thedailycaller--2020-08-03--American Labor Unions Among Signatories Of Petition Calling On Brands To End Use Of Uighur Forced La

American Labor Unions Among Signatories Of Petition Calling On Brands To End Use Of Uighur Forced Labor

American labor unions are among the more than 180 groups that have called on major apparel brands to end the use of forced Uighur labor in Xinjiang , China .
More than 100 civil society organizations and labor unions joined 72 Uighur rights groups in urging brands to cut ties with suppliers that use materials produced in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region ( XUAR ) , where numerous reports have revealed Uighurs and other Muslim minorities are being forced to work in factories , often also while being being indoctrinated with ideological and behavioral reeducation .
( RELATED : More @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Major Apparel Brands To End The Use Of Forced Uighur Labor , An Accusation They Deny ) The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations ( AFL-CIO ) is one of the groups that endorsed the petition .
The organization is the largest federation of unions in the U.S. , representing more than 12 members .
Among AFL-CIO ’ s executive council members is UNITE HERE , one of the U.S. ’ s largest labor unions that represents workers in the textile industry , among others .
Workers United , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ textile industry , doesn ’ t appear to be represented by the federation , and did not respond to a request for comment about the union ’ s thoughts on the reported use by many brands of Uighur forced labor .
Dozens of international organizations endorsed the petition , many of which are based in the U.S. Human Rights Watch , Public Citizen , Religious Freedom Institute , US Tibet Committee , Uyghur Academy America , and Worker Rights Consortium are among the U.S. based human rights and civil society groups included in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brand commitments to cut all ties with suppliers implicated in using forced labor in their supply chains within 12 months of the request , which was published July 23 .
Nearly every brand listed on the petition , which included popular clothing companies like H & M and Victoria ’ s Secret , denied using forced labor in Xinjiang in comments to the Daily Caller .

American labor unions are among the more than 180 groups that have called on major apparel brands to end the use of forced Uighur labor in Xinjiang, China.
More than 100 civil society organizations and labor unions joined 72 Uighur rights groups in urging brands to cut ties with suppliers that use materials produced in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR), where numerous reports have revealed Uighurs and other Muslim minorities are being forced to work in factories, often also while being being indoctrinated with ideological and behavioral reeducation. (RELATED: More Than 180 Human Rights Groups Call On Major Apparel Brands To End The Use Of Forced Uighur Labor, An Accusation They Deny)
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is one of the groups that endorsed the petition. The organization is the largest federation of unions in the U.S., representing more than 12 members. Among AFL-CIO’s executive council members is UNITE HERE, one of the U.S.’s largest labor unions that represents workers in the textile industry, among others.
Workers United, a union also representing American workers in the textile industry, doesn’t appear to be represented by the federation, and did not respond to a request for comment about the union’s thoughts on the reported use by many brands of Uighur forced labor.
Dozens of international organizations endorsed the petition, many of which are based in the U.S. Human Rights Watch, Public Citizen, Religious Freedom Institute, US Tibet Committee, Uyghur Academy America, and Worker Rights Consortium are among the U.S. based human rights and civil society groups included in the petition.
The groups are seeking brand commitments to cut all ties with suppliers implicated in using forced labor in their supply chains within 12 months of the request, which was published July 23. Nearly every brand listed on the petition, which included popular clothing companies like H&M and Victoria’s Secret, denied using forced labor in Xinjiang in comments to the Daily Caller.


thedailycaller--2020-08-03--REVIEW: Another Bombshell Revelation Drops About Jamie In The Latest ‘Yellowstone’ Episode ‘The Beat

REVIEW: Another Bombshell Revelation Drops About Jamie In The Latest ‘Yellowstone’ Episode ‘The Beating’

The new “ Yellowstone ” episode “ The Beating ” aired Sunday night , and it took fans on a wild ride .
WARNING : THERE ARE GOING TO BE SPOILERS BELOW .
DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU AREN ’ T CAUGHT UP .
CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED .
First and foremost , the biggest takeaway from “ The Beating ” was the fact that Jamie was adopted , and isn ’ t John ’ s biological son .
This has been a theory that has been floating around the internet ever since season one , and now it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mother was murdered by his father , who went away on a second degree murder charge .
Dutton blood doesn ’ t flow in Jamie ’ s veins , and it was a fact John hid from everyone .
At the end of the episode , John tells Jamie to go find his birth father if he wants to and look into his eyes to see the evil .
This season has focused heavily on Jamie , and it makes me think that his time in the show might be nearing a rapid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s days are numbered .
I could be wrong , but it certainly seems to be setting up that way .
First , we had the abortion storyline with Beth and now we find out he ’ s adopted .
Would Rip kill him over the abortion ?
Who knows about the adoption ?
Would that make a potential violent end even easier ?
Also , Wade Morrow and John clearly have a long and deep history .
However , nobody outside Lloyd knows who Morrow was , which means he ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before the rest of the rest of the bunkhouse ’ s time .
I have a sneaking suspicion that Morrow might be Jamie ’ s birth father , and that means a bullet is probably coming for him .
Speaking of Beth and Rip , they ’ re bound for the bliss of marriage .
Again , this is something that we ’ ve all seen coming since season one , but now Beth is pushing for .
All things considered , it ’ s a great move .
It further cements Rip @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ties things together with Beth .
Finally , Kayce ’ s trigger finger was back in action in “ The Beating.
” During my interview with Luke Grimes , he promised that Kayce ’ s trigger finger wasn ’ t retired forever , and he wasn ’ t kidding .
He laid waste to that dude in an awesome shootout scene .
Also , when he roped that dude , I damn near lost it .
The badass version of Kayce was back , and it was awesome to see .
Overall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and now we only have three left .
It ’ s clear that John and this Morrow dude are going to have some trouble with each other .
Is he Jamie ’ s birth father ?
If there ’ s one thing we know about “ Yellowstone ” it ’ s that you can never rule anything out .
I ’ m excited to see what we get next week !
The action is getting cranked up , and we have three episodes to find out how the Duttons will make it through @ @

The new “Yellowstone” episode “The Beating” aired Sunday night, and it took fans on a wild ride.
WARNING: THERE ARE GOING TO BE SPOILERS BELOW. DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU AREN’T CAUGHT UP. CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED.
This could be interesting. Very interesting. Catch an all-new episode of #YellowstoneTV tonight at 9/8c on @ParamountNet. pic.twitter.com/SHS54kjyd4 — Yellowstone (@Yellowstone) August 2, 2020
First and foremost, the biggest takeaway from “The Beating” was the fact that Jamie was adopted, and isn’t John’s biological son.
This has been a theory that has been floating around the internet ever since season one, and now it’s official.
Jamie’s birth mother was murdered by his father, who went away on a second degree murder charge. Dutton blood doesn’t flow in Jamie’s veins, and it was a fact John hid from everyone.
At the end of the episode, John tells Jamie to go find his birth father if he wants to and look into his eyes to see the evil.
This season has focused heavily on Jamie, and it makes me think that his time in the show might be nearing a rapid end. It seems like Jamie’s days are numbered. I could be wrong, but it certainly seems to be setting up that way.
First, we had the abortion storyline with Beth and now we find out he’s adopted. Would Rip kill him over the abortion? Who knows about the adoption? Would that make a potential violent end even easier?
Also, Wade Morrow and John clearly have a long and deep history. However, nobody outside Lloyd knows who Morrow was, which means he’s real old school.
He’s before the rest of the rest of the bunkhouse’s time. I have a sneaking suspicion that Morrow might be Jamie’s birth father, and that means a bullet is probably coming for him.
Speaking of Beth and Rip, they’re bound for the bliss of marriage. Again, this is something that we’ve all seen coming since season one, but now Beth is pushing for.
All things considered, it’s a great move. It further cements Rip’s status within the Duttons and it ties things together with Beth.
Finally, Kayce’s trigger finger was back in action in “The Beating.” During my interview with Luke Grimes, he promised that Kayce’s trigger finger wasn’t retired forever, and he wasn’t kidding.
He laid waste to that dude in an awesome shootout scene. Also, when he roped that dude, I damn near lost it. The badass version of Kayce was back, and it was awesome to see.
Overall, it was another great episode, and now we only have three left. It’s clear that John and this Morrow dude are going to have some trouble with each other.
Is he Jamie’s birth father? If there’s one thing we know about “Yellowstone” it’s that you can never rule anything out. I’m excited to see what we get next week! The action is getting cranked up, and we have three episodes to find out how the Duttons will make it through this!


thedailycaller--2020-08-04--MSNBC Producer Quits, Writes That ‘The Job Itself Forces Skilled Journalists To Make Bad Decisions O

MSNBC Producer Quits, Writes That ‘The Job Itself Forces Skilled Journalists To Make Bad Decisions On A Daily Basis’

