Althouse: "The hacker said that he read all of the e-mails in the Palin account and found 'nothing incriminating...'"

September 18, 2008

"The hacker said that he read all of the e-mails in the Palin account and found 'nothing incriminating...'"

"... 'nothing that would derail her campaign as I had hoped. All I saw was personal stuff, some clerical stuff from when she was governor…. And pictures of her family.'"

Glenn Reynolds calls attention to something important in the news reports of Sarah Palin's hacked email. He comments that the hacker's scheme will probably backfire. But now, wait a minute. Let's look at it from another angle.

How do we know the hacker was really anti-Palin? Why take his assertions at face value? I'm focusing on the strong and helpful assertion that he's read it all and that there is "nothing incriminating," everything is perfectly fine. Isn't that convenient? Why don't we start suspecting that the hacker was pro-Palin?

After all, everything here helps Palin. She's had her privacy violated, so we feel outraged, sympathetic, and protective. And yet, what we're told was found absolves her of the charge that she's done something wrong.

103 comments:

From Inwood said...: At least they didn't find any correspondence between Sarah Palin & Margaret Cho!; 9/18/08, 5:30 PM
Revenant said...: The hacker being pro-Palin only makes sense if you assume Palin was in on it. He gave out her family's contact information and gave a large number of anonymous Internet users access to her email account. That isn't something a pro-Palin person would do unless he knew she'd be ok with it.; 9/18/08, 5:34 PM
dbp said...: Palin has been and will continue to be criticized for having a password which was too easy to guess. There is always something.; 9/18/08, 5:34 PM
Simon said...: "we feel outraged, sympathetic, and protective."

Who's this "we"? That hasn't been the universal reaction, by any means. Indeed, the prevailing response on the left - even among the more respectable of the left-leaning regular commenters here - has been to blame the victim. I would have hoped that anyone with a conscience has the reaction you describe, but we've already seen that this either isn't so or there's a lot of people walking around without a functioning conscience.

"And yet, what we're told was found absolves her of the charge that she's done something wrong"

Again, that isn't the meme I've seen circulating on the left. They're claiming - without any evidence that I can see, indeed it seems to be a bald-faced lie - that the violation has proven the claim that she did something wrong.; 9/18/08, 5:34 PM
Harwood said...: Ann sez: How do we know the hacker was really anti-Palin? Why take his assertions at face value? I'm focusing on the strong and helpful assertion that he's read it all and that there is "nothing incriminating," everything is perfectly fine. Isn't that convenient? Why don't we start suspecting that the hacker was pro-Palin?
---
Yeah, and while we're at it, why don't we start suspecting that Levi isn't the father of the baby Bristol Palin is carrying. That black guy Kevin is on YouTube telling the world that he is the father.

Oh, wait. Maybe Kevin is really pro-Palin, and he's putting bullshit on YouTube to create a sympathetic reaction in Palin's favor. Yeah, that's the ticket.

But not so fast. Maybe the hacker is the one who got Bristol pregnant, and this whole hacking thing is a diversion.

Or maybe -- whoa! -- maybe Ann is the hacker and she's just kicking up dust to draw attention to somebody else.

I mean, you just don't know what you can believe anymore!; 9/18/08, 5:42 PM
Daryl said...: How do we know the hacker was really anti-Palin?

Because he's David Kernell, son of a Dem legislator. And he has a blog. It's a stupid, trite, Obama-bot blog. That's how we know he's anti-Palin.

Funny thing about violating people's privacy--other people are less inclined to respect your own.; 9/18/08, 5:43 PM
Roger J. said...: sometimes a hack is just a hack--one hell of a sad commentary on american political discourse when there is real shit going on in the world and we are focused on the vice presidential nominee of one party. Really friggin sad.; 9/18/08, 5:45 PM
EnigmatiCore said...: "How do we know the hacker was really anti-Palin? "

It looks like the son of Tennessee state representative Democrat Mike Kernell has been contacted in the investigation.

It might turn out they are contacting the wrong guy. It also might turn out that he does not share his father's political leanings.

Or, it might not.; 9/18/08, 5:46 PM
Anonymous said...: How do we know the hacker was really anti-Palin?

Wouldn't it be cool if the hacker turns out to be John McCain!

And that he not only was trying to make Palin into a sympathetic victim but also that he's a LIER. He really does know how to email and even hack into other accounts.; 9/18/08, 5:49 PM
The Drill SGT said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/18/08, 5:50 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: Does it matter if he is anti or pro Palin. What does matter is a crime may have been committed. Will there be an investigation, how far will it go, and will there be indictments.

Or will this be written off as a foolish, childish, political prank?; 9/18/08, 5:50 PM
The Drill SGT said...: How do we know the hacker was really anti-Palin?

