One conservative group produced colorful flow charts warning millennials that a “border adjustment” tax proposed by Speaker Paul D. Ryan would raise prices on “the Jose Cuervo tequila that’s in your happy hour margarita.” Three days later, a second conservative group kicked off a lobbying campaign saying it would amount to a $1.2 trillion tax on seniors and the working poor. The next day, still another group weighed in, issuing a news release that highlighted how Latinos would be “among those hardest

This hardscrabble Wyoming city of about 30,000 people proclaims itself the “Energy Capital of the Nation” on the mayor’s blue blazer and even the parking ticket payment boxes.Nearby are some of the world’s largest open-pit mines, where dump trucks the size of houses haul out more than 40 percent of the coal produced in the U.S. The windy, wide-open landscape around Gillette also has substantial reserves of natural gas, oil and uranium.So when President Donald Trump lifted a federal coal leasing moratorium and ordered a review of greenhouse gas regulations, the announcement electrified many workers here who depend on fossil fuels for their livelihood. After years of layoffs and corporate bankruptcies, they are optimistic that jobs and a better economy will soon return.

CNN reported Monday that President Trump would announce a new slate of executive orders rolling back many of the EPA regulations that have caused the U.S. to fall behind in energy production. The Obama administration enacted the regulations in an effort to combat climate change, but even supporters of his policies admit they will do little to reduce carbon emissions. In the meantime, they are costing states money and making life more expensive for everyone.With Scott Pruitt in charge of the EPA, there’s little doubt about the administration’s approach to climate change. Trump, both as president and as a candidate, has been a fierce skeptic of the climate change agenda, and Pruitt is on the same page. Under their helm, the EPA will not disappear. It will, however, be reigned in considerably from where it was allowed to go under Obama. And that’s an important step towards getting certain sectors of the economy moving again. Business owners – hell, entire industries – have been paralyzed by the last eight years of burdensome regulations.There’s a reason the Dow Jones has skyrocketed under Trump, and it’s not because Wall Street really loves those red MAGA hats. It’s because they know he’s going to finally let the free market be the free market again.

Both of President Trump’s attempts to shut down travel to the United States from countries known for being terrorist hotspots have been blocked by the courts, but the administration isn’t waiting for those cases to be resolved to do something about the vetting process.According to cables that went out from the State Department last week to all American embassies around the world, the administration is directing consular officials to step up security, making it more difficult for travelers to procure visas.From the NY Times: The new rules generally do not apply to citizens of 38 countries — including most of Europe and longstanding allies like Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea — who can be speedily admitted into the United States under the visa waiver program. That program does not cover citizens from any country in the Middle East or Africa.

PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is one of the quintessential laughing stocks of the global society, and their latest stunt is cementing that infamy.The group, who are known for saving an extremely meager percentage of the animals that they take in while euthanizing the rest, have staged bizarre protests in the name of animal rights for decades. While animal cruelty is certainly no laughing matter, PETA’s publicity stunts are absolutely some of the most unbelievable nonsense ever to fall under the umbrella term of “activism”.Usually, PETA’s concerns lie strictly within the realm of animal rights. The more militant of the terror-backing members believe not only in absurd vegan lifestyles and the outlawing of wearable furs, but they have been widely advocating for the abolishment of pets as they believe it is an exploitation of aninmals.Now, the uber-leftist, nonsensical leadership of the downright absurd organization is embarking onto a journey of fighting subliminal racism, something that no one was asking for.

After a year of national controversy, a legal battle with the Obama administration, and costly economic and political fallout, North Carolina lawmakers made key revisions to the state’s “bathroom bill” this week.Over that time, the law caused a lot of trouble for the state as organizations and companies boycotted previously planned expansions and events. It may also have led to the defeat of Republican Governor Pat McCrory, who wound up taking the heat for a law that he wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about in the first place.In any event, newly-elected Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper urged the GOP-controlled legislature to come together on a plan that would satisfy both parties and appease the NCAA, which was threatening to take more sporting events out of the state.North Carolina lawmakers came to an agreement this week to repeal the part of the law that requires people to use the bathroom that corresponds to their birth gender. In the new law, public restroom policy will be entrusted to the legislature, but nothing will be set in stone.Like most political compromises, this one left supporters on both sides unhappy with the end result. But LGBT groups and Democrats were much more sour than Republicans. They claim that the new bill is hardly a compromise at all and still deprives transgender people of their right to be free from discrimination.