MSNBC producer Ariana Pekary quit the network in July and wrote a blog post Monday explaining how she believes “ the news ” – including her former network – “ is fundamentally flawed.
” Pekary worked in public radio for 12 years until she transitioned to MSNBC in 2014 , according to her LinkedIn .
Most recently , she was a producer for the network ’ s late-night show “ Up Late with Alec Baldwin.
” Pekary detailed the reasons for her departure on her blog , tweeting that “ it ’ s not the optimal time for change but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , anymore.
” “ July 24th was my last day at MSNBC , ” according to Pekary .
“ I don ’ t know what I ’ m going to do next exactly but I simply couldn ’ t stay there anymore .
My colleagues are very smart people with good intentions .
The problem is the job itself .
It forces skilled journalists to make bad decisions on a daily basis.
” ( RELATED : MSNBC Gives Daily Show To Former Al Jazeera Host Who Attacked ‘ American Sniper ’ Chris Kyle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that MSNBC is not the only network to function this way .
According to her , all of them do .
She also said that the “ content seeps into … social media ” as well .
She cited her former job in public radio and how it differed from the MSNBC gig , as ratings did not determine content .
“ It ’ s possible that I ’ m more sensitive to the editorial process due to my background in public radio , where no decision I ever witnessed was predicated on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rate , ' ” she wrote .
“ The longer I was at MSNBC , the more I saw such choices — it ’ s practically baked in to the editorial process – and those decisions affect news content every day .
Likewise , it ’ s taboo to discuss how the ratings scheme distorts content , or it ’ s simply taken for granted , because everyone in the commercial broadcast news industry is doing the exact same thing.
” “ But behind closed doors , industry leaders will admit the damage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TV veteran told Pekary that they were “ a cancer ” with “ no cure , ” she wrote in her blog .
A senior producer added that : “ Our viewers don ’ t really consider us the news .
They come to us for comfort.
” “ The model blocks diversity of thought and content because the networks have incentive to amplify fringe voices and events , at the expense of others… all because it pumps up the ratings , ” Pekary continued .
“ This cancer risks human lives , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The former MSNBC producer wrote that “ this cancer risks our democracy , ” too , and that “ context and factual data are often considered too cumbersome for the audience.
” On rare occasions , “ the producers will choose to do a topic or story without regard for how they think it will rate , but that is the exception , not the rule , ” she noted .
“ Again , personally , I don ’ t think the people need to change , ” Pekary explained .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change .
There is a better way to do this .
I ’ m not so cynical to think that we are absolutely doomed ( though we are on that path ) .
I know we can find a cure.
” “ Now maybe we can ’ t really change the inherently broken structure of broadcast news , but I know for certain that it won ’ t change unless we actually face it , in public , and at least try to change it.
” Pekary ’ s goodbye post ended with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to seek out “ any one of you who also may sense that the news is fundamentally flawed and is frustrated by it.
” “ This effort will start informally but I hope to crystallize a plan for when better , safer days are upon us , ” she wrote .
“ On that front , feel free to reach out anytime if you would like to discuss any of this – whether in agreement or not .
More than ever , I ’ m craving a full and civil discourse .
”

MSNBC producer Ariana Pekary quit the network in July and wrote a blog post Monday explaining how she believes “the news” – including her former network – “is fundamentally flawed.”
Pekary worked in public radio for 12 years until she transitioned to MSNBC in 2014, according to her LinkedIn. Most recently, she was a producer for the network’s late-night show “Up Late with Alec Baldwin.” Pekary detailed the reasons for her departure on her blog, tweeting that “it’s not the optimal time for change but the time doesn’t feel optional, anymore.”
Some personal news: why I’m now leaving MSNBC It’s not the optimal time for change but the time doesn’t feel optional, anymore.https://t.co/HbZo0weiUs — Ariana Pekary (@arianapekary) August 3, 2020
“July 24th was my last day at MSNBC,” according to Pekary. “I don’t know what I’m going to do next exactly but I simply couldn’t stay there anymore. My colleagues are very smart people with good intentions. The problem is the job itself. It forces skilled journalists to make bad decisions on a daily basis.” (RELATED: MSNBC Gives Daily Show To Former Al Jazeera Host Who Attacked ‘American Sniper’ Chris Kyle As ‘Racist’)
Pekary added that MSNBC is not the only network to function this way. According to her, all of them do. She also said that the “content seeps into … social media” as well. She cited her former job in public radio and how it differed from the MSNBC gig, as ratings did not determine content.
“It’s possible that I’m more sensitive to the editorial process due to my background in public radio, where no decision I ever witnessed was predicated on how a topic or guest would ‘rate,'” she wrote. “The longer I was at MSNBC, the more I saw such choices — it’s practically baked in to the editorial process – and those decisions affect news content every day. Likewise, it’s taboo to discuss how the ratings scheme distorts content, or it’s simply taken for granted, because everyone in the commercial broadcast news industry is doing the exact same thing.”
“But behind closed doors, industry leaders will admit the damage that’s being done.”
One TV veteran told Pekary that they were “a cancer” with “no cure,” she wrote in her blog. A senior producer added that: “Our viewers don’t really consider us the news. They come to us for comfort.”
“The model blocks diversity of thought and content because the networks have incentive to amplify fringe voices and events, at the expense of others… all because it pumps up the ratings,” Pekary continued. “This cancer risks human lives, even in the middle of a pandemic.”
The former MSNBC producer wrote that “this cancer risks our democracy,” too, and that “context and factual data are often considered too cumbersome for the audience.” On rare occasions, “the producers will choose to do a topic or story without regard for how they think it will rate, but that is the exception, not the rule,” she noted.
“Again, personally, I don’t think the people need to change,” Pekary explained. “I think the job itself needs to change. There is a better way to do this. I’m not so cynical to think that we are absolutely doomed (though we are on that path). I know we can find a cure.”
“Now maybe we can’t really change the inherently broken structure of broadcast news, but I know for certain that it won’t change unless we actually face it, in public, and at least try to change it.”
Pekary’s goodbye post ended with a note that she plans to begin to seek out “any one of you who also may sense that the news is fundamentally flawed and is frustrated by it.”
“This effort will start informally but I hope to crystallize a plan for when better, safer days are upon us,” she wrote. “On that front, feel free to reach out anytime if you would like to discuss any of this – whether in agreement or not. More than ever, I’m craving a full and civil discourse.”


thedailycaller--2020-08-04--Tucker Carlson: ‘Normal Americans … Don’t Have The Same Privilege As John Lewis’ Friends’

Fox News host Tucker Carlson said during a segment of Monday night ’ s “ Tucker Carlson Tonight ” that most Americans wouldn ’ t have been able to “ say goodbye to those they love at large funerals ” like the one for the late Democratic Rep. John Lewis that took place last week .
The late Civil Rights icon was memorialized in a series of events last week that culminated in a crowded funeral where former President Barack Obama used a portion of his eulogy to slam the Senate filibuster as a “ Jim Crow relic.
” Carlson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ones that exist in Washington D.C. are “ a lot to ask of a population , ” but only work if they apply “ to everyone , because science doesn ’ t work if it only applies to the people without power and not to the people who do have power.
” “ But that ’ s exactly what ’ s happening , ” he said .
“ Those rules do not apply , those quarantine rules , to the hundreds of Democrats who huddled together at Congressman John Lewis ’ funeral @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the Fox News host .
“ Remember that one ?
That the networks aired for hours , where Barack Obama shouted about Senate procedure at a funeral ?
” “ The people who went to that are exempt because somehow shouting left-wing slogans in church is “ official government business , ” unlike having a church service in Michigan , for example , or conducting a neighborhood cookout in Washington , ” he continued .
Carlson pointed out that ordinary Americans “ are still subject to CDC guidelines.
” ( RELATED : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ : Tucker Carlson Blasts Obama For Politicizing John Lewis Funeral ) “ They are not in Congress , ” he said .
“ And those guidelines recommend limiting funerals to immediate family members .
So they don ’ t get to say goodbye to those they love at large funerals .
They don ’ t have the same privilege as John Lewis ’ friends .
But our leaders don ’ t care .
They don ’ t want you to complain .
You shouldn ’ t be allowed to complain .
”

Fox News host Tucker Carlson said during a segment of Monday night’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that most Americans wouldn’t have been able to “say goodbye to those they love at large funerals” like the one for the late Democratic Rep. John Lewis that took place last week.
The late Civil Rights icon was memorialized in a series of events last week that culminated in a crowded funeral where former President Barack Obama used a portion of his eulogy to slam the Senate filibuster as a “Jim Crow relic.”
Carlson argued that strict social distancing rules like the ones that exist in Washington D.C. are “a lot to ask of a population,” but only work if they apply “to everyone, because science doesn’t work if it only applies to the people without power and not to the people who do have power.”
“But that’s exactly what’s happening,” he said.
WATCH:
“Those rules do not apply, those quarantine rules, to the hundreds of Democrats who huddled together at Congressman John Lewis’ funeral slash political rally last week,” said the Fox News host. “Remember that one? That the networks aired for hours, where Barack Obama shouted about Senate procedure at a funeral?”
“The people who went to that are exempt because somehow shouting left-wing slogans in church is “official government business,” unlike having a church service in Michigan, for example, or conducting a neighborhood cookout in Washington,” he continued.
Carlson pointed out that ordinary Americans “are still subject to CDC guidelines.” (RELATED: ‘Divisive And Deeply Dishonest Campaign Speech’: Tucker Carlson Blasts Obama For Politicizing John Lewis Funeral)
“They are not in Congress,” he said. “And those guidelines recommend limiting funerals to immediate family members. So they don’t get to say goodbye to those they love at large funerals. They don’t have the same privilege as John Lewis’ friends. But our leaders don’t care. They don’t want you to complain. You shouldn’t be allowed to complain.”


