As a holder of a security clearance, I can confirn that it's absolutely considered a "leak", and potentiallly criminal offense to transfer or store classified information onto pretty much any computer which is connected to the internet, unless there's some kind of specific and pre-approved exception in place for a particular purpose and which requires that the information be encrypted and de-crypted on "air-gapped classified local networks" and only the encrypted files ever be present on an approved system for a short time.
I can't imagine any situation in which sending such information via gmail or a similar system could ever be considered to be at all secure (terrifyingly, the FBI report on HRC's activities seemed to indicate that use of personal gmail accounts for official (often classified) business by employees at Dept of State was "standard practice" well before HRC took the lead in that department. One issue is that Federal procurement restrictions and the need for appropriations through Congress for certain purchases makes it virtually impossible for any agency other than NSA to remain within 2-3 generations of current private-sector tech, though.
Bolton wasn't wrong in saying that he'd be in prison for doing what HRC did, anyone who's cleared could get $1million in fines and 1 year in prison per violation, if they're not protected by her level of political connection and ability to pay attorneys. He's insane if he thinks that sending classified data to his family via any kind of online group chat or messenger software isn't, in the eyes of the law, at least as severe as what Hillary did using her email server.
I've been describing it as "The generation which popularized the saying 'Never trust anyone over 30' is now throwing a hissy fit that no one under 30 listens to them."
A little late to the party. I wanted to read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The first book I read by HST was his "Hell's Angels, A Strange and Terrible Saga," a book that put him on his way, IMO. HST wrote an article about the HA for "The Nation" that somehow propelled him into embedding himself into the sphere of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. I admire that and he was an avid motorcycle rider, a BSA, I believe. Anyhow, the book is a time capsule now, not being a member he only had access to what the club did in public or what he was allowed to be privy to.
A theme that Matt and Walter sometime return to is the let down or disillusionment from the "Age of Aquarius" assumptions fostered during the 60's. Having been somewhat of a participant of the era, I like to hear interpretations of the era from "lettered" people. HST wrote in chapter 11 about Sonny Barger and the Angels allegedly "blew it" when they broke a really nonexistent coalition between the motorcycle outlaws and the "Rising Tide of the Youth Movement" of the 60's. HST was referring to when the HA attacked an anti-war march at the Oakland Berkeley line, 1965.
The left wanted the HA to be tribunes of the "movement". The hippies got along with them because, according to Barger, they both liked to get high and hated work. The Angels had no illusions of a dawning Age of Aquarius though. Campus radicals while they fancied themselves as outlaws "in the eyes of America," Hells Angels were real outlaws and had the police records and did the prison time to prove it. In the eyes of Beaver Cleaver's America HA were the scum of the earth. Sonny Barger never to win a seat in the California State senate like SDS luminary Tom Hayden or a tenured teaching position at a university ala Bill Ayers.
HST had his finger on the beat of the times, by 1971 the peace and love deal was done. The exact moment is inferred to be at the Rolling Stones concert at Altamont. HST describes Altamont as an "orgy of violence" that was just the icing on the cake of the "movement" that was already baked. Ironically the Hell's Angels again are the main characters in the final act, foolishly hired to provide crowd control by the clueless British rockers.
Thanks fellers for the trip. During that time period I took almost every drug HST mentions, we never heard of an ether high tho. A little jail time(1972) sobered me up to the fact that it was a one way ticket to prison or the graveyard wrecking anything good along the way.
By the way when I saw HST on NBC's Meet the Press with Tim Russert I knew his brain was finally cooked.
I listen to Walter and Matt for perspective. It was not as easy this time maybe because I am old and white. Yes I even date back to Nam. i felt I was risking back then by refusing the Oath of Aligence at induction but when I got back a lot of us marched on Washington DC. A lot of us raised familes that are now raising their own famlies with this president I just have no reapect for and I can not understand those who do respect him. Maybe that is not the case. Maybe my era is just too long ago to catch on today or make any sense in todays world.
My son’s Catholic school has a planned “field trip” to Pro Life Protest in DC January 2026. Those are sponsored as well. I said no. I won’t get into my beliefs on abortion, which anger almost everyone. But regardless of my beliefs I would never allow my son to attend such lunacy either for left or right. My liberal friends felt betrayed that I refused to join and flat out mocked no Kings nonsense despite disliking a lot (not all) of Trump’s decisions. My Church now just assumes I am massively pro choice. Most know I disagreed with Charlie Kirk on many things, but in this instance his murder became a great defense; one which I hope the school listens to: we just had a professional speaker get executed talking to a college campus about right wing issues. He has a lot more protection than high school kids at a march. There is no way I would want my son involved in taking that risk. Sadly, it’s a very subsidized trip featuring lots of side trips in DC, so he may miss out. We have decided to take a family vacation somewhere to make up for it.
