Category: zerohedge

2019 was a year that changed the face of migration on the U.S. Southwestern border, but so was 2020.

While in the previous year, the number of border apprehensions skyrocketed and record numbers of families arrived mainly from Central America, Statista’s Katharina Buchholz points out that the COVID-19 pandemic cut border crossings back down to 2018 levels with the number of families reaching a low.

You will find more infographics at Statista

While in 2019, Non-Mexicans outnumbered Mexicans 4:1 at the Southern border, this trend was reversed in 2020 with more Mexicans apprehended once again, as records from Customs and Border Protection show.

Because many of the new arrivals from Central America had been applying for asylum, the Trump administration in 2019 overhauled its application process, making many asylum seekers wait in camps on the Mexican side without assistance. These changes were implemented after another system overhaul – the separation of families in U.S. custody and the tendency to release fewer immigration detainees on bail – had caused chaotic scenes at detention centers and an international outcry.

Historically, Mexicans made up the largest share of undocumented immigrants to the U.S. but have been more successful at finding work in Mexico, where the economy is improving and workers are more sought after while the country’s population ages. As more asylum seekers and less work migrants arrived, the U.S. also slashed the number of refugees it accepts annually to the historic low of 18,000 and in the COVID year of 2020 admitted a record-low number of just around 3,000 asylum seekers.

Authored by Stephen Silver via 19fortyfive.com,

There’s been a huge amount of concern this year about the security implications of technology that originates in China or is owned by Chinese companies. That was, after all, at the heart of the fight by the Trump Administration to ban the popular social networking app TikTok, or at least to force a sale of it. The U.S. government has also cracked down on the manufacturers Huawei and ZTE, and the omnibus/coronavirus rescue package recently passed by Congress even included $1.9 billion to help companies remove equipment from those two companies.

Recently, a pair of security researchers raised the alarm about another Chinese tech company, the TV manufacturer TCL, which makes some of the most popular televisions available in the U.S.

The website of the researcher and hacker known as Sick Codes, in a blog post in November, pointed out “extraordinary vulnerabilities” in TCL’s Android TVs.

“Near the end of September, while conducting research into low-end Android boxes, I came across a number of serious flaws in the way in which these devices were being designed,” the post said.

“Without delving into the nuances of each device, all of the Smart TV products are Android-based.”

The researcher discovered that they could easily access the entire file system of the devices.

“Why would an Android device need a web server running on a non-standard port?” he asked.

“What kind of manufacturer publishes the whole file system of a device?”

Sick Codes was later joined in his work by another researcher named John Jackson, and in October the two of them both notified TCL which, after a delay in response, said they would patch the issue.

In an interview with Tom’s Guide, Sick Codes sent a URL that provided “full access to the file system of a TCL smart TV in Zambia,” and the writer was able to browse the directories of that person’s TV.

And in another interview with Security Ledger, Sick Codes said that “anybody on an adjacent network can browse the TV’s file system and download any file they want.”

TCL issued a statement to the media, as reported by Tom’s Guide:

“TCL was recently notified by an independent security researcher of two vulnerabilities in Android TV models,” the statement said.

“Once TCL received notification, the company quickly took steps to investigate, thoroughly test, develop patches, and implement a plan to send updates to resolve the matter. Updating devices and applications to enhance security is a regular occurrence in the technology industry, and these updates should be distributed to all affected Android TV models in the coming days.”

“Going forward, we are putting processes in place to better react to discoveries by 3rd parties [and] performing additional training for our customer service agents on escalation procedures on these issues as well as establishing a direct reporting system online,” TCL said further, in a statement to PC Mag.

It’s worth pointing out, as stated by Sick Codes in the comments to the original post, that the issue they pinpointed only applies to TCL’s Android TVs, and not to its Roku TVs, which are the majority of what TCL sells in North America. In fact, TCL only brought Android TVs to the North American market for the first time in July.

On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security released a new report called “Data Security Business Advisory: Risks and Considerations for Businesses Using Data Services and Equipment from Firms Linked to the People’s Republic of China.”