thedailycaller--2020-08-04--Florida Man Is The Perfect Foil For The Elite Class

As Florida lifted coronavirus restrictions and the specter of interminable lockdown slowly faded , America ’ s cultural scapegoat and perhaps its last remaining jester took to the beach with his usual aplomb—Florida Man .
Unconstrained by self-doubt and the mockery of his supposed betters , Florida Man , surely unbeknownst to himself , reminded the country that America was not built on sheepish docility , but on a fearlessness bordering on idiocy .
But as Florida Man reemerged , his bitter enemy , the overly credentialed and status obsessed “ elite , ” denounced his dangerous and misguided antics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our time : the brutes vs. the brains .
Elites , patronizing and forever petrified , make up America ’ s expert class , the self-proclaimed brains behind the American operation .
Florida Man , on the other hand , is driven by the unquenchable—sometimes brutish—American desire to behave in stupefying ways in order to maximize physical and aesthetic experience in accordance with the beautiful American landscape he ’ s been granted dominion over .
These two opposite ends of the American coin are perfect foils for one another , but more often @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who is denigrated far more than he deserves , as elites control the institutions that construct the cultural narratives that drive the discourse .
( RELATED : VICTOR DAVIS HANSON : Our Summer of Cultural Suicide ) We all know the Florida Man trope , of course .
He walks into a convenience store carrying an alligator .
He goes outside during a hurricane with the American flag , challenging Mother Nature herself , claiming that Americanism is the far greater force .
He drinks and watches sports and has a grand old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ birthright .
We are constantly bombarded by these images and videos of Florida Man ’ s exploits , so much so that the man behind the trope has all but been erased .
There was a time when a Florida man behaving strangely was merely a man from Florida behaving strangely , but now that the trope has swallowed the man , Florida Man has been stripped of his humanity .
The danger is that when the man is stripped of humanity , it becomes not only allowable , but encouraged , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who , really , is the man behind the trope ?
Let us leave aside the truly abhorrent criminals and murderers who sometimes grace headlines under that appellation .
There can be no defense of the indefensible , and besides , no state in the Union has a monopoly on these depths of depravity .
Instead , we seek today a broader understanding of the personality that could survive both an alligator attack and a subsequent shark attack , only to gripe “ I was more angry I couldn ’ t go in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Man is typically a man from Florida who engages in behaviors considered to be crude and dangerous by elites , but he doesn ’ t necessarily have to be a resident of the state .
If a man is viewed with derision and contempt by his betters due to his “ backwardness , ” he is , de facto , a Florida Man .
Elites , so fond of sleight-of-hand word games in order to obfuscate their true feelings , know that terms like “ white trash ” and “ hillbilly ” are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Florida Man , ” as it denotes hilarity and a playfulness belying its pejorative connotation , is safe to deploy as an insult .
This deployment of “ Florida Man ” as a pejorative is most obvious when the location of a man whose behavior has led to a scandalous story is unknown , and the phrase , “ he must be from Florida , ” is sanctimoniously uttered by elites .
Underneath the nifty rhetorical move lies the subversive truth : those who do not behave with the mannered obsequiousness of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only Florida Man could be rehabilitated , elites surely think , then the country would finally be excised of the working-class crudeness and tastelessness that makes America the world ’ s laughingstock .
They dream of a country free of Florida Man , as evidenced by the twisted glee amongst elites as coronavirus cases continue to rise in Florida .
( RELATED : Florida Will Have A Much Better Outcome On Coronavirus Than New York ) From the beginning , they ’ ve wanted the state , and everything they think it stands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never admit it , but on Twitter , as is often the case , you can watch the mask slip in real time .
Elites and those who fancy themselves so—elite-adjacents—will hide behind a façade of ironic distance as they tweet and retweet the clip of Bugs Bunny sawing off Florida , but like every joke , its power lies in its subtext and what it says about the reaction of its intended audience .
In this case , it ’ s obvious : elites really do wish Florida , and its idiots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Elites refuse to accept that Florida Man ’ s fearless idiocy is as important to America ’ s power as the brilliant minds who constructed the American idea , for so very often the great thinker is constrained by his very thinking and can not act upon his desires .
It is the idiot , the beautiful American jester , who must spread the gospel of Americanism , a Johnny Appleseed of freedom and liberty , if you will .
Florida Man might not be able to set policy or regurgitate the Constitution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carries inside him the spirit of the frontiersman so crucial to the expansion and consolidation of the nation , which explains why fearful elites and their stupefied panic-stricken followers have taken to Twitter , deriding and demanding his head—which is to say , his freedom in all its idiotic grandeur .
Elites , who know nothing but risk management and prostrate themselves at the altar of lifeless sterility in hopes of extinguishing any “ incorrect ” desire or thought incongruent with their neoliberal vision of a global office space finally liberated of chaotic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in an attempt to create the “ safe ” world of their un-American dreams .
Fear has always been their tool , as they know it is a sedative of the spirit , which is why Florida Man , and not the virus , is now public enemy # 1 .
The rage directed at Florida Man , however , has nothing to do with his supposed idiocy and moral turpitude and everything to do with the fact that he is immune to elite narrative manipulation .
Social media mockery and op-ed histrionics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida Man is to be stopped , he must be physically stopped , which explains why he induces such derangement and hatred amongst elites .
Elites are constrained by their timidity of spirit , forever calibrating their every move , as expulsion from the monastery of global citizenry is their greatest fear .
They live in a constant state of self-denial , passive aggressive irony being their primary mode of communication , which renders them pathologically unable to engage the world without a cloak of ironic distance .
There is never action , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a world in which physical engagement is merely a fictional conceit .
Elites mock Florida Man ’ s actions , but the intensity of their mockery betrays the true psychology behind the attacks : they are not free to act until cultural gatekeepers give the go ahead , which is to say that elites never act out of their own volition .
They know they are not free .
Florida Man ’ s impulsivity , his complete ignorance to elite cultural norms and their restrictive nature , is an affront to their pussyfooted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Florida Man , elites respond as they always do and the only way they know how : with impotent histrionics .
They will yell and screech and demand that Florida Man restrain himself , but their emotional outbursts—as close to action as they ’ ll ever get—are no match for the life force of Florida Man .
To put it simply , elites are not men of action , but of histrionics , and so they ’ ll forever hate the unrestrained free men who remind them of their self-imposed shackles .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Respond To Jim Jordan ’ s Question About Cancel Culture ) Florida Man is by no means perfect , but his brand of in-your-face unironic Americanism is necessary , as it acts as a firewall against the order of neoliberal sterility elites seek to impose on the country .
Those who stand against Americanism and hope to not only destroy freedom , but the desire for it , understand that in order to bring America to heel and usher in the era of paternalistic safetyism conjured up by our soulless cultural tinkerers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be shamed into docility .
To take down Florida Man is to zap the life force of the nation and impose docility and subservience on a grand scale .
It was Florida Man who went west and conquered the landscape .
It was Florida Man who fought for independence and was crazy enough to get it .
It was Florida Man who built the empire and nearly destroyed it when he battled himself , and then recreated it even greater than before .
It is Florida Man , rushing into the sea , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of its existence—who will remind you that deep inside , behind all your serious ideas and theories and affected postures , exists a Florida Man dying to bust free and dive into the ocean of freedom you ’ ve been yearning for , even if you almost forgot it existed .
Alex Perez is a Cuban-American writer from Miami , whose work has appeared in Tablet Magazine and Arc Digital , among others .
Find him on Twitter @ Perez_Writes The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Daily Caller News Foundation .
Content created by the DCNF is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content , please contact licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

