Wednesday, February 8, 2023

A 'Dox' on You! The 21st Century Version of the Plague

Warning! If you're on a social media platform like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or Tic Tok, you stand a chance at being doxxed.

What's doxxed mean? I'm glad you asked. The Urban Dictionary defines it as someone who reveals personal information such as an email address, phone number, or home address on the internet.

It's a cheap ass punk move to harass others, but it can ruin lives. It's a cyber threat without boundaries. Anyone can be a victim of doxxing regardless of their age, race, nationality, gender, or religion.

When someone leaks your sensitive information online without your knowledge or consent for taking personal revenge on you, harassing, or proving a point... you've been doxxed.

How can you prevent being doxxed?

To begin with don't share so much sensitive information online. 

I know. It sounds like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised at what people share online. Sex vids between two lovers can be ammunition for doxxing if those two lovers break up.

You may have heard this before. Don't use easy to guess passwords. Make a habit of changing them ever so often. You want it to be difficult for your online enemy by taking these precautions.

A word on Search Engines. Frequently delete your activity history from Google and other browsers. Also, remove your data from the Google Maps Timeline.

Use a private network (VPN) to hide your IP address. Just by knowing an IP address, a person can find out a device's geographical location, internet providers name, local time, and even the user's web browsing behaviors.

I've only outlined basic measures to protect yourself you from doxxing. If you want to go into further detail, I recommend you read this article from InfoSec Insights.

As it stands, doxxing is the 21st century version of the black plague in Europe. It spreads without restraints to millions of people around the world and can result in physical harm. 

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Democracy in Decline: Life in the Divided States of America

When someone refers to red states and blue states that's proof of a dire division among Americans.

We're supposedly the United States of America, but it sure doesn't feel like we're united.

Pick any subject and try to get Democrats and Republicans to agree on it. Take today when President Biden gives his State of the Union speech for example.

As Biden attempts to unite people in a common cause the Republicans are giving their version of reality today in a speech by Gov. Sarah Huckabee a loyal minion of Trump.

There are two different interpretations of the same speech. One deals with facts and the other is a screed coming from an alternate universe where Trump is still president.

It's downright confusing for millions of Americans who chose not to vote at all because of the conflicting stories coming from Washington, DC.

Americans are watching like bystanders as laws, traditions, and history are assaulted every day by the right-wing extremists seeking to destroy democracy and install an authoritarian state under Trump.

It's been a slow decline that accelerated when Trump first slithered into the Oval Office six years ago with the help of Russian operatives.

There's a word that has ceased to come up in Congress anymore, compromise.

Without the ability to compromise there's little or no hope things will get better among our warring leaders of both parties.

The future for a unified America is becoming a dream that seems more unlikely than ever to happen. 

I would like to think that Trump and the rest of the Republicans will be held accountable for their coup attempt, but I have my doubts. It's been two years since the assault on the Capitol and Trump is not only free, but he's running for the presidency in 2024.

Contributing to the decline of democracy in America is our broken court system. The highest court in the land - the Supreme Court - has been corrupted with extreme conservatives who are busy taking away people's rights. Overturning Roe vs Wade is just one example.

There is something that can be done to slow the decline. More people need to vote. There was approximately 240 million people eligible to vote in the 2020 election and roughly 66% of them submitted ballots.

That left 80 million eligible voters who did not participate in the 2020 election. About 27% of all Americans aged 18 years or older, numbering 63 million men and women who didn't even register to vote.

Without them it's hard to get a true picture of what the majority of Americans really want from their lawmakers.

Those who didn't vote had reasons like distrust of the electoral system (thanks to Trump), disillusionment with politics and systemic barriers for people of color.

As it stands, this trend is a troubling sign for America's democracy in the 21st century.

Monday, February 6, 2023

How Did Loofahs Go from a Shower Accessory to a Symbol for Swingers?

There are ordinary objects around us every day that could be a symbol for something that we're not aware of.

Take loofahs for example.

Yes. You heard me right. That sponge that you've been using in the shower is a symbol for swingers.

There's even a Loofah Code guide to show what each of the seven colored loofahs stand for. The prior symbol for swingers, an upside-down pineapple, was shelved in favor of loofahs

If you hang a white loofah on your car (or golf cart) it means you are a beginner swinger. Purple is for those who like to watch the action go down. But when it comes to no holds barred look for the black loofah!

There's a infamous retirement community in Florida called the Villages where seniors display loofahs on the cars and golf carts indicating what kind of swinging their interested in.

