White House Hired GovDelivery to Send Emails (Updated)
[Guest post by DRJ]
In a stunning about face, the Obama Administration admitted it hired a private communications company, GovDelivery, to send unsolicited emails from David Axelrod in support of ObamaCare. GovDelivery reportedly handles 85% of federal agencies’ emails. The Axelrod emails were apparently paid for with public funds.
During the past two weeks, the White House denied it sent unsolicited emails and then claimed outside political groups had placed names on a distribution list. The White House apparently now concedes it hired the firm to spam American households about ObamaCare.
In other news, the President left Washington yesterday for a one-week vacation with his family at Martha’s Vineyard.
UPDATE: Hot Air says GovDelivery threw Obama under the bus because its FAQs says email addresses come from the client. Plus this:
“Frankly, the White House is making this a lot worse by trying to pass the buck. As far as I know, spam e-mails wouldn’t break the law, although it would make the administration look cheesy enough, and that effect has already occurred. They’re turning an embarrassment into an indictment of their integrity and honesty. The cover-up is always worse than the crime, and covering up a non-crime makes this administration look immature, petty, and bumbling.”
NOTE: I corrected the name of the company from Govdelivery to GovDelivery as shown on its website.
— DRJ
Tax dollars? How is this not purely political, and how in the hell is the Left not up in arms about this? I know, silly thought.
JD (51cca5) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:21 amGlen Greenwald says:
The comment was directed at Fox News, but but it summarizes the selective outrage in this website, if you ask me.
Andrew (39a8a6) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:25 amHmm. Quoting Glen Greenwald is always a good approach! Especially given how Greenwald (or one of his pseudonyms, anyway) is always venting spleen on any given topic he feels is important.
So the “selective outrage” line is unintentionally funny.
Eric Blair (a88004) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:26 amMore lies from the Obama administration.
Getting to be a pattern.
Speaking of dumber than a sack of Andrews … quoting Greenwald on this blog? That’s the definition itself of dumb.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:30 amDummerer than a sack of Andrews remains one of my favorites.
Evidence of your assertions/lies, please.
Why is it that on the Lord’s Day, you wake up and choose to bear false witness? Barcky told us that is a sin, so you will burn burn burn in hell with all of the Gleeeeeeeens.
JD (51cca5) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:33 amGlen Greenwald says: Using
contractorssock puppets to send crappy spamFixed.
Official Internet Data Office (1d81d0) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:35 amSpeaking of Greenwald, I wonder how Gleen feels about BO’s support for gay marriage? Oh, that’s right: BO doesn’t support that.
It’s only Republicans who oppose gay marriage who are evil.
Ah, Teh Narrative™.
Eric Blair (a88004) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:36 amI appreciate that Glenn Greenwald is OK with the administration’s actions. Because it’s his side doing it, it’s OK.
So his outrage is perhaps selective. I don’t see him in a funk because Teh One™ is still fighting a war in Afghanistan or holding prisoners in Gitmo or defending DOMA.
This tends to make me think that Glenn isn’t really sincere about his moralistic viewpoint. Rather, he’s simply a political hack.
steve miller (c5e78c) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:42 amToo bad the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 does not apply to Whitehouse spam contractors.
mj (706361) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:48 amUnfortunately, GovDelivery is throwing Obama under the bus.
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/08/23/govdelivery-throwing-obama-under-the-bus/
They deny that they provided any email addresses.
Obama’s lies just keep getting deeper, and his incompetence keeps showing him as shallower.
MaaddMaaxx (b91eb0) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:57 am#4 SPQR:
Just when you thought it could get no worse…it quotes Greenwald!
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:58 amOT: Minus 14.
Official Internet Data Office (1d81d0) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:58 amGlen Greenwald says:
Yawn.
The fact you give Greenwald a lick of credibility at all shows poor quality judgment, Andrew.
The fact that you him that lick of credibility here, the very blog that exposed Greenwald’s epic fraud and defined the term sock-puppetry in the process earns you a honorable mention in the political wing of the moron museum.
That you do it with a line taking a shot at the Bush Administration policies, while the Obama Administration is keeping in place most of the Bush Administration’s policies is tantamount to having a permanent exhibit placed there, with a bust of your likeness as the centerpiece.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (3b3b67) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:59 amOT, but has anyone heard from the Machinist? Have not seen him in some time, and I hope all is well.
JD (274275) — 8/23/2009 @ 8:06 amBasically, the troll admits it’s got nothing.
It just falls back to “BOOOOOSH!!!!”
Techie (482700) — 8/23/2009 @ 8:10 amWhat I don’t get is why the WH was so incredibly snotty about this. Shouldn’t they have wondered if there was a breech in their email list security?
MayBee (c0e046) — 8/23/2009 @ 8:15 amDear MayBee:
I think you know. Because they are better than us. They know more. How dare anyone question them?
