That's Not An Oversight, That's A Plan

Sure, ISIS uses Facebook and Twitter to recruit, but should we check Facebook and Twitter to evaluate visa applicants? No so fast, you privacy pirate! Those foreigners have civil rights too, or something; from ABC News:

Secret US Policy Blocks Agents From Looking at Social Media of Visa Applicants, Former Official Says

Fearing a civil liberties backlash and "bad public relations" for the Obama administration, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson refused in early 2014 to end a secret U.S. policy that prohibited immigration officials from reviewing the social media messages of all foreign citizens applying for U.S. visas, a former senior department official said.

"During that time period immigration officials were not allowed to use or review social media as part of the screening process," John Cohen, a former acting under-secretary at DHS for intelligence and analysis. Cohen is now a national security consultant for ABC News.

One current and one former senior counter-terrorism official confirmed Cohen's account about the refusal of DHS to change its policy about the public social media posts of all foreign applicants.

Bad public relations"? Well, they are getting that.

Here's a pro tip for our hard-working government officials - if you are trying to choose between protecting the lives of Americans and protecting the civil liberties of foreigners not covered by the US Constitution, don't overthink it.

Yes, we understand that a portion of Obama's base hates America even more than ISIS does, but still, Obama is President of all Americans, even the bitter-clingers in flyover country. And that will be true for another year, regardless of how much both sides regret it. Think of it as a bad marriage with a delayed court date. Smile, be civil, don't pour hot coffee on each other - we can get through this. And think of the children.

#TheHolidaysAreHardest

WHOSE FACE IS RED NOW?

Former DHS under-secretary Cohen said he and others pressed hard for just such a policy change in 2014 that would allow a review of publicly-posted social media messages as terror group followers increasingly used Twitter and Facebook to show their allegiance to a variety of jihadist groups.

Cohen said officials from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) both pressed for a change in policy.

"Immigration, security, law enforcement officials recognized at the time that it was important to more extensively review public social media postings because they offered potential insights into whether somebody was an extremist or potentially connected to a terrorist organization or a supporter of the movement," said Cohen, who left DHS in June 2014.

Cohen said the issue reached a head at a heated 2014 meeting chaired by Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, other top deputies and representatives of the DHS Office of Civil Liberties and the Office of Privacy.

"The primary concern was that it would be viewed negatively if it was disclosed publicly and there were concerns that it would be embarrassing," Cohen said in an interview broadcast on "Good Morning America" today.

But they kept the Greenwald vote.

Comments

[Puddin Floppy-Feet]

What a beautiful wedding. One that will never be forgot. Super photos.

Actually, I laugh at everyone of those Peter Pan commercials for GEICO. You have to been to a few reunions to appreciate the horror humor.

[Miss Marple 2]

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/maryland-man-charged-supporting-isis-lying-fbi/

[NK]

chitown lurker was on with Santelli today. he looked great, and he knows his interest rate stuff. although I was more right about crude/dollar valuation relationship. Just kiddin' big guy!!

[Miss Marple 2]

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/428484/tashfeen-malik-background-check-social-media-posts?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_content=566f359004d3013a8a12f894&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

Headline reads: "We cannot trust our foolish and cowardly elite to defend this nation."

[lyle]

When you're worth that much money, maryrose, I doubt they give a rip but point taken. Powerline has a new post with pix of their five houses, inter alia. Jawn and Terayza have hosted a private wine dinner for the annual SV Wine Auction ($600/person; five or six different hosts) in the past. We've attended one in the past and joked about signing up for theirs but I think I'd start throwing punches. BTW, the one we attended seven years ago was fun but stuffed with, well...stuffy, "very important" people. There's no shortage of those types up there but we rarely associate with them for the same reasons they don't associate with us, probably.

[daddy]

Scary, Momto2.