This sharing of secret symbols has been going on since the New York Post ran an article about the Villages titled "Wild Retirement Getaway" in 2009.

I should point out that swingers of all ages employ this method to meet with like-minded people.

But the whole thing started with seniors, which I find fascinating and almost inspiring... I repeat almost.

I remember seeing seniors turn out for Trump in the Villages in their little golf carts festooned with Trump flags. But I don't remember loofahs. Then again, why would I? Symbols don't stick out unless you are an insider.

As it stands, I can just imagine a clueless female shopper buying a black loofah and suddenly having a group of grinning men follow her around the store!

Sunday, February 5, 2023

A Decade Ago, I Wrote About Hate Groups: They're Still Around and More Dangerous Than Ever Before

Here's a blast from the past 10 years ago where I talked about the growing militias and hate groups in America.

This column was published on May 13, 2012, by The Times Standard a daily newspaper in Eureka California. It gives some background on the progression of the hate groups we have to deal with today in America.

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While most of the country follows the presidential campaign this year, the Southern Poverty Law Center is following a trend that should concern all Americans, a spike in hate groups.

So-called patriot groups, militias, and hate groups are preparing for a civil war if President Obama gets re-elected. These anti-government groups numbered 149 when Obama took office. There are over 1,200 today, an increase of 755 percent, according to SPLC, a nonprofit civil rights organization.

"The reality is that many of these groups are more and more fearful that Barack Obama will win re-election. You can see the anger rising along with that fear,” said Mark Potok, editor-in-chief of the SPLC report.

Last week, 10 members of a white supremacist skinhead group called American Front, which authorities described as a militia-styled, anti-Semitic domestic terrorist organization, were arrested in Florida.

The felony arrest charges include paramilitary training, attempting to shoot into an occupied dwelling, and evidence of prejudices while committing an offense. The last charge falls under Florida’s hate-crimes law.

Once based in California, most of the group's activities and most of its members, are in Florida, according to what Potok wrote on the center’s Hate Watch blog.

The reason these anti-government and hate groups are fearful and preparing for war can be attributed to a variety of factors; radical propaganda, anxiety over the re-election of a black president, a sluggish economy, and an irrational fear the government will take away their guns.

I say irrational fear, because President Obama hasn’t passed one anti-gun law during his term thus far. The only people whose guns are taken away are criminals. The numbers of militia/hate groups have continued to grow, jumping from 824 in 2010 to 1274 this year, according to the SPLC report.

President Obama has actually been criticized for failing to crack down on gun proliferation. Last summer, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, led an investigation into an ATF gun-tracking operation and said the Obama administration has been less stringent than Bush in gun-law enforcement.

In 2009 Obama drew criticism from the left for signing a bill that allowed gun owners to carry concealed weapons into national parks.

Some militias say exercising their constitutional right to bear arms does not mean they are committed to revolution. The poster boy for the militia movement is 20-year veteran, Ed LeStage .

When he found out his militia group, the 63rd Battalion of Lightfoot Militia, was listed in the SPLC report, LeStage’s reaction was to deny his group was a danger to anyone unless they were communists or socialists who attacked them.

That in itself is troubling, as his group believes socialists and communists are already running the government. The implication is obvious. LeStage claims militias come from U.S. citizens’ desire to restore the country to its constitutional roots.

“He’s been after our guns,” LeStage said. “Obama’s been the best gun salesman there ever was,” he admitted in an interview with the Murrow News Service. There it is again. That fear of losing guns. I don’t see any basis for that fear, as I mentioned earlier.

On LeStage’s website he says we will probably lose our republic and turn into another socialist country if Obama is re-elected.

"Nov. 8 should be the start of the next civil war,” a member with the username “Thunder” wrote in January on LeStage’s website. “May GOD guide us safely,” the member added.

There’s also been a steady rise in the number of hate groups, from 604 in 2000, to more than 1,000 last year, according to the SPLC report. Those include anti-gay groups, anti-Muslim groups, black separatists and “Christian Identity” groups, who hold racist and anti-Semitic views that overlap neo-Nazi beliefs.

One of the things that bothers me is the misuse of the word “patriot.” Too many hate groups co-opt the word. I consider myself a patriot, but don’t see the need to arm myself and prepare for a civil war because I want change. I have concerns about the government invading our privacy and have written numerous columns on that subject.

Still, my reaction isn’t violence. I trust the power of the written word. I believe another civil war is not the answer, and preparing for one is unpatriotic. We must not let propaganda from hate groups steer us into a war no American can win.

