The Biden-Harris Justice Department is wrong in claiming that federal law bars Virginia and other states from removing aliens from their voter rolls. And if the law DOJ cites is misinterpreted by a court to agree with the agency’s erroneous claim, then the law likely would be unconstitutional. The Justice Department sued Virginia after it removed the names of 6,303 aliens and Alabama after it moved 3,251 aliens to an “inactive” list. Keep in mind that it’s a felony under several federal statutes for an alien to claim fraudulently to be a citizen so he or she may register to vote or vote in U.S. elections, including 18 U.S.C. §§ 611, 911, and 1015(f). The Justice Department has a duty to enforce these statutes, something the agency apparently has no interest in doing under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The federal voter registration form established by the National Voter Registration Act, or NVRA, not only asks applicants whether they are U.S. citizens, it requires them to attest under penalty of perjury that they are citizens. The form has a strict warning that if the would-be voter provides false information, he or she may “be fined, imprisoned, or (if not a U.S. citizen) deported from or refused entry to the United States.” However, the Justice Department claims that Virginia and Alabama violated the law’s 90-day preelection deadline for “systematic” list maintenance programs. This, according to the DOJ led by Attorney General Merrick Garland, prevents all “systematic” removals from a voter registration list within 90 days of an election. What the Justice Department fails to point out is that the 90-day deadline is in the second part of a section of the National Voter Registration Act that deals only with the removal of the names of registered voters who have moved.  The first part outlines the rule for removing the names of individuals who have moved to a different residence either within the state or another state. The second part then applies the 90-day deadline for such removals. That section of the law also says that the deadline doesn’t apply to “correction of registration records” or to removal of names of voters who have requested it or who have died or become ineligible due to a criminal conviction or mental incapacity.  The common factor in all of those exceptions is that each deals with individuals who were eligible to vote when they registered but subsequently became ineligible.  The 90-day deadline obviously doesn’t apply to an alien who wasn’t eligible to register to vote in the first place and, in fact, was committing a felony violation of federal criminal law by registering.  Critics, including the Justice Department, have claimed that those exceptions are the “exclusive” reasons that a state may remove the names of registered individuals from the voter rolls. In 2012, in Arcia v. Detzner, a federal case out of the Southern District of Florida, Judge William Zloch said that claim would “produce an absurd result.” Zloch ruled that would mean a state couldn’t “remove from its voting rolls minors, fictitious individuals, individuals who misrepresent their residence in the state, and non-citizens.”  The 90-day deadline, the judge decided, “simply does not apply to an improperly registered noncitizen.” In another 2012 federal case, U.S. v. Florida, Judge Robert Hinkle of the Northern District of Florida concluded that Congress drafted these provisions of the law to deal with the removal of names of registered voters “on grounds that typically arise after an initial proper registration.” The provisions don’t apply to “revocation of an improperly granted registration of a noncitizen,” Hinkle ruled. In fact, the judge wrote, “the NVRA does not require a state to allow a noncitizen to vote just because the state did not catch the error more than 90 days in advance.” Moreover, the Justice Department is also wrong in claiming that the law bars all “systematic” removals of voters’ names.  As Hinkle ruled, during the 90-day period “a state may pursue a program to systematically remove registrants on request or based on a criminal conviction, mental incapacity, or death but not based on a change of residence.”  What “matters here,” the federal judge added, “is this: none of this applies to removing noncitizens who were never properly registered in the first place.”  It is true that in a deeply flawed, cursory analysis, a divided panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the Southern District of Florida decision and held that the 90-day deadline did apply to the removal of aliens’ names from voter rolls.  But Florida didn’t appeal this obviously wrong decision by two appeals court judges to the entire 11th Circuit or to the Supreme Court. The 11th Circuit panel’s decision not only is wrong based on the text of the statute, but any interpretation of the National Voter Registration Act that would force a state to allow an ineligible alien who violated criminal law by registering to remain registered so he may cast a ballot in an upcoming election likely would render the law unconstitutional. In 2019, in Bellitto v. Snipes, another case arising out of Florida, a different 11th Circuit panel held that in applying the NVRA, “Congress would not have mandated that the state register” an individual who “is not eligible to vote.” If the NVRA does not require a state to register an ineligible alien to vote, it cannot be construed to require a state to maintain and continue the registration of an ineligible alien. Alabama and Virginia should fight the Justice Department and be willing to take these cases all the way to the Supreme Court. Maintaining the security and integrity of the American election process and protecting voters against foreign interference that voids their votes requires no less. Read Hans von Spakovsky’s complete Legal Memorandum: “The National Voter Registration Act Does Not Prevent States From Removing Aliens from Voter Registration Rolls at Any Time.” The post The DOJ Is Wrong: Federal Law Doesn’t Prevent States From Removing Aliens From Voter Rolls appeared first on The Daily Signal.