As Florida lifted coronavirus restrictions and the specter of interminable lockdown slowly faded, America’s cultural scapegoat and perhaps its last remaining jester took to the beach with his usual aplomb—Florida Man.
Unconstrained by self-doubt and the mockery of his supposed betters, Florida Man, surely unbeknownst to himself, reminded the country that America was not built on sheepish docility, but on a fearlessness bordering on idiocy. But as Florida Man reemerged, his bitter enemy, the overly credentialed and status obsessed “elite,” denounced his dangerous and misguided antics, reigniting the great cultural battle of our time: the brutes vs. the brains.
Elites, patronizing and forever petrified, make up America’s expert class, the self-proclaimed brains behind the American operation. Florida Man, on the other hand, is driven by the unquenchable—sometimes brutish—American desire to behave in stupefying ways in order to maximize physical and aesthetic experience in accordance with the beautiful American landscape he’s been granted dominion over. These two opposite ends of the American coin are perfect foils for one another, but more often than not, it is Florida Man who is denigrated far more than he deserves, as elites control the institutions that construct the cultural narratives that drive the discourse. (RELATED: VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Our Summer of Cultural Suicide)
We all know the Florida Man trope, of course. He walks into a convenience store carrying an alligator. He goes outside during a hurricane with the American flag, challenging Mother Nature herself, claiming that Americanism is the far greater force. He drinks and watches sports and has a grand old American time, as it is his birthright. We are constantly bombarded by these images and videos of Florida Man’s exploits, so much so that the man behind the trope has all but been erased. There was a time when a Florida man behaving strangely was merely a man from Florida behaving strangely, but now that the trope has swallowed the man, Florida Man has been stripped of his humanity. The danger is that when the man is stripped of humanity, it becomes not only allowable, but encouraged, to treat him like a beast.
So who, really, is the man behind the trope?
Let us leave aside the truly abhorrent criminals and murderers who sometimes grace headlines under that appellation. There can be no defense of the indefensible, and besides, no state in the Union has a monopoly on these depths of depravity. Instead, we seek today a broader understanding of the personality that could survive both an alligator attack and a subsequent shark attack, only to gripe “I was more angry I couldn’t go in the water the next day.”
Florida Man is typically a man from Florida who engages in behaviors considered to be crude and dangerous by elites, but he doesn’t necessarily have to be a resident of the state. If a man is viewed with derision and contempt by his betters due to his “backwardness,” he is, de facto, a Florida Man. Elites, so fond of sleight-of-hand word games in order to obfuscate their true feelings, know that terms like “white trash” and “hillbilly” are now considered beyond the pale, but “Florida Man,” as it denotes hilarity and a playfulness belying its pejorative connotation, is safe to deploy as an insult.
This deployment of “Florida Man” as a pejorative is most obvious when the location of a man whose behavior has led to a scandalous story is unknown, and the phrase, “he must be from Florida,” is sanctimoniously uttered by elites. Underneath the nifty rhetorical move lies the subversive truth: those who do not behave with the mannered obsequiousness of elites are all Florida Men. If only Florida Man could be rehabilitated, elites surely think, then the country would finally be excised of the working-class crudeness and tastelessness that makes America the world’s laughingstock. They dream of a country free of Florida Man, as evidenced by the twisted glee amongst elites as coronavirus cases continue to rise in Florida. (RELATED: Florida Will Have A Much Better Outcome On Coronavirus Than New York)
From the beginning, they’ve wanted the state, and everything they think it stands for, to fall. They would never admit it, but on Twitter, as is often the case, you can watch the mask slip in real time. Elites and those who fancy themselves so—elite-adjacents—will hide behind a façade of ironic distance as they tweet and retweet the clip of Bugs Bunny sawing off Florida, but like every joke, its power lies in its subtext and what it says about the reaction of its intended audience. In this case, it’s obvious: elites really do wish Florida, and its idiots, were disappeared—Florida Man finally gone.
Elites refuse to accept that Florida Man’s fearless idiocy is as important to America’s power as the brilliant minds who constructed the American idea, for so very often the great thinker is constrained by his very thinking and cannot act upon his desires. It is the idiot, the beautiful American jester, who must spread the gospel of Americanism, a Johnny Appleseed of freedom and liberty, if you will.
Florida Man might not be able to set policy or regurgitate the Constitution like some nebbish wonk, but he carries inside him the spirit of the frontiersman so crucial to the expansion and consolidation of the nation, which explains why fearful elites and their stupefied panic-stricken followers have taken to Twitter, deriding and demanding his head—which is to say, his freedom in all its idiotic grandeur. Elites, who know nothing but risk management and prostrate themselves at the altar of lifeless sterility in hopes of extinguishing any “incorrect” desire or thought incongruent with their neoliberal vision of a global office space finally liberated of chaotic Americanism, have seized this historic moment in an attempt to create the “safe” world of their un-American dreams. Fear has always been their tool, as they know it is a sedative of the spirit, which is why Florida Man, and not the virus, is now public enemy #1.
The rage directed at Florida Man, however, has nothing to do with his supposed idiocy and moral turpitude and everything to do with the fact that he is immune to elite narrative manipulation. Social media mockery and op-ed histrionics will not deter him, so if Florida Man is to be stopped, he must be physically stopped, which explains why he induces such derangement and hatred amongst elites. Elites are constrained by their timidity of spirit, forever calibrating their every move, as expulsion from the monastery of global citizenry is their greatest fear. They live in a constant state of self-denial, passive aggressive irony being their primary mode of communication, which renders them pathologically unable to engage the world without a cloak of ironic distance. There is never action, but the cheeky deliberation of action—theirs is a world in which physical engagement is merely a fictional conceit.
Elites mock Florida Man’s actions, but the intensity of their mockery betrays the true psychology behind the attacks: they are not free to act until cultural gatekeepers give the go ahead, which is to say that elites never act out of their own volition. They know they are not free. Florida Man’s impulsivity, his complete ignorance to elite cultural norms and their restrictive nature, is an affront to their pussyfooted ways. Since action is only reserved for Florida Man, elites respond as they always do and the only way they know how: with impotent histrionics. They will yell and screech and demand that Florida Man restrain himself, but their emotional outbursts—as close to action as they’ll ever get—are no match for the life force of Florida Man. To put it simply, elites are not men of action, but of histrionics, and so they’ll forever hate the unrestrained free men who remind them of their self-imposed shackles. (RELATED: Bezos And Tech CEOs Respond To Jim Jordan’s Question About Cancel Culture)
Florida Man is by no means perfect, but his brand of in-your-face unironic Americanism is necessary, as it acts as a firewall against the order of neoliberal sterility elites seek to impose on the country. Those who stand against Americanism and hope to not only destroy freedom, but the desire for it, understand that in order to bring America to heel and usher in the era of paternalistic safetyism conjured up by our soulless cultural tinkerers, the craziest and freest among us must be shamed into docility.
To take down Florida Man is to zap the life force of the nation and impose docility and subservience on a grand scale. It was Florida Man who went west and conquered the landscape. It was Florida Man who fought for independence and was crazy enough to get it. It was Florida Man who built the empire and nearly destroyed it when he battled himself, and then recreated it even greater than before. It is Florida Man, rushing into the sea, unafraid of a virus—quite possibly even unaware of its existence—who will remind you that deep inside, behind all your serious ideas and theories and affected postures, exists a Florida Man dying to bust free and dive into the ocean of freedom you’ve been yearning for, even if you almost forgot it existed.
Alex Perez is a Cuban-American writer from Miami, whose work has appeared in Tablet Magazine and Arc Digital, among others. Find him on Twitter @Perez_Writes
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation. Content created by the DCNF is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@ .


thedailycaller--2020-08-04--TikTok Could Become A Powerful Propaganda Tool If It Stays With China, Experts Warn

• China could use TikTok as a powerful propaganda tool if ByteDance , its China-based parent company , retains ownership , according to national security analysts and China experts .
• The authoritarian regime could suppress or promote content to benefit the Chinese Communist Party , the experts said .
Data collected through the app could be used to create propaganda , they went on to say .
• TikTok has denied that it ’ s beholden to China , and Microsoft is in talks to purchase the app .
TikTok could become a powerful propaganda tool capable of shifting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hands of its Chinese parent company , national security analysts and China experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation .
The authoritarian regime could use data collected through TikTok to produce more targeted , and consequently , effective propaganda , the experts , who favored banning the app , said .
The app could also be used to influence U.S. politics , spy on the nation , or suppress or promote content to benefit the Chinese Communist Party .
“ You could influence political behavior or engage in information environment-shaping , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done , and have been done , ” Stephen Yates , CEO of the public policy consultancy firm DC International Advisory , said of a foreign country ’ s ability to use social media platforms as weapons .
TikTok has faced increased scrutiny across both the U.S. government as well as private industry , and President Donald Trump floated banning the app .
Microsoft is in preliminary talks to purchase TikTok from its parent company , ByteDance , the software company confirmed Sunday .
China could control what content users see on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the authoritarian regime or amplifying ones it finds beneficial , according to Yates .
While TikTok is primarily known for its use among Generation Z to create and view dance and comedy videos , the app has already reportedly influenced U.S. politics on at least one occasion .
TikTok users coordinated an effort to get people who didn ’ t intend on attending a Trump campaign rally in Tulsa sign up for it , CNN reported in June .
One TikTok post urging fans of Korean pop to sign up for June @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jo Laupp , a 51-year-old women in Iowa , reportedly kickstarted the troll campaign .
Laupp ’ s video encouraging people to register for free tickets to the rally garnered more than 2 million views .
The Trump campaign disputed the claims , saying it weeds out phony registrations .
Yet demonstrations in Hong Kong that received worldwide attention were barely mentioned on TikTok , according to a Washington Post report .
A hashtag used to identify posts showing resistance to an extradition bill supposedly designed to weaken Hong Kong autonomy , # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TikTok , but collected more than 34,000 posts on Instagram at the time of reporting .
Meanwhile , Hashtags for # HongKongProtests on TikTok returned either a single video or an error message telling users that TikTok could not “ find this hashtag : Check out trending videos.
” TikTok also directed moderators to censor content that mentions Tiananmen Square and Tibetan independence and banned religious groups , The Guardian reported in 2019 , citing leaked documents highlighting the app ’ s moderation guidelines .
The app could similarly suppress content regarding China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told the DCNF .
Numerous reports have shown Uighurs being held in concentration camps and being subjected to forced sterilization .
Yates , a foreign policy expert who worked as a deputy national security adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney , compared TikTok ’ s potential political influence to how Russia used Facebook posts and advertisements to disrupt the U.S. political system ahead of the 2016 election .
The Russian government spread disinformation to users on a variety of social media platforms during the last presidential election cycle .
Facebook gave Congress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Russia .
The company said it sold $ 100,000 worth of ads to Russian-linked sources that investigators believe were trying to influence the the 2016 election .
But when it comes to data collection , TikTok and Facebook can ’ t be equated , according to Yates .
Washington Post tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler argued on a July 13 that much of the concerns related to TikTok ’ s alleged privacy violations are driven by “ xenophobia ” and compared its data collection to Facebook , which owns Instagram .
“ This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ platform that gives a hostile power access to people ’ s cell phones and computers in which their entire lives have become dependent , ” Yates said of TikTok .
The app is totally “ within China ’ s sphere of influence , ” he added .
And Matt Stoller , the Research Director at the American Economic Liberties Project , told the DCNF that the difference between a company like Facebook and TikTok is that one is “ controlled by a greedy American ” corporation , while the “ other is controlled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ democracy.
” TikTok ’ s executives have also managed to avoid U.S. oversight .
TikTok executives “ couldn ’ t attend hearings and testify because executives were located in # China , ” Sen. Josh Hawley tweeted in May .
He linked to a report that a former Disney executive , Kevin Mayer , would become the app ’ s new CEO .
“ But this new executive lives in the USA , ” the Missouri Republican continued .
“ I look forward to hearing from him .
Under oath.
” Meanwhile , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the CEOs of Google , Apple and Amazon , testified before the House Judiciary ’ s Subcommittee on Antitrust , Commercial and Administrative Law on July 29 over lawmaker concerns that they are building their empires through anti-competitive methods .
TikTok has the potential to be used as a spying tool for China , according to Dan Blumenthal , the director of Asian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute .
( RELATED : TikTok Hires Former GOP And Democratic Congressional Staffers To Lobby On US Policy Ahead Of The Election ) “ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the U.S. including a ‘ human network map ’ that makes connections it deems important among U.S. financial , corporate , policy media and political elites , ” Blumenthal , who supports banning the app , told the DCNF .
“ This is both for espionage purposes as well as for purposes of influencing U.S. politics.
” Blumenthal did not elaborate on how such data could be used to spy on Americans .
But China ’ s National Intelligence Law gives the government authority to compel Chinese companies to collect and provide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on foreign users , Quartz reported in 2017 .
The law makes spying a duty for Chinese companies , Yi-Zheng Lian , a former chief editor of the Hong Kong Economic Journal , wrote in a 2019 New York Times editorial .
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute reported in 2019 that ByteDance , TikTok ’ s parent company , worked alongside the Chinese Communist Party to enforce the country ’ s strict censorship laws .
ByteDance “ engaged in deeply unethical behavior in Xinjiang , where their work directly supports and enables mass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , titled “ Mapping China ’ s Tech Giants , ” said .
Xinjiang contains concentration camps where Uighers are held and forced into labor .
“ ByteDance collaborates with public security bureaus across China , including in Xinjiang where it plays an active role in disseminating the party-state ’ s propaganda on Xinjiang , ” the report stated .
ByteDance also established a joint venture in December 2019 with a Chinese state media group , Shanghai Dongfang Newspaper Company , Reuters reported in 2019 .
Additionally , Check Point Research found vulnerabilities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attackers to gain control of TikTok accounts , change the privacy settings on videos , upload videos without permission and obtain email addresses of select users .
The app collects troves of data on users , according to the company ’ s privacy policy .
If a user downloads and opens an app without ever creating an account , for instance , then TikTok can collect a user ’ s IP address , browsing history on the app , mobile carrier , location data when using a mobile device and information on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Once a user creates an account , TikTok can gather details about every video a user uploads , the length of time he or she watches a video , what type of content he or she like the most , which videos are shared , and any messages a user exchanges on the app .
The app ’ s portal also asks users for permission to access other social media accounts , their phone number contact list , and geolocation data .
‘ We are not the enemy ’ Yates , Blumenthal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CEO Kevin Mayer addressed concerns about data , before Trump threatened to ban TikTok and before the notion of Microsoft purchasing the app became public .
“ TikTok has become the latest target , but we are not the enemy , ” Mayer wrote Wednesday .
He said TikTok will address concerns about “ the company ’ s Chinese origins ” “ through greater transparency and accountability.
” Mayer did not address what the company would do if China demanded user data .
But TikTok dismisses claims that the company is beholden to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ team is led out of the U.S. by our Chief Information Security Officer who has 30-years of Department of Defense and financial services industry experience , ” a company spokesperson said in a statement to the DCNF .
“ TikTok collects much less U.S. user information than many of the companies in our space and stores it in the U.S. and Singapore.
” The app launched what company executives called a transparency center in Los Angeles to allow government officials to monitor TikTok ’ s content review process , the company noted in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have reported evidence that TikTok is providing personal user data to the CCP .
The company is under national security review , Reuters reported Wednesday .
Regardless , companies often use personal data to dramatically influence how people behave and think , according to researchers at Cracked Lab , an independent research institute based in Austria that measures how information networks impact human thinking .
“ [ D ] ata-driven persuasion undermines the concept of rational choice and thus the basic foundation of market economy , ” the group ’ s researchers wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ methods and techniques tech companies use to manipulate users into engaging with content .
“ When used in political campaigns or in other efforts to shape public policy , it may undermine democracy at large.
” A bipartisan slate of lawmakers and U.S. officials have determined TikTok is a major threat .
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , for example , suggested during in a July 7 Fox News interview that Americans should download the app “ only if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a New York Democrat , asked the U.S. intelligence community in 2019 to assess TikTok ’ s national security risks , saying that such apps could be used to spy on U.S. citizens or become targets of foreign influence .
Hawley also wants officials to more closely scrutinize the Chinese app .
Companies , governmental bodies , and U.S. political campaigns are asking employees to delete the app .
Wells Fargo told employees to delete the app amid what executives said were concerns about security , CNN reported on July 13 .
Former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also directed staffers to stop using TikTok over security concerns , Bloomberg reported .
The Department of Defense also advised military personnel in January to remove the app for similar reasons , The New York Times reported .
But a federal ban of the app is too extreme , according to Peter Micek , a digital human rights expert at Access Now , a digital rights nonprofit .
“ [ B ] anning apps is an extreme measure that does not meet international human rights standards , ” Micek told Vice on July @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law , blocking an entire service or application is not regarded as necessary and proportionate and has been declared unlawful in several instances.
” Much of the concerns related to TikTok ’ s ties to China can be solved through comprehensive data protection regulations , Micek argued .
The General Data Protection Regulation , a European Union law passed in 2016 , gives social media users control over their own personal data , ZDNet reported in 2019 .
The law requires companies that gather a person ’ s personal information to disclose the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for processing such data , and explicitly state how long the information will be retained , ZDNet noted .
Companies must also explain if any data is being redirected to third-party groups .
“ It ’ s hard to convey just what a yawning gap there is between elite opinion and the obvious right thing to do .
The [ People ’ s Republic of China ] is a dangerous expansionist threat .
Literally the least we could do is not allow them to manipulate tens of millions of Americans , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ referring to critics of banning the application .
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content , please contact licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

