Hillary Got Hacked! Can She Be Blackmailed?

I've worked in IT for almost 45 years.  I have spent the last 3 years working on security.  Hillary's email server was protected by out of date commercial security with known holes, based on what I've read.  Any foreign intelligence service with reasonably good hackers could get in, copy everything and get out without a trace.  For part of the time, a subcontractor was backing up Hillary's server to the cloud.  The possibility that Hillary was using the server as part of a pay to play scheme involving the Clinton Foundation only makes it much worse.  At that point Hillary can be blackmailed with information stolen from the server. 

(May require Subscription)

http://www.wsj.com/articles/hillarys-other-server-scandal-1457653794#lf_comment=475891012

In Defense of Snooping

Everybody knows the ultra-secretive NSA was snooping.  The program was called Stellarwind.  The snooping of Stellarwind has always been falsely described as listening in.  In fact it was more like reading the addresses and return addresses on envelopes, something which was routinely done without a warrant back in the days of snail mail.  The NSA tracked what phone originated each call and what phone was dialed, and that's all.  No phone conversations were listened to without a warrant, at least under Stellarwind.  Based on who called who, Stellarwind constructed a pattern of groups of people who were in contact with each other.  Whether that was a big enough threat to privacy for it to be cancelled is a question for the reader.  My personal opinion is that it's a very close call.  I would feel better about allowing the NSA to do it if Lois Lerner had not deployed IRS powers against President Obama's political enemies.  I still think it's probably worth doing despite the risk of abuse. 

(subscription may be required)

http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-defense-of-snooping-1456184621#lf_comment=465743734

FCC Emails Show Need For Regulatory Reforms

Recently emails from the Federal Communications Commission discussionhave been released as a result of a freedom of informatio suit.  They show that the FCC changed direction completely after receiving White House instructions.  This incident,  and others like it during Obama's term in office, should force the reevaluation of the entire regulatory structure.  It's clear that as part of the executive branch regulatory agencies will follow presidential orders.  Regulatory agencies have executive, legislative and judicial functions all concentrated in one agency without any separation of powers. The courts are not much of a check on regulators because, by law, courts must defer to the regulators' expertise.  The situation is almost an attractive nuisance for executive branch abuse of power. Even presidents disinclined to misusing regulatory agencies will be tempted by how easy it is to do.

Congress has delegated too much of it's power to regulatory agencies.  It needs to take a lot of it back.  I think it should start by requiring all proposed regulations to get an up or down vote in Congress and be signed by the president.  Also, there should be an automatic expiration date on regulations and regulatory agency authorization laws.  We should not be regulating the internet like it was an 1887 railroad.

Article I reacted to (-may require subscription) http://www.wsj.com/articles/emails-expose-obamanet-1457307020#lf_comment=473067121

Republicans Lead With New Ethnic Group

While some think Republicans come only in white, I think this year Republicans are a rainbow with two Hispanics in the running for president along with a member of a totally new ethnic group, the Orange.  There were coments that Donald Trump's makeup for the most recent debate made him look less orange than usual.  The Donald was trying to pass, but as the comment indicates, Trump was not able to hide his Orange identity. Besides, anybody as up to date as liberals should know Orange is the new Black.