Hope and Change, folks!
Eric Blair (57b266) — 8/23/2009 @ 8:22 amI’m here waiting for anyone to even mention Blackwater.
But it’s not convenient. There are more important things to talk about, such as.
Down with the spammers!
Andrew (39a8a6) — 8/23/2009 @ 8:48 amAndrew, we didn’t mention Blackwater because we knew if we did, you would run to check your closet looking for Blackwater operators.
Grow up, Andrew.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 8:54 amLet’s see here. Obama is using our tax dollars to pay for overtly political e-mails sent by his consigliere David Axelrod to recipients who don’t want them, using e-mail lists harvested covertly.
Is there something “fishy” with that? Is there a violation of the Hatch Act?
Would an honest press be on that like flies on horse manure if Bush had done that?
Would the Obama Gang–the crew that can’t even lie straight, try to cover that up?
Do Bears shit in the woods? (to qoute my old drill sergant).
Mike Myers (674050) — 8/23/2009 @ 8:54 amGoodness, but you’re quite the massive tool, Andwuu. After severely beclowning yourself to a degree not seen here in many moons, you attempt to deflect your ongoing humiliation with the tired and hackneyed meme of “HEY, LOOK OVER THERE!”
Really, you’ve exposed yourself to the most abject form of humiliation by quoting one of the worst puppetiers since Kukla, Fran and Ollie. Why don’t you ask your fave boy Gleen what the words “Rick Elllers,” “Thomas Ellensburg,” and “Cabana Boy” mean. Then come back to us and tell us what you’ve found out, Einstein.
Dmac (e6d1c2) — 8/23/2009 @ 8:58 amBlackwater is doing something about terrorists. Barry thinks their gay.
highpockets (a7bd4f) — 8/23/2009 @ 8:58 am“I’m here waiting for anyone to even mention Blackwater.”
Andrew – There’s already a separate thread on Blackwater. Gro up.
daleyrocks (718861) — 8/23/2009 @ 9:01 amYou forgot to address the “murdering civilians” and torture part.
Andrew (39a8a6) — 8/23/2009 @ 9:01 amAndwuu, QUICK, LOOK OUT YOUR WINDOW! BLACK HELICOPTERS! FIRE DOESN’T MELT STEEL! NO BLOOD FOR OIL! TWOOF TO SPLURWING PLOWER!
Dmac (e6d1c2) — 8/23/2009 @ 9:01 amusing them to invade countries, murder civilians, torture people = no big deal.
Being more indignant about and resentful towards George Bush and capitalist, imperialist (ie, “imperialist”) America instead of the Butcher of Baghdad and poor, sad, humble-Third-World Middle Eastern societies = ass-backwards, phony compassion.
Mark (411533) — 8/23/2009 @ 9:02 amThe Hatch Act of 1939 is a United States federal law whose main provision is to prohibit federal employees (civil servants) from engaging in partisan political activity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatch_Act_of_1939
These federal and D.C. employees may not:
use official authority or influence to interfere with an election
fightingwithspitballs (0977ff) — 8/23/2009 @ 9:05 amsolicit or discourage political activity of anyone with business before their agency
solicit or receive political contributions (may be done in certain limited situations by federal labor or other employee organizations)
be candidates for public office in partisan elections
engage in political activity while:
on duty
in a government office
wearing an official uniform
using a government vehicle
wear partisan political buttons on duty
Oh Good Lord.
Andrew, give it up. As a troll, you’re not even entertaining to smack around.
If you want to switch subjects to hide your embarrassment, I’ll make it easy for you.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (3b3b67) — 8/23/2009 @ 9:09 amDuring the past two weeks, the White House denied it sent unsolicited emails
The Hatch Act of 1939
I notice the AP article about the denial is dated August 17, the Fox report is from yesterday. All related to another sign of BS and ethical breakdown from the I-love-Jeremiah-Wright joker in the Oval Office.
And speaking of selective outrage, either I haven’t been perusing the news carefully enough over the past week or a website of high visibility, referring to the drudgereport, has for some reason chosen to sidestep or overlook this story.
Mark (411533) — 8/23/2009 @ 9:25 amUh oh. The Blackwater chief accused of murder.
What do you guys think? I think it’s ok, because he didn’t spam. 🙂
Andrew (39a8a6) — 8/23/2009 @ 9:52 amAndrew – Did you not see the thread about that? How f*cking stoopid are you? While you are at it, please identify who Balckwater assassinated and tortured. Be specific.
JD (a5d4c8) — 8/23/2009 @ 9:54 amAndrew, your conduct is now clearly disruptive. You are attempting to hijack the thread solely to distract from the White House’s admission to lying about political activities by illegal email spamming.
