Tuesday Morning Breakfast For The Brain

Happy New Year Deplorables!

Here’s How Impeachment Obsession Is Allowing Big Tech To Build A China-Like Surveillance State

Via The Daily Caller

Lawmakers are too busy wrestling with matters related to President Donald Trump’s impeachment to address issues related to the government’s deployment of facial recognition technology.

Big tech is selling such technological know-how to police agencies and embedding it in smartphones while lawmakers remain distracted, Politico reported Monday. Other issues are also taking precedent, namely the death of one lawmaker who led efforts to regulate artificial intelligence.

“Unfortunately impeachment has sucked all the energy out of the room,” Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, who chairs the House Oversight National Security Subcommittee, said in a statement, according to Politico.

Lynch was referring to a Democrat-led effort to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Other lawmakers say the death of former House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings, a Democrat, is also holding up progress. “There hasn’t been anything that’s happened right now. … Elijah’s death put that on hold,” Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, a Republican who sits on the committee, told Politico.

The House Oversight Committee are exploring a bill designed to block federal funding for any new use of expanded use of facial recognition technology by the government, according to Politico. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to restrict the FBI, TSA and other agencies from deploying the tool at leisure.

Still, there’s a roadblock: impeachment.

“We don’t want any more money being used, no money used to expand what we have or to purchase any new ability to impact or use this technology,” GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio told Politico. “I’ve been all focused all on impeachment,” so working with Republicans on sticky parts of such a bill is difficult, he noted.

Read the entire article HERE.

IRS Goes After Hunter Biden For Over $112,000 In Unpaid Taxes

Via The Federalist

The IRS placed a tax lien on Hunter Biden, and his ex-wife Kathleen Biden, for a whopping $112,805 in unpaid taxes, according to a report from the Daily Caller. Washington D.C. also placed a tax lien against Hunter Biden and his ex-wife for $48,929 in unpaid income taxes.

Both of the tax liens were filed to collect taxes dating back to 2015. Shortly before 2015, Hunter Biden was appointed to the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company, for which is was paid more than $700,000.

In 2013, Biden began working for the board of BHR Partners, a Chinese private equity firm. According to the New York Times, in October 2017, Hunter Biden bought 10 percent of BHR Partners stock, investing approximately $420,000. According to George Mesires, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Hunter Biden has not been compensated for his position or received returns on his investment.

“He has not been compensated for being on the board of directors, nor has he received any return on his investment to date,” Mesires said.

Hunter Biden’s 2017 investment seems like a poor decision in lieu of how much debt he is in. During their divorce in 2016, Kathleen Biden said their family faced a disturbing amount of debts, including, “maxed-out credit card debt, double mortgages on both real properties they own, and tax debt of at least $313,970.”

Read the entire article HERE.

Ex-Rikers inmates use city-funded debit cards to buy booze, juul pods

Via The New York Post

Newly sprung Rikers jailbirds are trying to liquor up on the city’s dime.

The ex-inmates have been flooding area booze shops, ever since the recent launch of a soft-on-crime city initiative that provides them with two $25 gift cards, merchants said Saturday.

JR, an employee at Paretti’s Liquor Store near the Q100 bus stop along the bus route from Rikers to Queens Plaza said her store was refusing to sell to the cardholders.

“We’ve had more people coming in with the visa things. No, we don’t take that, no gift cards, none of that. People come in here always trying to find a way to pay without really paying,” the employee told The Post.

The story was the same at City Sliquors, also along the Rikers bus route, where ex-inmates “didn’t seem to understand why” their payment wasn’t accepted, the owner of the spot said.

“Usually we don’t accept it because we don’t know where it came from with no chip, it may bounce,” he added.

While booze has been tough to obtain for the newly released, vendors reported that other goodies like Juul pods and tobacco products were within reach.

“Yet to see one person use it to buy food,” Ahmed, a worker at the Plaza Deli Grocery, noted.

Read the entire article HERE.

New York to Allow Accused Criminals to Inspect Own Crime Scenes, Quickly Obtain Witness Names

Via Breitbart News

The state of New York will soon allow accused criminals to inspect their own crime scenes and will quickly provide them with a complete list of named witnesses testifying against them as part of a series of new jailbreak laws.

As Breitbart News reported, New York’s bail reforms, set to go into effect January 2020, will ensure that suspects accused of crimes deemed “non-violent” are not jailed before their trial dates and do not have to post bail. Instead, these suspects are released directly back into the public and expected to show up for their court dates. Roughly 125,000 accused criminals are expected to be released from prison every year in the state.

Those so-called non-violent crimes include second-degree manslaughter, aggravated vehicular assault, promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child, possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child, criminally negligent homicide, and aggravated vehicular homicide.

As part of the measure, defendants will have new privileges in their criminal trials — including being allowed to inspect their own crime scenes. For example, if an individual is charged with home burglary, the suspect will be allowed to return to the victim’s home and inspect their property as part of their defense.

“It really boggles the mind that this is a reality for us now,” Lt. Steven Stockdale of the Warren County Sheriff’s Office told CBS 6 Albany in October of the provision. “Talk about re-victimization.”

Another portion of the law will more quickly give defendants a full list of named witnesses testifying against them in the criminal trial. Starting in January, the prosecution will be forced to hand over to defendants a list of named witnesses within 15 days of the defendants’ arraignment.

Read the entire article HERE.

 

Elizabeth Warren Opens Casino To Help Finance Campaign

Via The Babylon Bee (Satire)

U.S.—With campaign contributions down 30% in the last quarter, you might think it’s time for Elizabeth Warren to throw in the tomahawk. But not this brave Native American warrior!

“After spending several minutes digging deep into my rich 1/1024th Cherokee heritage, and communing with my spirit animal –you know, like we genuine Indians do all the time,” Warren announced at a recent campaign rally, “I feel the spirits of my ancestors guiding me to open a brand new casino; complete with a buffet, generous slots, and the hottest shows in history!”

Warren hopes that the new casino’s revenue will compensate for the decrease in campaign contributions and says it will even have a theme. Much like Caesar’s Palace’s ancient roman theme or Circus Circus’ killer clown theme, the presidential hopeful says her casino will have a socialism theme that is sure to be fun for the whole family.

“When you enter the casino, we want you to feel like you’re entering a socialist utopia! Whether you’re waiting in the breadline at the buffet, losing all your hard-earned money to the ruling class, or cheering at the executions of political dissidents, this will be a truly immersive experience!” Warren said.

If that fails, Warren says she may be forced to perform a sacred ritual that will summon an ancient Indian curse upon her political foes.

Check out all of the Bee’s great takes on politics and culture HERE.

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