The hypocrisy - it burns!

Twitchy: "‘Sweet irony’: Lecture about ‘upholding the law’ launches (another) search for Hillary’s self-awareness."

Craziness in Western Mass

I thought the fake shooting was enough for today but then I see this headline: "Montague police charge 3 with pistol-whipping assault on Chinese restaurant employee."

Montague is the sleepiest, quietest town in Western Massachusetts whose main claim-to-fame is the Montague Bookmill (an absolutely delightful place.)  Must be a full moon or something.

Here in the Bay State

I don't even know what to say about this story.  It has a Dwight Schrute vibe.  Fox News: "Massachusetts police officer fired after 'fabricating' shooting incident, officials say."  Bang-bang!  You're fired.

You've got your legacy, and how

You have to hand it to Obama: you would think that after driving the Democratic Party to record low representation across the nation, they'd think twice about throwing support behind another proposal solidly opposed by the American people.  Yet here we are again on the verge of another "victory".

Jonathan Tobin writes: "The Democrats Now Own Iran. They’ll Soon Wish They Didn’t"

Obama got his deal despite the opposition of the majority of Congress and the American people. But the Democratic Party now gets to pay the bill for it. By making Iran a partisan issue in this manner, Obama saddled his party with the blame for everything that will happen in the coming years.

Here's the thing: Obama has spent so much time vilifying opponents of this rotten deal, his enormous ego will not allow him to ever admit defeat.  And the mullahs in Iran know this.  So they'll funnel their recently-released riches to Hezbollah, and block out nuclear inspectors, and ramp up the mischief - because they know that Obama will never call them out on it.

To do so would be to confess that he's made a terrible mistake.  That will not do.

Extra - PJ Tatler: "Democratic Party Now Responsible for Iran’s Next Steps."

Let's go to prison!

As we reflect on today's headlines, keep in mind that we still have 75% of Hillary's emails to be revealed, drip-drip-dripped over months.  Here's the latest:

Fox News: "Sources: Clinton email markings changed to hide classified info."  "At least four classified Hillary Clinton emails had their markings changed to a category that shields the content from Congress and the public, Fox News has learned, in what State Department whistleblowers believed to be an effort to hide the true extent of classified information on the former secretary of state’s server."
Federalist: "Breaking: Hillary Intentionally Originated And Distributed Highly Classified Information."  She sent classified information to the one person the Obama White House said could not serve in the Administration.
Politico: "Feds move to consolidate lawsuits over Hillary Clinton emails."  For FOIA speed and efficiency.
Powerline: "The ultimate empty pant suit?"  What should I say to Harry Reid, guys?

But the Clinton people have a defense ready to go!  Daily Caller: "#Hillary2016: Not criminal, just incompetent."

There is no classified data except for all this classified stuff

Hot Air: "Who’s up for another 150 Hillary e-mails containing classified information?"

Of all the excuses designed to insult the intelligence of an average American, the one that drives me bonkers is that "the information wasn't classified at the time but it was classified later."  All 150 emails in this latest release.

How often does it happen that information becomes classified after the fact?  That is, in what situation would the passage of time make information more secret?  Let's put it this way: I imagine that information on the D-Day landings were somewhat less important on June 7th, 1944.

Travelling in a fried-out Kombi

I've just started a new book called "Disgrace" by J.M. Coetzee and came across this line:

"There is an old VW kombi packed in the driveway."

Which immediately evoked the Men at Work song "Down Under":

"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie."

So, of course, I went on the Internet and found out the "kombi" is the Volkswagon "Type 2" which we here in America call the "Microbus", the Brits call a "Camper" but elsewhere is called the "Kombi."

The Coetzee book is set in South Africa and the song "Down Under" is (of course) from Australia.



The more you know!

Democracy!

If you're a big fan of debate and the open exchange of ideas, well, you're gonna love the Democrats: "Wasserman Schultz blocked Iran resolution at DNC meeting."

This would be the same meeting where non-Hillary Clinton candidates complained that the DNC debate rules were designed to facilitate the Hillary coronation.

Because let's get this over with.

Extra - From Hot Air.

The FBI "A-Team" loves it when a plan comes together

Hot Air: "FBI “A-team” getting “extremely serious” on Hillary e-mail probe."  Pay close attention here:

A separate source, who also was not authorized to speak on the record, said the FBI will further determine whether Clinton should have known, based on the quality and detail of the material, that emails passing through her server contained classified information regardless of the markings. The campaign’s standard defense and that of Clinton is that she “never sent nor received any email that was marked classified” at the time.

Emphasis mine.  In my mind, this is the unforgivable crime: Hillary was receiving emails from the NSA and defense departments in charge of spy satellites.  Oh but the email wasn't marked?  You must be joking.

Nothing surprises me when it comes to the media

Gateway Pundit: "WaPo Fails to Identify ‘Close’ Clinton Adviser Used in Ignatius Column to Clear Hillary in Email Scandal."

