The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/national-security-agency-nsa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Security Agency</a> (NSA) is establishing a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Security Center to further develop and integrate AI in federal intelligence.
In a <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3541838/ai-security-center-to-open-at-national-security-agency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>, the Defense Department clarified that the AI Security Center would also consolidate existing AI and security-related activities across the NSA. NSA Director Paul Nakasone first disclosed the new center during a National Press Club luncheon on Thursday.
&#8220;The AI Security Center will work closely with U.S. Industry, national labs, academia across the [intelligence community], and Department of Defense and select foreign partners,&#8221; said Nakasone. 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="NPC Headliner Luncheon: Gen. Paul Nakasone" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tJnMlPydBak?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Nakasone cited China and Russia’s AI-related activities as the main motivators behind the consolidation, declaring a need for the U.S. to maintain an advantage in AI. According to Nakasone, consolidation would also prevent the theft of AI intelligence and technologies.
The director clarified that humans, not AI, would have the final say on analyzing threats.
“Within the Department of Defense, within the intelligence community, AI helps us, but our decisions are made by humans and that’s an important distinction,” said Nakasone.
However, Nakasone declined to answer a reporter’s question on whether Americans should stop the expansion of the surveillance society due to the potential of AI to curtail personal freedoms.
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“I’ll leave that question for someone else to answer,” said Nakasone. “[A]s a nation we need an ability to understand what our adversaries do and we need a national security that balances this with civil liberties, privacy, and I think that that’s what our intelligence community does very well.”
NSA’s AI Security Center is the latest federal intelligence initiative focused on developing and advancing AI technologies. Earlier this week, the CIA <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cia-creating-ai-tool-to-sort-through-public-information-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that it was planning to unleash an AI tool to 18 intelligence agencies to sort through public information. Those agencies included the NSA, as well as the FBI and military. 
Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-announces-anti-bias-ai-policies-first-chief-ai-officer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> its first chief AI officer and new policies ensuring equity in AI usage.
These developments largely align with a <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2022/Jun/22/2003022604/-1/-1/0/Department-of-Defense-Responsible-Artificial-Intelligence-Strategy-and-Implementation-Pathway.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">roadmap</a> issued last year by the Defense Department tracking the implementation of AI.
A significant asset for AI Security Center operations would be the continued existence of Section 702.
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is a controversial surveillance power enacted in 2008 with the intent to track foreign nationals that, by consequence of design, also exposes Americans’ communications. That section is scheduled to expire at the end of this year.
As he has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nsa-asks-for-reauthorization-of-surveillance-powers-as-republicans-prepare-to-investigate-security-agencies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">done</a> throughout this year, Nakasone advocated on Thursday for Section 702’s reauthorization. The director claimed it was a necessary surveillance power for saving American lives and interests, citing federal intelligence obtained on the Chinese origins of fentanyl.
“[T]he President’s Intelligence Advisory Board called 702 the cornerstone of the intelligence community’s ability to uncover and track threats to America, and noted that 702 does not threaten the civil liberties of Americans so long as the right culture processes and oversight are in place,” said Nakasone.
However, that same advisory board recommended limiting Section 702 to foreign intelligence purposes only in a July <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-access-to-spy-tool-should-be-restricted-white-house-advisers-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>. The board also recommended a number of other reformations to Section 702, including removal of intelligence agents’ authority to query non-national security-related crime.
The board’s findings are conducive with the consistent abuses of Section 702 since its enactment.
Notably, in 2017, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-obama-illegally-spied-americans-years-ben-shapiro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that the Obama-era NSA abused Section 702 to spy on Americans for years.
Similarly, in May, the court reported that the FBI <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-misused-surveillance-tool-over-278000-times-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">misused</a> the Section 702 database over 278,000 times.

NSA Announces New AI Security Center

Artificial Intelligence

Department of Defense

General

National Security Agency (NSA)

U.S.

Rep. Henry Cuellar’s (D-TX) newest <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republican challenger</a> is his recently-departed staffer, Jose Sanz.
Legistorm <a href="https://www.legistorm.com/person/bio/416379/Jose_M_Sanz_Mondragon.html">data</a> reflected that Sanz departed from Cuellar’s office at the end of June. Sanz was serving as Cuellar’s district director and press secretary; he began working for the congressman in 2021.
In a Tuesday <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0UF4Wgk2arb6ooWAHbwB14MMZq1bZeoT3BhRvGqupq49XeGhQrNnKDaJktyM4i18Wl&amp;id=61551647559558" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> announcing his candidacy, Sanz said that he had an “unparalleled” experience under Cuellar, but reportedly realized that his values and beliefs didn’t align with those held by the congressman.
“However, over time it became clear that my values and beliefs did not align with those of the office,” said Sanz. “I had to make a change so I could fight for what matters to me most &#8230; my conservative ideals and the ability to represent the family values of the people of District 28 in Washington, D.C.”
Cuellar has been noted as more of a centrist than a hard-left Democrat. In July, the congressman voted for a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-moves-to-block-funding-for-abortion-travel-as-lawmakers-prepare-to-vote-on-military-spending">ban</a> on federal spending for abortion travel expenses.
In his press release, Sanz also expressed a commitment to securing the border and countering cartel activity. He said that the South Texans comprising Cuellar’s district were conservative and supportive of those goals.
“We must secure our border with Mexico, stop human trafficking and the influx of drugs into the United States and cut off the flow of illegal weapons from the United States across the Southern border,” said Sanz.
Sanz and his former boss have border security as a common priority. Over the weekend, Cuellar <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-henry-cuellar-slams-biden-for-worsening-border-crisis-we-need-to-have-repercussions-at-the-border">called out</a> President Joe Biden for the worsening border crisis. The congressman proposed publicizing deportations to improve border security.
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“We need to have repercussions at the border. What does that mean?” said Cuellar. “You’ve got to deport people, and you’ve got to show images of people being deported.”
Cuellar’s district, 28, runs along the border through Laredo and Rio Grande up to the eastern outskirts of San Antonio.
Sanz shared in his press release that he immigrated from Mexico in order to escape the violence of his home country. Apart from serving as Cuellar’s staffer, Sanz worked as an ESPN-Mexico television sports analyst.
As of this report, the website for Sanz’s campaign was <a href="http://www.josefortexas.com/?fbclid=IwAR280mguAHYv7cv_4aHJsEImS0OvPGj3ESMUnGDbYqI1hCoglphFrrTQGaQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">registered</a> but not yet finished.
Sanz’s announcement comes less than a week after Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/longtime-democrat-dallas-mayor-switching-to-gop-american-cities-need-republicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> he was switching his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. The mayor said that American cities need Republicans. Johnson served nearly a decade in the Texas legislature prior to becoming the Dallas mayor in 2019. Dallas’ twin city, Fort Worth, is also led by a Republican mayor.
Cuellar, through spokesman Jake Hochberg, shrugged off Sanz as an inexperienced challenger and non-threat to his incumbency.
“For the second cycle in a row, we welcome another Republican candidate to the race that has no experience and is not from the 28th Congressional District of Texas,” stated Hochberg. “We will win again, decisively.”
Cuellar was first elected to Congress nearly 20 years ago, in 2005. Prior to that, Cuellar served as the Texas Secretary of State and as a state representative. The congressman <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/members/C001063" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sits</a> on the House Appropriations Committee as well as the Defense, Homeland Security, and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies subcommittees.

