Amid declining U.S. energy production, oil imports from Russia last year increased to their highest level in a decade, as the formerly communist country continues to be the world's largest net exporter of oil and gas combined.
Last year, Russian oil exports to the U.S. reached the highest level in a decade, peaking at over 26 million barrels in May, as Russia surpassed Mexico as the second-highest oil exporter to the U.S. The U.S. has increased its imports of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia since 2018, EIA data shows.
U.S. dependence on Russian oil comes amid the decline of the American energy industry, as the Biden administration has canceled construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, banned new leases for oil and gas production on federal land, and planned on restricting methane waste emissions from natural gas drilling on public lands.
Critics blame President Biden's energy policies for indirectly facilitating the invasion of Ukraine by boosting Russia's energy export earnings.
"Biden energy policy is financing the Russian war machine!" Phill Kline, director of the Amistad Project and former Kansas attorney general, tweeted on Friday.
"Russian exports in natural gas up $30B FY 2021 over FY 2020 while Energy Secretary Granholm holds up US exports of clean US liquefied natural gas in her fidelity to the AOC Squad." "Between our push here in the U.S. to basically walk away from our energy independence, and Europe's push in the same way, we basically have funded this war in Ukraine," Job Creators Network President Alfredo Ortiz said in a conference call on Monday.
Natural gas exports decreased by 8.7% while oil exports dropped by 11%. In 2020, Russia exported nearly five million barrels a day of crude oil and condensate, with 48% going to European countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 42% to Asia and Oceania, 9% to non-OECD Europe and Eurasia, and 1% to the U.S., according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
It's becoming increasingly difficult to discern fact from fiction, and unfortunately the media has a strong bias. They spin stories to make conservatives look bad and will go to great lengths to avoid reporting on the good that comes from conservative policies. There are a few shining lights in the media landscape-brave conservative outlets that report the truth and offer a different perspective. We must support conservative outlets like this one and ensure that our voices are heard.
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
U.S. imports of Russian oil reach highest in decade as domestic energy production decreases
Doctors threatened with punishment for disagreeing with official COVID narrative
While California lawmakers haven't adopted the term, they have adopted the idea, with a new plan to threaten doctors with punishment for disagreeing with the official government propaganda about COVID. Just the News reports that Democratic Assemblyman Evan Low's AB 2098 would allow doctors' statements, private or public, on COVID be analyzed and treated as "Unprofessional conduct."
Interestingly the report documents that the bill "Promotes long-outdated information about COVID deaths in unvaccinated vs. vaccinated rather than updated Omicron variant figures."
The report explained the bill was joined by five other California Assembly and Senate members and opens doctors' comments about COVID to review by the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California.
The bill would "Designate the dissemination or promotion of misinformation or disinformation" about COVID as "Unprofessional conduct,".
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants money for an office that would spread "Accurate scientific information" and counter "False claims." The state also is broadcasting COVID commercials with its view.
The Just the News report explained other states are insisting that their official views of COVID, and only their views, be discussed by physicians.
"Perhaps most prominent is pathologist Ryan Cole, who practices in both Idaho and Washington state and has allegedly prescribed ivermectin. A leader in America's Frontline Doctors, which challenges COVID orthodoxy, Cole was targeted by the Idaho Medical Association after he was appointed to a regional health board, though only Washington state has confirmed an investigation," the report said.
https://www.wnd.com/2022/02/doctors-threatened-punishment-disagreeing-covid/
Who Is Responsible for the Death of Matthew Perna?
For the first time in over a year, Joe Biden’s Justice Department has nothing to say about a January 6 defendant.
Matthew Lawrence Perna died on February 25, 2022 of a broken heart.
Sunday, Matthew Perna did nothing wrong on January 6.
After the FBI begged Americans to turn in anyone they knew to be in attendance at the Capitol that day, two alleged acquaintances who followed Perna on Facebook notified the FBI that he was one of the individuals on the FBI's wanted list.
A week later, six FBI agents arrested Perna at his home; he was charged with a felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding and three trespassing misdemeanors.
Who is responsible for the death of Matthew Perna? After speaking with his attorney, J. Gerald Ingram, it appears the chief villain is Matthew Graves, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Ingram called the Justice Department's handling of January 6 cases "Horribly inconsistent" and said it seemed that Perna had been "Singled out for some reason."
A rigged judicial system in the nation's capital is only partially responsible for what happened to Matthew Perna.
https://amgreatness.com/2022/02/28/who-is-responsible-for-the-death-of-matthew-perna/
The Woke American Medical Association
The American Medical Association now tells doctors: Use woke language! It's issued a 54-page guide telling doctors things like, don't say "Equality"; say "Equity." Don't say "Minority"; say "Historically marginalized."
