Secret Masters of the World

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By WhskyJack,  a Trail Mix Contributor

Librarians dedicate their lives to the collection and storage of information in a retrievable form. In the information age librarians RULE!

Don’t believe it?

Look at Clinton’s email problem

As an op-ed at the Washington Post pointed out

“Bottom line: Clinton’s mistake was, as she has said, to have decided to use a private server. There’s not much duplicity, deceit or intention to evade to be found in this memo. What the document does reveal is Clinton’s colossal failure to understand the monumental responsibility she took on with her choice; namely, the direct duty to archive public records.

I call this job monumental not merely because it is important — and it is — but also because it is a task to which the entire profession of librarians and archivists is dedicated. ...This is what jumps out of the memo. The story of stuff that is missing, or turned in late, or not initially acknowledged to exist, or accidentally saved in inappropriate places only to be deleted later by low-level staff, appears to be mainly a tale of a bumbling group not remotely close to being equipped to handle, at a public-records standard, the material for which they were responsible.”

Clinton could lose the election for want of a librarian.

“Librarians are the secret masters of the world. They control information. Don’t ever piss one off” — Spider Robinson

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54 thoughts on “Secret Masters of the World”

  1. jack, good thread topic.  one archived tape of Hillary is now being high-lighted by the guardian today. I posted the 1st part at end of last thread. here’s more:

    The Clinton who emerges from the WNYC tapes is passionate, raw and unrestrained. Above all, she is livid. She had just learned that the Bush administration instructed officials of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reassure New Yorkers after 9/11 that the air over Ground Zero was safe. In fact, they had a pretty good idea that it was a toxic pall of asbestos, cement, glass dust, heavy metals, fuels and PCBs.

    “I am outraged,” Clinton went on. “In the immediate aftermath, the first couple of days, nobody could know. But a week later? Two weeks later? Two months later? Six months later? Give me a break!”

    Of all the varied chapters of Clinton’s tumultuous 30 years in public life, the story of her response to the attacks on the twin towers is one of the richest in terms of the clues it provides as to what to expect from a Clinton presidency. It reveals elements of her character, of her domestic policy strengths, as well as her tendency to lean towards the hawkish side in international affairs.

  2. good post, Jack…one of my favorite episodes from Star Trek, All Our Yesterdays.   All about the librarian.  Thank you for the mention of El Paso-born, Gene Roddenberry in your comments…an extraordinary human…this wiki-bio  mentions so little of his life.  The guy was a hero and to me a genius…I owe him and I thank him for his spirit and morality.  He was one groovy guy and I have read that he argued with the Riverboat execs about the lack of black humans on the show…he lost the job.  He was one futuristic guy…imagined the communicator way before cell phones and portability in the telecommunications industry.  His lessons were not lost on me.

  3. Seems this election may be about the fourth estate and the new media empires.  trump is lying when he did not know about larry king and RT news.  This is about Carlos Slim, the Mexican billionaire.   king and slim formed a network in 2012.   slim cancelled plans on working with trump in 2015 — Slim dumps trump.  breitbart has posted a few articles on trump and the NYtimes (Slim is part owner), but I am past my 3 links per comment.  Just seems the fourth estate will elect our prez…takeover by the likes of Faux News.  The poison spreads and the power grows, globally.

    BTW. Laura Bush = librarian.

  4. Pat

    Sure thing. Thanks to you as well for all the good reading and commentary you provide. That Beinart piece was eye opening.

    Jack,

    Good thought provoking post, thanks..

  5. Trump Is Without Sense or Sensibility
    Eugene Robinson

    The candidates appeared sequentially, not face to face, at the USS Intrepid museum in New York before an audience of military service members and veterans. The old aircraft carrier, commissioned during World War II and retired after Vietnam, was an apt setting for hearing the candidates’ positions on foreign and defense policy. But only one of them had anything meaningful to say.
    Hillary Clinton went first and was immediately hit with a barrage of questions about her emails. Some commentators said afterward that she sounded defensive, but that line of criticism is absurd. How is one supposed to sound when pressed to defend oneself? Have we finally reached the point when a woman is allowed to speak forcefully on her own behalf? Or do we still expect, at all times, a demure smile?
    As would be anticipated from a former senator and secretary of state, Clinton displayed her knowledge and experience. The headline, I suppose, would be this pledge: “We are not putting ground troops into Iraq ever again. And we’re not putting ground troops into Syria.” Those who worry she might prove too hawkish as president may feel relieved.

  6. bw, we have a 3 post/links limit??? boy, am I in trouble! I tho’t fearless leader said we could go up to five.

     

    jack, highly recommend if you haven’t read it already ‘the library of babel”  a short story by Argentine author and librarian Jorge Luis Borges.

    who would have believed at the time he wrote it there would come a time when one could hold in their hand a complete library of the world’s books and call them up with just the touch of a finger. today’s computer is our new library.