TCL is not mentioned in the report, nor are televisions.

“The PRC’s data collection actions result in numerous risks to U.S. businesses and customers, including: the theft of trade secrets, of intellectual property, and of other confidential business information; violations of U.S. export control laws; violations of U.S. privacy laws; breaches of contractual provisions and terms of service; security and privacy risks to customers and employees; risk of PRC surveillance and tracking of regime critics; and reputational harm to U.S. businesses,” the report said

Last month, commercial flights with Boeing 737 Max jetliners resumed after a 20-month worldwide grounding, following two deadly accidents.

Now we’re finding out, weeks later, after the Max was cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to return to the skies safely, an Air Canada Boeing 737-8 Max suffered engine issues during flight.

According to Aviation24.be, an Air Canada Boeing 737-8 MAX (registered C-FSNQ) was on a test flight after storage from Marana Pinal, Arizona, to Montreal, Canada, when the incident occurred. Luckily, the aircraft had no passengers and only three crew members. 

Engine issues shortly developed after the plane took off. The crew noticed the “left engine had low hydraulic pressure,” said Aviation24.be.  Then more complications developed with the aircraft: 

“The crew and airline dispatch/engineering controllers initially decided to continue to Montreal but the crew received an indication of a fuel imbalance from the left-hand wing and shut the left hand engine down,” said the aviation website. 

The crew was forced to declare a “PAN-PAN” emergency, meaning the plane was in severe jeopardy and had to divert from its pre-planned flight route and land in Tucson. 

The incident took place on Dec. 22, according to Aviation24.be. 

Flightradar24 provides a flight playback of the incident.

Even with the FAA ordered updates to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, an automated flight system that controls the plane and was responsible for the two deadly crashes, these planes have been sitting for nearly two years, and inactivity could lead to other issues. 

Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via RealClearPolitics.com,

After Nov. 3, the meaning of some words and concepts abruptly changed. Have you noticed how new realities have replaced old ones?

Media cross-examination of the president is now an out-of-date idea. The time for gotcha questions has come and gone.

Why ask a president whether he is a traitor or a crook when you can focus on his favorite flavor of milkshake or compliment him on his socks?

The old pre-election truth was that new vaccines take years to develop. The new postelection truth is that it’s no big deal to bring out new vaccines in nine months.

Impeaching a first-term president after his first midterm election — on a strictly partisan vote, for political reasons other than the Constitution’s “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” — is now a terrible idea.

Worse would be to appoint a special counsel to harass a president on unfounded charges of collusion with China. An even scarier notion would be a conservative dream team of partisan lawyers hounding President Joe Biden — using a 22-month, $40 million blank check.

It would be unprofessional for university psychologists and physicians from a distance to diagnose, in pop fashion, the mental faculties of a President Biden.

Certainly, there would never be talk about Department of Justice officials contemplating wearing a wire as part of an entrapment scheme to remove a President Biden through the 25th Amendment. That would almost constitute a coup attempt.

Almost as bad would be for the holdover FBI director to start “memorializing” his private conversations with Joe Biden on FBI devices. He might then leak such memos to the press — just in case he were to be fired for secretly investigating Biden for “Chinese collusion” and then lying about such a probe.

What happened to the Logan Act? Not long ago it was assumed to be a critically needed guardrail. Wouldn’t it now ensure that presidential transition team members were not calling foreign leaders while Donald Trump is still president? How has it suddenly become a defunct, ossified relic?

Leaking classified material would be about the worst thing government officials could do. Imagine if a Trump holdover, burrowed into the new Biden administration, released a transcript of Biden’s private conversations with the Mexican president or the Australian prime minister.

Such a breach of trust would be almost as bad as a turncoat anti-Biden mole seeking to resist presidential directives. Imagine if this anonymous staffer were given an op-ed in the New York Tines to claim that a cadre of old-time Democrats were shocked by Biden’s cognitive decline and resisting his directives.

Is extending security clearances to former high-level officials turned cable-TV pundits still a bad idea? Who would wish to see, for instance, former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe issuing warnings each night on Fox News? With a wink-and-nod hat tip to his “confidential sources,” Ratcliffe could spin conspiracy theories that Biden is facing bombshell disclosures about his family misadventures with the Chinese.

