Why Some Americans hate Edward Snowden

[unhappycamper]

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Why-Some-Americans-hate-Ed-by-Bill-Perna-Edward-Snowden_Snowden-150725-623.html

Why Some Americans hate Edward Snowden
By Bill Perna
OpEdNews Op Eds 7/25/2015 at 13:02:12

Edward Snowden's actions confronts us with a vexing problem. Because of Snowden's actions we are now burdened with the knowledge and evidence that we live in a surveillance state. We are confronted with our complacency. A fundamental question begs an answer. What does it now mean to be an American?

Snowden's release of illegal NSA activities under the Obama administration confronts the left with with a moral conundrum. It was easy to have righteous indignation with torture, secret prisons, enhanced interrogation, Guantanamo Bay as the evil work of the dastardly Cheney Bush Rumsfeld Gang but the illegal NSA activities are on Obama's watch. Imagine for a moment, Snowden had released the NSA documents during the Cheney administration. There wouldn't be enough ink in the world to cover the left's outrage.

Snowden's actions confronts the conservative fallacy of being a stout defenders of the Constitution. One must suspend logic, reason and commonsense to square the NSA activities with the framers original intent. Patriot Bill, FISA rulings, secret courts?

~snip~

It is difficult to feel "exceptional" when we tolerate living in a "democracy" whose government spies on just about everything it can under the pretense of making us "safe" and "free".

[cascadiance]

1. It was entertaining to see the jobs board, etc. at OSCON (Open Source Convention)

... here in Portland last week.

There was a job posting on the board that people put up hand written job announcements and other messages and one was for Booz Allen Hamilton. Someone added a nice editorial comment about Edward Snowden being a hero for us on that note. Only in Portland!

Too bad that OSCON is moving to Austin, Texas next year instead of staying in Portland after being here for a few decades.