NeoNote — HRC and the 2016 election
❝❝HRC was not that likable as a candidate. The image of HRC appealed more than the actuality. She's many things, but she's not appealing, probably because she doesn't seem to connect on a personal level. That was something that Bill Clinton excelled at, and the lack in HRC just came off as disappointing.NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
My claim was that people relied on the polls so much that they couldn't be bothered to double check what was happening.
The election of HRC was already in confusion, not in the least because she manipulated the rules to deny anyone else the nomination. It wasn't the first time that people decided they didn't want her as a candidate. Even her election to the Senate wasn't so much winning as controlling the process to get her a Senate seat as a power base. Without that and without a big push from her husband, she couldn't make it as a candidate. As Bill Clinton's legacy became tainted and Democrats started avoiding him, HRC's "star power" faded.
I don't know why she avoided so many public appearances in 2016, although I suspect it's health issues that she never told people about. That certainly didn't help her.
You can blame Comey, you can blame the LEAKED emails, but HRC was never a strong candidate. She didn't even want to go up against Gore. She didn't dare go up against Bush League in 2004 because she was afraid she be washed up if she lost. In 2007, she got sold out by the Democrat leadership because they didn't want her in the White House. In thirty years, her reasons for running for President was that she was a woman, and it was time. Her whole strategy centered on victimhood while implying that she was owed the Presidency because Bill and others had done her wrong.❞❞
Allegations
❝❝The allegations against Trump described the Clintons' behavior.❞❞
☆ Dear Democrats
I'm not a Trump supporter. I don't like him, I don't trust him, and I don't think he's good for liberty or the country. But I've also been watching the man for a long, long time. There's an exchange in the original Pirates of the Caribbean film.
““You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of.””
““But you have heard of me.””
And that's where we are, folks. Trump may be the worst president you ever heard of. But you have heard of him. And he plays the press better than almost anyone else on the planet.
Think about it, Trump has made several careers over several decades doing exactly that. He keeps turning bad press into press for his goals. Then he gets most of what he wants. He plays the long shots, more often than not he gets the payoff. Trump has spent his life turning obstacles and adversity into triumphs.
No, I don't like him. No, I don't trust him. But I can't deny Trump's success. The orange hair clown is a distraction. He plays a character to divert your attention, but underneath there is a first class operator and a pretty good executive.
Any of this is obvious to any one who bothered to do the research. That brings us up to just before the 2016 election.
You don't have to take my word for it, do some digging. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama conspired to make HRC President. I'm not going to go over the shenanigans and rules lawyering that leveled the opposition in their party. It has it's roots in the superdelegates, and you don't need my instructions on how to clean your own house.
But HRC decided to go one step further. She decided that she needed a Republican clown to defeat. She picked Donald Trump. Without doing her homework, she bought into the image that he'd been selling for decades. HRC called in some favors. With Obama's help, Hillary set up a backup plan using ideas that have been very successful for the Democrats in the past. They tried to set up a false narrative that would give Democrats Absolute Moral Authority to denounce Trump and all Republicans for all time.
Or at least for the next eight years.
Yes, you read that right. Hillary Clinton picked Donald Trump to lose the election. And she called in every political marker she had to make sure he got the Republican nomination.
Hillary Clinton did not do her homework. Nobody in her camp did. They forgot that Trump turns adversity into advantage.
This isn't the first time Democrats have relied on false narratives. The Republicans are the party of Lincoln. Republicans were responsible for passing the 1964 Civil Rights Act over strong Democrat opposition. But because Republicans did not give special privilege and recognition to the designated victim class, they were "racist." In the public perception, "equal rights" got redefined into preferential treatment. But only for certain groups.
The later waves of feminism are way too complicated to untangle here. Feminism changed into a variation of the same theme. Preferential treatment AND special privilege on demand and as defined by certain very vocal women who claimed to speak for all. If a Republican politico did not support that instantly and without question, well, naturally they were misogynist and anti-woman. Never mind that the definitions constantly changed, or that the "rights" weren't always practical or even possible. No, certain women had to have what they demanded when they demanded and without consequence. Or the Republicans were keeping women down.