I am glad that the cops at least talked to one of the Cellphone Purchaser guys in a Walmart (the guy who tried to buy them at 2 different stores and left his own cellphone in the restroom of one Walmart and bumped into the Cops when he came back to get it) At least they know who he is, (or who he said he was), and if anything develops they'll have an idea where to start looking.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Hey, Puddin FF (I am not typing that all out)--

Just for the record, typing "Floppy-Feet" would have entailed 15 fewer letters and symbols than explaining it was too much to type. :)

[Thomas Collins]

Jane, I swear I sent you your own treats. Have you had trouble getting deliveries at your new abode?

Just let me know when you want a tour of the real Providence, Buckeye!

Just show Momma the pic of all of us at Jane's former abode, daddy. That will convince her we are all wholesome, normal people. On second thought, crop me out of the pic!

[narciso]

so 'phoebe' was defeated by the gaullists, and the socialists, in her run for office,

[Miss Marple 2]

Ignatz,

True, but I was looking towards the future.

Also, because I am not a touch typist, it is easier for me to type familiar words that something like that with a hyphen.

However, good one!

[narciso]

this could be taken the wrong way,

http://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2015/12/14/i-have-a-political-crush-on-marion-marechal-le-pen/

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Iggy, what are your thoughts on this sort of thing?--

My thoughts? WTH took them so long?
And how long will it take the Army to adopt it?

One set up just for sniper rifles would make mile long shots routine if, and this is an important if, the unit has a wind doping system.

[Puddin Floppy-Feet]

I am surprishd that Palin hasn't does her homework on FN and its nationalistic socialism bent. Bad for her as far as I am concerned. Seems to point to her poplulst reactionary bent,

[Miss Marple 2]

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/public_information/NYPD_Report-Radicalization_in_the_West.pdf

Apparently DiBlasio is trying to suppress this. Save it to your hard drive.

[Buckeye]

OK TC. One of these days. The Mrs. is a big fan of Newport so I will leave her in Cowtown. A bit spendy as I recall.

daddy, I can't blame all my ignorance on The OSU. Part of it is all my fault;)

[daddy]

...Britain’s Sharia courts are fostering extremism, undermining human rights and creating a parallel justice system whose basic principles conflict with the law of the land."

Just doing catch-up, but I see from Janet's link that Britain now has 85 Sharia Courts. If I was a Muslim I would take the legitimate Establishment of Sharia Law as the moment when a previously non-Islamic Country is now considered to be a member of the House of Islam (Submission) and no longer a member of the House of War.

From that point on I would consider that country as Islamic and therefore more deserving of attacks to convert and destroy the unbelievers residing in it than prior to that Nation being considered Islamic.

That may sound like sophistry and/or be meaningless to those who know nothing or care nothing about Islam, but my guess is that to those who are motivated by the Quran and it's dictates, this is equivalent to something like when the Pope's of the 1,000's initiated calls to Holy War to boot the Muslims out of the Holy lands.

Instituting Sharia Law in Britain may appear PC and Qumbaya, but IMHO it is a development rife with consequences, and in the long run none of them are good.

[Dave (in MA)]

Jane, I got mail twice yesterday. The USPS is trying to bring in extra revenue by delivering Amazon stuff on Sundays.

[Miss Marple 2]

Dave,

It's very disorienting to me to see the mail trucks out on Sunday.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Guy invents world's worst stench.

[narciso]

watch how quickly they revert to business as usual, that's what the last presidential election, right after Charlie Hebdo proved,

[Dave (in MA)]

That ad reminds me of the old Emo Philips bit where he (paraphrasing) said he was out one day and ran across his friend from third grade so he went up to him and slapped him on the back and said "Jimmy Peterson! How's it going, you old moron!?" and Jimmy said, "Mommy! The man's hitting me!"

[Dave (in MA)]

Guy invents world's worst stench.

He hasn't met the guy who works in the next office.

[Buckeye]

I have neighbors with college and. high school aged kids. Both are busy physicians and I think life is hectic. Everyday deliveries are being made from Amazon Prime and the grocery store.

You can set your watch by the UPS truck.

[NK]

daddy-- 72 black eyed virgins in Paradise is as effective today to recruit Muslims as Papal indulgences 1000 years ago in Christendom to march to Jerusalem.