China could use TikTok as a powerful propaganda tool if ByteDance, its China-based parent company, retains ownership, according to national security analysts and China experts.
The authoritarian regime could suppress or promote content to benefit the Chinese Communist Party, the experts said. Data collected through the app could be used to create propaganda, they went on to say.
TikTok has denied that it’s beholden to China, and Microsoft is in talks to purchase the app.
TikTok could become a powerful propaganda tool capable of shifting American public opinion if it remains in the hands of its Chinese parent company, national security analysts and China experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The authoritarian regime could use data collected through TikTok to produce more targeted, and consequently, effective propaganda, the experts, who favored banning the app, said. The app could also be used to influence U.S. politics, spy on the nation, or suppress or promote content to benefit the Chinese Communist Party.
“You could influence political behavior or engage in information environment-shaping, or propaganda. All these things can be done, and have been done,” Stephen Yates, CEO of the public policy consultancy firm DC International Advisory, said of a foreign country’s ability to use social media platforms as weapons.
TikTok has faced increased scrutiny across both the U.S. government as well as private industry, and President Donald Trump floated banning the app. Microsoft is in preliminary talks to purchase TikTok from its parent company, ByteDance, the software company confirmed Sunday.
Suppressing and promoting content
China could control what content users see on the app, suppressing videos that are critical of the authoritarian regime or amplifying ones it finds beneficial, according to Yates.
While TikTok is primarily known for its use among Generation Z to create and view dance and comedy videos, the app has already reportedly influenced U.S. politics on at least one occasion.
TikTok users coordinated an effort to get people who didn’t intend on attending a Trump campaign rally in Tulsa sign up for it, CNN reported in June. One TikTok post urging fans of Korean pop to sign up for June rally received over 100,000 likes. Mary Jo Laupp, a 51-year-old women in Iowa, reportedly kickstarted the troll campaign.
Laupp’s video encouraging people to register for free tickets to the rally garnered more than 2 million views. The Trump campaign disputed the claims, saying it weeds out phony registrations.
Yet demonstrations in Hong Kong that received worldwide attention were barely mentioned on TikTok, according to a Washington Post report.
A hashtag used to identify posts showing resistance to an extradition bill supposedly designed to weaken Hong Kong autonomy, #antielab, had only 11 posts on TikTok, but collected more than 34,000 posts on Instagram at the time of reporting. Meanwhile, Hashtags for #HongKongProtests on TikTok returned either a single video or an error message telling users that TikTok could not “find this hashtag: Check out trending videos.”
TikTok also directed moderators to censor content that mentions Tiananmen Square and Tibetan independence and banned religious groups, The Guardian reported in 2019, citing leaked documents highlighting the app’s moderation guidelines.
The app could similarly suppress content regarding China’s treatment of Uighurs, Yates told the DCNF. Numerous reports have shown Uighurs being held in concentration camps and being subjected to forced sterilization.
Comparing TikTok To Facebook
Yates, a foreign policy expert who worked as a deputy national security adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney, compared TikTok’s potential political influence to how Russia used Facebook posts and advertisements to disrupt the U.S. political system ahead of the 2016 election.
The Russian government spread disinformation to users on a variety of social media platforms during the last presidential election cycle. Facebook gave Congress roughly 3,000 ads in 2017 with links to Russia. The company said it sold $100,000 worth of ads to Russian-linked sources that investigators believe were trying to influence the the 2016 election.
But when it comes to data collection, TikTok and Facebook can’t be equated, according to Yates.
Washington Post tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler argued on a July 13 that much of the concerns related to TikTok’s alleged privacy violations are driven by “xenophobia” and compared its data collection to Facebook, which owns Instagram.
“This would be a commercial and political communication platform that gives a hostile power access to people’s cell phones and computers in which their entire lives have become dependent,” Yates said of TikTok. The app is totally “within China’s sphere of influence,” he added.
And Matt Stoller, the Research Director at the American Economic Liberties Project, told the DCNF that the difference between a company like Facebook and TikTok is that one is “controlled by a greedy American” corporation, while the “other is controlled by a genocidal regime hostile to liberal democracy.”
TikTok’s executives have also managed to avoid U.S. oversight.
TikTok executives “couldn’t attend hearings and testify because executives were located in #China,” Sen. Josh Hawley tweeted in May. He linked to a report that a former Disney executive, Kevin Mayer, would become the app’s new CEO.
“But this new executive lives in the USA,” the Missouri Republican continued. “I look forward to hearing from him. Under oath.”
Meanwhile, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, along with the CEOs of Google, Apple and Amazon, testified before the House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law on July 29 over lawmaker concerns that they are building their empires through anti-competitive methods.
Potential collaboration with China
TikTok has the potential to be used as a spying tool for China, according to Dan Blumenthal, the director of Asian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. (RELATED: TikTok Hires Former GOP And Democratic Congressional Staffers To Lobby On US Policy Ahead Of The Election)
“The Chinese are building a mass of information about the U.S. including a ‘human network map’ that makes connections it deems important among U.S. financial, corporate, policy media and political elites,” Blumenthal, who supports banning the app, told the DCNF. “This is both for espionage purposes as well as for purposes of influencing U.S. politics.”
Blumenthal did not elaborate on how such data could be used to spy on Americans.
But China’s National Intelligence Law gives the government authority to compel Chinese companies to collect and provide any information it requests, including data on foreign users, Quartz reported in 2017. The law makes spying a duty for Chinese companies, Yi-Zheng Lian, a former chief editor of the Hong Kong Economic Journal, wrote in a 2019 New York Times editorial.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute reported in 2019 that ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, worked alongside the Chinese Communist Party to enforce the country’s strict censorship laws.
ByteDance “engaged in deeply unethical behavior in Xinjiang, where their work directly supports and enables mass human rights abuses,” the report, titled “Mapping China’s Tech Giants,” said. Xinjiang contains concentration camps where Uighers are held and forced into labor.
“ByteDance collaborates with public security bureaus across China, including in Xinjiang where it plays an active role in disseminating the party-state’s propaganda on Xinjiang,” the report stated. ByteDance also established a joint venture in December 2019 with a Chinese state media group, Shanghai Dongfang Newspaper Company, Reuters reported in 2019.
Additionally, Check Point Research found vulnerabilities in the app that could allow cyber attackers to gain control of TikTok accounts, change the privacy settings on videos, upload videos without permission and obtain email addresses of select users.
The app collects troves of data on users, according to the company’s privacy policy. If a user downloads and opens an app without ever creating an account, for instance, then TikTok can collect a user’s IP address, browsing history on the app, mobile carrier, location data when using a mobile device and information on the device used to gain access to TikTok.
Once a user creates an account, TikTok can gather details about every video a user uploads, the length of time he or she watches a video, what type of content he or she like the most, which videos are shared, and any messages a user exchanges on the app. The app’s portal also asks users for permission to access other social media accounts, their phone number contact list, and geolocation data.
‘We are not the enemy’
Yates, Blumenthal and Stoller made their comments before TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer addressed concerns about data, before Trump threatened to ban TikTok and before the notion of Microsoft purchasing the app became public.
“TikTok has become the latest target, but we are not the enemy,” Mayer wrote Wednesday. He said TikTok will address concerns about “the company’s Chinese origins” “through greater transparency and accountability.”
Mayer did not address what the company would do if China demanded user data. But TikTok dismisses claims that the company is beholden to the authoritarian regime.
“Our security team is led out of the U.S. by our Chief Information Security Officer who has 30-years of Department of Defense and financial services industry experience,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to the DCNF. “TikTok collects much less U.S. user information than many of the companies in our space and stores it in the U.S. and Singapore.”
The app launched what company executives called a transparency center in Los Angeles to allow government officials to monitor TikTok’s content review process, the company noted in a March blog post.
U.S. officials have reported evidence that TikTok is providing personal user data to the CCP. The company is under national security review, Reuters reported Wednesday.
Increasing scrutiny
Regardless, companies often use personal data to dramatically influence how people behave and think, according to researchers at Cracked Lab, an independent research institute based in Austria that measures how information networks impact human thinking.
“[D]ata-driven persuasion undermines the concept of rational choice and thus the basic foundation of market economy,” the group’s researchers wrote in a 2017 report, referring to methods and techniques tech companies use to manipulate users into engaging with content. “When used in political campaigns or in other efforts to shape public policy, it may undermine democracy at large.”
A bipartisan slate of lawmakers and U.S. officials have determined TikTok is a major threat. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for example, suggested during in a July 7 Fox News interview that Americans should download the app “only if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, asked the U.S. intelligence community in 2019 to assess TikTok’s national security risks, saying that such apps could be used to spy on U.S. citizens or become targets of foreign influence. Hawley also wants officials to more closely scrutinize the Chinese app.
Companies, governmental bodies, and U.S. political campaigns are asking employees to delete the app.
Wells Fargo told employees to delete the app amid what executives said were concerns about security, CNN reported on July 13. Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign also directed staffers to stop using TikTok over security concerns, Bloomberg reported.
The Department of Defense also advised military personnel in January to remove the app for similar reasons, The New York Times reported.
But a federal ban of the app is too extreme, according to Peter Micek, a digital human rights expert at Access Now, a digital rights nonprofit.
“[B]anning apps is an extreme measure that does not meet international human rights standards,” Micek told Vice on July 15. “Under international human rights law, blocking an entire service or application is not regarded as necessary and proportionate and has been declared unlawful in several instances.”
Much of the concerns related to TikTok’s ties to China can be solved through comprehensive data protection regulations, Micek argued. The General Data Protection Regulation, a European Union law passed in 2016, gives social media users control over their own personal data, ZDNet reported in 2019.
The law requires companies that gather a person’s personal information to disclose the data they collect, declare the reason for processing such data, and explicitly state how long the information will be retained, ZDNet noted. Companies must also explain if any data is being redirected to third-party groups.
Conversely, Stoller supports banning the Chinese app.
“It’s hard to convey just what a yawning gap there is between elite opinion and the obvious right thing to do. The [People’s Republic of China] is a dangerous expansionist threat. Literally the least we could do is not allow them to manipulate tens of millions of Americans,” he wrote in a July 20 tweet, referring to critics of banning the application.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.