Duh?? trying to drive up hits?

1. The guy under investigation, who has claimed involvemnt is David Kernell, son of Tennessee State DEMOCRATIC Legislator. The odds of his 20 y/o son being McCain operative? give me odds and I'll take a thousand dollars on that.

2. AP has been trading emails with the alledged hacker, but refuses to give the info to the Secret Service. If they thought he was connected to McCain, what are the odds that they would sell him out in a second? give me odds and I'll take a thousand dollars on that.

The point is, your hypothesis is completely bogus. The evidence is that nobody would bet on your side of the equation and everybody wants the "he's a Democrat" side of the bet; 9/18/08, 5:51 PM
Buford Gooch said...: The hacker didn't guess or find her password, he used the Yahoomail system to reset a password that's been forgotten. It was way too easy, too; 9/18/08, 5:51 PM
Donn said...: I heard that John McCain hacked Sarah Palin's email account to drum up support for his embattled VP pick.

As a lifelong Republican, this disturbs me a great deal, and I have no choice but to cast my vote for Obama/Biden.; 9/18/08, 5:55 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: How do we know the hacker was really anti-Palin?

Because, as everyone knows, pro Palin voters are a bunch of no neck, nose picking knuckle draggin, computer illiterate, hillbillie white trash. There is no way that a pro Palin supporter would have the intelligence to hack into a machine. We'uns can barely figur out one of them thar ATM machine thingies. Much less be able to hack into a computer. We think those are just big etch a sketch machines.....right. ;-); 9/18/08, 6:01 PM
vbspurs said...: Because he's David Kernell, son of a Dem legislator. And he has a blog. It's a stupid, trite, Obama-bot blog. That's how we know he's anti-Palin.

So, I couldn't believe this. I mean, it's too stupid to do something like this when you're dad is an elected official -- and children of politicians know that.

But yes, apparently, he is at least part of the FBI's inquiries. Here is a post on it.

The post ends with a sarcastic quote:

To quote Janeane Garofalo: "Democrats are fundamentally more decent people".

Look, anyone could've done this, and no one has the high road when tied to politics.

But the abbreviated time and urgency with which Democrats or those with Obama leanings have gone after Palin to damage her, has been stunning.

And by stunning, I mean disgusting.

Hope they throw this kid in gaol.

Cheers,
Victoria; 9/18/08, 6:01 PM
chickelit said...: AP takes on the secret service- gotta love it! What will Obama say? What can he say?

This is the best show on earth!; 9/18/08, 6:01 PM
Fen said...: /bump for all of our dumbass Leftists here who continue to parrot Obama talkng points:

The hacker didn't guess or find her password, he used the Yahoomail system to reset a password that's been forgotten. It was way too easy, too; 9/18/08, 6:06 PM
vbspurs said...: Why don't we start suspecting that the hacker was pro-Palin?

Ann, if it proves that this kid was indeed at fault, or that ultimately the person who did this was anti-Palin, will you feel embarrassed for having written this?

Conspiracy theories are generally bad ideas as reasoning. There is a fine line between being a critical thinker, and being too cute by half.

OTOH, if it turns out it is a Rovian hack, I'll eat humble pie publicly.

Cheers,
Victoria; 9/18/08, 6:06 PM
Fen said...: /yah, I know. They're willfully obtuse, so here it is again:

The hacker didn't guess or find her password, he used the Yahoomail system to reset a password that's been forgotten. It was way too easy, too; 9/18/08, 6:07 PM
Fen said...: /sigh... apologies to all, but my handbook on the Democrat variety of Weasels advises three repetitions

The hacker didn't guess or find her password, he used the Yahoomail system to reset a password that's been forgotten. It was way too easy, too; 9/18/08, 6:08 PM
ricpic said...: Given her machiavellian tendencies Althouse clearly had a previous incarnation as a courtier in Cremona.; 9/18/08, 6:10 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Ann, if it proves that this kid was indeed at fault, or that ultimately the person who did this was anti-Palin, will you feel embarrassed for having written this?"

Of course not. I'm just probing and analyzing, pointing things out and asking questions from new angles. I doesn't matter to me whether the theory is right or wrong.; 9/18/08, 6:10 PM
Masterasia said...: Governor Palin's security detail is utterly incompetent.

With several countries already being victims of large scale cyberspace attacks, one can just laugh at the mediocre level of security of a VP candidate of the U.S.

I don't think this issue helps Palin, just look at their ticket's poll drop. :D; 9/18/08, 6:11 PM
john said...: Donn,

There really should be an organization of lifelong republicans. Perhaps even a union. There is a whole town of lifelong republicans in New Hampshire, I hear, who every 4 years get interviewed on NPR, and say that this time they need to vote their conscience and go with the current dem candidate.

