November 7, 2016

"By the way, Janet Reno still walks the face of the earth. It's not too late to tell whatever truth she may have suppressed to keep her job."

I wrote that on April 15, 2014, and I'm digging through my archive this morning, looking for Janet Reno, because I see that Janet Reno has died. She was 78 and had been suffering from Parkinson's disease since 1995, when she was the Attorney General of the United States. Her name is associated with 2 painful events in the Bill Clinton administration, Waco and Elian Gonzales. Reno was also the person under the now-defunct Ethics in Government law who determined when an independent counsel would be appointed and when that person should be removed for misconduct, so she was connected to the Bill Clinton impeachment, since she caused the independent Whitewater investigation to begin and she allowed Kenneth Starr to complete his mission.

From the NYT obituary:
Mr. Clinton, committed to naming a woman as attorney general, settled on Ms. Reno after his first choices — the corporate lawyer Zoe Baird and the federal judge Kimba Wood — withdrew their names in the face of criticism after it was revealed that they had employed undocumented immigrants as nannies....

Two months later, she gained the nation’s full attention in a dramatic televised news conference in which she took full responsibility for a botched federal raid of the Waco compound of an offshoot of the Seventh-day Adventists, the Branch Davidians.

The assault, after a long siege involving close to 900 military and law-enforcement personnel and a dozen tanks, left the compound in flames and the group’s charismatic leader, David Koresh, as well as about 75 others, dead, one-third of whom were children....

Questions about her handling of the Waco raid resurfaced in 1999, when new evidence suggested that the F.B.I. might have started the fire that destroyed the compound....

... Elián González, the 6-year-old Cuban boy who was found floating on an inner tube off the coast of Florida after his mother and 10 others drowned in a failed crossing from Cuba by small boat... became a unifying figure among Cuban exiles in South Florida, who were determined to see him remain in the United States in defiance of the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro.

Ms. Reno favored returning Elián to his father in Cuba, and she became immersed in negotiations over his fate because of her ties to Miami.

Ms. Reno was on the phone almost up to the moment agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service burst into the Miami home of Elián’s relatives and took him away at gunpoint.....
Waco was the subject of that 2014 post of mine, quoted above. That old post was titled "Dick Morris says Bill Clinton 'hated' Janet Reno but wouldn't oust her because he feared 'she would tell the truth about what happened in Waco.'"
"Reno threatened the president with telling the truth about Waco, and that caused the president to back down."
"Then he went into a meeting with her, and he told me that she begged and pleaded, saying that . . . she didn't want to be fired because if she were fired it would look like he was firing her over Waco... And I knew that what that meant was that she would tell the truth about what happened in Waco.

"Now, to be fair, that's my supposition. I don't know what went on in Waco, but that was the cause. But I do know that she told him that if you fire me, I'm going to talk about Waco."
Morris was on TV to discuss the Cliven Bundy incident. What bad luck for Hillary: It has people needing to talk about Waco again....

By the way, Janet Reno still walks the face of the earth. It's not too late to tell whatever truth she may have suppressed to keep her job. What is Morris saying? First, the point seems to be that Reno convinced Clinton that to oust her would give rise to inferences that he believed his administration had done something wrong in Waco. Then Morris adds his inference of what he "knew" it "mean": that there was some "truth" that had been suppressed that would come out.

But Reno's argument didn't require that there be anything more to tell, and Morris knows that, because he goes right to his "to be fair" remark. He doesn't know. And if there was some suppressed truth Reno could tell, why hasn't she told it yet? One answer is that she doesn't want to tell on herself, but that would have been true at the point when she was begging and pleading to keep her job.
Perhaps she left a note. More likely, we will never know.

Here are the names and ages of the 76 people who died at Waco, including Startle Summers, Hollywood Sylvia, Chanel Andrade, and Paiges Gent, who were only 1 year old. They would be 23 years old if they had lived. There were also four 2-year-olds, including one with the sad name Little One Jones.

As for Elian Gonzalez. He's 22, and he just graduated from University of Matanzas with a degree in  industrial engineering. He spoke at his graduation ceremony, promising Fidel Castro that he and the whole class would "fight from whatever trench the revolution demands."

106 comments:

Birkel said...

The title could apply to everybody in the Obama Administration and those at the Clinton Global Initiative.

Omerta is demanded and accepted willingly.

rhhardin said...

She liked to kill people.

damikesc said...

Mr. Clinton, committed to naming a woman as attorney general, settled on Ms. Reno after his first choices — the corporate lawyer Zoe Baird and the federal judge Kimba Wood — withdrew their names in the face of criticism after it was revealed that they had employed undocumented immigrants as nannies....

Man, remember when THAT was disqualifying? Today, they'd be applauded for doing so.

She was also deeply involved in the sham child molestation trials in the 1980'S with the Country Walk Pre-school. That modern-day Salem Witch Trial seems to get ignored a lot.

Rusty said...

In order to save the children at Waco, we had to shoot, immolate and gas them.

damikesc said...

Those kids probably had it coming, Rusty.