thedailycaller--2020-08-04--Stanford’s Dr. Scott Atlas: ‘Stopping COVID-19 Cases Is Not The Appropriate Goal’

Dr. Scott Atlas told Fox News ’ “ The Story ” Monday night that stopping cases “ is not the appropriate goal ” in combating coronavirus .
As many areas of the country have experienced a surge in cases , particularly among younger people of late , most epidemiologists and politicians have focused on measures meant to curb case spread like lockdowns , social distancing measures and masking .
Atlas , former chief of neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Center and a senior fellow at Stanford ’ s Hoover Institution , has argued for a different approach , protecting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ burn through people to whom it poses less of a risk .
“ I think there is a huge disconnect here in what the goal of public policy is here , ” Atlas told guest-anchor Sandra Smith during a conversation about protective measures for college students .
“ The goal of stopping COVID-19 cases is not the appropriate goal .
The goal is simply twofold , to protect the people who are going to have a serious problem or die , that ’ s the high-risk population , and to stop hospital overcrowding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is no goal to stop college students from getting an infection they have no problem with.
” “ 99.8 % of deaths are in people over 24 , ” Atlas argued before explaining that high-risk college students and professors can be protected through social distancing accommodations .
“ They can do things if they are still afraid from a distance but you don ’ t lock down healthy people , ” he said .
“ It ’ s just irrational , really.
” Atlas argued against “ creating a frenzy for tests ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing should be “ to protect the high-risk group from getting infected.
” ( RELATED : ‘ Population Immunity ’ : Dr. Atlas Explains Why We Shouldn ’ t Freak Out About The Spike In COVID-19 Cases ) When Smith pushed back by asking about asymptomatic spread to the vulnerable from students , Atlas said that devoting resources strategically is “ the way to protect them , ” arguing again that mass testing “ destroys the ability to get critical information on the tests from the people who are at high risk.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he explained .
“ When we have testing delays because we are doing a million tests every day , it ’ s getting to be crazy already .
We need to be able to get the results from the high-risk tests .
No one else .
”

Dr. Scott Atlas told Fox News’ “The Story” Monday night that stopping cases “is not the appropriate goal” in combating coronavirus.
As many areas of the country have experienced a surge in cases, particularly among younger people of late, most epidemiologists and politicians have focused on measures meant to curb case spread like lockdowns, social distancing measures and masking.
Atlas, former chief of neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Center and a senior fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, has argued for a different approach, protecting the higher-risk populations and allowing the virus to burn through people to whom it poses less of a risk.
“I think there is a huge disconnect here in what the goal of public policy is here,” Atlas told guest-anchor Sandra Smith during a conversation about protective measures for college students. “The goal of stopping COVID-19 cases is not the appropriate goal. The goal is simply twofold, to protect the people who are going to have a serious problem or die, that’s the high-risk population, and to stop hospital overcrowding. There should never be and there is no goal to stop college students from getting an infection they have no problem with.”
=WATCH:
“99.8% of deaths are in people over 24,” Atlas argued before explaining that high-risk college students and professors can be protected through social distancing accommodations.
“They can do things if they are still afraid from a distance but you don’t lock down healthy people,” he said. “It’s just irrational, really.”
Atlas argued against “creating a frenzy for tests” among college students when the purpose of testing should be “to protect the high-risk group from getting infected.” (RELATED: ‘Population Immunity’: Dr. Atlas Explains Why We Shouldn’t Freak Out About The Spike In COVID-19 Cases)
When Smith pushed back by asking about asymptomatic spread to the vulnerable from students, Atlas said that devoting resources strategically is “the way to protect them,” arguing again that mass testing “destroys the ability to get critical information on the tests from the people who are at high risk.”
“We need to keep them safe,” he explained. “When we have testing delays because we are doing a million tests every day, it’s getting to be crazy already. We need to be able to get the results from the high-risk tests. No one else.”


thedailycaller--2020-08-04--Minneapolis Police Department Says It’s ‘Fully Operational’ As Crime Surges, Police Activity Decline

Minneapolis Police Department Says It’s ‘Fully Operational’ As Crime Surges, Police Activity Declines

