Something like this is just not a good idea. Then we have a situation where the corrupt and rich house members can strongarm everyone else with a government shutdown, because they’re the ones that won’t care about missing paychecks. Who wants that?
You can use Wireshark to sniff the packets leaving your network. I use a PiHole to see all of my network traffic.
Neither of those concerns are exclusive to an Alexa device though. They’d apply to any communication device (phone, tablet, computer, laptop, or any other smart/connected device).
Alexa devices aren’t great for privacy, but they’re not nearly as bad as people like to think. They’re surely not as bad as your phone, especially if you’re not installing a bunch of skills.
They don’t send any data out unless they’re activated with the wake word. Alternatively, that means everything you say after that wake word is being recorded and sent to Amazon and who knows who else after that. By far the biggest privacy concern with them is when they mistakenly hear the wake word, and start sending data out without you realizing it. If this is a concern to you, I’d suggest leaving it unplugged when you don’t plan on using it, or plugging it into a “smart outlet”. Get a reputable one because that brings its own set of security and privacy concerns, or get one of the RF ones that turn on/off with a remote.
Echo dots can also play over Bluetooth.
Fetterman was the mayor of Braddock PA, a place I’m rather familiar with, for a long time. Braddock was/is a forgotten borough of Pittsburgh that’s long past its glory days. Fetterman came in and wanted to clean up Braddock. How effective he’s been has been up to debate, but the man really was a strong voice for Braddock and showed that he really cared. For every violent death that happened in Braddock while he was mayor, he’d get a tattoo of the date on his arm. He also got arrested for protesting the local hospital (UPMC), to get them to bring an urgent care center to Braddock.
Personally I think he’s improved Braddock. He helped bring in a few new businesses, and it’s helped liven the place up a bit. But it’s still a rough neighborhood that needs a lot of work.
In sync you can set up filters so you don’t have to see the sync posts.
Pittsburgh certainly isn’t easy coast or mid west. I consider Pittsburgh Appalachian.