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Hacking Gone Wrong: The Bush Family Emails
The Hacking of the Bush Family Emails
Last night I came across alleged paintings by George W. Bush’s of himself in the bathtub, courtesy of a hacking into the Bush family emails posted on the Smoking Gun. It was disturbing but slightly amusing, since according to the hacker, he sent these paintings to his sister. I’m hoping the paintings were the hacker’s idea of a joke. What was not so amusing was the photo of George W. H. Bush in the hospital.
The hacker, who goes by the name Guccifer, exposed personal Bush family emails and photos. The Chron reports, “The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a hacker who gained access to private emails between members of the Bush family and friends, officials confirmed Friday.” The hacker was able to “compromise emails, telephone numbers and home addresses for dozens of Bush family members.”
Revealed in the hacking are emails regarding the most private and painful of matters, the possible death of a family member, and now the world is reading about it.
The Smoking Gun reported, “Reached on her cell phone, a shocked Dorothy Bush said she was unaware that her account had been hacked. ‘Why would someone do this?’ asked the 53-year-old Bush…” Good question.
Perhaps this hit me hard because I lost my beloved Grandfather just a few months ago, and our family shared painful emails about the eulogy. These are sacred moments during which we are absolutely gutted, our souls laid raw and bare. It is somewhat ironic that my grandfather despised the actions of George W. Bush to such an extent that he had a countdown calendar to his last days in office.
We can despise the actions of politicians and yet not condone an invasion into their privacy. This isn’t even on par with Breitbart’s exploitation of Anthony Weiner, who was still in office and clearly doing stupid things with his twitter account. There is no reason for this invasion of the Bush family’s privacy.
Hacking into a family’s private emails at any time, but specifically when they are no longer even in office, strikes me as cruel. It’s not as if there is something here that deserves to be uncovered, such as in the Steubenville rape case. It’s not as if this can even serve as a historical look into the family, since it was just a month ago that George W.H. Bush was in the hospital fighting for his life.
Hackers wield great power. When that power is used for the greater good, it can be a tool of justice and even democracy in the sense that it forces transparency. But when we pry into people’s personal lives for no reason other than curiosity, and then share it with the world — in a sense outing someone — what is the point?
In the war between privacy and transparency, there should be a high bar of cause for invading personal privacy. The Bush family deserves their privacy. They deserve to have their emails about a possible eulogy for their father kept private.
Even George W. Bush, whose two terms as president were an unmitigated nightmare for democracy, deserves privacy regarding his current personal life now that he is out of office. His war crimes are another matter. Why didn’t this hacker do something useful for the world?
Image: Included in the hacking is this picture of former President George W. Bush next to a cardboard cutout of himself.
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11 Responses to Hacking Gone Wrong: The Bush Family Emails
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Reynardine
Feb. 8th, 2013 at 1:23 pm
The power to hack is absolute enough to corrupt some people absolutelt; therefore, its use must be sparing and wise.
Norleengray
Feb. 8th, 2013 at 1:30 pm
I agree that this is a invasion of the Bush family’s privacy, but if your really so appalled why did you have to include that W sent the bathtub pic to his sister????
Edward Dylan Goff
Feb. 8th, 2013 at 1:49 pm
I don’t know about cruel but I do really question the news value. Not all the emails have been released but as far as I can see, it was just an invasion of privacy at a sensitive time for the family. Don’t get me wrong, I detest the Bushes and everything they stand for but a stunt like this will only bring them sympathy.
Kirk Welch
Feb. 8th, 2013 at 6:23 pm
Sorry, no I’m not, The Bush’s brought this Country so much pain and embarrassment I would like to see Jr. publicly hanged. I have no sympathy for any of them. They are a corrupt family and deserve all the humiliation the world can heap on them whether in office or not. It amazes me that MLK and JFK were assassinated but most repugnant POTUS we have ever had sit in the White House is still alive.
Yea it’s a screwed up world, I’ll give ya that.
D Paul
Feb. 8th, 2013 at 6:50 pm
You have all the subtlety of a hand grenade. The left is responsible for 55 million abortions in forty years including the most grisly of partial birth.Your hero Wild Bill and his radical thespian wife are not a “barrell of laughs”. The Bush’s had problems. The elder bailed out of a plane in WWII as the pilot before he got his crew out. Two were never found. Neverthless, there is a proper wlay to criticize and your way is not it.
Shiva(Moderator)
Feb. 8th, 2013 at 7:08 pm
The left ios not responsible for abortions. The Supreme court says the woman has the right to choose. Nice try. And the left are not the only women that get abortions.
The Bush’s had problems alright. Old Man Bush isnt such a bad guy, his sun is a mass murderer
KC
Feb. 8th, 2013 at 7:08 pm
I agree with you that this hacking is totally cruel but I don’t agree with you that George W. Bush’s presidency was an “unmitigated nightmare for democracy”. We currently have a president that tries everything he can to get around our great constitution and hide information from the general public. All from the president that wanted transparency. In my lifetime he is the most deceitful, unpatriotic president ever.
djchefron(Moderator)
Feb. 8th, 2013 at 8:14 pm
Put the pipe down.
majii
Feb. 9th, 2013 at 12:13 am
You’re definitely entitled to your opinion, but the facts say you’re wrong. A report issued by the Commerce Department in 2009 stated that GWB failed at everything he attempted to do–on domestic and foreign policy. Even a republican economist, Bruce Bartlett, who worked in the Reagan and Bush I Administrations, has stated that GWB was a failure on domestic policy.
economix.blogs.nytimes.co...
Contrary to your opinion, President Obama has made NO moves to circumvent the Constitution. Allowing the Supreme Court to issue a ruling on the Affordable Care Act proves this. There are also other cases on federal dockets that the president hasn’t tried to stop individuals and groups from filing. The claim that the Obama Administration has been one of the most un-transparent administrations in modern history is a lie that originated on the right. For various reasons, all administrations have withheld certain information from us. When I Googled your claim, the results were overwhelmingly from Fox News and RW blogs–the same sources of the claim that the White House and President Obama are guilty of a coverup on Benghazi–a claim that lacks credibility outside of the RW bubble.
djchefron(Moderator)
Feb. 8th, 2013 at 8:17 pm
All I can say is the hacker is in some deep doo doo.Pappy bush ex head of the CIA son mean vindictive sum o bitch.Someones head will be on a pike
Beaglemom
Feb. 9th, 2013 at 7:47 am
Not at all a fan of the Bush family but I think this “hacking” was reprehensible. We all, even members of the Bush family, have a right to our private lives.