Rep. Henry Cuellar

Texas Democratic Congressman’s Recently-Departed Staffer Is Now His Republican Challenger

2024 Election

Elections

Henry Cuellar

Politics

Texas

Federal officials have declared Yellowstone River fish too toxic for human consumption after a train derailment that occurred back in June.
The Montana Fish, Wildlife &amp; Parks (MFWP) <a href="https://fwp.mt.gov/homepage/news/2023/sep/0919-state-agencies-issue-consumption-advisory-for-all-fish-species-on-yellowstone-river-near-train-derailment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a consumption advisory on Tuesday afternoon declaring the discovery of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) across multiple fish species. MFWP stated that the source of the toxins remains unknown. MFWP advised that no fish from the river be consumed anywhere, even beyond their advisory area.
“Out of an abundance of precaution and unknown conditions in adjacent sections of the river, those with specific concerns may want to avoid consuming all species of fish from the Yellowstone River at any location until more is known on the severity and prevalence of this contamination,” stated MFWP.
The PAHs discovered were naphthalene, 1-methylnaphthalene, 2-methylnaphthalene, and acenaphthylene. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies naphthalene, 1-methylnaphthalene, 2-methylnaphthalene, as cancer-causing agents, but doesn’t classify acenaphthylene as cancer-causing.
Apart from cancer, the CDC notes that PAHs have been associated with the <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons/health_effects.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">onset</a> of various pulmonary, gastrointestinal, renal, and dermatological issues.
The consumption advisory affects all fish species in the river spanning from the Indian Fort Fishing Access Site (FAS) near the census-designated place of Reed Point to the Highway 212 bridge in the city of Laurel. That’s roughly 45 miles, longer than the initial MFWP emergency closure enacted over the train derailment back in June. That closure spanned from Reed Point to the city of Columbus, roughly 18 miles.
MFWP explained that the PAHs source was unknown &#8212; despite the train derailment &#8212; due to the natural occurrence of some PAHs in the environment, like shale rock, and the introduction of other common materials like oil, gas, plastics, and pesticides.
In June, 10 cars transporting asphalt liquified petroleum, molten sulfur, and scrap metal <a href="https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=16083" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fell</a> into the Yellowstone River after the 52-car freight train derailed when the Twin Bridges railroad bridge collapsed. The train’s crew reported no injuries.
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The highway bridge parallel to the railroad bridge was closed and demolished in 2021. The bridge passed a safety inspection in May, according to a spokesman for the entity that maintains the bridge, Montana Rail Link (MRL), in a statement to the Associated Press.
MRL <a href="https://www.montanarail.com/2023/06/unified-command-press-release-as-of-1230-june-29/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the cause of the derailment was unknown. The Federal Railroad Administration hasn’t <a href="https://railroads.dot.gov/elibrary-search?search_api_fulltext=%2522Montana%2520Rail%2520Link%2522&amp;sort_by=field_effective_date&amp;items_per_page=5&amp;field_effective_date%255Bmin%255D&amp;field_effective_date%255Bmax%255D&amp;f%255B0%255D=document_series:14786" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a Factual Investigation Report naming a probable cause for the incident.
The EPA <a href="https://response.epa.gov/sites/16083/files/Stillwater%2520MT%2520Derailment%2520Press%2520Release%252020230626.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> in its press release immediately following the derailment that asphalt globules were detected downstream and in the body of the river. However, the EPA said that the asphalt waste wasn’t water soluble and wouldn’t affect water quality.
In a site <a href="https://response.epa.gov/sites/16083/files/EPA%2520Stillwater%2520Train%2520Derailment%2520Site%2520Update%252020230815.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">update</a> last month, the EPA said that there were no known threats to public health from the spill. The agency noted that local cleanup crews were only targeting “actionable asphalt material,” or only that which could be removed without causing “significant damage to natural habitat” like sediment and vegetation. As a result, the EPA reported that the crews have been breaking down the material into smaller pieces and covering them with sediment to “aid in the natural breakdown process.”
This practice is part of Phase 1 of the cleanup effort, which <a href="https://response.epa.gov/sites/16083/files/Stillwater%2520MT%2520Derailment%2520Press%2520Release%252020230907.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began</a> early last month and will last until next spring. Phase 2 is scheduled for next summer.
Per that update, crews collected approximately 231,700 pounds of asphalt out of the estimated 419,400 pounds of asphalt.
Tuesday’s consumption advisory followed another from last month, which more narrowly affected mountain whitefish following the discovery of elevated phenanthrene levels, another PAH. Phenanthrene wasn’t discovered in the more recent sampling that resulted in this week’s sweeping consumption advisory. The EPA doesn’t classify phenanthrene as a cancer-causing agent.

Fish

Yellowstone River Fish Toxic After Train Derailment; Officials Warn Against Consumption

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Food

Train

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-homeland-security" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Homeland Security</a> (DHS) announced two new policies addressing artificial intelligence (AI) and its first chief AI officer on Thursday, with a special emphasis on preventing bias.
Eric Hysen, also DHS Chief Information Officer (CIO) and co-chair of the DHS Artificial Intelligence Task Force (AITF), will serve as the department’s first chief AI officer. In a <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2023/09/14/dhs-announces-new-policies-and-measures-promoting-responsible-use-artificial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>, Hysen said that he would ensure the AI usage wouldn’t result in discrimination.
“The policies we are announcing today will ensure that the Department’s use of AI is free from discrimination and in full compliance with the law, ensuring that we retain the public&#8217;s trust,” said Hysen.
The two new policies, “<a href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2023-09/23_0913_mgmt_139-06-acquistion-use-ai-technologies-dhs-components.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Acquisition and Use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning by DHS Components</a>” and “<a href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2023-09/23_0913_mgmt_026-11-use-face-recognition-face-capture-technologies.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Use of Face Recognition and Face Capture Technologies</a>” emphasized the need for AI usage to avoid “inappropriate consideration of race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, nationality, medical condition, or disability,” as well as any “unintended bias or disparate impact.”
The first policy, issued last month, focused on AI use generally, as well as its counterpart, Machine Learning (ML). DHS declared it would “strive to minimize inappropriate bias” and discriminatory effects in AI use, relying on civil rights evaluation methods like <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/fcs/T6Manual7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disparate impact analysis</a>. DHS also pledged to not use AI technology to enable “improper” systemic, indiscriminate, or large-scale monitoring, surveillance, or tracking systems.
Per the Department of Justice (DOJ), disparate impact <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/fcs/T6Manual7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">avoids</a> that which “perpetuates the repercussions of past discrimination.”
“In a disparate impact case, the investigation focuses on the consequences of the recipient’s practices, rather than the recipient’s intent,” stated the DOJ.
Under this policy, DHS announced the creation of an AI Policy Working Group (AIPWG) to work with the AITF in further development of AI policy and implementation.
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The second policy, issued on 9/11, focused more specifically on face recognition and face capture technologies. DHS declared that its data collection from the technologies wouldn’t be based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, age, sexual orientation, medical condition, or disability in order to “minimize bias and disparate impact.”
DHS further noted that face analysis technology, which relies on an algorithm to estimate an individual’s characteristics as captured on film, wouldn’t be used except when necessary to estimate age.
The policy designated authorities on the use of the two technologies, including the CIO; Under Secretary for Management; Under Secretary for Science and Technology; Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans; Chief Privacy Officer; Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties; General Counsel; and the Chief Information Security Officer.
The AITF <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/artificial-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">developed</a> these policies.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2023-04/23_0420_sec_signed_ai_task_force_memo_508.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">created</a> the AITF in April for the purpose of developing departmental policy on using AI. The AITF’s express goals were to enhance the integrity of the supply chain and trade, counter the flow of fentanyl in the U.S. through improved criminal detection, apprehend perpetrators and rescue victims of online child sexual exploitation and abuse, and secure critical infrastructure generally.
Hysen’s counterpart as co-chair, Dimitri Kusnezov, is the DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology. Kusnezov formerly <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dimitri-kusnezov-097a9b68/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">served</a> as the Department of Energy senior advisor and deputy under secretary for AI and technology. The remainder of the AITF consisted of the heads of all offices and agencies.
Prior to rejoining DHS and co-chairing the AITF, Hysen had a lengthy career under former President Barack Obama, as well as two major Big Tech giants.
Hysen <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/erichysen/details/experience/">served</a> on the Biden-Harris Transition Team; led a <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/erichysen/details/experience/1604183468403/single-media-viewer?type=DOCUMENT&amp;profileId=ACoAAACtDq8BqWGxjtJAgOFSWgwPR8NTMi2mWEE&amp;lipi=urn:li:page:d_flagship3_profile_view_base_position_details;NG5OKGLaRjmeCoCejAymsg==" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joint project</a> with the <a href="https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/penn-biden-center-for-diplomacy-and-global-engagement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Penn-Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement</a> while with the National Conference on Citizenship; led policy strategy for California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Government Operations Agency; directed the Justice &amp; Opportunity Initiative under the <a href="https://www.influencewatch.org/for-profit/chan-zuckerberg-initiative/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chan Zuckerberg Initiative</a>; served as executive director of DHS Digital Service in the Obama administration; co-founded and managed the Obama White House Digital Service; and led Google’s Civic Engagement initiative to increase voter turnout.
In addition to the AITF and the AIPWG, the Homeland Security Advisory Council and two of its subcommittees are developing AI policy. The Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) has a group of internal stakeholders — dubbed the Responsible Use Group (RUG) — weighing in on AITF projects. Those stakeholders weren’t publicized.

