Chet Collins

The FBI’s Bad Intelligence - WSJ

The bureau relied on a suspected Russian agent for the information it used to obtain a secret surveillance warrant against former Trump adviser Carter Page.

Huh. I missed reading about this little nugget in other publications.

Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz last year revealed that former spook Christopher Steele relied on one primary “subsource” for most of his accusations against the Trump campaign. This subsource was later identified as Ukrainian-born Igor Danchenko, who worked as a research analyst from 2005 to 2010 at the Brookings Institution in Washington. The latest disclosures show that Mr. Danchenko was the subject of an FBI counterintelligence investigation from 2009 to 2011, based on concerns he was a Russian agent and “a threat to national security.”

Blue Health Insurers Reach Tentative Antitrust Settlement for $2.7 Billion - WSJ

David Boies, a lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said, “There is no settlement until terms have been approved by the parties and the court” but added that the reported terms “would be a very good result for the parties and the public. It will significantly increase competition in the health insurance market, and provide individuals and companies who purchase health insurance with more choices and lower prices.”

And more importantly, a gigantic payday for Mr. Boies, the brave and moral attorney who enabled the Theranos scam to endure for so long.

Finally made it to Coffee o’clock.

☕️

Big day.

👨🏻‍💻 + 👦🏼👧🏻👧🏼👶🏼

State With No Electricity Orders Everyone To Drive Cars That Run On Electricity - The Babylon Bee

The order takes effect in 2035, meaning by that time, everyone in the state with no electricity will only be able to plug in their cars to the power grid that does not work.

Fauci Renews Pandemic For Highly Anticipated Season 2 - The Babylon Bee

Inside sources confirmed that all 365 episodes of the pandemic will be carried on all networks and streaming services starting January 1st. Fans who purchase Bill Gates’ experimental vaccine will be treated to early access. Other sources, however, say this is not completely set in stone. If Joe Biden wins the election in November, season 2 will likely be canceled.

North Korea Kills and Burns the Body of a Seoul Official Found in Its Waters - WSJ

North Korea is thought to have issued a shoot-to-kill order at its borders as part of its Covid-19 containment measures

The paranoia of this brutal regime knows no bounds.

My grill game is strong.

California to Ban Sales of New Gas-Powered Cars Starting in 2035 - WSJ

About 2% of all new car sales in the U.S. last year for electric vehicles. In California, that figure was 5.3%

What an absolute joke.

City Recycling Provider:

In order to reduce our Carbon Footprint and control costs for your city, we’ll be cutting our recycling pickups in half starting next month.

Um, what?

I hope watchOS 8 gives me a grid option for apps. The current two options are both terrible.

One Senator’s Strategy for Containing Chinese Technological Dominance - WSJ

“China has shown that the development and use of cutting-edge technology and economic expansion are, indeed, possible within authoritarian-state capitalism.”

Mainly via theft.

New season, new door magnet.

🍁

Remaining Liberal Justices Given Pink Slips As Trump Reduces Court Size - The Babylon Bee

“I heard about court-packing,” Trump told the press. “I looked into it, and it ends up you can change the number of justices on the Supreme Court! Some people say it’s bad, very bad. But I think it may be actually very good, really. We’re trying to cut costs and get the economy rolling again! Why are we paying for all these extra justices we don’t even need? So we’re doing kind of a reverse court-packing process and getting rid of all the really bad judges who don’t like me”

Fisher-Price Releases ‘My First Peaceful Protest’ Playset With House You Can Actually Burn Down - The Babylon Bee

“We need to teach our kids what democracy looks like, and there’s no better example of democracy in action than violent vandalism and arson. We hope this new playset will serve as an inspiration for parents wanting to teach their kids how to threaten citizens with violence whenever their demands are not met.”

Chinese Leaders Split Over Releasing Blacklist of U.S. Companies - WSJ

Mr. Biden has laid out plans to increase engagement with China over regional issues such as Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea. Mr. Biden would also likely engage China in dealing with climate change.

Astounding that any American politician would advocate for an approach that has not only failed for decades, but has enabled and emboldened the CCP in its program of oppression at home and abroad.

Got that Xbox on pre-order.

It’ll be my first gaming console.

🎮

Apple really threw cold water on the iOS 14 release, specifically the awesomeness of widgets, when they gave devs one day to test against the GM and submit to App Review.

Pandemic-Stricken World Braces For Another Francis Encyclical - Eye of the Tiber

“Catholics should be preparing themselves,” one inside Vatican source told EOTT. “I cannot emphasize enough just how well prepared we need to be. With the sustained isolation many of us are going through because of Covid, I fear that some may have time to read the encyclical.”

A body blow from which I doubt any of us will truly recover.

Auditors to Stop Inspecting Factories in China’s Xinjiang Despite Forced-Labor Concerns - WSJ

where human-rights activists say a police-state atmosphere and government controls make it too difficult to determine whether factories and farms are relying on forced labor.

China, our partners in trade.

Some groups the Journal contacted acknowledged the challenges of detecting forced labor in Xinjiang, but they said they are concerned that blacklisting the region could push abuses further underground.

Also true.

Kids have been up since 5:40am. I am so screwed.