This week, Donald Trump set the political world afire with an appearance at a McDonald’s in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. There, he donned the famous McDonald’s apron, cooked up some fries and served customers at a drive-thru window. All the while, he looked like he was enjoying himself thoroughly—which he certainly was. Trump has the momentum, and he knows it. But it’s more than that. Whatever Trump’s other failings, at his root, Trump likes people. And not just people of his class or who share his background. He likes dealing with human beings. Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to commemorate Oct. 7 with Trump, where he met with the family of an American hostage held by Hamas in Gaza. Trump connected with them on an emotional level. Whether it’s Jewish Americans from New Jersey dealing with the horror and tragedy of having their son held by the world’s most vicious terrorist group or Pennsylvania voters who just want to meet Trump and pick up a Happy Meal, Trump is comfortable with his fellow Americans because he’s unapologetically what he is. That’s simply not true of Kamala Harris. Off-script, Harris remains a disaster. Her “60 Minutes” interview with Bill Whitaker was filled with word slaw, spin, and platitudinous drivel. Her Fox News interview with Bret Baier flew completely off the rails, with Harris unable to defend even the most basic decisions by the Biden administration. She took time off the campaign trail to prepare for an NBC News interview as well as a CNN town hall—events that, for a normal candidate, would require zero prep time in a hotel conference room. Then again, this is the same woman whose staff had to hold a “mock dinner” to prepare her for a dinner with Washington journalists and newsmakers. Axios reported, “Harris aides even considered including wine in the mock prep so Harris could practice with a glass or two.” What’s more, Harris seems to be a permanent resident of the uncanny valley. She does a mildly credible job of appearing warm and human … but only just. Her interactions always reek of the staged and the manipulated. Every move is calculated—and transparently so. Twelve-time Best Actress nominee Katharine Hepburn once reportedly described Meryl Streep’s acting as too mechanical: “Click, click, click,” she reportedly told biographer Scott Berg, “referring to the wheels turning inside (Streep’s) head.” That’s Harris with actual, real human beings. And it shows. Which is why the media have gone apoplectic about Trump’s McDonald’s visit. Trump’s critics pointed out that the McDonald’s was actually formally closed for his visit and claimed that the event was “staged”—a peculiar critique, given that Trump has been the victim of two assassination attempts, and presidential campaigns require places of business to be secured before candidates enter. The critics even went so far as to attack the local franchise for its health record years ago. The desperation comes from an obvious place: This was a Trump win. (Screenshots: Facebook) And it was a Trump win because Trump wasn’t pretending. He didn’t don jeans and a T-shirt in order to cosplay as one of the boys, Tim Walz-style. Instead, he showed up in his traditional suit, put on an apron, and started handing out fries and chitchatting with the customers. It was a moment of authenticity, and it showed as such, compared with the polyester joy presented by the Harris campaign. Harris can’t shake the fundamental reality that she has been, for decades, a highly stylized political product. Kamala 1.0 was a progressive prosecutor; Kamala 2.0 was a hard-charging prosecutor; Kamala 3.0 was the furthest left member of the U.S. Senate; Kamala 4.0 was a moderate. And Kamala 5.0 is whatever she needs to be at any given moment. But what she truly needs to be is human. And that’s the problem: She isn’t. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Why Trump at McDonald’s Matters appeared first on The Daily Signal.

DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—An Ohio child welfare agency created a “confidential spreadsheet” tracking the sexual orientation and transgender identity of children as young as 5, according to a document exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services created a database tracking the sexual orientation, transgender identity, and pronouns of children who interacted with the child welfare system in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, featuring entries dated from March 2018 to the most recent entry in August 2024. The spreadsheet was part of its “Safe Identification” program, which teaches social services staff how to collect information about the sexuality and gender identity of children. In 2017, Cuyahoga County DCFS was one of four social services agencies nationwide chosen to research, develop, and evaluate transgender ideology-based child welfare interventions that suggest parents and caregivers who do not affirm a child’s sexual orientation or gender confusion are unsafe and may need to have their children removed from their home. Members of the Biden-Harris administration called the Cuyahoga County group “trailblazers” and wanted to nationalize their model. The Cuyahoga County DCFS team influenced the recently finalized Biden-Harris rule, which requires child welfare systems to validate and support gender confusion. On the confidential spreadsheet, Cuyahoga County DCFS staff detailed how they helped children obtain sex-change drugs, purchased a chest binder for a “nonbinary” child, and noted at least one tracked child was 5 years old. The document tracked if children were “transgender or gender diverse,” labeling them as pansexual, bisexual, gay, lesbian, straight, or “questioning” their sexual orientation. One entry for a boy listed as gay said: “Youth says his gay b/c his peers told him so.” A section of the “confidential spreadsheet” used by Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services. Nearly half the children in the confidential spreadsheet were listed as living outside of the foster care system in their “own home” with their parents. The spreadsheet notes if parents are “accepting” or “rejecting” of their child’s gender confusion. Some transgender activists view rejecting a child’s gender confusion, such as not letting a child cross-dress, as an act of abuse or neglect. The spreadsheet was one of hundreds of documents reviewed during the Daily Caller News Foundation’s investigation into the federally funded transformation of the child welfare system into that which rejects a male-female understanding of sex and instead teaches social workers, children, and families to proactively “affirm,” meaning to validate, support, and embrace gender ideology. ‘Very Appreciated’ Emails obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation show Cuyahoga County DCFS worked closely with the Biden-Harris administration to influence and “imbed” their work into new federal regulations requiring child welfare systems to validate the gender confusion of children.  