  7. Donald Trump’s ‘Big Liar’ Technique
    Paul Krugman

    There’s also a deep diffidence about pointing out uncomfortable truths. Back in 2000, when I was first writing this column, I was discouraged from using the word “lie” about George W. Bush’s dishonest policy claims. As I recall, I was told that it was inappropriate to be that blunt about the candidate of one of our two major political parties. And something similar may be going on even now, with few people in the media willing to accept the reality that the G.O.P. has nominated someone whose lies are so blatant and frequent that they amount to sociopathy.
    Even that observation, however, doesn’t explain the asymmetry, because some of the same media organizations that apparently find it impossible to point out Mr. Trump’s raw, consequential lies have no problem harassing Mrs. Clinton endlessly over minor misstatements and exaggerations, or sometimes over actions that were perfectly innocent. Is it sexism? I really don’t know, but it’s shocking to watch.
     
    And meanwhile, if the question is whether Mr. Trump can really get away with his big liar routine, the evidence from Wednesday night suggests a disheartening answer: Unless something changes, yes he can.

  8. Pat

    I think Craig took the limit off weeks ago. I recall him saying he was going to give it a go as he felt it was safe now. I like the unlimited as its easier to post pieces without so much editing on my part. ?

  9. patd…I remember Craig and the mention of no more than 3 links per comment frame.  Could be memory failure on my part.  BTW…great porch swing at the lakeside cabin, Craig.

     

  11. breitbart and slim and the NYtimes.  Influence rules the day and the billionaires club will not relent on both sides.  Seems to be a heavier load of rich humans on the nationalistic alt right of the billionaires chart.  Panama papers?  Soros and company try to expose putie&company and now the info is for sale!    Pay your taxes, billionaires.   assange is putie’s pawn and snowden sits in russian…fool tools of the billionaires…no original thought or investigation.  Lazy anarchists who pretend to protect us from what?  Bad reporting?  I fear no one can protect us from the media and it is more damaging than a military takeover.

     

  12. conclusion of wapo editorial board’s “The Hillary Clinton email story is out of control”

    Imagine how history would judge today’s Americans if, looking back at this election, the record showed that voters empowered a dangerous man because of . . . a minor email scandal. There is no equivalence between Ms. Clinton’s wrongs and Mr. Trump’s manifest unfitness for office.

  14. The clip art librarian picture reminds me of my favorite librarian.

    But don’t take her lightly

    Here is what she does for rest and relaxation.

     

     

  15. Then there is the small matter that at various times, librarians have restarted the world (or lost it because the library was lost).

    If all the worst of the various dystopian predictions come to past, humans left behind in the wreckage will need to pull themselves up out of rubble.  The information is libraries, since computers could well be non existent, is all that will be left of what was known of the world before not to mention all the “How To” connected to rebuilding.

    The libraries secreted in monasteries held the wisdom of man through the dark ages. Then there are those of us who still mourn the whole idea of what was lost in the fire of the great library at Alexandria, even if it is posited that most of the material had already been copied to other libraries.

     

  16. Pat

    I would  give Wapo more credit except just last week they were promoting the hell out of

    the “Clinton email scandal”

     

    Jack

  17. boston globe’s “Warren was passed over for VP. But she doesn’t seem to mind.”

    “I love this job,” Warren said in a Thursday interview in her airy Senate office, looking incredulous at a reporter’s query on whether a post in a possible Hillary Clinton administration would tempt her to leave her six-year Senate term early.

     

    The Massachusetts Democrat has dived back into the work of being a senator with visible gusto since being passed over to be Clinton’s running mate shortly before the party’s national convention. She is taking on a list of high-profile issues from health insurance to passage of corporate tax reform — which she thinks is increasingly possible — that move her beyond her traditional portfolio of Wall Street reform and consumer protection.

    [….]

    “Wasn’t it fun?” she asked about a Thursday New York Times op-ed she penned on her vision for a crackdown on loopholes that allow American multinational companies such as Apple to avoid billions of dollars in taxes.

    Just in the last two weeks, she has, among other things, led 19 Senate colleagues in writing a letter challenging Mylan Pharmaceuticals on dramatic EpiPen price increases; blasted a wonky-sounding provision of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a major trade deal supported by the Obama administration but opposed by liberals (and, thanks to pressure from the left during the primary, Clinton, too); and written a letter with Bernie Sanders and three other colleagues demanding answers from Aetna on its decision to pull back from Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges.

    Still, Warren is in strong demand as a political surrogate, and she hasn’t taken her eye off the campaign. She returns to the trail Friday in Philadelphia, where she will be stumping for Clinton as well as Democratic Senate candidate Katie McGinty

    “This will be the first time I’ve campaigned for two people simultaneously,” Warren said in a preview of her dual tasks at the event. “And I’ve got to say,” she continued, snapping her fingers over her head, “two strong women — this is going to be fun.”

