Politicians–Support Data Centers At Your Own Peril:
From Archibald, Pennsylvania, to Page, Arizona, tech firms are seeking to plunk down data centers in locations that sometimes are not zoned for such heavy industrial uses, within communities that had not planned for them. These supersized data centers can usurp more energy than entire cities and drain local water supplies.
Anger over the perceived trampling of communities by Silicon Valley has entered the national political conversation and could affect voters of all political persuasions in this year’s midterm elections.
The grassroots blowback comes from deep red states as much as from left-wing groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America, which have helped draw hundreds of residents to hearings in Arizona, Indiana and Maryland.
Even Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned data center developers that they are losing control of the narrative. “In rural America right now, where data centers are being built, everyone’s already angry because their electricity prices have risen a lot,” he told energy executives assembled in Washington for the North American Gas Forum last month. “‘I don’t want them in my state’ is a common viewpoint.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) last month called for a moratorium on data center construction, warning the tech firms are draining scarce energy and water reserves and pushing the cost onto everyday Americans in pursuit of AI technologies that threaten to displace millions from the workforce.
White House AI czar David Sacks replied on X: “He would block new data centers even if states want them & they generate their own power.”
But advocates say residents’ concerns are legitimate.
“This data center expansion affects so many issues,” said MitchJones, managing director of policy and litigation at Food and Water Watch. The group this month organized a letter signed by several large, national advocacy groups demanding a moratorium.
“It takes up farmland in rural communities. It takes up dwindling water sources in communities that need cleaner drinking water. And it is driving up electricity prices for everyone,” he said. “It is drawing together people from disparate backgrounds who might not agree on other political issues. They are saying this is taking place without any forethought to communities and we must stop it.”
‘We Have Every Right To Take Greenland’:
Stephen Miller, a top aide to President Trump, asserted on Monday that Greenland rightfully belonged to the United States and that the Trump administration could seize the semiautonomous Danish territory if it wanted.
“Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland,” Mr. Miller told Jake Tapper, the CNN host, after being asked repeatedly whether he would rule out using military force.
The remarks were part of a vocal push by Mr. Miller, long a powerful behind-the-scenes player in Trump administration policy, to justify American imperialism and a vision for a new world order in which the United States could freely overthrow national governments and take foreign territory and resources so long as it was in the national interest.
“We live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power,” he said. “These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.”
Mr. Miller also echoed Mr. Trump’s intent to rule Venezuela and exploit its vast oil reserves after a U.S. raid seized President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from Caracas. Even some of America’s staunchest allies have criticized the raid, and the U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, said the raid had violated the U.N. charter.
“The United States of America is running Venezuela,” Mr. Miller said, dismissing international treaties enshrining a nation’s right to independence and sovereignty as “international niceties.”
If this is not Hitlerian rhetoric, tell me what is. US imperialism is back with a vengeance.
Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly is pledging to fight back after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced he’s taking administrative action against Kelly.
Hegseth claims that Kelly’s public statements, including a video message telling troops not to follow illegal orders, amount to sedition.
In a statement on social media, the defense secretary said that he has initiated a formal 45-day process to reduce Kelly’s rank and retirement pay.
“In response to Senator Mark Kelly’s seditious statements — and his pattern of reckless misconduct — the Department of War is taking administrative action against Captain Mark E. Kelly, USN (Ret),” Hegseth’s statement reads.
This administrative action will include a review of Kelly’s retirement grade, which could result in a change or reduction to his rank, “resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay.”
Hegseth also announced he issued a formal censure letter that will be placed in Kelly’s official military file.
“My rank and retirement are things that I earned through my service and sacrifice for this country. I got shot at. I missed holidays and birthdays. I commanded a space shuttle mission while my wife Gabby recovered from a gunshot wound to the head — all while proudly wearing the American flag on my shoulder,” Kelly said.
“Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way. It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that,” Kelly added.
Guess Who Didn’t Stay At A Hilton Last Night:
On Monday afternoon, the Department of Homeland Security tweeted a whine. These sensitive souls were peeved that a Hilton Hotel was denying room and board to an influx of federal agents assigned to Minneapolis. The tweet opened by implying that DHS law enforcement was in the same boat as the baby Jesus. A helpless infant denied hospitality because none was available.
“NO ROOM AT THE INN!”
This is a misstatement of facts. There was plenty of room at the inn. (Hardly surprising, as I doubt Minneapolis at the beginning of January is in demand by tourists and conventioneers.) DHS itself pointed out that the lack of rooms was not due to a shortage but rather was a deliberate decision by a private concern not to do business with people it considered undesirable. The tweet continued:
@HiltonHotels has launched a coordinated campaign in Minneapolis to REFUSE service to DHS law enforcement.
When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations.
This is UNACCEPTABLE. Why is Hilton Hotels siding with murderers and rapists to deliberately undermine and impede DHS law enforcement from their mission to enforce our nation’s immigration laws?
I am sure it was a pleasure to write. But it misses the mark. From a logical point of view, Hilton Hotels would be siding with murderers and rapists if they rented rooms to murderers and rapists.
However, the tweet’s bigger fallacy is to suggest that DHS is pursuing murderers and rapists. Where is the evidence for that? DHS could provide it easily — if the claim were valid. They could just publish a list of the convicted murderers and rapists they have so far rounded up. Heck, I’ll settle for a list of suspected murderers and rapists, as long as DHS includes some verifiable facts to show why they are suspected of these crimes.
But if Hilton is basing its decision on what DHS is actually doing — rounding up long-term undocumented resident aliens whose only offense is being in the country illegally — then they are on the side of the angels. And DHS is simply making stuff up.
The ‘Defanged’ Hospital Cost Review Board Bill. Written by the Governor and Christiana Care:
Delaware lawmakers introduced a bill last week that would defang the state’s hospital oversight board following a settlement agreement last fall between Gov. Matt Meyer and the state’s largest health system, ChristianaCare.
ChristianaCare sued the state in 2024 over its passage of House Bill 350, which created the Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board in response to ballooning hospital spending.
In October, the state and ChristianaCare agreed to pause the lawsuit on the condition that lawmakers introduce and pass a bill that removes a key oversight mechanism of the cost review board that allowed it to modify and veto hospital budgets it deemed excessive.
Before SB 213, the hospital cost review board would have followed a four-step process.
Hospitals would submit detailed financial documents to the board, which then would review them. Board members would decide whether to put a hospital on a “performance improvement plan,” if it deemed a hospital’s spending was too large. If a hospital failed to correct its overspending, the board could then modify or veto its budget.
But if SB 213 passes, the board will no longer have the power to modify or veto hospital budgets found out of compliance. ChristianaCare had challenged the constitutionality of those powers in court and a judge was set to further examine that question, should the lawsuit continue.
Bottom line: The teeth of enforcement are gone, daddy, gone. Making the review board close to worthless. Oh, here’s the bill.
What do you want to talk about?