1 - Every nation/government in the world agrees that someone stealing their secrets is a no-no. We can argue about the right or wrong of it, but that's been "the rule" as long as there have been Rulers, from the Great Khan to the modern nation state.
2 - That piece of "journalism" is so obviously a bought and paid for piece. Why are we pretending that the Media isn't what we know it is? It's raw propaganda. It's all just advertising, some paid for in cash, some in-kind, all of it ideologically aligned, dressed up in various forms of "news" or "opinion" for various interests. It's so nakedly partisan and obvious; it's not even subtle.
3 - two attorney points: (a) there are indictments, and then there are *indictments*. Yes, any half-decent prosecutor can get probable cause on a ham sandwich, but most are smart enough to know that if they get called on the carpet by a good defense attorney, they'd damn well better have BARD behind their ham sandwich indictment or it's going to get all over their shirt and tie.
(b) pro-tip: When they're obviously quoting from chats and messages, it's a good bet that they have the f*cking messages. Otherwise, they're either magicians/soothsayers or the craziest attorneys in the world with no regard for the rules of professional responsibility or the possibility of Rule 11 sanctions.
"Agnew was right. The press is a gang of cruel faggots. Journalism is not a profession or a trade. It is a cheap catch-all for fuckoffs and misfits—a false doorway to the backside of life, a filthy piss-ridden little hole nailed off by the building inspector, but just deep enough for a wino to curl up from the sidewalk and masturbate like a chimp in a zoo-cage."
Related to Walter’s comments of the Vegas book being about the hyperconsumerism of America—I read that HST was actually riffing on the great gatsby in telling the story…
Also, unless I missed it, I can’t believe you guys didn’t touch on the crest of the wave speech, the high water mark of the 60s optimism,,,,what’s up with that?
As a holder of a security clearance, I can confirn that it's absolutely considered a "leak", and potentiallly criminal offense to transfer or store classified information onto pretty much any computer which is connected to the internet, unless there's some kind of specific and pre-approved exception in place for a particular purpose and which requires that the information be encrypted and de-crypted on "air-gapped classified local networks" and only the encrypted files ever be present on an approved system for a short time.
I can't imagine any situation in which sending such information via gmail or a similar system could ever be considered to be at all secure (terrifyingly, the FBI report on HRC's activities seemed to indicate that use of personal gmail accounts for official (often classified) business by employees at Dept of State was "standard practice" well before HRC took the lead in that department. One issue is that Federal procurement restrictions and the need for appropriations through Congress for certain purchases makes it virtually impossible for any agency other than NSA to remain within 2-3 generations of current private-sector tech, though.
Bolton wasn't wrong in saying that he'd be in prison for doing what HRC did, anyone who's cleared could get $1million in fines and 1 year in prison per violation, if they're not protected by her level of political connection and ability to pay attorneys. He's insane if he thinks that sending classified data to his family via any kind of online group chat or messenger software isn't, in the eyes of the law, at least as severe as what Hillary did using her email server.
The 1960s protest kids are collectively screaming at the coming twilight to their influence.
They're pretty annoying no matter where they do it.
I had to fast forward past the shouting Portlanders. Cringe.
Rage, rage against the dying of the massive largesse unknown to any other generation before or since.
I've been describing it as "The generation which popularized the saying 'Never trust anyone over 30' is now throwing a hissy fit that no one under 30 listens to them."
Glad Matt is feeling better.
A little late to the party. I wanted to read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The first book I read by HST was his "Hell's Angels, A Strange and Terrible Saga," a book that put him on his way, IMO. HST wrote an article about the HA for "The Nation" that somehow propelled him into embedding himself into the sphere of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. I admire that and he was an avid motorcycle rider, a BSA, I believe. Anyhow, the book is a time capsule now, not being a member he only had access to what the club did in public or what he was allowed to be privy to.
A theme that Matt and Walter sometime return to is the let down or disillusionment from the "Age of Aquarius" assumptions fostered during the 60's. Having been somewhat of a participant of the era, I like to hear interpretations of the era from "lettered" people. HST wrote in chapter 11 about Sonny Barger and the Angels allegedly "blew it" when they broke a really nonexistent coalition between the motorcycle outlaws and the "Rising Tide of the Youth Movement" of the 60's. HST was referring to when the HA attacked an anti-war march at the Oakland Berkeley line, 1965.