The gun industry may be headed for a slump after eight years of explosive growth under former President Barack Obama.Photo by Mike SaechangFrom December through February, the number of federal background checks conducted each month declined from the same month a year ago, according to the Associated Press. While not an exact measure of total firearm sales, background checks are considered a key measure of how gun manufacturers are performing.One reason for the softening demand, some gun industry experts say, is that potential gun buyers are no longer worried Washington will issue new regulations restricting gun sales.(RELATED: Surprise! Senator Attacking The Second Amendment Knows Nothing About Guns)“President Obama was the best gun salesman the world has ever seen,” Karl Sorken, a production manager at Houston-based Battle Rifle Co., told the AP.During Obama’s tenure, customers rushed to buy firearms before the administration could follow through on its goal of placing tighter controls on the type and number of guns that could be sold. The gun industry boomed on the surging demand: The number of U.S. companies licensed to make firearms jumped 362 percent over the decade ending in 2015.Ironically, President Donald Trump’s outspoken support of the Second Amendment and gun manufacturers may actually be contributing to an industry-wide slowdown.The FBI conducted about 500,000 fewer background checks in December 2016 than it did in 2015, The Washington Post reported. The year-over-year drop off was significant, because the holiday season is normally a busy time for dealers selling guns as Christmas gifts.

The U.S. State Department is ramping up refugee admissions back to more normal levels after it had slowed to a trickle over the past month under President Donald Trump.WND has confirmed through a State Department spokesperson that the administration is set to more than double the number of refugees arriving in U.S. cities from the current 400 per week to 900 per week.On March 15 a federal judge, Derrick Watson in Hawaii, issued a nationwide injunction stopping the State Department from enforcing or implementing sections 2 and 6 of President Trump’s March 6 executive order. Section 6[b] lowers the cap on refugee arrivals to 50,000, down from the 110,000 level set by President Obama.After the court’s ruling, which was upheld Wednesday by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the cap reverts back to the Obama level of 110,000.Consequently, the State Department continues to accept refugees and this includes scheduling travel for refugees who have been screened and are otherwise approved for travel.“The Court Order issued on March 15 prohibits the enforcement or implementation of Section 6 of the EO,” the State Department spokesperson told WND. “Section 6 of the EO includes a cap on refugee admissions into the United States of 50,000 for FY 2017. In accordance with the Court Order, and consistent with both our operational capacity and our capacity under available funding, we have increased the current pace of refugee arrivals to approximately 900 individuals per week. ”Halfway through the fiscal year, the U.S. has already taken in 39,082 refugees, according to the State Department’s Refugee Processing Center database.

President Trump and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke have signed several executive orders to free up access to coal on federal lands, reversing orders from the previous administration.coal mining photoPhoto by mypubliclands (CC)Republican politicians and free-market think tank scholars have applauded the moves, but industry executives say the deregulation won’t spur immediate changes in coal production or profits.Former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell imposed a moratorium on leasing any additional federal lands for coal mining and production, just days before President Trump took office.In addition to reversing the moratorium, the executive orders confirm the removal of regulations on hydraulic fracking from the Bureau of Land Management, and direct BLM, the National Park Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct reviews on oil and gas regulations and climate change policies.Western Congressional Caucus members in the House applauded moves by President Trump and the administration to roll back regulations that stifle coal production on public lands.

A former Defense Department official under the Obama administration has raised the specter of a military coup to remove President Donald Trump from power.In an editorial penned for Foreign Policy, senior Pentagon policy official Rosa Brooks publicly suggested a military insurrection against the Trump administration may be the only option to oust one of the most divisive presidents in American history.“Donald Trump’s first week as president has made it all too clear: Yes, he is as crazy as everyone feared,” Ms. Brooks wrote. “[One] possibility is one that until recently I would have said was unthinkable in the United States of America: a military coup, or at least a refusal by military leaders to obey certain orders.”For the first time in her career in public service, including three years as senior counselor to the Pentagon’s policy chief from 2009 to 2011, “I can imagine plausible scenarios in which senior military officials might simply tell the president: ‘No, sir. We’re not doing that.’”