Ignatius’ lead defense witness for Clinton is one Jeffrey Smith who is given four paragraphs of quotes defending Clinton. Ignatius identifies Smith as “a former CIA general counsel who’s now a partner at Arnold & Porter, where he often represents defendants suspected of misusing classified information.”
Smith is the only named source in Ignatius’ column.
Ignatius and The Post failed to disclose that Smith served as a ‘close’ national security adviser for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and that Smith has a history with the Clintons going back to at least President Bill Clinton’s election in 1992.

Shame: I always considered the Washington Post to be a good, balanced paper unlike those left-wing hacks at the NY Times.

Dude, you can totally trust us

Hot Air: "Great news: Iran all set to inspect its new Parchin annex any day now."

"Yeah, uh, we didn't find anything wrong."

By most accounts, this embarrassment of a non-treaty will not reach the two-thirds threshold to override a veto so then the new question is when will Israel start bombing.

Sick

The only story today is the horrifying shooting in Virginia, captured on live TV.  I was at work today and sometimes the best place for fast-moving stories like this is Free Republic.  At some point, a poster said: "He's live-tweeting" and, incredulous, I hit the link.  Sure enough, there was a Vine-type video that showed the start of the shooting.  I managed to see it exactly once before Twitter quickly took down the page.

I had never seen this before!

Oh, man....

Not a smidgen of corruption

Washington Free Beacon: "Lois Lerner Used Second Personal Email Under Different Name To Conduct IRS Business."  It only took two years for this fast-moving investigation to discover this tidbit.

It's all about control

Say, there, John Q. Public: what are you spending those loose bills on?  Zero Hedge: "Why government hates cash."

The trouble with triffids

My son wanted to visit the Grey Matter Bookstore here in Western Massachusetts (very nice collection!) and it was there that I picked up from the "Staff Recommendations" table "The Day of the Triffids."

I finished this 1951 sci-fi classic over the weekend and...it was good but not terrific (pardon the pun).  Set in England, a cataclysm makes most of the world blind opening the door for a species of flesh-eating plants to take control.  What I found interesting about this work of fiction is how many aspects of it were co-opted into other sci-fi works.

Here's a partial list off the top of my head:

Blindness by Jose Saramago - everybody in the world goes blind
Guy wakes up alone in a hospital - "28 Days Later" and "The Walking Dead."
Man-eating plant - "Little Shop of Horrors"
Implacable, unstoppable, masses of semi-sentient beings looking to feast on human flesh - every zombie movie
Mysterious disease kills everyone - "The Last Ship" and "The Stand."
You ladies better have some babies to save the species - "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Seveneves."

Fake Labor Party leader - Fake Indian 2016

Legal Insurrection: "Biden-Warren 2016".

In case you forgot about Joe Biden's plagiarism, here's an article from Slate insisting we should not forget his crime.  Watch Slate embrace a policy of amnesia (for the greater good!) if Biden is the nominee.

Acceptance? Never.

Bookworm Room: "Hillary and the five stages of grief."

That being the case, Hillary’s last line of defense can only be, as her supporters in the USA Today argue, that she was too stupid to recognize classified information. Good luck selling that one to the voting public or a jury.

Also, she was too stupid to figure out how to run two email accounts out of a single device, and has no idea what you mean when you wipe a computer as opposed to just deleting emails.  Dead candidate walking.

Let the trees burn

Maggie's Farm: "Why do we fight forest fires?"  I was wondering the same thing.

God bless the United States Marines

Fox News: "3 injured on Paris-bound train after gunman armed with AK-47 opens fire."

The suspected gunman was overpowered by off-duty U.S. soldiers when the train stopped in the northern French city of Arras, La Voix du Nord reported. He was later arrested.

This Telegraph report identifies the soldiers as Marines.  Early reports are filing in:

The identity of the gunman and the motivation for the attack is unknown, officials said.

Yeah, right.  Take a wild guess.

But did he have to talk about racism?

Boing Boing: "How a jerk scams a free quadruple espresso at Starbucks 365 days a year."

"Born classified"

Reuters: "Dozens of Clinton emails were classified from the start, U.S. rules suggest."  Here's an eye-opening section:

In an email from November 2009, the principal private secretary to David Miliband, then the British foreign secretary, indicates that he is passing on information about Afghanistan from his boss in confidence. He writes to Huma Abedin, Clinton's most senior aide, that Miliband "very much wants the Secretary (only) to see this note."

Nearly five pages of entirely redacted information follow. Abedin forwarded it on to Clinton's private email account.

For all to see.  Sorry guv'ner!

Extra - From Hot Air.

Wiper no wiping!

Shot:

The federal judge handling the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch said Thursday that Hillary Clinton violated government policy by using a private email server. He also ordered the State Department to confer with the FBI and Department of Justice to find out if those agencies had recovered any additional Clinton emails from the server and a thumb drive that was turned over by her attorney earlier this month.

Chaser:

On June 16, 1994, Judge Sullivan was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve as United States District Judge for the District of Columbia.

LOL.

Speaking of jokes

Charles C.W. Cooke: "The comical dishonesty of Clinton's email press conference."

I'm just a befuddled, old grandma: elect me President.