The left wanted the HA to be tribunes of the "movement". The hippies got along with them because, according to Barger, they both liked to get high and hated work. The Angels had no illusions of a dawning Age of Aquarius though. Campus radicals while they fancied themselves as outlaws "in the eyes of America," Hells Angels were real outlaws and had the police records and did the prison time to prove it. In the eyes of Beaver Cleaver's America HA were the scum of the earth. Sonny Barger never to win a seat in the California State senate like SDS luminary Tom Hayden or a tenured teaching position at a university ala Bill Ayers.
HST had his finger on the beat of the times, by 1971 the peace and love deal was done. The exact moment is inferred to be at the Rolling Stones concert at Altamont. HST describes Altamont as an "orgy of violence" that was just the icing on the cake of the "movement" that was already baked. Ironically the Hell's Angels again are the main characters in the final act, foolishly hired to provide crowd control by the clueless British rockers.
Thanks fellers for the trip. During that time period I took almost every drug HST mentions, we never heard of an ether high tho. A little jail time(1972) sobered me up to the fact that it was a one way ticket to prison or the graveyard wrecking anything good along the way.
By the way when I saw HST on NBC's Meet the Press with Tim Russert I knew his brain was finally cooked.
I listen to Walter and Matt for perspective. It was not as easy this time maybe because I am old and white. Yes I even date back to Nam. i felt I was risking back then by refusing the Oath of Aligence at induction but when I got back a lot of us marched on Washington DC. A lot of us raised familes that are now raising their own famlies with this president I just have no reapect for and I can not understand those who do respect him. Maybe that is not the case. Maybe my era is just too long ago to catch on today or make any sense in todays world.
I listen to Walter like he’s on WKRP in Cincinnati. Can’t blame you for feeling that way. Much respect.
My son’s Catholic school has a planned “field trip” to Pro Life Protest in DC January 2026. Those are sponsored as well. I said no. I won’t get into my beliefs on abortion, which anger almost everyone. But regardless of my beliefs I would never allow my son to attend such lunacy either for left or right. My liberal friends felt betrayed that I refused to join and flat out mocked no Kings nonsense despite disliking a lot (not all) of Trump’s decisions. My Church now just assumes I am massively pro choice. Most know I disagreed with Charlie Kirk on many things, but in this instance his murder became a great defense; one which I hope the school listens to: we just had a professional speaker get executed talking to a college campus about right wing issues. He has a lot more protection than high school kids at a march. There is no way I would want my son involved in taking that risk. Sadly, it’s a very subsidized trip featuring lots of side trips in DC, so he may miss out. We have decided to take a family vacation somewhere to make up for it.
I hate protests. I am a liberal.
I think I am supposed to love them. I hate them. I always have.
Gentlemen,
1 - Every nation/government in the world agrees that someone stealing their secrets is a no-no. We can argue about the right or wrong of it, but that's been "the rule" as long as there have been Rulers, from the Great Khan to the modern nation state.
2 - That piece of "journalism" is so obviously a bought and paid for piece. Why are we pretending that the Media isn't what we know it is? It's raw propaganda. It's all just advertising, some paid for in cash, some in-kind, all of it ideologically aligned, dressed up in various forms of "news" or "opinion" for various interests. It's so nakedly partisan and obvious; it's not even subtle.
3 - two attorney points: (a) there are indictments, and then there are *indictments*. Yes, any half-decent prosecutor can get probable cause on a ham sandwich, but most are smart enough to know that if they get called on the carpet by a good defense attorney, they'd damn well better have BARD behind their ham sandwich indictment or it's going to get all over their shirt and tie.
(b) pro-tip: When they're obviously quoting from chats and messages, it's a good bet that they have the f*cking messages. Otherwise, they're either magicians/soothsayers or the craziest attorneys in the world with no regard for the rules of professional responsibility or the possibility of Rule 11 sanctions.
You came out of it ok. You still sound sane. But if you were my neighbor on Martha’s Vineyard I would have wished for a different outcome.
Like no knowing who the president is.
Will there be a Friday show as well this week (if Matt's up to it)?
"Agnew was right. The press is a gang of cruel faggots. Journalism is not a profession or a trade. It is a cheap catch-all for fuckoffs and misfits—a false doorway to the backside of life, a filthy piss-ridden little hole nailed off by the building inspector, but just deep enough for a wino to curl up from the sidewalk and masturbate like a chimp in a zoo-cage."
-HST, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Related to Walter’s comments of the Vegas book being about the hyperconsumerism of America—I read that HST was actually riffing on the great gatsby in telling the story…
Also, unless I missed it, I can’t believe you guys didn’t touch on the crest of the wave speech, the high water mark of the 60s optimism,,,,what’s up with that?
Tea Party protests were right wing protests similar to No Kings