Cameras

DHS Announces Anti-Bias AI Policies, First Chief AI Officer

Alejandro Mayorkas

Department of Homeland Security

Executive

Over 100 Catholic schools in Cleveland will no longer tolerate LGBTQ+ affiliation or behaviors.
The changes came from <a href="https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/offices/parish-life/marriage-and-family-ministry/human-sexuality/human-sexuality-gender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new guidelines</a> on sexuality and gender issued by the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland at the close of last month. In a press release, the diocese clarified that the guidelines were a formal policy version of existing church teachings on the subject.
“Since questions of sex, sexuality, and gender identity have become increasingly prevalent in our society, it is our hope that the policy will help to ensure these matters are addressed in a consistent and authentically Catholic manner across our diocesan institutions and diocesan Catholic schools, and that those we serve will have a clear understanding about expectations and accommodations related to those matters,” stated the diocese.
The <a href="https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/files/assets/parish-and-school-policy-on-issues-of-sexuality-and-gender-identity.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">policy</a> requires parental notification in the case of minors experiencing gender dysphoria or confusion; declares that parental rejection of a child’s preferred pronouns don’t constitute grounds for nondisclosure; bans use of preferred pronouns; restricts bathroom and facility usage to biological sex; prohibits admission of students to institutions, programs, and activities like sports designated for the opposite sex; bans same-sex dates to school dances and mixers; requires students to comply with dress codes aligning with their biological sex; bans any celebration or advocacy of LGBTQ+ ideologies or behaviors, such as Pride flags; and bans gender transitions of any degree, whether social or medical.
The policy acknowledged the existence of gender dysphoria, but rejected the modern belief that feelings determine truth.
“This understanding erases those intentional, embodied distinctions between men and women. As such, this view is contrary to the divinely revealed reality of our true, God-given human nature,” stated the policy.
Under the policy, individuals experiencing gender dysphoria or same-sex attraction would be admitted into their schools and allowed to participate in activities, with the contingency that they don’t openly express their disagreement with Catholic teachings on sex, sexuality, and gender.
Reverend Edward Malesic, the Bishop of Cleveland, stated in an accompanying <a href="https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/files/assets/gender-policy-cover-letter.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> that biological sex coincides with God’s divine plan.
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“The human person is a unity of body and soul; we experience the world through our bodies, and it is through the virtuous expression of our bodies that we reveal God,” said Malesic. “Through times of questioning and confusion, we must accompany our brothers and sisters in Christ with compassion, mercy, and dignity so that we might lovingly help them navigate the confusion and arrive at truth.”
Malesic directed those with further questions or concerns to contact the diocese’s Marriage and Family Office. He also noted that the <a href="https://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/offices/parish-life/marriage-and-family-ministry/human-sexuality/human-sexuality-gender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guidance page</a> would be updated regularly with additional information and resources on the subject.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he believed the policy represented a “shocking betrayal” of church teachings. Bibb offered his own definition of Christian faith, sans Scripture.
“For me, faith is about universal love and acceptance,” said Bibb. “Instead, the new policy forces LGBTQ+ kids to hide their authentic selves and attend schools in fear of persecution for who they are.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
As a Christian, the new Catholic Diocese of Cleveland anti-LGBTQ+ policy is a shocking betrayal of the Church teachings that have shaped who I am today. 
Read my statement below👇🏾 <a href="https://t.co/rYU07h1qqb">pic.twitter.com/rYU07h1qqb</a>
&mdash; Justin M. Bibb (@JustinMBibb) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustinMBibb/status/1701574774613213677?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Ohio’s Democratic minority leader for the Senate, Nickie Antonio, said the diocese should not be given school choice funds over the policy.
“I am extremely disappointed that the diocese has chosen to focus on policies of exclusion over acceptance,” said Antonio. “State taxpayer dollars should not subsidize exclusionary education, and if these policies stand, then the diocese should not accept state-funded vouchers.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
My Statement regarding the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Policy Change 
“I am extremely disappointed that the diocese has chosen to focus on policies of exclusion over acceptance,” said Leader <a href="https://twitter.com/nickieantonio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nickieantonio</a> <a href="https://t.co/5zeRWNzZyt">pic.twitter.com/5zeRWNzZyt</a>
&mdash; Nickie J. Antonio (@nickieantonio) <a href="https://twitter.com/nickieantonio/status/1701733515891449972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Pride Flag