This joke Iran deal

Right Turn: "The latest Iran revelation is utterly humiliating."

Here come the water-carriers

If there was ever any doubt that the mainstream media would start to cover up for Hillary's crimes, here's Jeffrey Toobin in the New Yorker: "Hillary's problem: The government classifies everything."

Here's a taste of Toobin's argument:

In one case, according to media reports, one of Clinton’s potentially classified e-mail exchanges is nothing more than a discussion of a newspaper story about drones. That such a discussion could be classified underlines the absurdity of the current system. 

Geez, what's the big deal everyone?  Well, maybe that discussion included information like "hey, this news article is talking about our secret base outside of Karachi."  Nobody can say at this point but the Inspector Generals seem to think it's serious enough.  In the next sentence, Toobin concedes:

But that is the system that exists, and if and when the agencies determine that she sent or received classified information through her private server, Clinton will be accused of mishandling national-security secrets.

Yes it is, which is why the State department has it's own servers, presumably with better security than computers stored in a Denver bathroom.  But since Hillary's email was almost certainly hacked by foreign agents, it's time to declare it's all meaningless info:

This is nonsense on several levels, beginning with the fact that the Secretary of State does not have the authority to unilaterally reclassify material on her own whim.
The point behind having laws that put people in jail for mishandling top-secret material is to ensure that rogue employees don’t decide to overrule the entire intelligence apparatus and decide that TOP SECRET//SI//TK//NOFORN material is really just silly fluff that anybody should be able to read.

We've only scratched the surface and already we're up to 300+ classified emails.  Hillary belongs in prison.

Extra - Hot Air: "Latest pro-Hillary spin: Classifications are dumb, y'all."

Cue the mariachi band

Not gonna lie, I laughed out loud at this.  Reddit: "What conspiracy theory do you believe?"

Swiper and The Map are in cahoots.
Think about it: How does Swiper always know where Dora will be?
And who is telling Dora where to go?
WAKE UP SHEEPLE.

It all makes sense now!

California - 'nuf said

Washington Examiner: "No one showed up for California's green jobs rush."

Don't touch Social Security

There's an old joke about a guy hitting himself over the head with a hammer.  His buddy asks him why he's doing it and he responds: "Because it feels so good when I stop."

Every election cycle the Republicans offer solutions to fix Social Security and every time they're accused of pushing Grandma over a cliff.  So I'm with Jazz Shaw: let's never touch FDR's sacred program.

There is, of course, one other alternative. As unpleasant as it may sound, we could just let the system go broke. Continue to reject huge tax hikes while offering packages which would fix it and allowing the Democrats to either block the measures or wait for the President to veto them. Then, when the first set of checks go out which are more than ten percent short the voters will be outside the halls of the powerful with pitchforks and torches. At that point all you can do is wander out to meet them, shrug your shoulders and tell the angry hordes to go speak to the Democrats.

I don't know where Shaw gets the 10% figure because it's well-known that when the SS Trust Fund is exhausted, benefits will be cut by around 25% by law.  From the Social Security's Trustees report:

Thereafter [after 2034], tax income is projected to be sufficient to pay about three-quarters of scheduled benefits through the end of the projection period in 2089.

At which point, I assume the Democrats response will be something like this:

Sorry not sorry

The Hill: "State Dept. turns up thousands of emails from top Clinton aide."  There was a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed last year and the State Department said they couldn't find anything.  But now they've uncovered 17,855 emails that fall under the request.  Here's the State Department's explanation:

The State Department did not explain the reversal in the court document, nor did it return a request for comment.

Screw you and your FOIA request.

Hillary wants to send million-dollar paychecks to the Koch brothers

You heard me.  WashPost: "Clinton is open to raising Social Security taxes on six-figure earners."

Increasing the cap would ensure that wealthy workers pay "their fair share," said Christian Weller, an economist at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
Just how much that fair share should be is hard to say. Retirees' Social Security benefits are calculated based on how much they've paid into the system, not their total earnings over their careers. While it might seem odd that the wealthy don't pay taxes on their earnings above a certain amount each year, it's important to keep in mind that they also don't receive benefits on those earnings later on.

And now they will!  And since the wealthy like Bill Gates and Paris Hilton tend to live longer, they'll be collecting fat paychecks well into their nineties.

Oh, but wait: since Social Security is a universal benefit - a kind of "social insurance" - we can't just take those "earned" benefits away.  So belly up to the bar, Donald Trump.  Your government check with your returned "fair share" is on the way.

Talk about spreading the word

“This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.” - Sid Ziff

MassLive: "'Literary litterbug' admits tossing 600 books from car."

They realized they suck without Roger Waters

Consequence of Sound: "R.I.P. Pink Floyd, legendary psych-rock band is officially broken up."

Hillary belongs in prison

Wall Street Journal: "Clinton Defies the Law and Common Sense - The question of whether Hillary Clinton’s emails were marked top secret isn’t legally relevant. Any cabinet member should know that."

Extra - Bookmark this: "Understanding just how serious Hillary’s server problem really is."

Uh, no

Hillary: "People should and do trust me."