In 1986, the AMA called for smaller enrollment in medical schools, to curb an alleged doctor "Surplus." In 1997, it even got the government to pay hospitals not to train doctors!
Today, the AMA supports rules that make it hard for doctors from other countries to practice here.
It's why it's tough to find a doctor in rural America, says Yglesias.
"Restaurants keep time that's convenient for their customers. Doctors keep hours that are convenient for doctors."
Since doctors are scarce, more people go to nurses for help.
AMA lobbyists push for laws that require nurses to be supervised by a doctor.
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2022/03/woke-ama-john-stossel/
Biden’s CIA Director Doesn’t Believe Biden’s Story about Ukraine
If you've followed the diplomacy over Ukraine closely, you may have noticed that the Biden administration has relied heavily on CIA Director William J. Burns.
"Two years ago, Burns wrote a memoir entitled, The Back Channel. It directly contradicts the argument being proffered by the administration he now serves. In his book, Burns says over and over that Russians of all ideological stripes-not just Putin-loathed and feared NATO expansion. He quotes a memo he wrote while serving as counselor for political affairs at the US embassy in Moscow in 1995. 'Hostility to early NATO expansion," it declares, "Is almost universally felt across the domestic political spectrum here." On the question of extending NATO membership to Ukraine, Burns' warnings about the breadth of Russian opposition are even more emphatic.
"In more than two and a half years of conversations with key Russian players, from knuckle-draggers in the dark recesses of the Kremlin to Putin's sharpest liberal critics, I have yet to find anyone who views Ukraine in NATO as anything other than a direct challenge to Russian interests."
While the Biden administration claims that Putin bears all the blame for the current Ukraine crisis, Burns makes clear that the US helped lay its foundations.
As the Bush administration moved toward opening NATO's doors to Ukraine, Burns' warnings about a Russian backlash grew even starker.
Steven Pifer, who from 1998 to 2000 served as US ambassador to Ukraine, has called Bush's 2008 decision to declare that Ukraine would eventually join NATO "a real mistake." Fiona Hill, who gained fame during the Trump impeachment saga, says that as national intelligence officers for Russia and Eurasia she and her colleagues "Warned" Bush that "Putin would view steps to bring Ukraine and Georgia closer to NATO as a provocative move that would likely provoke pre-emptive Russian military action."
Burns' criticisms of past US policy toward Russia and Ukraine don't mean he opposes Biden's policy today.
https://peterbeinart.substack.com/p/bidens-cia-director-doesnt-believe?utm_source=url
Democrats Build Fencing Around US Capitol But Won't Build Border Wall
After years of opposition to a southern border wall and even a government shutdown to prevent one, congressional Democrats have become fond of physical barriers on their own doorstep as they deprive Americans of the same protection.
"Out of an abundance of caution, and in conjunction with the United States Secret Service, a plan has been approved to put up the inner-perimeter fence around the Capitol building for the State of the Union Address," said Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger in a press release.
The enhanced Capitol security at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's behest comes after the Democratic leader repeatedly resisted President Donald Trump's demands for border security and called them "Immoral."
"We're not doing a wall," Pelosi reiterated in January of 2019 amid a government shutdown provoked by Democrats' refusal to include wall funding in appropriations.
Democrats have maintained their opposition to offering the same protection they've erected for themselves in the capital to border states.
On day one of his presidency, Joe Biden's first executive orders axed construction of the border wall put underway by Trump.
"It shall be the policy of my Administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall," said the order by Biden, whose Tuesday night speech will be protected by a border wall.
Corporate Media's Top Trending Ukraine Stories Turn Out To Be Complete Fakes.
A number of popular stories chronicling Ukraine's resistance against Russia's ongoing invasion - including those promoted by U.S. Congressmen, media outlets, and even conservatives online - have turned out to be false, despite garnering millions of shares and likes.
The viral, fake stories come amidst social media platforms rolling out robust "Fact-checking" operations, often used to swiftly censor stories counter to establishment narratives or critical of the Democratic Party.
Days later the Ukraine Navy revealed that the guards had actually been "Taken captive by Russian occupiers" and were all still alive.
In reality, the dramatic image actually traces its roots over half of a decade back to Ukraine in 2016 and has appeared in several news stories since then.
The story of former Miss Grand Ukraine Anastasiia Lenna joining Ukraine's military to fight against Russia also turned out to be false despite amassing thousands of likes and shares across social media platforms.
While the photo of Lenna is from one of her recent Instagram posts, where she expressed support for Ukraine against Russian forces, the gun in the popular picture is actually an airsoft rifle.
CORRECTION: Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation said the video address by the Anonymous hacker group that threatened to withdraw money from Russians' bank accounts if they don't protest Putin turned out to be fake.
https://thenationalpulse.com/2022/02/28/pro-ukraine-propaganda-floods-social-media/