Happy November!
The headlines last month felt like a bizarre nightmare but I keep my sanity by absorbing news one month at a time. Last month was spooky for many reasons, but the most chilling scares have been the actions of this administration during the ongoing government shutdown.
As a self-employed digital rights activist living in DC, my October has been…precarious. High rent, spotty income, and dwindling government assistance has me stressed, hungry, and even worse considering grad school! The National Guard and Federal Agents leave me on edge, marching in packs, up and down my neighborhood’s streets. Seeing the demolished East Wing of the White House left a pit in my stomach.
That said, many things have brought me joy this past month. I have been monitoring social media for cyber voter suppression, for my first client as an independent contractor : ) yay! Outside of working and writing, I spent much of the month organizing in community with local activists. Some of my side quests include: teaching Girl Scouts how to make recycled paper, Organizing DC Zinefest, and serving as a perimeter Marshall for the DC No Kings Rally.
This month’s newsletter is another long one. I’m afraid that until shock and awe stop being the dominant strategy, these letters aren’t getting any shorter. Use the table of contents below to jump to a specific section, or get cozy and repair your attention span by reading the whole letter in one go!
- Federal Government
It’s a hostage situation! Heath care, SNAP lapse, and the indefinite government shutdown from hell.
FEMA is under fire, as flood waters rise higher and the climate gets drier.
DHS is spending big to facilitate “the largest deportation effort in human history” despite shutdown.
Military spyware, Stolen State Secrets, Revenge plots and the brave Journalists who lost access to report on it - States
States to weather the shutdown while resisting Federal demands and decisions based on conspiracy theories.
Students reject age verification laws and Trump’s regressive ‘Operating Principles’ - Cyber Rights
A rise in scams and surveillance amid a worrying lack of personal privacy protections. - Corporation Watch
The White House Ballroom & AWS outage: brought to you by Big Tech and government corruption.
ICEBlock, AI copyright infringement, Porn restrictions, and a Brand New Cards Against Humanity deck. - Weather Report
Pooping Presidents, Digital Colonialism and AI Psychosis… Can we admit that we lost the plot?
The Current state of hacking, surveillance, and domestic terrorism. - Good News
Divestment from genocide & surveillance is happening!
Cities and the citizens within them stand up for undocumented community members
High Speed Internet: Connecting remote communities today, saving the whales tomorrow!
Super readers, indigenous self determination, Internet archival, and rainbows. - Horoscope
Federal Government
It’s a hostage situation! Heath care, SNAP lapse, and the indefinite government shutdown from hell.
The Federal government shut down on October 1 and impacts have been felt nationwide. Especially so for the 750,00 federal employees now on unpaid leave. Over 7,000 former Federal workers have filed for unemployment in the past weeks. The administration has notably repurposed federal webpages, social media, and even the out of office messages of Department of Education workers to blame Democrats and the “Radical Left” for the ongoing shutdown. The White House website features a ticking clock counting down to the second, the length of the shutdown. These highly partisan and inflammatory messages raise concerns among ethics professionals regarding the Hatch Act , which limits partisan political activity of Federal agents. More than 2 dozen Inspectors General websites and whistleblower hotlines went dark following the Government Shutdown. Some crucial agencies are able to continue their services, including the USPS and the Social Security Office.
This shutdown is the result of the Senate’s failure to pass a bi-partisan budget extension for the Federal Government through November 21. Senate Democrats have rejected a continuation resolution from the house 13 times- in defense of American’s access to affordable health care and in prevention of further cuts to the health care agencies. They seek to extend the tax credits and subsidies for health created under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)- over 77% of ACA recipients reside in “Red States. Also worth noting that Trump announced a new deal with Pfizer to sell discounted medication directly to customers through his new website TrumpRX.gov.
FEMA is under fire, as flood waters rise higher and the climate gets drier.
Federal Emergency Mitigation Agency (FEMA) is currently withholding $350 million in grants meant to aid states in preparing for climate disaster. State officials were notified that they must provide an updated population count, that excludes recently deported migrants, before receiving aid. The Trump Administration sent a referral to the Department of Justice (DOJ) recommending that FEMA officials should face criminal charges. The claims are based on allegations that Biden era FEMA officials violated the Privacy Act.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims that FEMA withheld aid from potential recipients based on political bias. However, an independent review of the investigation revealed only 15 instances over a span of 4 years where FEMA officials mentioned Donald Trump. These cuts, funding delays, and government shutdown leave local and state officials in preparation limbo in the middle of Atlantic hurricane season.
DHS is spending big to facilitate “the largest deportation effort in human history” despite shutdown.
