Daily News Brief for Wednesday December 8th, 2021
Happy Advent everybody! And Happy Birthday to my friend Lars (or Ted Lasso)
Folks, we have a lot of exciting things planned for 2022, and we are praying God blesses it all. Our club member support is key to our ability to battle it out with mainstream media, and grow as a force to be reckoned with. As you know during Advent, anyone who signs up to become an annual club member or above will get our Christmas man box. Current club members can just hit the upgrade button for this, or you can login to your club portal and just buy the Christmas man box. Of course we do these promotions to encourage you to support us, and we want to bless you as you are blessing us, and so we are grateful for all the help we can get. Also, we have a lot of people reach out to us that want to support us in creative ways, you know like help us by our own studio, church support, business partnerships, etc… and if that is the case, just email me at waterboy@CrossPolitic.com and glad to chat.
One thing I am excited about, is we are working on a 3 or 4 city tour this spring, where we will be doing a one night live show on a Thursday or Friday night at a local movie theater or venue. If you are interested in booking us in your city, reach out. We already have some cities we are going to be coming too, and we will release our tour schedule as we confirm locations. This will be a night with the CrossPolitic gang, our comedian John Branyan, and special guest. So be on the lookout for our spring tour schedule.
900 Better.com employees learn their jobs are being eliminated in a Zoom call
“If you’re on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off,” CEO Vishal Garg said. “Your employment here is terminated effective immediately.”
Roll Clip:
Secret Documents Show Which Message Apps Are the Most FBI-Proof
“Most message apps tout their privacy features in some way. It is common to hear marketing language about “end-to-end encryption” and “private messaging” for basically every communications app out there.
While it’s great that encryption has become a selling point for the public, not every “encrypted messaging service” is made equally. Depending on how it is set up, your message app may leak metadata, contacts, and even message contents.
A recently uncovered FBI document obtained by a group called Property of the People and shared with Rolling Stone illustrates just how important your choice of private messenger can be. If you think popular options like Apple’s iMessage and the Meta company formerly known as Facebook’s WhatsApp are FBI-proof, think again. The nation’s top cops can obtain a host of message information on many popular options including some mix of “subscriber data, message sender-receiver data, device backup, IP address, encryption keys, date/time information, registration time data, and user contacts.”
The document, put out a day after the brouhaha of January 6, describes methods that the FBI can legally use (as of November 2020) to procure evidence in the course of a criminal investigation. This is not a “warrantless wiretapping” kind of scenario, although these tools could of course be used in improper ways.
The bottom line: of the most popular apps, iMessage and WhatsApp are particularly susceptible to FBI snooping. Telegram and Signal score far better according to the FBI documents. (Line and Viber are also relatively bad picks, and my formerly favored Threema likewise fares more poorly than I’d have expected, but since they aren’t as popular this probably isn’t relevant for you.)
Now to the encryption winners. It’s no surprise that Signal fared well against favored FBI methods. It’s open source, independent (albeit with some surprising partnerships), and touted by public personalities with privacy-focused bonafides. Still, I would have expected the FBI to have access to more metadata than they apparently do. Way to go, Signal.
Telegram especially surprised me for scoring so well. End-to-end encryption is not the default for most Telegram communications. You need to select a “secret chat” with an individual to get the full-bodied protection that the FBI document seems to indicate. Groups chats, which is the method preferred of many Telegram users, do not offer the same level of end-to-end encryption. Neither the FBI document nor the Rolling Stone article makes mention of this.”
I am trying not to include COVID news in my News Briefs, but I can’t help it. But first:
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Biden Vaccine Mandate for Contractors Blocked Nationwide (1)
According to Bloomberg Law:
“The Biden administration’s mandate for federal contractors’ employees to be vaccinated will be halted nationwide, amid a slew of challenges from states that say the president overstepped his authority in requiring the Covid-19 shots.
Led by Georgia, the seven states that challenged the mandate set to take effect on Jan. 4 are likely to succeed in their lawsuits against the administration’s order, U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker of the Southern District of Georgia said in an order issued Tuesday.
The Biden administration mandate applies to roughly a quarter of the U.S. workforce and affects companies that do business with the federal government, including Lockheed Martin Corp., Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc.‘s Google, and General Motors Co.
Baker’s order follows a Kentucky federal judge’s grant last week of a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit involving Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. Baker echoed what his Kentucky counterpart said, that blocking the mandate didn’t indicate that the vaccine wouldn’t be effective to stopping the spread of Covid-19, but rather that Biden didn’t have the power to issue such an executive order.
Representatives from Georgia universities testified during an injunction hearing earlier this month, arguing that implementation of the mandate would be expensive, onerous, and cost them valuable employees who haven’t yet presented proof of vaccination. Those schools receive millions from the federal government.
The court found that the states could likely prove that Congress didn’t clearly authorize the president to issue the mandate, and that it “goes far beyond addressing administrative and management issues in order to promote efficiency and economy in procurement and contracting.” The 2017 nominee of President Donald Trump said, instead, the executive order works as a “regulation of public health.”
Idaho Gov. Brad Little cheered Tuesday’s ruling in a statement. The state is part of the Georgia-led contractor mandate challenge, as well as lawsuits against the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration’s shot-or-test emergency regulation for large U.S. businesses, and another inoculation rule for healthcare workers.
“Yet another one of President Biden’s vaccine mandates have been temporarily shut down because the states—including Idaho—took a stand against his unprecedented government overreach into Americans’ lives and businesses,” Little said in the statement. “All three mandates are now completely stalled. We will continue to press forward in our fight against the federal government’s bad policies.””
