One of the latest players to hit the surveillance scene in Texas, involves an indiscriminate looking Chevy Tahoe and a cell site simulator. Earlier this year in March, the Texas Department of Public Safety’s CI division, authorized an emergency purchase of $4,487,500 for four of these vehicles outfitted with extensive surveillance technology. To be clear, these vehicles are state level assets that are being deployed onto state highways, urban centers or for use with their portable backpack units mounted on helicopters or on foot, all without local police department involvement.

The Technology - Tahoe’s Equipped with Cell Site Simulators

This technology is called FalcoNet and was developed by the Israeli company Cognyte, headquartered in Herzliya, Israel. Motor Biscuit says that Cognyte is “essentially doing what Palantir does with data analytics, except it also sells you the hardware to go out and actively hoover up that data yourself.”

Yahoo News, describes the technology below.

“FalcoNet mimics a legitimate cell tower, tricking nearby phones into connecting to it by broadcasting a stronger signal than actual towers in the area. Once a device latches onto the fake tower, it automatically surrenders its identifying information and precise location. Each unit runs six simultaneous base station instances covering 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G. According to Cognyte, the system can be operational within three minutes and process thousands of devices per minute. The antennas are tucked behind a false raised roof, so an equipped Tahoe looks indistinguishable from any other state police SUV on the road.” Yahoo News, July 30,2026

Birds of a Feather

Flock ‘Safety’, FalcoNet, Dove, Spy Raven, Pigeon Camera, Seagull Drones….are you noticing a theme?

Since learning about Flock, the cameras that have fundamentally changed policing in this country to a sort of hybrid pre-crime system, I immediately picked up on this bird naming trend, when I heard the name FalcoNet. Turns out, birds and surveillance did not just meet. There is a long and sordid history. In 1907, a German pigeon fancier strapped a camera on a pigeon and paved the way for future developments, that would eventually be used during World War I and beyond. The Audubon has an article titled “Eyes in the Sky: A Short History of Bird Spies”, which does a pretty good job of explaining the origins of this phenomenon.

The name Falconet, refers to two distinct concepts. A group of birds of prey and a historical type of cannon. As far as the birds, falconets are the smallest of all the falcons.

As far as the cannon, the falconet was developed as a lightweight cannon in the late 14th century, firing a smaller shot than the similar falcon, using a shorter barrel.

A lot of thought goes into not only naming equipment, but a particular product and its application for use. Anyways, consider it your fun fact for today. 😁

Legal Context

The DPS purchase of the FalcoNet system was made before the June 29, 2026 Supreme Court decision in Chatrie v. United States, that banned warrantless, sweeping collection of mobile device data. DPS has not made any public statements about whether or not these vehicles equipped with the FalcoNet system are respecting warrant requirements. It’s highly unlikely that they are, due to how the technology works, which acts as a digital dragnet that broadcasts the strongest signal in a particular geographic area, forcing every cell phone in that area - whether it’s a criminal, journalist, or bystander - to connect and transmit it’s unique identifiers (IMSI/IMEI) and location data.

Conclusion

As a resident of Texas, I honestly feel like surveillance has reached a creepy level. We have become the Wild West of surveillance in this state. Controversial software like Tangles and Cobwebs are being deployed by DPS to scrape deep and dark web data, track cell phones without warrants, and mine billions of images for facial recognition. Even the tow trucks have ALPR’s! I don’t feel this way because I’m doing anything wrong. I feel this way because my privacy is being attacked and I understand how privacy is linked to freedom. The things on my phone are personal and I don’t want to share them, unless I decide to share them. Unless I click ‘ok’ to the terms of service, a warrant should be required to access the contents. I’ve heard this argument going around equating data harvesting on your phone being compared to Flock cameras. The argument’s core premise is that because we agree to have our data harvested on our phones, it’s okay for Flock and the others(Axon) to track our movements in public. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is an organized propaganda campaign. Either way, it’s a false equivalency, since we decide to use a cell phone and we all use our cell phones in different ways, with varying degrees of privacy exposure. This argument also misses nuances in targeted surveillance vs. mass surveillance, as well as legal authorizations. You really can’t say that anyone has agreed to these cameras when there has been an unprecedented amount of pushback. FalcoNet takes surveillance to the next level and even ignores SCOTUS precedent and quite arguably, the entire 4th Amendment.

The implications of normalizing this type of technology, without a warrant, is massive. While this could be great to “catch the bad guys”, if DPS is in fact using this technology at random, or even part of a criminal investigation, but without a warrant, the constitutional rights of every American being swept up in this digital dragnet are being violated- both criminal and innocent people. Defense attorneys plan to fight back against this in court, according to recent reporting. Imagine being swept up into a criminal investigation just because you were in a particular area. Maybe you were falsely accused, as a result. Or, imagine someone IS guilty, and their attorney moves to suppress evidence because it was obtained unconstitutionally. Perhaps they walk free. This is going to get very messy - it always does when the constitution is ignored.

Blackstone’s ratio was established at the outset of our nation as the underpinning of legal presumption of innocence. Pre-crime surveillance technology flips this concept on its head.

John Adams defended this concept at the Boston Massacre when he said “many guilty persons should escape unpunished, than one innocent person should suffer.” This sentiment was echoed by Benjamin Franklin, John Fortescue, and Sir William Blackstone, an English jurist whose work heavily influenced American law, in which the concept itself was named after.

A question every American should be asking themselves- how much freedom I am willing to give up in the name of safety?

Let me know your thoughts in comments!

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So far, screaming ‘Get the Flock Out!’ at your local city council members(many of which have already made up their minds) hasn’t quite made the impact many Americans would like. Some local residents are more measured; delivering insightful and engaging testimonials describing their concerns, while others like an Oklahoma City resident, offered a unique perspective from that of an IT professional. Some Police Departments(Chetek,WI) aren’t even asking permission from the city council or the mayor, bypassing the entire local process. While others have resorted to taking them down with a chainsaw or spray painting the lens, risking legal trouble in order to avoid a violation of a right that is supposed to be guaranteed in the Constitution. Then there is everyone else. Those that still don’t know how to feel about the cameras. Those that don’t like them, but simply don’t know what to do about it. Then there are those that either don’t care or think the cameras will make society more safe. We are all entitled to our opinions, but I can’t really spend too much time on the last two, because things are moving at a rapid pace. I have plenty of other posts(like the one linked below) that address the issues that might convince you, but it’s time to move into an action phase. Action is required now.

https://substack.com/@atomictruth/p-182117752

Rapid Expansion of Surveillance at a State Level- North Carolina

Despite local pushback in jurisdictions that have voted to cancel their contracts with Flock, such as Hillsborough, Pittsboro, and Chatham County, North Carolina is an outlier pioneering the expansion of Flock cameras on state highways, using the state legislature budget appropriations process, as a vehicle to effectively overrule local jurisdictions- at least partially. There may not be Flock cameras on your city streets, but if you use the highway to go from one end of the city, to the other, you’ve been logged and your ‘dossier’ containing your travel habits grows with each camera encounter. When you pass one….”You’ve been Flocked”. Just cross your fingers and hope AI doesn’t think your late night trips to Taco Bell aren’t suspicious, and you’re fine. 😉🤞Maybe that wasn’t the best example considering the ‘explosive’ media coverage!There is a legal limit for data retention of 90 days in North Carolina. This applies to the primary data holder(local police departments, now NC SBI, State Bureau of Investigations) but what is not mentioned nearly enough, is that in that timeframe multiple third parties will have accessed and in many cases, duplicated the camera data. By then, your habits and associations have already been observed, recorded, analyzed and possibly sold. While there is a state law in North Carolina that bans law enforcement from selling this data, it doesn’t apply to private companies.

No one can move in or out of the state (using a state highway or secondary road) without being recorded and logged. This is a statewide surveillance dragnet, without a warrant.

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What Now?

Those that cut the cameras down, can keep doing so(not saying to do that), but the issue is that they will just be replaced. Local governments will just get more crafty about hiding them in plain sight, like in speed detector signs. More money will be included in the budget for camera replacements and local taxes will increase. Flock has been in an R&D phase since 2024 when they acquired Aerodome and began developing their DFR, Drone as First Responder technology, to pair with their existing cameras, which will look very similar to what is already happening in China, see below. 👇

https://youtube.com/shorts/WLRjolOIVLc?is=oUt4PulI8dVJRXC2

To be clear, if drone technology was used in search and rescue efforts or to survey a burning building for survivors, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing, in my opinion. But when you start pairing them with the existing Flock camera infrastructure, in order to surveil the public at large, it becomes an entirely different debate. In my humble opinion, we need to end this era of Wild West, unregulated surveillance. We have known for quite sometime that our data is being sold to various interested parties —and we don’t see a penny of it. Harvesting and selling data has become so normalized, I’m pretty sure most of us are numb to it. So, yes, we really do need a more permanent solution than people risking their own freedom, all in the name of preserving it. That time may eventually come, but there are still some cards we have left to play. Preferably a solution that is enshrined in state constitutions, would be ideal, but a state law that bans the technology is the runner up.

