FBI Appears To Have Wrapped Up The Clinton E-Mail Investigation: "Extremely Careless" -- July 5, 2016

Updates

Later, 8:13 p.m. Central Time: this is really, really cool. If Hillary wins in November, the GOP-controlled House and Senate better confirm Obama's choice for the Supreme Court; otherwise, they are going to see Loretta Lynch on the court.

Later, 6:10 p.m. Central Time: this story won't go away. This decision guarantees that Bernie Sanders' supporters will tell us today they will never vote for Sanders -- at the moment the Sanders' supporters are furious. They will tell us that there is no way they would vote for Hillary as the story gains traction. The question is whether their anger will lessen over time. This suggests to me that Hillary pushed the FBI to get this over with as quickly as possible once Bill / Loretta had their meeting. Lynch telegraphed Comey's decision when she said she would accept whatever his recommendation was. It's hard to say what the next poll will show (too many variables) but right now not one "true" Bernie Sanders support will say he/she will ever vote for Hillary. The question is whether Hillary can win them back at the convention. It's very possible this will "ignite" the Bernie Sanders supporters at the convention.

 

Original Post

... "extremely careless" is neither a crime nor worth sending to a grand jury. Yup, she's cleared. FBI director recommends "no charges" after ending Clinton e-mail investigation. Decision comes less than 48 hours after interview with Hillary; a few days after her husband meets with US Attorney General.

For something of this magnitude, obviously the decision was a) political; and, b) made quite some time ago. The Hillary interview was simply "filling a square."

At best, we will get an apology. Nope. That won't happen either.

But speaking of apologies:  PBS apologizes for Fourth of July broadcast that used previous years’ fireworks footage.“

A Capitol Fourth,” which broadcast Washington, D.C.’s fireworks Monday night, appeared to show fireworks in a clear night sky.

But the weather during this year’s Fourth of July show in D.C. was cloudy and overcast, and the show confirmed it used previous years’ footage.

After viewers complained, the show posted an apology on Twitter “for any confusion this may have caused.”

"For any confusion this may have caused." How about just admitting they lied. But, hey, what does it matter?

If Donald Trump wins, one wonders if PBS will use January 20, 2009, swearing-in footage instead, and then blame it on poor weather conditions.

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Good News

The Guardian reports that climate change is the missing issue of this year's campaign.

As the primary election season turns toward a head-to-head between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, there is increasing anger and frustration over the nature of the contest. A Guardian call-out to online readers in the US asking them to reflect on the race so far was met by a barrage of criticism on the tone and substance of the world’s most important election – with the two main parties, individual candidates and the media all coming under heavy fire.

The Guardian asked readers to identify the “one issue that affects your life you wish the presidential candidates were discussing more”. Resoundingly, the largest group of participants pointed to climate change.

Somehow I have trouble buying that. Ah,  here it is, buried deep in the article:

The Guardian call-out was not a poll, and as such was not a controlled survey of opinion.

But it does illuminate a largely hidden depth of concern, particularly among liberal Americans, about a gathering global disaster that has tended to be discussed, if at all, at the fringes of the presidential debate.

Most of the respondents were liberal-leaning. About 80% said they planned to support a Democratic candidate – by comparison, around 31% of Americans overall describe themselves as Democrat (a higher 49% if you include those who say they are “Democrat-leaning”).

That disparity is likely to have influenced the fact that climate change was top of the pile of priorities for those who participated – only 19 of the 284 respondents who mentioned climate change said they were unaffiliated to a party and just two described themselves as Republican.

Well, duh.

It's hard to find the data, it's scattered through the article:

• 1,385 polled
• 577 were Bernie Sanders supporters
• 53 were going to vote for Hillary Clinton
• 81 said they would vote for Donald Trump
• 284 "mentioned" climate change (note: they are not using the phrase "global warming" any more, especially now that there is evidence that "climate change" may include "global cooling")

This almost reads like a Bill McKibben-sponsored "call out" -- wow, talk about lopsided journalism. Surveying a Rolodex of  Bernis Sanders supports. LOL.