Sure, Koresh left the compound to go into town regularly. No chance they could, you know, arrest him then. Nope, had to open fire in an armed compound with kids nearby...you know, for the children.

David Begley said...

Expect a similar political hack if Hillary wins. Loretta Lynch probably keeps her job per her corrupt deal.

The number one purpose of a Clinton AG is not to enforce the law against the .Clintons.

Roux said...

Reno gained fame in prosecuting day care workers who were wrongly accused of child molestation. Don't ever forget that.

Freder Frederson said...

I don't know why you credit anything Dick Morris says. Not only is he a documented liar, but his political analysis is almost always laughably wrong.

Curious George said...

We may soon find out how little Elián and Branch Davidians felt.

holdfast said...

What is it with Democrats, senior law enforcement and obese bull-dyke lesbians with fascist tendencies?

I mean did anyone else notice that Lynch is now basically Amanda Waller from the DC Comics universe?

Curious George said...

So that's where Dana Carvey got the Church Lady...

rhhardin said...

Reno would know how to deal with pizza shops that won't cater a gay wedding.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

My first thought on hearing of her death was what did she have on Hillary, and what made Clinton's people think she was about to go public?

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...


To paraphrase Ludwig Wittgenstein: "and what we cannot talk about without invoking Dick Morris we must pass over in silence."

Ann Althouse said...

"I don't know why you credit anything Dick Morris says. Not only is he a documented liar, but his political analysis is almost always laughably wrong."

If I have to stop believing all the known liars, that's a pretty long list and it includes Bill and Hillary Clinton, of course. What rule are you proposing? I try listening to what is said, doing other research, and applying a critical mind to the whole thing, but you seem to just want to exclude everything known liars say. Is that really your rule? If so, you can't possibly support Hillary Clinton for President.

Oso Negro said...

Don't worry, savages! Under the next President Clinton, there will be events that make a mere government slaughter of 78 citizens for no particular reason (the children! Negro, please) seem like small burned potatoes.

Birkel said...

Freder Frederson said...
I don't know why you credit anything Dick Morris says. Not only is he a documented liar, but his political analysis is almost always laughably wrong.


Or Barack Obama.
Or Hillary Clinton.
Or Bill Clinton.
Or John Kerry.

Fen's Law.

rhhardin said...

If I ask a man what he would say if I asked him if this was the way to the village, I believe him. The logic is iron-clad whether he's a liar or not, with respect to whether it's the way to the village.

It won't work on women, though.

Sebastian said...

The aftermath of Waco shows what it means to take responsibility for disasters these days. Some investigators wrote a nasty report and then -- nothing. Forget "walking the earth." If you are a Dem, you get to to go on the lecture circuit, set up an influence-peddling foundation, address your party's conventions, and have your wife become president. Shame and guilt mean nothing anymore.

Michael K said...

She was also deeply involved in the sham child molestation trials in the 1980'S

At least it kept Martha Coakley from becoming a Senator from Massachusetts, home of the Salem witch trials.

The Waco disaster began during budget hearings for the BATF and there was wide assumption that the raid was a ploy to increase the budget as more officers were needed for that event. A simple arrest of Koresh would not have accomplished that noble purpose.

Ruby Ridge was an attempt, about as clumsy as could be, to turn Randy Weaver into an informant on a group with which he had no connection. That is how it began and then the FBI decided to assault his home in the woods where he was bothering no one.

The Bundy killing has a long pedigree that will become much more common if Hillary wins. Christina Kirschner is her role model and the prosecutor who was about to testify in Argentina is another role model for anyone who crosses Hillary.

But it was only in the past week that Mr. Nisman, 51, leveled explosive accusations that top Argentine officials, including President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, had conspired with Iran to cover up responsibility for the bombing as part of a deal that would supply Iranian oil to Argentina. Now, the mystery has deepened with the discovery of Mr. Nisman’s body on Sunday — the day before he was to testify before lawmakers about those accusations.

The timing of his death, and the outrage and skepticism it provoked in Argentina and elsewhere, raised a torrent of new questions about an unresolved case that many here call a national disgrace.


It's easy to see why Comey backed down if you assume Hillary will win.

gspencer said...

"By the way, Janet Reno still [in 2014] walks the face of the earth. It's not too late to tell whatever truth she may have suppressed to keep her job."

From my observations about life I've noticed that most people are reluctant to talk about murders they've committed or of which they were an integral part.

rhhardin said...

Weekly garbage collection is coming earlier than usual today, in preparation for the election.

Patrick said...

I would have sworn that Baird and Wood withdrew not because they had illegal immigrant nannies,but because they didn't pay taxes on their nannies. The Nanny Tax, remember?

Bruce Hayden said...

I am maybe too charitable, but my view all along was that she too, to some extent, was a victim at Waco. Got played first by the ATF, who started the whole mess to get more funding from Congress, and then let the FBI push her into green lighting their attack by playing on the kids, whom they ultimately ended up killing anyway. The Elian Gonzales thing on the other hand was far less understandable - pure political posturing by the Dems for their leftist base. Just glad that it wasn't under Obama, who probably would have had the uncle jailed, or Crooked Hillary who would have had the Feds who were carrying machine guns that day, use them on the uncle.