This year’s presidential election is already so toxic I can’t help thinking the rhetoric will get worse now that Mitt Romney has emerged as the once and future candidate for the GOP.

As It Stands, not so quietly behind the scenes, hate groups and militias are preparing for a homegrown war if President Obama is re-elected.

Dave Stancliff is a retired newspaper editor and publisher who writes this column for the Times-Standard. Comments can be sent to www.davesblogcentral.com.

Saturday, February 4, 2023

The Good News: US Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon - The Bad News: Fox News and House GOP Members Spew Conspiracy Theory Over Incident

This story isn't hard to follow, but the Republican reaction to it is baffling.

China sent a spy balloon over the United States and got caught. The Pentagon and President Biden decided not to shoot it down as it hovered over Montana.

The reason was to protect Americans from falling debris. The Pentagon explained that the potential for debris on civilians on the ground or property damage was too high.

So, while the spy balloon hovered over the northern part of the country our security agencies blocked signals and other transmissions, reducing it to a piece of floating stratospheric junk.

When the balloon moved east towards the Atlantic Coast our Airforce tracked it until it was over the ocean and then shot it down. 

The Biden administration handled the tense situation well. We're not at war, are we? And no Americans had to die from a knee-jerk response.

Meanwhile in MAGA World

The whole story is being polluted with toxic lies and ridiculous conspiracy theories.

From the channel where truth goes to die, Fox News co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy told her cohorts she knows why China sent a spy balloon, and why President Joe Biden wouldn't shoot it down.

It was because of Hunter Biden's laptop, she claimed, adding it was a trial balloon testing Joe Biden to see how much control they have by threatening him with secret information on Hunter's laptop. That's why this administration hasn't shot it down yet, she brayed like a jackass.

Instead of recognizing that the whole affair was handled with caution Fox News hosts were talking like this was the most humiliating thing to ever happen to the US.

Later in the day US jets shot down the spy balloon the moment it went over the ocean on the East coast. 

It went down in 47-foot waters and is currently being retrieved. Intelligence agencies are rubbing their hands together in anticipation of what they discover about Chinese technology.

Despite that, MAGA boy toys Josh Hawley and Tom Cotton called for an investigation into the action, suggesting there was skullduggery afoot with the Biden administration.

Here's something those idiots should consider before trying to make it a partisan attack: There were three spy balloons that went across the country during the Trump administration, and they hid the fact from the public. 

There were no attempts to shoot them down.

As it stands, I find it particularly disgusting that so many GOP lawmakers and activists are trying to make political hay about a bad situation that ended so well.

Friday, February 3, 2023

Home-Schooling Children in Neo-Nazi Ideology is Happening in Ohio

It's hard to believe that children in America are being raised like good little Nazis, but it's true. 

Ohio recently made the national news when an Upper Sandusky couple was reported for distributing neo-Nazi educational material to parents who home-school their children.

The couple used a Telegram messenger channel called Dissident Homeschool that was full of racist slurs, praise for Adolph Hitler and criticism of modern public-school curriculums, according to HuffPost and Vice yesterday.

Both sources reported that there are 2,400 current members in the Dissident Homeschool program.

Parents and children in the Nazi-loving network are greeted daily with the words" As Adolf Hitler wrote..."

This network of hate was formed by a couple in Ohio during October of 2021. They openly espoused Nazi ideology and promoted white supremacy, while proudly discouraging parents from letting their children play with or have any contact with people of any other race.

The couple who started this vile network were going by false names - Mr. and Mrs. Saxon - until researchers unmasked them as Logan and Katja Lawrence who live in Upper Sandusky, Ohio with their four young children.

In a neo-Nazi podcast Achtung! Amerikaner last year Katja explained why she wanted to educate her children at home.

"We have children's best interest at heart, and nobody can do a better job than we can because it's our child. We are deeply invested into making sure that that child becomes a wonderful Nazi," she gushed.

I can't help wondering how many other home-schooling groups that spew Nazi propaganda are popping up (or already established) in other parts of the country.

The Justice Department and the FBI have been warning lawmakers that white supremacists are the number one domestic terror group in America for years.

Because we have insurrectionists, racists, and traitors among the GOP lawmakers in Congress white supremacists are shielded in society, confident they can spread their hateful messages with impunity.  

As it stands, until the majority of Americans vote out these despisers of democracy, we are going to continue to see fascism grow in our country.