Citizen-Led Ballot Measures

I haven’t heard nearly enough discussions about citizen led ballot measures, in relation to long term solutions regarding ALPR’s. 24 states allow for some form of citizen led ballot initiatives, which involves collecting a minimum amount of signatures and if it survives preemptive challenges, it will end up on the ballot for the voters to decide, in the next statewide election.

18 States allow for citizens to directly amend their state constitution via ballot initiative. One of the most powerful tools for securing rights, like privacy bans.

• Arizona

• Arkansas

• California

• Colorado

• Florida (Requires 60% vote to pass)

• Illinois (Restricted; no successful initiatives in decades)

• Massachusetts (Indirect process: legislature reviews first)

• Michigan

• Mississippi (Process currently non-functional due to court rulings on signature distribution)

• Missouri

• Montana

• Nebraska

• Nevada (Requires passage in two successive elections)

• North Dakota

• Ohio

• Oklahoma

• Oregon

• South Dakota

6 states allows for statutory initiatives - new laws, not constitutional amendments.

• Alaska

• Idaho

• Maine

• Utah

• Washington

• Wyoming

So how does a citizen led ballot initiative work? If interested, this Council of State Governors article is an excellent resource with additional details. *Please note, it is from 2023, so always check for your specific state, for current information.

How to Launch a “Ban Flock” Ballot Measure (Direct Ballot Initiative)

The process generally follows these steps:

1. Preliminary filing — An individual files a proposed ballot measure to appear on the ballot with their designated state official.

** You cannot simply ban “mass surveillance.” The initiative must specifically define the prohibited technology (e.g., “Automated License Plate Readers,” “ALPR,” “networked vehicle tracking cameras”) and the prohibited acts (acquisition, installation, data retention, and data sharing). Vague language invites legal challenges that can kill the measure before it reaches the ballot.

2. Proposal review — The official with which the proposed measure was filed reviews the language of the measure and its conformance with state statutory requirements.

3. Measure title and summary preparation — Once the review of a proposed ballot measure is complete, a ballot title and summary are prepared and then made into a petition to be circulated for signatures.

4. Circulation and signature collection — The petition detailing the proposed ballot measure is circulated for signatures. **You must gather signatures equal to a percentage of registered voters (typically 5–15%).

   • Strategy: Successful campaigns in Ohio and Maine focused on local polling places andcommunity events rather than paid signature gatherers, framing the issue as “government overreach”.

   • Collect signatures on paper, using ink, to stay in compliance with state requirements.

5. Petition submission — When the petition obtains the required number of signatures, it is then submitted to the state’s election official, who verifies the signatures.

6. Placement on ballot — If all signatures have been verified and approved, the proposed ballot measure is placed on the ballot for voter’s consideration.

** Prepare for Preemption Challenges: A common tactic by states is to pass laws saying “only the state legislature can regulate police equipment,” which invalidates local bans. Your initiative may need to be a statewide measure or include language that asserts local home-rule authority to survive.

Here are some examples of ballot initiatives in action….

Active Ballot Initiatives (2026)

Citizens in several states have bypassed legislatures to place direct bans on the ballot:

• Ohio (Brunswick): Residents successfully launched a citizen initiative in June 2026 to place a local ordinance on the November ballot. The measure explicitly bans the acquisition and use of “networked surveillance systems“ and “vehicle-tracking analytics“ by the city, directly targeting Flock cameras.

• Maine (Auburn): State Representatives Quentin Chapman, David Boyer, and Laurel Libby launched a citizen initiative in June 2026 to ban Flock cameras in Auburn. They are collecting signatures to place the prohibition on the November 2026 ballot, arguing that families should not accept constant monitoring just for driving on public streets.

• Arizona (Statewide): While not a direct ban, a bill modeled after “Truth in Taxation” passed committee in early 2026 requiring voter approval via a supermajority before any local government can deploy a surveillance network like Flock.
  This effectively turns every new deployment into a ballot measure.

For North Carolina, and any other state that doesn’t allow citizen led ballot measures, a legislative referral(indirect method) would be required to initiate a ballot measure to effectively ban the use of ALPR’s, statewide. For North Carolina specifically, considering the same legislative body has just expanded to state wide surveillance, the chances of that happening are probably pretty slim. In this session, anyhow. Vote every last one of them out in your next election, after checking the roll call votes, if this issue is important to you. There is a bill at the federal level, H.R.8470 - Surveillance Accountability Act, introduced by House Representative Thomas Massie, R-KY and Lauren Boebert, R-CO, that seeks to statutorily enforce the Fourth Amendment by requiring a warrant based on probable cause for any search that impinges on privacy, which would effectively end mass surveillance as a whole, but the bill is currently stalled in committee. Massie has signaled that he may force a discharge petition, to overcome this procedural hurdle and force a vote, but time will time. If I held my breath, I’d be a goner. 😆

Anyways, if you made it to the end, thanks for sticking with me on this long post. I wanted to get some information out to anyone that may be interested in solutions. It may be wise to see if there are any other efforts already circulating in your state, before leading one yourself. Quite a time to be alive! Until next time ✌️

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If you are looking for a new car and want to avoid the tracking mechanism(telematics) found inside most modern cars, this list is for you. I’ve linked the video below and compiled a reference list for anyone who is car shopping and trying to avoid car surveillance for privacy reasons. The easiest way to tell is the ‘SOS’ button on the ceiling. That usually means the car is connected, but not always(sometimes features run through cell phone apps). It’s very nuanced.

“In 2021, you could still buy a brand-new truck with no tracking hardware inside — and most of the people who own one have no idea. This video names the five last vehicles sold in America with no factory tracker: three that never had the hardware at all, and two the industry disconnected by accident and can never reconnect.

You’ll also learn the five-second ceiling check used to verify any vehicle on any lot — a test confirmed in writing by Nissan’s own service bulletins — plus the model-year boundaries for Ford, Mazda, Toyota, and Nissan, and the honest trade-offs nobody mentions.”~ The Motor Truth

The List - “Last 5 Newer Model Cars Without Tracking”

*This is not all inclusive, but a good start

1.) Nissan Frontier, 2005-2021

2.) 5th Generation 4Runner 2010-2019

Dead telematics (3G disabled)

Dead telematics hardware connected to 3G also impacted millions of vehicles for Chrysler, Hyundai, Jeep, Lexus, Nissan, Ram and Toyota - some as new as 2019. Dead telematics means zero communication, equals no tracking by the manufacturer.

3.) Toyota Tacoma - 2015 and older

Only started installing DCM (Toyota’s version of telematics, ‘Digital Communications Module) in select vehicles in 2016 and 2017.

✔️No safety connect or emergency calls, no visible transmitter

4.)Mazda: Pre-2019 No modems, even for 2019 models, there were only a few.

✔️Mazda CX-9/CX-9 2021 (last models with no modem) and

✔️Miata MX-5, 2023 was the last model with no modem

So 2023 was technically the last modem free model that Mazda released. Once you start seeing “Infotainment” connected marketing, the car has full telematics.

5.) Ford F-150, pre-2016, no modem or telematics

The newer models that have telematics, will have Ford Sync Connect or Ford Pass. Early Sync uses just a cell phone and doesn’t have a modem.

If you are car shopping, it’s something to keep in mind 😏 If you are lucky enough to own one of these, the only thing you now have to worry about is the external tracking on the roadways, like Flock.

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Comedians have a special way of confronting social and political issues that are not only entertaining, but informative. JP Sears creatively reveals the mass surveillance apparatus all around us from the perspective of a city worker who is tasked with repairing cameras that have been vandalized. He reports on the growing opposition to Flock, all while making the system itself look absurd. He even addresses the common pro-Flock argument “If you have nothing to hide, it shouldn’t matter”, which falls apart very quickly when considering innocent people are being falsely accused by Flock more and more, for bad information, typos, AI mistakes and human error - like the second video below of a YouTube car reviewer who was held up at gun point by the cops, after purchasing a new car.

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Good news doesn’t always come without a slight hitch, which seems to be the case in this recent Supreme Court ruling. What appears to be a ruling that upholds the 4th Amendment, has been met with a well crafted response that involves aggravating gaslighting by the surveillance tech company, Flock.

Let’s get into all the sordid details…..

Cleveland Article “SCOTUS just ruled against dragnet surveillance. Could Flock be next?”