Cleveland Catholic Schools Ban All LGBTQ+ Affiliation And Behaviors

Catholic Church

Cleveland

Education

LGBTQ

Ohio

A federal appeals court ruled against <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mississippi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mississippi’s</a> permanent voting ban for certain felons, going against Supreme Court precedent in doing so.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that the Mississippi Constitution’s lifetime voting ban for felons convicted of certain crimes violates the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The Mississippi Constitution revokes an individual’s right to vote permanently if they receive a felony conviction for <a href="https://advance.lexis.com/documentpage/?pdmfid=1000516&amp;crid=c71663b9-9b85-4977-b69d-2737c5b5bc1c&amp;nodeid=AABAAOAAC&amp;nodepath=/ROOT/AAB/AABAAO/AABAAOAAC&amp;level=3&amp;haschildren=&amp;populated=false&amp;title=%25C2%25A7+241.+Qualifications+for+electors.&amp;config=00JABiMjA5NGUwNy0wZjYwLTQxNzMtOTUyYi1jMzk5YjAxYjNhYTQKAFBvZENhdGFsb2eQw0EiFEVosveh1rcBQAz6&amp;pddocfullpath=/shared/document/statutes-legislation/urn:contentItem:8PFV-60S2-D6RV-H20T-00008-00&amp;ecomp=7gf5kkk&amp;prid=a50cec77-a99d-4582-abff-67e04facc6f4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crimes</a> including arson, bigamy, bribery, embezzlement, forgery, murder, obtaining money or goods under false pretense, perjury, rape, or theft, as well as those crimes the Mississippi attorney general determines fall under those explicit categories, such as armed robbery and timber larceny.
The case decided on by the court last month, <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca5/19-60678/19-60678-2023-08-04.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hopkins v. Hosemann</a>, was initiated by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the law firm Simpson Thatcher &amp; Bartlett in 2018.
Judge James Dennis ruled that Mississippi’s continuation of its lifetime ban on certain felons went against progress by “bucking a clear and consistent trend” in the country modeled by the 35 states and the District of Columbia that gave up permanent felon voting bans over the years.
Dennis further declared that Mississippi’s permanent ban “serves no legitimate penological purpose” and thwarts proper rehabilitation.
“By severing former offenders from the body politic forever, [Mississippi] ensures that they will never be fully rehabilitated, continues to punish them beyond the term their culpability requires, and serves no protective function to society,” stated Dennis. “It is thus a cruel and unusual punishment.”
Judge Edith Jones countered in a dissenting opinion that the majority ruling itself contradicted the Constitution and reflected judicial activism.
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Section Two of the Fourteenth Amendment <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/14th-amendment%23:~:text=Section%25202.,State,%2520excluding%2520Indians%2520not%2520taxed." target="_blank" rel="noopener">allows</a> states to deprive citizens of the right to vote for either “participation in rebellion, or other crime.” Jones declared that this provision expressly allows for lifetime voting bans for felons.
“The carve-out reflects a long tradition in this country, and before that, in British law, and before that, in the Western world,” said Jones. “This tradition can be summed up in Lockean terms: if a person breaks a law, he has forfeited the right to participate in making them.”
Jones also cited the Supreme Court precedent set in the 1974 case Richardson v. Ramirez, which determined that felon voting bans don’t violate the Equal Protection Clause. In that case, the court ruled that the question of handling voting rights for felons should be hashed out in a legislative forum, and that it wasn’t for their court to “choose one set of values over another.”
“[G]o and convince the state legislatures. Do the hard work of persuading your fellow citizens that the law should change,” said Jones. “[T]he court turns that advice on its head. No need to change the law through a laborious political process. The court will do it for you, so long as you rely on the Due Process Clause, rather than the Equal Protection Clause.”
The five felons who sued for the right to vote were Dennis Hopkins, Herman Parker, Walter Wayne Kuhn Jr, Bryon Demond Coleman, Jon O’Neal, and Earnest Willhite. Hopkins, Parker, Kuhn, and Willhite were convicted of <a href="https://advance.lexis.com/documentpage/?pdmfid=1000516&amp;crid=e6805b47-997f-4320-80b5-1981477d5b8a&amp;nodeid=ABYAAJAABAAW&amp;nodepath=/ROOT/ABY/ABYAAJ/ABYAAJAAB/ABYAAJAABAAW&amp;level=4&amp;haschildren=&amp;populated=false&amp;title=%25C2%25A7+97-17-41.+Grand+larceny;+felonious+taking+of+personal+property;+felonious+taking+of+property+of+established+place+of+worship;+penalties.&amp;config=00JABhZDIzMTViZS04NjcxLTQ1MDItOTllOS03MDg0ZTQxYzU4ZTQKAFBvZENhdGFsb2f8inKxYiqNVSihJeNKRlUp&amp;pddocfullpath=/shared/document/statutes-legislation/urn:contentItem:8P6B-8B52-8T6X-73J0-00008-00&amp;ecomp=7gf5kkk&amp;prid=377ab010-0d38-4cdd-b976-d7791c69315c">grand larceny</a>; Coleman was convicted of <a href="https://advance.lexis.com/documentpage/?pdmfid=1000516&amp;crid=d81c4742-9466-4750-8b96-36d5f6e707ed&amp;nodeid=ABYAAJAABABR&amp;nodepath=/ROOT/ABY/ABYAAJ/ABYAAJAAB/ABYAAJAABABR&amp;level=4&amp;haschildren=&amp;populated=false&amp;title=%25C2%25A7+97-17-70.+Receiving+stolen+property;+dual+charges+of+both+stealing+and+receiving+same+property+not+to+be+brought+against+single+defendant+in+same+jurisdiction;+penalties.&amp;config=00JABhZDIzMTViZS04NjcxLTQ1MDItOTllOS03MDg0ZTQxYzU4ZTQKAFBvZENhdGFsb2f8inKxYiqNVSihJeNKRlUp&amp;pddocfullpath=/shared/document/statutes-legislation/urn:contentItem:8P6B-8B52-8T6X-73JR-00008-00&amp;ecomp=7gf5kkk&amp;prid=377ab010-0d38-4cdd-b976-d7791c69315c">receiving stolen property</a>; and O’Neal was convicted of <a href="https://advance.lexis.com/documentpage/?pdmfid=1000516&amp;crid=68b33329-1635-4df1-a520-52925a49f30c&amp;nodeid=ABYAAJAABAAE&amp;nodepath=/ROOT/ABY/ABYAAJ/ABYAAJAAB/ABYAAJAABAAE&amp;level=4&amp;haschildren=&amp;populated=false&amp;title=%25C2%25A7+97-17-5.+Arson;+second+degree;+other+buildings+or+structures.&amp;config=00JABhZDIzMTViZS04NjcxLTQ1MDItOTllOS03MDg0ZTQxYzU4ZTQKAFBvZENhdGFsb2f8inKxYiqNVSihJeNKRlUp&amp;pddocfullpath=/shared/document/statutes-legislation/urn:contentItem:8P6B-8B52-8T6X-73HB-00008-00&amp;ecomp=7gf5kkk&amp;prid=377ab010-0d38-4cdd-b976-d7791c69315c">second degree arson</a>. All have completed their sentences.
Mississippi does offer a slim chance for voting rights restoration: the legislature may pass a bill to restore a particular individual’s voting rights, referred to as a “suffrage bill.”
In response to the ruling, Mississippi requested an en banc rehearing. Court of appeals hearings normally consist of three justices; with this request, all justices of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals would hear the case.

Voting

Federal Court Strikes Down Felony Voting Ban As ‘Cruel And Unusual Punishment’ In Unprecedented Ruling