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Hunter Biden Finally Pushes Back Against GOP Right-Wingers After Years of Lies About Him

After six years of harassment from right-wing operatives and lawmaker's private citizen Hunter Biden is striking back.

His attorneys asked state and federal agencies to investigate the continuous and unwarranted attacks against him since Trump first came into office.

Hunters' lawyers sent letters to the Delaware attorney general, the Justice Department's National Security Division and the IRA.

His attorneys stated that a computer repair shop owner John Paul Mac Isaac's weaponized Biden's private and personal files on a laptop he left him for repair.

In the letter to the Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings, Hunter's lawyers stated that Mac Isaac used unauthorized access to his laptop and distributing its contents to the New York Post for a story published two weeks before the 2020 election.

In addition, the lawyers sent a cease-and desist letter to Fox News and the network's host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, calling for the retraction of a story broadcast on Carlson's show that was full of outright lies about Hunter.

For reasons not entirely clear, Hunter gathered together a team of lawyers who are launching investigations that involve Mac Isaac, Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon, Garret Ziegler, and Robert Costello accusing them of exploiting private and personal information and manipulating it for political reasons.

It's anyone's guess what motivated Hunter to take this proactive defense at this time. Both parties can come up with reasons why he suddenly shifted his strategy to go on the attack. No one knows for sure.

To be clear, Hunter Biden has been under a federal ongoing investigation into his taxes and other issues.

One of the big political claims in the GOPs agenda is supposedly protecting private citizens from hackers and government agencies seeking information they're not entitled to.

Apparently, Hunter Biden doesn't qualify as a private citizen because he's the son of a president. That's pure bullshit dredged out of the swamp of GOP lawmakers in Congress.

As it stands, it's about time Hunter stood up and defended himself after all of these years and assaults from extreme-right Republicans.

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Every Day is Groundhog Day in the Republican Party

Remember when Groundhog Day was just a tradition of having an animal predict if it was going to be a long winter or a short one?

Today is Groundhog Day.

While good turnouts continue for the century-old event, there's another Groundhog Day in our culture that lasts year-around.

The Republican Party is stuck in an endless cycle of lies and misinformation every day.

While the rest of the world moves on, the far-right fringe in the House and beyond are locked into the same political playbook that's lost them the last few elections.

The Republican National Party just re-elected the same leader and announced its two major agenda items yesterday.

1. Double down on the Big Lie and supposed voter fraud that happened in 2020 with bogus investigations in an effort to drag facts through their foul swamp.

2. Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden. The years long attacks against the president's son will now go on steroids as election deniers in the House committees go after their favorite boogeyman.

That's all folks!

The GOP agenda to pursue revenge against political opponents is the official platform of the MAGA wing in the House.

Sure, you may hear an occasional comment about fixing the immigration crisis but it's secondary to their other grievances that seek to destabilize the government and counting coup among Democratic lawmakers.

As it stands, the fact that the GOP is willing to lock itself into a daily routine of attacks against our laws and government makes it a daily Groundhog Day from hell.

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Who's Stalking Zoos and Stealing/Killing Their Animals?

For some odd reason monkeys have become a prime target for thieves who have broken into two zoos recently.

Zoosiana, a zoo in Broussard, Louisiana, reported that the Squirrel Monkey exhibit was broken into overnight and 12 monkeys were stolen.

A footnote here: there is a rumor that the monkeys were taken to MAGA headquarters because they have a higher IQ than most of the members and could help Trump get re-elected.

But I digress.  

The zoo confirmed that no other animals were taken by the thief(s) and said that an investigation is ongoing as they work with local, state and federal agencies to locate the missing monkeys.

The story gets stranger.

There have been multiple reports recently of missing and dead animals at the Dallas Zoo.

Dallas police reported that two emperor tamarin monkeys were "intentionally taken" from the Dallas Zoo today.

In this case Dallas police at least have a suspect.

Kinda.

The department tweeted a photo of a man it said police were "looking to speak with" about the missing animals.

Wednesday Breaking News: Monkeys found

This recent disappearance follows other bizarre incidents involving the disappearance or deaths of animals at the Dallas Zoo.

Last week, an investigation was launched into the "suspicious" death of a vulture named Pin that was found dead in an enclosure under "unusual circumstances" the police told reporters.

A footnote here, a note was found pinned on Pin that read, "This is what snitches get!" signed DJT.

Moving on.

The Pin investigation came just over a week after a clouded leopard named Nova was intentionally let out of her habitat on Jan. 13th.