July, 1st, 2026 Cleveland.com

By Adam Ferrise

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A new U.S. Supreme Court ruling could lead to restrictions on Flock automated license plate reader systems, attorneys challenging the technology’s constitutionality say.

The Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision on Monday that law enforcement’s use of geofence warrants — which allow investigators to indiscriminately obtain location data from cellphones within a specific area during a certain time frame — constitutes a government search requiring a warrant.

While the ruling didn’t directly address Flock, attorneys say the decision addresses several of the same privacy concerns they have raised in challenging law enforcement’s largely unrestricted use of Flock’s nationwide license plate database.

Steve Leto 7/8/2026 “Does the Recent SCOTUS Geofence Case Threaten Flock?”

Flock - Is it really just a license plate reader?

MSN: June 2026 “Conroe police defend Flock camera program amid resident concerns over privacy” Copy of Conroe, Texas Police Department Contract with Flock

It’s standard practice for Police Departments to store flock camera data anywhere from 30 days to 5 years. Cloud services data storage by Flock is through AWS, which has their own data retention policies. According to Flock’s own contract, the software provides ‘insights and analytics’ that go well beyond standard license plate reading. They use AI to develop ‘hot lists’ that may include suspicious travel habits determined by AI - and not just in a particular locality, but interstate travel. Many innocent Americans have been caught in the crosshairs related to Flock insights and analytics software feature with misidentification, registration and warrant errors, as well as police abuse of the software to stalk wives, girlfriends and exes.

Flock’s Response to the Supreme Court Decision

Flock doesn’t seem particularly worried about the recent ruling, according to a Yahoo article. Spokesman Paris Lewbel stated that the ruling will not affect cases involving Flock, arguing that the technologies are “vastly different.” Flock argues that ALPR is not cell phone location history and does not ‘follow a person’. The company maintains that courts have “repeatedly and uniformly treated ALPR differently“ from cell-site location information (CSLI) and mobile geolocation data. Basically, they are confident in the status quo and do not believe the ruling undermines “settled precedent”with ALPR’s making the distinction between capturing license plates on a public road and ‘tracking individuals’.

Conclusion

In my opinion, Flock is going to have to be sued in order to get them to cease and desist, because their own public contracts describe software features that are way beyond ‘simple plate reading’.

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While the right to repair your own vehicle and chose a repair shop is important, there seems to be a whole different issue at the heart of this debate….and hardly anyone seems to be discussing it. So what is telematics(you may ask 🤔)? Telematics is a technology that combines telecommunications and informatics to transmit and analyze data from vehicles using GPS, onboard diagnostics (OBD), and wireless networks. It monitors and transmits data like location, speed, fuel consumption, idling time and driver behavior through a TCU (Telematics Control Unit) or a smartphone app. It’s commonly used for fleet management and by insurance companies to deliver personal insurance premiums, with monitored driving(black box insurance). Telematics is also central to repair shops who access onboard diagnostics. It’s the hardware and communications behind the car ‘kill switch’ debate that allows for continuous driver monitoring, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calls “advanced drunk-and-impaired-driving prevention technology“ which is mandated in all new vehicles by 2027.

Many may view the introduction of H.R. 7389, the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026 as a right to repair win, but some have noticed the poison pill that has been slipped in. Or rather, slipped out. The poison pill: access to telematics for independent repair shops was actually taken out of the bill, at least in its current version(as of 6/27/26). Auto makers seem to want nothing less than a monopoly on the entire aftermarket repair ecosystem. The primary bill was authored by Brett Guthrie, R-KY, who introduced the legislation on May 21, 2026. It is currently moving through Congress at lightning speed, recently clearing the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a 48-1 vote. The one ‘nay’ vote came from Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), who says the bill doesn’t do enough to protect independent repair shops to access real time telematics data. He also stated the legislation may be in direct opposition to Massachusetts current right to repair law.

So what does the legislation H.R. 7389 actually do?

Key Provisions

The bill addresses three main areas of automotive regulation:

1. Autonomous Vehicle Expansion: It raises the annual cap on experimental autonomous vehicles exempt from certain safety standards from 2,500 to 90,000.
   This change is critical for companies like Teslaand Waymo to deploy large-scale robotaxi fleets without steering wheels or pedals.

So essentially, more of these….

More honking at 4am? Coming to a neighborhood near you. 🙃😫🚗

https://youtube.com/shorts/ToEQABU7fv0?is=lud-BBM1116w3QUY

How about getting a little closer to the railroad tracks? No Waymo’s were harmed in the filming of this video…. although the passenger has probably been left with a little anxiety.

https://youtube.com/shorts/M2wqgCWzUTA?is=19FY9Fgv5DXvLpyB

2. Right to Repair: It codifies the 2014 national Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) into law, legally requiring manufacturers to provide independent repair shops with the same diagnostic and repair data available to dealers. However, critics note the current version excludes direct access to real-time telematics data streams.

A right to repair provision, without giving repair shops access to the TCU telematics…got it. 🙄

3. NHTSA Modernization: It mandates the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)to create a transparent 3-year priority plan for safety rulemaking and establishes a dedicated office for the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP).

There is also a provision about recall modernization, as well as a 4 year review of rule making to ensure they are consistent with federal motor vehicle safety standards.

We will definitely need a fast and efficient recall system, when things like this occur….

https://youtube.com/shorts/oNVDL2kzCpM?is=EDC3cd9cpjqEMnwS

🎥Video: ‘Automakers Biggest Fear About Vehicle Repairs Just Got Exposed’

Lauren Fix on Car Coach Reports, gets to the heart of the debate in this video.

Conclusion

I don’t know about you, but I’ve come across way too many bills that have been named in a very deceitful manner. All of the ‘Kids Safety’ bills moving through Congress, some of which seem to do more to strip away at online privacy, than actually protecting kids. Unintended consequences of legislation have become the rule, not the exception. It seems to be the blueprint for passing unpopular and controversial legislation. Not to mention tactics like slipping in controversial legislation like the car ‘kill switch’ into a huge funding bill, like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act(IIJA) in 2021. In all fairness, and of course it’s just my opinion, but something like a car kill switch, which changes a driver’s access to the operation of their own car, deserves to be debated as a stand alone bill, not as a provision in a 1,039 page bill. It’s not an afterthought, it’s the main debate. Unless of course, that was actually a strategic move to evade heat from the public, on what has become a hot button issue, across the isle. Just over here, noticing a pattern. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m also thinking about ‘modernization’….the largest city in Texas, which is Houston, can’t hardly keep up with potholes —how will the Waymo’s handle those? 😂

My advice, start reading these bills for yourself, before you decide how to feel about it. At least the ones that will impact your life - like driving a car, which most of us do.

Until next time, safe travels- may your path be clear of obnoxious Waymo’s and your nights peaceful and without blaring horns at 4am✌️

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If AI can hallucinate by making up fictional stories and facts, tell troubled teens to ‘unalive’ themselves, as well as misidentify individuals to law enforcement that have resulted in wrongful arrest, this latest story is unfortunately, following a troubling pattern. A pattern of damaging impact on humans, as a result of AI operating without proper human oversight. In my view, this isn’t an AI accuracy versus human accuracy issue. It’s about ethical boundaries. While some tasks are well suited for AI, there are some tasks that AI has no business performing - especially in an emergency setting where life and death are in the balance. These ethical questions are now in the spotlight, where one mistake tipped the scales and resulted in tragedy for a 32 year old woman.

I included the article by Futurism below, for your reading convenience.

Futurism, June 14, 2026

By Joe Wilkins

‘AUTO-REJECT’

Woman’s Death Blamed on Hospital’s AI System

“What we saw was that doctors lost the autonomy to decide if a patient is very seriously ill.”

As AI finds its way into hospital systems around the world, the case of one Brazilian woman makes it clear that the tech doesn’t have to diagnose patients to determine whether they live or die.

According to Brazilian news publication MG1, 32-year old Rebeca Cardoso Tenente Molina died after a state-run AI system for assigning hospital beds forced her to wait five days to transfer to an intensive care unit.

In interviews with MG1, Molina’s family members explained that the AI system delayed her access to the care she needed. Prior to her death, Molina was hospitalized in the small municipality of São João Nepomuceno after seeking medical treatment for gallstones. As her health rapidly deteriorated, Molina waited for an ICU bed in the state of Oliveira to open up, at a hospital about 186 miles away.

Though the family went as far as pursuing emergency legal action against the hospital system to get her transferred, the move was significantly delayed. The family now believes that five-day wait was fatal, MG1 reported.

According to Molina’s sister and family lawyer Sâmela Cardoso Tenente Furtado, the AI hospital-management system assigned the patient a much lower “score” than the one her condition actually reflected. This automatic scoring, completed by Brazil’s State Regulation Operations Center (Core-MG) using AI tools, is alleged to have played the deciding role on delaying transfer to an ICU bed.