Felony

Mississippi

Voting Rights

Democratic legislators in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a> are pushing to establish diversity audits of gubernatorial appointments.
Such audits would occur with the passage of their proposed legislation: Senate Bill 702, which would require an annual report on the demographics of individuals appointed by the governor to serve on the over 400 boards and commissions in the state. The annual diversity audits would include an appointee’s age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability status, race, region, party affiliation, veteran status, and sexual orientation.
The bill is steadily advancing; it <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB702" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> out of committee last week.
State Senator Monique Limón introduced the bill. She held a press conference with the California Senate Democrats on Wednesday to advocate for the legislation’s passage.
Limón said during the press conference that the goal of the bill is to reach equity in appointments and “achieve a California that looks like us.”
“I truly hope that this year, the governor will agree that the collection of gubernatorial appointee demographic data is a critical step to achieve and maintain geographic, gender, and ethnic equity at the executive level,” said Limón.
Limón predicted that the audits would directly result in greater diversity in gubernatorial appointments.
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Disparities in representation at the top level aren’t only found in private firms but also at the state level. 
Despite making up 39.1% of the state population, Latinos are only 18.4% of executive appointees. My bill, SB 702 will help us close these gaps. <a href="https://twitter.com/HOPELatinas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HOPELatinas</a> <a href="https://t.co/ptwlqjB11U">https://t.co/ptwlqjB11U</a>
&mdash; Senator Monique Limón (@MoniqueLimonCA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MoniqueLimonCA/status/1697352996269785352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Also present at Wednesday’s press conference were representatives of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE), who sponsored the press conference, as well as the University of California, Los Angeles Latino Policy &amp; Politics Institute Researchers (UCLA LPPI), the Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE), the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, and the National Women’s Political Caucus.
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Although Limón expressed confidence in the ability of both chambers to pass the bill, she told reporters that she wasn’t sure whether the governor would support it.
Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a version of the <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB702" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill</a> during the last legislative session in 2021. That version was more expansive in its requirements than the current version; it required not only the demographics of appointed individuals, but the demographics of rejected candidates as well.
That last version of the bill also required the governor to create an 11-member working group of community activists and academics last year to “discuss and make recommendations on the most effective way to ensure the state’s leadership on boards and commissions reflects the diversity in age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, disability status, region, veteran status, and sexual orientation, among other things, that are representative of the state.”
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One of the best ways Californians can represent their communities at the state level is through state boards and commissions. Bringing transparency to our gubernatorial appointments ensures California is leading the way, and reflecting our state’s true diversity. <a href="https://t.co/qw9yxDVaBK">pic.twitter.com/qw9yxDVaBK</a>
&mdash; Senator Monique Limón (@MoniqueLimonCA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MoniqueLimonCA/status/1699478107818975396?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The original version of the bill earned the <a href="https://www.events-latinas.org/calikeme" target="_blank" rel="noopener">support</a> of many progressive organizations: in addition to HOPE, CAUSE, and UCLA LPPI, the bill had the backing of Action and Equality for Employees with Disabilities (ACSED), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) California Action, Alliance for a Better Community, Asians and Pacific Islanders for LGBTQ Equality (API Equality-LA), California Black Chamber of Commerce, Centro Community Hispanic Association (CHA), Compton Advocates, Courage California, The Campaign for College Opportunity, Latina Coalition Silicon Valley, Latinas Contra Cancer, Latino Corporate Directors Association, Latino Donor Collaborative, Latino Network, Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP), Los Angeles Urban League, LULAC, Mana de San Diego, MILPA Collective, NALEO Education Fund, St. Joseph Center, UC Student Association, and The Unity Council.

Support Group

California Democratic Legislators Push For Diversity Audits Of Gubernatorial Appointments

California

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Equity

Social Issues

Airport workers backed by one of the biggest labor unions in the nation protested at LAX Airport this week for stricter airline emissions regulations to combat “environmental racism.”
The protesters are members of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/service-employees-international-union-seiu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Service Employees International Union</a> United Service Workers West (SEIU-USWW) organization, Airport Workers United (AWU).
The protest occurred in front of a departures terminal at the airport. Protestors used the phrase, “No justice, no peace,” a popular chant in Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests and riots, as well as the environmentalist alternative, “No clean air, no peace.”
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No justice! NO PEACE! No clean air! NO PEACE! Standing up to hold the airlines accountable for their emissions’ impacts on black and brown communities. <a href="https://twitter.com/GoodAirports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GoodAirports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SenHenryStern?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenHenryStern</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LAANE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LAANE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LN4S?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LN4S</a> <a href="https://t.co/IILT080Sfo">pic.twitter.com/IILT080Sfo</a>
&mdash; SEIU USWW (@seiuusww) <a href="https://twitter.com/seiuusww/status/1697324018880360826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The protestors called on the California Air Resources Board (CARB) — which approved California’s gas-powered car <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-regulators-approve-banning-new-gas-car-sales" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ban</a> — to regulate airline industry emissions like other industry emissions during their next <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ma091423" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meeting</a> on Sept. 14. CARB will consider increased regulations on the airline industry by adding jet fuel into the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).
LCFS regulation currently doesn’t <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2020-09/basics-notes.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">apply</a> to conventional jet fuel, aviation gasoline, deficit-generating fuel used in military tactical vehicles, and certain credit-generating fossil compressed natural gas or fossil propane fuels.
In a press release, SEIU-UWW said that the airline industry is the fourth-largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, causing “extreme heat” and disproportionate levels of respiratory disease among minorities.
“Airline emissions also contain various particles and chemicals that contribute to drastically increased levels of asthma and other respiratory diseases in airport workers and the predominantly black and brown communities surrounding LAX,” stated the press release.
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Featured speakers at Thursday’s protest included workers JoVann Houston and Oscar Antonio, as well as Democratic California State Senator Henry Stern.
Houston <a href="https://www.facebook.com/UnitedServiceWorkersWest/videos/260444366886187" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> that environmental racism was to blame for her chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an inflammatory disease which causes breathing issues.
“Environmental racism is a disproportionate impact of environmental hazards of people of color,” said Houston. “Communities of color are more likely to live in polluted neighborhoods, and as a result we suffer the highest rates of asthma, cancer, and heart disease.”
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Airline emissions are killing black and brown communities! So airport workers are standing up against the powerful airlines to HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE!<a href="https://twitter.com/LAANE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LAANE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LN4S?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LN4S</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/HenrySternCA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HenrySternCA</a> <a href="https://t.co/OXAOec9Yan">pic.twitter.com/OXAOec9Yan</a>
&mdash; SEIU USWW (@seiuusww) <a href="https://twitter.com/seiuusww/status/1697316838307410067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Houston has been a featured face of SEIU advocacy for stricter emissions regulations since March 2020, as well as <a href="https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2023/06/california-minimum-wage-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increasing</a> the minimum wage to $25 or more an hour.
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Cities like Los Angeles are run by hard working airport Black workers like Jovan Houston. Listen to her speak about the harmful impact of an expansion at LAX 
If you care about Jovan, sign our petition now: <a href="https://t.co/w1Kr8PZbMK">https://t.co/w1Kr8PZbMK</a> <a href="https://t.co/0iLRenBXrW">pic.twitter.com/0iLRenBXrW</a>
&mdash; SEIU USWW (@seiuusww) <a href="https://twitter.com/seiuusww/status/1457840034875248646?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
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&quot;Our health is impacted at LAX by airline emissions. LAX is trying to add 2 more terminals, meaning more planes int he air, dumping fuel and pollution. We are not allowing airlines to this expansion without US in mind.&quot; &#8211; Jovan Houston of <a href="https://twitter.com/seiuusww?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@seiuusww</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FireDrillFriday?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FireDrillFriday</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Solidarity?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Solidarity</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ec6TBlBGYd">pic.twitter.com/Ec6TBlBGYd</a>
&mdash; STAND-LA (@STAND_LA) <a href="https://twitter.com/STAND_LA/status/1236017847907676160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
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In June, Houston was invited to testify on behalf of the SEIU before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the Biden administration’s <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-proposes-new-carbon-pollution-standards-fossil-fuel-fired-power-plants-tackle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed</a> changes to carbon pollution standards.
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Jovan Houston, an airport worker in Los Angeles and member of <a href="https://twitter.com/seiuusww?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@seiuusww</a>, testified on the second day of hearings about how climate pollution disproportionately affects Black and Brown communities, and worsens both her COPD and her son&#39;s asthma. Thank you for testifying, Jovan! <a href="https://t.co/Qcleom31a8">pic.twitter.com/Qcleom31a8</a>
&mdash; Climate Action Campaign (@actonclimateUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/actonclimateUS/status/1671617172425125888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Antonio claimed that he and his co-workers developed various breathing ailments due to working at LAX. He echoed the union’s advocacy for airlines to lower the carbon content of the jet fuel they use.
“Since working at LAX, I developed pneumonia. My coworkers have developed chronic respiratory diseases,” said Antonio.
Featured in the protest was a poster that read: “Airline Emissions Are Killing Black and Brown Communities.”
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“Since working at LAX I developed pneumonia. My coworkers have developed chronic respiratory diseases. Let’s show the world what we can do when we fight together!” &#8211; USWW member Oscar Antonio <a href="https://twitter.com/LAANE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LAANE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SenHenryStern?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenHenryStern</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LN4S?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LN4S</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/GoodAirports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GoodAirports</a> <a href="https://t.co/Sdy0didtMe">pic.twitter.com/Sdy0didtMe</a>
&mdash; SEIU USWW (@seiuusww) <a href="https://twitter.com/seiuusww/status/1697317914003779972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Stern said that airlines have too much of an emission impact under their present practices that even a drastic measure like shutting down every Los Angeles highway wouldn’t make a difference. Stern fully <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/not-all-environmentalists-pleased-with-push-to-ban-gas-powered-cars-in-california/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supported</a> California’s total vehicle electrification through its ban of new gas-powered cars. The EPA <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-epa-gives-california-special-authority-to-phase-out-heavy-duty-gas-trucks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gave</a> California special permissions for the ban in March.
“We have to hold jet fuel to the same standard that we hold all other fuels to,” said Stern. “If we have to clean up, they have to clean up.”
A month after approving California’s gas car ban, the EPA <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-unveils-proposal-for-landmark-nationwide-crackdown-on-gas-cars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed</a> a similar crackdown nationwide.
Regulations of the airline industry in the name of combating climate change have resulted in drastic policy changes with outsized economic impacts.
Last October, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) pledged during its <a href="https://www.icao.int/Meetings/a41/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">annual assembly</a> to reach net zero emissions by 2050; during that same assembly, the United States was <a href="https://www.icao.int/about-icao/Council/CouncilStates/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">elected</a> to join ICAO’s Member Governing Council as one of 10 states of chief importance in air transport. W. Brent Christensen serves as the nation’s representative on the council; Christensen formerly served as the director of the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto embassy from 2018 to 2021.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/john-kerry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Kerry</a>, the nation’s first Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, applauded the ICAO pledge. Kerry, a member of the Forbes family, was former President Barack Obama’s secretary of state, and the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee.
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Thrilled to see international aviation commit at <a href="https://twitter.com/icao?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@icao</a> 41st Assembly to a sustainable future with a long-term climate goal and an ambitious CORSIA to help put aviation on the path to net zero by 2050.
&mdash; Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry (@ClimateEnvoy) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateEnvoy/status/1578406843566755840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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In April, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-19/aviation-s-near-term-carbon-fix-to-pass-price-hikes-to-consumers%23xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> Bloomberg panelists that proposed “sustainable” aviation fuel would result in steep airline ticket prices. In May, France <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/european-nation-bans-short-domestic-flights-over-climate-worries-private-jet-flights-still-allowed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banned</a> short-haul domestic flights to make headway on its goal of carbon neutrality. Like the U.S., France was <a href="https://www.icao.int/about-icao/Council/CouncilStates/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">elected</a> one of the ICAO Member Governing Council states of chief importance in air transport last year.