[narciso]

things that make you go hmm:

http://www.weaselzippers.us/245412-why-did-the-cia-visit-michael-bay/

[Dave (in MA)]

And I *still* like the ad where the guy who reminds me of daddy doesn't think his sitzpinkler son can pick up the hammer. It's supposed to make you think how cool and trendy GE is, but it doesn't work for me.

[narciso]

it's about the absurdity of the world we live in,

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2015/12/i-would-like-to-be-with-senator-cruz.html

[Captain Hate on the iPad]

maryrose, we share two major faves. I love Hardy because his books are so unrelentingly bleak; I'd bet he'd be disgusted with most modern pols. I've been completely enamored with everything I've read by Eliot, particularly The Mill on the Floss. Maggie Tulliver is one of my favorite characters. When I was reading the end I was thinking "there aren't many pages left and a LOT of unresolved issues". Then it started raining...

[daddy]

Tam's not a fan.

Here's Tammy Bruce, commenting on Obama's speech today on Charles Payne's FOX Program:

Tammy: This was like Olive Oil trying to tell us she was Popeye. Everyone's thinking "This can't work." He said we're going to do it one by one, and then he went through a little bit of a list. At this rate it's going to take 500 years. This has to be dealt with, as you said, in a big way. We also know that there was not only no "New News" when it came to how we're going to fight it in the Middle east, no plan for the Homeland. Nothing at all here at home. When we see France arresting hundreds, having a thousand raids at least, closing down Mosques, Americans look and wonder, "What are we going to do here?" I think we're getting a new grid of warnings, like with new colors or something---That's the main Homeland thing they're giving us, so the American people, and that's what's so strange even about doing this today, there wasn't anything "New." There was no reason to do this.

[narciso]

well I got two thirds of the way, with Middlemarch,
I like Romola better, in part because of it's Renaissance themes, which Chris Buckley is trying to ruin, in the guise of a comedy, about the shroud of Turin, or words to that effect,

[narciso]

this isn't the beginning of the end,

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/12/obama-strikes-back-president-to-force-us-into-new-international-carbon-market/

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Haven't completely caught up yet, but I think me and Buckeye sit at the low end, having only read 7 and 10 of the damn things.--

Pretty sure if I can locate the list I can easily top those numbers, and by top I mean, not top.

[Captain Hate on the iPad]

The Outhouse horde is in fine form.

I criticize Ailes a lot but finding forums for Tammy on the bidness channel was an excellent use of resources.

[peter]

Levin gives Trump both barrels in his opening monologue for criticizing Cruz and Scalia and supporting ethanol subsidies.

[Skoot]

I'm glad big army did the right thing regards Bergdahl.

Might want to wear your Nomex underwear if Christmas shopping in Baltimore tomorrow.

[narciso]

I don't see much vaunted moderation though, as the loathsome Lazlo keeps slipping through,

[daddy]

Here you go, Iggy.

What does the rest of the world see as the 100 greatest British novels?

Buckeye's winning with 7. I'm in second place with 10.

Now if you'll excuse this guy on the couch with the hammer,
but he's got to take his dogs out.

[narciso]

well why were they hired in the first place,

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/12048335/Seventy-Paris-airport-workers-have-security-passes-revoked-over-extremism-fears.html

[narciso]

different strokes for different folks,

http://babalublog.com/2015/12/14/tension-rises-for-cuban-refugees-stuck-in-costa-rica/

[JMHanes]

Miss Marple:

Thanks so much for the links to Ightham Mote. I hadn't heard of it before, and it looks just wonderful.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Thanks daddy. I'm in the running with a definite seven, but may come in a mere second because I think I may have read David Copperfield and Gullivers Travels but can't confirm for sure.
Was never a fiction guy except for Wodehouse and they only had one of his on the list.
Now OTOH, I did read a complate set of Funk and Wagnall's and most of an old edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica Mrs Iggy brought with her. Worked my way through most of a Webster's dictionary too.

