The Daily Valet. - 11/18/20, Wednesday

✔️ The Truth Will Set You Free

November 18, 2020

Wednesday, November 18th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

If you didn’t catch my first fleets, they’re probably gone by now.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today's edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

DHS Head of Cybersecurity Fired

The president dismissed Director Christopher Krebs for pushing back against his claims of election fraud

You may not have known Christopher Krebs’ name until he was fired Tuesday, but I think you might hear more about the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the coming weeks.

Krebs, who led the federal government’s election cybersecurity efforts, was dismissed by President Donald Trump via Twitter. The tweets were flagged by the social media platform for promoting misinformation.

According to WIRED, the disinformation warning was, in some ways, a fitting finale to a two-week-long battle between Krebs and his boss in the Oval Office after calling the 2020 election the most secure in history. As writer Garrett Graff puts it, “Krebs did nothing more than tell the truths that Trump is trying to ignore; he was fired for almost literally pointing out that the emperor has no clothes.”

A source with knowledge of the firing said that Krebs found out about it via Twitter and that it was upsetting for him because he took the work seriously. “I’m proud of the work we did at CISA,” Krebs told NBC News. He was the first director of the CISA and had served since November 2018.

The CISA was originally intended to target foreign interference, reports NPR. But it has been exposing what it calls election-related “rumors” on its website—including those spread by Trump and his allies. Everything from software glitches in voting software to votes being cast by dead people.

Krebs’ dismissal not only leaves the door open for the president to appoint someone loyal in his place; it is also “an opportunity for bad cyber actors to take advantage,” said a former official of the Department of Homeland Security, CSIA’s parent agency.

↦ A Thought: Krebs, a well-respected former Microsoft executive, might just be the lone figure to emerge from the Trump administration with a better reputation than when he entered it.

Amazon Is Now a Pharmacy Too

Don’t fight it ... resistance is futile

Amazon is making its biggest leap into the multi-billion-dollar health care industry with the launch of Amazon Pharmacy, a new digital drugstore, reports Bloomberg.

The service, which launched Tuesday, works just like a traditional drugstore with special added perks for Prime members. Amazon Pharmacy accepts most major insurance but even those without insurance or expensive Rx plans can get an 80% discount on generic medications and 40% off brand names. And yes, Prime members can get free two-day delivery.

The launch comes as Americans continue to rely on telemedicine and getting meds mailed amid the pandemic. According to CNBC, this could become a permanent shift.

It definitely promises to be easier than the traditional setup. But it does come with the uneasy feeling of surrendering even more of your life over to Amazon.

↦ FYI: Amazon Pharmacy is an extension of PillPack, the drugstore startup Amazon bought for more than $700 million in 2018.

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Stories for Everyone!

Twitter’s new Fleets are designed to disappear

On Tuesday, Twitter launched Fleets—a portmanteau of “fleeting” and “tweets”—which disappear after 24 hours. They're like Stories on Instagram or Facebook, or like Snapchat.

Twitter hopes the new feature will help reduce the pressure around tweeting by letting users express more casual thoughts and feelings while also concerning themselves less with saying something profound or racking up likes and retweets, reports The Verge.

But despite a few well-intentioned jokes, some users are questioning whether the company did enough to account for all the ways its new Stories-like fleets could be used for harassment. According to Engadget, the feature doesn't appear to respect users' block settings, as people have reported being able to tag users who have blocked them.

And Gizmodo called it, “coward mode,” saying it's great news for chickens and now it's easier than ever to pretend you never posted that cringe to Twitter.

↦ FYI: Twitter is also exploring adding a dislike button or downvote system.

Clooney Reminds Us What Friends Are For

The actor confirms a legendary story of generosity

George Clooney is on the cover of GQ this month as one of their Men of the Year. And at the end of the accompanying profile, the actor confirms a mythic story that's been floating around for the past few years: that he gave each of his buddies a million dollars.

You see, this was before he was a husband and a father but after he raked in a massive payday following the success of Gravity (for which he earned a percentage of the profits instead of a standard paycheck). He wanted to share the wealth with the group of guys who he'd relied on when he was broke or needed help.

But anyone who's gotten money for a birthday knows that cash is way more fun than a check. So he did some research and found that in downtown Los Angeles, “there is a place you can go, and they have giant pallets of cash.”

He told no one but his assistant and packed 14 Tumi bags with a million bucks each, which he says, “isn't as much as you think it is, weight-wise.” Now, most of us can't do this. But it's a great reminder to share your good fortune, whenever you can, with those you love. Especially these days.

↦ Reminder: Most of us use credit cards and Apple Pay for most purchases, but here's why I've always got an emergency $50 bill in my wallet.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Dolly Parton

Alcoholic gravy?

Personal escape slides

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