“What we saw was that doctors lost the autonomy to decide if a patient is very seriously ill,” Furtado told MG1. “The one who has to accept whether a patient is seriously ill is no longer the doctor who is there experiencing that reality with the patient, it’s the Core.”

In her interview, Furtado describes a flawed and inflexible system which refused to budge, even as test data showed her sister’s condition taking a turn for the worst.

“She would have been a 10, and the system only accepted her as a 6.8,” Furtado continued. “So she couldn’t progress properly in the system because a patient at 8, a patient at 6.9 would jump ahead of her. And the system wouldn’t accept increasing her severity level within the system because of the tests that were constantly feeding it data.”

“My sister, other people, are not just numbers, they are not just protocols, they are not just a CPF [Brazilian tax ID number] thrown into the system,” Molina’s sister told MG1. “They have families, they had dreams, they had a whole life ahead of them.”

In an official statement shared after the AI-system’s launch on May 19th, Minas Gerais’ Deputy Secretary of Health, Poliana Cardoso Lopes said that “Core provides a bed map that is updated three times a day. With this, it will be possible to have much more control over the process and generate better data on the clinical condition and needs of each person waiting for a bed.”

Responding to Molina’s death, the state health department told MG1 that transfers are determined based on the availability of beds that fit a patient’s clinical needs, and added that Core-MG has not fundamentally altered the protocol for transferring patients to other facilities.

Conclusion

It sounds like the entire triage process was running on an AI algorithm with no human override options. Best case scenario, the algorithm was developed with medical input, worst case scenario, it was developed by another AI or a software engineer. Either way, it took the power away from the providers in the hospital to lead in decision making. Truly a tragic outcome for this woman and her family, who mourns in the wake of her passing.

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“In 1773, a London clockmaker named John Joseph Merlin built a life-sized swan made of solid silver, containing two thousand parts and three independent clockwork mechanisms. Two hundred and fifty years later, it still works.

In 2008, during a restoration at the Bowes Museum, conservators found a hidden counter inside that had recorded every activation since its creation. The flowing water beneath the swan isn’t water at all: it’s twisted glass rods spinning in opposite directions, creating a perfect optical illusion.

In 1801, a nine-year-old boy named Charles Babbage visited Merlin’s workshop and became obsessed with automatons. Decades later, that same boy would design the first machine capable of calculating without human intervention — the ancestor of the modern computer.

A single object where 18th-century engineering, optical illusion, and the origin of computing all converge.”~your-digital brain

Creative ingenuity. Somethings are made to last!

This one came as a surprise to me at first. But as I looked at the different applications, it made a lot more sense - at least for supply chain management. Most tires are made with 80% rubber. The remaining 20% is a mix of rubber compounds, reinforcing fillers like carbon black, structural reinforcers and chemical additives, such as sulfur and zinc. However, Michelin has a new twist on tires: RFID tags imbedded into the tires. In a cheeky article meant to poke fun at those resisting the surveillance state, they want their customers to know that the tags are not there to ‘follow you to Piggly Wiggly’. They are there to ‘streamline the manufacturing process’. While RFID is actually quite common in supply chain management, where these tags may cross the privacy line is after the purchase of the tires, how the tag interacts with other technology on the road, the data it collects and who is collecting the data(and for what purpose).

While Michelin has managed to streamline their supply chain using RFID technology, Pirelli has a far more elaborate idea involving smart cities, smart roads and ‘safer driving’. Check out Jason Stein, Executive VP & CTO of Pirelli speaking to ‘Cars and Culture’ earlier this year about Pirelli’s Cyber Tires.

From a privacy perspective, Steve Lehto reviews a new announcement from Pirelli concerning their Cyber tires and their overall quest to transform tires into “AI road monitoring agents”, in the video below.

Maybe next week they will announce how your windshield wipers are communicating with your insurance company about how many times you had an ‘unsafe’ view on the road while it was raining…..Rate hikes for all those who underuse their windshield wipers! 😂🤑 What a time to be alive! If this all feels a little overwhelming, understanding what is being planned and how it works, should offer some comfort. We can’t protect our privacy, if we don’t understand what is happening. You already have a leg up, if you made it to the end of this post.👌There is nothing wrong with Michelin using technology to streamline their business. As long as the RFID tag has a kill command when I purchase the tires at the register. If the RFID tag embedded in the tire is meant to offer some type of enhanced feature that requires data collection, the customer should be made explicitly aware of this and consent to data collection.

For me, I’ll likely be asking for the “Privacy Tires”. In the tech world they might refer to them as ‘analog tires’. 🙄 I can picture a conversation at the tire shop: “I just want the ones made of rubber(&stuff), no active chips connecting to 5g. Good traction, no tracking. Okay?” 👌 😏 😂

I post about these things because privacy and freedom are interlinked. One doesn’t exist without the other.

Until next time! ✌️

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If you really believe that Bernie Sanders “Fight the Oligarchs” partner to ‘tax the rich’ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, suddenly cares about Americans dealing with eminent domain property issues and those impacting clean water & air caused by data centers, I would highly encourage you to reevaluate your stance. Here’s why: AOC is doing what is politically convenient and to her own benefit, not what is best for the American people. I also believe there is more to it. I called the media out in their framing of issues concerning privacy and data center opposition, as a way to divide the left and the right, back in December of last year, in the post below about Flock cameras. I could already see a narrative forming and here we are today, with AOC as the face of data center opposition, holding up a brown jar of water in a picturesque moment just meant to go viral. This is no accident, in my opinion, and is meant to provoke a dismissive tone from those on the right, similar to the green new scam and climate change fallacies.

https://substack.com/@atomictruth/p-182117752

The media will have you believing that you need green hair and a nose ring to oppose data centers. What they won’t tell you, is that Republicans with many rural constituents - like Josh Hawley and Bob Lotta - have been working to ensure data centers pay their own way, by securing dedicated power sources, rather than forcing local residents to bear the cost of electricity for them. They also won’t mention that members of the House Freedom Caucus are quietly disappearing from the scene, one by one, who just so happen to oppose data centers(MTG, Thomas Massie). For the record, in the cases of both Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie, both situations extend well beyond data center opposition, but it is a coincidental fact that they both made opposing statements regarding large scale data centers. Also absent from the conversation - why do we need so many and to what end? That’s another topic entirely, for another time, but the lack of discussion in mainstream news should not be lost on us, in my view.

Erin Brockovich Launches a New Website Tracking Data Center Complaints

There are many people that feel any criticism regarding data centers will ‘get in the way of innovation’. Erin Brockovich is charging ahead regardless and is doing what she does best. The website displays aggregate data related to real American’s and their complaints about data centers. You can check out her website and log your own complaint here.

“Erin Brockovich has launched a website and has begun tracking all data centers in America and logging resident complaints

In just 1 week it’s already logged 1,690 resident complaints

For this who don’t remember

Erin Brockovich was the paralegal responsible for winning out a case against PG&E, Hinckley in California, because their wastewater runoff was seeping into rural areas and creating a lot of health issues for, for the surrounding neighborhoods

That case brought in a $333 million settlement that went to the families affected by the situation because a lot of them either had staggering medical bills due to their tap water was no longer safe

So why is this important, well residents all over America are reporting their tap water and river water is being heavily polluted by data centers

Her map of data centers is new, she just launched it

The website features an interactive US map showing operational, under-construction, and proposed AI data centers, overlaid with community-reported complaints

Residents can submit reports with details, photos, and locations. Within days of launch, it received a surge of submissions over 1,600 in the first week, and reports of 1,800+ from 47 states shortly after

Common Resident Complaints Being Logged

- Water usage

- Raising utility bills for residents

- Noise pollution: Constant 24/7 humming from fans, generators, and cooling systems disrupting sleep, daily life, and wildlife.

- E-waste from frequent hardware upgrades, pollution including PFAS concerns” ~ Wall Street Apes

Conclusion

While I disagree with why AOC has inserted herself into this debate, and just about everything she does politically, I’m still glad that someone held up those jars of water for all to see. On the same token, I just hope most of us can see past this stunt. I tend to be a little suspicious when politicians do the right thing, for all the wrong reasons. It usually means they are playing a long game. Even so, no one should have brown water coming out of their faucets in our country, at the hands of data centers that are by and large, being forced onto local communities. I hope this post has offered some interesting analysis regarding the intricacies of political theater, related to the data center debate.