Fox News: "Fox News Poll: Voters say Clinton lied about emails, put US at risk."

It's all downhill from here.

The ongoing struggle

Zero Hedge: "19-Year Old Sets Own Ferrari On Fire Because He Wanted A New One."

Plot twist: not an American!

The FBI has Hillary's server

I'm thinking the drip-drip-drip is going to open up to a rivulet of scandal.  Fox News: "FBI has Hillary Clinton emails from home server, official says."

The FBI has taken possession of thumb drives containing Hillary Clinton's emails, some of which have been deemed to contain highly sensitive classified information, according to a U.S. official briefed on the matter.

Not just classified but Top Secret:

The inspector general for the Intelligence Community notified senior members of Congress that two of four classified emails discovered on the server Clinton maintained at her New York home contained material deemed to be in one of the highest security classifications – more sensitive than previously known.

And I've noted this before: Hillary was receiving emails from the CIA, NSA, and various intelligence sources that don't even want the public to be aware they exist.  Why wouldn't you automatically assume that these messages were classified?  That's what Intelligence Community Inspector General I. Charles McCullough III said: these emails were classified at the time of reception, time of retention, and time of transmission.  Which means that Hillary broke the law:

"Whoever, being an officer, employee, contractor, or consultant of the United States, and, by virtue of his office, employment, position, or contract, becomes possessed of documents or materials containing classified information of the United States, knowingly removes such documents or materials without authority and with the intent to retain such documents or materials at an unauthorized location shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both."

Hillary should be in prison.

I did it for you, America

The Corner: "This is really the spin on the e-mail scandal now?"  "Hillary Clinton’s campaign is now resorting to the defense that her using a personal, private e-mail server in contravention of government rules was a good idea because . . . sometimes government servers get hacked, too."

Unpatriotic traitors who only want war

Now with more Democrats!  Federalist: "Shock Poll: Only 41% Of Democrats Want Congress To Approve Obama’s Iran Deal."  So much common cause with the hardliners.

Free speech Seattle

The Hill: "Protesters shut down Bernie Sanders rally."  "Protesters who claimed affiliation with the Black Lives Matter movement stormed the stage during a rally for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in Seattle on Saturday, taking over the microphone and forcing Sanders to leave without ever speaking."

The people there to listen to Sanders seemed paralyzed to stop three protesters, for fear of being accused of racism.

Extra - Maggie's Farm: "Good grief."  The video is something to behold.

Amy is late

This always makes me laugh:

Happy warriors

I wasn't going to watch the GOP debate tonight but the Red Sox lost in record time, so I turned it on.  It was much better than I thought it might be.  The candidates were on-point and good-natured towards each other, less so towards Hillary.  There was a lot of "I'm the only man on this stage..." but Ben Carson stole the night when he said "I'm the only man on this stage to separate Siamese twins."

Extra - Matt Continetti says "Rubio wins."  Yeah, he was good.

George Will was wrong

This past Sunday, Will said that Senator Chuck Schumer would make a public display of appearing anguished over the Iran deal just before he falls in line behind Obama.  HuffPost begs to differ: "Chuck Schumer Planning To Break With Obama, Oppose Iran Deal."

Prediction: Obama will characterize Schumer as just reacting to AIPAC since nobody in Obama's world could disagree with him in good faith.

Extra - From Twitchy.

Awaiting the coronation

Me, two months ago: "This is a genuine question: does Hillary intend to participate in Presidential debates?"

Answer: yes, but just the bare minimum head-nod to democracy.  Weekly Standard: "O'Malley blasts Democrats for limiting debates."

Baltimore mayor isn't going to let the unfolding disaster get her down

C'mon everybody, get happy!  Breitbart: "Baltimore mayor says 'I'm not going to resign' despite city's most violent year."

But the mayor then complained that too many citizens were “harping on the negative.”

That would include requesting federal intervention to quell the spiraling violence, the largest drop in housing prices among the country's top 100 metro areas, and a steady erosion of jobs.  But hey, there's going to be lots of money for "recreation centers" because they're fun.

Here come the Obamacare rate hikes

Hit and Run: "Why the Obama Administration’s Latest Gambit to Keep Health Insurance Rates Down Won’t Work."

Extra - From Instapundit.

The government is here to help

Hit and Run: "Study: Yes, Student Loans Are Making College More Expensive."

America on Iran deal: it sucks

Hot Air: "New Q-poll shows Americans oppose Iran deal 2:1."

The more that the American people get a chance to look at the nuclear deal with Iran, the less they like it.

I'm not sure that's the issue at all.  Instead, I think it's the very fact that Americans have no idea what kind of a rotten deal we're getting mixed up in, and are justifiably repulsed at a secret deal with a regime that still calls for the destruction of America and Israel.

Gas makes a car go

I know that NASCAR isn't everybody's cup of tea, but today's race at Pocono was both exciting and hilarious.  Brad Kesolowski ran over his pit crew, Kevin Harvick exploded his engine, and Kasey Kahne hit a pit road wall, sending helmets flying into the air.  In the final three laps, the top drivers ran out of gas - one by one - leaving the field open for Matt Kenseth and his slightly-better fuel-saving strategy.

