Remembering
James Robison

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The Brew: “Sustainable” Is Now Spelled I-R-O-N-Y

By Gayle McQueary Published on March 13, 2025

Brazil Outdoes The Babylon Bee

Sometimes even The Babylon Bee gets scooped for a “you can’t make this up” headline: A new four-lane highway, set to be named Avenida Liberdade, is being built through the Amazon rainforest to ease traffic for the 50,000 people descending on the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, later this year.

The event will include world leaders who are part of the Paris Climate Agreement engineered by the United Nations. The Brazilian government claims the deforestation is “sustainable,” featuring wildlife crossings, bike lanes, and solar lighting.

Oh, the irony that organizers of an event on climate change don’t even yet know how “sustainable” it will actually be. (Spoiler alert: There’s a LOT of “partying” going on in the statement below.)

Locals feel differently; many have expressed outrage over the deforestation of the protected area, saying it threatens biodiversity, fragments delicate ecosystems, and disrupts wildlife movement. Residents like Claudio Verequete have already lost income; the government cut down the açaí trees from which he harvests the berries on which his business depends. “We no longer have that income to support our family,” he said].

The government took the land through the force of eminent domain, offering no compensation to previous owners. Verequete worries there could be even more deforestation and that his family will be forced to leave.

Brazil’s government highlights modernization efforts, including investing $81 million to expand airport capacity and a new, 500,000 square-meter city park with green spaces. (Cue the Joni Mitchell.)

One has to wonder if the environmental costs of all this will contradict the summit’s climate goals?

We’ll have to see whether the Trump administration declines to attend the event, but we can think of a few willing participants eager to “represent”: Leonardo DiCaprio may fly in on his “sustainable” private jet, or perhaps pilot his “sustainable” private yacht through the not-owned-by-China Panama Canal to get there, accompanied by the likes of Al Gore, Bill Gates, John Kerry, and/or Pete Buttigieg.

MSNBC Says Violence Isn’t Terrorism, It’s Protest

Buckle up, because this one is going to be a bumpy ride.

You may have heard about President Trump test-driving Teslas at the White House on Tuesday, but do you know why? The mainstream media would have you believe it’s because Tesla stock took a hit since Elon Musk became part of Team Trump (by the way, this is false; Tesla saw its highest stock price at the end of 2024 after the election, but whatever); however, it probably had more to do with the vandalism of all things Tesla currently taking place across the U.S.

The most recent act of destruction occurred on Monday evening when three vehicles were damaged overnight at a dealership in Dedham, Massachusetts — but this wasn’t the first time that location had been targeted. Officers responded to reports of vandalism on February 26 after someone “tagged” the building; law enforcement believes the two incidents may be connected, according to a recent report.

ABC News reported yesterday on other acts of violence involving Tesla, including six Tesla vehicles that were vandalized at a dealership near Seattle last Saturday; charging stations in South Carolina that were spray-painted with expletives about Trump and subsequently set ablaze with homemade Molotov cocktails; and an activist in Colorado named Lucy Grace Nelson being arrested while attempting to blow up a Tesla dealership at the end of February.

Trump believes Tesla is a great product, “as good as it gets,” and that Elon Musk has been unfairly treated for helping expose massive amounts of governmental waste, fraud, and abuse.

There’s something to be said about not liking the computerized, dystopian feel of Tesla vehicles, but there’s a pretty wide gulf between not wanting to own one and setting an entire dealership on fire just to “show Elon.” Musk has responded to Trump’s support by committing to doubling Tesla’s production over the next two years.

None of this stopped MSNBC from sharing its warped perspective on everything happening around Tesla and Musk. Reporter Alicia Menendez thinks the violence against dealerships is a form of “protest” against a private company.

Maybe Ms. Menendez should do her journalistic duty and head over to the FBI’s website to educate herself on the definition of “domestic terrorism”: “violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.”

Sounds like doublespeak to us.

Meeting Adjourned

Proving that things would be simpler if we just called a spade a spade, a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee meeting came to a screeching halt on Tuesday after Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) recognized Delaware Democrat Sarah McBride as “Mr. McBride.”

In a discussion about arms control and U.S. assistance to Europe, the ranking member from Massachusetts, Bill Keating (D), interrupted to ask McBride to ask the chairman to repeat his introduction. It’s hard to laugh when watching this all go down, as Keating waited until after McBride said, “Madame Chair” to passive-aggressively point out Self’s “misgendering” of McBride. (Way to “mansplain” it for the “woman,” Mr. Keating.)

McBride, is the first transgender person elected to Congress, prompting House Speaker Mike Johnson to release a statement last November clearing up any confusion about which facilities McBride should use on Capitol Hill:

“All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings — such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex. It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol. Women deserve women’s-only spaces.”

Tuesday’s heated exchange came to an abrupt end when Keating refused to continue the hearing until Self addressed McBride in the feminine form. In Self’s defense, he has both President Trump’s executive order stating the federal government recognizes only two genders, which are both based on a person’s biology at birth, and the House floor rules for the House, which refer to “gentlemen” and “gentlewomen.” This also is based on biology and not identity.

These things really shouldn’t be so hard.

#DetransAwarenessDay

Speaking of reality, yesterday was the fourth annual celebration of #DetransAwarenessDay, when detransitioners visit Capitol Hill to raise awareness about their experiences and advocate for ethical healthcare practices.

Dr. Patrick Hunter, a general pediatrician with a degree in bioethics, began speaking out against the gender madness in 2015, when children with gender dysphoria began showing up at his Tennessee practice. Last January, Hunter spoke with the National Catholic Register about his observations, saying, “When you see what’s been done to kids after hormonal and surgical transition — the harm and regret — the truth becomes clear. Transition is not good; it is not the truth. Our youth, teens, and young adults need to be protected from the objective harms being done to them.”

Ten years later, Hunter says he’s embarrassed to even be a member of the profession, but has built trust with parents and patients who know he takes the Hippocratic oath seriously.

Critics claim that detransitioners are unicorns, stating that the awareness event “is all a way to dismantle ‘trans’ rights under the guise of protecting children.” But this is not what a study published a few weeks ago in The Journal of Sexual Medicine revealed: Doctors looking at the mental health risks associated with “gender-affirming” surgery wanted to know if these individuals face a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and suicide — and found that yes, they are! In fact, those “undergoing surgery were at significantly higher risk for depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and substance use disorders than those without surgery.” (Emphasis added.)

This doesn’t really match the mantra of “Do you want a dead daughter or a live son?”, does it? Let us pray that more parents, doctors, and brave survivors like Dr. Hunter and Chloe Cole speak boldly for those confused by social media into believing a lie.

Along The Stream…

Wanda Alger asks, “Can We Make a Case for Modern-Day Apostles and Prophets?”

Also, new Stream contributor Amine Ayoub breaks down “Israel’s Claim to the West Bank: A Biblical Imperative for Action.”

 

Gayle McQueary is The Stream’s social media coordinator. She has a background in production and is a scary judge of people trying to get kids to live in false realities.

 

A previous version of this article incorrected stated Lucy Nelson made an attempt last Sunday, the suspect was actually arrested on February 24th.