We all should have a big get together every summer; maybe excitable Andy would host it in PTown.; 9/18/08, 6:12 PM
vbspurs said...: Yeah, I knew you'd say that, Ann. And you're not wrong to say it. We all know you were just probing.

But sometimes it's a little premature to ask people to conjecture about conspiracies without properly having at least some info on the matter.

Having waited a little would've answered a big "what if" asked in your post.

Turns out, if he is at fault, and his father is a Democratic politician, plus he is truly pro-Obama, it's an open-and-shut case -- unworthy of knocking our noggins together and thinking more critically.; 9/18/08, 6:16 PM
chickelit said...: Ann Althouse said: Of course not. I'm just probing and analyzing, pointing things out and asking questions from new angles. I doesn't matter to me whether the theory is right or wrong.

Well I hope that comment at least causes the "she's not neutral" whiners to take pause.; 9/18/08, 6:18 PM
section9 said...: Are we sure it wasn't Margaret Cho? Maybe Cho has this, you know, need to be close to Palin.

Seeing that they are both Christians and all....; 9/18/08, 6:19 PM
vbspurs said...: BTW, I threw a conspiracy theory "Hmmm" in another post, in case you guys caught it and would like to use it against me in future.

He said in his 4chan post on how he cracked Palin's Yahoo account that he found only 2 Wasilla zip codes. When I Googled, the very first link gave me 5.

Stuff like this makes me suspicious, but as a point of curiosity not because I think it's a Rovian plant who left a stink trail.; 9/18/08, 6:20 PM
VariableSpin said...: Who wants to bet that when this Kendall kid gets his perp walk suddenly there will be a wave of lefty commenters lamenting that we are getting "distracted" from the "real issues"?

Would the righties do the same if it did turn out to be a false flag operation?; 9/18/08, 6:21 PM
john said...: Masterasia said...
I don't think this issue helps Palin

I agree, it just makes her seem a victim, and even if she is in this case, it's not the "Leader from Day 1" image she needs to foster.; 9/18/08, 6:27 PM
vbspurs said...: I agree, it just makes her seem a victim, and even if she is in this case, it's not the "Leader from Day 1" image she needs to foster.

Wait, guys. Normally I would agree, but she hasn't said one peep about this matter.

It's being handled by authorities because it's invasion of privacy, and potential identity theft is a very serious crime, which many people can relate to.

Stop thinking as people who deal in political blogs all the time. Start thinking as normal Americans.

My father was aghast at what happened. He hates Repubs, but he's had his online bank account hacked, and he can relate.; 9/18/08, 6:32 PM
MadisonMan said...: A Pro-Palin Person Possesses too high a scruple count ever to do something so loathsome.; 9/18/08, 6:34 PM
john said...: Something else bothers me: Why the hell does a governor communicate by email anyway? That should be against the law (and may be anyway).

Are these emails old, pre-governor or pre-mayor?; 9/18/08, 6:36 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Stop thinking as people who deal in political blogs all the time. Start thinking as normal Americans.

Ah.. I'm offended.

I was born a political junky, there is nothing I can do about it ;); 9/18/08, 6:51 PM
Cedarford said...: jdeeripper - Wouldn't it be cool if the hacker turns out to be John McCain!

And that he not only was trying to make Palin into a sympathetic victim but also that he's a LIER. He really does know how to email and even hack into other accounts.

That was quite funny.

Basically, McCain, the secret gifted hacker behind the whole nefarious plot to make patriotic, law-abiding Obamabots look bad.
Yes, it only proves the possible depth of McCain's depravity, as Jill Greenhouse saw through the facade.
Saw the blood smeared monster!
Now, it is absolutely plausible that McCain is a Liar! A Liar! A liar! And an Internet genius!

And if The Liar! wasn't Lying!! about Cindy McCain typing for him due to wounds he suffered from losing his temper and assailing his peaceful progressive hoteliers in Hanoi - that makes Cindy just as guilty! She's another Liar!

=================
John - john said...
Something else bothers me: Why the hell does a governor communicate by email anyway? That should be against the law (and may be anyway).

Hard to tell if you are being sarcastic or dense...in saying govs using email should be outlawed.; 9/18/08, 6:51 PM
chickelit said...: David Kernell: I'm a patsy!; 9/18/08, 6:54 PM
garage mahal said...: If I'm not mistaken she is claiming Executive Privledge on some of those Yahoo emails, adressed to the First Dude. That's a clear admission of gross negligence on her part IMO by exposing confidential material through webmail instead of a secure network maintained by the state gov. Sounds familiar.; 9/18/08, 6:55 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Actually by falsely accusing McCain of a hoax, Ann is really a McCain plant ;); 9/18/08, 6:58 PM
vbspurs said...: Are these emails old, pre-governor or pre-mayor?