  18. “The information in libraries, since computers could well be non existent, is all that will be left of what was known of the world before not to mention all the “How To” connected to rebuilding.”

    Jamie, a realistic problem needing a solution. any day now we’re likely to be visited by the idiot teenage hacker who takes down the entire grid.  “oops, my bad” ain’t gonna absolve him from all who die who are dependent upon the national hookups working.  be nice to have a diy manual handy.

  19. Lake Linville sunrise this morning (Renfro Valley, KY).

    Yes I removed the links limit a while ago, so far no harmful side effects.

    Thanks for the thought provoking post Whsky!

  21. darcy at Cleveland

    Trump and Clinton’s presidential appearance: Darcy cartoon

    Donald Trump has said he doesn’t think Hillary Clinton has “a presidential look.”   The question is does Trump act like a president, let alone look the part?

    Tuesday, in an ABC News interview, Trump said of Clinton:”Well, I just don’t think she has a presidential look, and you need a presidential look.”   Monday, while in Cleveland speaking before a group of men, Trump said with sarcasm, “and she looks presidential, fellows.”

  22. patd

    This is the one area where I actually agree with the survivalists.  It is not that I expect some horror to be suddenly visited on mankind, but rather that something horrible happens to people all the time.  It is practically the one thing you can guarantee for everyone.

    At some point in your life, something totally awful (or that you think is awful) will happen.  There is little you can do to prevent this simply because you don’t know what it will be from personal tragedy to Acts of good ol’ what’s his Name.  The rain will fall and fall and fall and you are going to be devastated.  Sorry about that.  If at all humanly possible, have the means on hand to live through it.

    Our pantry could feed the family for a month or two.  Might be skinnier, but we have food & water.  We have a camp stove capable of cooking.  The cars all carry First Aid Kits, blanket, and a few packets of MRE’s (There might be a snowbank out there with my name on it).  The books range from the Great Books of the world to How To preserve just about everything.

    Anyway you get the idea.  None of it might be enough, but at least I don’t have to spend any time actually worrying unnecessarily, plus an attitude that says anything you can’t leave behind owns you, you don’t own it.

     

     

  23. Jamie, agree about survival kits. learned in hurricane and tornado country to be prepared not to have electricity, water, gasoline (gas stations inoperable) and fully stocked grocery stores close enough.  batteries ruled.

  24. Jack….  great topic!

    I LOVE librarians so much that I married one.  I was on the board of trustees of our local little library for years.  Had to give it up when my father got really sick…  I miss it.

    Can’t remember where…  so no link…  but I did read somewhere (maybe the Christian Science Monitor) that readers are now gravitating back to real books after experimenting with Kindles.  I’ve tried reading on a Kindle…   hated it.  For me it’s real books or bust.

  26. RR

    I’m divided on the subject of kindles and books.  At home where I can pick up a real book, sit down in a comfy chair, and lose a few hours, it is always a real book.  Running around the countryside to various waiting rooms where waiting is to be expected, love having the Kindle to kill time since it has everything:  Books, music, games, TV shows etc.  Love the TV feature as at home I can turn off the TV, put on the head phones and not disturb anyone

     

  27. He is definitely not the librarian candidate – he seems more like the scooby do candidate nice but goofy

    Librarians individually and as a group refused to spy on their patrons despite being ordered to do so by our government.

    I am a Yuge consumer of library services. I have friends and famiy who are librarians. They are the best

  28. Yes, Johnson is the Goofy candidate. Apologies to Disney. Drumpf of course is the goofiest candidate.

  30. …starts with “T” and that rhymes with “p” and that stands for: “pool”.

     

    Wait, wrong song.

  31. Trump’s claim that Clinton started the birther movement is false and any surrogate to starts in with that big fat lie that has already been proven –their mike should be cut of and they should not be welcome back

    Anyone who repeats that lie must be desperate to get close to the biggest asshole on the face of the earth and you have to wonder why.

  34. hurray for scotus today!

    wapo:

    The Supreme Court on Friday refused to allow Michigan to ban voters from casting straight-ticket ballots in the coming election after lower courts found the prohibition was likely to discriminate against African Americans and result in long lines at the polls.

    The justices declined to get involved in a political controversy that began when the state’s Republican leadership passed a bill to end 125 years of straight-ticket voting, which allows a voter to vote for all candidates of a desired party by taking a single action.

    [….]

    Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. said they would have granted the state’s request.

  35. there he goes again…  off the leash.  somewhere under all that must be a yuuuge pile of kopeks and rubles

    wapo:

    Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump criticized U.S. foreign policy and the American political press corps Thursday during an interview on RT America, a state-owned Russian television network.