I do think that we may see repeats of these sort of things in a Crooked Hillary Administration. She believes that many, of not most, of those opposing Herself this election are deplorable at a minimum, and are racist, sexist, homophobic, and now (with no evidence) antisemitic. Why is she going to do with the next protest like we saw with Clive Bundy? My guess is either call in the FBI HRT (Ruby Rudge, Waco), or call in a drone strike. And I can pretty well guarantee that they will be forthcomiing under her reign, esp if the election is close anywhere, given the rampant cheating we have seen this time by the Dems (from Obama telling illegals to vote, on down).

Darrell said...

Zoe Baird's and Kimba Wood's housekeepers would be voting tomorrow for Hillary in the ObamaNation. Times change.

William said...

Well, she never wore an inappropriate costume on Halloween......While it's true that her actions may have been instrumental in causing a number of children to burn to death, her judgment never lapsed when it came to choosing a Halloween outfit.

Darrell said...

President Trump will restore the rule of Law. The FBI and DOJ will need enemas.

campy said...

"At least it kept Martha Coakley from becoming a Senator from Massachusetts,..."

And Governor two years ago, too!

traditionalguy said...

Interestingly, the Clintons involvement in the abuse of children repeats itself so often that they seem empowered by it.

A Big Time Spirit cooking was done in Waco. Too bad about that Parkinson's Disease epidemic that the principals later suffered.

James Pawlak said...

I must wonder what the present AG (Pimp) has on the Whore who is now the FBI's Director.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Everybody who refuses to vote for Trump, remember this.

Then multiply till your brain hurts.

Trump does not have a track record of killing Americans. Is that the kind of experience whose lack is disqualifying?

Achilles said...

"— withdrew their names in the face of criticism after it was revealed that they had employed undocumented immigrants as nannies...."

Man, remember when THAT was disqualifying? Today, they'd be applauded for doing so.

Now they have president Obama explicitly telling them to vote.

chickelit said...

Reno is a tough one to eulogize.

Once written, twice... said...

It is nice to see that Ann is throwing out some red meat to her Althouse Hillbillies before their pending smackdown tomorrow. Reading though the comments Ann you must be so proud of the Basket of Deplorables that you have attracted to be the heart and soul of you blog.

Ann Althouse said...

Notice how all these things involve children.

Why is it that even when a woman picks a male-dominated career -- she was one of only a few women in her graduating class at Harvard Law School -- and avoids having children of her own, her story ends up being about children?

shiloh said...

Dick Morris brahaha!

Althouse (2) posts yesterday and only 2 so far today ~ Are you pacing yourself for tomorrow? btw, again where's your presidential prediction thread.

ok, your shying away from such hilarity after you and your con flock made total fools of themselves (4) years ago. This is a very wise decision ...

Bruce Hayden said...

Dr K brought up the Bundy thing, and I don't think that it should be minimized. We are constantly told about Trump's temper and temperament. But no one talks about Crooked Hillary's and that is for good reason. She has been known to be viciously vindictive for decades now, with a hair trigger temper. Add to that a high likelihood of alcoholism and on occasion being a mean drunk.

On the flip side, the cheating has been rampant on the part of the Dems this time. Maybe not worse than usual, but much more visible. Not only has President Obama called for illegals to vote (illegally, but he assured them that no one would arrest them for it), but the Crooked Hillary campaign signed off on the violence following Trump. They are in full support (though, as usual, I expect that a lot of the funding is coming from Soros). Dead people voting. People voting multiple times. Etc. A lot of people are going to believe that any victory she might pull out, esp. if close, was through their massive cheating. Trump was asked if he would accept a Clinton victory, and he said he would wait, and was condemned by much of the MSM, etc. for that. But, why should he accept a victory, if they openly cheated to get it.

Putting this all together, there are going to be more Bundys. Both of them. Obama has mostly been an absentee landlord over the federal govt., allowing the bureaucrats to do their worst, as long as it doesn't cut into his golf games. Imagine a Dem ruler who took this sort of thing personally, and how they would react. Imagine a deranged vindictive Crooked Hillary in the Oval Office. Imagine if Harry Reid's BLM SWAT team had been given orders to fire, if the ranchers didn't clear out. And, with the death of a number of American citizens (as contrasted to the illegals whom Obama was telling to vote), through overreaction by heavily armed Feds, the right would have their martyrs. And, things may just get bloody.

Why could this be so much worse than when this sort of thing happened under her husband? Because he won fair and square. While never winning a majority, he won a clear victory. And, whatever cheating went on, wasn't probably enough to swing the election, and was probably no worse than the Dems had been doing for decades. And, he wasn't following 8 years of "we won" Dem rule, but rather 12 years of Reagan/Bush. And, yes, it doesn't help that she was given another green light by the FBI, telling America that there are two sets of laws in this country, one for the Clintons, and one for the Bundys. Not going over very well in much of the country.

mockturtle said...