John, did you read the details of this story in the other threads.

This is her govsarah@yahoo.com account. I'm sure that neatly answers your questions...; 9/18/08, 7:00 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: VariableSpin said...
Who wants to bet that when this Kendall kid gets his perp walk suddenly there will be a wave of lefty commenters lamenting that we are getting "distracted" from the "real issues"?

Nah, there will be a wave of lefty commentators, who get their scripts from Obama.bot central, decrying that the kid is only being picked on because his father is a Democratic congressman. It is a Retuglican witch hunt and part of the VRWC. Only the evil mind of Karl Rove could have dreamed this up. Bushit ordered the kid arrested out of political retaliation. Dick Cheney wants him in Gitmo as an enemy terrorist so he can be water boarded. An the beat goes on…

That is their typical response to everything.; 9/18/08, 7:03 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: I just like the name of the Blog; 9/18/08, 7:09 PM
VariableSpin said...: "If I'm not mistaken she is claiming Executive Privledge on some of those Yahoo emails, adressed to the First Dude..."

IANAL but wouldn't those be covered under spousal privilege in any kind of proceeding? Private emails between a husband and wife? BTW: do you have a link for this story?; 9/18/08, 7:12 PM
Anonymous said...: garage mahal said...
If I'm not mistaken she is claiming Executive Privledge on some of those Yahoo emails, adressed to the First Dude. That's a clear admission of gross negligence on her part IMO by exposing confidential material through webmail instead of a secure network maintained by the state gov. Sounds familiar.

6:55 PM

Got a link?; 9/18/08, 7:13 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: The hacker didn't guess or find her password, he used the Yahoomail system to reset a password that's been forgotten. It was way too easy, too

I think that the other part of this is that the account was apparently disabled due to the level of spam that it was getting - after Gov. Palin's email address was published.

Yes, the Yahoo procedure utilized was for lost passwords, but it appears that it wasn't really a lost password, but rather something else.; 9/18/08, 7:56 PM
Godot said...: garage mahal said...
If I'm not mistaken she is claiming Executive Privledge on some of those Yahoo emails, adressed to the First Dude. That's a clear admission of gross negligence on her part IMO by exposing confidential material through webmail instead of a secure network maintained by the state gov. Sounds familiar.

Link?; 9/18/08, 8:00 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: "If I'm not mistaken she is claiming Executive Privledge on some of those Yahoo emails, adressed to the First Dude..."

This really doesn't make much sense from a legal point of view. Who would she be asserting this privilege against? The only people who might have a legitimate interest is the highly politicized investigation into TrooperGate. But given that the investigation was politically motivated and run, there is little chance that those involved with axes to grind will just get the email online from where the hackers put it.

So, unless I see confirmation from a reliable source, I will assume that this is an Obama campaign talking point being parroted here.; 9/18/08, 8:01 PM
vbspurs said...: CONFIRMED. State Representative Mike Kernell, a Memphis Democrat, says the hacker is indeed his son:

State Rep. Mike Kernell confirmed Thursday that his son, a University of Tennessee-Knoxville student, is at the center of heated Internet discussion into the hacking of the personal e-mail of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Kernell, a Memphis Democrat, confirmed that it is his 20-year-old son, David, who is being widely named on Internet blogs and chatrooms in connection with an unfolding story about Palin's hacked e-mail accounts.

The FBI and the Secret Service started a formal investigation on Wednesday into the hacking.

David Kernell is a student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Mike Kernell said he spoke to his son on Thursday, as he does on a regular basis.

Kernell otherwise declined to comment, or discuss his son’s whereabouts.

Via Instapundit.

Cheers,
Victoria; 9/18/08, 8:03 PM
vbspurs said...: I want Palin to ask the FBI to stop the investigation, and then say she won't press charges.

Then I want her to meet with him, personally, and have them photographed together.

If we do a Rove, let's do it properly. Use this for all it's worth.; 9/18/08, 8:07 PM
Mark said...: "Something else bothers me: Why the hell does a governor communicate by email anyway? That should be against the law (and may be anyway)."

Wow, surreal, considering all the grief (Senator) McCain caught for supposedly not being able to use email.

Or maybe being a Governor is a more important position than being Senator? (After all, each state only has on Governor, but two Senators.)

Axelrod isn't getting much value from this commenter, methinks...; 9/18/08, 8:09 PM
john said...: Neither sarcastic or dense John. I just think that when in elected office, the form of communication is as primary as the content. One should be circumspect regarding emails, and minimize their use. If an elected official is doing government business using emails, then privacy (and a paper trail) can be lost. It's just caution, and common sense.; 9/18/08, 8:13 PM
Joan said...: Victoria, I'm surprised at you. The dad confirmed that his son is under investigation and has been mentioned in relation to the case, not that his son is indeed "the" hacker who broke into Palin's account. He "confirmed" that they're looking at his son, not that his son did it.

