Tracing Illegal Robocalls
AG's Office Identifies Perpetrators Of Fake Calls Urging Voters Not To Participate
Also on today’s menu:
Video Protection For Historic Covered Bridges
State Works On Plan To Address Climate Change
The Election Law Unit of the New Hampshire Attorney-General’s Office has identified Texas-based Life Corporation and an individual named Walter Monk as the source of the January 21 robocalls urging residents not to vote in the January 23 New Hampshire Presidential Primary Election. The AI-generated message mimicked President Joe Biden Jr.’s voice, saying, “It’s important that you save your vote for the November election. … Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.” The illegal robocalls spoofed the caller ID information belonging to a former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair and instructed recipients to call that person’s number to be removed from future calls.
The AG’s Office coordinated its investigation into the calls with state and federal partners, including the 50-state Anti-Robocall Multi-State Litigation Task Force and the Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau. Attorney-General John Formella also gave credit to YouMail and Nomorobo for helping to identify the robocalls and Industry Traceback Group for tracking down the source of the robocalls. In addition to identifying the source of the calls as Life Corporation and Walter Monk, the tracebacks also identified the originating voice service provider for many of the calls to be Texas-based Lingo Telecom, which has since suspended services to Life Corporation.
The Election Law Unit has issued a cease-and-desist order to Life Corporation, along with document preservation notices and subpoenas for records to Life Corporation and other entities, including Lingo Telecom. The FCC issued a cease-and-desist letter to Lingo Telecom, demanding that the company immediately stop supporting illegal robocall traffic on its networks, and issued an order strongly encouraging other providers to refrain from carrying suspicious traffic from Lingo.
The Election Law Unit has not been able to confirm media reports that the recorded message was likely made using software from ElevenLabs, but it is continuing to investigate whether Life Corporation worked with ElevenLabs or any other entities.
Commentary: The Attorney-General’s Office released this recording of the fake call. What is missing from the AG’s announcement is the motivation behind the calls, and that likely is what the office is hoping to nail down with the other records it is seeking. The Better Business Bureau lists Life Corporation as being based in Arlington, Texas, with Walter Monk as its principal, and lists the company as having been in business for 28 years. It does not indicate any complaints, but an article in TechCrunch states that it “has been caught slinging disinformation before”.
Video Protection For Historic Covered Bridges
According to the New Hampshire Bulletin, New Hampshire law prohibits the recording of vehicle traffic except for areas such as toll barriers, but House Bill 1217, sponsored by Representative Barry Faulkner (D-Swanzey), would allow the state or a municipality to use video monitoring at historic covered bridges to catch those who harm the cultural landmarks. Arsons and other vandals rarely get caught, and small towns usually have to pick up the bill.
Under the bill, the video could be used only to investigate damage to a covered bridge; unrelated recordings would be erased after seven days. Faulkner called the legislation “carefully crafted to respect privacy rights of those who drive through the bridge.”
The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee amended HB 1217 on February 2 to require the state to install signs 100 feet from the covered bridges to alert drivers that they are subject to video surveillance.
Commentary: The bill makes sense to protect covered bridges, which are subject to vandalism as well as the natural disasters that often take them down. (I recall the Gratons of Ashland meticulously rebuilding a covered bridge over the Connecticut River that had been blown down by heavy winds, following its original design, only to see it destroyed a short time later by another blast of heavy winds along the river.) I fail to understand why anyone would want to burn or damage a historic bridge, but it happens. I do question the statement that video is mostly prohibited in the state. I have not had a chance to research the issue, but there seem to be a lot of cameras at intersections, and if they cannot record what happens, what’s the point?
State Works On Plan To Address Climate Change
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services has released a draft of a plan to address climate change, with incentives and support for electric vehicles, public transportation, energy efficiency, heat pumps, and workforce development, among other priorities. The state must submit a Priority Climate Action Plan to the federal government by March 1.
Funding for development of the plan comes from the Inflation Reduction Act, and it will allow the state to apply for more federal money to help reduce emissions and air pollution.
New Hampshire’s priorities focus on the reduction of emissions in transportation and residential buildings. The plan would reduce the cost of buying electric vehicles by offering rebates, and make EV charging more accessible, as well as increasing access to public transportation. It also would seek to expand the adoption of heat pumps, which can heat and cool homes using electricity, and promote weatherization to make heating and cooling systems more energy-efficient.
Discussion: The state also will have to consider how it can meet the increased demand for electricity that the new policies will create. It has blocked the transmission of Canadian hydropower through the proposed Northern Pass plan and has forced the closing of biomass plants that also would provide a market for low-grade wood. The state has not made the siting of solar collection sites easy, and residents have protested the siting of wind towers to generate electricity. There should be a focus on promoting clean energy sources before promoting greater electric usage.
