Comey

Obama appointed James Comey Director of the FBI in yet another of his misguided attempts to "reach out" to Republicans.  Like all his other attempts, this one too came back to bite him in the ass.  Nobody wants to say that Comey was motivated by animus towards Clinton or Democrats in general, but the animus was pretty evident in his earlier summary of the email investigation.

Is it possible Comey's latest actions are nothing more than arrant cowardice in the face of blustering Republican Congressman?  Maybe.  I'm willing to let Comey decide for himself whether history records his actions  as malicious or merely craven.  One way or the other, his reputation is shot.

This v. That

McConnell v. Obama
Mitch McConnell did not have to announce that the Senate would not consider an Obama nomination to the Supreme Court.  If he didn't want an Obama candidate confirmed, he could have held hearings and had his party reject the appointment.  He's been doing that over and over with Obama appointments to the Court of Appeals.

I doubt that he acted without thinking, thereby inadvertently blowing up a political storm.  He wanted the public conflict, and he got it.  Presumably, he hopes it will motivate more Republicans to go to the polls in November, despite the fact that most of them will have supported candidates who lost in the primaries all the while developing a pretty intense dislike for the eventual winner.

Tim Cook v. FBI
FBI Director James Comey kept his agency's conflict with Tim Cook and Apple quiet for over a year, then decided to go public when he could exploit the San Bernadino shooting to force Apple to breach its customers' security.  Tr*mp isn't the only one exploiting fear to compromise civil liberties.

Don't blame Comey, though.  He's just the public face of the administration's ongoing effort to have easy and immediate access to all your personal data.  When it comes to violation of privacy and establishment of the national security state, Obama is second to none.

The Donald v. the Pope
Dissing the Pope will not do Tr*mp any damage at all.  Most of his redneck supporters probably hate Catholics anyway, and the Catholics among his supporters are pissed at Francis for "betraying" the virulently anti-Communist John Paul and Hitler Youth graduate Benedict; not to mention failing to lead the hate parade against Muslims and gays.

Me, I'm an atheist, but I'm still more of a Christian than Tr*mp.  Oh, well.  Except for Trump winning again, I expect the outcome of the South Carolina Republican primary to be largely inconclusive, so the merry chase will continue on towards Super Tuesday.

Malheur "standoff"

The gunmen currently occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon are not a joke.  They are persons in rebellion against the government of the USofA in violation of US Code Chapter 115, covering treason, sedition, and subversive activities, specifically:
     §2381 Treason
     §2383 Rebellion or Insurrection
     §2384 Seditious Conspiracy

No, they are not a bunch of "good ol' boys" playing soldier.  No, they should not be ignored until they "go away." The Bundys and the "sovereign citizens" and neo-nazis and anti-government militiamen who have been supporting them since the "stand-off" at the Bundy ranch last year, despite the pocket-size Constitutions they carry in their camo, are not "patriots."  They are criminals.

The current problem is a direct consequence of government failure to appropriately deal with Cliven Bundy's refusal to pay the roughly one million dollars in heavily discounted grazing fees he owes the United States government.  Fearful that another "Ruby Ridge" would encourage and enlarge the anti-government groups that have proliferated, especially in the western USofA, the Obama Justice Department did nothing.  I'm willing to bet the AG hasn't even garnished Cliven Bundy's Social Security checks, which I'm also willing to bet he collects and cashes every month.  Maybe while his sons and their fascist followers are busy in Oregon, Obama should send some FBI agents to arrest old Cliven and put his ass in jail.

Those who point out that blacks or Muslims or even Native Americans would not get away with such shit are entirely correct.  Also, unlike the situation with the Branch Davidians or the Weaver family at Ruby Ridge, there are no children involved — only bearded men with beer guts.  They are unlikely to arouse much sympathy among those who are not paranoid schizophrenic.  Properly equipped FBI agents should be able to subdue and capture them in short order.

Surveillance State

If the FISA court approved a warrant for the FBI and NSA to obtain all of Verizon's "metadata," I think it's safe to assume it approved warrants for all the other major carriers as well.  I am certain that neither my friend Prudi not my friend Judy are terrorists — they just don't have the skills, much less the motivation — and they're my primary telephone correspondents.  Yes, my kids call every week or two, and they're not terrorists either, so I guess I won't be scooped up in some anti-terror dragnet.

On the other hand, I do get fairly frequent calls from other parties who must also be calling terrorists.  You probably get the robo-call that begins, "This is an important message about your current credit card account..."  I'm betting that the real terrorists get more calls from that outfit than from any of their terrorist buddies, and I'm calling on the FBI to shut them down.  They might even be calling from outside the USA — who knows?  Maybe they are terrorists, trying to drive us so crazy we go out and start killing each other.

Seriously, though, Barack Obama and his administration have been a total disappointment with regard to Fourth Amendment rights and with regard to transparency.  "Oh," exclaim the administration hacks, "but the things we do are for the sake of national security — to protect your safety.  And if it weren't for those horrible leakers letting you know they're happening, they wouldn't bother you at all!"

Once again, it's time to quote Jefferson:  "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."