There is a difference.; 9/18/08, 8:14 PM
vbspurs said...: You're right, Joan.

But since the dots are connecting, even before the confirmation, I think this is a good lead.

We'll see eh?; 9/18/08, 8:20 PM
garage mahal said...: erniecu73
Actually I believe I am mistaken - I don't think you can claim E.P. on personal email accounts because I don't think you can subpoena Yahoo's servers, so it wouldn't matter anyways. She copied in private citizen Todd Palin on 40 of those emails that she is not claiming E.P. on. Which is weak. But that's what I was referring to. No one is a bit bothered by the fact the First Dude sits in on state meetings, is involved with public policy, and gets copied in on state business emails?; 9/18/08, 8:26 PM
Tibore said...: "How do we know the hacker was really anti-Palin? Why take his assertions at face value? I'm focusing on the strong and helpful assertion that he's read it all and that there is "nothing incriminating," everything is perfectly fine. Isn't that convenient? Why don't we start suspecting that the hacker was pro-Palin?"

... and lurking on 4chan's /b/??? Forgive the incredulity, but that's about as likely as finding a Rove supporter on Kos's site.; 9/18/08, 8:26 PM
Methadras said...: Oh yes, the good ole reverse conspiracy trick. Sure Glen, she really wanted to have all of her information put out there for everyone to use. Dumb.; 9/18/08, 8:30 PM
Anonymous said...: Good thing it was just Sarah Palin's email that got hacked. If the Kernell kid had hacked into terrorist communications, well then the shit would've hit the ACLU fan.; 9/18/08, 8:39 PM
Michael The Magnificent said...: "How do we know the hacker was really anti-Palin?"

How do we know that the DNC wasn't behind the Watergate break-in, just to make Nixon look bad?; 9/18/08, 8:40 PM
Synova said...: The problem with the theory that this was set up so it could be cleverly promoted as pro-palin in order to raise suspicions that it's a sneaky Republican trick and she can't be trusted is that Rove doesn't work for Obama.; 9/18/08, 8:45 PM
MikeR said...: "I trusted /b/ with that email password, I had gotten done what I could do well, then passed the torch , all to be let down by the [censored] good job /b/, this is why we cant have nice things." - Disillusioned hacker explains moral lesson to be taken from this sorry incident.; 9/18/08, 8:51 PM
Simon said...: vbspurs said...
"I want Palin to ask the FBI to stop the investigation, and then say she won't press charges."

I understand Gerard van der Leun's theory but I don't buy it. The idea that her critics will melt at such an act of charity simply isn't of this earth after the last few weeks. And even if I thought it would, I would think that 18 usc 3282 would let her delay a decision to press charges vel non until after the election, whereafter she can press charges and nail him to the wall. Alas, I fear she is a better person than I.; 9/18/08, 8:52 PM
vbspurs said...: Gerard van der Leun's theory

Hmm? I should Google, but I feel I should know this name.; 9/18/08, 8:55 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: "The hacker said that he read all of the e-mails in the Palin account and found 'nothing incriminating...'"

I love it. The criminal found nothing incriminating. Talk about irony.; 9/18/08, 9:09 PM
Revenant said...: No one is a bit bothered by the fact the First Dude sits in on state meetings, is involved with public policy, and gets copied in on state business emails?

Contemplate the irony of a Hillary supporter making the above complaint.; 9/18/08, 9:09 PM
Anonymous said...: garage mahal said...
erniecu73
Actually I believe I am mistaken - I don't think you can claim E.P. on personal email accounts because I don't think you can subpoena Yahoo's servers, so it wouldn't matter anyways. She copied in private citizen Todd Palin on 40 of those emails that she is not claiming E.P. on. Which is weak. But that's what I was referring to. No one is a bit bothered by the fact the First Dude sits in on state meetings, is involved with public policy, and gets copied in on state business emails?

8:26 PM

You are assuming what bothers me or not. I only asked for a link. Can you produce one?

Thanks,; 9/18/08, 9:10 PM
former law student said...: No one is a bit bothered by the fact the First Dude sits in on state meetings, is involved with public policy, and gets copied in on state business emails?

Todd is the co-governor, like Hillary was for Bill. Did America mind that we got two Clintons for the price of one?

Hey, maybe Todd can work on a health care proposal.; 9/18/08, 9:33 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Dude he is only a Colonel?; 9/18/08, 9:37 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: Joan said...
Victoria, I'm surprised at you. The dad confirmed that his son is under investigation and has been mentioned in relation to the case, not that his son is indeed "the" hacker who broke into Palin's account. He "confirmed" that they're looking at his son, not that his son did it.

