..."We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security"...

Law enforcement agencies across the United States are scrambling to secure funding for new cellphone-tracking equipment after the maker of the controversial “Stingray” device quietly announced last year it would no longer sell equipment directly to local law enforcement.

L3Harris Technologies, formerly known as the Harris Corporation, notified police agencies last year that it planned to discontinue sales of its surveillance boxes at the local level, according to government records. Additionally, the company would no longer offer access to software upgrades or replacement parts, effectively slapping an expiration date on boxes currently in use. Any advancements in cellular technology, such as the rollout of 5G networks in most major U.S. cities, would render them obsolete.

“Harris Corporation has advised that effective June 2020 they will no longer provide cellular tracking technology and vital software updates,” the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) said in a report from May of this year...

...The MDPD and at least five other law enforcement agencies have turned to a North Carolina company named Tactical Support Equipment to supply new cell-site simulators known as the Nyxcell V800/F800 TAU—surveillance technology manufactured by a Canadian firm named Octasic...

Conservative New Hampshire paper backs Biden -- its first Democratic endorsement in 100 years

..."Building this country up sits squarely within the skill set of Joseph Biden. We have found Mr. Biden to be a caring, compassionate and professional public servant," the Union Leader editorial board wrote on Sunday. "He has repeatedly expressed his desire to be a president for all of America, and we take him at his word."

The paper's editorial board did however highlight what it calls "significant" policy disagreements with Biden, which the board says it expects to spend a "portion of the next four years disagreeing with."

"Joe Biden may not be the president we want, but in 2020 he is the president we desperately need," the editorial continued. "He will be a president to bring people together and right the ship of state."...

...Despite the board's policy disagreements with Biden, it wasn't enough to endorse President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to visit New Hampshire on Sunday. The newspaper's board wrote that Trump is "not always 100% wrong, but he is 100% wrong for America."...

If he becomes the next US president, who will be Mr Biden’s ‘special friend’ in Europe? Certainly not Boris Johnson

Andrew Rawnsley

Sun 25 Oct 2020 04.14 EDT
Last modified on Sun 25 Oct 2020 07.48 EDT

When the long race for the White House ends, another begins: the sprint to be the first European leader to be granted an audience by the new US president. In 2016, Theresa May was distraught to have got a wooden spoon in the competition to put in an early congratulatory telephone call to Trump Tower. That made her even more neuralgic about beating a path to Washington ahead of her European rivals. Mrs May had to throw in the promise of a Trump state visit to the UK – I rather rudely called it “pimping out the Queen” – to ensure that she got to the White House first.

This desperation can make British prime ministers look pathetically needy, but there is a reason why they set so much store by displays of proximity with the Oval Office. How important a prime minister is to the United States, the planet’s largest economy and most potent military force, sends a message about how much influence the UK wields in the world. So it is telling that Number 10 is resigned to the prospect that Boris Johnson will not be the first name on Joe Biden’s call sheet if he becomes the 46th president. Nor is there any expectation that Mr Johnson will be first in line when they hand out invitations to the White House. He has already quit a race UK prime ministers are usually pretty good at winning.

“There is an intrinsic problem for Boris,” observes Sir Christopher Meyer, the UK’s ambassador in Washington during the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W Bush. “The Democrats think Boris is a pea from the same pod as Trump.” Being “Britain’s Trump” goes down almost as poisonously as being Trump himself among many in Team Biden. They are bracketed together in the minds of Democrats not just because both are rule-breaking populists who have polarised their countries and trashed historic alliances. Likely members of a Biden administration remember examples of the Tory leader’s insultingly Trumpian behaviour. Ben Rhodes, who was deputy national security adviser when Mr Biden was vice-president to Barack Obama, has remarked: “I’m old enough to remember when Boris Johnson said Obama opposed Brexit because he was Kenyan.” A more recent inflammatory episode exposed a complete absence of thought in Number 10 about the man whom the polls suggest will be the next US president.