Is it still important that we keep the tradition of retired high-ranking military officers — all subject to the requirements of the Uniform Code of Military Justice — not disparaging the president? Who would want former Pentagon officials, some of them serving on the boards of military contractors, warning us that Biden should be removed because of cognitive challenges? Certainly, generals and admirals should not compare a President Biden’s policies to those of Mussolini or the Nazis.

At least “dark money” no longer exists. The old idea of right-wing billionaires pouring money into candidates’ political campaigns was supposedly a dangerous practice. It would be far more civic-minded for left-wing billionaires to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the coffers of nonpartisan state bureaucracies entrusted with guaranteeing the sanctity of national elections.

And apparently after, not before, an election is the proper time to announce critically important news.

Like the rollout of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine?

Like a $900 billion stimulus package?

Like a revised upward Fannie Mae report on the economy?

Like the ties between a Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee and a suspected Chinese spy?

Like a federal investigation of Joe Biden’s son and his possible profiteering with rich Chinese elites affiliated with China’s government?

To keep track of our brave new American world is easy.

Just consider everything said to be bad by the “Animal Farm” media before Nov. 3 as now good. And remember that everything said to be good two months ago is now actually bad.

The world currently produces 2.5 quintillion bytes of data daily due to the internet of things, the emergence of 4K/8K videos, and the proliferation of artificial intelligence and automation. By 2025, worldwide data could soar to 175 zettabytes, representing 61% annual growth. 

Thanks to the virus pandemic, the rapid digitization of the economy sparking a massive push in remote working among corporations have also resulted in a massive increase in data storage. 

So, where is all this data being stored?

More than 500 hyperscale data centers are scattered across the world, storing an estimated 547 exabytes with an estimated 151 facilities currently under development. 

According to IBM, there is only “one technology can handle that the massive growth of digital data, keep it protected from cybercrime attacks and is archiving data for some of the largest hyperscale data centers in the world is a technology more than 60 years old – magnetic tape.” 

Magnetic Tape’s Layer Structure 

More than a decade ago, IBM partnered with Fujifilm to advance the technology in magnetic tape. What they developed is a new tape that can store huge amounts of critical data. 

The new tape can achieve a storage capacity of 317 gigabytes per square inch, which means a single tape is capable of storing 580 terabytes of data.

Putting 580 terabytes into perspective for readers, it’s “equivalent to 786,977 CDs stacked 944 meters high, which is taller than Burj Kalifa, the world’s tallest building. That’s a colossal amount of data! All fitting on a tape cartridge on the palm of your hand,” said IBM. 

The “breakthrough,” aimed at advancing decades-old technology, came when researchers from both companies develop a brand new tape with Strontium Ferrite instead of using Barium Ferrite, which has been used to create the tape for years. Strontium Ferrite offers the potential for higher density storage in the same amount of tape.

The Evolution Of The Magnetic Tape  

IBM concludes that this new milestone will allow tape drives to handle the massive growth of digital data which is just in time for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 

Authored by Bruce Wilds via Advancing Time blog,

May this year bring to all more Christmas and less of the junk we have all come to know as gift giving. This time of year I find the mind-numbing barrage from stuff that peddlers are rushing to fill any need I can imagine overwhelming. These needs appear to be both real and imagined, I’m even asked to reach out and consider, and speculate, on the needs and desires that others might have. Over the years our lives have become so crammed with material goods, our drawers and closets are now chucked full of the trendy apparel of last season, exercise equipment, knick-knacks, and electronic equipment. For some people, the place where they live is about to explode unless they move to a larger house or rent a storage unit.

