Former special counsel #JackSmith testifies before #Senate #Judiciary Committee who are playing the pass the gavel from Dumb to Dumber to Dumbest

#SenGrassley #SenKennedy #SenSisterGraham

It’s almost as if they shouldn’t have gutted #CISA

#US says #China #hackers broke into #DOJ, #NASA, #FederalReserve, #Senate & more

In a statement, the DOJ said that it had seized domains ​used by 2 hacking platforms, dubbed “QScan” & “QTRouter,” which it ​said had been used as part of the campaign. An affidavit ⁠identified the US Departments of #Energy, #HHS, the #NIH, & 4 unnamed companies ​in the US & #SouthKorea as being among the hackers' victims.

#law #InfoSec
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-sponsored-hacking-platforms-seized-by-us-justice-department-says-2026-08-26/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=notifications&utm_campaign=2025_engagement

Jews were legally considered a separate race in the US through WW2. The 1987 S.C. decision in Shaare Tefila Congregation v. Cobb is based on it.

All of my people's migration documents list their race as Hebrew. This isn't moving forward. I'm not saying it's good or bad. It's just not new.

"The state of #California is poised to become the first in the nation to recognize being #Jewish as an #ethnic and #racial, not just a #religious, identity.

On Aug. 13, a key committee of its state #Senate passed a bill that would add “Jewish” to its long list of recognized identities. This is an important step forward in a longstanding debate about whether that label denotes just a religion or is an #ethnicity or #race. As The #NewYorkTimes observes, it is “a first step toward acknowledging and demystifying the multifaceted nature of Jewish identity.”

But it comes at a dangerous moment for #American #Jews, a moment of rising #antisemitism and anti-Jewish #hatecrimes."

https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/6044413-debate-jewish-religion-race/

.@eryanhaffner: “#DarlineGraham did her candidacy no favors at yesterday’s debate when she admitted her ignorance on national security issues. Her critics seized on it, but if we care about what we say we care about in politicians, they’re wrong." https://ofb.biz/sa1450

#Politics #Senate #Wisdom

This is a massive win. If we can prevent fascist voter suppression and intimidation from happening, we stand a chance of turning things around in a few months.

“The bill failed with only 52 Republicans voting for it, well short of the 60-vote threshold needed…Some Republicans wanted the Senate to bypass recess until the SAVE America Act was passed, but there wasn’t enough support among their party for that either.”

To be clear, I believe that voting is a very small part of fighting fascism. But it is still one of the tools. If the system isn’t compromised, it adds great value.

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/voters-spared-as-senate-recesses-without-passing-save-america-acts-voter-id-measure/

#Voting #Democracy #SaveAmericaAct #Senate #USPol #Fascism

“#Nessel announced during a televised #antisemitism roundtable that she would be skipping the convention next month, where party leaders will finalize the state’s #Democratic #candidate for #Senate following a divisive #primary that has focused in part on #Israel and antisemitism.

“I don’t feel safe going. I feel like my presence isn’t going to be welcome. I don’t want to get chased around. I don’t want to get harassed. I don’t want to get yelled and screamed at. I don’t want to get booed off the stage, irrespective of what I’m saying,” Nessel said during the roundtable. “And I believe that if I go, that is what will happen because it’s been happening to me.”

https://www.jta.org/2026/07/31/politics/jewish-democrats-back-michigan-ag-dana-nessels-decision-to-skip-state-party-convention

Can you blame him? The man did his job. He did it well under terrible circumstances. Now they’re trying to blame him for crazy shit.

#Fauci Repeatedly Refuses to Answer Senators’ Questions at Volatile #Senate Hearing

#GiftArticle
#Trump #COVID #ConspiracyTheories #InfectiousDisease #PublicHealth #science #medicine #USpol #law
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/07/29/us/trump-news-fauci-hearing?unlocked_article_code=1.1VA.1LrC.gmre7FPUzryd&smid=nytcore-ios-share

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, who spent nearly four decades as the government’s top #InfectiousDisease expert, refused on Wednesday to answer any questions from a #Senate committee investigating the origins of #Covid19. Dr. #Fauci accused the committee’s #Republican chairman, #RandPaul, of having an “unhinged obsession with me,” before repeatedly invoking his #FifthAmendment right not to incriminate himself.

#Trump #COVID #ConspiracyTheories #PublicHealth #science #medicine #USpol #law

Early in the hearing, #RandPaul warned that there would be “repercussions” for Dr. Fauci’s refusal to testify, & then ordered the removal of his lawyer‼️, David Schertler, when he tried to speak up on his client’s behalf. The hearing, unusual even by the #Senate’s recent hyperpartisan standards, also featured #ConspiracyTheories & personal attacks, with Republicans taunting Dr. #Fauci as a megalomaniac & a liar.