A footnote here, just got word that freshman congressman George Santos said that he climbed the tree and wrestled the big cat until it was too tired to resist whereupon he carefully lowered it to the ground to the grateful zoo officials.

Actually.

Investigators said Nova escaped through a cut-out hole forcing the zoo to close and prompting an hours-long search. Luckily for all involved Nova was found sleeping in a tree later that evening. They have no idea what maroon let Nova escape.

As it stands, I think zoos across the country should do a better job of protecting their valuable charges. 

Monday, January 30, 2023

Right and Left Media Platforms Play Up the Debt Ceiling as a Looming Armagedón

I can tell you what I don't do every morning while drinking my first cup of coffee and scanning newspaper headlines - I don't check on how big our national debt is.

My priority news list does not include reading articles on balancing the budget. I'm not a bean counter, nor will I ever be. The corrupt world of high finance is just not everyone's cup of tea.

You know what? I think there's millions of Americans who don't give a rat's ass about balancing the budget - unless of course the clowns in Congress blow it and stop all paychecks for millions of Americans.

Then there will be hell to pay.

My point is there's so many other concerns the average American has, like the rising prices of gas and food that balancing a national budget isn't the first thing they think of upon awakening.

Unless their watching the news lately which is literally saturating cable and the internet with doom and gloom scenarios designed to keep an audience in a captive thrall.

I blame all media platforms for this game of terrifying Americans when it's not necessary. For starters, there's months before a deal has to be struck before a default.

What are the odds of a default this time? I'd say scant based upon history. The last time the government shut down was Trump's fault for holding out to get money for his much bragged about wall. 

It happened in 2018.

The difficulties facing government employees forced to work without pay during that shutdown didn't go away when Trump reopened the government for three weeks on Friday January 28, 2019.

Despite the interruption of pay for all government employees they stayed on the job. It's notable that veterans and retirees pay have never been affected by a shut down. Services, yes. Not paychecks.

Historically there's been 10 shutdowns dating back to 1980. The longest - 35 days - was the one under Trump.

The current blanket media coverage on the possibility of a shutdown has been so played up that millions of Americans are needlessly worrying about a nationwide financial collapse.

The press in all of its many forms has been sensationalizing the oncoming debt deadline because fearmongering sells. 

I understand there's a slim GOP majority in the House who want to burn everything down. That is cause for concern but not worth losing sleep over.

Even the Republicans know it would be political suicide. All except the minority MAGA fringe element who are only there for performance art purposes.

As it stands, there's a lot more things to be more concerned about in our society than a squabble over money in congress.

Sunday, January 29, 2023

Why Do NBA Refs Hate LeBron James...and The Lakers?

What is going on with NBA refs this year?

It's been a banner season for missed calls throughout the league. But when it comes to the Lakers it almost feels personal the way they've cheated them in (at least) four games this season during the last play of the game by not making calls on obvious fouls.

Yesterday's game with Boston (in Bean Town) is just the latest example of a blatantly bad no call. 

It cost the Lakers the game. Full stop. Re-runs of the play when LeBron was hacked on the arm while going in for a layup have gone viral on the internet today. It's also happened twice before with LeBron being hacked (or grabbed) during a crucial last second shot with the same result.

One of my favorite YouTube channels Laker Nation, hosted by Trevor Lane, covered the game. Trevor asked, at one point, what LeBron had done to piss off the refs? Did he go around in the off season to their houses and call their mothers bad names? he wondered.

For good reason. No other team in the entire league has faced so many games on the line bad calls this season.

The league is looking into what happened.

Wink! Wink!

The last three times {games} a similar Laker play was re-examined proved they were robbed. League officials said, sorry about that it was wrong, but there's nothing we can do.

Wrong.

There is something the league could do to avoid letting refs screw up in a game-on-the-line situation.

Simply put in a mandatory end of the game replay system during the last two minutes where any controversial play that comes up can be overturned by officials upon review.

With the new two-minute rule the refs can be challenged for not making a call when an obvious foul unfolds in front of them.

The way things are right now each team gets one challenge per game if they think the refs blew a call. If they use that challenge - even successfully - they don't get another one. They just get to keep their time out.

Full disclosure: I've been a Laker fan since they moved to Los Angeles. So, if this post sounds a bit biased...it probably is.

As it stands, if not for lousy refs the Lakers would be an over .500 team right now making them the 6th seed in the West... instead they're the 13th seed.

Trump's Lowest Grift Ever Saved for Holy Week

This is a story about how the devil's puppet, aka Donald Trump, mocked Christianity by selling a book combining the Bible, the Constitu...