Julie Kruse, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services senior adviser, called the Cuyahoga County DCFS “trailblazers” for “creating better services and outcomes for LGBTQIA2S+ children and families in child welfare,” saying their work was “very appreciated” by the Biden-Harris administration. “Thank you so much for all you do in being trailblazers to creating better services and outcomes for LGBTQIA2S+ children and families in child welfare, you are very appreciated at ACF,” wrote Kruse. “I would really love ACF leadership to see first hand what it looks like when folks address the challenges LGBTQIA2S+ youth face in care, and deal with the hard issues – data collection, organizational culture, etc. etc.” The research was funded by a $10 million federal grant awarded to the University of Maryland School of Social Work from the Children‘s Bureau, an agency within HHS. The grant funded the creation of a research group cumbersomely named National Quality Improvement Center on Tailored Services, Placement Stability, and Permanency for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Two-Spirit Children and Youth (QIC-LGBTQ2S) in Foster Care.  The QIC-LGBTQ2S sought to systemically transform child welfare systems by teaching social workers, children, and families to reject a male-female view of sex and proactively “affirm”—meaning to validate, support, and embrace—the gender confusion of children. Ways parents and staff can be LGBTQ “affirming” include using preferred pronouns, taking children to LGBTQ events, and supporting their desired sex change. The Daily Caller News Foundation has written an in-depth report on the research interventions developed by the QIC-LGBTQ2S, which are being pushed by the Biden-Harris administration. Kruse did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment. A press secretary for the Administration for Children and Families declined to comment. ‘Child Is 5’ In the spreadsheet, the Cuyahoga County DFCS staff noted if children had LGTBQ “affirming” parents or needed assistance to obtain sex-change medications. For example, one entry about a 5-year-old labeled as “transgender or gender diverse” reads: “Child is 5 y/o and has recently come out to the family. The family accept her and are reportedly supportive.” Another entry notes: “Request for hormones submitted to Dr. to send in prior authorization to insurance. DCFS Director signed.” The spreadsheet does not list the child’s age. One entry describes how the agency bought a chest binder, a garment that flattens female breasts, for a “nonbinary” girl living with her parents. “Youth is binding, new binders purchased by DCFS as old one broke. Youth is fluid in gender at times,” reads the spreadsheet. Other notes describe a child engaged in a polyamorous relationship, having more than a single partner at a time, and another entry even notes a child identifies as a “furry”—a person who identifies as an animal. There are also columns to track if parents are engaging in services aimed at training them to validate and support their child’s chosen sexual orientation or transgender identity. The most recent entry on the spreadsheet is dated Aug. 4. ‘Safe Identification’ The confidential spreadsheet was a part of the AFFIRM.ME program developed by Cuyahoga County DCFS through the QIC-LGBTQ2S research grant. The AFFIRM.ME program is a practice model that provides a road map for child welfare systems to undergo a systemic transformation through a series of social services interventions that teach staff, youth, and parents to be LGBTQ-affirming. As previously reported, these interventions include programs that train “non-affirming” parents to validate their child’s gender confusion and assist in finding children a “chosen affirming” family if their parents are not LGBTQ-affirming. Part of the AFFIRM.ME program is called Safe Identification, an intervention that proactively seeks to identify any LGBTQ youth that encounters the child welfare system, including those living outside of the foster care, and trains social workers to collect their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (SOGIE) data. In April 2022, Cuyahoga County adopted a policy requiring all DCFS staff to collect SOGIE data from youth ages 13 and older using their SOGIE Disclosure and Safe Identification forms. The policy states: “Cuyahoga County DCFS believes that all youth involved with the agency have the right to live in an environment that is both physically and emotionally safe. Youth in their own homes or in substitute care deserve to reside with affirming caregivers and other household members. We can help ensure this by safely identifying LGBTQ2S + youth and understanding their individual needs.” The SOGIE Disclosure form specifies that staff members can have a gender identity conversation with children as young as 3 if they “are very aware of their gender.” According to a 2022 report on the AFFIRM.ME program, the Safe Identification intervention was originally meant for use for youth ages 12-21 who were in the care of the state. However, the report notes the “age range was later changed to 5–21 years old to account for younger children disclosing diverse gender identity or expression and to include youth involved with DCFS, not just those in the care of DCFS.” It also notes that approximately 10% of all identified youth were under age 12. This was seen as a “positive change” as it created an opportunity to “provide services to families and youth not in agency care in an effort to keep them from entering agency custody,” according to the report. Ohio state Rep. Gary Click, who sponsored an Ohio bill banning pediatric sex change, disagrees that the AFFIRM.ME program is creating a “positive change” in Ohio. “The policies of the Cuyahoga County DCFS are the ultimate in government grooming practices and must stop immediately—their ‘Affirm.Me’ program goes far beyond the role of government to ensure the safety of children and serves only to indoctrinate and discriminate against families whose values differ from their official government mandate,” Click told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Additionally, their belittling, discrimination, and attempted reprogramming of people of faith is hideous, un-American, and very likely unconstitutional,” Click said. “The Legislature will not sit idly by while local government attempts to usurp the role of the family.” Cuyahoga County Department of Child and Family Services SOGIE Disclosure form. ‘Emotional Harm’ “Emotional harm” is included in the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act definition of child abuse and neglect. Some transgender activists believe that rejecting a child’s gender confusion, such as refusing to use a child’s chosen name or pronouns, causes emotional harm and is a form of abuse and neglect. During an HHS webinar filmed last fall, one LGBTQ activist stated “transphobia is child abuse,” comparing it to denying a child food or access to school, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported. If a community member believes a parent