You are a pretty lousy troll.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 9:57 am#29:
It doesn’t pass even the most ludricrous smell test.
Since somebody, somewhere, is doing something a leftie doesn’t like…get out the tar and feathers and throw it up in the air and see what sticks.
OTOH, a deeply and ethically flawed administration that lies about little things like whether or not they spammed a bunch of email addresses sure isn’t going to be bothered by lying about whether or not they are involved in murder.
Think about it, dumbsack.
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 8/23/2009 @ 9:59 am#32 EW1:
I’m pretty sure that’s in the Jinglish dictionary (somewhere).
/And if not, it ought to be.
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:02 amHoly keerist on a cracker. I was silly enough to click on andrewer’s link, and it is anonymous claims made by someone in a civil lawsuit and these parties have also accused them of a whole litany of offenses, absent much in the way of actual proof.
This sack of andrews, teh stoopid is quite dense with this one.
JD (a5d4c8) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:02 amMy half-literate friend: The affidavits were signed by ex Blackwater workers; not “the Obama administration.”
Go back to school
Andrew (39a8a6) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:03 amYou heard it. There’s not much evidence because a conservative guy nickamed JD said so. Lol. You sure read fast though. I gotta give you credit. You zoomed through those affidavits like there was no tomorrow. And reached a conclusion too!
Andrew (39a8a6) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:05 amAddition to my last post: It is also entirely possible that JD didn’t read the whole allegations, and it just pretending in order to make a point.
Andrew (39a8a6) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:06 amI’m here waiting for anyone to even mention Blackwater.
But it’s not convenient. There are more important things to talk about, such as.
No, it’s not convenient on this thread, Andrew. Because as you can read for yourself this thread is about govdelivery sending emails and the WH lying.
Why is that not important to you? This is your government caught in yet another lie and we’re not even a year into this administration.
I happen to have received one of Axelrod’s emails after I wrote the President regarding my concerns. I’m glad they got their hands caught in the cookie jar.
Dana (0f0b2e) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:07 amAndrew, your trolling with anonymous libels that you then assert are “evidence” shows what a clown you are.
A troll clown.
Now get back to the topic and quit thread hijacking.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:08 amIf they are signed by ex-Blackwater employees, then they are not anonymous. Which is it, andrewer?
Apparently andrewer is cool with using taxpayer dollars to collect data on people based on their political views, and conducting overtly political mis/disinformation from the White House.
JD (a5d4c8) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:08 amObama goes on vacation (after Stephanopolis tells him the best thing he can do is NOT DO ANYTHING for a week or two) and on his way out the door shouts out to us that his admin was lying about the Axelrod emails and oh yeah the deficit is $2 trillion more than he claimed (and much closer in line to what the CBO warned).
The only thing missing is an orange wig and floppy size 25 shoes.
Andrew, got any spares?
harkin (4c4d4a) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:09 amAndrewer – What did I lie about? Did I mischaracterize the nature of the accusations? Did I get my assessment of the ABC link incorrect? Where did I go wrong. Be specific.
JD (a5d4c8) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:15 amAndrewer seems especially excited today. Usually he just drops a turd and leaves. Today, he is dropping turds, and then wiping them all over himself.
Maybe someone else can go check his link and see if I mischarcterized the content.
JD (a5d4c8) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:19 amAndwuu – since you refuse to engage on the subject for this thread, please answer the following questions relating to your pet topic here:
– who is “Thomas Ellensburg”
– who is “Rick Ellers?”
– what is a Cabana Boy, and why is a specific one located in Brazil of utmost importance to “Rick Ellers?”
Answer those first, then we’ll discuss Blackwater to your heart’s content.
Dmac (e6d1c2) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:21 amNo, JD, Andrew’s link is nothing but an accumulation of unsourced accusations. But trading in anonymous libel is what we expect from Gleen and his sockpuppets and cult members like Andrew.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:29 am[…] Patterico’s Pontifications: White House Hired Govdelivery to Send Emails In a stunning about face, the Obama Administration […]
Govdelivery: Obama’s Spam Service for Unsolicited Axelrod Emails on ObamaCare, Taxpayer-Funded (video) « Frugal Café Blog Zone (a66042) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:32 am#43 JD:
No, JD, you did not mischaracterize.
Jeremy Scahill (“a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute, is the author of the bestselling Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, published by Nation Books. He is an award-winning investigative journalist and correspondent for the national radio and TV program Democracy Now!.”, writing in The Nation “broke” this in a story datelined August 4. To quote from that story,
As Marcellus said, “There is something rotten in the state of Denmark,” but again it appears to be a dead fish more than anything noteworthy.
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:40 am#35 dumbsack:
Nothing that I wrote above implied in any way that the administration had anything to do with “affadavits.”