And then there is climate change. I've dealt with it extensively elsewhere. It doesn't use science, it uses the politics of victimhood. And you are not allowed to dissent.
There are other false narratives. But these are big ones from the Democrats. Republicans have their own, but I'm not going into those here.
Since at least the 1970s, Democrats have relied on the The Big Lie to manufacture narratives giving Absolute Moral Authority to denounce Republicans. Sometimes I wonder if the Democrat and progressive elites have forgotten how to do anything else.
And that brings us to the 2016 election aftermath. There was the narrative, Trump had colluded with Russians to steal the election. He was a traitor and a fool. All his supporters were uneducated and unsophisticated saps who Trump had exploited. Surely the virtuous Democrats could prevail against Orange Man Bad.
This time there was a difference. Any Trump watcher could tell you that Trump wasn't a politician. Most especially Trump wasn't the usual Republican politico who avoided political conflict in the name of bipartisanship. He couldn't be shamed or guilted into anything. Go after Trump publicly and he would hit back harder than you ever dreamed. Later he might call you up after and invite you to dinner and drinks, but that was after the hand was played.
This was Trump's background before he was elected.
And after? He was the Chief Executive. He just cleaned house a bit, put the right people in place at the right time, and was patient. He trusted in the American people and the rule of law. That law was on his side. All Trump had to do was the right thing. Talk about irony.
It could have been different if Democrats had gone after Trump for things he actually had done. Eminent domain abuses come to mind.
But no, everything was bet on one spin of the wheel. Democrats forgot that Trump built casinos. A well-run house never loses as long as it obeys the law and doesn't mess with the odds too much. All he had to do was the right thing.
Trump didn't "win" this one because of his virtue. He won this one because he played by the official rules. Not the unspoken rules that Washington has been using, but the actual official ones based in law and the faith of the American people. Because the Democrat elites didn't play by those rules, it gave Trump the Moral Authority to do what comes next. Not Absolute Moral Authority, but none of the Democrat leadership can challenge Trump when he goes after those who tried to take him down. Just for doing his job, Trump is going to be that much stronger in 2020.
So the Democrats are discredited.
If there is one piece of advice I hope you take from this, it's that you need to abandon the false narratives. Be true to your beliefs. By all means call Republicans out for breaking their word, but do the same for your own leadership. Don't look the other way because somebody famous claims to support your goals. Words matter, actions matter more, intentions don't. Don't take their word for it, see what they actually do.
If you are going to claim moral authority, you need to be true to your own morality.
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Tuesday roundup
Headlines that don't merit their own entry
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Sum up
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Thursday supersized roundup
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Breaking the boundaries of civilization.
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We need thisSuper oversized roundup - clearing out the old stack
Monday roundup
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Environmentalism is a crusade, ecology is a science studying interconnections and tradeoffs.
Token doctor? - revised
☆ Selective
Still think libertarians are paranoid?
The question isn't if the NSA watches everything. We now know that they do.
Libertarians have been watching this for a very long time. Ever since the Inslaw affair we've known. Rumors have been flying since the days of minicomputers that certain machines were modified to report to the various spy agencies.
So let's talk about the story headlines from yesterday.
Donald Trump and his associates were under surveillance, but not directly. They were incidentally surveilled because of active surveillance on other parties. This may have been taking place for up to a year before the 2016 election. At least one source dates the surveillance to 2011.
This is where we start getting into legalisms. Because Trump and associates were not the direct targets of surveillance, intelligence officials say that Trump was not under surveillance. Technically true and absolutely false.
By American law, the names of American citizens are "masked" in surveillance reports unless they too are under investigation. Or unless an authorized government official orders the names unmasked.
So the NSA spies on everyone but Americans are supposedly shielded and protected by a legal process. Even there the names would have only have been unmasked for that one official. Except President Obama had recently changed the regulations, some intelligence would be shared among 16 different agencies.
Washington is a political town, gossip rivals actual intelligence as trade goods. While it was illegal to share those unmasked names with those who did not have clearence, that's also business as usual.
And so far no one is asking what Hillary Clinton and her associates were doing for the same time period.
So the NSA spies on everyone on the planet.
