Government Gone Wild, Part 6 - Is NSA Whistle Blower a Hero or Traitor?

The past five days we have been discussing the despicable and disgrace abuses of freedom and the Constitution that have come to light in the press, focusing on the fact that it is becoming more and more obvious that the Federal government is systematically collecting and organizing all of the electronic communications of private American citizens.  

The first of these posts can be accessed at:  

http://www.loathemygovernment.blogspot.com/2013/06/government-gone-wild-part-1-verizon.html  

Combining this massive data collection effort with the fact that recent other scandals show how the Federal government have been using private information and government agencies (e.g. the IRS) to harass those with different political views than this President and have secretly obtained and tracked the call records of members of the press, the potential for the abuse of freedom and the growth of tyranny is staggering.

Which brings us to today’s discussion on this whole mess.   Edward Snowden is the ex-government employee who really blew the whistle on the National Security Agency’s effort to collect just about every bit of our private electronic communications information. Some people, both inside and outside of the political class, are calling him a traitor and want him arrested and tried for treason. Others are appalled at the information he disclosed and want the government reigned in and see Snowden as a hero, protecting freedom and the Constitution.  

Which ever way you see him, traitor or heroic whistleblower, I do not think you can call him a coward or a man without principles, much unlike much of the Washington political class. Consider what he has likely given up to call attention to something that disgusts him and should disgust every American:

• He has given up his high paying job, a job that paid him about $200,000 a year.
• He has given up his home, his girl friend, the freedom to spend time with family and friends.
• He has likely given up his freedom to live his life peacefully for what ever time he has left for once the Federal government physically gets its hands on him, who knows what happens.
• He has avowed that he does not want to live in a world where there isn't any privacy.
• He has stood up and said that he does not want to live in a world where everything that he says and does is recorded.

How many people in this country would shake off the apathy and make a stand for freedom like Snowden? Hate him or love him, he did a very brave thing by exposing excessive government intrusion into our private lives. The following 27 quotes provide some insight why Snowden stepped up and out front to become a whistleblower, something very few of us would have likely done, given the negative ramifications on our lives (the source of these quotes can be accessed at the following link, http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/27-edward-snowden-quotes-about-u-s-government-spying-that-should-send-a-chill-up-your-spine):

#1 "The majority of people in developed countries spend at least some time interacting with the Internet, and Governments are abusing that necessity in secret to extend their powers beyond what is necessary and appropriate."

#2 "...I believe that at this point in history, the greatest danger to our freedom and way of life comes from the reasonable fear of omniscient State powers kept in check by nothing more than policy documents."

#3 "The government has granted itself power it is not entitled to. There is no public oversight. The result is people like myself have the latitude to go further than they are allowed to."

#4 "...I can't in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."

#5 "The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything."

#6 "With this capability, the vast majority of human communications are automatically ingested without targeting. If I wanted to see your e-mails or your wife's phone, all I have to do is use intercepts. I can get your e-mails, passwords, phone records, credit cards."

#7 "Any analyst at any time can target anyone. Any selector, anywhere... I, sitting at my desk, certainly had the authorities to wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant, to a federal judge, to even the President..."

#8 "To do that, the NSA specifically targets the communications of everyone. It ingests them by default. It collects them in its system and it filters them and it analyzes them and it measures them and it stores them for periods of time simply because that's the easiest, most efficient and most valuable way to achieve these ends. So while they may be intending to target someone associated with a foreign government, or someone that they suspect of terrorism, they are collecting YOUR communications to do so."

#9 "I believe that when [Senator Ron] Wyden and [Senator Mark] Udall asked about the scale of this, they [the NSA] said it did not have the tools to provide an answer. We do have the tools and I have maps showing where people have been scrutinized most. We collect more digital communications from America than we do from the Russians."

#10 "...they are intent on making every conversation and every form of behavior in the world known to them."

#11 "Even if you're not doing anything wrong, you're being watched and recorded. ...it's getting to the point where you don't have to have done anything wrong, you simply have to eventually fall under suspicion from somebody, even by a wrong call, and then they can use this system to go back in time and scrutinize every decision you've ever made, every friend you've ever discussed something with, and attack you on that basis, to sort of derive suspicion from an innocent life."

#12 "Allowing the U.S. government to intimidate its people with threats of retaliation for revealing wrongdoing is contrary to the public interest."

#13 "Everyone everywhere now understands how bad things have gotten — and they’re talking about it. They have the power to decide for themselves whether they are willing to sacrifice their privacy to the surveillance state."

#14 "I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under."

#15 "I don't want to live in a world where there's no privacy, and therefore no room for intellectual exploration and creativity."

#16 "I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong."

#17 "I had been looking for leaders, but I realized that leadership is about being the first to act."