What I said was (and I will type slowly here just for you), an administration willing to lie about such a trivial matter as a bit of spam, would most certainly be willing to lie to cover their complicity in murder, were such an occasion to arise.
Do you understand now, or do I need to type even slower?
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:46 amHaving someone that quotes the Gleeeeeeens also deliberately mischaracterize the content of a link is just shocking, isn’t it?
Why do you support the WH gathering information about people based on their political affiliation, Andrew, and why do you think that is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars?
JD (d4820c) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:46 amI’m waiting for Gibbs to utter the famous “there is no controlling legal authority” phrase. Good times. Good times.
daleyrocks (718861) — 8/23/2009 @ 10:57 amGateway Pundit has Robert Gibbs pathetically attempting to wiggle out of the confrontational questions posed by Major Garrett. It would be so much easier on this group if someone would just come clean from the get-go (aside from not being underhanded in the first place).
Dana (0f0b2e) — 8/23/2009 @ 11:00 amSlower, EW1(SG), much slower.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 11:03 amObama and his cronies are getting bitch-slapped so regularly now isn’t it time for them to sign up some lesbian man coaches the way Gore did? Earth tone mom jeans anyone?
There are only so many peripheral Bush era nonscandals they can throw out there to distract people from Obama’s miserable performance that people are getting used to the tactic.
daleyrocks (718861) — 8/23/2009 @ 11:03 amIs a frog march in order? – I love frog marches.
Perfectsense (0922fa) — 8/23/2009 @ 11:08 amObama and his cronies are getting bitch-slapped so regularly now isn’t it time for them to sign up some lesbian man coaches the way Gore did?
The nation was warned.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (3b3b67) — 8/23/2009 @ 11:09 amCamile Paglia is trying to help Obama recover from his ObamaCare debacle, but he’s not listening.
Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (0ea407) — 8/23/2009 @ 11:18 amConsidering what the first commenter posted on the Salon article that Paglia wrote, you can be sure that none of his supporters are listening, either. Like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Dmac (e6d1c2) — 8/23/2009 @ 11:25 amWow. That’s a great link, Bradley.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (3b3b67) — 8/23/2009 @ 11:29 amHow many articles of impeachment have been drawn up against this Obama criminal so far?
j curts (baef6f) — 8/23/2009 @ 11:29 amOnly the first commenter, Dmac?
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (3b3b67) — 8/23/2009 @ 11:32 amPaul, thanks.
When folks like Paglia and Nat Hentoff speak out against ObamaCare, it’s a lot harder for supporters to paint the opposition as just right-wing crazies.
Not that they’re giving up. As they get more desperate, they get more shrill.
“These are all canards peddled by insurance companies terrified of losing their power and profits, by right-wing militants terrified of a victory for the president they hate and by the Republican Party, which has been commandeered by the insurance industry and the militants.”
Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (0ea407) — 8/23/2009 @ 12:00 pmDummerer than a sack thinks that the affadavits brought forward by The Nation are determative, yet The Nation itself discounts their own work product by noting “…(we) cannot independently verify the identities of the two individuals, their roles at Blackwater or what motivated them to provide sworn testimony in these civil cases...”, which also would imply that they cannot verify that the accusations are accurate either, YMMV.
AD - RtR/OS! (12f8f2) — 8/23/2009 @ 12:03 pmOver the years I have found that the contents within The Nation, usually highly charged, sometimes thought-provoking, and always with a partisan agenda, are not likely to stand up to critical inquiry.
Like the administration of The One, they lie a lot!
When folks like Paglia and Nat Hentoff speak out against ObamaCare, it’s a lot harder for supporters to paint the opposition as just right-wing crazies.
Which is why Paglia’s commenters are hammering her unmercifully on that piece.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (3b3b67) — 8/23/2009 @ 12:04 pmComment by Paul (creator of “Staunch Brayer”) — 8/23/2009 @ 12:04 pm
They will find, to their discomfort, that Camille’s skin is a lot thicker than The One’s, and that she wields a pen with the skill of an expert swordsman, and will challenge anyone she disagrees with.
AD - RtR/OS! (12f8f2) — 8/23/2009 @ 12:11 pmIt’s affidavit.
Official Internet Data Office (4d17dd) — 8/23/2009 @ 12:18 pmComment by AD – RtR/OS! — 8/23/2009 @ 12:11 pm
Yup.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (3b3b67) — 8/23/2009 @ 12:25 pm“Over the years I have found that the contents within The Nation, usually highly charged, sometimes thought-provoking, and always with a partisan agenda, are not likely to stand up to critical inquiry.”
AD – Pretty much like the contents of a Scott Horton post at Harpers.
daleyrocks (718861) — 8/23/2009 @ 12:35 pmYou all missed the memo that Tom Ridge’s new revelation that he and other Bush officials argued about raising the Terror Alert level has now proventrue every anti-Bush screed written in the past 9 years .
