The Banana Republic where the United States Used to Be

OK, maybe not quite that bad but still pretty bad. Corruption is to the Federal bureaucracy as air is to decent people but this is really an extreme example.

There is no way of getting around this: According to Director James Comey ... Hillary Clinton checked every box required for a felony violation of Section 793(f) of the federal penal code (Title 18): With lawful access to highly classified information she acted with gross negligence in removing and causing it to be removed it from its proper place of custody, and she transmitted it and caused it to be transmitted to others not authorized to have it, in patent violation of her trust. Director Comey even conceded that former Secretary Clinton was “extremely careless” and strongly suggested that her recklessness very likely led to communications (her own and those she corresponded with) being intercepted by foreign intelligence services.

Yet, Director Comey recommended against prosecution of the law violations he clearly found on the ground that there was no intent to harm the United States.

Nothing in the legal definition of gross negligence requires that the individual act with intent to harm. It requires there be a conscious, voluntary disregard of the need to use reasonable care. That is why is called "negligence" instead of something else. Hillary's actions clearly departed from the conduct expected of a reasonably prudent person acting under similar circumstances.

Read more at: FBI Rewrites Federal Law to Let Hillary Off the Hook

A final thought:

There are lots of people who think they're above the law. And then; there are those who can prove it, like the Clintons.

-- Martin McPhillips (via Billy Beck)

That's SEMI-autonomous!

Here is another wrinkle in the fatal Tesla crash I mentioned earlier. The driver might have been watching a movie on a portable DVD player. Emphasis on "might". A DVD player was found in the car but eyewitness account differ as to whether it was playing or not. It is still not determined if the it was operating and, if so, whether the driver was watching it.

The Tesla "Autopilot" mode is semi-autonomous. It is not designed to replace the driver but rather to assist him. Apparently, Some Tesla drivers just do not get this!

This may be just be a case of advanced technology meeting an irresponsible person.

Cultural Uplift and Evolution

This is a pretty good post by Ex-Army. I am sometimes critical of him but I think his heart is in a good place.

Though he hints at it I think he misses how important is the interaction between culture and evolution. There is a feedback loop between the two. (I am tempted to type "synergy" but that word is misused too often). For example, a factor in Western Civilization was the practice of primogeniture in the early and high middle ages. By forcing younger sons to find their own way, it allowed the genes from the upper classes to propagate into the lower classes. That probably helped raised average intelligence of the population and eventually gave rise to the middle class.

Martin Luther King was on a Watchlist

Many image memes are just plain silly but this one has considerable truth in it. It is true that Martin Luther King owned guns and, at times, was protected by armed volunteers. It is a matter of record that he applied for a concealed carry permit in Alabama. Unfortunately for King, Alabama was a de facto shall-issue state at the time and the local police decided he was not a suitable person.

It is also a matter of record that then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy approved the FBI’s wiretap and clandestine microphone campaign against King. This surveillance lasted until his assassination in April 1968.

Gays and Guns

An acquaintance once told me that gays are self-loathing and secretly want to be punished and die. I don't buy into collectivist nonsense but the fact the gay community -- via its putative leaders -- continue to advocate disarming in the face of a clear-and-present danger does make me wonder.

Fortunately, not all gays fall in line with the disarmament agenda. Erin Palette is one; Palmer is another. I am sure there are more and I hope they will speak up.

Gay Activist: 'We're Sitting Ducks' in Gun-Free Zones

Also see: Operaton Blazing Sword .