Double-dipping and time-card punching

Huma was on the Clinton gravy train, natch.  Powerline: "Clinton aide and confidante was overpaid at State department."  So was Hillary, amirite?

But it's the happiest place on Earth!

Pretty funny trip report: "Disney World is the worst thing ever.  You should definitely go."

How do you solve a problem like DWS?

Debbie Downer answers exactly one question from Chris Matthews in this interview: Bernie Sanders will be allowed to speak at the DNC convention.  Otherwise, she won't answer anything else including "what's the difference between a Democrat and a Socialist?"

This is an interesting theory

In the Washington Times, Monica Crowley says the bad blood between Hillary and Obama will lead to a Joe Biden campaign:

So here’s the likely plan: Mr. Biden will announce that he is running for president (the reported dying wish of his late son, Beau). After a respectable amount of time, Mr. Obama will announce that while he admires all of the Democratic candidates, Mr. Biden has earned his particular loyalty.

Crowley flatly states that "Hillary Clinton will not be the Democratic nominee for President" and the Obama coup de grace could be getting his Justice department to investigate Hillary's classified emails.

What else is in the news?

It seems like every time I check the news it's either Trump or Planned Parenthood videos.  I guess I'll link to this article on Social Security sitting on the top of the Drudge page:

I could not believe I was seeing the equivalent of what I was just thinking, but with a new twist, “If I like my Social Security, I can keep 77 percent of it.”

A program so good they had to make it mandatory.

There are no dealbreakers!

Fox News: "On their terms? Iran wants to take own soil samples at suspected nuclear site."

Anything you want, mullah dear, anything you want.

America wants war - the only option

Hot Air: "CNN poll: Majority rejects Iran deal, 44/52."

Are we there yet?

We have to give Iran the nukes before we find out what's in the agreement

What fresh hell is this?  Washington Post: "Obama’s secret Iran deals exposed."  "President Obama promised that his nuclear deal with Iran would not be “based on trust” but rather “unprecedented verification.” Now it turns out Obama’s verification regime is based on trust after all — trust in two secret side agreements negotiated exclusively between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that apparently no one (including the Obama administration) has seen."

Extra - Vodkapundit: "John Kerry: Rube of State."

More - Breitbart: "Monday on  MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said it is a “big assumption” to think the Iranians will comply with the restrictions and inspections in the nuclear deal recently announced by the Obama administration."  Why do you want war!?!

Great news: no Olympics in Boston

Boston Globe: "Boston’s bid for Olympics is withdrawn."  Here in Western Massachusetts, the desire for the Games ranged from cold to tepid.

Stonewall

The Daily Signal: "The Clinton Emails: Will DOJ Conduct a Real Investigation?"  Can anybody seriously dispute this:

Any other federal employee found to have discussed high-level, sensitive government business in her personal emails, including possibly classified materials, would not have been treated with such kid gloves.

I heard on NPR this morning that some of the emails reviewed by the State Department IG were from either the CIA or the NSA.  Wouldn't any federal employee reasonably assume that anything from these intelligence agencies involve classified data?  They're not exchanging recipes.

Here come the entitlement cuts

WashPost: "A cut to Social Security disability benefits may be around the corner."

The disability trust fund will be depleted by the fourth quarter of 2016, leaving the administration with enough income to pay 81 percent of benefits, according to the report, which is updated annually.

The health of the Social Security program didn’t change by much, and the cut to disability benefits has been expected for years. But now that Congress has still not come up with a compromise for boosting the funding, the shortfall is more imminent.

Yes, there have been some bloggers who have pointed out for years now that automatic cuts are baked into the cake once the various "trust funds" run dry.  I can't wait to hear all the great solutions to be proposed by the Democrats, since Republicans would be crazy to put out proposals just so they can be accused of pushing Granny over a cliff.

For all the world to see

Found this on Voat: "Why the Hillary Clinton email server scandal is a BFD"

If I was able to find all of this out within 20 minutes of passive probing, imagine what someone could do with that was an IT major league all star and had the resources of a government agency behind them. I would be freaking amazed if that server was not compromised within a few weeks of it going online.

That is why it is a BFD.

Basically, this IT guy says that the security on Hillary's private server was shoddy and you can safely conclude that any classified information sent to it was Hoovered up by the Chinese.

Let's see if Loretta Lynch pulls an Eric Holder

NY Times: "Criminal inquiry is sought in Clinton email account"

WASHINGTON — Two inspectors general have asked the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into whether sensitive government information was mishandled in connection with the personal email account Hillary Rodham Clinton used as secretary of state, senior government officials said Thursday.

The request follows an assessment in a June 29 memo by the inspectors general for the State Department and the intelligence agencies that Mrs. Clinton’s private account contained “hundreds of potentially classified emails.”

I look forward to the affected insouciance of the NY Times editorial page over Hillary's crimes.  Yes, crimes.

Conspiracy theory

I was at a concert tonight so i'm just going to throw up this Ask Reddit thread: "What is your favorite conspiracy theory?"

