December, 13 2021, 10:04am EDT
Friends of the Earth Releases Three Classic Christmas Movie Parody Trailers Calling Out Biden Administration's Broken Promises Public Lands, Climate and Conservation
WATCH: “Biden Baby,” “A Christmas Barrel” and “A Wonderful Lie” Urge Biden to Keep Campaign Promises, End Massive Public Land Giveaways to Oil and Gas Companies
Parody Movie Trailers Will Air Across DC Today (Monday, 12/13) On Eight Video Trucks Blanketing Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON
Today, Friends of the Earth released three climate-change themed movie trailer parodies of classic Christmas movies, designed to call out the Biden Administration's broken promises to end all new leasing on public lands and waters and protect 30% of public lands by 2030. The movie trailers - "A Christmas Barrel," "Biden Baby," and "A Wonderful Lie" - parodies of "A Christmas Carol," "Santa Baby" and "A Wonderful Life" urge President Biden to keep his campaign promises and end public land giveaways to oil and gas companies.
So far this year, the Biden Administration has sacrificed a huge swath of America's public lands to the oil and gas industry - posting more than 700,000 acres for possible auction in the first quarter of 2022 alone.
WATCH "BIDEN BABY" HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pObW3IJBT5U
WATCH "A CHRISTMAS BARREL" HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmCZneh_r3c
WATCH "A WONDERFUL LIE" HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvDSRNgUl2w
The three parody movie trailers, part of Friends of the Earth's Biden's Oily Christmas: 12 Days of Public Land Giveaways campaign, will air across Washington, DC on a series of eight mobile billboard trucks from 9am to 5pm today, December 13th.
The action is the last day of the 12 day campaign with the previous eleven days featuring stunts, actions, protests and street theatre including:
On the tenth and eleventh day of Biden's Oily Christmas (12/10 and 12/11) - carolers sang climate changed themed songs outside the homes of Special Assistant to the President for Climate Policy David Hayes, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain calling for urgent action to live up to President Biden's climate promises.
On the eight and ninth days of Biden's Oily Christmas (12/9 and 12/10) - carolers sang climate-changed themed carols outside the Old Executive Office building and distributed hot cocoa to passersby with marshmallows featuring the faces of Biden Administration officials who have failed to live up to President Biden's climate promises.
On the seventh day of Biden's Oily Christmas (12/8) - activists dressed as "Santa Biden" delivered presents to the oil and gas industry lobbyists at the American Petroleum Institute.
On the sixth day of Biden's Oily Christmas (12/7) - activists released climate change and public lands movie posters for a second day around the headquarters of oil and gas lobbyists in DC.
On the fifth day of Biden's Oily Christmas (12/6) - sidewalk messages appeared outside the White House and Department of Interior calling out President BIden's oil and gas giveaways. The decal ads recalled verses from classic Christmas carols re-written to warn of climate catastrophe.
On the fourth day of Biden's Oily Christmas (12/5) - carolers distributed free hot cocoa to holiday shoppers in downtown DC and spread the word about Biden's broken climate promises, as well as information on how to take action.
On the third day of Biden's Oily Christmas (12/4) - activists released a climate change and public lands themed movie poster, parodying classic Christmas movies, and posted those posters throughout DC.
On the second day of Biden's Oily Christmas (12/3) - activists called out the Biden Administration's ongoing giveaways to oil and gas CEOs through a series of images projected on the Department of Interior Building in DC.
On the first day of Biden's Oily Christmas (12/2) - activists crashed the White House Christmas tree lighting ceremony spreading messagings of good tidings and climate doom.
LEARN MORE ABOUT BIDEN'S OILY CHRISTMAS: 12 DAYS OF PUBLIC LANDS GIVEAWAYS AND SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ACTIONS HERE: https://bidensoilychristmas.com/
CHECK OUT THE FULL SET OF CAROL LYRICS HERE: https://bit.ly/BidenOilyCarols
"President Biden promised to be the first President of the United States to comprehensively address the growing climate crisis. But instead, his Interior Department failed to fully address climate in its recent report on oil and gas leasing and is plowing forward with new lease sales that wreck our public lands and exacerbate climate change - all while enriching Big Oil CEOs," explained Nicole Ghio, Senior Fossil Fuels Program Manager at Friends of the Earth. "The Biden Administration deserves a lump of coal this Christmas for all its broken promises on climate and our nation's public lands. This holiday season, we're demanding urgent action to put the US back on track. It's time for President Biden to live up to his promises to the American people, and that means halting all new oil and gas lease sales."