Looking forward to Trey Gowdy as our next AG.

David said...

"At least it kept Martha Coakley from becoming a Senator from Massachusetts, home of the Salem witch trials."

We would have been better off with Martha.

David said...

Waco was another example of the Clintonian sense of accountability. "The buck stops somewhere else."

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, have you noticed how the lefties that comment on your blog never bother to present facts or make rational arguments? All they can do is sneer and bully. Doesn't work on you, does it?

Birkel said...

mockturtle:

From your mouth to God's ears!

Darrell said...

Althouse is being kind to her Lefty losers. Losers because they will vote for loser Hillary and become even bigger losers themselves. They can think about Reno's death and know that the same fate awaits them. They can chuckle at "God Botherers" and contemplate the Void. Hillary For Jail 2016, no term limits. They will be playing "Bars and Stripes Forever" at Hillary's fireworks show in NYC for the grand finale.

Mike Sylwester said...

... withdrew their names in the face of criticism after it was revealed that they had employed undocumented immigrants as nannies.

The expression undocumented immigrant is not a legal term. This expression is just conversational political slang.

The correct legal terms are illegal alien or undocumented alien. Here is an excerpt from US Government webpage titled: "Immigration Terms and Definitions Involving Aliens"

[quote]

Alien:

An individual who is not a U.S. citizen or U.S. national.

-----

Illegal Alien:

Also known as an "Undocumented Alien," is an alien who has entered the United States illegally and is deportable if apprehended, or an alien who entered the United States legally but who has fallen "out of status" and is deportable. ...

An undocumented or "illegal alien" is an alien who entered the United States illegally without the proper authorization and documents, or is an alien who once entered the United States legally and has since violated the terms of the status in which he entered the United States or has overstayed the time limits of his original status.

[unquote]

The webpage includes many immigration terms and definitions involving aliens, but the webpage does not anywhere include the expression undocumented immigrant, because it is not a governmental or legal expression.

-----

When the US Supreme Court rules on such issues, it always uses the correct term illegal alien.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/immigration-terms-and-definitions-involving-aliens

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/441816/rutgers-student-newspaper-censors-illegal-alien-term

chickelit said...

Althouse asked: Why is it that even when a woman picks a male-dominated career -- she was one of only a few women in her graduating class at Harvard Law School -- and avoids having children of her own, her story ends up being about children?

This is what I meant about Reno being hard to eulogize. Why is her being "one of a few women in graduating class at Harvard Law School" the only positive thing to be said.?

As to your question: Children are generally a positive thing. That Reno is only remembered for having some killed or taken away is her own doing...her own accomplishment.

What are Janet Reno's other positives unrelated to her being a woman?

Luke Lea said...

Since Reno presidents have been much more careful to appoint AG's who will watch their back? Or have they almost always done that with the exception of Clinton?

Paul Snively said...

Thanks for the trenchant reminder of just what a colossal shit-show the Clinton era was, for reasons that had bupkis to do with any blue dresses.

Chuck said...

LMAO, at the NPR story this morning on the death of Reno. Wherein they suggested that Reno's tenure gave rise to a bunch of "star" lawyers at Justice. And they singled out Jamie Gorelick and Eric Holder. Two of the worst and most shameless partisan hacks in the department's history.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"Reno is a tough one to eulogize."

She was a major piece of shit.

There. Not so hard after all.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chickelit said...

Cracker: But those aren't "good words."

Darrell said...

Better than Holder or Lynch.

She had lapses. They preside over a continuum of bullshit.

Roughcoat said...

I'd like to write something profound and searing about people who say they take "full responsibility" for a fiasco like Waco but suffer no consequences or take no honorable action commensurate with what responsibility would seemingly require (e.g., resign) ... but I'm all burned out on this score. The wicked do prosper and the rest of us are made to be chumps, living our chump lives, being played for chumps over and over and over.

Owen said...

Good riddance.

I read somewhere that the murderous incompetence displayed at Waco was what inspired Timothy McVeigh to blow up the federal building in Oklahoma City. Whether it did or not, it is a terrible stain on the Clintons, the DOJ, and the FBI.

I had forgotten Reno's early contributions to persecuting the innocent, with those trials of childrens' day care providers. Something for which Martha Coakley is justly infamous as well.

I say again, good riddance.

Big Mike said...

I think that Teno was better than Nixon's Mitchell, though not by much. Lynch and Holder are worse than Mitchell, but probably still better than Wilson's Palmer. Of course Lynch's term of office isn't over yet.

Dude1394 said...

How quaint. Politicians withdrawing their names after discoveries of hiring illegal aliens. Whereas now we have illegal aliens addressing the democrat national convention.

Jim Gust said...

I agree with Patrick, it was failure to pay the nanny taxes that doomed Woods and Baird.

Funny the little details that change history.

Big Mike said...

Reno, of course, not "Teno"

ga6 said...

Waiting for the obit on Lon Horiuchi.....

Paul said...

Clinton has more 'loose ends' to attend to, especially if she makes president. They can run, but they can't hide....

Bruce Hayden said...

