Hacking Sharyl Attkisson's Computer: Are You Screaming Yet?

Sharyl Attkisson is a former CBS News investigative reporter. Her book, "Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama's Washington" comes out next week.

If the name "Sharyl Attkisson" sounds familiar, it's because you may have seen her work on Fast & Furious and Benghazi. Like most people familiar with these scandals, Attkisson is not thrilled with the Obama Administration.

The Obama Administration views her as an enemy (as it does everyone who knows just how badly they've bungled the past six years). How screwed up is this - that a democratically elected Head of State would think of its own constituents as enemies. Are you screaming yet?

In the book, Attkisson alleges that a government agency did the following:

1. Planted spyware on her computer.
2. Turned on her computer's microphone to listen in on her.
3. Logged her keystrokes and had access to all her emails.
4. Planted classified documents on her computer.
5.  Installed an extra fiber-optics line in her home.

Are you screaming yet?

Maybe Attkisson just wants to sell books. Maybe. But if this were to all be false, her professional reputation as a reporter would be destroyed. Her audience would dissolve, and with it, her career.

It also helps her case that the computer in question was examined by at least 3 computer experts, one of whom (Don Allison) is directly named in the book. Another was an independent consultant hired by CBS. All three found significant evidence to suggest 1) hacking occurred, and 2) it was done by a government agency.

Are you screaming yet?

This is a huge violation of both the 1st and 4th Amendments. If it's true - and we have credible evidence to suggest so - it could end a presidency. The White House has not responded to these very serious accusations of illegal intimidation of a journalist. It won't, until it absolutely HAS to.

Are you screaming yet?

Liberals on Spree of Being Wrong About Things

The American Left is wrong about a lot of things, lots of times. This week is no exception. Below, a list of things that Democrats have been wrong about...in just the past 48 hours:

1. Wendy Davis has lots of supporters: Wendy Davis has been stealing people's photos and posting them as "Look at these people who voted for me!" One of those pictures was of a group of College Republicans. This is like when people Photoshop their Facebook pictures...you cringe on their behalf.

2. Mike Brown never approached Officer Darren Wilson: Data from the autopsy was leaked, showing that the altercation between the two took place inside the police car AND that Mike Brown's hand was not raised at the time he was shot. This is consistent with the Officer's story, but inconsistent with what the two witnesses claimed to have seen.

3. Gun control works: Oh, Canada. What a horrible thing happened on Parliament Hill yesterday. A radical Muslim terrorist gunned down a Canadian soldier named Nathan Cirillo and fired shots in Parliament Hall. Canadian gun laws require all gun owners and users to take a safety course and pass a background check in order to obtain a license. Canada tried to have these really strong systems in place, but either the guy fell through the cracks in the system, or he ignored it entirely.

4. Russia is no longer a significant threat: Sweden has detected a Russian ship, most likely a submarine, off its coast. This is a violation of international law. Russia has denied that the ship is theirs (OF COURSE), and Sweden's number one military commander told the press "it's f*cked up."

5. Voter fraud does not exist: James O'Keefe, guerilla filmmaker and friend of The Bear, went undercover in Colorado and exposed Mark Udall's supporters telling him to commit voter fraud. As in, "fill out other people's ballots for them, since those people don't even live in the state anymore." Insanity. THIS is why we need Voter ID - because it's easy to get, free for those in need, and prevents somebody from stealing ballots out of the mail and voting 30 times over.

Keep Going, Wendy Davis!

Wendy Davis might be the best thing to happen to the GOP in a long time. Let me explain: Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis is a Democrat who rose to prominence after filibustering about abortion while wearing pink sneakers.

This made her some kind of left-wing feminist hero. (The bill would have banned abortion after 20 weeks, after which point it is generally accepted that the fetus can feel pain. It also would have required all abortion clinics to meet the same surgical standards as other health care facilities.) One would think that Democrats would support a bill that makes abortion safer for the woman involved and also causes less pain to the unborn child. But NO, of course not, the liberal machine made it sound like this bill would take civilization as we know it back into the Dark Ages.