I will leave you with this clip from the movie Erin Brockovich. I thought it was fitting with all this talk about brown water. 😆Until next time ✌️

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I worked in healthcare for nearly 15 years before exiting the industry, right before COVID hit. Good timing, I guess! I was there to see the surgery center I worked in, transition from paper charts to Electronic Medical Records, as well as changing EMR systems. Twice. Most of my ideas about AI in healthcare will draw from my previous professional experience. Hopefully this post will leave you feeling empowered and more knowledgeable, the next time you find yourself in a healthcare situation.

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Ambient AI Listening Devices - Healthcare

There’s a new kid on the healthcare block and its main job is to listen, record and transcribe. This ‘all ears’ device can be found in the category of ‘Ambient AI Listening’ devices. I can tell you one thing for sure: charting can be very burdensome for clinicians. Depending on various regulatory requirements, the type of charting, workflow integration and how fast it needs to get done - will all drive the level of burden for the clinician. So I’m really not surprised to see this area of healthcare offered a solution for an easier workflow.

What do they do? Ambient AI listening tools work in a passive manner, by capturing audio from patient - clinician conversations using microphones. It will then apply automatic speech recognition (ASR), speaker diarization (to distinguish patient from clinician), and large language models (LLMs) to transcribe, interpret, and structure the dialogue into clinical notes.

Where can Ambient AI Listening Devices be found?

These devices have already hit the scene in major healthcare systems like the Mayo Clinic, University of Iowa Health Care, Walter Reed, McChord Clinic, Kettering Health, Sutter Health, Atrium Health/Wake Forest, University of Kansas Medical Center, Intermountain Health, Stanford Health, and Shamran Health, who are all actively deploying Ambient AI listening technology, as automation efforts continue. Ambient AI Listening devices can be found across specialties; Emergency Rooms, Mental Health, Oncology, etc. There is already broad integration with major electronic health record systems, such as Epic, Oracle(Cerner), Meditech and others.

Privacy Concerns with Ambient AI Listening Devices

The main issue I see with these devices will be the lack of consent. It is up to your healthcare providers to scrutinize a myriad of factors, before deploying these devices in clinical settings.

As far as informed consent goes, I can see this getting missed, very easily. There is also a concern about data storage and discoverability. Audio recordings in healthcare are considered electronic protected health information (ePHI) and create new data flows, storage points and access risks, that were not there before. Data sharing and security both present new risks of exposing PHI, as audio recordings leave the point of care and arrive on third party vendors’ cloud systems. Even with encryption and HIPAA compliance, there is still a risk of data breaches and unauthorized access. Another privacy risk is re-identification of de-identified data. The transcription aspect of Ambient AI Listening relies on large data sets to train their LLM’s. Your anonymized audio recording from your annual OBGYN visit is no exception 😳. If misuse were to ever occur, or a data breach, there are modern techniques to re-identify your health records. Another privacy concern is contextual misinterpretation by AI. Imagine you are in the exam room with your provider. He or she asks about the medications you take. You ruffle through your purse looking for your carefully documented medication list and cannot find it. You realize it’s at home and your husband had moved it out of the way and you forgot to put it in your purse. You say in a frustrated tone, “I’m going to kill him, he’s always moving stuff!” AI records that and reports it to the police, since it has trouble detecting jokes, sarcasm and context. The next day the cops are at your door to make sure your husband is still alive. While this seems far fetched, it’s already happening in various ways. The last privacy concern I will mention, is erosion of trust. Recording without consent breaches trust between patient and provider. Once that trust has been compromised, it’s very hard to get it back.

Legal Protections - Ambient AI Listening Devices

As you can see from the map above, more states have one-party consent laws, than two. One-party consent means that if your healthcare provider consents to being recorded, you, the patient, do not need to consent(as far as the law is concerned). The one-party consent states are the states that you may see more lack of consent issues, although your providers following best practices, will ultimately determine if proper consent is obtained for Ambient AI Listening devices, regardless of the law.

In a more broad context, 6 states have passed laws that require AI disclosure in healthcare.

1. California (Effective Jan 1, 2026)

2. Texas (Effective Jan 1, 2026)

3. Illinois (Effective various dates in 2025/2026)

4. *Indiana (Effective July 1, 2026 - upcoming)

5. *Tennessee (Effective July 1, 2026 - upcoming)

6. *Utah (Effective Jan 1, 2027 - upcoming)

*Note: While Indiana, Tennessee, and Utah have passed laws, their effective dates are later in 2026 or 2027. Texas, California, and Illinois currently have active disclosure mandates.

This means that if you live in one of the 6 states that have AI disclosure laws, your healthcare provider must disclose this to you before you receive treatment(or the first reasonable opportunity, in an emergency). These laws also extend to insurers and technology developers, to inform patients about the AI involvement in their care, or any related decisions about their care.

Conclusion

Many patients will welcome the advent of AI involvement healthcare, while they enjoy a technologically advanced experience in their care. Many will be more cautious, as regulators catch up to privacy concerns. There will also be those that want nothing to do with it. I predict that an entire alternate healthcare market will emerge, that is “AI free” healthcare. Many providers will reject it, and patients will flock to them, just as the patients who crave technology in their care, will flock to those that embrace it. The beauty of a free market, exists in this choice.

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This news story is actually very encouraging to me. It really illustrates the importance of challenging a given situation, even if the cards are stacked against you. I hope my readers are able to take some solace in this news, as well. As someone that tends to evaluate risk and tries to avoid future issues before they happen, the topic of AI and all of the ways it can go wrong, is something I probably think about way too much. Before we get into the guest post and video, let’s review where we are today, as far as executive orders related to AI.

President Trump’s AI Executive Orders - Summary to Date

So far, the President has signed 5 Executive Orders related to AI.

Executive Order 14179 (January 23, 2025): “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence,“ which revoked the previous Biden-era AI order and mandated an action plan.

Executive Order 14318 (July 23, 2025): “Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure,“ aimed at streamlining construction for AI-related energy and data centers.

Executive Order 14319 (July 23, 2025): “Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government“ was signed alongside the infrastructure and export orders to address ideological bias in federal AI procurement.

Executive Order 14320 (July 23, 2025): “Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack,“ designed to support the global deployment of U.S.-origin AI technologies.

Executive Order 14365 (December 11, 2025): “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence,” which sought to challenge and preempt excessive state-level AI regulations.

More recently at the end of March, the White House released the National Policy Framework for AI, which consists of legislative recommendations for Congress ‘to win the AI race’. This race is being fueled by a ‘winner takes all’ mentality, as far as the First Nation to develop it, holds a strategic advantage. We all know that things tend to get missed when we are rushed. State of Missouri Senator Joe Nicola(R), recognizes this and has pumped the brakes to protect Missouri residents.

The New American - “States Must Deal With AI Risks Despite Executive Order: Sen. Joe Nicola” 4/22/2026

By Alex Newman

*16 minute (video) interview below 👇

https://rumble.com/v78v4qq-states-must-deal-with-ai-risks-despite-executive-order-sen.-joe-nicola.html

Despite an executive order by President Donald Trump purporting to prohibit any state-level regulation or controls over Artificial Intelligence, state governments must put in place guardrails to ensure accountability and protect the public, explained Missouri Senator Joe Nicola (R) in this interview with The New American magazine’s Alex Newman on Conversations That Matter.

Sen. Nicola has a bill—now in its 14th iteration—to put in place what he describes as common-sense policies. Among them: ensuring that a human is always responsible and liable for AI. However, the White House is now reviewing it to determine whether the federal government would cut federal funding to the state over it. “We’re running out of time,” he said. “We only have four weeks left in this session.”

Sen. Nicola, who also serves as a pastor, does not want to stifle innovation or hamper the development of AI, he said. However, this is among the most powerful technologies ever developed, and it is critical that government not allow it to run wild—especially considering how rapidly it is moving. He hopes to receive a greenlight from the White House soon.

Before wrapping up, Sen. Nicola discusses his legislation to ban foreign law in the state. From sharia to the United Nations, all of it would be prohibited.

Conclusion

While innovation can be stifled by regulation - it doesn’t have to be. As they say, it’s all fun and games, until someone gets hurt. Or marries at chatbot. Or we allow chat bots to do the professional jobs of doctors, lawyers or others, instead of legally recognizing the technology as an assistive tool. You get the idea, hopefully. 😏

As I previously mentioned, I’m encouraged by the Missouri state legislature, particularly Senator Nicola’s willingness to step up and take action for something he felt was important for Missouri - despite the Executive Order. I hope his actions inspire other state Congressional leaders to follow suit and work with the White House to ensure basic safety guardrails are being considered.

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Between 2021 and 2026 Maine has experienced a 60% increase in electricity prices. Maine state lawmakers have decided to take swift action. Earlier this month, the Maine state legislature passed LD 307, which would ban the new construction of large scale data centers requiring over 20 megawatts to operate, citing concerns over straining the power grid, rising electricity costs and potential environmental issues.

