Monthly Archives: March 2015

How stupid does she think we are?

Yesterday, the excuse that Hillary Clinton gave for conducting official business through a private email server was that she had two phones to access multiple email servers. There are multiple problems with that “explanation, but since when do you need multiple phones to manage multiple email accounts? I have access to my personal email server (like the Clintons’, but more secure because mine runs Linux instead of Windows) and a Gmail account through my phone. It’s lame email software (Outlook comes to mind) that can’t handle multiple accounts.

A certain substitution is easily envisioned here

Faded glory. Faded freedom.

Quoting Edward Gibbon:

In the end, more than freedom. they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life, and they lost it all……security, comfort, and freedom. When the Athenians wanted not to give to society but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished foremost was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.

Something to think about. Keep our current predicament in mind as you do so.

Major Museums Start Banning Selfie Sticks

Could this mark the beginning of a return to sanity?

Major Museums Start Banning Selfie Sticks

Selfie sticks, the logical ‘extension’ of an already irksome activity, were recently banned in Premier League soccer stadiums. Now museums around the world are starting to do the same over worries of accidental damage to artwork. The Smithsonian barred their use effective last week as a ‘preventative measure to protect visitors and museum objects,’ especially on crowded days. Meanwhile, a formal ban is pending at Versailles palace and Centre Pompidou in France, and visitors are now being told to stow their sticks by guards at the Louvre. Both Pompidou and the Louvre will continue to allow regular photography and selfies.

Private email accounts for me, but not for thee

Liberal hypocrisy knows no bounds:

Bob Shrum: “This is [just] a ‘process’ story”
Catherine Herridge: Internal State Cable Sent From Clinton’s Office Forbade Personal Email Accounts, For Security Reasons

Worthy of the flaming skull.  Ace quotes this:

Just got this document from FNC’s Catherine Herridge about Secretary Clinton and personal emails

Fox News has exclusively obtained an internal 2011 State Department cable that shows Secretary of State Clinton’s office told employees not to use personal email for security reasons, while at the same time, HRC conducted all government business on a private account.   Sent to Diplomatic and Consular Staff in June 2011, the unclassified cable, with Clinton’s electronic signature, makes clear to “avoid conducting official Department from your personal e-mail accounts”  and employees should not “auto-forward Department email to personal email accounts which is prohibited by Department policy.”

…and in a related vein:

Hillary’s State Dept. Forced The Resignation Of An Ambassador For Using Private E-Mail

Although Hillary Clinton and her allies may be claiming that her private e-mail system is no big deal, Hillary’s State Department actually forced the 2012 resignation of the U.S. ambassador to Kenya in part for setting up an unsanctioned private e-mail system. According to a 2012 report from the State Department’s inspector general, former U.S. ambassador to Kenya Scott Gration set up a private e-mail system for his office in 2011.

The inspector general’s report offered a scathing assessment of Gration’s information security practices — practices that are eerily similar to those undertaken by Clinton while she served as Secretary of State.

 

Actions have consequences

…though this one was a long time coming:

In “Unprecedented Move” Nobel Peace Prize Chairman Demoted For Decision To Give Obama 2009 Award

Back in 2009, just months after his swearing in, president Barack Obama was crowned with an unexpected glory: he won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 due to “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” Back then there was little indication that just a few years after his crowning achievement of “ending the war” in and returning US troops from Iraq, he would send US troops right back in Iraq for the 3rd US invasion of the country in three decades, but also send out US troops across the globe, and launch the second cold war, pushing the world to the brink of another “large scale war.”

[…]

Which is why don’t expect much coverage of the inevitable aftermath: earlier today, in what France24 dubbed an “in an unprecedented move“, the controversial head of Norway’s Nobel Peace Prize committee was removed Tuesday and demoted to the rank of mere member.

Buyer’s Remorse on 0bamaNet

Who didn’t see this coming? Oh, yes…those of us who were opposed to the cockamamie idea that the government ought to butt into the Internet:

Buyer’s Remorse on Net Neutrality

Quoting the Wall Street Journal:

When Google’s Eric Schmidt called White House officials a few weeks ago to oppose President Obama’s demand that the Internet be regulated as a utility, they told him to buzz off. The chairman of the company that led lobbying for “net neutrality” learned the Obama plan made in its name instead micromanages the Internet.

Mr. Schmidt is not the only liberal mugged by the reality of Obamanet, approved on party lines last week by the Federal Communications Commission. The 300-plus pages of regulations remain secret, but as details leak out, liberals have joined the opposition to ending the Internet as we know it.

…and The NewsTalkers:

Until Congress or the courts block Obamanet, expect less innovation. During a TechFreedom conference last week, dissenting FCC commissioner Ajit Pai asked: “If you were an entrepreneur trying to make a splash in a marketplace that’s already competitive, how are you going to differentiate yourself if you have to build into your equation whether or not regulatory permission is going to be forthcoming from the FCC? According to this, permissionless innovation is a thing of the past.”

The other dissenting Republican commissioner, Michael O’Rielly, warned: “When you see this document, it’s worse than you imagine.” The FCC has no estimate on when it will make the rules public.

Nice doggie

…and huge:

175-Pound Pit Bull Hulk Shatters Misconceptions About the Breed

This dog just may be the world’s largest Pit Bull. Only 18-months-old, Hulk weighs a hefty 175 pounds.

Despite his intimidating size, his owners Marlon Grannan and his wife Lisa Grannan say Hulk is a sweet family dog and a best friend to their 3-year-old son Jordan.

Videos and photos of Hulk with their son online shatter misconceptions about Pit Bulls as ruthless monsters.

Videos such as this “singalong”:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4SSPQ5iypc]

:-)

 

Took ’em long enough

<sarcasm> Who knew “workplace violence” could be a capital offense? </sarcasm>

Jury sentences Hasan to death for ’09 Fort Hood massacre

Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist convicted in the November 2009 shooting rampage that left 13 dead and 31 wounded, was sentenced to death Wednesday by a military jury.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, saying Hasan’s murderous rampage at the sprawling military base here left tragic and devastating loss for victims and loved ones.

Hasan, 42, was convicted last week on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 charges of attempted premeditated murder. He appeared expressionless upon hearing the verdict, which came less than two hours of deliberations.

The death sentence required a unanimous verdict by the jury of 13 military officers. At minimum, Hasan faced life imprisonment. Still, while Hasan could be the first serviceman executed by the military since 1961, the appellate process could take years.

Of course, now this jackwagon will continue to steal oxygen while the appeals work their way through the system.  At least he’s one step closer to the fate he so richly deserves.