There is a difference.

Admitting he did it on the internet for the whole world to see? Yeah, there is a difference. Daddy is a Democratic state legislator. Sonny has to be protected at all costs.

They should water board this punk and find out who paid him to do this.; 9/18/08, 9:46 PM
Roberto said...: ...You Know It's A Really Bad Week When Your Running Mate Calls It Her Administration...; 9/18/08, 9:56 PM
Roberto said...: erniecu73: Here numbnut.

Sarah Palin's powerful "First Dude"

But more intriguing than any email correspondence contained in the four boxes was what was not released: about 1100 emails. Palin's office provided McLeod with a 78-page list (PDF) cataloging the emails it was withholding. Many of them had been written by Palin or sent to her. Palin's office claimed most of the undisclosed emails were exempt from release because they were covered by the "executive" or "deliberative process" privileges that protect communications between Palin and her aides about policy matters. But the subject lines of some of the withheld emails suggest they were not related to policy matters. Several refer to one of Palin's political foes, others to a well-known Alaskan journalist. Moreover, some of the withhold emails were CC'ed to Todd Palin, the governor's husband. Todd Palin—a.k.a. the First Dude—holds no official state position (though he has been a close and influential adviser for Governor Palin). The fact that Palin and her aides shared these emails with a citizen outside the government undercuts the claim that they must be protected under executive privilege. McLeod asks, "What is Sarah Palin hiding?".................................................. ........."I've known Sarah for years, " says McLeod, who moved to Alaska from New York in 1978. "When the finger is pointed at somebody else, she's all for accountability. When it's pointing at her, it's different. Sarah Palin was elected on the basis of providing open and honest government. She has failed miserably."; 9/18/08, 10:10 PM
Anonymous said...: LINK
The URL imbedded in another document, so that if you click on the highlighted text or button referring to the link, you retrieve the outside URL. If you search the field "link:", you retrieve on text in these imbedded URLs which you do not see in the documents.; 9/18/08, 10:14 PM
Anonymous said...: Just in case:

URL
Abbreviation of Uniform Resource Locator, the global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web.
The first part of the address is called a protocol identifier and it indicates what protocol to use, and the second part is called a resource name and it specifies the IP address or the domain name where the resource is located. The protocol identifier and the resource name are separated by a colon and two forward slashes.

For example, the two URLs below point to two different files at the domain pcwebopedia.com. The first specifies an executable file that should be fetched using the FTP protocol; the second specifies a Web page that should be fetched using the HTTP protocol.; 9/18/08, 10:19 PM
VariableSpin said...: LMFAO - that's from Mother Jones and David Corn! No wonder you didn't link it.

Talk about pumping a dry well.; 9/18/08, 10:35 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: Well, the whole thing sounds like BS to me but who knows.

The fact is that she uses personal emails for official state business as ways to do the state's business in secret.

She is quite like Cheney et al in this regard. I think we should call her Lady Cheney.; 9/18/08, 10:49 PM
garage mahal said...: Contemplate the irony of a Hillary supporter making the above complaint.

Fair enough. But Todd Palin is no Hillary Clinton.; 9/18/08, 10:51 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: Todd Palin has now said he will not cooperate with the subpoena in Troopergate.

They're stalling. I hope the investigators hit `em hard but the committee is majority Republican.

Laws schmaws. They don't apply to Republicans.; 9/18/08, 10:52 PM
Simon said...: Victoria, Instapundit linked to him earlier.

FLS, I now have in my head Tina Fey saying "why would you let Starsky talk to Hutch?! Ugh. I wanna watch that show 'Starsky.'"; 9/18/08, 10:56 PM
Anonymous said...: Ann, how come we can't be sure you're not a crack whore?

Not that I can prove you are, but:

I'm just probing and analyzing, pointing things out and asking questions from new angles. I doesn't matter to me whether the theory is right or wrong.

That's not probing and analyzing, that's just vapidity.; 9/18/08, 11:00 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: whoa.

"McCain, whose POW status made him the committee's most powerful member, attended that hearing specifically to confront Alfond because of her criticism of the panel's work. He bellowed and berated her for quite a while. His face turning anger-pink, he accused her of "denigrating" his "patriotism." The bullying had its effect--she began to cry.

After a pause Alfond recovered and tried to respond to his scorching tirade, but McCain simply turned and stormed out of the room. The PAVE SPIKE file has never been declassified. We still don't know anything about those 20 POWs. "

That's awkward. All around.; 9/18/08, 11:19 PM
Anonymous said...: @althouse: "And yet, what we're told was found absolves her of the charge that she's done something wrong."

Whose charge?

What charge?

"what we're told"? You mean what the person who hacked into her account ILLEGALLY said.

How about all the emails and photos the moonbat site gawker.com posted? Or are they "in on it" too?