For those who don't recognize the name "Lon Horiuchi", he was the FBI HRT sniper who shot and killed Vicki Weaver who was, at the time, wielding a baby as a weapon. And then possibly set off the Waco fiasco - another sniper said that he might have heard him say over the radio that shots had been fired, and had returned fire. The Texas Rangers found three expended .308 shells that could have been his, or could have been from the ATF. Of course, both agencies had the forensic ability to tie expended rounds to firearms, but no one apparently bothered to test the sniper rifles when in serious CYA mode.

Michael K said...

The wicked do prosper and the rest of us are made to be chumps, living our chump lives, being played for chumps over and over and over.

Oh, I don't think you can get too wrapped up in this stuff. My wife was just walking around the house raging at Comey. At least we don't need politics and political influence to live our lives.

I was telling her that we will move to Arizona and have enough land for a propane tank and a propane powered generator. When the EMP comes, and I think it more likely with Hillary than Trump, we will have power. A swimming pool is a requirement in the houses we are looking at. That is not just for hot summers but is a water supply. If no catastrophe, I like swimming in hot Arizona summers.

The question is how much freeze dried food to store?

My step son has all this arranged in Oregon but the climate is too wet and cold for his mother so Arizona it is.

Also, of course, plenty of ammunition. We'll be OK.

I would not want to be living in a big city for the next few years. Aside from race riots which are coming if Hillary wins, they are targets for Iran and various Muslim groups, including those she imports as "refugees."

I understand a lot of them are going to North Dakota but up there I suspect they are referred as "targets,"

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Questions about her handling of the Waco raid resurfaced in 1999, when new evidence suggested that the F.B.I. might have started the fire that destroyed the compound....

Nope! WRONG! I listened to NPR this morning. The NPR report said, unequivocally, that Koresh & and Branch Davidians started the fire. I think it said Koresh ordered the building set on fire.

NPR wouldn't lie, and NPR wouldn't distort the truth, and NPR wouldn't state things as facts when those "facts" were in dispute, so this has to be wrong.

Shameful!

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Roux said...
Reno gained fame in prosecuting day care workers who were wrongly accused of child molestation. Don't ever forget that.


Yuuuup. NPR described her as a "hard charging prosecutor" and that reputation came in part from her prosecution of just those cases. NPR didn't mention that, though.

Wiki: Day-Care Sex Abuse Hysteria - Country Walk
Fuster's victims testified that his "unspeakable acts" included leading them in Satanic rituals and terrorizing them by forcing them to watch him mutilate birds, a lesson to children who might reveal the abuse

The guy she convicted in that case is still serving his 165 year sentence.

"Hard charging" indeed.

Bruce Hayden said...

So, worried about the appearance of cheating, it came out today that not only did CNN give Crooked Hillary questions in advance in her debate with Sanders, her campaign gave the network questions for Trump. On the same day that we found out that Clintonista, and VA Gov Terry McAuliffe pardoned 60,000 felons so that they could vote for her, and then gave them prestamped envelopes for mailing their ballots, which VA apparently doesn't do for non-felons.

Michael K said...

"The guy she convicted in that case is still serving his 165 year sentence."

The idiots in the McMartin case made a mistake by describing, or having the kids describe, things like surgery with no scars. It made it easier to disprove when the tide turned.

They also described secret tunnels that weren't there when the cops dug up the entire area.

Reno was smarter. No exculpatory evidence,

Michael K said...

"Dale Akiki, a developmentally-delayed man with Noonan syndrome, was accused of satanic ritual abuse in 1991."

That case was even more interesting because it involved a church in which a rich fast food franchiser was a member. He had a hand in pushing the prosecution. The poor guy was imprisoned and gang members in prison quickly figured out he was innocent and protected him as long as he was in prison. He should have had a big lawsuit against the fast food guy who owned a chain of those places.

rhhardin said...

Child sexual abuse gets ratings. Pols free ride on it.

rhhardin said...

Child sexual abuse by a drunken vicious Pit Bull would ht a ratings three-fer.

FullMoon said...

HoodlumDoodlum said... [hush]​[hide comment]

Questions about her handling of the Waco raid resurfaced in 1999, when new evidence suggested that the F.B.I. might have started the fire that destroyed the compound....

Nope! WRONG! I listened to NPR this morning. The NPR report said, unequivocally, that Koresh & and Branch Davidians started the fire. I think it said Koresh ordered the building set on fire.

NPR wouldn't lie, and NPR wouldn't distort the truth, and NPR wouldn't state things as facts when those "facts" were in dispute, so this has to be wrong.


After seeing the documentary, it makes me sick that any intelligent person could possibly pretend that our government did not cause the murder of the people at Waco.

rhhardin said...

Traditionally it's Saint Bernards that have drunken orgies, after they find and devour a lost traveller. But travellers don't get positive attention from women. You need children involved.

Bruce Hayden said...

