I am glad the ACLU has Snowden's back. 4 NSA whistleblowers tried proper channels & got nowhere

[peacebird]

"Snowden is innocent until proven guilty before a court of law and he must be afforded all of his rights as an American citizen. If he is brought to an American court, he must be afforded every opportunity to defend himself and convince a judge that what he did was justifiable and patriotic, even if he is charged with violating laws that themselves pose a threat to our democracy.

Finally, we say as Americans that we are tired of seeing liberty sacrificed on the altar of security and having a handful of lawmakers decide what we should and should not know. We are tired of living in a nation governed by fear instead of the principles of freedom and liberty that made this nation great."

Well said ACLU, well said.
For those who claim Snowden is not aWhistleblower, but instead a traitor, please read this article where four former NSA whistleblowers speak out. They tried all the proper channels for years, and nothing changed. Snowden succeeded in getting the word out, I did not like this program when Bush/Cheney started it (albeit under a different name) and I do not like it now.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/06/nsa-spying-whistleblowers_n_3399258.html

Those who would sacrifice freedom for safety deserve neither.

[MotherPetrie]

1. K& R

[Hell Hath No Fury]

2. I am glad -

someone has OUR back. Not getting it from our Reps much these days. Godspeed Snowden, and time to send a contribution to the ACLU.

[peacebird]

3. Good call, I will join you in donating to the ACLU! Here's a link to their page if you need it!

http://www.aclu.org/

[think]

4. K&R /nt

[randome]

5. You keep 'forgetting' one salient fact.

Those whistleblowers also say Snowden crossed the line into traitorous activities.

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[peacebird]

6. I did not forget, I disagree.

[temmer]

7. not true

afaik the only one who commented on the "traitor" subject waw Bill Binney. We don't know whether the other whistleblowers agree.

Here's what Binney said on USA Today:

///
But now he is starting to talk about things like the government hacking into China and all this kind of thing. He is going a little bit too far. I don't think he had access to that program. But somebody talked to him about it, and so he said, from what I have read, anyway, he said that somebody, a reliable source, told him that the U.S. government is hacking into all these countries. But that's not a public service, and now he is going a little beyond public service.

So he is transitioning from whistle-blower to a traitor.
///

This is more like a warning, not a condemnation. And it's pretty mild. ("He is going a little bit too far.&quot

[randome]

8. I couldn't find a link but I was pretty sure I heard at least the 3 say that on a talk show.

I could be wrong.

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[temmer]

9. full transcript

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/06/16/snowden-whistleblower-nsa-officials-roundtable/2428809/

Here's Jesselyn Radack:

///
Radack: "Hero or traitor?" was the original question. I don't like these labels, and they are putting people into categories of two extremes, villain or saint. ... By law, he fits the legal definition of a whistle-blower. He is someone who exposed broad waste, abuse and in his case illegality. ... And he also said he was making the disclosures for the public good and because he wanted to have a debate.
///

other than that, no "traitor" comment

[randome]

11. That statement is clearly bullshit.

The 'legal definition' of a whistleblower is not someone who throws a bunch of classified documents into the open.

Especially when Snowden has not provided any evidence of his claims, other than the legal warrant for metadata. Oh. How scary.

Words have meaning.

'Whistleblower' and 'leaker' are two entirely different legal concepts and if Radack wants to use that word, she should know better. Radack, like many on this board, doesn't care about words, they just want to push their own emotional buttons.

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[sabrina 1]

10. Daniel Ellsberg: 'He is the man we have been waiting for, for 40 years'n/t

[randome]

12. Sorry, I sure as hell respected Ellsberg for his past service to this country.

But not Snowden.

At least Ellsberg had evidence. Other than the phone metadata warrant, Snowden does not.

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[KoKo]

13. I just watched interview with Binney and he never called Snowden "A Traitor"

as you suggest. If you want to find a link that quotes him saying that about Snowden, though, it would be interesting to read it..."in context" and not just a snip using the word "traitor."

[sabrina 1]

15. He didn't. They are using what was a question, and a very mild reference to the line between whistle

blower and traitor, which sounded like he was sending Snowden a message.

But the 'shoot down anything that question authority' contingency tend to exaggerate these things.

Most importantly Binney and Drake and so many others as they were not the only ones, have tried to warn the people about the growing surveillance state and Snowden is just the latest. Either we care about this country and we listen to the warnings, or we allow partisanship to blind us to the fact this goes way beyond party politics. Both Drake and Binney deserve much credit for not allowing their political affiliations to stop them from warning the people.

[randome]

16. Okay, all I can find is this snippet about someone (Binney?) saying Snowden crossed a line.

So I withdraw my point about all the whistleblowers saying so.

The fact that former NSA employees have said these things doesn't automatically make them true. All have reason to identify with Snowden (though one thinks he may have crossed a line by talking about surveillance on China).

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[KoKo]

17. Thank you for checking and withdrawing your point...

that's a nice bit of honesty that some don't bother to do.

[Sunlei]

14. good points, big thumbs up. the 'security' laws the Gov placed right after 9-11 have to wide a focus

Those laws are being abused, used against regular Americans to stifle free speech, to delay and obstruct small business, and to imprison in Federal prisons social activists..to obstruct a 'free press'... all kinds of abuses of 'anti-terrorist' laws.

How many times have bills been held up, (some for years) in the black-hole of the 'homeland security' office?, federal resources, FBI/IRS/CIA used against rightful protests?, even Americans who comit some minor civil crimes end up as Federal prisoners.

To broad a focus, way to much Federal fund$$ poured into local communities just to assist local police with civil or even more local neighborhood association matters.

[Mnemosyne]

18. K&R nt