MayBee (c0e046) — 8/23/2009 @ 12:39 pmAndrew really should keep practicing how to pick up turds by the clean end until he gets it right. That will likely keep him occupied for eternity.
Brooks (08cee3) — 8/23/2009 @ 12:51 pmUsing contractors to send crappy spam = evil; using them to invade countries, murder civilians, torture people = no big deal.
The comment was directed at Fox News, but but it summarizes the selective outrage in this website, if you ask me.
A laughable case of missing the point. The issue isn’t the use of contractors. It’s the O admin lying.
Gerald A (78e08a) — 8/23/2009 @ 12:52 pmThe use of tax money for political purposes is also an issue but again that has nothing to do with contractors per se.
Gerald A (78e08a) — 8/23/2009 @ 1:02 pmMayBee – Do they ever mention what Bush’s position was? Or whether the threat level was raised? Or is it simply asserted that Bush wanted this done for political purposes, and Ridge’s disagreement is proof of the politicization?
JD (0ac8d6) — 8/23/2009 @ 1:12 pmOnly the first commenter, Dmac?
I quit reading the comments as soon as I saw the first one – a poster called her a particularly vile name that euphemistically rhymes with “punt.” After you’ve read that leading off, how can the conversation go anything but downhill at that point? I hope they keep this vitriol up as long as possible – the rest of the country’s witnessing the real ugliness behind the folks who are the true acolytes of their Lord and Savior.
Dmac (e6d1c2) — 8/23/2009 @ 1:31 pmMayBee, except of course for the part where it wasn’t raised.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 1:40 pm#65 Official Internet Data Office:
Yes, it is.
Typing slowly is harder than it looks.
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 8/23/2009 @ 2:57 pmThis is the same Progressive Movement that was front and center on the streets of Chicago in 1968.
AD - RtR/OS! (12f8f2) — 8/23/2009 @ 3:04 pmThey made such a positive impression there that the country rejected a sitting Vice-President who had always enjoyed bi-partisan support, for a man who had been, only 6-years before, soundly rejected by his own State’s voters in the worse defeat of his political career; and then re-elected him in ’72 over someone who wholeheartedly embraced the Progressive Movement.
The American Left…dummerer than a sack of Andrews!
Thanks OIDO…I’ve got to figure out how to get spell-check back on my tool-bar.
AD - RtR/OS! (12f8f2) — 8/23/2009 @ 3:08 pmRelax guys. If these allegations are wrong, then 1) These two John Does will be guilty of perjury, and 2) Blackwater will not settle the case for lots of money. 3) The lawsuit will be tossed.
I guess we’ll just wait and see what happens. 😀
Andrew (39a8a6) — 8/23/2009 @ 3:30 pmBy the way, JDumb and AD are the same person, speaking of sock-puppets.
Andrew (39a8a6) — 8/23/2009 @ 3:34 pmAndrew,
Is there a point to such an obvious lie? Glenn Greenwald was proven to have sockpuppeted and using him as a source was questionable. Pointing it out to you is fair game. Accusing others of sockpuppeting without proof (which I know you don’t have because it’s not true) is extremely dishonest and I doubt will be tolerated. I suggest you retract immediately.
Stashiu3 (ed6467) — 8/23/2009 @ 3:44 pmTalk about desperate to be victimized. Oh my goodness, he sent us unsolicited emails. Call the ACLU…oh wait, we hate them. Call the National Lawyers Guild…oh wait, we hate them too. You idiots. Bush collected ALL OF YOUR EMAILS for years with nary a peep. Douchebag is too good a word.
googol (b3c3e2) — 8/23/2009 @ 3:45 pmThis is the same Progressive Movement that was front and center on the streets of Chicago in 1968.
Keep on writing this stupidity. Most progressives weren’t even born yet.
googol (b3c3e2) — 8/23/2009 @ 3:46 pmAndrew, meanwhile you traffic in unsupported libel. That’s what we expect from you.
googol, you seem to have forgotten the illegality of the White House’s actions. I assure you that they are aware of it.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 3:53 pmNo, they aren’t. You will apologize, or you will go away.
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 3:53 pmThe movement can have different people, and be the same movement…
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 3:54 pmI googled this, and apparently its such a micro story that only Fox and other mentally challenged organizations are picking it up. Like Gawker–> and even Gawker didn’t believe it. They had a number of possibilities, but this one really rung the bells.
1) The most likely is that all the people who say they never signed up are just wrong. “People’s memories suck,” says Stu Shulman, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts who has studied the politics of mass email. “And people filter their memories through their ideological prisms. If there are 500,000 or 1 million people on the White House list, there will be hundreds who signed up for it and don’t remember doing so.”