The Democrat governor, Janet Mills, remains undecided (as of 4/21/2026) but has expressed support for bans in the past, with the exception of smaller projects like the one being planned at an old paper mill plant in Jay, Maine.

“I’m also concerned about what data centers have done in other states — consumption of electricity and water usage, those kinds of things,” Janet Mills ~ NBC NEWS, 4/16/2026

If Governor Mills fails to take action by vetoing or signing the bill by April 25, 2026, the bill will automatically become law.

The Rest of the Country- Data Center Bans

While Maine is the closest to closing the deal on a statewide ban, 11 other states-Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin- have all introduced moratorium bans, but have either stalled or not passed the legislature.

The primary reasons a state moratorium has stalled in these states include:

✔️Balancing economic interests - Many states have decided the economic benefits outweigh community concerns over energy strain, water use, property values.

✔️Local vs. state authority - South Dakota, for example, instead of passing a state wide ban, passed a state law allowing local governments to regulate or ban data centers themselves

✔️Governor opposition - This was the case in Michigan, where Governor Gretchen Whitmer, opposes data center bans.

✔️Partisan and procedural hurdles - many bills have been stalled in the committee phase or were carried over for future legislation

✔️Lack of consensus - even with bipartisan support, data center operators and the tech industry are pushing back, citing the need for exemptions, studies and long term policy.

Temporary Local Data Center Bans

A handful of municipalities around the country have enacted 1-2 year bans in order to allow time to study the impacts of both allowing data center construction and the impacts of a ban. Some of those areas include St. Charles, Missouri, Fulton County, Indiana, DeKalb County, Georgia and Bangor, Maine.

While these are all temporary measures, efforts to permanently ban hyper scale data centers are emerging in places like Ohio, where petitions are circulating in order to place the measure on the ballot for a vote, in November.

Conclusion

As of April of 2026, the Pew Research Center reports that there are at least 3,000 operational data centers in the United States and over 1,500 in various stages of construction and development. 67% of all planned data centers are in rural areas.

I’m of the opinion that if we are going to place data centers near our farmlands, we should already understand the environmental impacts that these structures have on agriculture, as well as the nearby communities that live there. We should have detailed information of all the resources that are required for data centers to function and studies citing any potential resources struggles that may result, such as water use, electricity use and price impacts to local communities. There are some basic questions that still need to be answered, such as what exactly is the rush and what type of data is being planned to be stored there? There have been many instances of lack of transparency, when it comes to sharing this type of information with the communities that data center operators and tech companies want to build in. In the case of St. Charles, Missouri, the tech company went as far as hiring an intermediary firm that shielded the identity of the tech company and even requested local government officials sign NDA (Non Disclosure Agreements) agreements that required them to not speak publicly about their plans.

Until I get a better grasp upon these concerns, I simply can’t support it.

I know it’s been awhile, but I needed to give myself a long break from the internet. For my own sanity. 😁I hope you are all doing well! Until next time ✌️

This is a case that has attracted interested onlookers all across the world, even though the case is being highly suppressed in western media outlets.

“If you want to truly understand what is unfolding in the case against Bill Gates, Albert Bourla (CEO of Pfizer) and Mark Rutte (former Dutch PM) along with 15 other defendants - watch this! In that courtroom, lawyer Peter Stassen didn’t just speak; he delivered a calculated, scorched-earth dismantling of the defendants. What he put on the record is absolute fire. You have to watch it for yourself. This case is real. It is happening. Please take the time to watch the full update, and share it. While the mainstream media remains predictably silent, we are the ones breaking the blackout. We are the ones ensuring the world knows exactly what was hidden. History isn’t just being written; it’s being corrected. Never give up on the truth. This is our moment. Watch. Share. Be the witness history requires.” ~ Philosophers Stone via Bitchute

Philosophers Stone 3/17/2026 “The Bill Gates Case: The Narrative on Trial. Amsterdam Court of Appeal. The Netherlands.”

https://www.bitchute.com/video/ZlgjYwsOOX8k

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The label is required to be placed on food products that contain ingredients that don’t meet Australian, European, UK and Canadian regulatory food standards, on food products in Texas and Louisiana, starting in 2027. This topic of toxins in our foods, is one that the state of Texas(and Louisiana) recently took action on, as well as Florida publishing some very shocking information about bread.

⚠️I want to add a warning label to this post.

The information included here may change the way you feel about food and certain products. Not everyone is ready for this. No hard feelings, if you would like to skip out on this one. ~ Ann, Atomic Truth

For those brave souls that didn’t skip out after the warning, I have a question, maybe you could help answer. If a ‘food’ is not fit for human consumption, is it really ‘food’?

What is “Food” Anyway?

I keep using quotes because what ‘food’ really is, seems to be up for debate.

Here is the official, current definition from the American Heritage Dictionary:

food

/foo͞d/

noun

1. Material, usually of plant or animal origin, that contains or consists of essential body nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals, and is ingested and assimilated by an organism to produce energy, stimulate growth, and maintain life.

2. A specified kind of nourishment.breakfast food; plant food.

3. Nourishment eaten in solid form.food and drink.

The definition of food has evolved significantly over time, for various reasons, mainly due to shaping semantics due to linguistic and cultural influences and scientific and technological developments.

The phase of definition changes that is relevant to the conversation today, I believe, is the scientific, technological, as well as the modern and industrial shift that has influenced what food is and what it means. The discovery of calories, understanding the metabolic value of ‘food as fuel’ and the discovery of vitamins, all expanded the definition of food between the 18th - 20th Centuries. During the 20th-21st centuries is where the modern industrial shift has occurred. The rise of ultra processed foods challenged traditional definitions. I suspect with the rise of synthetic farming practices, there will be an ever increasing trend of a changing definition of food.

If deer, bears, birds and wild hogs avoid apples and grapes, is it still ‘food’? 🤔

The Research Rabbit Hole About Food (it’s a doozy)

I must report to my readers, I’ve gone down the food/product rabbit hole and I’ve come out feeling pretty peeved. After being peeved for a while, I have digested the information and I’m now prepared to share with you, my fellow SubStackers, what I have learned, as well as some possible solutions. Food in general is not my area of expertise, but I eat it everyday, so I thought I should try to understand it more. Perhaps this information will be helpful to those that are also standing at the opening of the rabbit hole, like our furry friend above. Let’s leap in. Follow the White Rabbit. Sorry, couldn’t help it. LOL 😂

Tainted Toothpaste 🪥

🎥Inside Edition 11/20/2024 “Bacteria, Mold Found at Toothpaste Factory; FDA”

Over the last month I have learned that multiple products I have been using, have some serious issues. Like the toothpaste I use, Tom’s, which was issued an FDA complaint related to bacteria and mold found in the water used in their processing plant, which was also found in the product itself. It’s worth mentioning that Tom’s of Maine was purchased for $100M in 2006 by Colgate-Palmolive.

Oh yes, I almost forgot to tell you about the lead! Even though there is no fluoride, there was lead found in the toothpaste. There is residual lead in most toothpaste products(90%, but not all). The FDA has threshold levels of allowed amounts of these residual components.

https://rumble.com/shorts/v756o2u

A father reports that his child was having frequent headaches. The pediatrician confirmed that the child had lead poisoning.

Toxins in Bread

As we move further down the food rabbit hole, we have now arrived at a staple food. Bread.

This week I found out my Non-GMO bread, Dave’s Killer Bread, had Glyphosate in it, even though it’s labeled NON-GMO and certified organic. I should have known; they told us in the name - it’s killer bread. 🙄☠️

GMO Pacific Salmon Using a Patent # for GMO Atlantic Salmon- Made in China

How about this “Wild Pacific Salmon” that is a product of China. Silly me, it said ‘Pacific Salmon’ I assumed it was coming from Washington, like it says on the package. I was thinking it was caught ‘in the wild’ in the Pacific Ocean near the United States. But it’s only packaged in Washington…I guess?

Vital Farms Eggs

🎥Max.German 2/14/2026 “The Vital Farms Scandal is Insane”

Vital Farms eggs charge twice as much as other egg competitors, are marketed as a ‘premium’ product, ‘pasture raised’, claims to be higher in nutritional value, and markets themselves as a family farm.

The Impact of Globalization & Institutional Investing (Private Equity, in particular)

There is nothing on earth that Private Equity can’t ruin, if they are motivated to do so. I remember a joke my father would tell my uncle, who was a lawyer. “What do you call a million lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?” “A good start.” The room would erupt in laughter at Christmas or Thanksgiving, my step-mother might have said, ‘Leave your brother alone, he’s a fine lawyer’, followed by a wink. All in jest and poking fun between brothers. Now, swap the lawyers out with Private Equity firms, and we have now made an old joke, with some modern changes. I have no family or friends working in Private Equity, so no love lost there.