Airplane

Airport Workers Backed By Major Labor Union Protest At LAX To Combat ‘Environmental Racism’

Airport Workers Backed By Major Labor Union Protest At LAX For Stricter Airline Emissions Regulations To Combat ‘Environmental Racism’

Air Travel

Climate Change

Environmentalism

Labor Unions

The major computer software company Adobe is seeking a patent for an AI image scanner that will enable “diversity auditing.”
The proposed system would automatically audit images’ diversity and issue a scoring. The patent defined “diversity auditing” as a type of data auditing that assesses whether a data set contains certain levels of diversity in race, gender, and age using physical traits referred to as “sensitive attributes.”
“By using machine learning to compute a diversity score based on a distribution of a sensitive attribute (such as race, age, or gender) in a set of images, where the distribution is based on the automatic classification of faces in the images based on the sensitive attribute, at least one embodiment of the present disclosure can automatically audit a set of images for a predetermined level of diversity of the sensitive attribute, thereby allowing a user to avoid manually identifying and tagging information related to the sensitive attribute in each image in the image set, and without requiring manual curation of a control set and labeling the images in the image set for calculating a diversity metric.”
Adobe filed the patent request, “System and Methods for Diversity Auditing” (Patent No. 20230267764), last February, with the application publication issued last week. (Search for the patent <a href="https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/static/pages/ppubsbasic.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>).
Leading up to the patent filing, the inventors published a research paper stating their desire to manipulate online media in pursuit of a “utopia” of representative diversity.
The inventors — Mehrab Tanjim, Ritwik Sinha, Moumita Sinha, David Thomas Arbour, and Sridhar Mahadevan — <a href="https://openaccess.thecvf.com/content/WACV2022/html/Tanjim_Generating_and_Controlling_Diversity_in_Image_Search_WACV_2022_paper.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> the paper, “Generating and Controlling Diversity in Image Search,” declaring that “generations of systemic biases” resulted in racial and gender demographic patterns existing in certain professions. The researchers also stated that stock image and image search engines reflect that bias, and that AI-generated images would be necessary because algorithm tweaking wouldn’t go far enough to correct the issue. (Archive <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20211230194659/https://openaccess.thecvf.com/content/WACV2022/papers/Tanjim_Generating_and_Controlling_Diversity_in_Image_Search_WACV_2022_paper.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>).
“The pursuit of a utopian world demands providing content users with an opportunity to present any profession with diverse racial and gender characteristics,” stated the report. “To remedy these problems, we propose a new task of high-fidelity image generation by controlling multiple attributes from imbalanced datasets.”
The paper is provided by the Computer Vision Foundation, platformed by Microsoft Azure and sponsored by Amazon, Facebook, and Google. Arbour was formerly a research scientist for Facebook’s Core Data Science group.
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In an apparent extension of this research interest, the Adobe patent proposes an AI system that can not only audit the diversity of images displayed on a website or database, but tweak the content given to a user searching for certain images on a database with a “representative set” of images in the return results. The latter will occur if the AI system determines that the diversity score for the image set is too low. At that point, the system may inform the user of the diversity score of the images as well.
“[T]he system augments the set of images to increase diversity in the set of images,” states the patent. “For example, the machine learning apparatus may compute a diversity score [&#8230;] and determine that the set of images is below a predetermined threshold of diversity in the number of different types of the sensitive attribute that are depicted by the set of images.”
The patent noted that the system may retrieve data to determine appropriate diversity thresholds from census data or websites.
The AI system would consist of a machine learning model that may include one or more artificial neural networks (ANNs), a type of technology inspired by the structure and function of human brain neurons. The machine learning model would consist of an image collection component, which leads to a face detection network, which leads to an image classification network, which leads to a distribution component, which leads to a scoring component, and results in a generator network.
The image collection component identifies and collects both specific images and websites, as well as those identified and collected to achieve a higher diversity scoring. The face detection network includes a convolutional neural network (CNN), a deep learning algorithm that takes an input image and assigns meaning to learn over time. The image classification network generates an image feature vector — a translation characterizing and numerically quantifying images — with special attention to sensitive attributes that lend to a diversity score.
The distribution component generates a distribution of images’ sensitive attributes based on their classification, which then directly lends to the diversity score computation function of the scoring component. Then, the generator network may generate additional images based on the diversity score. Some of these images may be AI-generated creations “that look authentic to a human observer” using a generative adversarial network (GAN).
The Daily Upside, which first <a href="https://www.thedailyupside.com/adobe-brings-ai-to-dei-with-latest-patent/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on the patent application, suggested that the system could also be used to conduct diversity audits of a company’s employees based on images.
Adobe last reported <a href="https://www.adobe.com/about-adobe/fast-facts.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ownership</a> of over 200 million photos, 115 million vectors and illustrations, 26 million videos, and 73,000 music tracks. Their Creative Cloud <a href="https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2022/Adobe-Reports-Record-Q4-and-Fiscal-2022-Revenue/default.aspx?clickref=1100lxJ5cPgP&amp;mv=affiliate&amp;mv2=pz&amp;as_camptype=&amp;as_channel=affiliate&amp;as_source=partnerize&amp;as_campaign=prodesigntools" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reached</a> nearly 30 million subscribers last year, per their 2022 fiscal report.