"something wrong": under a criminal code? Parental abuse? Left the moose stew in the cooker too long?

If this is your idea of analysis and probing, I pity your poor students.

Your inane comments are dangerously close to Ward Churchillism.

What you've left out, of course, is the illegal invasion of Palin's privacy. After all the bleating the left has engaged in over the FISA controversy, it is amazing how cavalierly you gloss over a real, not imagined, assault on a public person's private life.; 9/18/08, 11:22 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: It's not clear whether the taped confession McCain gave to his captors to avoid further torture has played a role in his postwar behavior. That confession was played endlessly over the prison loudspeaker system at Hoa Lo--to try to break down other prisoners--and was broadcast over Hanoi's state radio. Reportedly, he confessed to being a war criminal who had bombed a school and other civilian targets. The Pentagon has copies of the confessions but will not release them. Also, no outsider I know of has ever seen a nonredacted copy of McCain's debriefing when he returned from captivity, which is classified but can be made public by McCain.

Yes. These records should probably be released.

After all, it was vital to the 2004 election that Kerry's military records be released from the same war. If we're being sold a bill of goods on the POW story, we should know.

This story is really causing me to reconsider my views on the POW story. I'd always thought it was people nursing grudges. If there were POW's left there all that time it must have been terrible.; 9/18/08, 11:29 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: Look, her email was hacked. We all agree that was wrong, the perp should be punished and the law enforced. And we don't know who the perp is and can't make assumptions.

What more do you want? That's all obvious. Stop yer whining.

And Gawker is a for-profit web site. They got a bunch of traffic publishing those emails. And rain is wet.

As Glenn Greenwald has noted, it's funny that the Right is in a lather over this because you're so eager to have the government snooping into our emails.

Sarah Palin shouldn't have anything to hide, right?; 9/18/08, 11:33 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: Here it is, from Greenwald,

If Sarah Palin isn't committing crimes or consorting with The Terrorists, then why would she care if we can monitor her emails?

Thanks, Glenn. You're great.; 9/18/08, 11:39 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: Victoria rants:
Hope they throw this kid in gaol.

A gaol is too good for him, I tell ya.

And would you like to bother with any sort of trial, show or otherwise, before we throw this kid into a gaol?

Or have you considered all the evidence to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt?; 9/18/08, 11:44 PM
Roberto said...: Who gives a flying fuck about Palin's sacred emails?

She lies through her teeth every day of the week and most here talk about her as if she was the Virgin Mary.

Here's an interesting question for the Palin-lovers: Why was she and others in her administration using personal emails to conduct Government business??

And why won't she and others adhere to her promise to allow an open-ended investigation?

Hide and watch...; 9/18/08, 11:48 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: Michael The Magnificent flashes his deep grasp of historic fact:
How do we know that the DNC wasn't behind the Watergate break-in, just to make Nixon look bad?

You'll have to ask G. Gordon Liddy. From Wikipedia:

For his role in Watergate, which he coordinated with Hunt, Liddy was convicted of conspiracy, burglary and illegal wiretapping, and received a 20-year sentence. He served a total of five and half years in prison, including over 100 days in solitary confinement, before his sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter and he was released on September 7, 1977.

Sometimes around here I feel like that guy Neo from The Matrix fighting the bad guys with sunglasses and suits. But not because I'm especially fast exactly...; 9/18/08, 11:49 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: "Why was she and others in her administration using personal emails to conduct Government business??"

Because they thought they could evade the open records laws and run government in secret.

And they were probably inspired by the Cheney-Bush Administration doing this and "losing" 10s of thousands of emails, in violation of the Presidential Records Act.

Why else would Sarah Palin do so much state business on her personal email accounts?

I think I'll change my handle to Neo.; 9/18/08, 11:52 PM
Masterasia said...: AlphaLiberal strikes again!!! Hahaha!; 9/18/08, 11:53 PM
Roberto said...: McCain - Bush...at the hip.

In private late Tuesday evening, the McCain campaign circulated a draft statement on the Wall Street crisis that attacked the Bush administration for a slow and "inconsistent" response, and charged that executives at several financial firms had made "misleading and false" statements.

But the criticism never appeared. After being circulated not only among McCain aides but also major campaign donors who have worked in the investment industry, the language was softened.

The official McCain statement released Wednesday morning made no mention of the Bush administration, instead accusing management and speculators of "creat[ing] this mess."; 9/18/08, 11:55 PM
Rose said...: Well. I don't want anyone hacking into my emails. Emails should come under the same protection that a piece of snail mail does.

The "progressives" and dems have been screeching about Bush violating their privacy and listening in on their phone calls for years now - yet they are remarkably silent on this, a very real violation of privacy.

I want to hear the outrage. I suspect it will be crickets.