Mr. Burns aside, this post isn’t meant to rail on Private Equity, or big business; they have their place in certain scenarios. I just keep finding them behind various scandals. ‘A good start’, as the joke ends with, is Trump’s Executive Order clamping down on anticompetitive practices in the rental housing market of institutional investing. We need more Mr. Burns types, anticompetitive merger type of institutional investors, at the bottom of the ocean, so to speak.

🎥SkyTV 9/4/2020 “Pretty Woman - Slippery Little Suckers (The Dinner Scene)”

I am reminded of that scene in the 1990 movie Pretty Woman, when Edward Lewis(Richard Gere) is explaining to Mr. Morse, what will become of his ship building business when he sells it to his firm. This explanation is nestled between some very comedic scenes showing Vivian Ward(Julia Roberts) training for dinner, educating herself about salad and shrimp forks, which was totally derailed after a plate of escargot was placed in front of her.(That wasn’t the fork she knew!😂) This scene captures the essence of the old school business style, which seems to be thinning out; a dignified man, the opposite of Mr. Burns, who values the legacy of his company and is reluctant to sell it, knowing what Edward Lewis plans to do with it. In the end, Edward Lewis was changed by Vivian Ward(in a good way), and buys Mr. Morse’s company, but not to sell it off in pieces - to save it. This is the potential of Private Equity in good moral standing. Is this what happened to Vital Farms in 2017 when a deal with Trilantic North America provided a minority growth investment, through one of its accelerators? I would argue no, it was nothing like saving a business. It was part of a broader plan to corner the market, reduce quality and keep the prices high, which typically means more profit. 2020 marks the year of Vital Farms IPO.

Farmland in the USA ~ Top Owners

Look; big doesn’t have to be bad in business. But when it comes to our food, big is turning our food into something else. Out of the five top farmland owners in the United States; only one on the list is a generational farming family. Bill Gates is number one on the list and we are now wondering why our food is not safe for human consumption? He also has billions invested in synthetic farming and foods, like lab grown meat.

If I have ruined your breakfast, lunch or dinner, I’m terribly sorry. I don’t have all the answers, but I am motivated to be able to provide healthy foods and products to myself and my family. I’m also motivated to not support businesses that lack moral standing. I miss the Mr. Morse’s of the world and I know they still exist. Your local family owned grocery store. Those that sell products and farmers that sell their produce at your local farmers markets. Restaurants that source their food ethically and locally. You can even grow your own food, which I am considering. I hope this information has inspired you to consider looking into the products and foods in your household. I felt compelled to share what I have learned, not to scare anyone, but to empower you with knowledge. We have more power than we realize, when we become educated consumers.

Here are a few gems of knowledge I have to offer:

1)Lillie Kane : She is a certified Nutrition Coach and also has a YouTube channel

2)Olive App: Stop guessing what’s in your food—scan with Olive for real transparency. Download Olive in the App Store and get your 7-day free trial today! *I have not tried it yet, but I’m going to try the free trial and I’ll let you know.

3)Curious about rebel canning? Check out Rebel Canners . Learning how to safely preserve food is a great skill to have!

4)I’m also learning about baking my own bread. I already have a bread maker, and I’m finally ready to start using it.. 😆 Here is a “Wheat Cheat Sheet” I found. They are located in Texas, organic growers and claim to have a clean milling process. Barton Springs is CCOF certified organic, one of the more stringent certification bodies. You do have to opt/in with your email to get the guide, but it’s quite helpful if you are just learning about flour for baking. I tried posting it here, but the file might have been too large. It was only 12 pages 🤷🏻‍♀️

Please leave any food or product suggestions in the comments, as well as any experts to follow on natural foods, home gardening, being an educated consumer, etc….. I’m sure you all have some good ones! 😉

Be well, be healthy and empower yourself with knowledge. Most importantly, don’t get stuck in those rabbit holes. Go touch grass once in a while, as they say.

Are we watching the United Nations collapse in real time? 🤔

At the 3:55 mark, on the video below, a reporter with the UN Correspondents Organization for South African Broadcasting, Chovin Bryce, points out to the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, “you and I both know, there are no resources.”

This is in reference to funding for a newly formed Independent International Scientific Panel on AI. This newly formed panel, is a result of the Global Digital Compact(GDC), which was adopted as an annex to the Pact of the Future by member states in 2024. The United States voted in favor of ‘Al Global Governance’ which includes the formation of an independent panel for AI development, global cooperation and policy discussions for emerging technologies, along with 143 other member states, at the UN summit in 2024. 7 voted against it, while 15 members states abstained in the vote. 2024 seems like a lifetime ago, in a time of hyper AI development. The UN is definitely dealing with a whole new U.S. administration; one who has pushed back on the United Nations, the fee structure expected, in relation to other member states, and our involvement in treaties that are ‘contrary to American interests’. Since President Trump has taken office, he has withdrawn the United States from 66 treaties, has not paid the outstanding UN dues, while being vocal about other member states not paying their dues. The U.S. currently has an outstanding balance of $4.5 billion in UN dues. This is probably the source of Mr. Bryce and his sharp tone related to the United States and our outstanding dues. For context, Congress has capped the United States payments at 22% of the UN’s regular budget. Even so, the United States is still the single largest contributor to the UN budget, by volume. Things can get a little dicey when member states aren’t paying their share, especially when dealing with promises made by prior administrations and dealing with a new U.S. President. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has recently warned that the United Nations is at risk of “imminent financial collapse” by July 2026, due to a severe funding crisis.

With all of this uncertainty in the UN’s future, you may be wondering about official statements from the Administration about ‘AI Global Governance’, which is related to the recent UN AI press conference. While President Trump himself has not yet directly commented on the recent AI press conference, back in September of last year, Micheal Kratsios, U.S. Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, stated at the UN Security Council:

“We totally reject all efforts by international bodies to assert centralized control and global governance of AI.”~ NBC Nightly News

All of this resistance and rejection related to the UN, flies in the face of an announcement about 3 weeks ago, describing a new UN-like organization called the Board of Peace, initiated by President Trump.

https://youtube.com/shorts/cZrFo3JwxrM?si=Iz5Chxxks7A6kKiN

Is there a ‘New World Order’ occurring, as Vice President JD Vance said numerous times in this Megyn Kelly interview, or is this just the same ‘New World Order’ that has been in the works, by other American internationalists like Henry Kissinger, President Obama and both Bush presidents frequently talked about? A ‘New World Order’ can be redefined, in American sovereignty terms, by redefining how we interact with the rest of the world; economically and otherwise. Whether that is actually what is happening….I really don’t know. Time will tell. In the meantime, we should pay very close attention, in my opinion, to how AI development affects our precious freedoms that we still have in tact.

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Imagine your car shuts off while you’re on a road trip 100 miles from your home. Perhaps you swerved to avoid an accident and the cars AI monitoring system flagged you as driving erratically. You stopped for gas and now your car won’t start.

Maybe the car just shuts off, while driving like what happened to this guy, below. 👇

Or maybe the ‘Kill Switch’ causes the car to malfunction, like this Tesla driver, below. All he could do is pray, while his car led him right into an accident.

https://youtube.com/shorts/B0iTZp-5Ta8?si=pNHip-TsCIj9FIqY

If the stated goal of this legislation is supposed to be directed at drunk drivers, it goes well past that by putting all new car drivers in a surveillance dragnet. But these are the scenarios that we just might face, with this new car technology aimed at ‘keeping the roads safe’.

The point is that it could be any one of us, for any variety of reasons. It also brings up constitutional questions about due process and the right to privacy in our cars, as well as serious safety issues related to suddenly losing operational control of your car. Even though it’s illegal to disable a car in motion, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened when something unexpected occurs. Being stranded in itself, is a safety concern, as well as being highly inconvenient.

The Amendment to Defund the Car ‘Kill Switch’

57 Republicans broke rank to vote with 211 Democrats in an amendment authored by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, to defund the implementation of Section 24220 of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which would require car manufacturers to begin installing ‘kill switches’ in new cars starting in 2026.

“In 2021, the infrastructure law ordered that by 2026, all new passenger vehicles must include ‘advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology’ as standard equipment. The rule is firm: once impairment registers, the vehicle responds without delay. Moreover, lawmakers made sure that detection triggers immediate intervention.” ~ IBT, UK

Not only that, the car is monitoring driving and sending data all the time.

🎥Rep Thomas Massie 1/23/2026 “Defund the Auto Kill Switch” 5:44

You can read the full story here.