Friends of the Earth fights for a more healthy and just world. Together we speak truth to power and expose those who endanger the health of people and the planet for corporate profit. We organize to build long-term political power and campaign to change the rules of our economic and political systems that create injustice and destroy nature.
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New Rule From Agency Trump Wants Destroyed Would Save Consumers $5 Billion Per Year in Overdraft Fees
One advocate called the CFPB's new rule "a major milestone in its effort to level the playing field between regular people and big banks."
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one of President-elect Donald Trump's top expected targets as he plans to dismantle parts of the federal government after taking office in January, announced on Thursday its latest action aimed at saving households across the U.S. hundreds of dollars in fees each year.
The agency issued a final rule to close a 55-year-old loophole that has allowed big banks to collect billions of dollars in overdraft fees from consumers each year,
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The rule is set to go into effect next October, but the incoming Trump administration could put its implementation in jeopardy. Trump has named billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency, an advisory body he hopes to create. Musk has signaled that he wants to "delete" the CFPB, echoing a proposal within the right-wing policy agenda Project 2025, which was co-authored by many officials from the first Trump term.
"The CFPB is cracking down on these excessive junk fees and requiring big banks to come clean about the interest rate they're charging on overdraft loans."
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The Federal Reserve Board exempted banks from Truth in Lending Act protections in 1969, allowing them to charge overdraft fees without disclosing their terms to consumers.
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Government watchdog Accountable.US credited the CFPB with cracking down on overdraft fees despite aggressive campaigning against the action by Wall Street, which has claimed the fees have benefits for American families.
Accountable.US noted that Republican Reps. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina and Andy Barr of Kentucky have appeared to lift their criticisms of the rule straight from industry talking points, claiming that reforming overdraft fee rules would "limit consumer choice, stifle innovation, and ultimately raise the cost of banking for all consumers."
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The new overdraft fee rule follows a $95 million enforcement action against Navy Federal Credit Union for illegal surprise overdraft fees and similar actions against Wells Fargo, Regions Bank, and Atlantic Union.
Consumers have saved $6 billion annually through the CFPB's initiative to curb junk fees, which has led multiple banks to reduce or eliminate their fees.
"Big banks that charge high fees for overdrafts are not providing a courtesy to consumers—it's a form of predatory lending that exacerbates wealth disparities and racial inequalities," said Carla Sanchez-Adams, senior attorney at NCLC. "The CFPB's overdraft rule ensures that the most vulnerable consumers are protected from big banks trying to pad their profits with junk fees."
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The report also recounts the story of Roni Jacobson, a freelance reporter whose experience on the last day of 2023 was a harbinger of press freedom incidents to come in 2024. Jacobson was on assignment to cover a pro-Palestinian demonstration for the New York Daily News on December 31, 2023 when she was told to leave by police because she didn't have city-issued press credentials with her. She recounted that she accidentally bumped into an officer and was arrested. She was held overnight at a precinct and then released after the charges against her, which included disorderly conduct, were dropped.
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President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has chosen Kari Lake, a far-right election denier and failed U.S. Senate candidate, to lead the federally funded international broadcast network Voice of America, a move that critics said underscores Trump's effort to transform government entities into vehicles to advance his own interests.
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote that as director of VOA, Lake would "ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media."
Lake, a former television news anchor in Arizona who has echoed Trump's insidious attacks on journalists, wrote in response to the president-elect's announcement that she was "honored" to be asked to lead VOA, which she characterized as "a vital international media outlet dedicated to advancing the interests of the United States by engaging directly with people across the globe and promoting democracy and truth." VOA, which is supposed to have editorial independence, has long faced criticism for its coverage and treatment of employees.
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