While other federal workers go unpaid, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to pay agents and buy ads. DHS spent $172 Million on private jets for department secretary Kristi Noem and other officials amid government shutdown. DHS claimed that arrested Chicago protesters were armed terrorists in public releases, yet does not make these claims in court documents. A Federal judge in Denver ordered the release of a man, held for 5 months in a detention center, on the grounds that the new policy of denying bail likely violates federal law. A former DOJ lawyer blows the whistle on government officials undermining the law after he was fired for refusing to falsely label a detainee as a terrorist.
Following a surge in detainee deaths and lawsuits over medical neglect, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is recruiting healthcare workers to work at detention facilities. ICE provides training for local police departments to carry out deportation arrests on behalf of the agency. The program is called the ICE 287(g) Program and has been active since 2020- view the participating agencies here. A federal judge in the state of Oregon filed an emergency motion to the Trump Administration to temporarily halt its mobilization of 200 National Guard troops to reinforce the ICE facility. Department of Justice lawyers filed a notice of appeal immediately following the decision.
Military spyware, Stolen State Secrets, Revenge plots and the brave Journalists who lost access to report on it
Senators sent a “final warning” letter to Google and sub company YouTube demanding insight into the recent settlement of a personal lawsuit with Trump, over his account suspension. The letter expressed concern over the future outcomes of other anti-trust cases pending under Trump’s administration. House Representatives sent a letter to DHS requesting information on ICE’s plans to use Graphite, a Paragon operated spyware program that can access encrypted data on phones without the owner’s consent or even knowledge. Steady State, an advocacy organization representing over 340 former intelligence, elected, and justice department officials sent a letter urging lawmakers to look into the Inter-agency Weaponization Working Group. The agency is designed to deploy government level power against Trump’s adversaries.
Former National Security Advisor John Bolton was charged by a Federal Grand Jury with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of unlawful retention of that information. He faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine per count, and three years of special release. He plead not guilty.
Pete Hegseth, the Secretary for the Department of War (Formerly the Department of Defense) announced new restrictions for journalists covering the US Military within the Pentagon. These restrictions order that “Information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified,”. Rather than adhere to the new restrictions on their work, many journalists opted to turn in their access badges and leave the Pentagon. With this act of journalistic integrity and bravery, we can expect much less transparency and coverage on the developments of our nation’s military.
States
States to weather the shutdown while resisting Federal demands and decisions based on conspiracy theories.
Multiple states issued warnings to SNAP recipients that benefits may stop in November due to government shutdown. The US Department of Agriculture issued a letter announcing that if there will not be enough funds to cover full benefits in the month of November. About half of the states are declaring emergency to release funding in an attempt to cover SNAP lapse.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice is appealing a ruling that requires a new citizenship checks for millions of Wisconsin voters. Indiana voting rights advocates filed a lawsuit to temporarily halt a recently passed Proof of Citizenship Indiana law, claiming that it violates federal voter registration and civil rights laws. Another Class action lawsuit was filed against DHS and DOGE for merging data in ways that violate federal privacy laws and possibly disenfranchising eligible voters. Louisiana Secretary of State used the SAVE database to scour registered voters and found that only 0.01% of Louisiana voters are suspected to have voted without necessary citizenship.
A Philadelphia court is deliberating on the case of Mahmoud Khalil. The court is to decide whether or not, University Student and Pro-Palestinian activist will remain free or will have to return to ICE custody despite winning release from ICE detention in June. The Washington State Attorney General is proposing the Immigrant Worker Protection Act, to require employers to notify employees if I-9 paperwork is being reviewed by ICE. Nebraska published a contract with the DHS to utilize a Work Ethic Camp as an ICE detention center. Federal Judge in Chicago questions ICE officials’ use of excessive force against protestors. Protestors in Oregon were arrested during protests outside of the ICE building in Portland where peaceful protestors were met with tear gas dropped from the roof of the building.
The Mayor of Denver extended the city’s contract with Flock license plate reading company, even after city council unanimously opposed extending the contract. Blue Island City Council in Chicago voted to renew its contract with Flock.
Washington State Patrol are redirecting state intelligence to focus on monitoring threats to state legislators. The Patrol Chief says the decision comes in response to increasing political threats to legislators, as well as the politically motivated killing of the Minnesota House speaker and their spouse in June.
Students reject age verification laws and Trump’s regressive ‘Operating Principles’
Texas students urge university leaders to reject Trump’s Proposed Operating Principles, in exchange for federal funding. These principles reportedly include adopting a stricter definition of gender, a five-year tuition freeze and a cap on international student enrollment. The University of Virginia has rejected adoption of the proposed principles as has Dartmouth University.