But please continue to clutch your pearls and suffer your fainting spells you morons.
googol (b3c3e2) — 8/23/2009 @ 3:56 pmYeah? Ever get an unsolicited e-mail? Ever get turned in for dissenting?
I think you’re forgetting a few items here.
And you would think that the ACLU would at least be upset over this, since it was a clear violation of civil liberties…
But it’s different, right?
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 3:58 pmOk, so of the 500,000, hundreds asked for the e-mails…
What about the rest?
Or can you not do math?
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 3:59 pmgoogol, you are full of it. Bush did not collect “all” of our emails without a peep.
First of all, the Bush White House did not collect anything. There were rumors, to date without substantiation, of an NSA program that intercepted some emails internationally. If that happened, (its physically impossible for the NSA to have actually intercepted all email under the current network topology) NSA intercepts were and are rigorously protected under existing law and Congressional intel oversight.
And lastly, there was more than a “peep”, as your “progressive” twit buddies worked hard to undermine NSA intelligence gathering.
Meanwhile, you’ve still not dealt with the fact that the White House has admitted to what were illegal acts. You’ve done your best to troll attention away.
You are a clown.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:02 pmIf there are 500,000 or 1 million people on the White House list, there will be hundreds who signed up for it and don’t remember doing so.”
I’ll admit, math isn’t my strong suit. Thankfully, there’s no math to do here. This number refers to the people who signed up and don’t remember doing it. The rest did do it. How many people do you guys have complaining here? It doesn’t say anywhere in the Fox exclusive.
googol (b3c3e2) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:10 pmSo they only send emails to people who have signed up, and some third party signed up people without their permission. What a whopper.
imdw (0172f3) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:11 pmIts a meaningless story but googol sure is worried that it might actually get noticed by the public …
terrified evidently given the reaction.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:11 pmSPQR: I knew you people were stupid, but I didn’t expect this:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/06/pinwale/
A secret NSA surveillance database containing millions of intercepted foreign and domestic e-mails includes the personal correspondence of former President Bill Clinton, according to the New York Times.
An NSA intelligence analyst was apparently investigated after accessing Clinton’s personal correspondence in the database, the paper reports, though it didn’t say how many of Clinton’s e-mails were captured or when the interception occurred.
The database, codenamed Pinwale, allows NSA analysts to search through and read large volumes of e-mail messages, including correspondence to and from Americans. Pinwale is likely the end point for data sucked from internet backbones into NSA-run surveillance rooms at AT&T facilities around the country.
Those rooms were set up by the Bush administration following 9/11, and were finally legalized last year when Congress passed the FISA Amendments Act. The law gives the telecoms immunity for cooperating with the administration; it also opens the way for the NSA to lawfully spy on large groups of phone numbers and e-mail addresses in bulk, instead of having to obtain a warrant for each target.
googol (b3c3e2) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:12 pmSack of Andrews is a demonstrable and aggressive liar. DRJ and Patterico can verify that AD and I are not the same people. We are not even in the same time zone. Hell, we are not even on the same side of the Mississippi River. Plus, you are a lying douchebag, just like googol trollbot 2009.
JD (295979) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:14 pmWait… Did IMDW just agree with us that the White House lied?
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:14 pmgoogly, BOOOOSH wasn’t just reading ALL your e-mails (and you’ve been quite the naughty one, it seems…..)
He was reading your mind as well.
Techie (482700) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:14 pmSPQR…you have got to be sh**ing me. I hope you work at Mcdonald’s where you can’t hurt anyone.
cesar (b3c3e2) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:16 pmYeah… It uses a word-search program that flags e-mails containing certain words. It’s called “Carnivore”, and we’ve known about it since Clinton was in office.
And if you think “millions” is everyone, you’re even more stupid than I thought.
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:17 pmTechie: That’s the funniest part about you psychotic paranoiacs. When faced with the reality that the Bush admin was collecting your emails, and the possibility that Obama sent you spam email, you’re scared of the latter. How did you get your fingers all going at the same time to write your comment with that low-wattage bulb?
cesar (b3c3e2) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:17 pmMy government is oppressing me. I have to hit the unsubscribe link.
imdw (c5488f) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:17 pmgoogol, all you’ve done is copy a news article that confirms what I wrote. It seems that you’ve only established that you are the stupid one.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:18 pmThese assbandits (Andrew, googol, imdw) either do not, or cannot, understand the difference between national security and flag@whitehouse.gov being used to track the exercise of individual constitutionally protected free speech. SHOCKA
JD (295979) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:18 pmwere you going to refute a point, or just throw insults?
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:20 pmspQR: what terrifies me is that even people with ganglion in their skulls like you get to vote.
googol (b3c3e2) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:20 pmGreat, now we see sockpuppets filling the thread.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:21 pmcesar, if you don’t know the difference between the amount of control and oversight of an NSA operation and the White House freelancing an email spam, then you are the one that needs to be kept away from hot fryers.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:22 pmlegalized last year when Congress passed the FISA Amendments Act
They seemed to gloss over that part.