I had not heard the one about Michael Jordan.  Hmmm.

Many guesses will be offered

Maggie's Farm: "How Did Rich Connecticut Morph Into One Of America's Worst Performing Economies?"

Inspirational. And - c'mon - kinda funny.

MassLive: "560-pound Eric Hites, riding bike across US to lose weight, delayed over bent rim."

Get your money for Hezbollah and your nukes for free

Power Line: "Iran: Of course we'll continue to support terrorists!"  I mean, what's an Islamic state supposed to do with $100 billion?

Race relations meeting goes about as expected

About a week ago, a series of roundtable discussions on race issues held in Worcester under the guidance of the Department of Justice wrapped up.  It was a train wreck:

WORCESTER – "Dear white people," started Joyce McNickles, a local activist who was allowed to share her reflections on the city's seven discussions on race at Monday night's final meeting. "I want you to know the most frustrating thing about these dialogues about race was the reluctance to admit that racism actually exists."

It seems that some of those crackers had the white-privilege nerve to disagree:

Etel Capacchione described mixed reactions with many "painful moments" when comments from people of color were "dismissed, attacked or redirected."

"How can you have a dialogue if you can’t speak open and honestly?" Questioned Wanda Alvarado-Eaton.

Let’s have an open discussion about your hateful comments, whitey.

But wait: it gets better and/or worse depending on your viewpoint.  In 2015, the great threat to civil rights is anonymous bloggers:

In talking about her reactions to Worcester's series of talks on race, Wanda Alvarado-Eaton talks about being attacked online by anonymous blogger Turtleboy Sports.

"We need to address issue of this blog," Alvarado-Eaton said. "The people associated with the blog need to be addressed. He and anyone associated with it need to be prosecuted for libel, defamation of character and inciting a riot or race war, as many of his commenters have talked about. It's inappropriate and ultimately a hate crime."

Uh-huh.  Well, I would dispute that but I don’t want to cause “painful moments.”

After seven meetings of fruitless and circuitous chatter, a big flipboard was set up asking this question: “What action will you take as a result of these dialogues?”  Virtually every answer was some variation of “more dialogue” except for one honest soul who wrote “go on vacation.”

A brief moment of glory

I got a kick out of this: top 10 ball boy/girl catches:

Chicago-style accounting

Zero Hedge: "Pension Shocker: Plans Face $2 Trillion Shortfall, Moody's Says."

The nut root nation

WashPost: "Activists disrupt forum featuring candidates O’Malley, Sanders."  The Black Lives Matter crew wasn't having any of it.  This is my favorite part:

The Vermont senator faced chants and heckling as well, but Sanders continued talking. Asked what he had done in the Senate to benefit black Americans, he started to talk about the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

“We can’t afford that!” heckled Elle Hearns, a 28-year-old Ohio-based coordinator for the LGBT rights group GetEqual.

When you're to the left of Bernie Sanders...wow.

Another day at the office

Washington Free Beacon: "Clintons Facilitated Donor’s Haiti Project That Defrauded U.S. Out of Millions"

A federal agency rushed to approve funding for a Clinton donor’s sham Haiti recovery project that ended up defrauding the U.S. government out of millions, according to court transcripts and internal government documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
Miami businessman Claudio Osorio, who is currently serving 12 years in federal prison on fraud charges, leveraged his relationship with Bill and Hillary Clinton to help his company InnoVida obtain a $10 million loan from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) for a Haiti housing project in 2010.
OPIC is an independent government agency that submits its annual budget requests through the State Department and works closely with the agency.
Bill Clinton helped arrange for a high-powered Florida law firm to represent Osorio during loan negotiations with OPIC, according to court testimony. An internal OPIC memo said Hillary Clinton was prepared to marshal State Department resources to assist with the donor’s project.

Now we know what motivates Hillary to marshal resources in a crisis.

That guy's a real pistol

Tonight we saw "The Merry Wives of Windsor" at the Hampshire Shakespeare Company.  I hadn't read or seen this play before and there's a comic relief character in it named "Pistol."

I was wondering if this was the origin of the word that has come to mean a "jokester" - a funny guy.  I can't seem to find confirmation on the web but it seems as good an explanation as any.

Man, I hate the mainstream media

Why do they do stuff like this?  Ace: "CNN "Analyst" Wasn't Sure if "Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez" Was a Muslim Name."  Sounds Dutch.

America in retreat

Here's Dana Milbank in the WashPost: "Obama’s news conference was a case for American weakness."  "This was an undercurrent of the whole news conference Wednesday afternoon, and of Obama’s overall defense of the Iran deal. He was tough and strong, but in service of the argument that American power is limited — that this is the best deal we could get with our declining leverage. His defenders call it realism; it also may amount to ratifying retreat."

Expensive and ineffective - what a deal

Hot Air: "Just your daily reminder that Medicaid is a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’."

It's a good thing you got coverage for the doctors that won't see you.

Queen of hedge

Some have timeshares there https://t.co/1mCJRh8ZwG

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 14, 2015

Hot Air: "Hillary starting to inch away from Obama’s terrible Iran deal?"