Café Chatter
Last Saturday was Newfound School District’s annual bullying, snickering, belittling deliberative session on anyone against their position. As usual most the folks there were teachers, staff and parents who were being disrespectful of the opposing side. These folks were almost ordered to be there by the middle school principal in a Facebook post.
As one person told me, if these bullies were students, they would have been disciplined or expelled from school. Funny or actually not so funny was, the topic; Social emotional learning (SEL). I guess they don’t understand how to control their emotions and to be social by showing empathy, compassion, being inclusive and respectful of other’s views. Maybe they need to learn how to calm down, take a breathe using the five finger rule before they start speaking.
Tom had some things right in his article about HB1473 SEL, but again if he had given me a call and discussed the bill, he would have found out I had submitted an amendment of parental opt out. He would have also found out more about the SEL I am seeing in my researching and using the Office of Legislative Services (OLS) researchers.
Tom makes it look like I’m the bad guy and many others don’t care about the students when we actually have great compassion for them and are trying to protect their unique identities from psychological harm using staff that do not have a psychology degree (this is dangerous). The school is more focused on social and emotional learning techniques than they are academics. We all heard them loud and clear at the deliberative session that SEL must stay or the world will end.
Maybe I should’ve introduced a bill for parents to learn how to be social and to control their emotions and then the kids would learn by default and extra time wouldn’t be taken away from academics.
I predict in three maybe four years from now if SEL/MTSS-B stays, Newfound students’ scores will be the same or drop (unless they change the grading structure as they have already done). If CASEL says, kids will learn academics on their own and won’t need teachers then scores must drop because most kids are more interested in other things than researching, reading, writing and arithmetic. But in the meantime, let’s keep 100% of them social and emotionally happy when only 16% need it.
Do you really want to know more about SEL; email me at john.sellers@leg.state.nh.us and I’ll be glad to show you the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of SEL, MTSS-B, PBIS framework they are pushing on our schools to collect student data, usurp family permissions and values, teach CRT and DEI in our schools. I’m not talking about the daily social and emotions that goes on in schools, sports, extra-curricular activities, etc. that caring staff should be aware of, that is completely different.
— Rep. John Sellers, Bristol
While many of us found the beginning of 2024 to be a bit tumultuous, I thought perhaps it would help to try reflecting on something positive.
I recalled my Uncle Tom’s story from the News Café, his online newspaper/virtual meeting place where he religiously writes stories every day for us lucky subscribers. The story was about a hermit-type man known as Blackie, who used to live “up in the borough”. Whereas I never knew him myself, this fellow made quite a lasting impression on Tom, and most likely, everyone who knew him.
Tom’s question at the end of the story, asking if there was anyone we knew of that made an impact on our lives, made me ponder on that for a minute. It didn’t take long for me to think of one very special person and relative who fit that bill; the man himself would be my Uncle Tom Caldwell.
When I think back on all the people I’ve known in my life, many have come and gone. This is how life goes, I’m told. But when I think of a male role model in my life who has been constant from the time I can remember, I think of Uncle Tom.
He was just always at our house. He would bring over a new board game for us to play — meaning us four kids and Uncle Tom! We had just about every board game there was back in the ’70s and ’80s. We’d play Clue, Life, Monopoly, Trouble ... and I specifically remember him bringing Battleship one weekend. He and my brother Doug were playing it. The game opened up like a modern day laptop, and they were on either side of it, each one in deep concentration. I remember thinking, “Wow! That must be quite a game!”
Throughout our childhood, he seemed to be at every birthday, every Christmas, every BBQ we had. Those were the best of days, by far.
Uncle Tom took me to Sedona, AZ with him as a “fill-in” for Lee, in October of 2019. Although I hadn’t spent a lot of one-on-one time with him as an adult, that familiar connection did not fail to make me feel the same safe, secure feeling that I was with Uncle Tom, and nothing bad would happen to me. We had an amazing time and had great adventures; especially when we got lost going to the Grand Canyon and almost made it to the Utah state line!
When something happens, Uncle Tom is there. Whether it’s recording someone’s wedding or birthday, or if something bad happens, Uncle Tom will show up. That’s a guarantee. How many of us can say that about someone we know?
I’d like to thank you, Uncle Tom, for being a strong and constant source of support for me and our family. You’ve proven no matter how many years go by, we can always count on you!
With All My Love,
— Kelly Caldwell