is causing a child “emotional harm” by refusing to “affirm” their gender confusion, they could call the Child Protective Services Hotline and report suspected child abuse or neglect. In Ohio, after a report of suspected abuse or neglect is made, a CPS investigator will interview the child and family and determine if the child is being abused or is at risk for abuse. Then, they may refer the case to additional social services or criminal court, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services website. Erin Friday, a California attorney and co-founder of the parent group Our Duty, whose mission is to protect children from the harms of pediatric sex changes, told the Daily Caller News Foundation it’s difficult for parents to fight accusations of emotional harm in court. “A problem with emotional stress accusations is there is wide latitude or discretion at the trial court level,” Friday said. “So when a judge says ‘Yes, you’ve been emotionally abusive,’ it is very hard to appeal that because they have wide discretion.” “Parents are losing custody of their children over a name and a pronoun. That should scare parents,” Friday added. Friday submitted an amicus brief in the upcoming Supreme Court case United States v. Skrmetti, which could determine the future of pediatric sex changes in America. Friday told the Daily Caller News Foundation the outcome of this case will have long-lasting reverberations for the child welfare system. “The basis of my brief was if Tennessee or if the Supreme Court finds that there is a discrete group called transgender kids, then every parent in the United States, every single one, who doesn’t affirm their child is at risk of losing custody of their child,” said Friday. “Because it becomes de facto lifesaving, de facto standard of care. And so, it’s massively important that we win this case,” Friday said. In the brief, Friday described the potential consequences for parents who refuse to affirm their child’s gender confusion if pediatric sex change is “deemed a constitutional right, in children’s best interests, or medically necessary.” “Parents in custody disputes who refuse medical intervention may not be granted custody of gender dysphoric children, and non-affirming parents could be adjudicated emotionally abusive or medically negligent,” reads Friday’s brief. ‘We Have a Form’ The investigation of a child and family after a report of abuse or neglect provides Cuyahoga County DCFS staff members the opportunity to collect the SOGIE data of a child using their SOGIE Disclosure form. The form states that the conversation about the child’s sexual identity “should be done in a private setting,” emphasizing that keeping the disclosed information private is “utmost importance to the Division of Children and Family Services.” It further specifies that any information shared by the youth will not be disclosed to anyone else, which would include their parents, unless there is a safety concern. Included on the SOGIE Disclosure form is a script that recommends social workers introduce themselves using their preferred pronouns, ask the child if they feel like a girl, boy, or “something in between,” and find out who the child has crushes on. If a Cuyahoga County DCFS staff member discovers a child has a “diverse SOGIE,” which the SOGIE Disclosure form defines as “anything other than heterosexual, male or female,” the staff member fills out a Safe Identification form that asks the child if their parents or caregiver affirm their sexual or gender identity. A Safe Identification form used by the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services. DFCS staff are instructed to send the Safe Identification form to Kori Sewell, a social services supervisor at Cuyahoga County Health and Human Services, who inputs the information into a secret database. Sewell previously said on a podcast that only she and her colleague could access the confidential spreadsheet. “We have a form that we have staff fill out when they have a young person who identifies as LGBTQ. That form then comes to me, and I start logging that information into the confidential spreadsheet,” said Sewell on the podcast. Sewell explained how the Safe Identification process helps them identify non-affirming parents and refer them to courses aimed at convincing them to accept their child’s gender dysphoria, if needed. “I have a conversation with the staff around what the needs of the family are, what the dynamics are, we call that our triage, so that we can triage the case to see if it may qualify for a service,” said Sewell. “We had Chosen Affirming Family Finding and The Youth Acceptance Project. Those two services were available to families that we were working with here at the agency, and so part of the triage process was to see if those families qualified for one of those services,” Sewell continued. Chosen Affirming Family Finding is a social services intervention that places LGBTQ kids with “affirming” caregivers. The Youth Acceptance Project works to reeducate non-affirming parents to validate their child’s LGBTQ identity and avoid having them removed from their care. The confidential spreadsheet contained several columns indicating if caregivers were engaged in “YAP” services. The Daily Caller News Foundation obtained a series of communications showing the Cuyahoga County DCFS team working with HHS officials from May 2023 to October 2023, providing input on how interventions like Safe Identification could be implemented at the federal level. Sewell did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment. ‘Insightful Meeting’ Emails indicate Kruse, the senior adviser for LGBTQI+ Initiatives in the Biden-Harris administration, had an “insightful meeting” meeting the Cuyahoga County DCFS team on June 9, 2023, which led to a July 7 call with the then-assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families. In preparation for this call, Kruse sent the Cuyahoga County DCFS team a series of questions it should be prepared to answer, asking how its programs assure “transgender and nonbinary children” have access to binders and pediatric sex-change medical interventions. Kruse also asked how its data collection model was tied to providing “affirming” services. The Cuyahoga County team put together a presentation agenda for the HHS call, which indicated it would explain why its program was “a promising model for replication” with “safe ID as foundation,” according to an agenda obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. After the call, the Cuyahoga County team thanked HHS for considering how to “imbed” their “lifesaving” work into policy. The Cuyahoga County DCFS did not provide the Daily Caller News Foundation with a comment. Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation The post Child Services Dept Working With Biden-Harris Admin Tracked ‘Trans Kids’ on Secret Database appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Amid concerns raised over possible incursions on free speech, The Federalist’s appeal for a more transparent look into the Pennsylvania Department of State’s partnership with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), has been met with significant resistance. The State Department has declined to relinquish pertinent documents and correspondence linked to its collaboration with the agency, which has previously been implicated in operations suppressing free expression. The Federalist had discovered the state’s partnership with CISA, the pro-censorship government organization, a move purposed to counter threats jeopardizing elections, to include what is being deemed as “misinformation.” However, repeated attempts to derive a clearer understanding of what this partnership entails through Pennsylvania’s Right To Know Request (RTKR) have been largely unmet. The Federalist, chastising the state for being reticent with important details, highlights that the specifics of the “intelligence” shared among government agencies involved, as well as the usage of such information, remain obscure. Such omissions were demonstrated in an email from Secretary of State Al Schmidt to a group, including CISA affiliates, discussing efforts to enhance “information sharing.” The opaque nature of the state’s interaction with the agency carried over into protracted delays in furnishing the requested material. Having been informed it would require more than a month to conduct the necessary investigations, the state asked The Federalist to wait a fortnight more for it to sift through pertinent records. The Federalist complied, but following the approval of the extension, was subjected to a string of promises of imminent responses and subsequent extensions, which culminated in finally receiving a response on October 21. However, the information ultimately dispatched skirted over the core issue, as The Federalist was merely granted access to uncomplicated email correspondence related to planning meetings and events, relevant webinar overviews and conveyed well-wishes for a CISA agent’s recovery following a leg injury. Valuable insight into the state’s functioning with the government censorship hub remained unearthed as they were withheld under the justification of their contribution to “internal, predecisional deliberations” or potential security risks if made public. The Federalist has lodged an appeal against the state’s decision to keep critical information under wraps, unearthing a similar pattern with House Judiciary Chairman, Jim Jordan. He had earlier in the year pointed out that CISA had failed to meet their subpoena obligations over similar concerns relating to the dubious partnership. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Pennsylvania Faces Scrutiny Over Secretive Partnership with CISA Amid Free Speech Concerns appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Facial recognition – in the service of price gouging? While both would be serious problems, framing the first as mostly “problematic” in terms of the other looks truly like an example of “burying the lede.” The “lede” concerning facial recognition tech deployed (or planned to be deployed) in places frequented by huge amounts of people such as retail chains like Kroger in the US is – number one (two, and three) – mass surveillance and possible (if not likely) short, mid, and long-term consequences on by and large unsuspecting shoppers’ digital security and privacy. And that means everyone’s privacy, security – and constitutional rights. Yet, here we have one of the supposedly “most progressive” US House of Representative Democrats – Rashida Tlaib – complaining about Kroger’s facial recognition as a tool for surge pricing, not least, according to her, in the context of “studies (that have) shown that facial recognition is flawed and can lead to discrimination in predominantly Black and brown communities.” We obtained a copy of the letter for you here. It might also be a (clever, or otherwise) intent to keep the focus away from the inflation that’s plagued the US, and affected the general standard of living these last years. Kroger did itself no favors by teaming up with Microsoft and its cameras to use EDGE (Enhanced Display for Grocery Environment) “smart shelves,” as well as Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs), which are supposed to enable “dynamic price adjustments” and in this way harvest customer data – such as gender and age. The real story here seems to be a major retail chain monitoring you for those two major personal data points, as you shop, period. But Congresswoman Tlaib is building on an August letter by fellow Democrats Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey who were worried about the “potential misuse” of the tech – the existence of this technology in stores in the first place is already misuse, many critics would say. Many politicians refuse to address the core issue. Kroger’s response claims it, “(…) does not and has never engaged in ‘surge pricing’. Any test of electronic shelf tags is designed to lower prices for more customers where it matters most. To suggest otherwise is not true.” If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Facial Recognition in Retail: Privacy Concerns Loom as Kroger Tracks Shoppers appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Ireland is about to start implementing its Online Safety Code in November, with full implementation expected by the middle of next year. The country’s media regulator (Coimisiún na Meán) is behind these rules that apply in all 27 EU member countries as that concerns online platforms that have their headquarters in Ireland. The highlight of the Code is the ban on uploading and sharing a wide range of content, both user-generated (“third-party”) and commercial, in case the document defines the content as “harmful” – even in instances where it is actually not illegal under either Irish or EU law. Critics are referring to this kind of approach as the authorities acting without “any democratic mandate,” but that doesn’t seem to bother them; instead, the highly controversial age verification has also found its way to this seemingly “para-democratic” move that does not need to be approved by Ireland’s parliament. The age verification requirement has to do with platforms considered to permit “pornography and extreme or gratuitous violence” – and that could affect Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, X, Microsoft’s LinkedIn, Google’s YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc., and all their users. The Irish regulator has decided to use the “money stick” as the main instrument to ensure compliance. Thus any platform that is found to be non-compliant will be ordered to pay the equivalent of some $21.6 million in fines. Alternatively, the figure will be 10 percent of the company’s global annual turnover – whichever is higher. Video platforms will reportedly come under stricter scrutiny under the Online Safety Code, and will have to include the Irish regulator-mandated provision into their terms of service, banning uploading “restricted video content” – as that is described in the Code. Ireland will be able to impose its new rules everywhere in the EU thanks to the EU’s own Audiovisual Media Services Directive 2018. For now, “disinformation” is not a part of what the Irish regulator seeks to ban and fine, but reports say that its representatives made a note of the fact they could “make a proposal that a particular type of content should be added to the categories of harmful content.” That proposal would then be considered by the country’s cabinet minister in charge of the media portfolio. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Ireland Unveils EU-Wide Online Safety Code with Strict Censorship, Online Digital ID Verification, and Fines for Big Tech appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Polls Show Prop 36 is Going to Pass Easily in California

