Edwin Snowden Come In From The Cold

How is this partisan?

Has a single member of Congress, of either party, called for him to not be prosecuted?

He upset the power structure. Neither party likes that.

 

Depends on how you look at it.

The politicians who are "outraged" at the NSA's actions and demand reform side with Snowden whether they realize it or not, and whether they say they want him prosecuted or not.

If they want NSA reform and Snowden tried for treason, they are liars and hypocrites, not opponents of what Snowden did.

 

OK. I'd still argue it's not partisan then.

Maybe there are a few who haven't called for reform, but the ones who are most supportive of the NSA are Intelligence committee members, in both houses, of both parties.

And yes, the rest of them are hypocrites, and they are also in both parties.

 

YF is right on this one. Politicians of both parties have defended and attacked the NSA and its actions. Many have been hypocritical, many want the status quo, etc. But I haven't really seen a split along party lines.

 

OK, maybe not. I should've said the division among those who disagree, not necessarily politicians, puzzles me.

If anything should unify the entire country, it's opposition to constitutional violations and celebration of them coming to light. Though, I thought the same thing about Osama bin Laden's death, and look how that turned out.

 

No.

I'm shocked he's still alive.

 

It is an interesting question. Snowden didn't "do" anything - other than say what was going on. If what the US was doing was unconstitutional - abusing power - that's one thing. All he did was expose what we do, which is apparently "legal." Though I am troubled that he is in Russia right now. It's one thing to share what you know with "everybody." If he's getting into methodology, that's a problem.

 

And how exactly is Eddie "smart?"
He divulged trade secrets it took no real discipline for him to attain.
I do not want him dead, but I would like to see this weasel in prison for his treachery.

 

I don't like it at all, but I trust Snowden more than I do most of the people who are running this country.

 

For one thing, he made sure he set everything up so he could make his revelations and not get tossed in jail.

And I suspect it wasn't quite as easy as you think to get ahold of all of this information and get it out without being detected.

 

I still don't get why people think he unearthed some deep, dark secret regarding government spying. In the months running up to his big reveal, there were plenty of mainstream news reports about how the government was doing this already (the huge spying center in the Utah desert for example).

I think the guy is a bit creepy and don't trust some of the people he's aligned himself with (Greenwald and Putin). If he's the real deal, he'll come home and face the charges. Let our judicial system sort it out. Even if he's found guilty, there's probably a good chance he'd get a pardon down the line.

 

I have never been ambivalent about Snowden.
There has been more than a whiff of narcissism and hero complex with him from the start.
But even worse is Manning, who appears to have the emotional and intellectual maturity of a 13-year-old.
My question is how a putz like Snowden or Manning has access to sensitive material in the first place.
How the fuck did our government allow that to happen, and who as bad or worse than them has the same access?