Hands

Adobe Patents AI Image Scanner For ‘Diversity Auditing’

Diversity

Photos

Technology

An apparent Indiana <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/abortion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abortion</a> clinic worker offered an undercover reporter an at-home abortion, though abortions are now banned in the state, according to a report.
Real News Michiana reporter Clifton French <a href="https://realnewsmichiana.com/2023/08/24/listen-abortion-clinic-employee-offers-undercover-reporter-illegal-abortion-at-her-home/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posed</a> as a transgender man seeking an abortion in a call to Clinic for Women, an Indianapolis, Indiana, abortion clinic. The clinic is in the process of closing following the state’s abortion ban, which went into effect earlier this week after the Indiana Supreme Court denied a petition for a retrial filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood.
In the recorded phone call, a woman named “Bridgette” (spelling unknown) said that she had all of the necessary resources to medically induce an abortion “at home” for $500, though the woman later relented to a bartered price of $450. The woman acknowledged that her proposition was illegal.
“This is strictly between me and you now, you know, because [&#8230;] we’re not supposed to be doing this,” said the woman. “I’m not supposed to be doing this because it’s illegal.”
The woman also said she would lie about the date of the abortion procedure to make it defensible.
“So, we going [sic] to act like it’s yesterday,” said the woman.
French reportedly passed on the information to the Indiana Attorney General’s Office.
In February, Clinic for Women launched a sister location in the border city of Danville, Illinois, operating under the business name, “Affirmative Care Solutions.” The clinic’s operator, LaDonna Prince, is listed as a manager alongside Alisha Dunn and Dennis Mickle, according to Illinois’ business registration <a href="https://apps.ilsos.gov/businessentitysearch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">database</a>.
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According to Indiana’s licensing <a href="https://mylicense.in.gov/everification/Search.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">database</a>, both of the health facility admin board licenses under Prince’s name have long since expired.
The site for the new Illinois clinic experienced vandalism and community pushback, prompting a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/midwest-reproductive-freedom-fighter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crowdfunding effort</a> to raise $500,000 to mitigate the damages and a <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/rep-kelly-shares-clinic-attack-192000598.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">request</a> by Illinois Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly to the Danville mayor and chief of police for an investigation status update.
In May, the Danville City Council passed an ordinance banning mail-order abortion pills. The ordinance conflicts with state law allowing abortion until the point of fetal &#8220;viability.&#8221; Prince <a href="https://ipmnewsroom.org/danville-abortion-clinic-plans-to-open-despite-city-ban-and-two-attacks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> reporters that she plans to open her new clinic despite the city council’s ban.
Clinic for Women is part of the National Abortion Federation and the National Coalition of Abortion Providers. Since opening its doors in 1977, the clinic has <a href="https://studentsforlife.org/2023/05/01/pepper-balls-shot-while-standing-up-for-the-preborn-in-indianapolis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">faced</a> allegations of poor public health practices and neglecting informed consent waivers.
In the 2005 case <a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/in-supreme-court/1055147.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clinic For Women, Inc. v. Brizzi</a>, the clinic challenged the constitutionality of an Indiana <a href="https://codes.findlaw.com/in/title-16-health/in-code-sect-16-34-2-1-1/%23:~:text=1.1.,abortion%2520is%2520to%2520be%2520performed." target="_blank" rel="noopener">law</a> requiring informed consent and an 18-hour waiting period prior to an abortion. Although the appeals court sided with the clinic, declaring that the Constitution imparts a fundamental right to privacy that enables an abortion, the Indiana Supreme Court held that the statute didn’t affect any right to privacy or abortion “that might exist.”
According to Indiana’s business registration <a href="https://bsd.sos.in.gov/publicbusinesssearch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">database</a>, the longtime secretary for the clinic was late abortion activist and provider Margaret “Peg” Johnston, founder and former <a href="https://rewirenewsgroup.com/authors/peg-johnston/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chair</a> of the <a href="https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/abortion-care-network/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Abortion Care Network</a> and executive director of the Southern Tier Women’s Health Services. The president was a Florida woman named Erna Arenz, who passed away a decade ago.

Protest

Abortion Clinic Worker Offers Undercover Reporter Illegal At-Home Abortion: Report

Abortion

Crime

Illinois

Indiana

Law students at the University of Wyoming (UW), a public institution, offered a free clinic earlier this month at the Laramie County Library to help illegal immigrants obtain citizenship. 
The university’s Civil Legal Services Clinic (CLSC) led the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dGRYKpisH1aWuDUW5Y2JOxN94aiCkKYn/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">program</a>.
The director of CLSC, Danielle Cover, has <a href="https://www.uwyo.edu/law/directory/danielle-cover.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received</a> two university teaching awards for her progressivism — the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award: Inspirational Faculty in 2017 and the Shepard Symposium on Social Justice Faculty Award in 2018. Under Cover’s leadership, the CLSC expanded its pro bono work using grants from the nonprofit, Equal Justice Wyoming Foundation (EJWF).
The EJWF is part of <a href="https://equaljustice.wy.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Equal Justice Wyoming</a> (EJW), formerly the Wyoming Center for Legal Aid, a state-funded civil legal services program for low-income clients. The Wyoming Supreme Court created EJW in 2011. EJW and its grant-issuing arm, EJWF, are funded by revenues from increased court-filing fees, increased pro hac vice fees paid by out-of-state attorneys, Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds, and Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds.
CLSC only <a href="https://equaljustice.wy.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/EJW.Annual.Report_2019_Final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received</a> one EJW grant in 2019 for nearly $38,300, likely due to the EJW’s self-reported years-long struggle to raise sufficient revenue for grants. However, the EJWF also issued over $155,000 in grants to the university for sponsored legal services programming from 2016 to 2021 according to tax filings. For the 2023-24 grant cycle, EJWF and EJW have <a href="https://www.equaljusticewyomingfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/NOTICE_OF_REQUEST_FOR_PROPOSAL_FY2023-2024_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> up to $1.8 million in grants.
Along with CLSC, the UW College of Law Estate Planning Practicum participated, as well as two outside law firms: Traveling Immigration Attorney and Hirst-Applegate Immigrant Hope.
Traveling Immigration Attorney is run by Nimsy Garcia, a UW College of Law alumna whose <a href="https://en.travelingimmigrationattorney.com/sobre-m%C3%AD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">parents</a> were illegal immigrants. The other firm, Hirst-Applegate, first <a href="https://hirstapplegate.com/hirst-applegate-adds-immigration-law-to-its-practice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began</a> offering immigration law services last fall, well over a year into the ongoing border crisis.
Law student Ana Rodriguez came up with the idea to host the immigration clinic. Rodriguez <a href="https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/news/2023-07-31/a-day-of-free-workshops-will-help-community-members-with-immigration-questions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Wyoming Public Media that the current justice system doesn’t work for all, namely minorities.
“Marginalized groups and people of color: the system isn&#8217;t built for them. The system is built to oppress and marginalize them further and keep them out,” said Rodriguez. “And so I think that&#8217;s a huge problem all throughout the country, but especially in Wyoming, with the lack of attorneys and the lack of resources.”
Rodriguez worked as an immigration paralegal in Colorado in 2021, and previously volunteered as an American Immigration Council translator for detained illegal immigrants, and a staffer for Casa de Paz Colorado, a halfway house for illegal immigrants leaving the Aurora, Colorado detention center.  
The <a href="https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/american-immigration-council/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Immigration Council</a> is a nonprofit that advocates for granting automatic legal status to illegal immigrants; the nonprofit has worked closely with the Southern Poverty Law Center and receives funding from major leftist dark money organizations such as George Soros’ Foundation to Promote Open Society and the Ford Foundation. Casa de Paz Colorado is <a href="https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/06/Detention-Watch-Network-2018-conference.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">affiliated</a> with the leftist immigration group, <a href="https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/detention-watch-network/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detention Watch Network</a>, which advocates for <a href="https://www.casadepazcolorado.org/resources" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abolishing</a> all immigration detention.
According to Migration Policy Institute data, collected every 10 years, Wyoming’s foreign-born immigrant population <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/data/state-profiles/state/demographics/WY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">doubled</a> from 1.7% in 1990 to 3.4% in 2021.  
Wyoming doesn’t have an immigration court. Denver, Colorado’s immigration court <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/immigration-court-administrative-control-list#Denver" target="_blank" rel="noopener">handles</a> Wyoming immigration cases. There are <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/immigration-court-administrative-control-list" target="_blank" rel="noopener">70 immigration courts</a> across the remaining 28 states.
The CLSC is looking to hold another clinic for illegal immigrants in late fall near an ICE Detention Center located in Casper, Wyoming. There were over 183,500 encounters last month; a decline from last July and July 2021, but over four times as many as July 2020. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">updated</a> its southwest border encounters data on Friday. Since President Joe Biden took office, there have been over 5.8 million illegal immigrant encounters.