But, don’t worry, I’m sure you can “Flag” my “fishy” address and Obama will see to it that I get sent the correct goodthought.
Techie (482700) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:22 pmWell, there’s a lot of people who shouldn’t have to do that, because they never requested to get the e-mails…
And lets not forget that the use of White House resources for campaigning of any sort is pretty illegal…
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:22 pmOh dear, SPQR, maybe its Obama’s SEIU Kenyan-Death Panel goon squad finally coming after you…you are the afterbirth.
googol (b3c3e2) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:23 pmWonder if the word “Echelon” rings any bells for the trolls?
Techie (482700) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:25 pm“Well, there’s a lot of people who shouldn’t have to do that, because they never requested to get the e-mails…”
How is one supposed to know whether a third party or the actual person submitted the name?
“These assbandits (Andrew, googol, imdw) ”
What does ass have to do with it?
“And lets not forget that the use of White House resources for campaigning of any sort is pretty illegal…”
Campaigning for a politician, sure. But the white house can use its resources to help start a war, end social security, or reform health care.
imdw (c5488f) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:25 pmgoogol aka cesar,
Please pick one name to use or go into moderation.
DRJ (3f5471) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:27 pmgoogol, really, we’d appreciate some more wit and creativity in the insults. Repeating stuff your mom and dad spray painted on the basement walls is not cutting it.
Meanwhile, your attempt at a false “tu quoque” notwithstanding, you’ve still not dealt with the admission of the White House in this matter.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:28 pmShorter googol: “Look! Over there! Bush lied, people died!”
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (3b3b67) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:29 pmI was just about to e-mail you about that…
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:30 pmTechie, no, the fact that the Bush administration NSA was probably continuing Clinton era programs is intentionally forgotten.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:30 pmgoogol aka cesar,
Please pick one name to use or go into moderation.
The richest irony yet.
Dana (0f0b2e) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:32 pmJD and I are the same person?
AD - RtR/OS! (12f8f2) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:36 pmI’ve got shoes older than JD!
Can you spell P_R_O_J_E_C_T_I_O_N?
I love the smell of despiration in the morning.
JD’s 1st Rule of Trolls seems more and more prescient every day. As Teh One continues to slip, we can only expect even more of this asshattery.
JD (295979) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:38 pmDRG…if you can prove they came from the same IP address you’re free to do whatever you want. What I would suggest you do instead is lay down your crack pipe and take a deep breath.
googol (b3c3e2) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:41 pmOuch…I can feel my IQ dropping …
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:41 pmMore shameless self-promotion!
AD - RtR/OS! (12f8f2) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:41 pmSPQR: This is rich, the article is right in front of you refuting everything you said. You live in a fantasy world.
googol (b3c3e2) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:42 pmAD – I am not that young 😉
JD (295979) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:43 pmYeah, that’s the ticket…
Insult and denigrate the one person beside the owner of the site who has full, unfettered authority to ban people.
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:46 pmgoogol,
I have Admin privileges. Do you really want me to reveal your personal data to provide proof?
DRJ (3f5471) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:48 pmI love it when trolls drop by someone else’s place, take a sh*t on the living room floor, and then act shocked when they don’t get a warm reception. Then, when they do not get a warm reception, insulting their hosts is always a great decision.
Now STFU you racist wingnutz !!!!! Bush !!!!!
JD (295979) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:49 pmEh, what’s a year or two between friends… 🙂
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:53 pm#121:
A word to the wise, …
Screw it. I’m gonna enjoy the show.
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:57 pmNo, he can read.
And his point, which the article proved, was that “progressives” such as your self have worked very hard to undermine legit NSA operations designed to track and locate terrorists.
But hey, it’s different…
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:57 pm#125 JD:
Mebbe not, but you’re behind me and I’m following, not leadin’, AD to geezerdom!!
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 8/23/2009 @ 4:59 pm*points at all the old people, and laughs*
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:00 pmEW1 – I am not yet 40, though it is around the corner.
JD (295979) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:02 pmComment by JD — 8/23/2009 @ 4:43 pm
Unfortunately, today I feel that old.
AD - RtR/OS! (12f8f2) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:04 pmA good game of kick the troll should make you feel better, AD. BTW, I kind of took it as a compliment that the sack compared me to you.
JD (9e41b2) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:22 pmThis was a real monsoon of moonbats, recently. I blame Bush, and global warming. And, Kyoto.
JD (9e41b2) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:24 pmComment by Scott Jacobs — 8/23/2009 @ 5:00 pm
Why, you young wet-behind-the-ears whippersnapper…
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (3b3b67) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:24 pmI have Admin privileges. Do you really want me to reveal your personal data to provide proof?