@Dr K - you are the doctor, but I would be worried about the contamination of water stored in a swimming pool (or tub for that matter). Saw something the other day about something you can put in your tub to keep the water clean enough to drink. Was looking at a propane generator to augment solar up in MT. Friend uses a diesel generator there for that, but if you are going to have propane anyway, might as well use it to generate backup electricity too. Was also going to dig a well, which is one of the things that are problematic in AZ.

If you are truly paranoid, you might consider some guns that haven't recently gone through a FFL, and maybe reloading setup and supplies. Nothing illegal, but might make the Feds suspicious. Maybe it is the people I hang around with (not that far from Ruby Ridge), but I constantly hear about burying guns and ammo. Not that I would ever consider such a thing.

Not sure how long AZ is going to be that safe. A lot of Californians moving there, and bringing their politics. Plus, it is Ground Zero with illegal immigration. Esp on the Mexican border, where the Feds aren't bothering to police it, thanks to Obama's push to import as many as he can. We have all heard stories about heavily armed drug smugglers killing ranchers and their families if they get in the way. Plus, Soros is spending millions this election trying to get Sheriff Joe Arpaio out of office. Place is getting weird, with three guys openly running for the Corporation Commission (or some such) by claiming that they are the "sustainable" candidates. A lot of money sloshing around the state this year, trying to push the state to the left.

effinayright said...

chickelit said...
Reno is a tough one to eulogize.
*******************************************

How about this:

"Later in life Ms. Reno put the trembling from her worsening Parkinson's disease to good advantage, making margaritas at a Jimmy Buffett's restaurant.

"Best in Florida", boasted Mr. Buffett."

Owen said...

rhhardin@10:11: "...pols free ride on [child sexual abuse]."

Word. As a completely unqualified observer I venture the hypothesis that in a culture where the secular has consumed the sacred, where almost everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned, perhaps the last point of contact with decency is childhood, and the last evil act is sexual abuse of children. It still sparks in us pure disgust and anger, and those who expose it and promise to fight it can still recruit our fears and buy our votes.

What politician can resist the theme? And if there isn't enough real abuse, just invent some. Call in some "expert" who can testify to "recovered memories" and interview the three-year-olds about the secret tunnels and the invisible mutilations, the cannibalism and worse. Believe the children, and to hell with due process and common sense.

Reno preyed on that, like too many others.

rhhardin said...

My impression was the EMP will take out electronics, so you need a generator with no electronics, which is unlikely today. Also propane isn't going to last long as power.

Go with wood, rubbing sticks together and pots. A cave is good for winter heating.

After you've mastered smelting iron, you can build a steam engine.

rhhardin said...

My advice is stockpile DVDs, portable DVD players and solar panels. Entertainment is the first to go.

SukieTawdry said...

Bill Clinton wasn't "committed" to naming a woman as attorney general, Hillary was and Reno was her choice (Bill described Reno as "my worst mistake"). As Bill's co-president, Hillary considered domestic matters her bailiwick. As I recall the story, she fully intended to occupy the traditional vice president's offices in the West Wing relegating Agore to the Eisenhower Building. Gore somewhat uncharacteristically fought back saying if that happened he'd resign and make public the reason why.

Reno was an odd duck. From her time in Miami through her tenure at the DOJ, rumors swirled about her sexual orientation. She once said, "I am just an awkward old maid with a very great attraction to men” which I found rather endearing. She and Donna Shalala (another rumored lesbian and another Hillary pick) would talk wistfully about buying an RV and hitting the road after Bill's time was up. I think it's a shame they didn't actually do it. My last image of Reno was Inauguration Day 2001. Remember how Bill wouldn't leave and held a tribute to himself in an Andrews AFB hanger? (He actually reviewed troops he no longer commanded and who in all likelihood despised him.) Bill was delivering a mawkish speech to the aides and cabinet members gathered there and Reno was captured on camera rapturously gazing up at him. I imagined her greatest regret wasn't Waco or Elián González or the Richard Jewell leaks but rather her appointment of Robert Fiske to investigate Whitewater and the long-ranging consequences of that decision. He epitaph is she was a Clinton loyalist who kept her mouth shut.

Bruce Hayden said...

I was surprised. Friend in MT lives essentially off the grid because it just costs way too much to bring in electricity (phone is different - bringing it in is heavily subsidized). So he runs with solar backed up by a diesel generator. Only has to fill up maybe once a year. He spent maybe $20k on solar panels and installation, and they suffice most of the time, most of the year., even that far north. Oh, and wood heat (a lot of big trees around, and Forest Service permits are dirt cheap).

rcocean said...

Lets be honest, Reno was a perfect example of an AA baby in action. Promoted way above her ability because she wore a skirt (occasionally). Sad, that innocents had to die because of that.

Same thing with Sandra Day O'Connor. A complete mediocrity who got on the court because she knew Rehnquist and was a female.

damikesc said...

NPR wouldn't lie, and NPR wouldn't distort the truth, and NPR wouldn't state things as facts when those "facts" were in dispute, so this has to be wrong.

You know what I wonder?

Now that HBO is cocking up Sesame Street --- WHY do we still have public television at all? Nothing they make is worth a shit.

Chuck said...

And, damikesc, why have NPR?