ANYWAY, Wendy Davis ran a fairly vanilla campaign, up until about 10 days ago, when things really started looking desperate. Her Republican opponent, Greg Abbot, was leading in the polls. That's when this social-justice-warrior came out with an ad that highlighted her opponent's...use of a wheelchair.

Davis' campaign defended the ad at first, but then had to backpedal, and staged a marvelously awkward press conference where Wendy appeared onstage with several people using wheelchairs.

This "See? I don't hate disabled people!" is the new "See? I'm not racist! I have a black friend!"

Just a few weeks out from the election, one would anticipate that Wendy Davis would learn from her mistakes and stop trying to make a news story out of Greg Abbott's personal life. But Democrats aren't known for their self-awareness. So, Wendy fired off a tweet alleging that Greg Abbott might support a ban on interracial marriage.

One problem with that "logic," Wendy: Greg Abbott is IN an interracial marriage. His wife, Cecelia Abbott, is Hispanic. This is on their campaign website, it's on billboards throughout Texas, it's even been mentioned at campaign rallies. Which begs the question: Does no one in Wendy Davis' office know how to use Google?

If they ever do learn how to use Google, they'll find just how deep a hole their campaign is in: Greg Abbott leads Wendy Davis by 15 points in the most recent polls. Keep going, Wendy! Show them ALL about liberal compassion and social justice...by going after unborn babies and people in wheelchairs. You're helping us keep Texas red!

What's In My Headphones, Volume 1

This is going to get stuck in your head. I'm not sorry about it.



Another great song from the creator of "and we'll never be roooooyals (roooooooyals)"



I don't really know what to call this - modern jazz? Pop rock? But the video is a supercut of people doing nice things for each other and it makes me happy.



Would this list be complete without T.Swift's newest song? No. No, it would not.

Columbus Day: White People Ruin Everything

Columbus Day was yesterday, and we are supposed to feel very very bad about that, because Columbus wasn't exactly a stand-up guy, and somehow that makes all of us guilty? I don't get it. I also don't get why someone would get his own national holiday in honor of not making it to India, which was kind of the whole point of his trip. This one time I was trying to go to Trader Joe's, but I ended up "discovering" a Safeway that was much closer, and you don't see any great celebration over it. Is it because I didn't pillage the Safeway and give everyone smallpox in the process?

ANYWAY. Even though I don't think Columbus single-handedly ruined the country (that honor goes to PajamaJeans) - I do think that white people do have a tendency to ruin things. So while I'm neutral on the whole Columbus Day thing, here is a list of things that white people have ruined.

1. Nail Polish

This is not making any part of you healthier.

2. Pet Care

This dog is featured on a local groomer's web site, for a "spa" that uses aromatherapy for dogs. This dog only drinks water out of a gourd. The darn dog is more pampered than I am - and also has better hair. I'm a little bitter.

3. Christmas Cards

What used to be a sweet expression of warm wishes now says "look at my kids LOOK AT MY KIDS they are prettier than YOUR kids" - or - everyone is smiling but somehow also looks like they want to stab each other.

4. Sandals

The "I'm on the football team and I take mirror selfies on the daily" look. Also, the unofficial uniform of people who slack off on group projects.

5. Juicing

This is supposed to be a yummy fruit treat, but now people are going on "cleanses" and drinking nothing but juice for days on end. Juice is fruit and veggies minus all the fiber, so...sugar water. Sugar water that looks good on Instagram.

6. Hair Dye

YA LOOK LIKE FRUITY PEBBLES. STAHHHP.

White people have ruined a lot of things. America is not one of them. Hope you all had a great Columbus Day (and did not spend it on a juice cleanse, or wearing socks with sandals!)

