Althouse: "In a technology age marked by vigilante heroes like Julian Assange and Anonymous, the line between journalism and espionage has grown thin."

May 31, 2013

"In a technology age marked by vigilante heroes like Julian Assange and Anonymous, the line between journalism and espionage has grown thin."

"[Senator Mitch] McConnell was quick to frame himself as the victim of a crime, which was to be expected. It was the guilty repositioning of a politician who has been caught being craven."

54 comments:

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Isn't that illegal?

Oh wait - not if corruptocrats do it.; 5/31/13, 6:14 PM
Anonymous said...: To these people the ends justify the means and thus they believe the laws for them don't apply. If they don't face a penalty for their actions they'll only be more extreme next time and equally righteous and indignant.; 5/31/13, 6:14 PM
edutcher said...: The vigilantes were heroes in California and where the law had broken down or had not gotten there.

When some people realized they could be used for darker purposes, that's when they acquired a bad reputation.

Same here and bpm is right on.; 5/31/13, 6:21 PM
Palladian said...: The Assangel, vigilante hero!; 5/31/13, 6:23 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Note the progressive cockroach states that McConnell was being "craven".

Craven? Well, that changes everything. Craven makes your progressive Zinn-inspired lawlessness... A-OK!; 5/31/13, 6:25 PM
Amartel said...: James Rosen-faux journalist.
This guy-real journalist (aspirational star-fucking attention-seeking liar with tape recorder and left-wing agenda.)

He's a citizen journalist who doesn't know Ashley Judd but feels a kinship since they both are self-professed victims who long "suppressed" a calling for public service. Also, nothing personal against McConnell but he's BAD, very very BAD. Polling sez. So it's okay to eavesdrop.; 5/31/13, 6:29 PM
cubanbob said...: Manning is in prison. The Albino is effectively on the lam and this fool just ruined his life.; 5/31/13, 6:31 PM
Paco Wové said...: "nothing personal against McConnell but he's BAD, very very BAD"

And a guilty repositioner!!; 5/31/13, 6:35 PM
Amartel said...: Reading further - he's 44 and has now moved to California (nooooo, move back) and plans to attend law school.; 5/31/13, 6:35 PM
Amartel said...: Have we not caught our limit of progressive losers out here in Cali? We're already manufacturing them in-house at a huge rate and importing from Mexico. We don't need any more. Go away. Be useful. Colonize North Korea or Mars or something. Or Mexico. I hear they're super welcoming to illegal immigrants who have issues with authority and rules.; 5/31/13, 6:40 PM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: It will be interesting to see what happens to this guy. He admitted he videotaped the meeting through a window. Then he recorded audio through a vent because he couldn't hear what was being said. He shows no remorse and vows to do it again.

I'm sure his lawyer is very unhappy with his statements.

So what is law on illegal video and audio recording? I think they would be felonies.; 5/31/13, 6:42 PM
Sam L. said...: Ah ayam so bummmmmmed fo hiyim.; 5/31/13, 6:49 PM
fivewheels said...: Some people believe their political opponents do not deserve civil rights. This is a common thread among certain recent events.; 5/31/13, 6:55 PM
rcocean said...: Looking at his picture - an obvious Gay, leftwing, atheist. They make natural spies and subversives.

Or maybe an Ivy League Dweeb like John Dean or Alger Hiss.

Same thing.; 5/31/13, 7:01 PM
rcocean said...: Maybe David Brock can hire him? Does he give good head?; 5/31/13, 7:04 PM
Big Mike said...: Hmmm. Not even having a "personal hero" call him "an embarrassment to politics" changes this creature's mind about the rightness of what he did. I guess being a "liberal activist" means never having to say you're sorry.

I have to assume that there are a lot more like him out there, fervent followers of Alinski and Zinn and Ayers. Need to derail a senator you think is bad for the state? Hey, what's few laws. The purity of his heart and the rightness of his cause makes laws utterly irrelevant.

I hope they lock him up and throw away the key.; 5/31/13, 7:08 PM
Michael K said...: He had a good cry so I'm sure he feels a little better.

