"When someone reveals that government officials have routinely and deliberately broken the law ..."

[Scuba]

[Autumn]

1. Rec #5 and off you go

That's the truth.

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

2. Amen.*

*An atheist amen.

[Egalitarian Thug]

3. No, they shouldn't. And where are the investigations and prosecutions? K&R

[Cryptoad]

6. They are looking for a court that will issue warrants.

[truedelphi]

8. Ain't it funny how our government officials can only find such a court room when it is

Eastern European nations hassling a whistle blower?

[2banon]

11. YES! The Irony is Astonishing.. Why does it escape the attention of a few around here?

It's amazing thing to watch / listen to M$M reporting on the horrible injustice and prosecutorial abuses done to whistleblowers of government corruption in China, Russia and elsewhere but don't seem to recognize it going on right here.

Cognitive dissonance is a serious disorder inflicting many of our compatriots, it seems.

[woo me with science]

4. +1000000 Thank you, Edward Snowden.

[blkmusclmachine]

5. If you live in a burgeoning POLICE STATE, it does!!!

9/11: A beginning, or an end??

[heaven05]

10. A definite beginning

with NO end in sight.

[WillyT]

7. Exactly !!!

[libodem]

9. K&R

[840high]

12. k/r

[woo me with science]

13. K&R

[woo me with science]

14. kick

[DiverDave]

15. I agree

eom

[SomethingFishy]

16. Thom Hartmann said something interesting today..

That that company that Snowden worked for, Booz Allen, is actually owned by the Carlyle group. Which is partially owned by... The Bin Laden family.

So if I understand this correctly, we are outsourcing our spying to a company partially owned by the family of the 9/11 mastermind. Brilliant... really.

[woo me with science]

17. kick

[paulbibeau]

18. I Recced.

Fred Kaplan at Slate has the counter position -- it's well-reasoned, and I commend it to you and everyone.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2014/01/edward_snowden_doesn_t_deserve_clemency_the_nsa_leaker_hasn_t_proved_he.html

I have mixed feelings. I have problems with what Snowden did. But at the same time, how were any of us going to find out about this stuff if not for him? That doesn't make him personally a hero. But it makes the system that judges him really, really suspect.

My 2 cents.

AND WHY DOES CLAPPER STILL HAVE A GODDAMN JOB? Seriously. Guy lied to Congress.

My head hurts.

Thanks, Scuba. Keep at it.

[Agony]

19. Fuck Fred Kaplan and everybody else who writes or works for the Council on Foreign Relations nt

[paulbibeau]

21. Two things...

A. Many of them are extremely unattractive. Plus, logistics would be a nightmare.

B. Assuming you did not mean that literally, what exactly are you saying? Anyone from CFR should never be listened to on any issue ever? Any argument such a person makes can be dismissed out of hand, as if they were all members of the same cult? Madeleine Albright, George F. Kennan, and Fareed Zakaria can be safely ignored with no danger to one's education?

If B. you have a massive burden of proof.

If A.... I want to see the plan.

[Agony]

22. I hope those three aren't the only ones that you think should be "safely" ignored

did you forget chairman Robert Rubin, Pete Peterson and the guy from Carlyle Group? Fuck 'em or ignore 'em your choice, there is nothing in that Plutonomy Cult that can be "safely" ignored, they are dangerous. That goes for anyone who chooses to associate with that brand.

[Octafish]

20. PFC Chelsea Manning also is suffering for exposing the criminality.

Meanwhile, the man who uttered "Money trumps peace," George W Bush, still walks free.

[woo me with science]

23. kick

[Blue_Tires]

24. That's why I cannot understand for the life of me WHY

all names and signatures have been redacted from the documents released so far...What purpose could possibly be served by protecting those names?

If you're making a case for widespread criminal activity and presumably prosecution, why isn't anyone trying to set up some kind of paper trail of who ordered what, who signed off on what, and who knew what when?

None of this stuff makes sense to me anymore...It's like the longer this goes on, the fewer answers I'm getting....

[woo me with science]

25. kick

[orpupilofnature57]

26. It shows Governments contempt for Us and the system of

Checks & Balances

[Uncle Joe]

27. Congress doesn't view the Bill of Rights as a bedrock foundation for the nation's freedom so much

as obstacles to overcome via existing or newly manufactured loopholes.

Thanks for the thread, Scuba.

[grahamhgreen]

28. Nutshell.

[ProSense]

29. The NYT editorial

...suggested a plea deal to reduce "punishment."

<...>

Considering the enormous value of the information he has revealed, and the abuses he has exposed, Mr. Snowden deserves better than a life of permanent exile, fear and flight. He may have committed a crime to do so, but he has done his country a great service. It is time for the United States to offer Mr. Snowden a plea bargain or some form of clemency that would allow him to return home, face at least substantially reduced punishment in light of his role as a whistle-blower, and have the hope of a life advocating for greater privacy and far stronger oversight of the runaway intelligence community.

<...>

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/02/opinion/edward-snowden-whistle-blower.html

NYT editor's blog: Snowden’s Questionable New Turn
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023034825

Senator Sanders comments on Snowden
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024292659