    In a wide-ranging interview that aired Thursday evening, Trump spoke with journalist Larry King about the presidential race, American intervention in Iraq and the Middle East, and the potential intrusion by Russian hackers into Democratic Party databases. RT, which airs in several countries in English and Russian, is funded by the Russian government; though it characterizes itself as independent, the network has been regularly accused of pro-Kremlin bias.

  36. Trump sucks and his numbers are on their way to more accurately representing    that

  37. patd…   my number one bitch about a kindle is that you can’t look ahead to see how many pages you have left until you finish the chapter.  I also have a touch…  and if you accidentally touch anywhere on the screen lightly the whole page jumps.  I always wind up screaming “fuck you” at it…  I get enough of that exercise if I watch drumpf…  🙂

  38. Problem is, drumpf’s supporters don’t give a shit.  I’ve poached on the WaPo article on his RT interview and the comments from the trumpf nuts and they are typically no information idiots who can’t imagine he could have been on RT or that it could possibly be state sponsored by Russia.

  40. patd – growing up in Michigan I always liked one lever voting.  In booth, flip lever, out.  I tell people that and they say I don’t know what I am talking about.  Talk about speed going through the booth.  I am having a hard time understanding how it could adversely affect minorities.  If you are voting D you vote D up and down the ballot.

    Today was a fun day.  Spent it at the Port of Baltimore.  Row upon row of American cars and tractors ready to be loaded and sailed around the world for sale to many other nations.  Also picked up a few fishing tips at Vinny’s Cafe (very good).

  42. “Chicken Flakes in a Bird’s Nest”

     

    Sounds as sadistic as a “Mother and Child Reunion” (chicken sandwich with an egg).

  43. so Chris Wallace doesn’t think it’s the moderator’s job to fact check the candidate’s statements.

    so what is he doing there – they could get an a couple of alarm clocks and a potted plant and be just fine

  44. Haha….now I gotta listen to “Mother and Child Reunion” to see if Paul was talking Diner lingo……

  47. Misogynists are voting for the stalin-loving deadbeat no matter what. It is there opportunity to strike an important blow in the War Against Women. If you could prove that trump murdered his mother they’d be even happier to support him.

  49. RCP has the race at +2.7 for Clinton.  So, the talking heads from CNN and MSNBC (and others) are now announcing “it’s even, it’s even, it’s a dead heat”.  Now, that’s not literally true.  When you throw out the “Christ for Trump” poll, and the “Gays for Clinton poll”, you’re left with a ton of polls that have Clinton up by 1 to 3 points.  With that many polls showing the same results – not a tie.

    But alas, let’s look at Matt Lauer the other night.  Clinton comes out and get’s grilled about her email server.  Trump comes out and gets a softball question instead of being asked where the hell are his tax returns.

    The media hoisted Trump up to where he is ( I heard somewhere from 1 to 2 billion in free advertising), Now they’re doing everything to keep the race dead even.  They say it constantly.  If I hear Chris Matthews use the word “barn burner” one more time I swear I’ll puke, video it, and post it on this website  ;o)

    Albert Mehrabian, A UCLA Psychologist came up with the theory (one which I studied in college and agree with), that 93% of the message that is communicated is communicated by non-verbal means.  Yet now, we have a voting public that spends 6 to 8 hours a day clicking out “whatup wif u lol” — and who lose the ability to send and receive non-verbal communication messages.

    Couple this with the tens of millions of Americans who sit down every night on the couch with an “all the meats” pizza and a six pack of beer to watch Honey BooBoo reruns, or Duck Dynasty, or those dudes in Arkansas who fish in small ponds by diving in and catching fish with their teeth; no wonder our country has lost the ability to practice any type of critical thinking.

    We are becoming failures at the art of ethnocentricity!  Or as the Donald would say, “losers – pure losers – going down the tubes”.

    I swear to god that if I didn’t have a couple of children in college and an aging mom and dad – I would shag my ass to Sweden, Norway, Denmark – somewhere like that.  Even Canada perhaps!

    And didn’t all this start when Jerry Falwell, Jimmie Bakker and the guy who stayed in the tower until he got enough donations or Jesus called him home (yea, Oral Roberts – nice name), decided that the religious right needed to insert themselves squarely into American politics.

    OK – sorry Trailmix community.  Rant over  ;o)

     

  51. Sure, D, all that explains the dumbing down and doping down of the lumpenbourgeoisie. It does not explain adipocephalics and kkknitwits turning our ‘news’ into 24/7 Inert Aim-ment Tunite & 24/7 Faux and Frauds.

    It takes a lot of dishonesty, greed, and contempt for Americans to hire the likes of chris matthews, bill o’reilly, or ann coulter and call them newsmen.

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