Third Party Daydream

The latest frontpager about Hillary's email improprieties has to do with the FBI's discovery of 15,000 previously unreleased emails, "As a result, thousands of emails that Mrs. Clinton did not voluntarily turn over to the State Department last year could be released just weeks before the election in November."

No doubt these new emails will reaffirm the Judicial Watch findings that Hillary's State Department was an influence peddling arena for the Clinton Foundation. Foreign governments made substantial donations to the Clinton Foundation, and then Clinton Foundation officials made requests of the State Department on behalf of their donors:

The group [Judicial Watch] said that the 725 pages of documents it released Monday demonstrated efforts by the Clinton family foundation to leverage its influence with Mrs. Clinton. The emails, drawn from Ms. Abedin, included an appeal by Douglas Band, a Clinton Foundation executive, for Mrs. Clinton to meet with Bahrain’s crown prince, whose family had contributed millions of dollars to the foundation. 

“Good friend of ours,” Mr. Band wrote. 

Ms. Abedin, after expressing Mrs. Clinton’s reluctance to schedule a meeting “until she knows how she will feel,” then wrote back to Mr. Band to offer the crown prince an appointment the next morning. She encouraged Mr. Band to let the prince know, “if you see him,” though she said the State Department had also contacted him through official channels.

This is how government works. Businesses, wealthy foreign powers, buy access and influence policy. At this point it should be obvious to anyone that has followed Syria since the Arab Spring uprisings that U.S. foreign policy is dictated by the Gulf monarchies. The same goes for other Western powers. Notice this blurb from this morning's Situation Report:

Yemen

France may be lending military support to the Saudi-led coalition's war in Yemen, according to new satellite imagery. War Is Boring reports that hangars consistent with French designs show up in the latest Google Earth imagery of the United Arab Emirates-run Assab air base in Eritrea, which is used as a transshipment hub to support the war in Yemen against the Houthi movement. Little is known about what's in the hangars, but the distinctly French constructions follow a series of supportive recent statements from French leaders about the country's commitments to its Gulf allies.

One truly positive development that could come out of a steady stream of reporting about Clinton corruption -- now that it is apparent that Trump is headed for a huge loss in November -- is that third party vote totals will increase dramatically. Can we hope for 5-10 percent in the general election for Libertarians and Greens? I am skeptical. It would be the equivalent of the Second Coming. But as August comes to an end why not indulge a daydream?