Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy 4/17

[SVPete]

The Electric Bus Bust Mayhem Continues

https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2026/04/17/the-electric-bus-bust-mayhem-continues-n3813999

Most wind up in the slow-rolling disaster column, and man - that does seem to be the case with the Biden administration's $1.6B push to electrify city transit fleets.

...E-buses have been purchased by transit agencies in part through a "Low-No" emissions grant program mainly through the Federal Transit Administration that received a $1.6 billion infusion during the Biden years.

"Given the scale of this investment, there must be an examination into whether taxpayers are receiving the reliable, deployable transit assets capable of serving the communities for which they were funded," Power the Future (PTF) President Daniel Turner said.
...
...Similarly, PTF highlighted a 2024 EPA Inspector General audit that found the agency failed to meaningfully track the deployment of electric school buses under a 2022 rebate program through which $836 million was handed out by federal officials.
...An EPA Inspector General statement from October regarding the school bus program said "three material weaknesses so significant that they could lead to material misstatements in the Agency’s financial statements" were found.
"The EPA did not monitor bus deployment status and recipient use of over $836 million of 2022 Clean School Bus, or CSB, Program rebates, despite the Agency stating it would do so," another OIG report from 2024 said.

...
In March, I had a field day posting some of the latest news that had come in on both the urban and school district E-bus experiments. Tragically for the tax dollars involved, and, in some cases, the health, comfort, and well-being of the kiddos on the buses, most were abysmal disappointments and many flat-out disasters.

There were mechanical issues galore, scary fires that thankfully erupted in unoccupied vehicles but consumed the fleet in some cases, and maintenance/parts problems arising from bankrupt bus manufacturers that seemed insurmountable.

I'm so old that I remember when "Electric Mayhem" was the house band on "The Muppet Show".

[ADsOutburst]

There were mechanical issues galore, scary fires that thankfully erupted in unoccupied vehicles but consumed the fleet in some cases, and maintenance/parts problems arising from bankrupt bus manufacturers that seemed insurmountable.

Fires...

Besides being a threat to human life, they're... bad for the environment.

[SVPete]

RFK Jr.: Biden Administration Blocked Christians From Fostering Kids

https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2026/04/17/rfk-biden-admin-blocked-christians-from-fostering-kids-n4951903

The Biden-Harris administration was actively working to prevent many religious families, particularly Christians, from participating in the foster care system, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

As you have probably guessed, the restrictions were most specifically connected to LGBTQ ideology. In a sane world, families that believe surgeries and cross-dressing can alter one's biological sex would not be allowed to foster a child because they deny basic reality and support child mutilation. But the Biden administration did the opposite, demanding that foster parents affirm radical LGBTQ ideology. That would exclude traditional Jews, Catholics, and other conservative Christians from acting as foster parents or adopting children they foster.

Kennedy revealed the condemnable religious discrimination (that the Trump administration is now removing from the foster care system) this week during congressional testimony. "President Trump and the First Lady, who has been extraordinary for us to work with, have set their vision as one family ... for one child," Kennedy said. Melania Trump has made renewing foster care a priority during her husband's second term in office.

Explaining the issue with achieving the goal of one child for one family, Kennedy continued, "Right now, we have a two-to-one ratio. And part of the reason for that is that the Biden administration was excluding an entire class of people because of their religious beliefs. [They were telling] the states to actually pass laws, instructed them to pass laws, refusing families who had religious — certain religious beliefs, mainly Christian religious beliefs, not be allowed to have children. And that dramatically constricted the pool of available parents." For instance, Oregon still disallows foster parents looking to adopt kids from going through the process if they don't agree with LGBTQ ideology.

Prog bigotry had consequences ... but sadly, it was for the innocent children who got shuffled around due to fewer foster families being available.