January 30, 2016

Can someone explain to me what matters?

I've had my faith in a lot shaken tonight. A lot. Hell, it's safe to say I'm not even thinking clearly right now, but... What do you do when one candidate supports... Say 90% of what you believe in, and while the other one supports maybe 20 or 30; or at least says they support 20 or 30% of what you believe, they also have made decisions reprehensible enough that you can't trust them whatsoever? When it's literally become a matter of conscience to oppose them?

My faith in a lot has been shaken tonight, and I don't know what to do from here. To be honest, I'd love to parley with a Clinton supporter who isn't full of snark; which is probably really out there of someone like me to ask, but... How the hell do you do it? In all sincerity, how does one reconcile that kind of internal schism?

January 29, 2016

APNewsBreak: US declares 22 Clinton emails 'top secret'

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/e19abf78b6fe43e7b7719f059901630d/apnewsbreak-govt-finds-top-secret-info-clinton-emails

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration confirmed for the first time Friday that Hillary Clinton's home server contained closely guarded government secrets, censoring 22 emails that contained material requiring one of the highest levels of classification. The revelation comes three days before Clinton competes in the Iowa presidential caucuses.

State Department officials also said the agency's Diplomatic Security and Intelligence and Research bureaus are investigating if any of the information was classified at the time of transmission, going to the heart of Clinton's defense of her email practices.

The department will release its next batch of emails from her time as secretary of state later Friday.

But The Associated Press learned seven email chains are being withheld in full for containing "top secret" information. The 37 pages include messages a key intelligence official recently said concerned "special access programs" —highly restricted, classified material that could point to confidential sources or clandestine programs like drone strikes.

There are claims of overclassification by surprise surprise, someone in the Clinton camp-- but whether overclassified or not, the regulation is to report any slippages. Still want us to trust this woman with at least the next four years?

ETA: Funny what just a bit of digging will uncover about this.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-clinton-idUSKCN0PZ0S920150726

"I did not send nor receive anything that was classified at the time," Clinton said at a campaign stop in Iowa.

The email controversy has dogged Clinton's bid for the presidency, fuelling worries that the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination has tried to sidestep transparency and record-keeping laws.

At least four emails from the private email account that Clinton used while secretary of state contained classified information, Inspector General Charles McCullough, who oversees U.S. intelligence agencies, told members of Congress in a letter on Thursday.

Clinton said on Saturday she had "no idea" what were the emails mentioned in the letter.

McCullough's letter said a sampling of 40 of about 30,000 emails sent or received by Clinton found at least four that contained information the government had classified as secret.

The information was classified at the time that the emails were sent, McCullough said.

January 29, 2016

The Second Gospel of Reality.

We need to fight. Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, everybody but Israel and Saudi Arabia are our enemies, and they need to be dragged kicking and screaming into Democracy for their sake. That's reality; lump it.

Pharmaceutical companies need to be able to gouge you for prices, because we got ours; fuck you. That's reality; lump it.

TPP, TISA, TTIP, and SOPA need to become the standard of communication, because corporations need extraterritoriality, and we need to know our dissenters. That's reality; lump it.

The status quo will be preserved. So sayeth the campaign donations. That's reality; lump it.

Net Neutrality standards need to be repealed, because if three companies can't control all speech on the internet the way six companies control all speech on TV, there may be dissenters we don't know about. That's reality; lump it.

Decryption needs to be an enforceable standard, never mind the fact that it compromises the security of America at large, because bawwww scurry terrorists and child molesters. After all, your phone's metadata along with every phone call and text message you've ever sent has been stored by the NSA-- why not let China have a peek too? Or Russia? Or any one of the people we've always been at war with, because as you good, establishment-fearing democrats know, Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia, like we've always been at war with Russia.

This is your reality. Nothing can be done to change it. Assimilate or die. That's reality. Lump it.

January 29, 2016

.

On TPP, if Conde Nast can be considered right-wing, well that tells me Clinton supporters live in some bizarro America. On her neocon warhawkishness? One just needs to look at her voting record. And we're supposed to believe she can be Commander in Chief? How many lives has she, and all of the neoliberal conspirators in the democratic party thrown away on pointless interventionism?

But hey, that's none of my business. When corporations still run roughshod over us when she gains the presidency, when corporations claim extranationality and people are dying in the streets thanks to Shkreli-esque price gouging-- I'll just be laughing and saying "I told you so". When we're at war again and someone actually sacks up and hits something of ours, I'll still be saying "I told you so".

I don't trust anyone with the presidency who hasn't held prior military service, but I'll take Bernie miles over Clinton. Better a pacifist Democratic Socialist than the warhawk, cluster bomb supporting face of the "Third Way".

Every damn day of the week.

January 29, 2016

If it looks like a hawk and talks like a hawk

well, I'll let you rationalize your own conclusions, but as far as I'm concerned, it sure the fuck isn't a dove.