One government official can unmask the American names in intelligence reports, even if those Americans had done nothing wrong.
And it all could be denied because the denial is technically true while absolutely false.
Your government. Working to protect you.
I'm going to tell you some secrets now.
The NSA can't monitor everything on the internet. They may record it to batch examine later, but there's no computing power that can watch everything in real time.
Despite all the enhanced algorithms, despite the focus on encrypted data streams, and despite the probability matrices, the system is half blind.
I don't remember which one, but when I was a teenager I read a novel about WWII spies. There was a bookstore in the novel, and every couple of hours a certain book was moved. From the noon position to the two o'clock, from the two to the four o'clock, and so on. The first thing that the spy ring did was check the window, if the book wasn't in the right spot they knew their cover had been blown.
So imagine a Facebook page and the picture on the top is a border collie. One day the picture changes to a pinto mare. Two hours later something blows up.
Imagine a reddit about French cooking. One day a newbie signs in and asks about substitutes for heavy cream. The next day a newspaper gets a tip about the L.A. water supply being contaminated.
Do you see?
All this spying can't reliably predict what might happen except by blind chance. It's amazingly good about putting all the pieces together after.
All these intelligence agencies are subject to political corruption.
So, does all this spying really protect you?
Unholy alliance
❝❝Her politics don't allow for dissent.
That tells me more than I need to know.❞❞
I wrote that Friday morning about Laci Green.
I could have just as easily written it about Hillary Clinton.
Or most Democrat politicos and celebrties for the last sixteen years.
Basically since George W. Bush (Bush League) won the Republican nomination for President, conservatives and especially Republicans have been called Evil Incarnate. They will destroy civil rights. They will arrest all immigrants. They will force all gays into conversion therapy.
It’s always an emergency. It always requires drastic action NOW this very second.
The words haven’t changed. The Republican nominee is always anti-woman, anti-black, anti-gay, and anti-anything if it sounds bad enough.
At least, that’s what the Democrats say.
Except it’s not the Democrats. It’s the Democrat talking points. And they aren’t true.
Life goes on. The election of Bush League didn’t result in all those terrible things.
The election of Donald Trump won’t either.
So why are there carefully organized protests? Why are streets being blocked? Why is property being destroyed?
Now that is a very good question.
Let’s start with who is paying for and organizing these protests. Much of it comes from MoveOn.org. And most of the money from that comes from George Soros. Soros is a very interesting figure who goes out of his way to manipulate things while operating in the background. He’s funded astroturf groups to accomplish his goals, including campaign finance reform. He has often played one side of the Democrat party against another part.
Now, no one pours millions into something unless they have a clear goal.
Soros will tell you it’s for the greater good, but that is not true. Soros wants to benefit. He wants control and access to politicos. He wants technocrats hopping to his orders. He wants power and profits.
Soros gets that by wedding his corporate and financial interests to government in one of those unholy alliances.
George Soros was a major backer of Hillary Clinton. He’s almost certainly one of those who arranged for Clinton to be nominated while locking out all other Democrat candidates. The Soros connections to the Clintons go back to WJC’s Presidency.
Yes, that happened. Look at the Podesta emails.
Major figures in the Democrat party have worked with Soros over the decades. He’s been a major behind the scenes influence cutting deals with the Democrat leadership.
These deals have not been for the people. These deals haven’t even been for the Democrat rank and file.
These deals expanded George Soros power and wealth while protecting him from prosecution and competition.
Soros has spent heavily and gotten government backed privilege at the expense of the common man.
Meanwhile, the “little people” that the Democrats are pledged to help have been locked into poverty and helplessness for generations.
Every government benefit that you accept takes away your freedom.
This is an unholy alliance designed to keep poor people poor and less than human. Always dependent on The Man.
Well, George Soros is The Man.
Millions of middle class and upper class Democrats, convinced that they have to “do something to help NOW,” take their marching orders from community agitators and politicos paid by George Soros.
These “protests” distract attention from Soros. These “protests” blame Republicans. These “protests” spread lies and misinformation. These “protests” keep you from the truth.
So why are you still involved?