Even The Grinch Knows This

Many garages across America are so full of this stuff cars can no-longer be parked inside. Neurotic people with overactive pack-rat syndrome literally destroy their quality of life with clutter and junk. This stuff will often sit in one place for years while they can’t find a chair to sit in or a clean tabletop on which to eat. Ads like – “get it all” or “have it all,” live on the cutting edge, buy all of these high-powered models, and “put your life in the zone.” fill our lives. This new-fangled electronic gizmo does it all and more, look at the artwork, let it wash over you, surround you, and cover you up. Check out that car, is it not perfect? Wouldn’t driving it make life a zen-like experience – got to have it, no payment for 90 days.

This has resulted in consumers getting caught up in the game of finding the perfect patio furniture and buying it to use it twice. It then sits on our deck only to fade in the sun over the next three years. Never before has man had so much, but it’s far from enough. The idea things will be “swell” and life downright peachy only after you fill it with the right kind of stuff is a slippery slope. The fact is for some people they will never be able to get enough. The one thing we can count on is that tomorrow the new models arrive, better and sleeker with even more options!

Great are the efforts we make to fill our needs with material objects in an effort to achieve happiness. We rush around creating video and digital images in a desire to preserve those precious moments. We capture so many images that we forget to download, view, and print them. We now have the ability to collect and store vast quantities of information and data, much of which is never processed or utilized. Poor quality or obsolete data entered into our system downgrades the output to one of, “garbage in – garbage out.”   

It seems the ads filling our Sunday paper and mailboxes weighs ten pounds, the ads, the ads, the ads. What store is that? Never heard of it? They are all the same, junk, junk, junk, buy me some happiness!! It is only natural to be drawn to nice things but new is merely a point in time and not a reflection on quality or utility value. We have so much junk we can’t find the item we need or want, so we are forced to buy a replacement until we find where it was placed. You know it’s true – yes, you are guilty, so are we all.

The fact there is a lot more to life than stuffing your face with too much food and running around trying to find things to buy. This is made clear by the picture appearing to the right. Life is about more than buying and spending. So many people are not as fortunate as we that have been born in America and we should count our blessings and good fortune. When all is said and done it is more likely the most precious moments in our lives will center around people rather than things. We should never forget that trying to do the right thing for our fellow man is an important part of being alive.

We have even been convinced that we should not leave our house or office without a bottle of water, if it were not for bottled water, we would all be dead. Bottled water was a three hundred billion dollar industry last year. Oh, how our needs have grown. Well, all I really need is a lamp, an ashtray and well maybe a yogurt maker. That’ all I need! Using a line by the songwriter-singer Jimmy Buffet, I want to go where the women and water are free. All this means that for many of us it is time to take a deep breath and forget about material things. This might make a lot more room for us to remember what is really important, people and family.

Merry Christmas to All!!

Roughly 500 GoDaddy employees failed a company-wide phishing test this month that was disguised as a message that they would be receiving a $650 holiday bonus.

Yes, you’re reading that right: GoDaddy purposely emailed its employees during a year in which the U.S. economy went into recession, promising them $650 for the holidays, as a test to see if they would click certain links embedded in emails.

The e-mail came from an address called “happyholiday@godaddy.com“, the e-mail read: “Though we cannot celebrate together during our annual Holiday Party, we want to show our appreciation and share a $650 one-time Holiday bonus! To ensure that you receive your one-time bonus in time for the Holidays, please select your location and fill in the details by Friday, December 18th.”

But instead of a bonus, those who thought they were getting extra cash instead got the following message two days later: “You’re getting this email because you failed our recent phishing test. You will need to retake the Security Awareness Social Engineering training.”

The e-mail came from a GoDaddy domain name and bore the GoDaddy logo. The company says that “roughly 500” people clicked on the link and “failed the test”,  according to The Copper Courier. 

While the test is similar to ones that other companies use to gauge how susceptible their employees are to phishing attacks, the holiday theme and promise of money during a tough year makes these tests, in particular, a little – well…uncool. 

While the company refused requests from media about the incident, the Courier says that “three GoDaddy employees” forwarded the e-mails to the press. We’re guessing the company is going to have to make a statement – or least make these people whole after completing their new training – before the “woke” mob decides to “cancel” their GoDaddy services this holiday season. 