That said, you shouldn't put anything in an email that could cause you embarrassment down the road. Emails live forever, you don't know who they get forwarded to, or who prints them out. Not to mention interception in cyberspace. Since they found nothing incriminating, maybe she knows that full well.; 9/19/08, 12:19 AM
Anonymous said...: Here we go again.

Let's have the same five people (well, maybe two people and three shell scripts) run this thread to 500+ comments with the same same same same same

talking

points

and

d
r
i

v

e

l; 9/19/08, 12:25 AM
Ben Morris said...: I believe the hacker was known to be a radical leftist before this incident.; 9/19/08, 12:29 AM
AlphaLiberal said...: Rose, we're not jumping to conclusions like the right wing, no.

What do want, though? It's an obvious bad thing and it's obvious people shouldn't do it.

But it was episodic, one episode. That is quite a bit different than a whole government wiretapping and email reading program that Republicans illegally put in place.

Did you know that Cheney's staffer David Addington forged Alberto Gonzalez' signature on papers "authorizing" warrantless wiretaing?

You guys don't care about forgery and violations of the Constitution. Just having a diversion from your campaigns' horrible week.

Here's hoping for another McCain gaffe tomorrow to round out the week.; 9/19/08, 12:32 AM
AlphaLiberal said...: "I believe the hacker was known to be a radical leftist before this incident."

Really? How do you know that if you don't know who the hacker is?

Unless you have information you should be sharing with investigators.

Remember when they were all sure Richard Jewell did the Atlanta bombing? That was a sure thing. Until they found the person who did it.; 9/19/08, 12:38 AM
Ben Morris said...: "I believe the hacker was known to be a radical leftist before this incident."

Really? How do you know that if you don't know who the hacker is?

I guess we only have his statements to go on for now, my mistake. Anyway, if the person is caught, there is likely to be a history of their political inclinations available on myspace or something.; 9/19/08, 12:57 AM
Alex said...: I'm pretty sure AlpahLiberal was the hacker.; 9/19/08, 1:09 AM
Anonymous said...: "Why don't we start suspecting that the hacker was pro-Palin?"

Because it's bordering on irrational?; 9/19/08, 5:38 AM
Bissage said...: THIS sounds like a job for . . .
Nonsense Rhyme Cheerleader Man!!!
(a copyrighted feature of this broadcast):

Close the door, kitchen floor, hands as cold as ice,
Shine the shoe, paint it blue, walk around like mice.

Gooooooooooooo TEAM!; 9/19/08, 5:56 AM
Ralph L said...: Did you know that Cheney's staffer David Addington forged Alberto Gonzalez' signature on papers "authorizing" warrantless wiretaing[sic]?
I went to the link you posted earlier. The WaPo article which was its source said he typed a signature line for Gonzalez. You're either an idiot or a liar.; 9/19/08, 6:24 AM
WiseGuise said...: Reading the "hacker"/password-resetter's report about the maneuver on the 4chan website, it seems obvious he's only partly politically motivated. He's a self-styled hacker who was desperate for a coup to spread word of in the /b/ community. He practically couldn't help himself, and obviously was in waaay over his head. It's kind of sad. And he obviously is not politically saavy.

It's amusing and depressing (in a reassuring kind of way) to read the right-wingers who take THIS episode as grand evidence of the evilness of lefties. A snot-nosed kid, who happens to be the son of a random Dem state-level pol, does a silly web stunt simply because he CAN, and for reasons more hacker-y than wonk-y, and it's evidence that lefties are waaaay worse than the warmongers, gay-bashers, young-Earthers, Wall St. deregulators, and all the other trash out there in GOPperland. Sweet Jebus, these people are insane!

Two-bit hackers are the new threat to traditional order! They might exploit your crappy free email account! They show that health-care, peace, and infrastructure are the devil's work!

Cut-rate Matthew Brodericks, circa 1983, are the new Willie Horton! You win!; 9/19/08, 6:43 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: garage mahal said No one is a bit bothered by the fact the First Dude sits in on state meetings, is involved with public policy, and gets copied in on state business emails?

After the Clinton Co-Presidency, I'm stunned that even you would have the chutzpa to ask such a question.

Evidently irony is completely lost on you.; 9/19/08, 7:10 AM
Anonymous said...: Hmmmm.

"How do we know the hacker was really anti-Palin? Why take his assertions at face value? I'm focusing on the strong and helpful assertion that he's read it all and that there is "nothing incriminating," everything is perfectly fine. Isn't that convenient? Why don't we start suspecting that the hacker was pro-Palin?"

This passes for logic in law school?; 9/19/08, 7:41 AM
Anonymous said...: Have I mentioned before that Glenn Reynolds is an idiot?; 9/19/08, 11:57 AM