I Read the Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalog So You Don't Have To

It's early October, so you know what that means, America? RETAIL CHRISTMAS! Retailers of the world will throw sparkles and Santas and snow globes in front of you to distract you from the thought that, "hey, I haven't even trick-or-treated yet." Chug the rest of that Pumpkin Spice Latte and strap yourself in, because here's the best of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalog 2014:

For $55,000.00, some lady who wrote a book about linens will fly to your house and help you pick out linens. The perfect gift for someone who has everything (except linens). This is one of the Neiman Marcus "fantasy gifts," which is cool and all but I don't know anyone whose wildest fantasy is talking about fabric with a stranger.

This one isn't so insane. A $400 handbag isn't that bad...until you realize it's in the "Gifts for Kids" section. A kid has nothing to put in a Gucci bag, besides Play-Doh and Barbie shoes.

 

You meet with a master perfumer (which is apparently a job that exists) and create your own scent. This guy is in France, so you literally go to France for the express purpose of sniffing things, because you have hundreds of thousands of dollars to spare and literally nothing better to do with your time than sniff things. This is a huge effort on your part, for the outcome of not smelling like anyone else.

A rabid dog iPhone case. Michael Vick Chic.

$175 for matches?! Nuts. Especially when you see "matches not included." It is literally a sleeve where you keep matches. Nothing says "I might be a sociopath" like "this is the gold handpainted embossed sleeve where I keep things before I light them on fire." Like you can't get a match sleeve, WITH the matches included, at any bar\ in America...amateurs.

How To: Deal with a "That Kid"

Every class has one.

At first it starts innocently - lots of hand-raising, question-asking, furious note-taking.

And then it becomes...not cute. That Kid tries to pick fights with the professor, and asks three questions in a row...at the very end of class...while everyone sits there like...

This guy (or gal) is so insistent on being the smartest person in the room, even though the whole point of taking a CLASS is to LEARN from ANOTHER PERSON. The idea of someone else being the expert is lost on That Kid. 

Heaven help you should presentations be required in a class with That Kid, because he or she LIVES for the question and answer period, in which he will try to trip you up with a question so meticulous, so nit-picky, that you will wonder if That Kid has friends. And here's the kicker: he does.

That Kid, when encountered outside of class, is usually a perfectly nice, friendly person. I've known plenty of That Kid types who are really well-liked outside of class - they can even be fun! They're just insecure in a classroom.

Some people can just let it go, suffer through it, and forget about it. (Who are you people? And where did you get all that patience?) This post is not for you. This post is for people like me, who want desperately to shut That Kid right up. To do this, you make That Kid feel good about himself. Ask him what he thought of a certain reading, or how he's studying for the midterm.

For group projects, you WANT to be in That Kid's group. He'll delegate the work (giving the most difficult part to himself, obviously), plan the group meetings, and proofread everything you do. It's like built-in tutor!

When you have to present something in class and That Kid whips out his whopper of a question, keep calm. Smile. Stay in control (That Kid can smell fear). Answer it as best you can. Smile again. Move on to the next question. This happened to me in a Spanish class once. I'm a pretty rocky Spanish speaker to being with, but when That Kid lit me up with a ridiculous question, me puse los pantalones descarados y hablé más rápido que nunca.

It's impossible to put That Kid in his place without becoming a That Kid yourself. Sometimes you luck out and the professor will stop a That Kid before he starts. But when the professor doesn't, you manage, you lie low, and you walk out with a pretty good grade and hopefully most of your sanity.

Weekend Recap: 10/6

Typhoon Phanfone battered Japan on Sunday, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their homes.

Hewlett-Packard is splitting into two companies - one that does computers and printers, and one that does software.

The Washington Nationals played the longest-ever playoff game in MLB history against the San Francisco Giants. 18 innings.