University of Wyoming Sign

University Of Wyoming Law Students Offer Illegal Immigrants Free Help With Obtaining Citizenship

Illegal Immigration

Wyoming

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) will focus their resources on bringing in more non-white visitors to their state parks.
MDNR issued a renewed commitment to diversity following their latest quinquennial survey: the <a href="https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/aboutdnr/reports/parks/2022-state-parks-visitor-study-summary.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 State Park Visitor Study</a>, released Tuesday. In a press release, MDNR Parks and Trails Director Ann Pierce said the state agency needed to do more for inclusivity, in reference to their data that only 11 percent more visitors weren’t white.
“The visitor study shows that Minnesota DNR is making progress toward our goal of inclusivity, though there’s still more work to do,” said Pierce. “We will continue our efforts to expand access to public lands for traditionally underserved communities and to welcome new visitors to outdoor recreation in state parks.”
The study reported an increase of non-white visitors from five percent in 2017 to 11 percent last year. The survey may or may not reflect an accurate demographic of state park visitors, since it relies on voluntary participants; MDNR pulled their data from 2,000 interviews last summer.
The study divided participants into two groups: white and BIPOC (short for Black, Indigenous, or People of Color). Biracial and multiracial individuals were classified as BIPOC, along with any participants who reported to be American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian or Asian American, Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Middle Eastern, North African, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander.
According to the study, state park visitors were more likely to be white, high income, and more highly educated than the rest of the Minnesota population. The study also reported that the visitors they interviewed had expressed a desire to “decolonize signage” and input more Indigenous history and voices in park programming, as well as expressed concerns over potentially experiencing microaggressions and the lack of diversity during their visit.
The results of this latest study echo prior MDNR recommendations to increase the focus of resources on diversity.
In April 2020, the MDNR convened the Minnesota Outdoor Recreation Task Force. In March 2021, the task force <a href="https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/aboutdnr/outdoor-rec-taskforce/minnesota-outdoor-recreation-task-force-recommendations03-24-21-final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> final recommendations that MDNR make diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a greater focus. The task force claimed that diversity was an economic asset since more the state’s BIPOC and “gender identity” populations were growing, and claimed that the state was losing $16 billion GDP annually due to racial disparities, citing a <a href="https://www.policylink.org/sites/default/files/MNT_032514.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2014 report</a> from PolicyLink and the University of Southern California (USC) Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE).
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<a href="https://www.policylink.org/about-us/equity-manifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PolicyLink</a> is a left-leaning California-based nonprofit that pulls in tens of millions annually ($83.4 million per their <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/943297479/202213199349327871/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest</a> tax filing) and advocates for progressive causes, such as expanding the welfare state and government-controlled health care.
In the weeks leading up to the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death, MDNR <a href="https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/aboutdnr/outdoor-adventure/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> a social media campaign encouraging DEI on public lands and waters. MDNR partnered with Share the Mic MN, one of the many racial justice activist campaigns that launched following Floyd’s death.
Share the Mic MN had black and brown women “share the mic,” i.e. take over the social media accounts of white “allies.” The Edina Community Foundation manages the campaign and serves as a partner, along with the U.S. Bank Foundation, Minneapolis Foundation, and Allianz.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Shout out to Jasmine at <a href="https://twitter.com/sharethemicmn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sharethemicmn</a> &#8212; excited to partner with you for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MyMNOutdoorAdventure?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MyMNOutdoorAdventure</a>! Tell YOUR story of diversity outdoors at <a href="https://t.co/pHqSRBcO6Q">https://t.co/pHqSRBcO6Q</a> <a href="https://t.co/wGxWRjm8py">pic.twitter.com/wGxWRjm8py</a>
— Minnesota DNR (@mndnr) <a href="https://twitter.com/mndnr/status/1393203932013514754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2021</a></blockquote>
MDNR also co-manages a collegiate career <a href="https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/careers/idec.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">program</a>, Increasing Diversity in Environmental Careers, that excludes white males. Only individuals who <a href="https://conservationcorps.org/programs/increasing-diversity-in-environmental-careers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">identify</a> as women, BIPOC, and/or disabled are eligible. MNDR partners with the Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources to manage the program. 
In an interview earlier this week, the principal planner for MDNR Parks and Trails, Gratia Joice, <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/08/16/diversity-in-minnesota-state-park-use-increases-but-still-doesnt-reflect-state-demographics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Minnesota Public Radio that she and other state workers were encouraged by more non-white visitors frequenting their parks.
“This is something we were really excited to see,” said Joice. “The survey shows increasing diversity among state park visitors, specifically visitors of color, from five percent in 2017 to 11 percent in 2022.”
However, Joice also shared that MDNR is attempting to achieve parity between the population demographics and state park visitor demographics.
The Census Bureau <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MN/PST045222" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimates</a> Minnesota’s white population (not Hispanic or Latino) at around 77.6 percent, black or African American at 7.6 percent, American Indian and Alaska Native at 1.4 percent, Asian at 5.5 percent, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander at .1 percent, biracial or multiracial at 2.8 percent, Hispanic or Latino at six percent.
Per MDNR’s classification of BIPOC, the benchmark for racial parity would be at or above 23.4 percent.
“While it is an improvement, there&#8217;s still work to be done,” said Joice.

Minnesota Park

Minnesota Dept Of Natural Resources Concerned With Bringing More Non-White Visitors To State Parks

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Corinne Murdock