s back is starkly obvious.

But that doesn’t mean that the world will or should abandon the expansion of other forms of energy, including intermittent sources like solar power and stationary batteries.

In this area, Nasser echoed the “all-of-the-above philosophy touted earlier in the Monday agenda by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, emphasizing a new model that “reflects the reality of growing demand and energy addition,” while bringing an end to the current practice by many activists and politicians of demonizing oil, gas, and coal.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the world was promised many things in the current transition plan,” Nasser said. “It was like promising an energy El Dorado. And this quest was equally doomed to fail.”

Noting that the chosen alternatives to fossil fuels currently being heavily subsidized — wind, solar, green hydrogen, and electric vehicles — are unable to even account for incremental energy demands, much less replace fossil fuels, Nasser advocated for a revised effort in which alternatives play a growing role of complementing reliable, conventional energy sources. “I take no pleasure in this. But it is time to stop reinforcing failure. Indeed, as the fictions of the promised transition finally wash away, there is an historic opportunity to change course.”

Nasser’s remarks were largely echoed by Secretary Wright, who promised, “The Trump administration will end the Biden administration’s irrational, quasi-religious policies on climate change that imposed endless sacrifices on our citizens.” Wright also dismissed the previous administration’s focus on climate alarmism over energy security as myopic.

“The Trump administration will treat climate change for what it is — a global physical phenomenon that is a side effect of building the modern world,” Wright said. The energy secretary called Biden’s policies “economically destructive to our businesses and politically polarizing. The cure was far more destructive than the disease.”

Wright also bluntly explained why the Trump administration singled out offshore wind as an especially destructive element of the Biden myopia, while at the same time extolling solar and battery storage as zero-emission ideas that make sense.

Offshore wind’s “incredibly high prices, incredibly huge investment and a large footprint on the local communities, so it’s been very unpopular for people that live near offshore wind turbines,” Wright said. Touting his “all-of-the-above” approach, Wright said the administration supports anything that adds to “affordable, reliable, secure energy,” adding, “Wind has been singled out because it’s had a singularly poor record of driving up prices.”

Emphasizing the inadequacies of the subsidized alternatives to fossil fuels, Wright pointed out that there “is simply no physical way that wind, solar and batteries could replace the myriad uses of natural gas.” He also pointed out that gas currently supplies 43% of power generated on the U.S. grid, a share that is unlikely to be reduced anytime soon.

It all boils down to the simple reality that globalist plans for this government-forced transition have failed. As Nasser said, the time to “stop reinforcing failure” has arrived.

Elvis has left the building.

David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.

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LA Anti-ICE Chaos, Clashes With Police Spreading Around America

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Hudson Crozier

The unrest that has consumed Los Angeles in recent days appears to be spreading elsewhere as numerous rioters outraged at immigration raids were arrested across the country on Tuesday night.

Los Angeles authorities began making “mass arrests” late Tuesday and issued a curfew following days of rioting sparked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of illegal immigrants in the area. Businesses were seen in the process of boarding up their buildings in anticipation of possible looting, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported.

Local media outlets reported that major U.S. cities saw their own versions of Los Angeles’ chaos Tuesday night, with alleged assaults of police officers, fires, rock-throwing and other acts of violence. Protests and resulting arrests had already started to spread beyond Los Angeles as of Monday night.

Seattle

At least two people were arrested after protesters tore down American flags at a federal building in Seattle and burned them on Tuesday night, according to multiple reports. Earlier that day, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers were seen on video shoving back Antifa-style militants and firing crowd control munitions after the activists tried to block entrances and exits to the building, which houses an immigration court.

New York City

Eighty-six people were arrested overnight starting on Tuesday evening as protesters marched to a Manhattan immigration court and other locations, local outlet ABC7 reported. Police said people threw bottles at protesters and debris and traffic cones onto the road. Charges included assault, resisting arrest, reckless endangerment and obstructing government administration.

One exchange caught on video showed a woman pleading with protesters to let her drive past them on the road so she could go to work.

Illegal migrants “are having their children taken and their parents,” a traffic-blocking activist told the driver.

Another video posted by Sky News showed a mob trying to force its way past a wall of officers while screaming.

Denver

Protesters began gathering at the Colorado State Capitol building in Denver on Tuesday before moving off in a crowd to block traffic on two streets, Colorado Newsline reported. Police ended up in confrontations with rioters throughout the evening, arresting at least 17 on charges such as obstruction of streets, graffiti, assaulting a peace officer and unlawful throwing of projectiles, according to 9News. Police were reportedly seen throwing smoke bombs and pepper balls to disperse crowds.

Atlanta

Organizers of an anti-ICE rally in Atlanta on Tuesday night had agreed to disperse by 9 p.m., but some protesters remained and set off scuffles with police, a local Fox network reported. Rioters damaged three police squad cars by throwing rocks, police said, and threw fireworks at officers. Police used tear gas to disperse the agitators and arrested at least six.

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Crime

LA Mayor Karen Bass Makes New Demands Of Trump At Monday Night Press Conference

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Mariane Angela

During a Monday night press briefing, Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told the Trump administration to stop the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles.

President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles on Saturday after riots erupted following an ICE raid at a Home Depot. During Monday’s press briefing, Bass called for an end to the raids conducted by the Trump administration, claiming that the power to deploy troops or request assistance should lie with state and local officials, not the federal government.

“I would say stop the raids. Stop the raids, period. I would say give the power back to our governor, and if we need the National Guard, we can do it in the normal circumstances, which is the request is made local, and the governor decides, or not to, grant that to our city,” Bass said when asked what she would say to the Trump administration.

Bass reiterated her earlier stance and questioned the need for an additional military presence, given the National Guard’s current role in securing federal buildings.

WATCH:

“We didn’t need the National Guard. Why on earth? What are they going to do? Do you know what the National Guard is doing now? They are guarding two buildings,” Bass said when asked to react to the deployment of Marines.

Bass then called the deployment an unjustified and overreaching action.

“They are guarding the federal building here in downtown, and they’re guarding the federal building in Westwood. That’s what they’re doing. So they need Marines on top of it? I don’t understand that. That’s why I feel like we are part of an experiment that we did not ask to be a part of,” Bass added.

Despite Bass claiming that the National Guard’s deployment was unnecessary, Fox News reporter Bill Melugin shared videos showing ICE agents in one of the vehicles being struck by rocks. Melugin also posted additional footage and photos of the aftermath, including an image of an ICE agent’s injury and a windshield damaged by a rioter’s rock.

Around 1,000 individuals wreaked havoc in Los Angeles Friday night, surrounding a federal building, attacking ICE agents, deflating tires and vandalizing government property, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The unrest caused significant damage and severe traffic disruptions, bringing several key city roads to a complete standstill.

On Saturday night, Trump authorized the deployment of the National Guard to assist local law enforcement and warned Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom that the federal government would intervene if local authorities failed to restore order.

In response, California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Monday, challenging the deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles to address the immigration riots. Attorney General Rob Bonta and Newsom said that federalizing 2,000 California National Guard members without Newsom’s consent exceeded the president’s authority.

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