GoDaddy is likely on its guard after suffering a data breach either this year where 28,000 customers saw their accounts compromised. The company had “record customer growth” for the year, but still wound up laying off or reassigning “hundreds of employees” due to the pandemic. 

All told, sounds like a great place to work. Happy Holidays, GoDaddy team!

Authored by Ludwig von Mises via The Mises Institute,

[From “The Exhaustion of the Reserve Fund” in Human Action, chap. 36.]

The idea underlying all interventionist policies is that the higher income and wealth of the more affluent part of the population is a fund which can be freely used for the improvement of the conditions of the less prosperous. The essence of the interventionist policy is to take from one group to give to another. It is confiscation and distribution. Every measure is ultimately justified by declaring that it is fair to curb the rich for the benefit of the poor.

In the field of public finance progressive taxation of incomes and estates is the most characteristic manifestation of this doctrine. Tax the rich and spend the revenue for the improvement of the condition of the poor, is the principle of contemporary budgets. In the field of industrial relations shortening the hours of work, raising wages, and a thousand other measures are recommended under the assumption that they favor the employee and burden the employer. Every issue of government and community affairs is dealt with exclusively from the point of view of this principle.

An illustrative example is provided by the methods applied in the operation of nationalized and municipalized enterprises. These enterprises very often result in financial failure; their accounts regularly show losses burdening the state or the city treasury. It is of no use to investigate whether the deficits are due to the notorious inefficiency of the public conduct of business enterprises or, at least partly, to the inadequacy of the prices at which the commodities or services are sold to the customers. What matters more is the fact that the taxpayers must cover these deficits. The interventionists fully approve of this arrangement. They passionately reject the two other possible solutions: selling the enterprises to private entrepreneurs or raising the prices charged to the customers to such a height that no further deficit remains. The first of these proposals is in their eyes manifestly reactionary because the inevitable trend of history is toward more and more socialization. The second is deemed “antisocial” because it places a heavier load upon the consuming masses. It is fairer to make the taxpayers, i.e., the wealthy citizens, bear the burden. Their ability to pay is greater than that of the average people riding the nationalized railroads and the municipalized subways, trolleys, and busses. To ask that such public utilities should be self-supporting, is, say the interventionists, a relic of the old-fashioned ideas of orthodox finance. One might as well aim at making the roads and the public schools self-supporting.

It is not necessary to argue with the advocates of this deficit policy. It is obvious that recourse to this ability-to-pay principle depends on the existence of such incomes and fortunes as can still be taxed away. It can no longer be resorted to once these extra funds have been exhausted by taxes and other interventionist measures.

This is precisely the present state of affairs in most of the European countries. The United States has not yet gone so far; but if the actual trend of its economic policies is not radically altered very soon, it will be in the same condition in a few years.

For the sake of argument we may disregard all the other consequences which the full triumph of the ability-to-pay principle must bring about and concentrate upon its financial aspects.

The interventionist in advocating additional public expenditure is not aware of the fact that the funds available are limited. He does not realize that increasing expenditure in one department enjoins restricting it in other departments. In his opinion there is plenty of money available. The income and wealth of the rich can be freely tapped. In recommending a greater allowance for the schools he simply stresses the point that it would be a good thing to spend more for education. He does not venture to prove that to raise the budgetary allowance for schools is more expedient than to raise that of another department, e.g., that of health. It never occurs to him that grave arguments could be advanced in favor of restricting public spending and lowering the burden of taxation. The champions of cuts in the budget are in his eyes merely the defenders of the manifestly unfair class interests of the rich.

With the present height of income and inheritance tax rates, this reserve fund out of which the interventionists seek to cover all public expenditure is rapidly shrinking. It has practically disappeared altogether in most European countries. In the United States the recent advances in tax rates produced only negligible revenue results beyond what would be produced by a progression which stopped at much lower rates. High surtax rates for the rich are very popular with interventionist dilettantes and demagogues, but they secure only modest additions to the revenue.1 From day to day it becomes more obvious that large-scale additions to the amount of public expenditure cannot be financed by “soaking the rich,” but that the burden must be carried by the masses. The traditional tax policy of the age of interventionism, its glorified devices of progressive taxation and lavish spending, have been carried to a point at which their absurdity can no longer be concealed. The notorious principle that, whereas private expenditures depend on the size of income available, public revenues must be regulated according to expenditures, refutes itself. Henceforth, governments will have to realize that one dollar cannot be spent twice, and that the various items of government expenditure are in conflict with one another. Every penny of additional government spending will have to be collected from precisely those people who hitherto have been intent upon shifting the main burden to other groups. Those anxious to get subsidies will have to foot the bill themselves for the subsidies. The deficits of publicly owned and operated enterprises will be charged to the bulk of the population.