PJ Media: "She dodges an answer on everything."

A sham of a farce of an "agreement"

Well, they wanted a deal badly and they got a bad deal.  I skimmed down this Fox News story until I hit this precious section:

The last major sticking point appeared to be whether international weapons inspectors would be given access to Iranian nuclear sites. The deal includes a compromise between Washington and Tehran that would allow U.N. inspectors to press for visits to Iranian military sites as part of their monitoring duties. However, access at will to any site would not necessarily be granted and even if so, could be delayed, a condition that critics of the deal are sure to seize on as possibly giving Tehran time to cover any sign of non-compliance with its commitments.

Ridiculous.  Inspections was the only part of the deal with any meat on the bone and now that's gone.  Oh, but we have the paper-mache "snap back" sanctions, which nobody believes will stick.  John Kerry and Barack Obama wanted to believe and that bit of self-delusion was good enough.

Congratulations, Iran.

Extra - On the other hand, like a Red Sox batter on a bad hitting streak, maybe Obama is due for a foreign policy success:

And how can we doubt the wisdom and judgment of the man who described ISIS as the "junior varsity"? Who assured us in December 2011 that in withdrawing US troops he was leaving behind a "sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq"? Who held up Yemen as a model of US backed counter-insurgency, until the Iranian-sponsored rebels overthrew the government? Who famously said in 2011 that Assad of Syria must go, although with continued Iranian backing, Assad hasn't? Who agreed to overthrow Qadaffi in Libya, with no credible plan to win the peace?

I suppose supporters of this deal can argue that Obama can't be wrong about everything, but I think he is on a roll.

Peace in our time.  I hear Obama's going to speak this morning; hope he has a paper to wave over his head.

If you like your talking points, you can keep your talking points

The same ones that crash against the rocks of reality.  WSJ: "The Unaffordable Care Act - Premiums are spiking around the country. Obama is in denial."

He's not the only one.

The Greek deal

Tyler Cowen over at Marginal Revolution is not impressed:

I’ll stick with my Twitter prediction that yes there will be another “deal” of sorts, but it will break down rather rapidly, leading to true Grexit.

Can the Greeks agree to this austerity plan, which is much more biting than the one they walked away from, when they just voted overwhelmingly against more austerity conditions?  They may have no choice since they're broke, which is a terrible position to negotiate from.

Extra - Megan McArdle: "That suggests to me that we are now at the make-or-break moment for the Greek-Euro relationship. Either Greece will succeed with a fairly brutal austerity plan to the satisfaction of its euro-zone partners, or the next time they come to the table, the Greeks will be signing divorce papers."

Pension reform or GTFO

Zero Hedge: "The Greek "Choice": Hand Over Sovereignty Or Take Five Year Euro "Time Out"."

The recently-resigned Greek Finance Minister was allegedly an expert on game theory.  How did that big bluff work out for you?

Back from Vermont

Went camping this weekend and the weather was just perfect: warm during the day and just a little cool at night.  The campground is in a valley with no cell phone coverage or WiFi, so I'm just getting caught up with all the latest news.  Instead of news, I read the new Neil Stephenson book and learned how to play pitch, which was fun.

Waiting for the press to do its job

Commentary: "Hillary Clinton's lies"

At some point, the political press has to tire of being used and underestimated by Hillary Clinton. Until that time, she will continue to flagrantly mislead the press and the public, making a mockery of the journalistic profession in the process.

And it's not so hard if you ask Hillary "yes or no" questions.  Did you get a subpoena?  No?  Oh, well, look at this.  Oh, a personal email server is permitted?  Let's see what the State Department guidelines say.  And so on.

Dixieland

Daily Caller: "Republican Governor To Take Down The Democratic Party’s Battle Flag."  "This is a striking rebuke to the Democrats, the party of slavery. Say goodbye to your beloved symbol of hatred, Democrats. The rest of us have moved on."

No place for the lukewarmers

Coyote Blog: "What the climate wars did to science."

Prepare to be shocked: Hillary lied

Wall Street Journal: "A Fact-Check of Hillary Clinton’s CNN Interview on Her Personal Email."

I didn't see the interview - and don't plan to - but by all accounts it was a train wreck for both Hillary and the CNN reporter, who didn't follow up and challenge Hillary's falsehoods.  Somebody like Tim Russert would have had the facts ahead of time and pushed back against the predictable and shop-worn responses.

Speaking of the media, here's Patterico:

Democrats think Republicans can’t see media bias unless Republicans are the target. Oh, we can see it. We’re used to seeing it. And on those rare occasions when the bias is directed against a Democrat? I’m not gonna lie. It’s sweet payback.

Oh, yeah, it's great.  I wonder if this is a backlash from the Great Journalist Roundup in New Hampshire.

Extra - Via Moe Lane: "Trey Gowdy: Hillary Clinton is flat-out lying about us not subpoenaing her."  Once again, I don't blame Hillary for prevaricating - fish gotta swim.  I do blame the media for letting her get away with repeated mendacity like the "one device" lie.  Do your jobs, for once.