Guess what party he supports.; 5/31/13, 7:31 PM
Anonymous said...: I'll bet you dollars to dog turds- you hold the stakes in your teeth- that this gentleman is employed in the fudge packing industry.; 5/31/13, 7:47 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/31/13, 7:47 PM
Methadras said...: You have been Assanged!!!; 5/31/13, 7:50 PM
Paddy O said...: Curtis Morrison: "I am not a crook."; 5/31/13, 8:01 PM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: What I never expected was the pushback from my own political side.

Yeah, me too. Usually they're totally cool with a complete lack of ethics.; 5/31/13, 8:04 PM
Moose said...: Lessee - what do I want to say? Oh, yah. Fuck him.

More to the point, can I video him thru his bedroom window every night just to make sure he's not buggering little boys?; 5/31/13, 8:10 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The case this idiot presents is that he doesn't see the need to have the credentials the IRS has to do politics as he sees fit.

So he's puzzled.; 5/31/13, 8:25 PM
bagoh20 said...: Amartel, I didn't know you were out here too. I meet conservative people and even liberals all the time here that fully understand the stupidity that is California's self-destructive politics, and yet every stupid leftist idea ever thought up gets passed here, and now we have a Democratic super majority and Governor Moonbeam. How the hell does this crap keep getting worse with so many reasonable people around? I talk to them everyday, but it's like electorally, we don't exist.; 5/31/13, 8:31 PM
Marty said...: bagoh20 and Armatel: wonder when our new California resident will start secretly recording SEIU campaign meetings in Speaker Perez' or President Pro Tem Steinberg's offices? Surely that tenure in law school will serve him well with the controllers of our one-party state.; 5/31/13, 8:38 PM
Astro said...: So...
whiny, petulant criminal remains whiny and petulant. Sticks out tongue. Stamps foot. Says, "Nyaaah, nyaahh, I'd do it again."

Yep.; 5/31/13, 8:40 PM
cold pizza said...: Weasel. -CP; 5/31/13, 8:41 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: What I never expected was the pushback from my own political side.

What do you mean I should have drawn and fired at the same time, upon hearing the signal?

I wanted to take a slow deliberate aim and virtually shoot that son of a bitch Mitch McConnell from a little crack under the door... and ultimately get a parade down the canyon of heroes and you know... be the toast of the town. Get a phone call from the man himself congratulating me.; 5/31/13, 8:44 PM
J said...: Self-justified people should have the courage to accept the consequences of their actions.Manning,Assange ,and this nithing want to be treated as heroes.They are not heroes they are cowards.That said the failure toproperly punish these criminals is going to have more consequences.A few months of federal prison camp does not compare to the risk that the individual spies ran in the Cold War.; 5/31/13, 8:50 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: ...and my smart phone had not survived a fall from atop the roof of my moving Jeep.

Bad things just keep happening to this poor man.; 5/31/13, 8:57 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Morrison's self-regard is limitless.
He quotes Howard Zinn “You can’t be neutral on a moving train.” which is a typical nonsense-statement from Zinn. All the stupidity of a cliche without a cliche's currency.

Good luck on getting a job as a lawyer when you're a felon, Morrison.; 5/31/13, 8:59 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: In the course of a few minutes, a few hours had passed. I didn’t want to go outside — I didn’t want to go anywhere — but I remember thinking...

That should have been a warning right there. If you are not accustomed to thinking too much and suddenly you are thinking enough to remember it, the thinking could lead you to the tracks of the moving train Howard Zinn wrote about leaving your self-steam behind. And then where are you going to be?; 5/31/13, 9:09 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I started it [a blog] because I have a long-standing interest in improving the collective knowledge of Kentuckians.

Should feel bad for this guy?; 5/31/13, 9:19 PM
Amartel said...: Bagoh, I live and work at the Ground Zero of progressive policies, the San Francisco Bay Area, where bad ideas are hatched into bad reality but everyone pretends everything's great. There not being any Republicans around to blame. You probably know this already but the Cali GOP is a toothless old tiger that needs to be shot and put out of its and our misery. Though I've no doubt that's against multiple laws. Anyway, the more conservative people of California, and there are many, are rarely presented with a real viable alternative to the usual array of Greens, "Independents," Peace & Freedom, Shiny Unicorn, etc. candidates, to say nothing of Democrats. As usual. we're ahead of the rest - our GOP caved ahead of the curve. Forward.; 5/31/13, 9:25 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: This guy looks to me like the mind of a person on the verge of hurting himself or herself to make a claim against a political target convinced that it would be helpful to the cause.