[narciso]

btw Childhood's End begins today at 8, on Syfy,

[pagar a bacon, ham and sausage supporter]

"The nations will develop standards and guidelines to ensure trading of carbon credits has environmental integrity"

Can a total farce have integrity? How much is this ripoff going to cost us.?

H/T narciso at 06:31.

[Miss Marple 2]

JMHanes,

It really is. Because the original owner was a Crusader, the newel posts on the staircase are SARACEN HEADS WITH TURBANS! Bwahahaha!

Of interest to me as a gardener were the ancient yew trees in the garden, over 100 ft high and the same species as those small bushes we plant around our foundations.

Just fascinating. My sister is the one who found it on line and insisted we go see it. During the tour they told us that because it sits in a dell, it wasn't easily visible, so when Cromwell's men came to burn it they couldn't find it.

[daddy]

And on the Bill Cosby suing the Victims thing---I think it's beneficial to keep that in the headlines.

If it gets enough Press it might wind up being commented upon by the candidates, and as Election time draws closer I think it has to be beneficial to us to have microphones shoved in Hillary's face asking her if who she believes in the latest developments from the CourtHouse; Cosby or the Rape Victims.

It also doesn't hurt to have a formerly beloved Black man in the role of the evil perp (OJ not accepted).

Apparently we haven't been able to deal honestly with race in this country since way way before Holder told us we didn't have the courage to talk honestly about Race, so lets trot Cosby out there under the limelights and make him someone that everybody has to make a comment on.

I don't care if Hillary loses the Woman's vote by siding with the Black Vote, or loses the Black Vote by siding with the Womans vote. Either strategy is a plus for my Hispanic candidate of choice.

Woof!

[Janet]

I've read 16...& I'm no great book reader. Most were school assignments. Liking Jane Austen books helped.
I'm surprised there weren't more C.S.Lewis books listed (that would have helped my number).

[Miss Marple 2]

daddy,

Why is Obama's empty chair in that magazine cover?

[Miss Marple 2]

Janet,

I read several Hardy books and several Dickens, but they weren't on the list. I imagine a lot of us are in the same boat.

I have read almost all of Lewis's works, almost all of Hardy, Dickens, and Austen.

Some of these were not familiar to me at all, and when you get to Wodehouse, I think I have read every single one.

[Buckeye]

Iggy

Guess you, daddy and I are going to have to find 3 dunce caps and go sit in the corner.

[Miss Marple 2]

Buckeye,

My mother was an English teacher with a specialty in British lit.

I was reading Agatha Christie in the 5th grade.
For fun she had us memorize Shakespearean quotes, Byron and Shelley.

So I am not a representative sample.

[DrJ]

I'll join you all in the corner. I've read between 8 and 10 of the books on the list. Like many, I've read some from the authors on the list, but not the particular book.

I think that corner is going to get crowded. Will there be beer? :)

[narciso]

some of the reviewers, give me gas, like morbo,

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

I say we wear them proudly Buckeye and give all the apple polishing bookworms the melvins they so richly deserve. :P

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Jeebus, if you're going to smack Ted Cruz around as Max Boot has decided to do you might enhance your credibility by not starting out saying Mitch McConnell is "a staunch conservative" and complaining that Cruz actually criticized Crybaby Ike Boehner.

[cheerleader]

Conservative Treehouse has a link posted to Trump's Las Vegas rally, which is starting in about five minutes.

[Buckeye]

MM

So was my mom, but I guess I just wasn't wired that way.

When I was a teenager, if it didn't burn fossil fuel and make a lot of noise, I just wasn't interested.

DrJ

I'll bring the beer.

[Miss Marple 2]

Buckeye,

My brother was like you. He went into the electrician's union.

I think it just depends on how you are "wired", as you said.

Don't feel bad. My brother is able to do all sorts of stuff I couldn't even attempt. I'm not good at math, either.