The Minneapolis Police Department is facing a severe staffing shortage as it struggles to keep up with rapidly increasing crime rates .
The department ’ s staff has decreased by more than 10 % , the Star Tribune reported , since the death of George Floyd who died on May 25 after an officer kneeled on his neck , video of the incident shows .
Anonymous officials within the department said the force could lose a third of its officers by 2021 .
“ The numbers through the city ’ s human resources do not support that , ” John @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Daily Caller News Foundation in an email .
( RELATED : Minneapolis Communities Form Watch Groups , Build Barricades To Fight Crime Surge ) About 40 officers have resigned , been fired or are leaving the department while 75 officers are on medical leave for post-traumatic stress disorder related to the riots that ensued in the wake of Floyd ’ s death , according to the Star Tribune .
However , not a single Minneapolis Police Academy recruit has dropped out .
Meanwhile , 39 people have been killed in Minneapolis this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to last year , CBS affiliate WCCO-TV reported .
Yet , police incidents , stops and use-of force are down compared to last summer , the Star Tribune reported .
Further , the police have been accused of establishing no-go zones , where officers will not respond to calls , according to The New York Times .
One such zone is the intersection where Floyd died and where a memorial has been set up , which has seen an uptick in shootings and drug overdoses .
“ People in this area , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re experiencing no response .
They ’ re being told that this is called a no-go zone by MPD , ” Council Member Andrea Jenkins said at a City Council meeting Friday , according to the Star Tribune .
But Elder said these allegations are false and denied the existence of so-called no-go zones .
“ The MPD is fully operational and responding to calls in all areas of the city – without exception , ” Elder said .
He added that police incidents are down because police have less time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tied up on calls.
” This sentiment , that police officers are responding to all calls , but not initiating on their own while patrolling , was backed up by Rich Walker Sr. , the director of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis , WCCO reported .
“ Cops are relatively reserved right now .
They ’ re answering their calls but they ’ re not going that extra mile , ” Walker Sr. said , according to WCCO .
The Minneapolis city council voted to “ dismantle ” its police department following @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content , please contact licensing @ dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

The Minneapolis Police Department is facing a severe staffing shortage as it struggles to keep up with rapidly increasing crime rates.
The department’s staff has decreased by more than 10%, the Star Tribune reported, since the death of George Floyd who died on May 25 after an officer kneeled on his neck, video of the incident shows. Anonymous officials within the department said the force could lose a third of its officers by 2021.
“The numbers through the city’s human resources do not support that,” John Elder, Minneapolis Police Department spokesman told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an email. (RELATED: Minneapolis Communities Form Watch Groups, Build Barricades To Fight Crime Surge)
About 40 officers have resigned, been fired or are leaving the department while 75 officers are on medical leave for post-traumatic stress disorder related to the riots that ensued in the wake of Floyd’s death, according to the Star Tribune. However, not a single Minneapolis Police Academy recruit has dropped out.
Meanwhile, 39 people have been killed in Minneapolis this year, a 95% increase compared to last year, CBS affiliate WCCO-TV reported. Yet, police incidents, stops and use-of force are down compared to last summer, the Star Tribune reported.
Further, the police have been accused of establishing no-go zones, where officers will not respond to calls, according to The New York Times. One such zone is the intersection where Floyd died and where a memorial has been set up, which has seen an uptick in shootings and drug overdoses.
“People in this area, they’re not experiencing slow response, they’re experiencing no response. They’re being told that this is called a no-go zone by MPD,” Council Member Andrea Jenkins said at a City Council meeting Friday, according to the Star Tribune.
But Elder said these allegations are false and denied the existence of so-called no-go zones.
“The MPD is fully operational and responding to calls in all areas of the city – without exception,” Elder said.
He added that police incidents are down because police have less time to do self-initiated work and are “tied up on calls.”
This sentiment, that police officers are responding to all calls, but not initiating on their own while patrolling, was backed up by Rich Walker Sr., the director of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, WCCO reported.
“Cops are relatively reserved right now. They’re answering their calls but they’re not going that extra mile,” Walker Sr. said, according to WCCO.
The Minneapolis city council voted to “dismantle” its police department following Floyd’s death.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.


thedailycaller--2020-08-04--Disney Channel Star Ronni Hawk Arrested For Domestic Abuse

Disney Channel star Ronni Hawk was arrested on Friday for intimate partner violence/domestic abuse , per the Los Angeles Police Department jail .
According to Los Angeles County Sheriff ’ s Department , the 21-year-old actress , best known for her role on the “ Stuck In The Middle ” Disney series , is facing a felony charge , per E !
News in a piece published Monday .
( RELATED : Pearl Jam Postpones North American Tour Over Growing Coronavirus Concerns ) According to TMZ , authorities responded to a call at a home for an alleged domestic disturbance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a male on the scene was described as allegedly having visible injuries , including scratches .
( RELATED : Here Are The Members Of Congress Self-Quarantining After Meeting Person With Coronavirus At CPAC ) Law enforcement told the outlet that Hawk and her boyfriend had some kind of argument that reportedly became physical .
Hawk was then arrested because of the reported injuries .
She was later released on bond with the bail set at $ 100,000 .
The Disney Channel star is next set to appear in court on December 11 to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ details have yet been released .
Hawk , who played Rachel Diaz on the Disney show , also has worked on the program “ On My Block ” and made appearances on several shows including “ Legacies ” on the CW and S.W.A.T .
on CBS .

Disney Channel star Ronni Hawk was arrested on Friday for intimate partner violence/domestic abuse, per the Los Angeles Police Department jail.
According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the 21-year-old actress, best known for her role on the “Stuck In The Middle” Disney series, is facing a felony charge, per E! News in a piece published Monday. (RELATED: Pearl Jam Postpones North American Tour Over Growing Coronavirus Concerns)
View this post on Instagram A post shared by E! News (@enews) on Aug 3, 2020 at 7:30am PDT
According to TMZ, authorities responded to a call at a home for an alleged domestic disturbance. Police said that when officers arrived a male on the scene was described as allegedly having visible injuries, including scratches. (RELATED: Here Are The Members Of Congress Self-Quarantining After Meeting Person With Coronavirus At CPAC)
Law enforcement told the outlet that Hawk and her boyfriend had some kind of argument that reportedly became physical. Hawk was then arrested because of the reported injuries.
She was later released on bond with the bail set at $100,000. The Disney Channel star is next set to appear in court on December 11 to deal with the charge.
No other details have yet been released.
Hawk, who played Rachel Diaz on the Disney show, also has worked on the program “On My Block” and made appearances on several shows including “Legacies” on the CW and S.W.A.T. on CBS.


thedailycaller--2020-08-04--Here’s How Ballot Harvesting Could Affect Your State In November

The public health impact of the coronavirus pandemic has prompted calls to shift the 2020 election to a nationwide vote-by-mail system where absentee ballots are sent to every registered voter .
President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated his opposition to this idea and even threatened to cut off federal funding for states that make the switch .
Concerns over voter fraud have cast doubt on the success of a nationwide mail-in voting , but one practice in particular could jeopardize the integrity of the election : ballot harvesting .
Ballot harvesting refers to the practice of party volunteers or campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ submitting them in batches to polling places or election offices .
There have been several documented voter fraud cases involving ballot harvesting .
A prominent occurrence was during North Carolina ’ s Ninth Congressional District election in 2018 .
A county operative was arrested after illegally collecting hundreds of absentee ballots , many containing forged signatures .
The results were also overturned by the state ’ s election board .
University of Florida researcher Michael McDonald claims ballot collectors are “ usually not clustered enough ” to harvest ballots on a significant level @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system could flip this trend on its head due to the sheer volume of absentee ballots .
Laws permitting someone other than the voter to collect and return absentee ballots are currently found in 34 states and the District of Columbia , according to the National Conference of State Legislatures .
( RELATED : Tucker Carlson : Mail-In Voting And Ballot Harvesting ‘ Massively Expands The Potential For Voter Fraud ’ ) 12 of these states — Alaska , California , Connecticut , Illinois , Iowa , Kansas , Kentucky , Maryland , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Virginia — along with the District of Columbia allow voters to designate someone to return their ballot .
Some states like Maryland require the collector to submit a signed statement under penalty of perjury .
California formalized the use of ballot harvesting in 2016 in a move that some attributed to Republican losses in typically red congressional districts .
The original law placed a limit on the number of ballots a person could collect but the law was altered in 2018 and removed the cap , the San Francisco Chronicle reported .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballot collector — Arizona , Florida , Massachusetts , Michigan , Nevada , New Hampshire , New Mexico , North Carolina , Ohio and Texas — have additional laws mandating that the collector is a verified relative or legal guardian .
The remaining 12 states with permissible ballot collection — Arkansas , Colorado , Georgia , Louisiana , Maine , Minnesota , Montana , Nebraska , New Jersey , North Dakota , Oklahoma and West Virginia — restrict the number of ballots that an individual can collect .
Louisiana limits the collector to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ten ballots per person .
Alabama and Delaware are the only states with laws explicitly requiring voters to return their own ballots .
13 states — Hawaii , Idaho , Mississippi , New York , Rhode Island , Tennessee , Utah , Vermont , Washington , Wisconsin and Wyoming — do not have laws that specify the nature and conduct of ballot collection practices .
With millions of voters potentially set to cast their ballots through a vote-by-mail system , ballot harvesting practices could result in higher rates of voter fraud or replicas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2018 .
( RELATED : NJ City Officials Charged After 1 In 5 Mail-In Ballots Found To Be Fraudulent In Election ) Heritage Foundation scholar Hans von Spakovsky echoed these concerns in a 2019 report that emphasized issues ranging from unethical persuasion to illegal forgery .
Mail-in voting could also result in attempts to manipulate election outcomes as political operatives oversee door-to-door harvesting operations and promote specific candidates or political parties .