12 Days Until the Biggest Election of Our Lifetime

On Thursday, the major broadcast network morning news shows were eager to share through anonymous sources that the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Justice Department (DOJ) has officially put Tesla founder and X owner Elon Musk on notice with the claim his daily $1 million giveaway to registered voters in seven swing states might be deemed illegal. In turn, for the left, there’s hope alive for the DOJ to subject Musk to a criminal investigation. CBS has been by far the most aggressive with coverage all week on this. CBS Mornings co-host Nate Burleson cued up the latest Musk segment by sharing “CBS News has confirmed a Justice Department warning to Musk’s super PAC” originally reported by CNN. Unfortunately, I'm here to report the liberal media are still at it, trying to have the Biden-Harris DOJ crack down on @TheAmericaPAC and @ElonMusk pic.twitter.com/FAp8RJjFw2 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 24, 2024 Senior business correspondent Jo-Ling Kent touted the anti-free speech and Musk-hating group Public Citizen as a “non-partisan advocacy group” concerned about this (click “expand”): We confirmed that the DOJ has sent a letter in the last few days to Elon Musk’s America PAC, basically warning that the $1 million checks he’s giving to registered voters may violate federal law. The world’s richest man is randomly selecting seven voters in battleground states who sign a petitection [sic] supporting the First and Second Amendments. And, so far, the PAC has given out four sweepstastyle checks like those, three in Pennsylvania, and one in Holly Springs, North Carolina. And this DOJ warning apparently comes from the section of the agency that investigates election-related legal violations and the DOJ itself has declined to comment. And now the nonpartisan advocacy group Public Citizen has weighed in, they’ve filed an FEC complaint, requesting an investigation as well.  Now, the federal election law says it is a crime to pay anyone to vote or register to vote and legal scholars that we’ve been talking to say this appears to be a clear violation, but it could be interpreted in a gray area, since Musk is asking people to sign a petition. Now, Musk himself has already poured $75 million into his own PAC to get Trump voters to the polls. We expect to see more money poured in, in these final two weeks. And, of course, if you’re on X — you’re seeing it — Musk, who owns what is formerly Twitter has been promoting Trump to his 200 million-plus followers and, of course, was promised a prominent role in a second Trump White House last month. Now, we’ve reached out to Musk and his PAC for comment on the DOJ letter and they have not gotten back to us[.] NBC’s Today was also on the warpath. Co-host Savannah Guthrie declared in a tease that the regime had put Musk “on notice....warning [him] about his cash giveaway offer to swing-state voters.” Saturday co-host and senior legal correspondent Laura Jarrett had the story that the millions “have caught the attention of the U.S. Justice Department” and “raising new legal questions this morning for the tech giant” (i.e. leftists and Harris allies). “The super PAC promising that prize money to people who pledge their support for First and Second Amendment rights, but in order to get the money, you have to be registered to vote in one of seven swing states, prompting legal scrutiny by some Democrats,” she added in a lead-in to Governor Josh Shapiro (D-PA) calling for a probe. Admirably, Jarrett pointed out voter registration recently closed in Pennsylvania and let an unidentified election law expert suck some air out of the leftist balloon by stating “it’s unlikely that they would prosecute” Musk, but the letter’s “a shot across the bow.” ABC’s idolatrous Trump hater Rachel Scott took a few moments out of her Good Morning America segment fawning over former Trump chief of staff John Kelly’s wild claims about the former President being a fascist and Adolf Hitler enthusiast to tut-tut about Musk being in trouble: Musk is under scrutiny for his promise to give $1 million to registered voters who sign his political organization’s petition. He’s already handed out four checks...Sources tell ABC News the Justice Department has sent a letter warning Musk that his giveaway may violate federal law against paying voters. And Pennsylvania is one of though critical battlegrounds where Elon Musk handed out one of those checks. The governor in that state saying that law enforcement should be looking into this. Of course, she made sure to bring that up again in the second hour. The Wednesday night newscasts were also giddy about their friends getting involved. Jarrett also covered much of this on NBC Nightly News, hyping that Musk has “earned the attention of the Justice Department” and touting senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson asking Harris about it while traveling with her campaign. Meanwhile, CBS congressional correspondent Nikole Killion ended her CBS Evening News piece on the John Kelly hubbub by boasting that “CBS News has learned that the Justice Department has sent a letter to a super PAC run by one of Trump's biggest backers, Elon Musk. The DOJ says that a recent $1 million giveaway to registered voters to sign a petition could violate federal law.” CBS has taken particular fascination with this. Even after the Monday morning giddiness hoping Musk faces prison time, they’ve kept it up all week. Monday’s CBS Evening News had anchor Norah O’Donnell huffing that “Musk’s endgame” with the contest has “unanswered questions.” Kent suggesting nefariousness, attacking Musk since his “companies SpaceX and Tesla have benefited from billions in federal government grants and contracts” and claimed “[n]early 60 percent” of his election posts on X “amplified false or misleading information, including unsubstantiated conspiracies.” Kent came back for Tuesday’s CBS Mornings and complained “Musk will likely not be prosecuted because..it might not make a big difference this close to the election,” a step back from what a liberal election law guest floated on previous day’s CBS Mornings Plus. To see the relevant transcripts from October 24, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).

