Tracking Palin's Hacker...any truth to this?

[KalicoKitty]

Tracking Palin's Hacker: Signs Point to Dem State Rep's Son?


http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/09/tracking_palins_hacker_signs_p.asp

[Crooked Moon]

1. it appears to be on the right track

from what i've read.

[progressivebydesign]

21. Links for what "you've read"??

Just wondering if you could post something substantial here that backs up what seems to be supposition at this point. I haven't read anything resembling what what posted here. Do you have more info to share?

[Trajan]

2. Anyone who would do this MUST expect to be tracked ...

There is no way around it: Someone who would hack into a candidate's email account is going to be investigated ....

It was a stupid move ....

[Crooked Moon]

3. agreed. n/t

[NJmaverick]

4. What is true is that what Palin did

was both illegal and irresponsible

[Crooked Moon]

6. you don't have to be a palin-lover

to understand from political instinct that a family member of a democratic party official hacking her email is a stupid fucking move.

[NJmaverick]

8. You are entitled, I prefer to concentrate on the one running for office

you are free to look at the family members of anyone you want though.

[TornadoTN]

19. I don't disagree - stupid move because it will become a talking point

And that's all that they will have - nothing about why she was using Yahoo! to conduct official government business (a la Rove) or what the contents of those e-mails may have contained. It will be painted by McCain as a "oh noes! The Democrats are out to get us!"

But I'm still not sure it will work. It's a double edged sword for McCain - the question is whether they will avoid falling on it.

[TexasLady]

5. yeah it's goin around

Ive seen it on a few non political sites that occasionally talk politics.

[Gman]

7. Whatever happened, it was a kid

doing kid things. There was nothing sinister about it, unfortunately. The kid apparently never even bothered to go through the emails. Only junk stuff.

[Crooked Moon]

9. kid or not

it's a federal crime and it will serve as yet another distraction that will offer mccain/palin cover.

[Gman]

10. I'm not sure it is a federal crime

I don't know that's it's illegal to access an email account with security that weak.

[Fractasticlicious]

12. Right!

Because it's only a crime based on the level of security provided. That's why if you break into a house that left the front door unlocked you typically get probation, but if the house was locked up and had a security system that you defeated then it's 5 years minimum. I like how you think.

[TornadoTN]

16. You obviously know nothing of what you speak

Try these links on for size - it's not as clear cut as you think. Also, equating electronic "property" with "real" property is a fallacy at this point, since the courts are all over the place on these issues.

Try these links on for size:

http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2008/09/18/double_standards

&

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/09/doj-view-email-privacy-may-hamper-prosecution-pali

[Fractasticlicious]

11. 20 year old?

Is a kid, that's interesting. But, of course, the whole thing is nonsense, no Democratic would do such a thing.

[TornadoTN]

18. Crawl back to Freeperland

I hear they have a nice circle-jerk going on right, praying the gay away and pretending that the sky isn't falling on Wall Street.

[Cosmic Charlie]

13. nice try, Repukes. but Palin was illegally using this account to conduct official business

Just like the Bush Administration and their RNC accounts.

[vaberella]

14. I call BS. They wanted to blame someone, I think this is a distraction tactic by the Repubs. n/t

[TornadoTN]

15. I honestly think this whole mess is going to hurt McCain/Palin - that's why they make it a specatcle

Just like everything else, they try to deflect from the issue and play the victim. While I don't condone hacking someones e-mail and certainly not in this case (I wish it could have come out in a more straightforward manner), the person/s who did this may have essentially opened up a whole lot of scrutiny on Palin and her subversion of the law by using these public and unsecured e-mail for government business. People are talking about it and it brings her unprofessional and reckless behavior back into the spotlight. She will get sympathy from some, but others and certainly anyone who uses a computer and isn't a right-wing fascist will scratch their heads and say "what the hell was she doing?". This opens more questions and more scrutiny on her in the process - that may lead to the release of these e-mails and further investigation.

Folks, they are screaming about this for a reason and its far beyond their desire to distract people from the real issues. These hackers may have done some stupid but it has the potential to become more than just a prank - it could be considered a form of political activism when the media and the government are powerless to stop tyranny.

Besides, the DOJ has backed themselves into a corner by their own crazy privacy laws and issues regarding electronic data. This is just a waste of money and a giant distraction.

[vaberella]

17. They play the victim and she's illegally using a non-gov account. n/t

[progressivebydesign]

20. Hmmm.. a lot of these concerned posts lately putting out damning rumors.

the odds are good that the hacker would not be republican, and the odds that a hacker being a male, are pretty good, and the odds of that male having a father is pretty good as well. the fact that his father is a rep makes no damn difference. In fact I imagine it made him more political than others...

So what's the point?