The public health impact of the coronavirus pandemic has prompted calls to shift the 2020 election to a nationwide vote-by-mail system where absentee ballots are sent to every registered voter.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated his opposition to this idea and even threatened to cut off federal funding for states that make the switch. Concerns over voter fraud have cast doubt on the success of a nationwide mail-in voting, but one practice in particular could jeopardize the integrity of the election: ballot harvesting.
….living in the state, no matter who they are or how they got there, will get one. That will be followed up with professionals telling all of these people, many of whom have never even thought of voting before, how, and for whom, to vote. This will be a Rigged Election. No way! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2020
Ballot harvesting refers to the practice of party volunteers or campaign workers collecting mail-in ballots from voters and submitting them in batches to polling places or election offices.
There have been several documented voter fraud cases involving ballot harvesting. A prominent occurrence was during North Carolina’s Ninth Congressional District election in 2018. A county operative was arrested after illegally collecting hundreds of absentee ballots, many containing forged signatures. The results were also overturned by the state’s election board.
WATCH:
University of Florida researcher Michael McDonald claims ballot collectors are “usually not clustered enough” to harvest ballots on a significant level, PolitiFact reported. A nationwide vote-by-mail system could flip this trend on its head due to the sheer volume of absentee ballots.
Laws permitting someone other than the voter to collect and return absentee ballots are currently found in 34 states and the District of Columbia, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson: Mail-In Voting And Ballot Harvesting ‘Massively Expands The Potential For Voter Fraud’)
12 of these states — Alaska, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota and Virginia — along with the District of Columbia allow voters to designate someone to return their ballot. Some states like Maryland require the collector to submit a signed statement under penalty of perjury.
California formalized the use of ballot harvesting in 2016 in a move that some attributed to Republican losses in typically red congressional districts.
The original law placed a limit on the number of ballots a person could collect but the law was altered in 2018 and removed the cap, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
10 of the states that allow a ballot collector — Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas — have additional laws mandating that the collector is a verified relative or legal guardian.
The remaining 12 states with permissible ballot collection — Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma and West Virginia — restrict the number of ballots that an individual can collect. Louisiana limits the collector to one ballot while Colorado allows up to ten ballots per person.
Alabama and Delaware are the only states with laws explicitly requiring voters to return their own ballots.
13 states — Hawaii, Idaho, Mississippi, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming — do not have laws that specify the nature and conduct of ballot collection practices.
With millions of voters potentially set to cast their ballots through a vote-by-mail system, ballot harvesting practices could result in higher rates of voter fraud or replicas of the North Carolina congressional election in 2018. (RELATED: NJ City Officials Charged After 1 In 5 Mail-In Ballots Found To Be Fraudulent In Election)
Heritage Foundation scholar Hans von Spakovsky echoed these concerns in a 2019 report that emphasized issues ranging from unethical persuasion to illegal forgery.
Mail-in voting could also result in attempts to manipulate election outcomes as political operatives oversee door-to-door harvesting operations and promote specific candidates or political parties.


thedailycaller--2020-08-04--Multiple NHL Players Kneel During The National Anthem

Four NHL players kneeled during the national anthem Monday night prior to the Dallas Stars playing the Vegas Golden Knights .
According to Mike Leslie , Stars players Tyler Seguin and Jason Dickinson and Vegas players Ryan Reaves and Robin Lehner all took a knee during the anthem .
( RELATED : David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football ) You can watch a video of their kneeling below .
Congrats , everyone .
We ’ ve officially done it !
All the major sports leagues underway have kneeling .
The NHL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it finally fell .
The NBA , MLB and NHL all now have kneeling during the national anthem .
You can also guarantee that the NFL will also have plenty of their own protests .
In case you thought this was going away , I can promise that it ’ s not .
I just don ’ t understand this move at all .
I don ’ t get it one bit .
Sports are meant to unify people .
How does kneeling during the national anthem unify anyone ?
The answer is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only serves to divide and upset people .
The games stop becoming about the scoreboard and start becoming about partisan issues .
I really wish this national anthem nonsense would end , but we all know it won ’ t .
Welcome to sports in 2020 .

Four NHL players kneeled during the national anthem Monday night prior to the Dallas Stars playing the Vegas Golden Knights.
According to Mike Leslie, Stars players Tyler Seguin and Jason Dickinson and Vegas players Ryan Reaves and Robin Lehner all took a knee during the anthem. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
You can watch a video of their kneeling below.
Dallas Stars Tyler Seguin, Jason Dickinson took a knee tonight during the national anthem, in support of racial equality. They were joined on a knee buy two Vegas Golden Knights, Ryan Reaves and Robin Lehner.pic.twitter.com/y6f91IgKEP — Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) August 3, 2020
Congrats, everyone. We’ve officially done it! All the major sports leagues underway have kneeling. The NHL was the last to fall, but it finally fell.
The NBA, MLB and NHL all now have kneeling during the national anthem. You can also guarantee that the NFL will also have plenty of their own protests.
In case you thought this was going away, I can promise that it’s not.
Four NHL players kneeled during the national anthem tonight. Congrats, everyone. We made sports about political debates instead of competition. pic.twitter.com/hHOFDWVY86 — David Hookstead (@dhookstead) August 3, 2020
I just don’t understand this move at all. I don’t get it one bit. Sports are meant to unify people. How does kneeling during the national anthem unify anyone?
The answer is that it doesn’t. It only serves to divide and upset people. The games stop becoming about the scoreboard and start becoming about partisan issues.
All players, coaches and refs take a knee and lock arms during the national anthem before the Lakers-Clippers game. pic.twitter.com/eZ9RHE3eh7 — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 31, 2020
I really wish this national anthem nonsense would end, but we all know it won’t. Welcome to sports in 2020.


thedailycaller--2020-08-03--Inside The Relationship Between L Brands Founder Les Wexner And Jeffrey Epstein

Disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein surrounded himself with the rich and famous , but possibly his most @ @ @ @ @ friendship was with Les Wexner , CEO and founder of L Brands , the parent @ @ @ @ @ Secret .

Disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein surrounded himself with the rich and famous, but possibly his most complicated (and important) friendship was with Les Wexner, CEO and founder of L Brands, the parent company of Victoria’s Secret.


thedailycaller--2020-08-03--‘Why Can’t I Decide How Much I Can Eat?’: Chinese Immigrant Helen Raleigh Details Growing Up In Chin

‘Why Can’t I Decide How Much I Can Eat?’: Chinese Immigrant Helen Raleigh Details Growing Up In China

Helen Raleigh , a Centennial Institute Fellow and a senior contributor to The Federalist , spoke with the Daily Caller ’ s Samantha Renck about California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein ’ s recent comments on China , her own experience growing up in the communist county and more .
Recently , Feinstein labeled China as “ a country growing into a respectable nation among other nations , ” despite growing tensions following the coronavirus fallout and human rights abuses .
“ I find it very surprising because Senator Feinstein has access to a lot of classified information we do not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but you really do not need to have access to classified information to recognize the issues that China presents.
” Raleigh also discussed her great-grandfather , who she described as a “ normal wheat farmer ” whose land was confiscated by the Chinese Communist Party .
“ Overnight , he basically was turned from somebody who lived independently , was hardworking , was able to support his family , ” Raleigh said , “ and overnight , he lost everything .
He had to depend on the government.
” Raleigh also detailed her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The economy was so bad — there was not enough food , ” she said .
“ The government had to give everyone coupons , or you could say food stamps , basically [ limiting ] basic supplies like rice , cooking oil , or even [ clothes ] .
” Raleigh recalled dreaming about food because she was always so hungry as well as thinking “ why should a little girl eat less than a little boy ?
” and “ why can ’ t I decide how much I can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recent piece for The Federalist , the United States ’ relationship with China and more .
( RELATED : ‘ Any Accident Could Really Lead To A War ’ : Helen Raleigh Criticizes The Chinese Communist Party ) Check out more from the Daily Caller : US Marine Discusses Vandalism To Veterans Museum : ‘ They Are Not Willing To Enforce Law And Order ’ ‘ These Are All Signs Of Organized Activities ’ : Leading Security Expert Reacts To Portland Riots

Helen Raleigh, a Centennial Institute Fellow and a senior contributor to The Federalist, spoke with the Daily Caller’s Samantha Renck about California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s recent comments on China, her own experience growing up in the communist county and more.
Recently, Feinstein labeled China as “a country growing into a respectable nation among other nations,” despite growing tensions following the coronavirus fallout and human rights abuses.
“I find it very surprising because Senator Feinstein has access to a lot of classified information we do not have,” Raleigh said, “but you really do not need to have access to classified information to recognize the issues that China presents.”
Raleigh also discussed her great-grandfather, who she described as a “normal wheat farmer” whose land was confiscated by the Chinese Communist Party.
“Overnight, he basically was turned from somebody who lived independently, was hardworking, was able to support his family,” Raleigh said, “and overnight, he lost everything. He had to depend on the government.”
Raleigh also detailed her own experience living in communist China.
“The economy was so bad — there was not enough food,” she said. “The government had to give everyone coupons, or you could say food stamps, basically [limiting] basic supplies like rice, cooking oil, or even [clothes].”
Raleigh recalled dreaming about food because she was always so hungry as well as thinking “why should a little girl eat less than a little boy?” and “why can’t I decide how much I can eat?”
Raleigh also discussed her recent piece for The Federalist, the United States’ relationship with China and more. (RELATED: ‘Any Accident Could Really Lead To A War’: Helen Raleigh Criticizes The Chinese Communist Party)
WATCH:
Check out more from the Daily Caller:
US Marine Discusses Vandalism To Veterans Museum: ‘They Are Not Willing To Enforce Law And Order’
‘These Are All Signs Of Organized Activities’: Leading Security Expert Reacts To Portland Riots
Rep. Jodey Arrington Rips Jerry Nadler, Democratic Party Leadership On Portland Response