Understand, protesting is not the problem. It’s protected under the First Amendment. Nationally organized disruptions that damage or destroy, that’s the problem.
These “protests” were never about the election. They are about keeping people scared. Scared enough to demand government action. Scared enough to sacrifice freedom and liberty.
Ask questions. Ask yourself who benefits. Ask yourself if you really trust people who have been lying to you for years.
Ask yourself if you want to live that way.
The last thing I'm writing about the 2016 election
What a mess
How dare the FBI investigate her
Politico elites lie
Rigged? In What Way Is This Election NOT Rigged?
❝❝The political and media elites are outraged beyond measure by Donald Trump’s charge that the election could be rigged. How dare he suggest such a thing, they say, for the system is as honest as the day is long!
It shows he knows he is going to lose, they say. It shows that he has no faith in the American system, and is really a fascist at heart.
In reality, it shows no such thing, but it does show that a conversation about whether this election -- and the political system in general -- is rigged is one that the elites most desperately do not want to have.
And that is why we must have it.
And, if we’re going to have it in an honest fashion, the question should be framed not as “Is the system rigged?” but as “In what way is the system not rigged?”❞❞
Donald Trump’s one merit in this election is that he is the system breaker.
No matter who is elected, no matter who wins the inevitable court case challenging the election, the two major political parties are done.
Finished.
There is nothing that can save them now.
Hillary Clinton’s machinations and betrayals are set out for all to see. The Democrat elites helped her shut out all competition. We don’t know exactly why. It certainly wasn’t because of her accomplishments. The takeaway is that the DNC elites can’t be trusted.
The RNC elites are gunning for Trump. He wasn’t supposed to win. The fix was in. The takeaway is that the RNC elites can’t be trusted.
Do you understand yet?
The takeaway is the the elites can’t be trusted.
Government is not your friend.
A government smaller than absolutely necessary.
These are the things you should remember.
Hang onto your freedom.
HT Bookworm.
Apple patented blocking smartphone cameras
Take this Apple patent. An IR sensor receives a coded signal and disables the camera on a smart phone. Now at first glance, this might frustrate customers at concerts but it would make artists and music publishers happy. It's a tradeoff and customers will learn to accept it for their own good. After all, this is Apple we're talking about here.
Except, not quite.
Apple is usually about what the customer wants. Sometimes they goof. And sometimes Apple has to make compromises to get their product out there. It usually works out well.
Kinda. Sorta. Maybe.
Apple is saying that it could be used to block concerts. But not just concerts. Sensitive events.
This time I can see some damn scary possibilities. And not just me. Also here and here (HT to Daring Fireball for those last two).
It turns out that police can be very critical and aggressive when citizens film what police do. A Federal judge has ruled that filming police is not protected by the First Amendment. Yep. Police can seize your phone, even when you film them breaking the law. The are ways that could make the situation easier, but it's already tense. A little prep can go a long way here.
But if the police turn on a IR gizmo that disables your camera, then they don't have to deal with you. If this technology is introduced, do you really think police departments and Federal agencies won't find a reason to use it?
And of course it's for your own good. And public safety.
We already have agencies regularly abusing or ignoring FOIA requests in direct violation of the law. Now imagine Federal buildings and offices with the IR gizmo permanently installed and permanently on. How long do you think it will take state and local agencies to do the same thing?
And politicos? Hillary Clinton is famous for banning reporters from her campaign. She gives speeches where the press is closed out.
The two national parties have have designated "free speech" areas away from the action during the last few nominating conventions.
How easy it will be to put up the IR gizmos and not worry about any embarrassing videos on YouTube?
Of course the major news organizations will have exemptions. For the good of the nation, you see. Just because the news will be more spoon-fed when there aren't a bunch of angry citizens questioning the Official Story® with their own footage, well, that shouldn't be an issue, should it? The press will always look out for the little guy, right?
So don't complain, Citizen, this is for your own good. It's for the Nation. It's for security. It's for the American Spirit. It's for your freedom. Your own government will tell you so.
Relax Citizen, it won't hurt.
Much.
And after a while, you won't even notice.
Maybe I am overreacting.
The patent is real. The rest is speculation.
So far.