Joe Biden keeps apologizing for things. Can't stop won't stop. This weekend, it was the United Arab Emirates and Turkey who received apologies for recent comments by the Vice President insinuating that either country may have facilitated the growth of ISIS or ISIL or whatever we're calling it today. Here's the thing: he's right. Both countries were so opposed to Bashir al Assad in Syria that they helped the opposition without really taking the time to find out that oh, wait, the opposition to Assad - a murderous tyrant - was ISIS, another murderous tyrant.

Speaking of ISIS, they've threatened to kill another captive American aid worker and Iraq War veteran, Peter Kassig. Peter's parents have released family photos and a letter from their son in a plea for his safe return to the US. He has converted to Islam (voluntarily, his parents say...hmm) and now uses the first name Abdul-Rahman. I have called him by his original name, Peter, here - it just feels a little rude to use a name for this guy from the religion under whose pretext he has been taken hostage and threatened with death.

In other political news, Democrat Wendy Davis is trailing her Republican opponent, Greg Abbott, in the Texas Governor's race. Abbott's platform rests on securing the Texas border and stopping the flood of illegal immigrants overwhelming border towns. Who would have known that securing the border would be popular with Texans? Everyone would have known that, except, apparently, Wendy Davis.

Mumia Abu-Jamal  - convicted murderer of a Philadelphia cop - gave the Goddard College Commencement speech on Sunday. The college has no exams, no grades, and almost no students; about 20 people attended the speech, which was conducted via recorded video. Abu-Jamal is an alumnus of the school, which begs the question: DO YOU NOT HAVE ANY OTHER ALUMS WHO MAYBE, YA KNOW, DIDN'T COMMIT MURDER? There has got to be a better candidate for the commencement speech than this guy.

To end on a positive note - Blake Lively is pregnant! This will be the first child for Blake and husband Ryan Reynolds, and it will also be the prettiest baby in the whole wide world because LOOK:

US Government Gives Conflicting Ebola Information

The US has the most advanced medical research capability in the world. The odds of an epidemic here are slim to none, because we know how to stop disease before it spreads to the masses.

All we have to do is...stop disease before it spreads to the masses. For Ebola, that means following all the proper protocols for containing the disease. The problem is - we don't know what those are, at least not yet.

You've got the two guys in Dallas cleaning up a patient's vomit with a broom and a hose...

Source

...and you've also got the State Department ordering 160,000 HAZMAT suits.

So, which is it? It's either easily washable by janitors, or so pervasive it requires HAZMAT suits. To answer this, let's see what the US government has to say:

"The role of the environment in transmission has not been established."

"Ebola on dried on surfaces such as doorknobs and countertops can survive for several hours."

"Ebola virus could remain active for up to six days" on surfaces touched by a contagious person.

"Ebola is not spread...by casual contact (like sitting next to someone or having a conversation)."

This is a Category A Priority Pathogen because it "can be easily disseminated or transmitted from person to person."

"There's a high risk, for example, of catching Ebola if you shake hands with an infected patient and a very low one if that same person coughs or sneezes around you."

The only way a person can contract the Ebola virus is through direct contact with a contagious person's bodily fluids, or an object contaminated with their bodily fluids.

Every one of these quotes is taken from a government source. To adapt the aphorism, it's like the left hand doesn't know if the right one is contagious. The CDC knows that "We don't know for sure" is not an acceptable answer to most of the American public - so they jump to conclusions based on evidence that is far from conclusive.

This is not to make you afraid. Hospitals are now immediately isolating anyone who walks in with symptoms of the disease. The CDC has done a pretty good job of telling everyone to "keep calm and carry on." That's their job. Ours is to keep calm, so long as they keep learning about how to stop this thing.

A World Where There Are Octobers

Photo taken in Roswell, Georgia, at Vickery Creek. This bridge was originally constructed in 1839, burned down during the Civil War, and then rebuilt again. I took this picture standing with my back to the Roswell Mill factory ruins and The Bricks, an old dorm-style building where the women who worked in the factory once lived.