[narciso]

those words you are using,

http://therightscoop.com/christian-professor-declares-solidarity-with-muslims-says-we-worship-the-same-god/

[maryrose]

Math
Always was and continues to be my weakness

[Buckeye]

maryrose

That's exactly what I was geting at on the "wired" part.

My high school math teacher made me compete in a staye-wide competition one year. Placed third in Geometry.

Never had any problem "seeing" the relationship between objects in space in my head, but I can stare at a word that I have seen thousands of times and still not sure if it is spelled right.

[Stephanie]

Three. You could stretch it to 8 if you include the Cliffs Notes versions. ;)

I always managed to pay really good attention in class and didn't get a professor who took their questions from the book but exclusively from the class notes (always checked with former students for the low down on the profs). I never studied and still pulled A's.

I have read and own every Agatha Christie both paperback and digital and many Ellery Queens, all Robert Ludlum's til he got into the silliness of the Bourne multi-series, and I own first edition paperbacks and have read all of the Ian Fleming books.

And why wasn't the complete series of the Wizard of Oz on that list? Read that too, and really enjoyed it.

I really need to read the classics, I guess. I've been disparaged on FB by some mutual friends in common with others here for having an abysmal lack of knowledge of "classic" movies, too.

Many of those on that list are free on kindle, btw.

[Captain Hate on the iPad]

Welp Booth self identified in the middle of that as being in the Dondi camp, which lines up everything nicely in a row.

[caro]

maryrose, come to Park City! I passed 100k vertical today. For the season.

You, too, lyle.

I was on the lift with a couple of my (few) Republican friends and brought up the presidential field. I thought the were more GOPe oriented but they were firmly with Cruz.

Just another anecdote.

[narciso]

well Boot has showed his colors in the last few years, and we're not talking 'beautiful plumage'

[Miss Marple 2]

I know a lot of people like Rubio, so excuse me if I am offensive, but he strikes me as a trained parrot, someone who knows the correct phrases to utter in order to elicit responses from conservatives.

He is an adult version of those 7-th graders who are praised for being conservative, only they don't really know what they are talking about.

Don't mean to cause offense, and am willing to be convinced otherwise.

[Captain Hate on the iPad]

I was just about to comment on what a strangely lackluster campaign Rubio has run so far in this admittedly silly season. The only thing that stands out to me was when Jeb took some awkward pot shots at him and he and Cruz seem to be at odds. Not at all what I'd expect from somebody giving up his Senate seat.

Maybe he's decided he doesn't like politics.

[jimmyk]

I think daddy is concealing the fact that he's incredibly well read, just maybe not English lit. Myself I would probably do a bit better on American lit, as I've read multiple works by each of Melville, Twain, Hemingway, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Roth, etc.

[narciso]

steyn picks up the cutlass,

http://www.steynonline.com/7364/the-gop-dont-never-dance-with-them-what-brung-them

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Welcome to the corner Steph.
What size hat do you wear?

[Buckeye]

Rubio would be perfect on "The Young and the Restless".

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Rubio's gang of eight misadventure was a bit of a tell.

[narciso]

yes, she is you feckless wombat,

http://libertyunyielding.com/2015/12/14/compared-to-trump-clinton-isnt-that-bad-is-she-christopher-buckley-spectator/

[Rick Ballard]

Rubio has a completely different path to the nomination than Cruz. He has to stay in the top four in the early primaries and have one or two good showings on SEC Tuesday,then swing into high gear with a win in Florida on March 15th followed by solid delegate pickups in the Purples and Blues from that point on.

[Captain Hate on the iPad]

Yeah there are a number of ways to react to that gang of eight nonsense, none of them positive.

[Stephanie]

Just put some elastic in it like they do the kiddies, Iggy. ;)

I used to read voraciously but just not serious stuff. I prefer to be entertained. Now I just throw in a movie (usually action adventure) and I'm even pretty narrow in that genre. Hate the MI movies, the Bourne movies, but love Marvel and Harry P. Most of the 'classics' fall into the chick flick category to me and I can't stand chick flicks. Oh well.

And when I go on vacay, I take a bodice buster with me. I can't stand starting a book and not finishing it in one sitting unless I've read it before.