More - Powerline: "It’s a shame that Keilar doesn’t keep up with the news. She might have been able to ask a follow-up question or two."  Exactly.

You want it? You got it.

Megan McArdle: "Greece hits the self-destruct button."

This just in, via the WashPost: "Europe gives Greece 5 days to avoid bankruptcy."

One of these states is not like the other

Kentucky!  What are doing hanging around with that riff-raff?  Mercatus Center: "Ranking the states by fiscal condition."

Delay of game

The Hill: "Obama administration likely to block new Redskins stadium."

This is not a trick question

The Atlantic: "Why Won't Hillary Clinton Talk to Reporters?"

Because she has nothing to say.  Duh.

Update:

Demographics is destiny: Greek edition

Here's Jim Geraghty: "I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts."

Take a good look, young people. This is where quasi-socialism, with unaffordably generous pension programs and early retirement, runaway borrowing and spending, and a kleptocratic unenforced system of tax collection leaves you: helpless, penniless, and crying in the streets.

Geraghty points out that about 75% of Greeks go on pensions by age 61, which puts a tremendous strain on the government:

Greece is still near the top, though it’s not so far from the eurozone average. Moreover, Greece’s high spending is largely the result of bad demographics: 20% of Greeks are over age 65, one of the highest percentages in the eurozone.

So there a lot of not-so-old pensioners in Greece.  Who is going to pay for this?  As Mark Steyn notes, not Greeks:

The United States has a fertility rate of around 2.1 — or just over two kids per couple. Greece, as I pointed out in America Alone, has one of the lowest fertility rates on the planet - 1.3 children per couple, which places it in the "lowest-low" demographic category from which no society has recovered and, according to the UN, 178th out of 195 countries. In practical terms, it means 100 grandparents have 42 grandkids – ie, the family tree is upside down.

As Steyn concludes: "how likely is it that the debts run up by 100 people will be paid off by 42?"  It's not and a responsible government would have trimmed sails a long time ago.  But, as we know from American entitlement reform (or lack thereof), it's much easier to keep the checks printing and pass the debt on to future generations.

"What violations?"

That's literally a section title in this Reuters report on the Iranian nuke negotiations.  The Obama administration cares far more about getting a legacy-building deal than keeping the Iranians from getting nuclear weapons. That's a problem for other Presidents.

Extra - The Corner: "Beware the legacy seeker."

Drachma bound

Fox News: "Greece enters uncharted territory after referendum 'no' vote."  Not even close.  Everybody is saying that this will roil financial markets tomorrow, but hasn't this scenario been "baked into the cake"?  I mean, I thought the Grexit was inevitable months ago.

Hiding the bad news, New York Times-style

"Hey chief, we have to report that Obamacare premiums are going to soar."
"Let's dump it on the Saturday edition."
"Plus, it's a holiday weekend!"
"Score."

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

America!  I love this place.

Legacy shopping

Charles Krauthammer on Iran nuclear negotiations: "The worst agreement in U.S. diplomatic history."

Redacted

Kimberly Strassel: "Hillary’s Email Story Unravels - Now that we know she edited the emails before turning them over, the entire record is suspect."

She should be in prison.

Extra - Vodkapundit: "...not one damn thing Hillary as said about her private email server has turned out to be true."

"Wet streets cause rain" logic

Hit and Run: "New York Times: Shout Loudly Enough, and We Will Succumb to Your Heckler’s Veto - Why will the Paper of Record publish a condom-Pope but not a Mohammed statue? Catholics aren’t loud (or scary) enough."

The NY Times here is suggesting that - all things being equal - it's the nature of the artwork that engenders protests instead of the nature of the protesters.

My favorite part of the Times' specious argument is that, gosh darn it, some people think that Condom Pope is "a piece of significant artwork."  So c'mon artists, let's get some quality paintings of Mohammad and the New York Times will happily share the culture.

Fun new prediction game

Hot Air: "Time to start a pool: When will Bernie Sanders pass Hillary in Iowa or New Hampshire polling?"

I've always said that Hillary's support is a mile wide and an inch deep.  That puddle is drying.

Drip drip drip - more Hillary lies

So many to choose from.  Let's start here: Washington Examiner: "Yes, Clinton lied about her emails."  They were altered by her staff before the paper copies were turned over to State:

But the proof of intent to deceive comes in the fact that Clinton or her staff actually edited some of the emails and turned over censored versions to State before destroying her copy of the originals.

Why paper copies instead of electronic?  Because there are ways to tell if an electronic document has been altered.  Bonus: it slows down the disclosure process.

Next: remember how there were concerns about sensitive State secrets on an unsecured private server?  Well, we were told - relax! - no worries.  And then: "NYT Reporter: State Dept. Redacted Two-Dozen Clinton Emails Despite Her Saying There Was No Classified Information On Them."

Finally, recall how Hillary deleted all the "private" emails, leaving behind only the important work-related emails from her tenure in State?  Well, those printed out pages full of relevant disclosure include decisions over luxury jet rides and requests for iced tea.