Hillary's emails.
Is that really a topic to bother with? Considering a variety of things, like how this was handled by previous Secretaries, even Republican ones (like Secretary Colin Powell or Condoleezza Rice) who did pretty much the same with their emails. So I ask again, is this really even a thing? Or yet another conservative attempt to attack another Clinton, or just another Democrat?
Because let's face it, almost everytime in recent history Republicans have called for an investigation like this we have later discovered (as we knew to begin with) that was just a partisan political effort and not a true concern as they openly professed. Just a desire to make their job easier (or possible) by taking down a Democrat in their way.
State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said that: "For some historical context, Secretary Kerry is the first secretary of state to rely primarily on a state.gov email account."
Once the FBI found (or was shown?) classified information in Clinton's or her aide's emails, it triggered an investigation. That means nothing at this point until they finish. It's like the IRS auditing you. It happens. Much of the time it goes nowhere, but it's better to review and be wrong than not and be right. But in this case I see this all as more of an historical event than one of criminal actions.
It is also odd how normally in the conservative mindset this kind of a waste of money would be considered, well, a waste of money. It is through their typical fear and paranoia however that we see the conservative mindset trumped over considerations of money saving and big government involvement, IF there is a potential to prove their fears correct, and especially if it can be at the detriment of a political enemy.
Consider how useless Republicans in congress have been in the past two administrative terms of Barack Obama. How obstructive, destructive and regressive Republicans have been and continue to be. How twisted and turned about their political policies and ideals are and have become. How skewed their priorities are, beyond even that of how skewed most American's priorities have become mostly though Republican efforts and those of their supporters in the military \ corporate \ industrial complex.
I would submit that a similar group of High School students could easily have gotten just as much done and more, and more useful issues settled, had we swapped out all of our Republican Congress with kids. Kids who would have worked together simply for a good grade. All with no connections either to the regressive beliefs, greed or political ignorance of either the "Tea Party" or lobbyists.
I met former and only ever head of both the NSA and the CIA, Michael Hayden back in the 90s at the same security cyber group meetings where we used to get briefings in Seattle from so many smart and in-the-know people. His book Playing To The Edge - American Intelligence in the Age of Terror, is definitely worth a read.
People like Richard Clarke, former National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection and Counter-terrorism for the United States and many others who went on to becomes heads of departments and agencies. We got briefings from the DIA, NSA and many others over the years drawing cyber and police people from Canada to Washington D.C. to even Australia
Hayden had something interesting to say on Fareed Zakaria today that changed my mind on Hillary's email situation. But it's not how you might think.
Time as we all know, marches on. Technologies advance faster each year so that most of us find it difficult to keep up with. Government departments and agencies tend to lag behind the citizens on much of this. I know I had the newer flat screen monitor technology at home and at work before many if not most government agencies did.
Only in some departments are they consistently abreast of technology, when it is their prime directive. Such departments as the CIA, DHS, the NSA or other lesser known such alphabet soup named agencies we all know and may never have heard of.
What the Hillary email situation has (and I refuse to call it a "scandal", it's just not) brought up is not whether she shared classified documents in her emails. She didn't, though some documents were later classified as secret in either the natural course of events (few I'm sure if any) and through political maneuverings by Republicans (all of them?). Even Michael Hayden gave a nod to that theory in question of the practice of making documents secret after their creation and dissemination.
What is important in all this is that what Hillary did was not illegal, but from here forward it needs to be.
What is important is that for one of the few times, Republican partisan whining as actually brought to fruition, a change in how things are done. Though as adults they could have gone about this in a far more logical and procedural way. But again rather then just do the job they exist for, they had to go about it in such a way as to attempt to inflict damage on a major member of their opposition political party.
It deeply saddens me that half of our political parties are so destructive and self aggrandizing at almost every turn. Why Republicans can't simply do their job, why they have to do almost anything but simply legislate, is quite beyond me. Seriously, beyond any rational and thinking person who does not see government service as anything but a way to serve the people, all the people, and not only those you think you represent or that you feel support you.
Anyway, what is important in all this is progress and making things better.
What had worked in the not so distant past for those like previous Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell when he did the same thing, is no longer worth the risk. Technology and cyber hacking have advanced to a point that we need now to start to positively seek security on an "at war-like" basis. We need professionals, in house, running, monitoring and handling these types of email servers FROM NOW ON.
Because the once invisible Cold War has turned into the not so invisible Cyber War.
My suggestion would be to drop this partisan effort to besmirch the reputation of Secretary Clinton and change the laws. Then audit everyone necessary to be sure they are using the correct procedures being handled by the correct people. People who will be running tech that will continue to be handled correctly both during and after those individuals leave their positions so that there is a continuity of security and advancing their technologies, sometimes on a day by day basis.
The issue here is bigger than Hillary, or Republican's juvenile hatred for her or their attempts to waylay her run for the presidency.
That is to say tech and security needs to be handled by a department and not an individual member of government or their own people, even if they are very good. It needs to be handled by a department whose sole responsibility it is to stay on top of technology and security issues.
Seems like a no brainer, right? Sure, now it seems real obvious, and in highsight.
It's possible an individual Secretary or such person could hire even better people than a government department might have available. But that isn't the only consideration. And yes that department needs to be assured they will always have the best minds and best maintenance of those minds and have the abilities to stay as far ahead of technology and security issues as possible.
We need these changes and an audit now. How to ever get it through a republican held, do nothing congress is beyond me though.
I would apply an audit to assure people are adhering to these new changes, deal with the situation, not chastise anyone at this point, but be sure they and their emails and technologies are properly migrated to where they now need to reside. We don't need a massive witch hunt, we don't need people scurrying about trying to save themselves or others. We just need to be sure things are being done properly NOW and then continue to do them properly from now on. We need people to be on board, not looking for ways to abandon ship.
As Hayden put it if he were a foreign intelligence agency he would be on this with everything he had to try to hack technologies that aren't being handled as will as they could be, or by in house security and technology experts. Though don't be fooled, he'd already I'm sure have been working all along (hopefully unsuccessfully) on those in house types, too.
We need to protect our people. We need to protect their work and efforts as related to their emails and technologies with everything we have. We also need to focus on what is most useful for America, to stop wasting time on trying to count coup on our enemies on the other side of the political partisan aisle.
What is important, what our priorities should and need to be, is the security of America, Americans, and our American government employes and chief execs and through them our foreign country friends. And enemies.
If that last statement confused you, then you should now see why this all needs to be handled by the experts. Experts we have constant access to. People who can address not just the tiny miniscule technical issues involved in day by day, minute by minute, and nanosecond by nanosecond administration of email and technologies, but also the macro sized global issues involved in maintaining national security.
Where nowadays in this fearful new world one email can potentially, change the world.
Let me leave you with this thought....
A very brief video about Bernie Sanders by Dick Van Dyke. What he says is true. Whether or not you think he could or should be President, or could handle it or if he's qualified or he most qualified, Dick Van Dyke is absolutely right in what he says.
#BernieSanders #HillaryClinton #Conservatives
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