[Captain Hate on the iPad]

Thanks for pointing that out, Rick; I hadn't thought of such a strategy.

[DrJ]

Hey, has Cruz been doing well in the polls recently? :)

Brett Stephens pulls out the long knives:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-cruz-imposture-1450138161

[narciso]

you never go kirk lazarus,

http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/2015/12/us-israel-relations-have-never-been.html

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

The Velvet Fog is Happening in Sun Valley.

[narciso]

there's category error, almost from the beginning of that Remnick piece, it makes me wonder specially after reading Dawisha, if he got Russia wrong as well

[narciso]

you know I only knew of Mel Torme, in a roundabout way, because of night court,

[Captain Hate on the iPad]

That Liberty Unyielding site isn't very touchscreen friendly but I already had ample evidence that intelligence has skipped a generation in the Buckley family.

[lyle]

Come to Park City and get thoroughly out-skied? I still have some pride, caro! :) But I DO have pent up demand as I didn't ski at all last season due a sprained ankle and really bizarre snow conditions but mostly the ankle. Can't wait to get on the boards in ten days. Conditions must be as good in UT as ID right now.

[narciso]

I think my tag line, covered his category error nicely, I think the way he mommy dearest Buckley pere, followed by his adultery, then his paens to Obama, in that order were among his greatest offenses,

[lyle]

The Velvet Fog, Jerry!!

I hope our SecState comes to SV this year and gets super intimate with the ski patrol and their great sleds...

[narciso]

that idiot Olivier Knox, is like mikey from the life cereal commercials,

http://twitchy.com/2015/12/14/stephen-hayes-blasts-obama-for-breathtaking-dishonesty-on-guantanamo-bay-recidivism-video/

[Rick Ballard]

CH,

I use The Green Papers quite a bit for checking out various process questions. Understanding the primary calendar and the numbers of delegates in play makes identifying strategies a little easier.

There's still a lot of missing pieces. Nobody talks very much about the importance of pledge cards in Iowa, for example.

It ain't a just matter of signing up "new" voters, although the Paulbots certainly worked that angle pretty well in '12.

[narciso]

maybe it's just his performance in Under the Dome, but I think Mike Vogel slows the plot to a crawl

[Miss Marple 2]

Mel Torme wrote "The Christmas Song".

"Chestnuts roasting n an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping at your nose.."

[narciso]

when did Fargo, become a unrelenting abbatoir when I wasn't looking, btw I didn't get the mike baker reference for legend,

[narciso]

after the sheer arrogance of trying to remake khan, they should have been exiled on ceti alpha 6

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/12/the-new-star-trek-beyond-trailer-tries-hard-to-have-fun/420363/

[caro]

Great info on the Green Papers, Rick. I also bookmarked Frontloading HQ from another link.

[Miss Marple 2]

Think I will go to bed early.

I am sorry if I bummed anyone out with my comment on Rubio.

Nytol.

[narciso]

there is something cookie cutter about him, what has really fought for in the senate?

[lyle]

Torme did indeed write "The Christmas Song," MM. I used to play my own acoustic guitar arrangement of it that I never transcribed. Great seventh and ninth chords in his composition. Great talent.

[Jim Miller]

I'd like to think that Palin doesn't know about the Russkie loan that the Front National got, rather that she was uninformed than accepting of that connection.

(But she should know about that connection.)

[JMHanes]

Well, we could start with this, narciso:

How Marco Rubio is quietly killing Obamacare

[henry]

We're gonna need more beer in the corner. I read 9 of those.

[glasater]

Putting this here 'cause I'm 'way behind, below is the link to what Man Tran posted yesterday that was interesting to me also:

http://www.lifevantage.com/products/protandim/

[James D.]

Watching the Giants, and I have to say, they just called the most ridiculous roughing the passer penalty against Miami. Not complaining, because it helps the Giants, and God knows they need all the help they can get.

But if that was roughing, I don't see how defensive players can do anything without getting flagged.