What unmet public need is being served, by more political talkradio?

If public radio was just doing classical music, jazz, the opera, bluegrass, blues, arts programming, et cetera, I couldn't complain. Commercial radio isn't doing enough of that. All of that is an unmet public need.

But since when, did we not get enough of EJ Dionne of the Washington Post and David Brooks of the New York Times, through other commercial outlets? If we wanted to hear from Cokie Roberts, she was on ABC for about 15 years. Commercial broadcasting is filled to the gills with political talk and interview shows. Why do we need public radio as another outlet doing the same?

Public radio has made a clear decision, to get away from arts and move toward newstalk. I seriously question the legitimacy of the operation these days.

JackWayne said...

Mike K, you're prepping in the wrong direction. Lay in a huge supply of booze and enough weapons to protect it. Get some cards and a dice cloth. Hire some women. When the SHTF, you're in business and will likely become the most powerful Patron in Arizona. It's what the Romans did after the Fall. A prepper is playing defense. Play offense.

gadfly said...

So the New York Times has forgotten the Ruby Ridge incident in 1992 when Reno's ATF, USMS and FBI killers wiped out Randy Weaver's family, his son Sammy, his wife Vicki and his dog Striker.

Chuck said...

gadfly said...
So the New York Times has forgotten the Ruby Ridge incident in 1992 when Reno's ATF, USMS and FBI killers wiped out Randy Weaver's family, his son Sammy, his wife Vicki and his dog Striker.


I understand the point you may be trying to make, but Janet Reno was a local prosecutor in Miami when the Ruby Ridge fight occurred in Northern Idaho. George H.W. Bush was still the president in August of 1992.

Yancey Ward said...

I would guess that Reno got pressure from above to end the standoff with the Davidians, and that led directly to the assault- so I think it likely Clinton does bear most of the responsibility ultimately, but the execution of the assault had incompetence written all over it, as did the original raid by the ATF. I still think they should have simply cut off supplies and waited them out, but I think the Davidians would have killed themselves rather than surrender. However, we will never know what they might have done absent the assault.

Fen said...

Althouse: "If I have to stop believing all the known liars, that's a pretty long list and it includes Bill and Hillary Clinton, of course."

Well, the OP is by Freder, also a known liar.

I'm reminded of the Harvey Fenton Mudd episode of Star Trek, where Kirk and Spock short circuit the android with such a dilemma... ;)

Fen said...

"Go with wood, rubbing sticks together and pots. A cave is good for winter heating."

Good point. Remember all the Survivor Episodes? How the smart players came in after the 1st episode already trained in how to make fire.

Not a bad idea, considering the direction of our times.

Learn to make fire now, in the comfort of your backyard, instead of on the fly later.

buwaya said...

"Now that HBO is cocking up Sesame Street "

I expect they will start inserting naked women.
They always add naked women.
We have been watching "Westworld"; I predicted naked women, and there they were in a few minutes.

Rusty said...



Blogger Ann Althouse said...
Notice how all these things involve children.

Why is it that even when a woman picks a male-dominated career -- she was one of only a few women in her graduating class at Harvard Law School -- and avoids having children of her own, her story ends up being about children?

It wouldn't be except she killed a bunch of em.

Bad Lieutenant said...

gadfly said...
So the New York Times has forgotten the Ruby Ridge incident in 1992 when Reno's ATF, USMS and FBI killers wiped out Randy Weaver's family, his son Sammy, his wife Vicki and his dog Striker.
11/7/16, 12:12 PM


No, you have, because you're willing to put the Clintons back in power, after all that.

Actually, gadfly, you're worse than the New York Times, because presumably you found Ruby Ridge and Waco to be objectionable, whereas the Times is indifferent to, if not supportive of, murdering strange people like them. But Trump pissed you off so goodbye, country.

Bilwick said...

Ding dong the Witch of Waco is dead! Glad to hear it. One of my recurring nightmares about a Clintonista resurgence if Hillary wins tomorrow would be Jackboots Janet coming back in some capacity and having any influence at all in the wielding of the Mailed Fist.

Bilwick said...

Great and significant Reno quote: objecting to people who see the State as an enemy (and why on earth would anyone do that, especially in the 20th Century?), "We live in a country that let's us be freer than any other country. . . ." (Wording approximate, from memory.) Get it? "Let's us" be free. As revelatory a quote as Hillary's "We're going to take things from you for your own good" or Bill's "You might spend your money in the wrong way."

damikesc said...

If public radio was just doing classical music, jazz, the opera, bluegrass, blues, arts programming, et cetera, I couldn't complain. Commercial radio isn't doing enough of that. All of that is an unmet public need.

I'm not sure it is. Satellite radio has all of that (if your cable/satellite provider has music channels, it is all satellite radio anyway). If you want to spend the small amount of money it costs (I don't, but YMMV), it can be a great thing.

But, you're right, NPR isn't doing that now. It's all left-wing establishment opinions. The TV is no better. Ken Burns has made one good documentary in his life and seems to confuse "mind-numbing" for "interesting".