Come to think of it, couldn't this article be used against him in court?; 5/31/13, 9:26 PM
Gahrie said...: I started it [a blog] because I have a long-standing interest in improving the collective knowledge of Kentuckians.

Seems to me, the best way to do that is move out of Kentucky.; 5/31/13, 9:48 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Why did Salon publish this?

I mean, I know they guy should probably be talking to somebody, and I don't mean a publisher, but, Salon... why put on a guy who might come to the wrong conclusions on account that he is being published by a reputable Web Magazine.

...the line between journalism and espionage has grown thin.

"And you know something is happening
But you don't know what it is".

Nice.; 5/31/13, 9:53 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/31/13, 9:55 PM
The Godfather said...: And let's not forget that all the creep recorded was a bunch of politicians talking opposition research. About a now ex-candidate, who was apparently something of a flake.

Now, if he wants to expose corruption in government, perhaps he could record some of Shulman's 157 White House meetings; there might be some meat there.; 5/31/13, 10:04 PM
sakredkow said...: He doesn't make a great defense of what he did. Pretty boilerplate sloganeering.

A defense of the legalities (or illegalities) would be more interesting to me than the argument over ethics.; 5/31/13, 10:12 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Speaking of that... Godfather.

I have a recollection of the actions of one named William Jefferson Clinton during the acts that were later highly publicized because apparently there was a record of the presidents physical location and phones calls and who he met with and when and for how long.

But now, when it comes to Obama, unless he is on the golf course, its seems like its impossible to find out where he is at and who is he talking to at any particular time.; 5/31/13, 10:18 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: A few times Clinton was working the phones while getting serviced by Lewinsky.

I left that out in my comment.; 5/31/13, 10:21 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I should say out of my comment... not out in my comment.; 5/31/13, 10:23 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: That's like "has grown thin".

I kind of identify with this guy... his poor writing.; 5/31/13, 10:31 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: And I should say I'm very thankful that you guys don't tear me to pieces for it.; 5/31/13, 10:32 PM
john marzan said...: sen. mcconnnell is guilty of what crime again?

was the wiretapper trying to expose some big corruption scandal or IRS-like abuse of power?

if you're going to wiretap somebody, make sure it is for a worthy expose...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello_Garci_scandal; 5/31/13, 11:50 PM
john marzan said...: the guy who released the wiretapped conversations between election official Garcillano and PHL President Arroyo is a hero in my eyes...

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/anc/08/02/10/will-truth-about-hello-garci-wiretapping-come-out; 5/31/13, 11:52 PM
Carl said...: Assange is a sociopathic misogynist criminal who subverts existential angst to distract from his sick personal history.

He's about as much a vigilante hero as Jodi Arias.; 6/1/13, 12:39 AM
Aridog said...: ... it's like electorally, we don't exist.

bagoh20 and Armatel [and CA conservastives generally]: the *hanging chads* of California :); 6/1/13, 8:22 AM
Big Mike said...: The thing is, Obama got reelected in large part by trashing Romney. But Republicans are not supposed to stupid things that Democrats say and do? Weird.; 6/1/13, 9:13 AM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Amartel, bagoh2o, get out while you can. We left CA three years ago, and consider it not a moment too soon. OR has its issues, but there are various sizes in basket cases.

DBQ, stay if you like. I've a feeling that you are quite capable of taking care of yourself :-); 6/1/13, 3:15 PM
eddie willers said...: And let's not forget that all the creep recorded was a bunch of politicians talking opposition research.

All of which can be found in back issues of People magazine.

I imagine his friend Shawn tried to keep the idiot from "publishing" his "scoop" because there was no there, there.; 6/1/13, 5:33 PM
Mitch H. said...: Wow. It really is true - accusations are often confessions among those without self-awareness.

"Craven", cries the sneaking snoop after he was caught, red-handed.; 6/2/13, 6:50 AM