New York is tripping. One data piece that is important in all this, is how many people who have been vaxxed, already have immunity due to previously already having COVID? If New York was the epicenter for COVID in 2020, than aren’t they closer to herd immunity. As Knox pointed out in his news brief on Monday, that Bill “hotdog” DeBlasio’s mandate applies to 5 year olds that want to go to a restaurant. But 5 year olds dont die from COVID, they just dont. That is the data. Don’t ever let the lefttist convince you that they care about the science. The left want all those who have real immunity from previously contracting COVID to get vaxxed, this is not science. Biden’s mandates require that, Hotdog’s vax mandate requires it, Oregon governor goes to DC and does not where masks at her social events…but is mandating those same requirements in Oregon…non of this is about the science. Again don’t ever let the left convince you that they care about the science. They think men can be women, they believe babies can be murdered in their mother’s belly, and they reject natural immunity while forcing the jab.
Speaking of the anti-science leftist ideology:
This college swimmer used to compete as a man but now identifies as a woman and is absolutely shattering women’s swimming records
According to the Bee:
“Among the latest transgender athletes to absolutely dominate in the women’s leagues in which they are competing is 22-year-old University of Pennsylvania swimmer “Lia” Thomas”:
And according to the Daily Mail:
“A trans swimmer and senior at the University of Pennsylvania, who previously spent three years competing as a man, smashed two US records while competing at a weekend contest, sparking fresh claims of unfairness.
On Sunday, Lia Thomas, 22, put in an astounding performance at the Zippy Invitational Event in Akron, Ohio, that saw her finish the 1,650 yard freestyle 38 seconds ahead of her teammate Anna Sofia Kalandaze.”
Just ridiculous, and if you follow my link to all the other scores here: https://swimswam.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/sunday_results.pdf, you will see that all the other gaps are within 11 seconds or less😱😱😱.
We have to talk about Biden’s Build Back Socialism, I mean, Better Bill, but first:
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Build Back Better, as Elon Musk said, “would be better if it doesn’t pass, but he does not stop there:
And here is why:
A Clearer Breakdown of What This Infrastructure Bill Is Really Funding
I have reviewed some of this before, but here are some more details according to Corey:
As a reminder here is the overview:
Big Categories:
Roads and bridges – $110 billion
Power grid – $73 billion
Railways – $66 billion
Broadband internet – $65 billion
Drinking water – $55 billion
Resilience & climate change – $50 billion
Airports & waterways – $42 billion
Public transit – $39 billion
Environmental – $21 billion
Transportation safety – $11 billion
Electric vehicles – $7.5 billion
Electric buses, ferries – $7.5 billion
According to Corey, “Word Use Throughout The Bill, for Perspective”
Grant is used 2,115 times
Transportation is used 1,187 times
Energy is used 978 times as opposed to “Roads” being used 900 times or “Highway” 512 times
Pilot Program is used 262 times
Cybersecurity is used 234 times
Partner is used 182 times
Resilience is used 145 times
Nonprofit is used 88 times
Stakeholder(s) is used 69 times
Smart is used 63 times
Greenhouse is used 37 times
“New Councils and Task Forces Being Created
• Energy Jobs Council
• Motorcyclist Advisory Council
• Nontraditional and Emerging Transportation Technology Council
• Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success Council
• Task Force on Producer Responsibilities (batteries)
• Truck Leasing Task Force”
“27 Pilot Programs:
• Advanced Transportation Research Pilot Program – $250 million
• Alternative Water Source Projects Pilot Programs under Clean Water – $125 million
• Apprenticeship Pilot Program under Motor Carrier Safety
• Carbon Capture Large-Scale Pilot Projects under Authorization of Appropriations for Energy Act – $937 million
• Critical Minerals: Processing, Recycling, or Development Pilot Programs – $400 million
• Data Integration Pilot Program – $50 million
• Electric or Low-emitting Ferry Pilot Program under Clean School Buses and Ferries – $250 million
• Emerging Technology Research Pilot Program – $50 million
• Energy Efficiency Materials Pilot Program under Schools and Nonprofits – $250 million
• Energy Storage Demonstration Projects Pilot Program – $355 million
• Expedited Project Delivery for Capital Investment Grants Pilot Program
• Federal Share Flexibility Pilot Program
• Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Pilot Program under section 3006(b) of the Federal Public Transportation Act of 2015 – $24 million
• Lead Inventorying Utilization Grant Pilot Program – $10 million
• National Motor Vehicle Per-Mile User Fee Pilot Program – $50 million
• Open Project and Research Proposal Pilot Program – $75 million
• Prioritization Process Pilot Program under Planning and Performance Management – $50 million
• Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program under Miscellaneous – $500 million
• Rural and Low-income Water Assistance Pilot Program under Drinking Water
• Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program – $10 million
• State Incentives Pilot Program
• Toll Credit Exchange Pilot Program
• Transportation Access Pilot Program
• Use of Agricultural Commodities in Construction and Consumer Products under Bioproduct Pilot Program – $4 million
• Wastewater Efficiency Grant Pilot Program under Clean Water – $100 million
• Water Data Sharing Pilot Program under Clean Water – $75 million
• Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program – $350 million”
Obviously there is a lot more there, and Corey does a pretty thorough job going through the bill. Be communicating with your Senators right now, and tell them this is a crazy clown town bill.