Thanks for silencing the troll, DRJ.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (3b3b67) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:25 pmComment by JD — 8/23/2009 @ 5:22 pm
I too, felt similarly complimented.
AD - RtR/OS! (12f8f2) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:28 pmThe arrows must have been striking very close to home. But, Patterico used curare on his arrow.
Bring it on, gramps…
Just be careful. I tend to kick for the hip. 🙂
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:29 pmScott, how many times do you have to be told to not bring a knife to a gun-fight?
AD - RtR/OS! (12f8f2) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:31 pmRacist
JD (9e41b2) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:31 pmAgeist
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (3b3b67) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:33 pmPfft… Your muskets don’t frighten me…
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:35 pmJD, in person, did make me feel old, too. But I think his and my shoes were about the same age age. 😉
nk (c004f4) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:36 pmWhat I would suggest you do instead is lay down your crack pipe and take a deep breath.
Googol apparently is mistaking DRJ for someone residing in one of those neighborhoods that generally give Democrats/liberals/Obama something like over 90% of their vote, year after year, decade after decade. And people wonder why socio-economic dysfunction reigns supreme in such communities?
Mark (411533) — 8/23/2009 @ 5:49 pmIf people say they didn’t sign up, it’s a simple matter to check the IP address that signed them up. That way you can show that yes, they did access the web site and yes, they did click the Yes button.
It would be interesting to see what IP addresses were used to sign people up. Perhaps there were a few enthusiastic supporters of Teh One™ who thought they’d help their fellow man get The Truth and signed up their neighbors.
steve miller (0fb51f) — 8/23/2009 @ 6:01 pmgoogol, the article does not refute what I said. It confirms what I said. That you can’t figure that out says much about you. Not about me.
The loons that googol hangs out with do not understand how the NSA works. In a previous career, I had some dealings with the NSA working for a company that was a vendor for it. I learned a lot about it. It is astonishingly tightly controlled in terms of how it initiates interceptions, how it controls the dissemination of intercepts and how detailed it reports its interceptions to the supervising FISA court and Congressional oversight.
I don’t get upset about NSA’s operations because I have knowledge of NSA’s controls and professionalism. googol is simply an ignorant clown.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 6:06 pmDRJ’s update states “… covering up a non-crime makes this administration look immature, petty, and bumbling.”
That might have something to do with the fact that Obama and his administration are in plain fact, immature, petty and bumbling.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 6:23 pmThe loons that googol hangs out with
Well, since he’s been outed for his sockpuppetry, he only hangs out with himself, apparently. But you know what they say: “you’re never alone when you’re a schizophrenic.”
Dmac (e6d1c2) — 8/23/2009 @ 6:47 pmDmac, yeah I liked how my pointing out the obvious – that cesar et al were sockpuppets – meant I was paranoid.
Sheesh, like I hadn’t heard that before from the voices in my head.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:00 pmComment by SPQR — 8/23/2009 @ 7:00 pm
Well, at least someone is willing to talk to you.
AD - RtR/OS! (12f8f2) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:05 pm#
MayBee, except of course for the part where it wasn’t raised.
You say that like it would matter to the likes of Jay R#sen and Glenn Greenwald.
MayBee (3d1a9c) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:13 pmThat wired story the sockpuppet linked was based on a story from everybody’s favorite lefty rag, the N.Y. Times. He left out a few details which certainly add credence to the comments above and damage his case:
“The N.S.A. is believed to have gone beyond legal boundaries designed to protect Americans in about 8 to 10 separate court orders issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, according to three intelligence officials who spoke anonymously because disclosing such information is illegal. Because each court order could single out hundreds or even thousands of phone numbers or e-mail addresses, the number of individual communications that were improperly collected could number in the millions, officials said. (It is not clear what portion of total court orders or communications that would represent.)”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/us/17nsa.htm?pagewanted=1
daleyrocks (718861) — 8/23/2009 @ 7:32 pmAD, one of the voices told me you would say that.
SPQR (26be8b) — 8/23/2009 @ 8:25 pm[…] in Iraq, Democrats are eating their own on health care, deficits are soaring, the white house is spamming Americans, and the Gay community is having enough of don’t ask don’t tell and even some reporters […]
When all else fails there is always George W Bush « DaTechguy’s Blog (26ab4b) — 8/24/2009 @ 5:06 am[…] Patterico’s Pontifications » White House Hired GovDelivery to SendDuring the past two weeks, the White House denied it sent unsolicited emails and then claimed outside political groups had placed names on a distribution list. The White House apparently now concedes it hired the firm to spam American households about ObamaCare. […]
Patte white | Molicyber (c733cf) — 5/30/2011 @ 3:03 pm