The situation in the employer-employee nexus will be analogous. The popular doctrine contends that wage earners are reaping “social gains” at the expense of the unearned income of the exploiting classes. The strikers, it is said, do not strike against the consumers but against “management.” There is no reason to raise the prices of products when labor costs are increased; the difference must be borne by employers. But when more and more of the share of the entrepreneurs and capitalists is absorbed by taxes, higher wage rates, and other “social gains” of employees, and by price ceilings, nothing remains for such a buffer function. Then it becomes evident that every wage raise, with its whole momentum, must affect the prices of the products and that the social gains of each group fully correspond to the social losses of the other groups. Every strike becomes, even in the short run and not only in the long run, a strike against the rest of the people.

An essential point in the social philosophy of interventionism is the existence of an inexhaustible fund which can be squeezed forever. The whole doctrine of interventionism collapses when this fountain is drained off. The Santa Claus principle liquidates itself.

My, how the tables have turned…

The very same Tesla bulls that were perpetually looking for a buyout or take-private offer for the company years ago can now officially check that “bull case” off their list. In addition to CEO Elon Musk revealing that Apple had snubbed Tesla last week – and in addition to analysts starting to consider Apple’s entrance into self-driving cars as a legitimate bear case – it appears that Musk has given up on “going private”. 

Musk said on Twitter late this week that it would be “impossible” to take the company private. “Tesla public company duties are a much bigger factor, but going private is impossible now (sigh),” he wrote in response to a hilarious Tweet that referred to Musk as the best capital allocator of our generation. “Engineering, design & general company operations absorb vast majority of my mind & are the fundamental limitation on doing more.”

Engineering, design & general company operations absorb vast majority of my mind & are the fundamental limitation on doing more.

Capital allocation is important, but low CPU load. Tesla public company duties are a much bigger factor, but going private is impossible now (sigh).

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 25, 2020

As Tesla continues to move further onto Wall Street’s “Main Stage”, the company could wind up seeing headwinds it didn’t experience during its totally unbelievable run over the last year. 

We already noted that its inclusion in the S&P 500 could wind up putting pressure on the stock as a result of heightened liquidity. Now, the company’s absurd valuation seems to be helping stack up more negative catalysts than positive ones.

So, how can Musk keep the ponzi scheme going take the next step in building value? By IPOing yet another one of his unprofitable businesses! Musk has already started to allude to taking Starlink public “once the revenue growth is reasonably predictable”, he wrote on Twitter on Thursday. 

It will most likely make sense for Starlink to go public once the revenue growth is reasonably predictable

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 25, 2020

Of course, it’s no mistake that Musk mentions revenue and not net income. After all, if Tesla proved one thing over the last 18 months, it’s that fundamentals of any sort don’t matter anymore. And if the Central Banks have helped prove one thing over the last several years it’s that revenue apparently means worlds more than net income or cash generation ever will.

Paging Benjamin Graham…

Regardless, we also pointed out that the law of large numbers isn’t just zapping Tesla, it could also wind up backfiring on Tesla-uber bull Cathie Wood over at ARK Funds, as we noted last week. 

And make no mistake – once all the logical fallacies that were once considered to be Tesla bull cases peel back, one by one, soon Tesla will only have its fundamentals to cling to. And we’re not sure that’s going to provide the “gamma squeeze”-style returns that such “visionaries” as Cathie Wood and Ross Gerber have gotten used to.