One of the most essential things to know about Mr Biden – it would be on the first page if anyone wrote a book called Biden for Beginners – is that he is a Catholic who is extremely proud of his Irish ancestry. Mr Johnson was either blithe or ignorant about that when he declared that he was ready to break international law by dishonouring clauses concerning Ireland in the withdrawal agreement with the EU. Mr Biden was one of the voices in the chorus of American condemnation that the Johnson government was jeopardising the Good Friday agreement. “That was profoundly clumsy and stupid,” says Sir Chris. “It immediately ignited the Irish-American lobby in Washington, which is second in power only to the pro-Israeli lobby.”...

If he becomes the next US president, who will be Mr Biden’s ‘special friend’ in Europe? Certainly not Boris Johnson

Andrew Rawnsley

Sun 25 Oct 2020 04.14 EDT
Last modified on Sun 25 Oct 2020 07.48 EDT

When the long race for the White House ends, another begins: the sprint to be the first European leader to be granted an audience by the new US president. In 2016, Theresa May was distraught to have got a wooden spoon in the competition to put in an early congratulatory telephone call to Trump Tower. That made her even more neuralgic about beating a path to Washington ahead of her European rivals. Mrs May had to throw in the promise of a Trump state visit to the UK – I rather rudely called it “pimping out the Queen” – to ensure that she got to the White House first.

This desperation can make British prime ministers look pathetically needy, but there is a reason why they set so much store by displays of proximity with the Oval Office. How important a prime minister is to the United States, the planet’s largest economy and most potent military force, sends a message about how much influence the UK wields in the world. So it is telling that Number 10 is resigned to the prospect that Boris Johnson will not be the first name on Joe Biden’s call sheet if he becomes the 46th president. Nor is there any expectation that Mr Johnson will be first in line when they hand out invitations to the White House. He has already quit a race UK prime ministers are usually pretty good at winning.

“There is an intrinsic problem for Boris,” observes Sir Christopher Meyer, the UK’s ambassador in Washington during the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W Bush. “The Democrats think Boris is a pea from the same pod as Trump.” Being “Britain’s Trump” goes down almost as poisonously as being Trump himself among many in Team Biden. They are bracketed together in the minds of Democrats not just because both are rule-breaking populists who have polarised their countries and trashed historic alliances. Likely members of a Biden administration remember examples of the Tory leader’s insultingly Trumpian behaviour. Ben Rhodes, who was deputy national security adviser when Mr Biden was vice-president to Barack Obama, has remarked: “I’m old enough to remember when Boris Johnson said Obama opposed Brexit because he was Kenyan.” A more recent inflammatory episode exposed a complete absence of thought in Number 10 about the man whom the polls suggest will be the next US president.

One of the most essential things to know about Mr Biden – it would be on the first page if anyone wrote a book called Biden for Beginners – is that he is a Catholic who is extremely proud of his Irish ancestry. Mr Johnson was either blithe or ignorant about that when he declared that he was ready to break international law by dishonouring clauses concerning Ireland in the withdrawal agreement with the EU. Mr Biden was one of the voices in the chorus of American condemnation that the Johnson government was jeopardising the Good Friday agreement. “That was profoundly clumsy and stupid,” says Sir Chris. “It immediately ignited the Irish-American lobby in Washington, which is second in power only to the pro-Israeli lobby.”...

“We’re now approaching the technological threshold where the little guys can do it to the big guys,” one researcher said.

By Kashmir Hill

Oct. 21, 2020

In early September, the City Council in Portland, Ore., met virtually to consider sweeping legislation outlawing the use of facial recognition technology. The bills would not only bar the police from using it to unmask protesters and individuals captured in surveillance imagery; they would also prevent companies and a variety of other organizations from using the software to identify an unknown person.

During the time for public comments, a local man, Christopher Howell, said he had concerns about a blanket ban. He gave a surprising reason.

“I am involved with developing facial recognition to in fact use on Portland police officers, since they are not identifying themselves to the public,” Mr. Howell said. Over the summer, with the city seized by demonstrations against police violence, leaders of the
department had told uniformed officers that they could tape over their name. Mr. Howell wanted to know: Would his use of facial recognition technology become illegal?

Portland’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, told Mr. Howell that his project was “a little creepy,” but a lawyer for the city clarified that the bills would not apply to individuals. The Council then passed the legislation in a unanimous vote...