The recently passed Texas App Store Accountability Act causing two different advocacy groups to sue to prevent the law from taking effect. One group represents tech giants Computer & Communications Industry Association and the other represents Texas students Students Engaged in Advancing Texas. Ohio lawmakers are also weighing different age verification restrictions for app stores and have begun enforcement of age verification laws to access online porn. School districts are also required to enforce new cyber security and device restriction policies.
Cyber Rights
A rise in scams and surveillance amid a worrying lack of personal privacy protections.
OpenAI complied after being served a first of its kind warrant by the DHS, requesting access to a user’s AI prompt history. Similarly, Florida’s Attorney General issued a subpoena against Roblox, seeking information about how the platform sets age-verification requirements, moderates chat rooms, and markets itself to children.
Connecticut gun owners filed a lawsuit against the National Shooting Sports Foundation alleges that the firearm maker secretly built a database containing the personal information of millions of gun owners and used the data to target gun rights supporters with political ads dating back to the 2000 elections.
A Federal Judge rejected a lawsuit from the National Retail Federation that challenged a first in the nation New York law banning surveillance pricing: when data points about the customer are used to determine the price of goods.
Recent Federal Data indicates a surge in scams targeting both individuals and businesses. Consumer Reports released a 2024 Cyber Readiness Report that indicates that Black and Latine consumers are 2times as likely to lose more money in a digital scam.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that requires social media companies to display warning labels due to the addictive nature of recommendation algorithms.
Corporation Watch
The White House Ballroom & AWS outage: brought to you by Big Tech and government corruption.
Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the Founder of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange software, after he plead guilty to money laundering. Notably, Binance administered the under-the-radar trading of the Trump Family meme coins $TRUMP and $MELANIA- which has generated $4.5 Billion dollars since launching in 2024.
YouTube reached a settlement with Donald Trump for $24.5 Million over a personal suit filed in 2021 regarding his suspended account following his instigation of an armed insurrection. 22 Million of the settlement were paid directly to Trump which he announced would be reallocated to The Trust for the National Mall. This settlement is what is funding the estimated $200 Million dollar construction of the Ballroom that replaced the East Wing of the White House.
Amazon Ring cameras are now rolling out facial recognition technology. Amazon Web Services AWS experienced an outage as a result of DNS resolution issues. The outage cascaded and took down load bearing web features. The outage amplified existing concerns of internet monopoly on over-reliance on proprietary infrastructure.
ICEBlock, AI copyright infringement, Porn restrictions, and a Brand New Cards Against Humanity deck.
OpenAI has been ordered by the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York to provide internal communications. The courts are seeking evidence of willful copyright infringement. The penalty is up to $150,000 per copyrighted work, and the ruling will set a precedent for the dozens of other copyright lawsuits against AI companies.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to tighten rules on Chinese tech companies deemed a security risk. From now on devices containing parts from the “covered” list will be blocked from receiving new approval.
Pornhub has now stopped operating in Arizona after age verification law was passed. The company has stopped operating in 23 other states that have seen age verification legislation pass.
SpaceX settled a trespassing lawsuit with Cards Against Humanity after expanding its construction to land purchased by the party game company to stop Trump’s Wall on the border.
Apple pulled apps designed to help users track ICE activity in their communities from its app store.
Weather Report
Pooping Presidents, Digital Colonialism and AI Psychosis… Can we admit that we lost the plot?
President Trump posted a disturbing AI video of himself as a King “dumping” on American protesters to Truth Social. Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the video as satire and took the opportunity to falsely condemn the No Kings Rallies “Hate America Rallies”. Similarly disturbing, hundreds of racist AI generated videos featuring Black women “reacting” angrily to SNAP benefits lapsing have been circulating on social media. The FTC has received over 200 complaints about ChatGPT, claiming that the dominant AI chatbot is causing psychological harm, especially for those who may be more vulnerable to delusion. The phenomenon has been dubbed AI psychosis and has already claimed multiple lives.
Western surveillance tech and AI have been exported to developing nations, concerns of “digital colonialism” as US tech companies extract data and reject calls for accountability or transparency. Tech companies may be subpoenaed after Lawmakers are calling on U.S. based tech companies to stop selling surveillance tech to Chinese Police. The government has expressed this concern again and again and AP reported on the experience of tech repression at the hands of US based tech companies in China.
The Current state of hacking, surveillance, and domestic terrorism.
Major tech companies are facilitating ICE’s tracking, detention, and deportation of suspected undocumented people. It is worth the time to familiarize yourself with these different tech companies and the services they provide to help keep your community safe. If your place of work also relies on services provided by these tech companies, it is seriously past time to demand divestment.
