A Liberal Look: Snowden No Hero
January 6, 2014
In 1992, the short-lived ABC investigative news program
Clemency for Snowden?
That’s the big question. Why promise Snowden that you won’t prosecute him (“clemency” and “pardon” mean the same thing, requiring an admission of guilt, unlike “amnesty” which is protection from prosecution) in exchange for his cooperation? I’m reminded… fairly or unfairly… of promising a kidnapper or thief that you won’t prosecute them so long as they return your belongings
One of my favorite movies ever is 2005’s “V for Vendetta” about a man, once tortured by a brutal fascist regime that had taken over the government by staging a fake terrorist attack, who exacts revenge by murdering each of the government officials that brutalized him, murdered hundreds of thousands, and assisted their takeover of England. He is branded a “terrorist” by the government, and then executes a terrorist attack to bring down the brutal and criminal dictatorship that was repressing its citizenry. The movie has become an “anti-hero anthem” among critics of the government, often donning “Guy Fawkes” masks identical to the one worn in the movie, to hide their identity (though the movie character did so partly because he had been disfigured in a fire, not because he was seeking anonymity). Again, I find myself asking, “How is what Snowden doing any different?” (Listen to the linked clip above in the context of Snowden and it does seem to make a convincing case.)
First off, let’s get a few facts straight. Snowden sought out jobs that would give him access to Top Secret information with the intent of revealing it. He wasn’t an investigative reporter sent on assignment by his Editor. He’s not
Even if you disagree with our government’s wholesale warrantless domestic spying program (that began under Bush’s “Patriot Act” and has only grown under Obama), we’re not a brutal fascist dictatorship that rules by fear. That’s the GOP:
The 2004 Republican National Convention
Snowden isn’t “exacting revenge” upon the people who “harmed him” personally. And, unlike “V”, in the end (spoiler alert), “V” was willing to die for what he believed in.
Snowden has been described by some on the Right as a “Liberal Hero”. That bugs the crap out of me. Because this is one Liberal that does not consider him a “hero”. And judging by the replies to
Before Edward Snowden, there was Private Bradley (turned Chelsey) Manning who leaked to the public the largest collection of Top Secret Intelligence documents in history. Manning didn’t go looking for material to steal. He actually SAW evidence of crimes while on the job that he knew needed to be exposed (most notably the “Baghdad airstrike” video), released the information, accepted responsibility and then stood trial. Snowden’s case is the exact opposite in every instance.
On Fox “news” Sunday yesterday, Sen. Rand Paul cited former Director of National Intelligence “James Clapper” who lied to Congress last March when he testified that the government does not collect “any type of data on hundreds of millions of Americans.” Turns out that was a total lie, and it is only because of Snowden’s leaks that we now know this not to be true. Unsurprisingly, Paul says he does not defend Snowden’s actions and believes he needs to stand trial. This is another of those rare times where
So does the fact that some good has come from Snowden’s revelations negate the way in which he came by that information? As in the “Food Lion” case I spoke of earlier, exposing Food Lion didn’t aid those who wish to harm us. Unlike Snowden’s revelations, lives were not put at risk by ABC’s revelations. ABC’s reporters weren’t vigilantes operating on their own seeking personal glory, and when the s#it hit the fan, they accepted responsibility as their network went to trial. So, No, I don’t consider myself a hypocrite for defending REAL “whistle blowers” like ABC News or Private Manning while condemning the actions of Edward Snowden. I hope you agree.

Note: I added a new video to our “FREE MOVIES” section: “Freedom Fries: And Other Stupidity We’ll Have to Explain to Our Grandchildren”; a look at the linking of “Patriotism” to “Consumerism”. Enjoy!
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January 6, 2014
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Admin Mugsy ·
2 Comments - Add
Posted in: Crime, Rants, Scandals, Seems Obvious to Me, Unconstitutional
2 Responses
As a registered Republican until age 33, didn’t like it that one had to be of one mind or else labeled a RINO. Don’t like ideologues in the Democratic Party either. I have several PURE “progressives” as Facebook friends and have to be neutral since most of my family and childhood mates tend to support the Tea Party. I joined that social site to see pictures of friends’ growing families and keep up with their careers and not to have some use MY page to preach their politics or religion. I’ve already been “unfriended” by a “brothers forever” pledge brother of 55 years because he deducted from a statement I must have made that I am no longer the YAF member he remembered from college. I have never seen such a partisan divide in our nation in my lifetime living under 13 presidents now, It didn’t seem to be this bad even in the tumultuous 60’s. I am finding as a Democrat now, you either take the “right” side on issues like GMO’s, Keystone pipeline, drones and now Snowden or you are NOT a REAL progressive in the minds of some. As far as Snowden, as a child of the 1930’s I am glad he wasn’t around during WWII or else we might all be speaking German or Japanese now.
Adding to my list of “loose lips” is former Sec. of Defense Bob Gates. In an atmosphere of hoped-for bipartisanship, Obama elected to keep on a left-over from the Bush administration and it has backfired. Hate seeing people leaving a high paying job to then turn on their former bosses, revealing privileged information best kept until they are out of office. I am sure Karzai knows that he was not a favorite of President Obama, but probably didn’t expect to hear it from a big mouth out to make a buck from a book. Gates did no favors for Hillary Clinton nor Joe Biden, either.
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