“We’re now approaching the technological threshold where the little guys can do it to the big guys,” one researcher said.

By Kashmir Hill

Oct. 21, 2020

In early September, the City Council in Portland, Ore., met virtually to consider sweeping legislation outlawing the use of facial recognition technology. The bills would not only bar the police from using it to unmask protesters and individuals captured in surveillance imagery; they would also prevent companies and a variety of other organizations from using the software to identify an unknown person.

During the time for public comments, a local man, Christopher Howell, said he had concerns about a blanket ban. He gave a surprising reason.

“I am involved with developing facial recognition to in fact use on Portland police officers, since they are not identifying themselves to the public,” Mr. Howell said. Over the summer, with the city seized by demonstrations against police violence, leaders of the
department had told uniformed officers that they could tape over their name. Mr. Howell wanted to know: Would his use of facial recognition technology become illegal?

Portland’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, told Mr. Howell that his project was “a little creepy,” but a lawyer for the city clarified that the bills would not apply to individuals. The Council then passed the legislation in a unanimous vote...

Cornyn defended Trump for siphoning Pentagon budget to pay for border wall, but now claims he was against it

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Cornyn, trying to distance himself from President Donald Trump as Election Day looms, now says he opposed siphoning off billions from the Pentagon in order to build the border wall, a claim that directly contradicts multiple statements defending that budget maneuver.

In February, for instance, he argued that congressional Democrats had left Trump no choice by refusing to authorize wall funding.

“I believe border security is part of national security. So I support the efforts to accomplish that secure border,” Cornyn told reporters on Feb. 20, when asked about Trump’s recent move to siphon another $3.8 billion from the Pentagon’s budget. “The president’s left with a bad hand and has to play the best hand he can.”

But Friday, 18 days before voters decide whether to give him a fourth term or replace him with Democrat MJ Hegar, Cornyn met with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram editorial board and insisted otherwise...

The Regularly Scheduled "Never Hold Republicans Accountable" Train Is Leaving The Station

FromThe Washington Post:



Let history, not partisans, prosecute

A Trump truth tribunal is not the answer. Preserving presidential records is.

‘The most humane and reasonable way to deal with all these people, if we survive this, is some kind of truth and reconciliation commission,” MSNBC’s Chris Hayes tweeted this month, about anti-maskers in the Trump administration. Days later, NPR ran a story about the possibility of a post-Trump truth and reconciliation commission. This is a terrible idea...

Because aren't Both Sides -- all sides -- really to blame here?

In the end, the strongest argument against either criminal trials or a truth tribunal, should Biden win, is that it would let the Democratic Party and every other institution that is not the Republican Party off the hook for driving the nation into a flaming cauldron. The left is keen to blame the right. But what the nation needs, pretty urgently, is self-reflection, not only from Republicans but also from establishment Democrats and progressives and liberals and journalists and educators and activists and social media companies and, honestly, everyone.

And The New York Times' Nicholas Kristof jumps right on board:

There have been calls on the left for a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate Trump when he is out of office. Jill Lepore argues quite eloquently that this would be a bad idea: https://t.co/xKtLXKNvz1
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) [link:https://twitter.com/NickKristof/status/1317811812440723458

There are days when it sure seems like everyone in the mainstream media ,must have been passed-out-drunk during the entire Dubya Administration and the entire Obama Administration. But I know Kristof was at least marginally aware of the Age of Dubya because 15 years ago he was writing about all the wholesale changes the press would have to undertake if they wanted to win back the trust of the public:

...the one thing Democrats and Republicans agree on is that the news media are not trustworthy...


In short, the climate for freedom of the press in the U.S. feels more ominous than it has for decades. One appropriate response is to protest vociferously and seek the passage of a federal shield law for journalists. But it's also crucial for us to reflect on why this is happening now -- and a major reason, I think, is that we in the news media are widely perceived as arrogant, out of touch and untrustworthy.

And if bold steps were not taken immediately, some day soon...

Unless we can recover the public trust, our protests about reporters' going to jail will come across as self-serving whining. And we'll wake up one day to find ourselves on the wrong side of history.

Well congratulations Nick! You have now officially arrived on the wrong side of history.