#18 "There are more important things than money. If I were motivated by money, I could have sold these documents to any number of countries and gotten very rich."

#19 "The great fear that I have regarding the outcome for America of these disclosures is that nothing will change. [People] won't be willing to take the risks necessary to stand up and fight to change things... And in the months ahead, the years ahead, it's only going to get worse. [The NSA will] say that... because of the crisis, the dangers that we face in the world, some new and unpredicted threat, we need more authority, we need more power, and there will be nothing the people can do at that point to oppose it. And it will be turnkey tyranny."

#20 "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."

#21 "You can't come up against the world's most powerful intelligence agencies and not accept the risk."

#22 "I know the media likes to personalize political debates, and I know the government will demonize me."

#23 "We have got a CIA station just up the road – the consulate here in Hong Kong – and I am sure they are going to be busy for the next week. And that is a concern I will live with for the rest of my life, however long that happens to be."

#24 "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions, and that the return of this information to the public marks my end."

#25 "There’s no saving me."

#26 "The only thing I fear is the harmful effects on my family, who I won't be able to help any more. That's what keeps me up at night."

#27 "I do not expect to see home again."

Consider just a brief, frightening recap of some of the things Snowden is asserting:

• There is no public oversight.
• Intercept almost everything.
• I can get your e-mails, passwords, phone records, credit cards.
• Any [NSA] analyst at any time can target anyone.
• We collect more digital communications from America than we do from the Russians.
• Even if you're not doing anything wrong, you're being watched and recorded.
• I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded.
• I don't want to live in a world where there's no privacy, and therefore no room for intellectual exploration and creativity.
• And it will be turnkey tyranny.
• I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions, and that the return of this information to the public marks my end.

Very scary stuff, a government out of control. Snowden made the biggest sacrifice of his life by disclosing this information and one that should be admired on principle. The big question is whether of not the American people will follow and insist that his sacrifice lead to an adult discussion in this country on how best to protect our physical safety without damaging our freedom and liberty. I wonder how many have the same amount of fortitude to do this that Snowden has shown.

Five thoughts before closing today:

1. I recently read a quote from a former head of Mousad, the Israeli secret service. He insightfully said that it is possible to win every battle against terrorism and still lose the war against terrorism. What good does it do to defeat the physical attributes and dangers of terrorism if you destroy the very things that the war on terrorism is trying to protect, our freedom, our liberty, our privacy, our democratic way of life?
2. Many in the Federal government and Washington political class want to “get” Snowden where “get” is defined however you think the government will react to being publicly humiliated like this. But if they go after Snowden, shouldn’t they also go after California Congresswoman Maxine Walters? Back in February, Ms. Walters made the same disclosures as Snowden did. She may have not been as explicit or as knowledgable about the data gathering process but she disclosed the same information when she said: “And I think some people are missing something here. The president has put in place an organization that contains the kind of database that no one has ever seen before in life. That’s going to be very, very powerful. That database will have information about everything on every individual in ways that it’s never been done before.” Her actual words can be viewed at: http://conservativebyte.com/2013/02/maxine-waters-obama-has-a-database-on-everything-about-every-individual/#ixzz2WEa43qaX If Snowden is guilty of treason for disclosure, than Ms. Walters is also guilty.
3. Let's not stop with Ms. Walters. Five years ago, actor Shia Labeouf was being interviewed by Jay Leno when he stated that the FBI consultant working with him on a movie at the time told him that, on average, the government actually listens in on about one out of every five phone calls that Americans make every day. If you combine this assertion five years ago with the recent disclosure that an NSA can listen in on any American's phone calls without a warrant and you see that Snowden was actually at least the third American to disclose the government's illegal snooping. Should he be arrested also? The interview of this actor can be accessed at: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Shia+Labeouf%3a+One-In-Five+Phone+Calls+Are+Recorded+(2008-09-16)+&view=detail&mid=A6239503DE27BC6BDF28A6239503DE27BC6BDF28&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR
4. According to the web page listed above that was the source of the 27 Snowden quotes, one CNN reporter said that he really admires Snowden because he had attempted to get government insiders to also come forward with details about government spying over years, but none of them were ever willing to so. Thus, possibly there are other NSA employees who were equally appalled by the government’s intrusive behavior but did not have the same strength as Snowden. Hopefully, his actions will inspire them to also come forward so that we can more fully understand what is going on.
5. And finally, somewhere and somehow the fact that I wrote this post and you are now reading it has been digitally recorded for the rest of time and possibly for the use and abuse of a future NSA analyst or political operative. Sleep tight!

 
Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:

www.loathemygovernment.com

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http://www.reason.com/
http://www.cato.org
http://www.robertringer.com/
http://realpolichick.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w