The saga continues…

Merry Christmas & happy holidays! 🎁 pic.twitter.com/uk6NSPwR9R

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 25, 2020

Authored by Kipp Jones via The Western Journal,

A doctor in Northern California has been fired from his job after he co-authored a letter that questioned the science behind his county’s lockdown order.

Dr. Michael deBoisblanc was working as the trauma medical director for John Muir Health in Contra Costa County, California, until last Friday, after he questioned the scientific basis for again locking down citizens of the area.

KNTV reported that deBoisblanc wrote a letter to the county health director and board of supervisors voicing his concern regarding the continued lockdown policies prior to his dismissal.

The former medical director spoke from his own experience as a parent, expressing his apprehension that Bay Area students were not being allowed to attend in-person classes, according to KTVU-TV.

Along with doctors Pete Mazolewski and Brian Hopkins, deBoisblanc wrote that there were “deep concerns regarding more lockdown measures.”

“The science is clear,” the letter continued, “that more lockdowns lead to much more non COVID morbidity and mortality.”

“Public policy is being based on erroneous assumptions,” it added.

The trauma physician said “we’re worried some of the actions the county and government is taking can definitely have negative impacts on the public health,” according to KTVU.

DeBoisblanc’s letter seemed to ruffle the feathers of those at the county health department and other San Francisco Bay area officials.

John Gioia, the District 1 Supervisor for Contra Costa County, defended the California lockdown, which is based largely on a reported shortage of hospital beds.

“All of these orders have been based on strong science and good data,” Gioia said.

“They are citing data that our health department believes is not reflective of accurate current thinking [in the letter].”

But another area leader said that more transparency is needed from health officials during the pandemic.

“That only engenders trust and leads people to understand why we’re making these decisions and why we need them to behave in certain ways,” San Francisco District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney said.

DeBoisblanc seemingly had merely sought for clear answers regarding those affected by lockdowns, including embattled small business owners.

“We felt these were important questions that the people who are affected by these measures deserved answers to,” he said.

But deBoisblanc has now been moved to the back of California’s large unemployment line.

His employment at the hospital in Walnut Creek was terminated last week with little explanation from superiors.

“The Medical Director of Trauma and Regional Transfer Services is a contracted position and, after careful consideration, John Muir Health is not continuing with Dr. deBoisblanc in that position,” a statement issued by John Muir Health read.

Dr. deBoisblanc spoke to Fox News on Wednesday regarding his termination of employment, as well as the lockdown’s effects on school children who are being kept out of classrooms.

“All the data that I am aware of, looking at children and the virus, shows that it’s safe,” he told the network.

“There are many other states now that have months of track records showing that it’s safe for their kids to go back to school.

“And the state of California and the county is just not making that possible.”

The doctor also defended restaurants and small businesses, which have been intensely struggling during the pandemic.

“These are restaurants that are just trying to survive, and keep their doors open,” he said.

“It’s been very difficult for them.”

DeBoisblanc later revealed that he was not fired from his job solely because of the letter, but he said it was “clearly related to the letter.”

The California Department of Public Health announced a regional stay-at-home order on Dec. 3, which urged most residents of the state to stay home during the Christmas month, citing the shortage of hospital beds and rising number of cases. Contra Costa Health Services echoed this request in a media release on Dec. 16.

“Due to the dwindling supply of hospital beds for patients who need intensive care in the Bay Area, the state will apply a regional stay-at-home order across the nine-county region to slow the spread of COVID-19 and prevent the region’s hospitals from becoming overwhelmed,” the release stated.

“Now more than ever, Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) urges everyone who lives or works in the county to follow the health advice within the law to keep themselves and their loved ones safe during the holiday season.”

The order, among other recommendations, urged people to avoid “in-person gatherings with people who do not live in your household, especially indoors.”

Despite his termination, deBoisblanc had only kind words for health care workers at his former hospital attempting to navigate the difficulties of the pandemic.

“That’s a great hospital, they are doing amazing things,” he told Fox.

“The doctors and nurses there taking care of COVID patients are risking their health every day. They just got the first round of the vaccine. And let me tell you, it’s a big relief for them.”