The PBS News Hour led off two nights in a row with campaign trail reports from Laura Barron-Lopez, their most partisan reporter. Anchor Geoff Bennett set the scene Monday evening, with Donald Trump in North Carolina on a post-hurricane Helene trip and Kamala Harris touring with former Republican congresswoman and famed anti-Trumper Liz Cheney. The story’s online headline did much of the work: “Harris campaigns with Liz Cheney as Trump again deploys dark and anti-immigrant rhetoric.” Laura Barron-Lopez cooed over and hyped up the bipartisan love-fest. PBS Reporter Laura Barron-Lopez: The Democratic nominee for president campaigned with unlikely company today, Republicans….Vice President Kamala Harris spent the day in moderated conversations with former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, starting in Pennsylvania….It's the latest in a string of unprecedented events Harris has held with Republican figures like Cheney. The pair then made their way to Michigan for another event. The reportorial tone changed rather drastically when the focus shifted to Trump in North Carolina touring storm damage. Barron-Lopez: ….the former president again deployed dark and anti-immigrant rhetoric in Greenville, North Carolina. Trump: Under the Trump administration we are going to take back what is ours. We will end the looting, ransacking, raping and pillaging of North Carolina and, frankly, every other state in the union. Barron-Lopez continued the desperate media pile-on around what was evidently an effective campaign stop by Donald Trump, manning a McDonald’s fry-station in Pennsylvania. Barron-Lopez: On Sunday, Trump scooped French fries and served fast-food to staged customers at a Pennsylvania McDonald's. The political stunt comes as Trump has accused Harris, without any evidence, of lying about her college job at a McDonald's. On the same day, in an interview with FOX News, Trump again described Democrats like Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi as enemies from within After talking about Trump’s odd tangent on Arnold Palmer’s physique and his calling Harris a “shit Vice President,” Barron-Lopez concluded with this ironic bit: Barron-Lopez: In an MSNBC interview with Al Sharpton on Sunday, Harris said the American people deserve better. Harris: And what you see in my opponent, a former president of the United States, really is -- it demeans the office. And I have said, and I'm very clear about this, Donald Trump should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States. He has not earned the right. Hmm. Perhaps America could also use a president who won’t grant interviews to racial arsonists like Sharpton? Barron-Lopez also led the PBS News Hour newscast the following Tuesday evening, with a report that began objectively but quickly descended into fear-mongering. Barron-Lopez: Former President Donald Trump received a warm response from Latino business owners and religious leaders at his golf club in Miami. Trump again used dark language to describe the state of the country. Trump: We are a nation in decline. We're a failing nation. We're left out all over the world. No matter where you go, they laugh at us. They can't even believe what's happening. Barron-Lopez:… and spent time sowing fear around transgender Americans. The Trump clip aired sounded reasonable enough. Trump: All they think about is transgender operations. All they think about is, we want men -- we want men to play in women's sports. There's a sickness going on in our country. We have to end the sickness. Commercial narrator: It sounds insane. Barron-Lopez: In the final sprint to Election Day, Republicans have poured millions of dollars into anti-trans attack ads that target Democrats up and down the ballot. Commercial narrator: Kamala's agenda is they/them, not you. Yet the party’s obsession with LGBT issues is a genuine electoral problem for Democrats, as party pollster Celinda Lake told The New Yorker: “People believe that we are constantly bringing it up, that we care about it more than the economy.” Harris indeed noted her support for transgender surgery for federal inmates on a 2019 candidate questionnaire sponsored by the ACLU while she was running for president, a fact PBS didn’t bother to mention, desperate as the tax-funded network is to normalize such surgeries, even for teenagers. These segments were brought to you in part by BNSF Railway. Transcripts are available, click “Expand.” PBS News Hour 10/21/24 7:03:08 p.m. (ET) Geoff Bennett: Welcome to the "News Hour." As we near the two-week mark to Election Day, former President Donald Trump traveled to North Carolina to see the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, while Vice President Kamala Harris toured swing states alongside former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney. Laura Barron-Lopez has this report. Laura Barron-Lopez: The Democratic nominee for president campaigned with unlikely company today, Republicans. Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate: This election is presenting for the first time probably in certainly recent history a very clear choice and difference between the two nominees. And I think that is what, as much as anything, is bringing us as Americans together. Laura Barron-Lopez: Vice President Kamala Harris spent the day in moderated conversations with former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, starting in Pennsylvania. Fmr. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY): I have spent time working in countries where people aren't free and where people are struggling for their freedom. And I know how quickly democracies can unravel. But I tell you again as someone who has seen firsthand how quickly it can happen that that is what's on the ballot. Laura Barron-Lopez: It's the latest in a string of unprecedented events Harris has held with Republican figures like Cheney. The pair then made their way to Michigan for another event. Kamala Harris: What is at stake in this election is so fundamental that it really does cross partisan lines. Laura Barron-Lopez: Meanwhile, Harris' running mate, Governor Tim Walz, spent the morning with the hosts of "The View." Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), Vice Presidential Candidate: Nothing Donald Trump is proposing does anything about the middle class. And every economist, Moody's themselves, talked about what it would do to drive up inflation, potentially leading us to recession. So there's more work to be done. We acknowledge that. I think the vice president's proposals are real. Laura Barron-Lopez: Former President Donald Trump was in Swannanoa, NOAA, North Carolina to tour storm damage from the recent hurricane. Donald Trump, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: But it's vital that we not let this hurricane that has taken so much also take your voice. You must get out and vote. Laura Barron-Lopez: Trump repeated baseless claims about the federal government's response to the disaster. Donald Trump: Certainly, you have all heard the same stories that we all hear, that FEMA has done a very poor job. They were not supposed to be spending the money on taking in illegal migrants, maybe so they could vote in the election, because that's a lot of people are saying that's why they're doing it. Laura Barron-Lopez: Later, the former president again deployed dark and anti-immigrant rhetoric in Greenville, North Carolina. Donald Trump: Under the Trump administration we are going to take back what is ours. We will end the looting, ransacking, raping and pillaging of North Carolina and, frankly, every other state in the union. Laura Barron-Lopez: On Sunday, Trump scooped french fries and served fast-food to staged customers at a Pennsylvania McDonald's. The political stunt comes as Trump has accused Harris, without any evidence, of lying about her college job at a McDonald's. On the same day, in an interview with FOX News, Trump again described Democrats like Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi as enemies from within. Howard Kurtz, FOX News Anchor: You talk about the enemy within. There's enemies, America's enemies, outside. Donald Trump: Yes. Howard Kurtz: The enemy within is a pretty ominous phrase, if you're talking about other Americans. Donald Trump: I think it's accurate. I mean, I think it's accurate. But when you look at "Shifty" Schiff and some of the others, yes, they are, to me, the enemy from within. And I think Nancy Pelosi is an enemy from within. She lied. Laura Barron-Lopez: It's rhetoric Trump used against fellow Americans on a podcast days earlier. Donald Trump: They were saying, he said the enemy from within. Of course. It's Adam Schiff. These are bad people. These are sick people and bad people. Laura Barron-Lopez: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson deflected when asked on CNN this weekend if Trump's vows to use the National Guard against political enemies was OK. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA): What President Trump is talking about is that they have been attacking and maligning him from the day he came down that golden escalator. Everybody knows that's true Laura Barron-Lopez: At a rally on Saturday in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, hometown of the golf legend Arnold Palmer, the former president started talking about the late golfer's genitalia. Donald Trump: Arnold Palmer was all man. And I say that in all due respect to women. And I love women. He took showers with the other pros. They came out of there and they said, oh, my God. Laura Barron-Lopez: At the same rally, Trump used an expletive when talking about Vice President Harris. Donald Trump: We can't stand you. You're a (Expletive) vice president. Laura Barron-Lopez: In an MSNBC interview with Al Sharpton on Sunday, Harris said the American people deserve better. Kamala Harris: And what you see in my opponent, a former president of the United States, really is -- it demeans the office. And I have said, and I'm very clear about this, Donald Trump should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States. He has not earned the right. * PBS News Hour 10/22/24 7:03:04 p.m. (ET) Geoff Bennett: Welcome to the "News Hour." Two weeks from today, the final votes will be cast and the polls will close in this year's presidential race. Until then, the Trump and Harris campaigns are making their cases in battleground states across the country. Laura Barron-Lopez has this report. Laura Barron-Lopez: Both presidential nominees made appeals to a critical voting bloc today, Latino voters. Donald Trump, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: The level of genius, entrepreneurship, energy that they have, it's an incredible community and, I like them and they like me. Laura Barron-Lopez: Former President Donald Trump received a warm response from Latino business owners and religious leaders at his golf club in Miami. Trump again used dark language to describe the state of the country… Donald Trump: We are a nation in decline. We're a failing nation. We're left out all over the world. No matter where you go, they laugh at us. They can't even believe what's happening. Laura Barron-Lopez: … and spent time sowing fear around transgender Americans. Donald Trump: All they think about is transgender operations. All they think about is, we want men — we want men to play in women's sports. There's a sickness going on in our country. We have to end the sickness. Narrator: It sounds insane. Laura Barron-Lopez: In the final sprint to Election Day, Republicans have poured millions of dollars into anti-trans attack ads that target Democrats up and down the ballot. Narrator: Kamala's agenda is they/them, not you. Laura Barron-Lopez: The former president also repeated attacks on his opponent's intelligence, criticizing Vice President Harris for not doing any public events today. Donald Trump: She's lazy as hell, and she's got that reputation. And there's something wrong with her too. She's slow, low-I.Q., something. I don't know what the hell it is. Laura Barron-Lopez: Vice President Harris had staff meetings and briefings in D.C., before giving interviews to Telemundo and NBC.