The effort to amend and defund the technology mandate in the 2021 Infrastructure bill, has officially failed with this recent vote. The implementation of the mandate is pending regulatory action, as well as a final rule to be issued to the Department of Transportation.

It’s also going to cost tax payers up to $45 million and $200 more per car, to install the technology.

If you are concerned about the impact of this law, feel free to contact your members of Congress and let them know. Just because this amendment failed, doesn’t mean they can’t try again.

I could go the rest of my life driving used cars and be perfectly happy. But really, it’s just the point of it. Ugh. So disappointing.

If ‘another one’, was another lost freedom - our privacy, in our cars….

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President Trump added more to this sentiment, by also stating ‘homes are built for people, not corporations’, pointing to Wall Street firms, who have purchased hundreds of thousands of homes and how it undermines the American Dream.

Here is a short video describing some of the challenges Americans face looking for a single family home.

House Hunting

🎥CNBC’s Interview with President Trump ~ World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, 1/21/2026

He also announced an Executive Order banning institutional investing, which he has directed the Treasury Department to officially define in the next thirty days, but will undoubtedly be directed at wholesale housing purchases. What is happening is that firms who are indirectly funded by BlackRock, such as American Homes 4 Rent(AMH), will go into neighborhoods and purchase multiple homes, sometimes even the entire block, in many cases. This practice is affecting the supply, and in some cases, the price of homes for sale. The mainstream spin seems to be very blazé regarding the impact of Trump’s ban, pointing out that they purchase less than 2% of single family homes. That may be true when you look at the national picture, but if you focus in on local markets where institutional ownership is higher, the influence is much more pronounced on housing prices, particularly impacting first time buyers. There are even claims stating that the presence of institutional investors in an area, has resulted in lower home prices. Good for buyers, bad for sellers. Institutional investors by and large, are typically not reselling the homes that they buy; many of these investors base their entire business model on single-family rental (SFR) companies, acquiring the homes specifically for the purpose of adding them to their rental portfolios. Of course, there are also institutional investors that will buy a home, renovate and resell the home, but that does not represent the majority. As of early 2026, it’s a buyers market nationwide, which is largely driven by a record imbalance between supply and demand. There are 37% more sellers, than buyers. This gap is unprecedented, and is double what it was in 2024.

There is a narrow exception in the ban for build to rent(BTR) communities, which are planned, permitted, financed, and constructed as rental communities from the outset. The Executive Order also directs government agencies, like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to stop approving, insuring, guaranteeing, or facilitating home acquisitions by large institutional investors, requesting these agencies to issue guidance within 60 days. President Trump has requested that Congress codify this executive order into law.

This ban probably stings a little bit for firms that primarily invest in SFR, but some of these private equity firms are so diversified, that they probably won’t even bat an eye. In fact, the cut out for BTR will most likely be abused. Even so, this move by President Trump is definitely a step in the right direction. It also sends a message. The ban will have a ripple effect, in the same way a shock wave travels. It hits hard at the point of contact, like Invitation Homes, Blackstone post-crisis investing, and dissipates as it moves out(BlackRock, indirect investor providing capital for new construction, etc.). If this pattern of attack on exploitative behaviors within our economy is continued, particularly towards private equity firms in the leveraged buyout business that knowingly teeters on the verge of monopolistic practices, we just may see some positive results in the economy. I hope to see more moves from the administration that address the business practices of private equity firms, many of which seem to negatively impact the average American small and mid size business, which also affects consumer prices, as well as product and service quality. Private equity firms can drive innovation, but they can also destroy entire industries, if not properly regulated. This move of banning institutional investing in the housing market sends a clear message to those operating in the extremes, the outliers that are taking advantage of our free market and “gobbling up all the houses”, or whatever else they may be ‘gobbling up’, in whatever industry they may be doing it in.

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“A Spirit of Dialogue”. That’s the World Economic Forum’s central theme, for their 56th annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. See the above photo, for the public facing, warm and fuzzy, Kumbaya meaning.

Now for some additional context….”A Spirit of Dialogue” is also the name of a 2017 book by Aaron T. Wolf that discusses ‘lessons from faith traditions in transforming conflicts’. The book is an exploration of conflict resolution between groups that may have competing interests, that ‘bridges science and spirituality’ by drawing from various religious perspectives; Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism, to name a few. Very interesting 🤔

It seems so harmless and maybe even productive, for world leaders meet every year to discuss things like climate change, technology and the economy, to name a few. However, these are the most powerful people in the world, that gather together and the things that they discuss and plan, are usually followed by actions that can be seen in our daily lives, from the businesses we shop at, to the healthcare we receive. For instance, it’s where ESG was cooked up in their 2022 annual meeting, which led to DEI policies in American businesses that were not consistent with our EEOC rules. It’s where business and tech leaders will discuss their AI automation plans, over a cocktail and share a laugh about how many billions they will save. It’s a place where trade deals are negotiated, between CEO’s and world leaders.

The Agenda - Davos 2026

The meeting begins on January 19th and ends on the 25th. I’ve asked AI to help gather the details in a summary, below. 👇

The meeting will focus on five major global challenges requiring cross-sector collaboration:

1. Geopolitical fragmentation and global cooperation – Rebuilding trust amid strained alliances and contested norms.

2. Responsible deployment of AI and emerging technologies – Balancing innovation with ethics, regulation, and workforce impact.

3. Economic resilience and inclusive growth – Navigating inflation, fiscal constraints, and shifting trade dynamics.

4. Human capital and workforce transformation – Investing in skills, well-being, and labor market resilience amid automation.

5. Sustainability and planetary boundaries – Advancing climate action, nature-positive initiatives, secure energy systems, and water security.

Attendees, Speakers and World Leaders

The event is expected to have over 2,500 leaders from government, civil society, academia and the media attending- the largest gathering to date.

Here are some notable attendees:

• World leaders: Donald Trump (U.S.), Mark Carney (Canada), Friedrich Merz (Germany), Ursula von der Leyen (EU), He Lifeng (China), Javier Milei (Argentina), Prabowo Subianto (Indonesia), Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Ukraine), and others from G7, G20, and BRICS nations.

• Tech and AI pioneers: Jensen Huang (NVIDIA), Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Dario Amodei (Anthropic), Demis Hassabis (Google DeepMind), Yoshua Bengio (Université de Montréal), Alex Karp (Palantir), Sarah Friar (OpenAI), and Yuval Harari (Centre for the Study of Existential Risk).

• Global organization heads: António Guterres (UN Secretary-General), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (WTO), Ajay Banga (World Bank), Kristalina Georgieva (IMF), and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (WHO).

• Business leaders: Stephen Schwarzman (Blackstone), Connor Teskey (Brookfield), Vas Narasimhan (Novartis), and John Doyle (Marsh).

Notable Sessions and Speakers

• Novartis led multiple sessions on breakthrough innovation, including:

  • Reimagining Drug Discovery with Frontier AI(Fiona Marshall, Vas Narasimhan).

  • Accelerating Breakthrough Innovation in Women’s Health.

  • The Heart of Resilience: Cardiovascular Health and Societal Resilience.

• Oliver Wyman hosted key breakfasts and lunches on:

  • Navigating Global Financial System Fragmentation.

  • The Great Health Productivity Reset.

  • Human-First AI in Leadership.

• KPMG hosted a breakfast on climate coalitions and decarbonization.

• Financial Times Live provided real-time analysis with guests including Rishi Sunak, Martin Wolf, and Bret Taylor.

Here are a few videos of one of the key note speakers in past meetings, scheduled for this year, as well, Yuval Harari, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk.

AI automation and worker skills gap…

Transhumanism…..

https://youtube.com/shorts/e4WPfMlz0sE?si=hZyUb1Iu7ZdN_ja6

How dare he talk about human extinction! He is serious, by the way. It should be interesting (and possibly unsettling) to see some of the plans coming out of Davos….maybe Greta Thunberg will be there again.

Or maybe there will be music…..

I’ll keep you posted, that’s all for now! 👋

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A probe into the Clinton’s involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal was scheduled for an Oversight Committee hearing today. Per James Comer, the Clinton’s legal team has been rescheduling and delaying for at least 5 months now. My guess - they are probably planning an international vacation to a country that doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the United States 🤦🏻‍♀️ The victims deserve to see some justice and so do the rest of us, who have sat by watching idly, as absolutely no none, except for Ghislaine Maxwell, has been held accountable.

Watch James Comer below, give an update. Fair warning, there is a ‘paid agitator’ yelling in the background that makes this video pretty annoying to watch, but the gist of the situation, is that there were subpoenas issued and they didn’t show. The Clinton’s called the congressional probe a ‘partisan exercise’ that they would not be participating in.

It literally took an act of Congress to get the Epstein files released. What will it take to get the Clinton’s in to answer some questions? We will see.

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