#Trump #COVID #PublicHealth #science #medicine #USpol #law

These numbers are so miniscule.

"Two #Jewish organizations registered to #lobby this year for the first time, but overall #lobbying expenses for major Jewish groups declined during the first six months of 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to a JNS review of disclosures filed with the #US #Senate."

https://www.jns.org/news/u-s-news/two-jewish-groups-register-to-lobby-as-aipac-adl-and-federation-trim-such-costs-in-2026-federal-data-suggests

"When #JamieIsaacson received an application in his mailbox earlier this month to help choose the #Maine #DemocraticParty’s next #US #Senate #nominee at Saturday’s #nominatingconvention, he wasn’t interested.

If accepted as a delegate, #Isaacson, a 72-year-old #Jewish #Portland resident, would have joined 601 Maine #Democrats at the party’s convention in #Bangor to select a replacement for #GrahamPlatner, the staunch #Israel critic who bowed out of the race earlier this month following #sexualassault allegations, which he has denied.

Instead, Isaacson sat it out, vowing not to have anything to do with the party that had chosen #Platner as its nominee in the first place.

“I thought it wasn’t worth my time, to be honest with you,” Isaacson told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “I mean, we’ve been blindsided by the #Democratic Party here and nationally, and I’ve been a #Democrat my whole life.”

https://www.jta.org/2026/07/24/politics/a-community-divided-maines-jewish-democrats-gear-up-for-platners-replacement

The #US #House again passes resolution seeking to halt #military action in #Iran as some #Republicans defect

The House narrowly passed a resolution to halt military action in Iran, sending a warning to #Trump for the 2nd time as the #war has escalated & the future of the conflict is increasingly uncertain.

The 214-208 vote requiring congressional approval for the war comes as the #Senate is expected to consider a similar resolution later Thursday.

#law #WarPowers
https://apnews.com/article/iran-congress-war-powers-resolution-vote-0ba2387a476fe08de0bfd6281adb9639

RE: https://flipboard.com/@nationalpost/national-post-news-355gff6nz/-/a-shOKcS9oQv27ZVgOFzNc0A%3Aa%3A2486686811-%2F0

Over the years, the House of Lords has moved closer to the model of the Canadian #Senate (for better and for worse): the upper house filled with individuals appointed for life by the government. But there's at least one thing they do better, allowing some of the appointees to be named by leaders of the other parties. Mr. Dutil proposes that Canada do something similar, with the appointees allocated proportionately to the support each party received in the last general election.

#CanPol #cdnpoli

The #House Passed The #KIDSAct—The #Senate Should Reject It

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/house-passed-kids-act-senate-should-reject-it

#privacy #AgeVerification #politics

Al Gore Invented the Internet.
Joe Biden invented PGP encryption.
Cypherpunks write code.

Joe Biden gifted humanity with PGP encryption (in a roundabout way). Phil Zimmermann created PGP in response to a anti-privacy bill clause proposed by Senator Joe Biden.

https://www.americanscientist.org/article/cypherpunks-write-code

"In 1990, the FBI launched an over-the-top crackdown on computer hackers, known as Operation Sundevil. This was swiftly followed, in early 1991, by a proposed piece of U.S. Senate legislation that would force electronic communications service providers to hand over people’s personal data. (The key clause, S.266, was pushed by the then chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Joe Biden.)"

"On learning of Biden’s S.266 clause, Zimmermann feverishly set out to complete the project, almost losing his house in the process. When he finished his software in 1991, he published it all online, free for anyone who wanted to use it. He called it “Pretty Good Privacy,” or PGP for short, and within weeks it had been downloaded and shared by thousands of people around the world. “Before PGP, there was no way for two ordinary people to communicate over long distances without the risk of interception,” said Zimmermann in a later interview. “Not by phone, not by FedEx, not by fax.” It remains the most widely used form of email encryption to this day."

https://www.congress.gov/bill/102nd-congress/senate-bill/266

"SEC. 2201. COOPERATION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDERS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT. It is the sense of Congress that providers of electronic communications services and manufacturers of electronic communications service equipment shall ensure that communications systems permit the government to obtain the plain text contents of voice, data, and other communications when appropriately authorized by law."

#Biden #JoeBiden #PGP #Cypherpunks #Cypherpunk #PhilZimmermann #Privacy #Cybersecurity #Cryptography #GPG #Email #Senate #Law #Government #Panopticon #Hackers #Hacking #Security #Encryption