Pointing out China is not enough

Every day America and its allies do not aggressively confront China on all fronts, economic, cybersecurity, military development, and in every industry, China advances and the free world cedes more ground.

In that light, this response is anemic and shameful.  It's mere window dressing.

China's back baby (thanks to some guy who owes them)

Not my president has undone more president Trump good ideas, this time, serving his masters in China.  I know that sounds harsh.  Don't care.

Via The Verge:

President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday revoking the Trump-era bans on TikTok and WeChat. In place of the Trump order, Biden will direct the commerce secretary to investigate apps with ties to foreign adversaries that may pose a risk to American data privacy or national security.

 

The order takes the place of a series of executive orders instituted by President Trump last year, which blocked apps like TikTok, WeChat, and Alipay from US app stores and took further measures to prevent them from operating in the US. The most extreme effects of those orders were forestalled by ongoing court challenges, but Wednesday’s order will revoke the orders outright. Instead, Biden’s order will institute a new framework for determining the national security risks of transactions that involve apps that are connected to the governments or militaries of foreign adversaries, like China, or collect sensitive data from US consumers.

The article goes on to praise the administration for all of their word-smithing about being concerned about China and America's cybersecurity and about unspecified upcoming actions against China.  Actions though, speak louder than words.  The administration's actions are very telling.

Just as a reminder: This guy?  Some American people voted for THIS GUY? Really???

Julian Assange - useful

Several conservative pundits have criticized conservatives for erroneously cheering on Julian Assange.  No doubt Assange has been a double edged sword not only for conservatives but also for America.  His Wikileaks site has done more harm than good.  But it has done some good and it does serve a purpose.  I think it's fair to say that most people on the right are not lionizing Assange or Snowden and their ilk.  

It's not a good idea however, to ignore useful information when it's provided, no matter how it was obtained. This one issue has the potential not only to derail Hillary Clinton but also keep the Senate Republican. To ignore it, to not take advantage of it, is folly.

It does not mean that Assange will be invited at the next Republican convention to speak via satellite.  He is not a hero.  No one on the right is planning an Assange parade.  He is merely a convenient and welcome opportunity to be leveraged. I suspect most conservatives see him as nothing more or less and have not forgotten that the Chinese and others have benefitted from his actions, to the detriment of America.  That said, the political jiu jitsu of using your opponent's momentum to your favor is inarguably a smart thing to do.

One last thought for your consideration - doesn't the fact that Assange has access to all of this intelligence tell you something about the weakness of American cybersecurity?  The fact alone that he has brought to light the need to improve that, is another important purpose that Assange has served.