Posted on 11/27/2013 10:24:35 AM PST by kobald
This week in Washington, Senator Marco Rubio accused a fellow American of treason. Edward Snowden drew the Republican's ire by informing hundreds of millions of innocent people that the NSA is spying on them...
Anyone familiar with the Snowden story will understand why Rubio's comments are misleading. Americans are concerned about their civil liberties because of the accurate information the former Booz Allen Hamilton contractor leaked. He isn't responsible for any conspiracy theories, except in the sense that a conspiracy is "an agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act," and he exposed NSA and GCHQ cooperation on such acts. Finally, Snowden didn't exactly choose Vladimir Putin's Russia. His plan was to pass through en route to a different country, but while he was there, the Obama Administration yanked his passport. As a result of that brilliant strategy, they stranded a man with lots of secrets in Russia rather than, say, Ecuador...
Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall, who are much, much better informed about NSA surveillance, insist that "we have yet to see any evidence that the bulk phone records collection program has provided any otherwise unobtainable intelligence," and believe much of what the NSA does is not necessary to protect our security.
One can agree or disagree with Snowden's actions. But it is mighty strange to label as a traitor someone who acted to inform his countrymen and protect their liberties.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
I’ve already rejected any idea of voting for him for anything...So this one makes no difference to me...
I’ve been truly amazed by the FR reaction.
As I keep saying, the important thing is not that it happens - because it has to happen - but what governments do with the information. Protect their country from enemies? Good thing! Assault their domestic political enemies? Bad thing.
But nobody’s looking at that.
Traitor....go look in the mirror Rubio, that reflection you see of yourself is a traitor.
I don’t give 3 strikes to politicians. One strike, yer out.
Please remind me of the Snowden benefits.
>> But nobody’s looking at that.
Well, few seem to care that Congress is not being held responsible for something it allegedly controls. Our “representatives” have been silent.
Aside from some kabuki Congressional theater, there’s been no effort of good will.
>> And some conservatives here are defending him?
Prior to Snowden, the NSA was some obscure agency that was hardly mentioned in any venue. Now, coincidentally under the Marxist regime, it’s the big bad boogieman.
Can we spell d-i-v-e-r-s-i-o-n from the intrusive ACA?
Way too many dumbasses.
Rubio wants to turn over the keys to America to 11 million illegal immigrants, and he has the audacity to accuse somebody else of “treason.” Now that’s rich.
Sorry Markie - start calling 0 out for his treasonous ways and maybe we'll talk.
Where would you suggest he defect to? Russia and China are the ONLY places on Earth our criminal government can't easily reach him.
If it wasn't for Snowden, most people would still delusionally think we have constitutional rights and privacy. Anyone claiming otherwise would be labeled a kook.
He may have single handedly put enough doubt into people's minds to save our rights
He tried several places. That was the nation that took him.
Tells you something about our nation, doesn't it?
If you value government over freedom you are the problem.
YOU ARE THE PROBLEM
Wrong!!!
Agree. Snowmen applied to several other countries for asylum. Russia was the only nation who would accept him. Those saying otherwise are either misinformed or outright lying. God bless Snowden. We all knew that the government was spying on us but we had no idea of the scale. I thank him for exposing this.
Meanwhile it continues and even blowback from tapped communications of foreign leaders has not put an end to it or ousted anyone in the regime. Feel better now that you know it’s “not a good idea to write or say anything where it can be monitored”?
Everything from the health care system to the IRS is pilfering private data and engaging in a partisan witchhunt of the opposition party but you feel safer today because “you know”. Meanwhile it all continues. ALL of it.
All hail our NSA Overlords!
There is a turning point where the agencies formed to protect us from enemies outside our borders turn inward to protect the government from the people. At that point those agencies become illegitimate and need to be reformed or abandoned.
Snowden and others have warned us that we are past that point. It behooves us to listen carefully to what they are saying
Traitor or not, we now have that information and we can judge our “leaders” by how they react to it. Rubio fails the test. So does Michelle Bachmann.
And the Easter Bunny.
Can't lay all this on Zero though. The NSA's flagrant disregard for our privacy predates him. Both parties are neck deep in this crap.
I agree with you. We don’t have the time or the luxury anymore to give these people a chance to learn from the error of their ways. and we can’t afford to take a chance that their “mistakes” were not really mistakes at all.
If they screw us once,they should be replaced with someone new. at least that someone new hasn’t screwed us once already.
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