Edwin Snowden Come In From The Cold

What Snowden did was illegal and he should be prosecuted. I have no sympathy for the guy.

 

What Rosa Parks did was illegal, too.

What's legal and what's right can be two different things.

 

Every time this subject comes up, I am reminded of the saying: The most dangerous words in the English language are "we're from the government. We're here to help." (or something like that)

I don't care if it's illegal. What the NSA is doing is wrong. Snowden performed a public service. Yes he should be pardoned.

 

OK, Snowden's actions were wrong and illegal. The other obvious difference is that Rosa Parks put only herself in jeopardy with her act of civil disobedience while Snowden took it upon himself to undermine a federal surveillance program that had national security implications.

People shocked by the depth of the government's data collection should have been screaming when the Patriot Act passed 96-1 back in 2001.

 

Dingdingding. Buy the ticket, take the ride.

 

I would also contend there's the subject of the Fourth Amendment, but, hey, why should we concern ourselves with such a trivial matter?

 

I remember when Justice had Microsoft tried and convicted for running a monopoly ... and then suddenly nothing happened.
The whole thing just went away.
Kind of like this Snowden stuff will soon enough.
The current president also promised the public that investigations would take place on the IRS scandals, Benghazi and spying on the AP.
Now it's crickets.

 

I WAS screaming then, and ever since about the Patriot Act. In fact, I was, to a much lesser degree, trying to blow the whistle on that just like Snowden did.

If someone were to repeal the Patriot Act, or decline to renew it, he, she or they would be goddam heroes, too.

 

Many considered and still consider both Deep Throat ( now as we know Mark Felt) and
Daniel Ellsberg heroes for what they did although a strong case could be made that it
was illegal.
Felt as Deputy Director of The FBI was providing insider information from an ongoing
criminal investigation. Ellsberg released classified Pentagon documents in circumstances
that could be considered analogous to Snowden.

In many circles both have been wildly viewed as heroes because they helped to take
down an unpopular President and unpopular war.

 

It's a huge stretch to compare the leak of the Pentagon Papers to Snowden's disclosures. For starters, they had to do with things that had occurred (in contrast with Snowden's disclosure of things that were ongoing).

 

I don't know. Ellsberg released classified military documents while we
were still heavily into Viet Nam war. To me that may even be more
treasonous than what Snowden did.

 

You mean the Issa hearings aren't as loud as crickets?