So the New York Times has forgotten the Ruby Ridge incident in 1992 when Reno's ATF, USMS and FBI killers wiped out Randy Weaver's family, his son Sammy, his wife Vicki and his dog Striker.

That was Bush's ATF. Reno didn't have a chance to fuck shit up until 1993.

We have been watching "Westworld"; I predicted naked women, and there they were in a few minutes.

That's all HBO has. Their shows have been overrated for a long time and they seem heavily reliant on tits to make people think they're edgy.

mockturtle said...

Janet Reno still walks the face of the earth.

Yikes!

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael K said...

"A lot of Californians moving there, and bringing their politics."

That was before when Cali real estate was down. When my daughter went to U of A about 8 years ago, I immediately got the CA plates off her car. I will do the same. They are cop magnets.

I don;t what you plan to do with DVDs after the EMP. Frisbees ?

The pool water can be treated. Propane is, I think, easier than diesel. Back in 1979, I put a diesel tank in my yard on a weekend with a back hoe I operated myself. I sold that house a few years later (Wish I had it now) and never told the buyers about the illegal tank buried under the brick and concrete patio. I wonder if they ever found it? There was a school bus yard down the hill and they came and filled my tank when I needed it. That was the gas crisis and I had all diesel cars.

I will add solar, of course, in Tucson and two of the houses we are looking at have roof collection of rainwater into cisterns like they have t=in Queensland.

Some things you can't plan for, of course, but maybe barter medicine might come in handy someday.

Michael K said...

"That was Bush's ATF."

That's why I consider Bush Reagan's worst mistake. Had an argument on another blog about it.

"Compassionate Conservative" and all that hogwash. We barely dodged JEB. I'm not surprised the Bushes are all voting for Hillary.,

mockturtle said...

Michael: In AZ, water is the most important commodity.

Bilwick said...

"If public radio was just doing classical music, jazz, the opera, bluegrass, blues, arts programming, et cetera, I couldn't complain." I would--because I don't think A has the right to force B to pay for A's radio listening--but I'd complain less. The local public radio station where I live gutted their music programming and replaced it with non-music programming to appeal to "the community" (you know what that means) and to some extent millennials. The norning classical music program was replaced by an arts-oriented talk show that seems overly obsessed with everything Black and Gay. (When Maya Angelou--sorry, DOCTOR Maya Angelou--died, they seemed to devote every other show to her memory.) I'd be curious if that hasn't cost them at fund-raising time but I guess this city has enough rich white "liberals" with enough guilt to keep ponying up the dough.

Michael K said...

"In AZ, water is the most important commodity."

Oh yes. I am not new to AZ. I had a house in Tucson for years but lived in CA most of the time. I am just moving permanently before Jerry Moonbeam crashes the state.

It's interesting but I was working in Phoenix last week and everyone says they love Tucson and it is cooler etc. They work in Phoenix because that is where the work is but they would like to live in Tucson.

FullMoon said...

Here is a link to the BBC documentary. Pretty long, but you do not have to watch it all at once. Frankly, after ten minutes, to be sure it was the one I had seen before, I bailed out. Just too sickening how those people, especially the kids, were psychologically tortured for days before they were slaughtered by our heroic FBI, ATF and others.

Waco

effinayright said...

Janet Reno still walks the face of the earth.

Yikes!
****************

Star Wars "Imperial Walkers" immediately popped into my head.

Big woman, that one.

Roadkill711 said...

Patrick at 7:44 said: "I would have sworn that Baird and Wood withdrew not because they had illegal immigrant nannies, but because they didn't pay taxes on their nannies. The Nanny Tax, remember?"

Yeah, that's how I remember it, too.

The NYT obit makes it sound as if the confirmation problems hinged on the non-citizenship of the nannies, not the fact that the nominees were not paying employment taxes. So, Althouse, does your silence on that comment suggest you agree with the NYT obit, or what?

Please correct Patrick and I if our recollections are flawed.

walter said...

"Mr. Clinton, committed to naming a woman as attorney general,"

Criteria..bet he had binders full.

JCCamp said...

The best thing to happen to law enforcement in Miami was when Reno agreed to take the AG job, and left town.

While State Attorney in Dade County, she supervised - and even participated in the actual courtroom presentation - a trial of deputy sheriffs who beat a criminal to death, and then covered it up. Her office negotiated pleas with some of the more culpable, who had family connections to the power structure, while prosecuting the less culpable. When the trial resulted in acquittals despite pretty unequivocal evidence, Miamu suffered the wordt race riot in its history, in which something like 65 persons died (although official reports claim only a fraction of that). Reno owns the trial failure and, along with the nes media, the race riot.

In addition to leaving town herself and doing everyone a favor, she took some of her worst, sleazy lawyers (and a couple of good guys) with her to Justice.

Her performance as US AG was no surprise to anyone who knew her. Sorry she died but she was awful as a prosecutor, who subjected every decision to public opinion polls first and who never did something just because it was the right thing.

JCCamp said...

I see the keyboard on my Mac is getting freaky again. Need an 'edit" function.