The Missouri Legislative Session Has Ended
IP Reform, the single most important issue in the 2024 legislative session, described as such by the GOP leadership in both the House and the Senate, failed to pass. AGAIN. By the end of 2024, it is possible, even likely, that abortion will be a right enshrined in the Missouri Constitution. Next year, the same will likely happen with any number of gun control measures. Tell me again how we have a GOP “super majority” in Missouri?!!
I must apologize, friends, because I am so angry, forming coherent words at the moment is difficult, and when the expletives are removed, I am not left with complete sentences. I have put off this newsletter until that last possible moment, because I was prayerful that the “Republican” leadership in the MO Senate would finally put their grudges and power trips aside and protect unborn babies. Surely, they would not go so far as to allow the murder of thousands of unborn babies in the years to come out of spite…
Yet, here we are. For the sake of my own sanity, I am simply going to post a few items of note, by various individuals involved, and then go play with my grandson.
MO Freedom Caucus End of Session Podcast
The Death of IP Reform
Rick Brattin’s Comments on the death of IP Reform (Facebook link)
Once again, Senator Rick Brattin perfectly echoes the thoughts of the grassroots conservatives of the Republican party in Missouri. IP Reform has been needed for YEARS. This session was the very last opportunity to even try to prevent abortion from ending up in our Constitution, and the GOP in the MO Senate INTENTIONALLY FAILED.
Interview with Rick Brattin about his comments on Mike Ferguson in the Morning (NewsTalkSTL)
We The People are informed, organized, and angry that the MO GOP continues to select and support campaign conservatives who say all the right things, and then treat Jefferson City like a country club, never having a sense of urgency for anything We The People, who elect them, want.
NO MORE.
We are gathering the conservative remnant, growing our numbers every day, and we are going to bring a reckoning to every elected member of the GOP, from Precinct Committee positions, all the way up to the Governor and beyond.
Ryan Johnson Appears on AWA Podcast
Candidate Ryan Johnson appeared on the Awaken With Alex Podcast this week. Check it out on Rumble:
Ryan Johnson, MO House Rep Candidate (56th) Visits Awaken With Alex
We The People of Johnson County Meeting Monday
Our friends at We The People of Johnson County Missouri are having some special guests at their monthly meeting this Monday, May 20th. Can you say, “Road Trip”?!
A Note on Privacy
Whether we like it or not, technology has had another paradigm shift, and nothing will ever be the same again. The concept of Artificial Intelligence has existed for decades. However, for the first time in history, it is readily available to anyone with the skills and desire to use it. On its own, this would be a tectonic shift in the way the world works. However, when you consider all the other realities of our world today, from foreign governments sponsoring hackers to steal data and then blackmail targeted companies, to our own government ignoring any semblance of a right to privacy, and shredding the rule of law for over half of its citizens, taking back our right to privacy when and where we can becomes critical, whether the American administrative state likes it or not. To all those who would use the tired excuse, “If you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about”, re-read the last few sentences. Who decides what “wrong” is? Are you willing to put your life and future in the hands of the American federal government? I am not. That said, what does AI have to do with privacy?
Everything about you is on the internet. The only saving grace we have had as individuals over the years has been security by obscurity. That basically means there is so much data on the internet, trying to narrow down any search or data mining to just gather information about you specifically, or sifting through information about large swaths of people to narrow the search down to specific groups of people, like conservatives, was nearly impossible. AI has changed the game, and security by obscurity no longer applies. As I sit at my computer now, instead of writing this newsletter, I could be writing a webcrawler that would use AI to search out all information about you, specifically, and gather everything from your Social Security Number, to every address you’ve ever had, who your family members are, your voter registration, who you voted for in the last election, criminal history, etc.
Think through the implications of that kind of research in the hands of bad actors, and it truly becomes terrifying. Imagine BLM or Antifa sympathizers identifying you as a “person of interest”, for being conservative, and then targeting you for identify theft, or God forbid, execution. Worse yet, imagine the current regime in Washington DC deciding now is the time for our own “Cultural Revolution”.
So, what can we do?
The answer is easy to say, but harder to do. Educate yourself. There are tools available that will help you keep more of your information private. There are rules companies you do business with are required to follow, based on requests you can make. Here are a few tools that will help you get started, and remember, if the product is free, that typically means you are the product (your demographic information, your data, everything they can track about you), which means by default, they do not respect your privacy.
Proton - Proton has a suite of products (Email, VPN, Password Manager, Calendar, Cloud Storage) that are designed to be private and encrypted by default. Proton is excellent, and they are always looking to expand their privacy respecting, encrypted software offerings.
Signal - Signal is a communications app for your phone and computer. If you have a cell connection, OR an internet connection, you can communicate with other Signal users. This means that if you are connected to wifi, you do not need cell signal to communicate with the Signal app. Signal is also one of the few exceptions to the “free” means you are the product rule. Signal was created as a 501c3 non-profit, and operates from grants and donations.
SimpleLogin - This is an “Email Aliasing” app, and can be very valuable online, particularly when you aren’t sure if a particular site you are on is secure, but you need to create an account. This app is owned by the folks at Proton, and you get some functionality provided by SimpleLogin when you have a paid Proton account as well. Check out the site for more details on how email aliasing works.
Techlore - This is not an app. This is a group of people who value privacy like I do. They have a ton of useful information for operating online, and have great recommendations for apps that are better than the standard Google trash.
Don’t stop here. Continue to learn, and remember, sometimes the best “private” thing you can do is to leave all the technology on the kitchen table, and go for a walk with your friends and family in the sunshine, actually talking to each other. Nothing will ever replace human interaction with each other, and with God’s magnificent creation.