F5 experienced a hack that left its source code and information about software vulnerabilities exposed to malicious actors. the Cybersecurity company services 4 out of 5 Fortune 500 companies. The hack triggered CISA to issue an Emergency Directive announcing that Nation State Cyber Actor level threats pose an immediate risk to Federal workers. Though it is not confirmed to be related to the F5 breach it is also worth noting that hackers stole sensitive data on FEMA and Border Patrol employees.
A man who was formerly pardoned by Donald Trump was arrested by New York State Police after investigating a tip that the man planned a terrorist assassination of Democratic House Leader Hakim Jeffries. Michigan Man sentenced to 18 months in Federal Prison on charges of using social media to threaten bodily harm to the president.
Right-wing media personalities joined President Trump and DHA secretary Kristi Noem for a “roundtable” event focussed on Antifa. Trump subsequently signed an executive order designating “Antifa” as a domestic terrorist organization. The administration brings first Antifa terrorism charge against two activists arrested after the July ambush of a Texas ICE detention facility.
Verizon customers in Los Angeles lost internet access after an act of vandalism lead to multiple cut fiber optic cables.
Good News
Divestment from genocide & surveillance is happening!
Democratic politicians are moving away from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee AIPAC due to continued pressure to divest from Israel amid the ongoing genocide of Palestinians.
Hays County commissioners voted to terminate all existing contracts with Flock AI, following a trend across central Texas to sever ties with the AI license plate surveillance tech. Auburn, Washington state police disabled the Federal Access to their Flock System Data after learning that US Border Patrol gained access to local license plate data for immigration enforcement. Cambridge city council voted unanimously to pause use of Flock AI over similar data sharing concerns.
Cities and the citizens within them stand up for undocumented community members
California officials announce plans to launch a website tracking ICE activity in Los Angeles. Millions of Americans participated in No Kings Day, where an estimated 2,600 rallies took place in cities across the US. Protesters leveraged some of the most effective counter-surveillance and PR strategies this organizer has seen: wearing inflatable costumes. This notably became popular after Portland Oregon activists initiated ‘operation inflation’ to provide ICE protesters with inflatable costumes. The costumes help protesters evade biometric surveillance, repel pepper balls, and control the narrative of being peaceful protesters. Another effective ICE protest strategy emerging out of Chicago as activists utilize whistles to resist escalating ICE and alert community members to the location of agents.
Santa Clara county and San Jose move to become sanctuary cities amid escalating DHS presence in the state of California.A federal Judge has permanently blocked the Trump Administration from withholding $34 Million in funding over sanctuary city status, ruling it an arbitrary and a blatant violation of the law. 21 state Attorneys General are backing the Stanford Daily, an independent student run newspaper in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for targeting non-citizens with lawful status.
High Speed Internet: Connecting remote communities today, saving the whales tomorrow!
The cities of Fargo and Moorhead are seeing Fiber Optic cable installation after the cities completed public hearings to allow Gateway Fiber to service the area, The remote community of Beaver Island situated in the middle of Lake Michigan is seeing fiber optic installation. High speed internet coming to Stratford, Connecticut connecting over 12,400 locations to high quality modern internet. AT&T’s Acts of Kindness Program allowed fiber installation technicians in Rockwall Texas to volunteer their time to help a man clear his overgrown yard. University of Washington scientists are working to utilize underwater fiber optic internet cables to help Orca conservation efforts.
Super readers, indigenous self determination, Internet archival, and rainbows.
The 4th grade students in Mississippi are surpassing the nation’s students in increased reading proficiency after a decade of education reform lawmaking, notably state funded Pre-K program and a focus on phonics reading for students K-3rd.
The Internet Archive has celebrated a landmark accomplishment of archiving 1 Trillion web pages in their mission to build a shared digital library encapsulating humanities time online. Cyber Rights activists around the world are organizing against legislation that would ban VPNs.
A Texas church paints its steps with rainbows after Greg Abbott threatened to withhold funding from cities that painted crosswalk rainbows in support and commemoration of the victims of anti LGBTQ+ hate crimes.
Welcome Home Uncle Leonard! Leonard Peltier an activist with the American Indian Movement (AIM) is adjusting to life at home in Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota after decades in prison. The Anacé, an indigenous community in Brazil, is taking legal action against TikTok after learning that the company planned to build a $10 Million dollar data center. It brings me hope to know that we are globally united in the fight against data center expansion and native self-determination.
Horoscope
Mars, the planet of passion, desire, and action moves into Sagittarius on the 4th. Take this as a sign from the stars to let radical optimism fuel your desire to take action and stand up for what you believe in.
What are your thought?